Bonjour Cherie Read Free Page A

worry. He won’t hurt you. He was just being friendly, weren’t you, mate?’ In answer, the giant’s tail whisked even more frantically. ‘You okay?’ Zach looked at me.
    â€˜I guess,’ I said shakily, eying Dave warily.
    â€˜I thought you were going to stay in the truck?’
    That reminded me why I had gotten out in the first place. The reason now seemed even more urgent than before.
    â€˜Umm …’ I was so glad he couldn’t see my cheeks redden in this light. “Well, I need to use your facilities,’ I said, trying to sound casual.
    â€˜No worries,’ Zach said. ‘Just follow me.’ He led the way around the back of the house, where a light was on in the kitchen. I was glad to see that Dave, who had enthusiastically followed us, was left outside. Zach opened the door for me and said, ‘Just down the hall to your right.’
    My eyes flitted curiously around as I took in a neat, wood panelled kitchen that didn’t have much in the way of decoration. However, I did notice a wine rack on the bench top. That surprised me. I could have sworn he was more the beer drinking type. Most likely the wine belonged to his folks.
    I reached the small, clean washroom with relief. As I washed my hands, I looked in the mirror, noticing my mascara had smudged, giving me large panda eyes. Great, I thought, another thing for Zach Mills to find amusing. I washed my face as well as I could, and decided not to reapply any make-up. I wasn’t out to impress anyone, that’s for sure.
    Zach was leaning against the kitchen bench, sipping a glass of water when I returned. ‘You want a cold drink or … a coffee or anything?’ I saw a twinkle in his eye as he said coffee. No doubt he was remembering a few hours ago when I’d turned down his offer of coffee. Don’t think he’d forget that in a hurry.
    â€˜I’m good,’ I said. ‘I probably should get back to my car. I wouldn’t want anyone to … ’
    â€˜Steal it? Sure. We’ll get going.’ He put the glass down.
    Thinking about who would even bother with my battered little car, my face broke into a grin. ‘Well, that would be optimistic thinking, wouldn’t it? The insurance is probably worth more than the car.’
    He laughed. ‘Yeah, but then I’d have to drive you home and you wouldn’t want that, would you?’
    I suddenly realised that I might not mind that at all. Without meaning to, I looked at him and there must have been something in my expression, because suddenly the teasing glint in his eyes was replaced by something else. What can I say? We shared a moment.
    But before either of us could do anything about it, Dave, who was waiting for us outside the kitchen door, gave a deep impatient bark. I didn’t know if I was relieved or disappointed. But whatever it was, it had disappeared. I moved towards the door. ‘We’d better go.’
    Zach must have felt the same way because he was at the door before me, opening it, ‘Yeah, sure. Down, Dave, and, for God’s sake, shut up.’
    We were back in the ute and heading towards town before I felt more myself. Don’t know what happened in the kitchen, but I was definitely over it. Perhaps it was just because Ihadn’t had a boyfriend in over a year. And since André Le Blanc had arrived in town, I hadn’t wanted one, I reminded myself.
    But at least the atmosphere between Zach and me was less frigid than it had been coming here. I could just about speak to him normally. ‘So, why Dave ?’ I asked.
    â€˜You mean the name?’
    â€˜It’s a bit unusual, for a dog.’
    â€˜It’s from David and Goliath.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜You know, the Bible story where the small guy, David, defeats the giant, Goliath, against all the odds.’
    â€˜Sure. But the giant was Goliath not David, so why didn’t you call him Goliath? Oh, I get