Page 43 of Crossed Wires: The Complete Series

“I love you too.”

“Annie, I want?—”

Before he could finish, a loud knock came at the door.

“Hey, brother,” Dylan called through the wood. “Hate to interrupt, but we just got a call. There’s some fancy-arse private jet about to touch down on our landing strip. Pilot says he’s got Annie’s dad onboard.”

“Shit.” Annie sat up rapidly, grabbing on to Hunter as a wave of light-headedness came over her. Her father? Here? In Oz?

Hunter, ever calm, cool and collected, yelled, “We’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay.”

Annie listened as Dylan’s footsteps retreated, trying to figure out what the hell her father was doing here.

“Why would he come here?” she asked, more to herself than to Hunter.

“Do you think he could be worried about you?”

She scoffed. “Um, no.”

Hunter frowned. “Why the bloody hell not? If my daughter took off halfway around the world to hook up with some bloke she’d met online without telling me, you can be damn sure I’d be on a plane, flying off to find her. I’d probably be tempted to beat her backside for it too.”

“My dad’s not like that.”

“How do you know, Annie? I sort of get the impression you’ve never really tested him. From the stories you’ve told me, you’ve always walked the straight and narrow, getting good grades in school, earning that Magna Come thing, settling down near him in New York in an apartment he picked because he knew it was safe. Have you even done a single reckless thing in your life before this trip?”

“I don’t consider this trip reckless.” It was an inane answer and Hunter’s face revealed his frustration.

“Well, you’re the only one, besides maybe Dylan. I can tell you right now if you ever tried something so dangerous again, I’d be on the private jetwithyour dad and it wouldn’t be a race to see who’d beat your arse first. I’d win.”

Annie giggled. She knew he wasn’t trying to be humorous, but there was something strangely amusing about his caveman posturing.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m waiting for you to start beating your chest, saying, ‘me Tarzan, you Jane’.”

Hunter dragged his hand through his hair and gave a frustrated sigh. “Bloody hell. I sound like a right fucking wanker, don’t I? You’re driving me nuts here, Annie. Every fucking day takes me one step closer to losing you. It’s like there’s a grenade in my gut and the pin’s been drawn.”

It was a perfect description. She felt exactly the same. She wanted to tell him that, but there wasn’t time to say everything she needed to say. “I suppose we should get dressed and go meet my dad.”

He rubbed his face wearily, clearly not happy with her response. “Fine. Let’s go.”

They managed to dress and make themselves look mildly decent in less than ten minutes. Annie had tried to cover up the hickey on her neck with makeup and she could spot four jagged scratches peeking out beneath the right sleeve of Hunter’s t-shirt. If Hunter was right about her father’s reason for flying to Australia, the next few minutes could be rather tense.

Annie and Hunter shared the front seat of the ute, while Dylan and Mutt jumped in the truck bed, which solidified Annie’s suspicions. Dylan was here in case his brother needed backup.

They parked next to the landing strip just as the door to the jet opened. Stairs were lowered and Annie watched her father descend looking like a million bucks. Or, in his case, a billion.

While they’d all had time to adjust to the fact Joe Prince was at Farpoint, none of them expected the second guest who stepped out of the plane.

“Jesus,” Dylan muttered. “Monnie.”

Hunter glanced at his brother. “Monet?”

Dylan didn’t answer. Instead he walked toward the jet. And her.

Annie grinned. She wasn’t sure what had compelled her best friend to make such a long journey, but she prayed it ended well for both of them. Given Dylan’s silent reserve since returning to Australia, it was obvious the first goodbye had hurt.

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