Page 146 of Crossed Wires: The Complete Series

Chapter7

Amy looked at the blue mountains in the distance and knew she’d come home. After a tearful farewell to Andrew in Chicago two days earlier, it had taken her all of five minutes to decide she wanted to return to Farpoint. America held no fascination for her without him in it.

She sniffed the light scent of eucalyptus from the gum trees and remembered Andrew’s complaint about the way her country smelled like medicine. Now she wasn’t sure she could ever inhale the faint odor without thinking of him.

She was home. Back in the land of brown eggs covered in feathers and poo, spiders on the loo, no tipping and super-short showers that turned cold too quickly.

As much as she’d wanted to escape Chicago and its memories of Andrew, Farpoint didn’t seem very welcoming either. Bloody hell. What had she done? Lived a lifetime in ignorant bliss, moving from moment to moment without a care in the world. In one week, Andrew had made her care too much. About him.

Surely this feeling would fade with time.

Wouldn’t it?

She hoped so. Right now, her heart ached and she felt like a teenage girl suffering her first lost love. She was considering holing herself up in her cottage with Harper for a week, eating ice cream from the carton and belting out one sad song after another. She was the cliché of a broken-hearted woman. Marc and Keith would have a field day with this, but she didn’t give a shit.

She’d thought coming home would help. Wandering around an empty house in Chicago for a week felt too unbearable so she’d decided to come home to be with the people she loved. She also consoled herself over cutting her vacation short with the thought that, this way, she’d have a chance to hang out with Harper.

Of course, that was going to have to start after she crawled out of bed approximately three days from now. She’d never felt so exhausted. One week of sleep-deprived, sex-filled nights followed by two days on nonstop travel had zapped every ounce of energy left in her body. She suspected she could close her eyes and not open them again for days, maybe years.

Even then, she still wouldn’t want to wake up. Her dreams of Andrew would have to sustain her from now on and she could only have those while asleep.

She stepped out of the ute she’d rented at the Cobar airport and was promptly greeted by Jett, Keith’s black Kelpie. The dog wasn’t too far ahead of his master and soon she found herself wrapped up in hugs and greetings and questions of “What the hell are you doing home already?” from her two best mates.

Only after Keith, then Marc released her, did Amy spy Harper. Her friend’s familiar features and crystal blue eyes reminded her too much of the man she’d just lost. Amy took two steps and fell into Harper’s embrace, tears escaping despite her best efforts to hold them at bay.

“Hey,” Harper said consolingly. “Please tell me you didn’t come home early because of me and that stupid phone call.”

Amy shook her head. “No. Andrew…” It was all she could say before her throat seized up again.

“Oh my God. What the hell did he do? I’ll kill him.”

Amy laughed through her tears. “He didn’t do anything.”

Harper looked perplexed. “Then why are you crying?”

“Because I fell in love with the stupid man. And now he’s back at work and I’m here and, God, I’m such an idiot.”

If Amy hadn’t been so upset, she would have laughed at Harper’s slack-jawed expression. “You fell in love? With my brother?”

Amy nodded.

Harper’s shoulders drooped. “I’m so sorry, Amy. I should have warned you. It’s just… I mean my brother may be a bit of a player, but he’s never led a woman on or toyed with her emotions. I had no idea he would use you and then?—”

“He didn’t use me,” Amy interrupted. “I think he might have fallen in love with me too.” Neither of them had said the words, both cursed with too much self-preservation. She couldn’t tell him how she felt knowing she had to leave and that nothing could come of her feelings. And besides, who the bloody hell fell in love with someone after only a week?

“Amy! You’re home!”

Amy glanced behind Harper and saw Annie emerging from the big house. The sight of her friend caught her off-guard.Annie did.Her friend had fallen in love with Hunter Sullivan after a weeklong visit to Australia. In fact, she’d fallen so deeply for the boss at Farpoint, she’d uprooted her life in New York and moved halfway around the world to be with him.

Annie offered Amy a warm welcome-home hug. “We weren’t expecting you until next weekend.”

Amy shrugged, hoping her tears had dried enough to go unnoticed. “I got a little homesick.” It was a lie and Annie was too shrewd to be fooled. Even so, she let it go.

“Hazel will be thrilled to see you. She’s mentioned several times how much she’s missed your spirit around this place.”

Amy smiled, but didn’t have a chance to respond.

Harper was still looking at her. In fact, her gaze hadn’t moved since Amy had dropped her “love” bomb. “Andrew is in love with you?”