Page 7 of The Side Road (Love Chronicles #3)

THE BMW

A scream woke Oliver. He opened his eyes to find Tash standing at the far end of the sofa.

A horrified look crossed her face as she stared at him.

He had an erection, clearly visible through his boxer briefs.

Where was the blanket? He found it on the floor and drew it over himself. Wearily, he sat up.

‘Honey, I’m sorry you had to see that. It’s normal. I have a penis and sometimes, in the morning, men have a lot of testosterone and that causes?—’

She screamed again, covering her ears with her hands.

Not the best start to what was sure to be a long day.

Tash disappeared into the bathroom.

Oliver swung his legs over the sofa and placed his feet on the floor. He figured he had about three or four hours of sleep. Ordering a new bed was a priority.

From outside the window, he heard a motorbike kicking over.

He paused, listening to the deep rattle and hum of the engine.

It was an old bike, like a Norton or a vintage BMW.

The rider gave the engine a little more throttle.

It was a great, reverberating rumble. An unforgettable tone.

Although the throttle sounded a bit glitchy, which was not surprising, rare bikes liked to be handled in a certain way.

But once you got the hang of it, they rode like a dream.

A dog barked. Not an annoying yap that signalled anxiety or fear; this was a deep, low-pitched woof – almost playful.

Oliver got to his feet. Standing at the window, he drew the tatty curtain.

Outside, parked directly in front of the house, was a BMW with a sidecar.

Standing beside the bike, wearing white jeans with a short red top, was a woman.

Her top, covered in daisies, had thin shoulder straps and a long fringe that finished at the waistband of her jeans.

The woman’s sandy hair was loose, falling over her bare shoulders.

When she opened the door of the sidecar, a black Labrador jumped inside.

With some surprise, he realised the rider was Mia. Leo’s favourite niece. The bringer of gin and impromptu cocktail maker. A woman who wore boots and skorts. A woman who sighed under the moonlight and owned an accommodating black dog.

She noticed him at the window, so he raised his hand.

Her eyes travelled down his body. She recoiled in shock. The look she gave him was pure contempt. Naked, except for his boxer briefs, he still had a hard-on.

He yanked the curtain across the window, but the force caused the rail to slip off the bracket. Everything collapsed, covering Oliver in dust and pieces of tatty curtain.

From outside the window, Mia shook her head. She slipped on a leather jacket, pulled on her helmet, and jumped on the bike. He watched as the bike rolled down the street.

Mia rode a BMW, and her dog sat in the sidecar.

It was the cutest thing he had ever seen.

To his surprise, it had been a long, sleepless night, but he found himself smiling.

He shook the dust from his hair and made a mental note to fix the curtain rail.

His to-do list of household tasks was growing.

Tash emerged from the shower, semi-clothed, dripping wet, wearing a singlet and her underpants.

‘Are you showering in your underwear?’ he asked.

‘I look like a bug.’ She wrapped a towel around herself, sniffed and scurried, dripping wet, into her bedroom.

After jumping in the shower, Oliver threw on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans and headed into the kitchen.

Tash’s hair was still damp. Combing it straight, she pulled it behind her ears. With placemats, napkins, and a full range of condiments, including sauces and mustards, she prepared the table for two.

Oliver checked the fridge. Overnight, more food hadn’t found its way into the refrigerator.

‘Toast,’ he suggested.

‘On the weekend, Nan and I enjoyed a full breakfast.’ Tash shuffled in her chair, adjusting her knife and fork.

Oliver hadn’t prepared a proper meal in years.

Cattle stations employed cooks. Before that, a hot breakfast was something a cafe provided.

Cold food, he had mastered. Interesting sandwiches and wraps were his speciality.

Creating a simple salad was not a problem.

He could put together an antipasto platter.

After a few early culinary disasters, including a curry that smoked and a pepper steak that caught fire, he knew to stay within his lane.

Eggs on toast, he could manage. The only decision to make was the type: scrambled, poached, or hard-boiled. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate hard-boiled eggs – but they reminded him of his childhood. Elsie’s old kitchen felt nostalgic, so it would be hard-boiled.

He collected the eggs from the fridge. Found bread in the cupboard. After filling a pan with water, he set it on the stove. ‘Honey, can you handle the toast?’ he asked.

Tash shook her head. ‘Nan always did the toast. Two pieces, not too dark.’

He stared at her.

‘Please,’ she added.

Oliver let his request for help slide. Given his recent arrival, he was not going to insist. Changes would happen; it was inevitable. But this was their first day together, and he wouldn’t insist.

‘Do you know where my belongings are?’ he asked. ‘I left clothes and a few boxes in the back room. There was also a bed. My bed.’

