Little Girl Lost by Janet Gover Page B

with what life had thrown at him.
    When he got back to the Isa tomorrow, he’d apologise to Linda. He was going to be a father. It was time to man up and do the right thing.
    The Coorah Creek town sign flashed past, and instinctively he eased back on the accelerator, driving from habit as his mind continued its uncomfortable musings. When the truck rolled to a stop, he realised he’d pulled up in front of the Coorah Creek store. He had freight on board for Ken, but it was right at the front of the load. He was also carrying stuff for the mine. That would have to be unloaded first. There was no reason to stop at the store.
    But he had.
    For a minute he thought about starting the engine and simply driving on, but Ken – or Sarah – would have seen him pull up. To drive away without explanation would be rude. He reached for the door handle.
    As he walked through the store’s front door, Sarah was just emerging from the door at the back. Her head was turned to look back at someone behind her, and she was laughing. The sound danced through the air between them and he felt as if he was bathed in its glow.
    Sarah turned her head and saw him. The laughter turned to a gentle, happy smile.
    ‘Hi, Pete.’
    How could two words sound better than the greatest symphony ever written?
    ‘Hi, Sarah.’
    She looked amazing. So bright and fresh and so terribly young. His heart skipped a beat, but then reality crashed home to him. She was young. Too young. He had no right to feel a surge of desire for this girl who had once called him uncle. And especially not when back in Mount Isa, Linda was carrying his child and looking to build a life with him. He had to stop himself before he let a passing attraction become more than that.
    ‘I only stopped by to tell you I have a load on board for the mine. It has to come out first. I’ll be back later.’
    ‘Okay.’ Her eyes twinkled as if she was in on some joke of which he was unaware.
    ‘So, I mean, don’t close up if I’m running late. This mine load might take a bit of time.’
    ‘I’ll be here, Pete,’ she said. ‘Waiting for you.’
    There was something in the way she said it. It was an invitation far more appealing than Linda’s kiss last night. But it was an invitation he could never accept.
    ‘Ah, good. Then.’ He turned to go.
    He heard her move behind him. ‘Pete,’ she called.
    He turned. She had opened a fridge and was holding a bottle of water.
    ‘On the house,’ Sarah said. ‘You sound a bit dry.’
    She tossed the water and he caught it.
    ‘Thanks.’
    He didn’t open the water until he was back in the cab of the truck. He twisted the top and took a long deep swallow of the cool liquid. He’d drunk the whole bottle before he moved to touch his ignition. The huge truck moved slowly away from the kerb in the direction of the mine.
    She was waiting for him when he got back to town a couple of hours later. The lights in the store were still on and as he pulled up he could see her through the window. She was moving things around on one of the shelves. He felt it again, that instant surge of longing. What would happen, he wondered, if he didn’t drive away after unloading the supplies for the store? He could suggest they had dinner together at the pub. Just a burger and a beer. There was nothing wrong with that, was there?
    There was, he suddenly realised because, for him at least, it wasn’t just a burger and a beer. The little girl who had held a special place in his heart had grown up and something about her now called to him in a very different way and that was not right. For a start, she was too young. He honestly didn’t know if she was over the legal drinking age. And then there was the situation he now faced. He couldn’t drag someone as young and innocent as Sarah into the mess of his own making. It wouldn’t be fair to her or to Linda.
    Pete determined to unload as quickly as possible and get out of Coorah Creek before he did something he would later