Floodtide by Judy Nunn

Author:Judy Nunn [Nunn, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: C429, Extratorrents, Kat
ISBN: 9781864712933
Publisher: Random House Australia
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The huge upstairs verandah was crowded and noisy as yet more drinkers jostled their way out from the jam-packed bar, protectively nursing their jugs of beer. The verandah's dozens of tables and chairs were occupied and standing room was at a minimum with barely enough space to throw a punch. But before long there'd be punches thrown nonetheless. The Mermaid Hotel was a rough place on a Saturday night.

Despite the crowd, the heat was not unpleasant. Beneath the corrugated-iron roof, large ceiling fans whirred, and a breeze drifted in from the sea. It was late July, the middle of the dry season.

Mike and Dan had found a spot in the far corner by the wooden-latticed railings, where they'd been drinking steadily for the past hour with a bunch of miners from Hamersley Iron. Mike hadn't met the men before, but then, apart from Dan, Mike didn't really know anyone in Dampier. His trips into town were rare, and he would normally have avoided the Mermaid, but this time he wasn't merely after supplies – he'd run out of funds and was looking for a job. The pub had seemed as good a place as any to make enquiries.

Amongst the hard-drinking men were several equally hard-drinking women, which sometimes spelled trouble – the shortage of available women in Dampier could lead to fierce competition. But tonight the crowd's raucousness was good-natured with little evidence of frayed tempers. Everyone seemed bent on having a good time.

Then the Swede arrived.

Her name was Mia. She was very, very blonde, tanned, figure-perfect and extraordinarily good-looking – a true Nordic beauty. She and her two companions, a man and a woman, cut a swathe through the crowd, men openly ogling as she crossed from the bar door to Dan and the miners at the far end of the verandah. One or two in the crowd greeted the man with her, who was carrying two jugs of beer. 'G'day, Eric,' they said, but they weren't looking at Eric. Nor were they looking at the other woman, despite the fact that she was bosomy and the sort who would normally attract a good deal of attention. All eyes were on Mia. Even those who'd seen her before and knew she was Eric's wife.

Once she was ensconced with the bunch in the corner, the general focus returned to drinking and camaraderie, but there had been a subtle change in the tone of the evening. The Swede was a distraction and furtive glances continued to be cast in her direction.

Dan made the introductions – he knew everyone in Dampier – and as he did so, Mike realised, with an involuntary stab of disappointment, that Mia was in the company of her husband. Then he reminded himself that it was just as well. He'd avoided female company for the past six months, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Mia's friend, Eva, however, wasn't going to make it easy.

'Hello,' she said as they were introduced. She'd greeted the other men, all of whom she knew – two of them intimately, a one-night stand apiece.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.