‘You lost your bed?’

‘Someone took it. Interesting, isn’t it? I own this house, but nothing here belongs to me.’

‘I belong to you,’ Tash said.

He kissed the top of her head. Then he handed her the sampler. ‘I fixed your knitting.’

She smiled, impressed. ‘Did you YouTube it?’

‘I did.’

She held up the knitting. ‘Good job, Ollie.’

The water on the stove boiled. He submerged the eggs and wiped his hands on a towel. ‘I was thinking – and this is not definite, it’s just an idea – how would you feel about getting…a dog?’

Tash shook her head.

‘You don’t want a pet?’

‘I do. I really want a pet, but could we get a bunny? Please, please, can we get a bunny?’

‘But dogs are awesome. They become your best friend. We could train it together. Take it for walks in the park.’ Meet other, like-minded, beautiful, dog-friendly women .

‘Bunnies are awesome, too.’

‘I’ll think about it.’ He wondered if there was an organisation called Rescue Rabbits, where parents could adopt exceptionally old animals. Perhaps the bunny phase would be short-lived. After that, they could get an awesome dog.

With a slotted spoon, Oliver lifted the eggs from the bubbling water. He placed the bread into the toaster and began to peel the eggs. ‘There was a woman here last night, Leo’s niece, Mia. Do you know her?’

‘Yes. She used to live with Leo and Blanche, but now she lives on the hill. She hung out with me while we were waiting for you to get back.’

‘She did?’

‘Yes. She picked me up from school because Blanche had a hair appointment and Leo can’t drive since the incident . I rode in the sidecar with Snood, her rescue dog. I’m telling you, it was so much fun. I nearly laughed my head off.’

‘You rode in the sidecar?’

‘Yes. She called you to check if it was okay, but you didn’t answer. I told her you’d be okay with it.’ Tash nodded.

Oliver nodded back. ‘Okay. You felt safe. You had a helmet?’

‘Yes. But, Dad, she’s not very good. She hit every pothole in the road.

’ Tash giggled. ‘I can ride better than her, and I’m only twelve.

I wore Mia’s helmet, which was too big for me, and Mia wore Leo’s, which was so big it fell over her eyes.

’ Tash continued to laugh. ‘It was hilarious. Leo is still giving her lessons and boy does she need them!’

Oliver frowned. He consoled himself with the fact that they wouldn’t have travelled very far or fast.

‘What’s a snood?’

‘It’s a scarf that you wrap around your neck. Mia taught me how to knit. Mary and I joined her knitting club. ’

‘How is Mary Constantinople?’

Glaring at her father, Tash exhaled slowly through her nose. ‘I’ve told you, it’s Kohlschreiber . Her family are German. It’s racist to make fun of people’s names.’

‘Okay. Back to Mia. How long has she been here?’

‘Not sure, but Nan said she had to leave the city because of a bad boyfriend.’

‘Really? How bad?’

‘There aren’t different levels of bad. There’s just good or bad.’

‘If there were different levels, how bad was he? From one to ten. Did he cheat on her? Was he controlling or mean…or worse?’

‘That’s all I know.’ Tash lowered her voice. ‘But Nan said it was the dog that saved Mia and not the other way around.’

A smile crept over Oliver’s lips. A small laugh escaped from his chest.

‘Why is that funny?’

‘It’s not.’

He sliced the boiled eggs, placed them on the toast, and handed the plate to Tash.

She took a bite and wiped her mouth. ‘What did you do to this egg? It’s very good.’

‘I just boiled it and peeled it.’

‘You peeled an egg!’ She stared at him. ‘Are you kidding? I’ve never seen anyone peel an egg. How is it even possible to peel an egg?’

‘Oh, it’s possible.’

‘That’s amazing.’

‘It’s just an egg.’

Oliver began stacking the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. ‘It’s Saturday. Don’t you have sports? Has soccer started? ’

‘Nan missed the sign-up date. But I’m in the Sock Club. I need two fifty-gram balls of wool…or maybe just one, one-hundred-gram ball. Four-ply. A pair of double-pointed needles. And a twenty-three-centimetre circular needle – two millimetres in size.’

‘Write that down.’

‘Wait, make that two-point five needles. No, wait, get me both sizes. I have to make another yarn sampler.’ She considered her father. ‘We don’t use the dishwasher. It uses too much water.’

He continued stacking the used dishes.

‘I’m meeting Mary at the craft shop. You can drop me there while you do the shopping – that’s what Nan did.’

‘Works for me. Start making a list of food.’ He closed the dishwasher and switched on the machine. ‘Honey, where’s my car?’

‘Nan lost it.’

‘In a bet?’