Page 47 of Jillaroo from Jacaranda

Looking back to Marty, Ty grimaced. ‘Ouch.’

‘Yeah.’ Marty waited for her to be out of earshot then shot Ty a look of disbelief. ‘Are you bloody mad, Parker, telling her you’re gay? She’s drop-dead bloody gorgeous.’

‘Yeah, maybe, if you’re into that kind of thing.’ He shrugged off Marty’s wide-eyed look. ‘It’s what’s under the hood that matters to me.’

‘Alright then, spill. What kind of woman is on your radar if the likes of that hottie isn’t?’

Ty didn’t need long to think about it. ‘Sexy, smart, dependable, funny, and a true-blue country girl. That’s what I want.’

‘Righto.’ Marty whipped the cloth from his shoulder and began wiping the bar down. ‘That’s a bit different to Kelly.’

Ty slapped the bar. ‘Exactly.’

A waitress plonked his lunch down in front of him. The steak was so big, it was dangling over the sides of the plate. His belly growling and mouth watering, he tucked in – this meal was going to do him for dinner too. Having already planned to grab an early night, and with any luck a decent seven to eight hours of sleep, eating a big meal now might work in his favour. He could only hope.

* * *

It was close to midnight when he woke from another nightmare, leaping from the bed, fists clenched, ready to fight. Covered in sweat, he fought to rein in his raspy breath as he turned in circles, assessing every shadow of the room. It took him almost two minutes to realise where he was. Even then, it took a few long slow breaths to convince himself there was no threat. He was safe and sound.

He slumped back to bed and pulled a pillow over his face. If his PTSD wasn’t bad enough, the weight of his survivor’s guilt was almost too much to bear. Why had his father died that day? They’d only been metres away from each other, and yet he’d lived. For the next five minutes, he lay in the dark, trying to block out the images of his father and his comrades being blown to smithereens.

But to no avail.

‘Enough!’ he roared, tossing the thin cotton sheet aside and stepping from the tousled bed. Angrily stomping out the door and down the hallway, he dragged hands over his face as headed outside, desperate for fresh air.

Deep breath in, and deep breath out …

He did this five times before a voice carried from the verandah.

‘Ty, are you okay?’ Leah’s gaze was filled with compassion.

Hands going to his hips, he mentally kicked himself – he didn’t want anyone to bear witness to his internal battle. ‘Yeah, sorry, sis. I’m all good, go back to bed.’

‘I don’t believe you.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m not going back to bed, and leaving you out here like this.’

Ty gritted his teeth against the urge to run, and never stop. ‘Seriously, I’ll be fine.’

‘But—’

‘I said I’m fine!’ His tone brusque, he instantly felt terrible. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.’

‘Okay.’ She hesitated then took steps towards the back door. ‘I love you,’ she called before disappearing back inside.

‘I love you too,’ he said, way too softly for her to hear.

His sister didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of his anger. Life didn’t stop for anyone, so he really needed to find a way to move on.

With a heavy heart, one heavy foot after the other, he dragged himself back inside, got dressed, and waited for the sun to rise just enough to give him the daylight he needed to begin his day.

CHAPTER

14

Five days flew by and Saturday arrived in a flash. Dressed in her blue lacy bra and knickers set, with her legs up the wall and her back against the cold timber floor, Rose grumbled beneath her breath as she finally decided to stop procrastinating and get dressed. It had been the hottest day in twenty-seven years, according to the weather report, and even though the air-conditioner was on as cold as it would go, it still felt warm in the cottage. Sliding hangers from one side of her cupboard to the other, she tried to choose between jeans, a denim skirt, or maybe one of her boho dresses. Naked would be the best option, given how sweltering it was, and it would save her having to pick something, but it wouldn’t fare well for wanting to be just another face in the crowd.

A knock sounded at the front door, followed by ‘yoo-hoo’ then footsteps fell, arriving at her bedroom door. Wrapping a sarong around herself, Rose spun to watch Leah prance into the room. After a little twirl to show off her paisley Western dress, complemented with dangly earrings, jingly bangles and a tan tasselled handbag, she descended onto the bed with an exhalation big enough to blow the whole cottage down.

Rose stopped searching for clothes and came to her side. ‘Are you okay?’