Chapter 10
“Hey Nate?” Samantha stood in his doorway on Tuesday morning, a guilty expression clouding her features. “I just found a message on my desk from Friday.”
Nate frowned. “You’re just giving it to me now?”
“I’m sorry. We were busy and then on Monday the news came about the closure. I just forgot.”
She walked forward and handed him the piece of paper. His eyes scanned the message and he was suddenly filled with anger. “Goddamn it, Samantha! This was important!” He dragged his fingers through his hair and let out a short laugh. “I put in a missing person’s report last night. I thought she was dead!”
“Oh, Nate. I’m sorry. I had no idea it was important. All she said was to tell you she lost her phone and would contact you this week. She said calling you at work was all she could think of to get in touch.”
He took deep breaths to calm himself, relief coursing through his veins.
She’s alright! Yesssss!
The phone on his desk rang and he snatched it out of the holder. “Hello? Ahh… can I call you back? I’m in a meeting.” He hung up and then put the phone back to his ear, dialling a number from a card on his desk. “Hi Edward? You can stop looking. It turns out she lost her phone on Thursday and she’s working in Perth for the week. I’m sorry to waste your time.”
“Oh, that’s good. I was going to tell you there’d been no phone calls and her bank account hadn’t been touched. I’m glad you’ve confirmed she’s well. Do you have a number I can call to verify your information?”
“Not yet. The second I hear from her, I’ll get you the number.” He hung up and looked at Samantha, who looked like she might cry. “Hey, don’t get upset. I’m sorry I snapped at you. This has all worked out. I might even get some sleep tonight now that I can stop worrying!”
***
“I’m surprised to see you here, Nate. I thought you were pining for your new woman?” Ruben welcomed him through the side gate. He’d cleaned up his backyard and invited several friends around after work. Nate’s response was almost always a no.
“I was, but I’ve had news that she’s okay. So now I’m distracting myself until I hear from her. Want a beer? I bought a whole carton.”
“Tight ass Nate bought beers. Whatever is going on?” Dean laughed as he pushed the gate open and entered Ruben’s backyard. “I arrived just in time.”
A bark drew Nate’s attention and he watched Dean wrestle with a ball of fur as he walked toward him. Shock filled his voice, “Why do you have Fang?”
“You know Fang? My friend Kelly rang me to pick him up after she got stuck interstate for a few extra days. Pissed my boss right off that she insisted on pulling me off shift on Thursday night. Apparently, she lost her phone and didn’t have anyone’s number.” He took a beer from Nate’s outstretched hand. “Is Jasper here? He promised to bring me a training lead he has.”
Nate snorted, “He’s not here yet, and any training lead he has will not help that monster.”
“Aww. That’s not true.” Dean ruffled the fur under Fang’s belly. “Don’t listen to him, you’re just misunderstood aren’t you Fangy Wangy?” The baby tones he used on the dog had Nate and Ruben staring at him, wide eyed. “What? I like dogs. So, sue me.” He sat next to Ruben and placed Fang on the grass. “How do you know Fang, anyway?”
“Little bastard is the one who bit me at work.”
Dean laughed and slapped his leg. “No way! I had no idea it was him.” Dean scratched the dog’s ear as he sipped his beer and watched Nate purse his lips. Realisation dawned on him as Fang rolled over onto his back. “Hang on. That means his owner is my friend Kelly?”
“Looks like it.” Nate took a long swig of his beer. Then he ground his teeth together thinking of the tortured weekend he’s spent wondering where Kelly and Fang had got to. If only Dean didn’t spend all his time getting another beer they might have worked out they knew the same person.
“No way! Kelly Foster is your mystery woman? How the hell did you manage that? She never looks twice at anyone?”
“Really? Why is she friends with a stripper then?” Nate’s tone betrayed his thoughts.
“Oooh, careful Nate. Your skin might turn green if you think like that.” Dean laughed again and then held up his hands. “Don’t panic. We do some modelling together occasionally. We hit it off and I look after the dog whenever she goes away. She thought it would be just one night but they extended the job.”
“You model?” Jasper’s incredulous voice preceded him into the backyard. He closed the gate behind him, rattled it to make sure it was locked and then handed a dog lead to Dean. “Why did we not know this, pretty boy?”
“For exactly that reason. I can live without you teasing me.”
“Oh, I think not! Wait until I tell Mimi. No way will she let you get out of going in the next calendar.”
“She’ll need to sell it to me. I get paid to show off this body. I’m not keen to give it away for free, even if it is for charity.” Dean leaned down and slipped the lead onto Fang. A small growl rattled around in his throat and Dean scolded him, before clipping the lead around his neck.
“It can only be good for publicity, surely.”
“Hmm… maybe. Anyway, Nate bought beers, so no more talk about how much the ladies want me. Let’s get stuck into that carton before he decides to go home and take it with him.”
“No early home time for me tonight. I’m drinking and sleeping on the couch if I have to.”
“Stressful weekend?” Jasper sat beside him and took a beer.
“You have no idea. Apparently, Dean here knew Kelly was safe, while I was off reporting her missing to Edward.” He shook his head. “I thought she was dead!”
Dean held up his hands again. “In my defence, I never heard you mention her name so I didn’t know who you were talking about.”
“I’m not blaming you. Just marvelling at how the world works. Do you have a number for her?”
“Nope. She said she wouldn’t have time to replace the phone until she got home.”
“Damn. If she calls you will you give her my number, please?”
“Of course. Now that I know it’s Kelly, I can see why you might be reluctant to set off on that big overseas adventures. She’s a catch.” Dean groaned as Nate glared at him. “She’s also a lovely person.” He shook his head as he continued, “I can’t believe you’re the jealous type. You’ve always seemed so cool, calm and collected.”
“Yeah, but he’s usually single.” Jasper laughed as Fang ran a quick lap of the fence line. “Now he has something to protect, he’s getting all manly on us.”
“Well, he’s the opposite of you then.” Ruben teased. “You’ve been whipped Jasper. We can all see it.”
Jasper rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I hang out with you guys. Mimi is so much nicer to me than you all are.”
“We’ve known you forever. It’s our job to keep your head from getting too big.”
“That ship sailed a long time ago.” Nate laughed as Fang found a stick and settled down to chew on the end. “The best we can hope for now is to stop it growing any larger.”