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was
going to be a long week. I inhaled, motioning for Chris behind the bar.
    “Two Cokes, thanks, mate.”
    “Actually … I’ll have a Lemon, Lime and
Bitters, thanks.”
    I pushed down the urge to roll my eyes. I
was betting that if I said the sky was blue she would argue that it was green;
it was going to be like that.
    “So, Mel, what brings you to Onslow?” asked
Amy.
    I plunged a straw into her drink before
passing it to her, before working to take a long draw of my pot of Coke,
turning toward Mel with interest.
    Yeah, what does bring you to Onslow,
Mel?
    Waiting with the utmost intrigue, I
wondered how she might explain herself? I was dumped here by my old man because
of his inability to trust me seemed like a long shot.
    Mel shrugged, glancing down and stirring
her drink. “I’ve never been to Onslow before, seems like a nice place for a
holiday.”
    Her unexpected shyness made me feel less
smug about her being uncomfortable. Jesus Christ, I even found it quite … endearing.
    “I’d give it a week,” joked Chris from over
my shoulder.
    Mel broke into a broad smile at Chris’s
words.
    It wasn’t that funny.
    “Well, we’ll have to show you the sights,
won’t we, Max? A beginner’s crash course to Onslow,” chirped Amy.
    The unnerving glimmer of excitement in Mel’s
eyes was offset by the memory of her father’s parting death stare: the latter
would win every time.
    “Oh, I don’t know if we’ll have time for
that,” I added. “Melba’s going to be showing Mel the ropes in the restaurant.”
    “Whaaaat?” Amy breathed out in horror. “The
poor girl is here on holiday and you baboons have her working?”
    “Baboons?” repeated Chris, an offended
scowl lining his face as his angry eyes flashed toward me.
    Bloody hell, here we go.

 
    Chapter Seven
     
    Mel
     
    In no uncertain terms I could tell that
Max wanted to strangle Amy; she had clearly hit a nerve, not only for him, but
very much for me too.
    Bullied into staying (kind of) but more so
into ‘helping out’; I had never agreed to that, it was just an assumed thing,
lined up by the caveman who put me here.
    So Max had made it oh so clear; he had been
pretty quick smart in clarifying ‘friend of the family’. As if the very thought
of anything else would be so horrifying. I tried to not let myself care, but in
the span of a few minutes he had managed to order me a drink, clarify my
standing, and volunteer me for work. Who the hell did he think he was, my
keeper? Oh wait, yes he was!
    I could feel the anger churning my insides;
if I didn’t speak up now this was going to be an indication of what my time
would be like here. Regardless of how daunting all this was, I decided that
enough was enough.
    “I would love to see Onslow with you, Amy,
that’s really kind of you,” I smiled sweetly.
    Amy straightened her spine, seemingly
delighted in my appreciation. I could also tell she took the same amount of satisfaction
in putting the boys back in their place.
    “Excellent! I gather you’re staying here?”
she asked.
    “I am!”
    “Cool, my room is at the end of the hall,
last door on the left; whatever you’re in, we’re practically neighbours,” she
said with a winning smile.
    I could sense Max shift next to me. I could
almost envision the eye roll he was throwing to Chris over the bar as Amy and I
exchanged pleasantries; it gave me a certain amount of pleasure.
    I continued my girly chitchat with Amy
while still ignoring Max by my side and instead enjoying the one thing I had
missed more than I realised.
    A real-life female conversation: it was
something I hadn’t had since Miranda, my best friend, had been sent to boarding
school; I missed her. I had spent the last twelve months with my dad,
surrounded by shearers and farmers and it wasn’t exactly my idea of a good
time. I needed to just … be a girl.
    “So that’s settled then!” Amy said, jumping
off her stool triumphantly. “Tomorrow, I’ll give you a guided tour