Shield Read online

  “Anything else you need me to do?”

  “Nah. Just get the form filled out.” He stared after Kay, effectively dismissing Elijah.

  Elijah wandered back to the ambulance. Noah’s parents were thanking Jamie and the paramedics again. “Come on,” the father said. “Let’s go get ice cream.” Noah perked up and held out his arms to his dad.

  Jamie lay on the stretcher, an ice pack on his elevated foot.

  “What did Guy say?” Elijah asked.

  “It’s just a sprain. I’ve got to keep it rested for a day or so.” He grimaced.

  “Can you drive?”

  Guy answered for him. “Not today.”

  Jamie frowned. “Hopefully I can by Monday, otherwise I’ll have to get Mum to take me into work.”

  And there was the downside to crushing on Jamie—he still lived with his parents.

  “I can give you a lift home from the depot,” Elijah said.

  Jamie hesitated. “That would be great.”

  Why the hesitation? They’d laughed together on the walk back. Was he really that upset about Siobhan’s suggestion people might think he was gay? Jamie didn’t strike him as someone who was insecure about his reputation. He handed Jamie the form. “Morgan wants you to fill this out.”

  Jamie groaned. “You got a pen?”

  Lincoln walked over, took one out of his shirt pocket. “Here. Want a lift home?”

  “Elijah’s taking me,” Jamie said.

  Elijah grinned. At least Jamie wasn’t fobbing him off when he got another offer.

  “All right. Take care of yourself. I’ll see you Sunday night.” Lincoln went to talk to Morgan.

  Jamie filled out the form, his forehead rumpled as he concentrated. Cute. Everything about Jamie Zanetti was attractive, from his luscious dark brown eyes, to his eyelashes which went on and on, and the designer stubble, always trimmed to perfection. His short brown hair wasn’t quite styled to Elijah’s level, but it was always neat and even though the bright orange clothing wasn’t subtle, somehow Jamie managed to look damn fine in it.

  He’d been lusting after Jamie since February when he’d seen him for the first time after moving back to town. OK, so that wasn’t quite true. Jamie had starred in a number of his teenage fantasies as well, even though he’d been certain Jamie was straight. Besides, Elijah hadn’t been confident enough in those days to even consider asking someone out.

  “Done.” Jamie handed Elijah the form. “Can you give it to Morgan?”

  “Sure.” Their fingers brushed as he took the paper and a thrill ran through Elijah’s body. Yeah, he was seriously smitten. And it wasn’t just Jamie’s hotness, he was a nice guy as well. Seeing him reassure Noah and blink back tears at the reunion had warmed Elijah’s heart.

  He had to get to the bottom of Jamie’s sexuality. He snorted at his pun, shaking his head. He’d organise the Netflix binge session soon.

  As Elijah returned to the ambulance, his gaze caught two people at the base of the stairs to the restaurant. The owner, Richard Patton and his daughter, Kay.

  “Dad, it’s time to go home.” Kay tugged on her father’s arm, but he didn’t move. Instead he stared at the ambulance.

  “What’s going on?” Richard asked.

  Kay’s sigh was audible. “I told you, Dad. A boy went missing, but they’ve found him.” Kay glared at Elijah, pulling Richard towards the car.

  Kay hadn’t been particularly friendly to him when he’d worked at the winery, but since Richard had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, she was a lot more gruff. Not that he blamed her. Suddenly she was in charge of the whole winery as well as dealing with a father who was losing more and more of his memory.

  The sheds beyond the playground caught Elijah’s attention. He’d spent a couple of months working there, mostly picking grapes and helping around the property. The buildings where the wine was made had been strictly off limits to plebs like him. Richard had always been paranoid about people wanting to steal his secrets.

  Not that it mattered. He now had a dream job.

  He strolled to the ambulance where Guy was giving Jamie clearance to leave.

  Jamie shuffled to the edge of the stretcher.

  “Let me help.” Again, Elijah tucked his shoulder under Jamie’s arm and wrapped a hand around his waist. Maybe he was a sad little panda for feeling this damn good having Jamie so close to him.

  They moved to the SES land cruiser waiting for them and Elijah opened the door.

