‘I’ll keep the office ticking over without you somehow. Guess who else is here?’
Crap. ‘Not the police again?’
‘No. Charlie. He turned up an hour ago and not quite so mopey as he was yesterday, so that’s a win. Talking things out with the docs down in Longreach might have sorted him out.’
‘Let’s hope so.’
Hux spied the keys to his ute lying on the hotel room floor beside his jeans, his boots and yesterday’s boxer shorts. He’d been so tired when he’d turned up, he’d dropped everything where he stood. And after a dinner of biscuits and vending machine crap and no breakfast, he was feeling weak as a kitten. Man, he hadn’t had a sleepless night since—
Oh god. Now he remembered what had happened. Somewhere between getting back to the Yindi Creek Hotel and collapsing into his bed like a felled tree, he’d had a conversation with Joanne Tan. In the bathroom. With dim lighting. There’d been skin, and touching, and—
‘You still there, mate?’ boomed Phaedra into his ear, making him blink.
‘Yeah. Sorry. Got distracted.’
‘I’ll be paying what bills I can with the money left in the account and then I’ll choof off for a bit and switch the office phone over to my mobile. We’re out of loo paper and teabags. I’ll call you if we get a booking for tomorrow. Oh, and hey, Charlie tells me you’re going to look into this missing guy yourself. You found out anything yet?’
‘Phaeds, until I’ve had coffee and at least two rashers of bacon I’m not up to answering questions.’
TYSON: Mate, you’re making me drool. Hurry up and get dressed, will you?
Hux said goodbye to Phaedra and dragged the pillow over his face to cut out the sunlight. The details of his post-dawn tryst with Jo came back with unnecessary clarity.
‘Hux,’ he said to himself. ‘You are a total moron.’
The weather gauge by the bar said the temperature had cracked forty-one degrees, but Maggie—hallelujah—had already cranked the pub’s aircon. After letting Possum out to pee, Hux found the publican in the old shipping container she used as a cool room.
‘Am I too late for breakfast?’
‘About three hours too late, but I’ll make an exception.’
‘You’re an angel, Maggie.’ A meal, a little recuperation time, and he’d be ready to go find Jo and apologise.
‘I know, pet. An angel with zero tolerance for hotel guests who expect me to let their annoying, farty little dog sleep in my bed with me. Where were you all night?’
‘Sleeping on a plastic chair. Were you feeding him cheese last night, Maggie? It messes with his system.’
She snorted and he grinned. ‘Am I forgiven for leaving you in charge of Possum so long if I promise to call the plumber again and see if I can get a date for having my water pipe fixed?’
She blew a kiss at him. ‘That’s my boy. Now. Bacon? Eggs?’
‘Throw a stiff black coffee into the mix and that sounds perfect.’
‘Just count those boxes on the high shelves for me first, will you? Then we can head back inside.’
‘Will do. Um … also … you know the woman that’s staying upstairs?’
Maggie dropped the clipboard she’d been holding onto a stack of beer cartons and turned to face him. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘I may need to find her. Apologise. I, er, kind of barged into the bathroom on her this morning.’
‘Gavin Gunn Huxtable, that is not okay! You need to apologise ASAP, do you hear me?’
‘I already said I would. You know, my mother and sisters boss me around plenty already. I don’t need you bossing me around as well, Maggie.’
‘Darl, my bossiness is a gift. It gets stuff done.’
Hux chuckled, suddenly feeling a lot better than he had when he’d woken. ‘It sure does.’
