Page 62 of Outback Secrets

‘So, you sold the supermarkets and came here?’

‘Yeah … A local businessman bought our Monument store, and I sold the Silver Ridge one to a supermarket chain that planned to knock it down and build their own. The town wasn’t very happy with me—they didn’t want big business ruining their small-town charm, but I didn’t care. I had to get the hell out of America. I had citizenship here because of Mom, and the best damn thing about it …’

‘Our strict gun laws?’ she finished when his voice trailed off.

He nodded.

She squeezed his hand again. ‘I don’t blame you.’

He started trembling—the shock of having spoken about this properly for the first time in a long time taking hold. ‘Please don’t tell anyone.’

‘Why?’ she asked.

‘Because … because in Silver Ridge I became that tragic guy from the grocery stores who lost all his loved ones in a shooting. It changed how people behaved around me. And I don’t need other people’s pity as a constant reminder of everything I’ve lost. As if I’ll ever forget. But here, here in Bunyip Bay, I’m just Liam the publican—I can live with that guy.’

Left unsaid was the fact he couldn’t live with the other guy.

‘It’s okay.’ Henri pressed her finger against his lip, just to the right of the split. It tingled beneath her touch. ‘Your secret’s safe with me. I promise.’

He felt the tension rush out of his lungs. Because he believed her.

‘You wanna go home now?’ she asked.

‘Yeah.’

They stood, and as they walked in silence, Henri slipped her hand into his. She held it firmly until they got back to the ute.

‘You know,’ she said when they were back upstairs in his apartment and kicking off their shoes. ‘Your couch is nowhere near as comfortable as it looks. But … there’s really plenty of room in your bed … We could always share it?’

‘Thanks,’ he managed after serious hesitation, ‘but I’ll be fine on the couch. You take the bed. I’ll see you in the morning.’

As much as he craved the feeling of lying alongside Henri, he needed to be alone a while. Besides, if there was any night his terrors were going to return, this would be it.

He only hoped Henri was a deep sleeper.