  “Bit unco were you?” Brenton teased as Jamie got in.

  “Had an argument with a rock,” Jamie said, flashing him a grin.

  “You just wanted to get out of the depot audit Morgan threatened us with,” someone else said.

  “Hey, at least he found the boy.” Elijah’s arm brushed Jamie’s as he got in next to him.

  “Thank God for that,” Brenton said. “I was getting worried.”

  “We all were,” Jamie said.

  “Three cheers for Jamie,” Siobhan called from the front seat.

  At the rousing cheers, Elijah grinned. A successful outing was always cause for celebration.

  At the depot, Morgan asked, “How are you getting home?”

  “Elijah’s giving me a lift,” Jamie said.

  Morgan nodded. “The two of you can go. The rest of us will pack up.”

  “Thanks.”

  Elijah smiled. Finally a chance to have Jamie to himself. They got into his blue hatchback and Elijah said, “I might need directions. It’s not the same road as Kit’s is it?”

  “Take a left out of here.”

  His car seemed incredibly small with Jamie in the passenger seat, the hint of his spicy aftershave wafting between them. He needed to say something. “What have you got planned for the weekend?”

  “I was going to play football on Sunday, but that’s a bust.”

  “Good point.” Nerves swelled in his stomach. He should just ask Jamie out for coffee, something totally casual and figure out where Jamie’s interests lay. Jamie wasn’t the type of guy who would be offended by the offer of a date. It shouldn’t ruin the casual friendship they had.

  OK, not so much a friendship, more of a small-town thing where Elijah’s friends were friends with Jamie’s friends. They only really saw each other at SES training, though occasionally bumped into each other if Elijah watched the football or the motocross. And usually he went because he hoped to run into Jamie.

  He was pathetic.

  In Europe, he’d had no problems asking guys out. Though he had hung out in gay bars most of the time.

  “What about you?”

  Jamie’s voice startled Elijah from his thoughts. “I’ll be milking at Kit’s place both afternoons.” She had asked him to work a weekend shift because she was helping Fleur with wedding preparations on Saturday and had dinner with Lincoln’s parents on Sunday. He didn’t mind. Kit was one of his best friends and he was thankful she’d given him a job doing what he loved.

  Silence fell. It shouldn’t be so hard. Normally people couldn’t shut him up. “I’m glad Noah was all right.”

  Jamie sighed, ran a hand through his luscious hair. “I was getting worried. The kid wandered further than I thought he would.”

  “I’m glad you heard him. He was well camouflaged.”

  “Yeah. I hate the search and rescues,” he said. “Not knowing what we’ll find. My stomach gets tied in knots each time we’re called out.” His voice was gruff.

  Elijah’s heart went out to him. “You’ve been on a few?”

  Jamie nodded. “The last one wasn’t great—suicide.” His voice was dull.

  Elijah reached out and squeezed his hand. “That must have been tough.”

  Jamie twisted his hand and squeezed him back before letting go. “It was, but it’s not uncommon. Searches usually involve kids, the elderly or the mentally ill. Only occasionally is it a hiker who’s lost.”

  When he’d joined the SES, Elijah had expected to be doing things like helpi
ng with storm damage more than any real rescue missions. Though now winter had arrived, there’d probably be more storm work.

  “Turn right here.” Jamie’s voice made him jump.

  Get a grip. He noted the cheese factory sign on the turn-off and something clicked. “Your parents own the cheese factory, don’t they?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you help out much?”

  “If they need it.”

  It was nice he helped, though they were back to the downer of him living with his parents. Still he’d only been back in Blackbridge since the beginning of the year and it was hard to find a place to rent. Elijah had got lucky when he’d moved back.

  Elijah turned into the cheese factory driveway and Jamie directed him to the cute little farmhouse surrounded by beautiful lush gardens. A black Labrador ran out barking.

  “Sasha’s friendly,” Jamie said, reaching for the door handle.

  “Let me help you inside.”

  Elijah hurried around to Jamie’s side. The porch light was on and Jamie used the stair bannister to hop up the steps onto the wooden verandah that encircled the house.

  “We’ll go around the back,” Jamie said.

  That suited Elijah fine. More time with his arm around Jamie. Light spilled through the glass window in the back door. As Elijah opened it, a rich garlicky smell wafted towards him from the kitchen. “Smells like someone has been cooking.”

  “Mum,” Jamie said.

  They shuffled into the kitchen where Jamie’s mother, a small dark-haired woman, stirred a pot on the stove. “Hey, Mum.”

  She gasped and hurried over. “What happened?” She pulled out a chair at the table for Jamie.

  “Twisted my ankle. It’s nothing serious. This is Elijah.”

  Elijah held out his hand. “Nice to see you again, Mrs Zanetti.” He’d met her briefly at Kit and Lincoln’s wedding a couple of months back.

  She pushed it aside and hugged him with a grin. “Call me Rosa.” She squatted to inspect Jamie’s ankle and whistled. “Have you had an x-ray? Do you need any painkillers?” She pulled out another chair for him to put his ankle on.

  “It’s fine, Mum. The paramedics gave me something.”

  “Oh, did you find the boy?”

  “Yeah. Just before dark.”

  “Good. His parents must have been frantic. I remember when you were in kindy and visited Kit on your own.” She put a hand to her chest. “Scared the life out of me for a good ten minutes until we found you climbing over the gate between our properties.”

  Jamie flushed. “Elijah doesn’t need to hear stories of what I did as a kid.”

  Elijah chuckled. “Sure he does. I need something to prove Jamie Zanetti isn’t perfect.” He grinned at Rosa. “No one has a bad word to say about him.”

  “I should hope not,” Rosa said. “He’s perfect.” She kissed Jamie’s cheek. “Except when he’s not doing what his mother tells him.”

  Jamie groaned.

  “What’s all the noise?” Jamie’s father walked into the kitchen and glanced at Jamie’s ankle. “What have you done?”

  “It’s just a sprain.”

  “Damn. I was hoping to get your help in the shop tomorrow. Elsie called in sick and your mum and I have plans for our anniversary.”

  Jamie hesitated. “I should be able to put some weight on it.”

  What was he thinking? “Guy told you to stay off it all weekend, he ordered elevation and ice.”

  Jamie scowled at him. “It’s their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.”

  How beautiful. They shouldn’t miss out. Elijah hesitated. Though maybe it would seem strange. Never mind, they could always say no. “I have the morning free,” he said. “If you can show me what to do, I can help out.”

  Mr Zanetti frowned. “Sorry, who are you?”

  Oh, right. He held out his hand. “Elijah Johnson. We met at Kit and Lincoln’s wedding.”

  Mr Zanetti shook it. “Right. I thought you looked familiar. Harold.”

  How could Elijah convince him, he was reliable? “Jamie could even stay seated and supervise, tell me what to do. I just need to be gone by three so I can milk Kit’s cows.”

  “You’re Kit’s farmhand!” Harold made the connection. “She’s always praising you.”

  Elijah flushed. “The feeling’s mutual.”

  Harold glanced at his son. “What do you think?”

  Jamie nodded. “We’ll manage. Joy will be there as well, won’t she?”

  “Yeah.” He turned to Elijah. “Thanks so much. We’ll pay you going rates. It’s been a while since we’ve had a Saturday off, and I’ve got something special planned.”

  “Which he won’t tell me about,” Rosa added.

  “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I did.” The affectionate smile and the way his gaze tracked his wife’s movements in the kitchen showed Elijah how much they still loved each other after all these years. It was sweet, the kind of love he wanted in his life.

  “Why don’t you stay for dinner?” Rosa asked. “It’s just about ready and Harold can fill you in on what’s required.” She went back to the stove.

  Did Jamie want him to stay?

  Jamie smiled and gave a small nod. “Go on. Mum’s food tastes as good as it smells.”

  Elijah’s heart squeezed. “All right. Thanks. I’d love to.”

  Maybe the attraction wasn’t one-sided after all.

  Chapter 2

  Jamie barely tasted his mother’s carbonara. He was too focused on Elijah sitting next to him, looking completely at home while he chatted to Jamie’s parents.

  Jamie shouldn’t be surprised. The man was comfortable wherever he was.

  He wasn’t certain how he felt about Elijah’s offer to help at the cheese factory. Spending the whole day in public with Elijah and hiding his attraction would be hard. What if someone noticed? Maybe he should call Lincoln and ask him to help instead. Or ask Lincoln to do it instead of him. Jamie still had a mountain of end of semester reports to write. No, he’d deal with them later. He couldn’t let his parents down.

  Besides, asking Lincoln would make Elijah feel as if Jamie didn’t trust him. And it wasn’t that. Jamie didn’t trust himself with Elijah. It was easy to hide his attraction when their interactions were brief or they were surrounded by people, but a whole day in the shop together would be hard.

  “I hope your ankle is better for Fleur’s wedding next weekend,” his mum said.

  He was the MC for the reception. “I’m sure it will be.” He flexed his foot, biting back a wince at the pain. He still had a week for it to heal.

  Elijah clapped his hands. “I can’t wait. I’m Will’s best man.” He positively beamed.

  Jamie smiled. Fleur was one of his closest friends and Elijah had shared a house with Fleur’s fiancé, Will. Fleur and Will made a cute couple.

  In fact almost all of his friends were marrying this year. Funny how he’d never considered marriage during the two years he’d been with Sandra. Perhaps he should have ended the relationship, but things had been comfortable enough.

  He glanced at Elijah who was talking about the bucks’ night. Elijah would never settle for comfortable. Jamie wasn’t sure why he had.

  “When do Will’s parents arrive?” his mum asked.

  “Thursday, I think. Will told them they’ll need warm clothing, but they’ll get the clothes in Albany.”

  “Blackbridge will be a shock to them after Goldwyer.” His father cleared the table.

  “Yeah, going from twenty-five to sixteen degrees will take some getting used to.” Elijah grinned, his eyes lighting up, making him shine and the conversation faded into the background.

  Jamie took a breath. It was impossible not to be drawn in as Elijah excitedly talked about the upcoming wedding almost as if he was the one getting married.

  Jamie wanted to be the one who excited him.

  He wanted to see how Elijah’s expression changed when it went from happy to aroused. Jamie shifted as he g
rew hard. Not a thought he should be having sitting at his parents’ dinner table.

  “Is your foot hurting you?” His mother watched him with concern.

  He cleared his throat. “It’s fine, Mum.” If he didn’t say anything else, she’d fuss around him. “I could do with a cup of tea though.”

  “Of course. Would you like one, Elijah?”

  He sighed as she got up to fill the kettle.

  Elijah raised an eyebrow and Jamie smiled. Yeah, he wanted Elijah to stay longer. It was nice to be near him.

  “Yes please, Rosa.”

  It was stupid to think he could ignore his attraction to Elijah. His gut clenched and his pulse became thready. Quietly he focused on his breathing. Was he ready for the assessing looks, the whispers, the rumours?

  Could he handle it this time?

  Would it be as bad as it had been before he’d become the town’s golden boy? He clearly remembered those days as a child when he’d been the butt of everyone’s jokes. His favourite teacher sneering down from the pedestal Jamie had placed him on, telling him he should be ashamed, he was odd. When he couldn’t go anywhere without some kid calling him names. At the time he hadn’t understood what he’d done wrong, but in later years he’d recognised it had been because he hadn’t fit the gender stereotypes.

  Just like now.

  He’d fought hard to earn back their respect and admiration. People liked him and he liked being liked.

  How much disdain would he have to endure again?

  His mother placed a steaming mug of tea in front of him.

  “Thanks.” He wrapped his hands around it, letting the warmth seep into him, calming him.

  “Do I have to wear anything in particular tomorrow?” Elijah asked.

  The image of Elijah naked sprung to mind and Jamie swallowed his smile as his father answered. “We’ll give you an apron, so jeans and T-shirt are fine. We’re always busy in the morning and it gets hot with all the running around.”

  “Great. What time?”

  “Eight-thirty. I’ll come and open. Help you get set up.”

  Jamie shook his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Elijah and I can manage. You wanted to get an early start.”