Chapter 44
Tess was feeling surprisingly comfortable. She had agreed to go to the pub with Finn after their casual coffee date. Dinner went much better than the night before. The conversation came easily and Tess really liked talking with him.
As they finished their meals, they both realized the evening was coming to an end.
"Well, this was a much better experience than last night, don't you think?" said Finn as he smiled at Tess. "Thank you for letting me join you for dinner."
"I reckon that we got the bad experience out of the way so we could just enjoy ourselves this time," Tess smiled as she spoke.
And she had enjoyed herself. She stood up, picked up her purse, and looked at Finn. "Thank you. I had a really nice time tonight. I enjoy talking with you. I'm glad you asked to join me."
"The pleasure was mine. I'll walk you to your car. I would like to see you again, if that's okay. Can I give you a call tomorrow so we can schedule another date?" Finn asked.
"I'd like that." Tess smiled at him and they walked towards the door.
As they walked out together, Finn lightly touched her hand. She responded by intertwining her fingers through his. As they stepped out to the parking lot, they embraced. Once Finn had wrapped his arms around her, he gave her a very gentle and short kiss on the lips. Then he released her and smiled.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening, Tess. Have a great night." he said.
Tess stood there in a bit of a daze.
Russell stopped the car in front of the Gungellan Pub. Kate had slept the entire ninety minute trip. Russell was glad. One of the things he loved so much about Kate was her incredible drive to accomplish her goals, but he also knew she could overdo it and forget to take care of herself while on a quest. He liked being the one to take care of her.
"Kate, honey, we're here. Wake up." said Russell.
He gently nudged Kate awake. She blinked her eyes and yawned.
"Already? I only just closed my eyes. I guess I really was tired," she said as she blinked to get her eyes to wake up and start working again.
Russell went to the back of the car and was getting their luggage from the boot.
Kate took a stretch and looked around a place that had been so familiar to her years ago. She climbed out of the ute and said, "Hey, It's Tess! Who is that guy she is kissing? I didn't know she was seeing anyone." she said to Russell.
Tess turned around and saw Kate standing there with her suitcase. Their eyes met. They both froze.
Shit! No one is supposed to know we're here. I just spoiled my own surprise, Kate thought.
Tess had her own concern over the unexpected meeting. Uh oh. Did Kate see me kiss Finn? I'm not ready for anyone to know about this yet. I"m not even sure how I feel about it yet, thought Tess.
"Kate! What are you doing in Gungellan? Um, This is Finn." said Tess, uncomfortable with the introduction.
"Hi Kate! Nice to meet you." Finn responded.
"Kate is Jodi's best friend in the whole world and a close one of mine, as well. She worked at Drovers for several years." explained Tess.
"Another Drovers alumni! That's great! I'm pleased to meet you, Kate." Finn paused and turned to Tess. "Tess, I'll let you talk to your friend. Have a great night. Thank you for tonight. I'll call you tomorrow." Finn had made the mistake of intruding on conversations between old friends the night before, and he wasn't going to do it again. He walked back into the pub to go to his hotel room.
"Well done, Tess! He's hot. How did you find a handsome American bloke around here?" asked Kate.
"Um, Kate, no one knows about Finn. That was our first date, and it happened spontaneously, and, well, I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to talk about him yet. Could you not mention him to anyone? I'm not even sure I want to tell Jodi yet," explained Tess.
"Um, sure, of course. But he seems to like you a lot. I hope it works out for you," agreed Kate.
"Kate, I'm going to go get us checked in and bring the stuff in. I'll let you catch up with your friend," Russell interjected.
"Jodi didn't mention you were coming to town, but I'm delighted to see you!" Tess gave Kate a tight hug realizing she had forgotten to do that in her discomfort of being caught with Finn.
"Jodi doesn't actually know I'm in town. I planned on surprising her, all of you, actually, but I planned to do a few things before I told anyone I'm here. Any chance we just keep each other's secrets?" requested Kate.
"You sound very mysterious, and I'm intrigued, but I won't tell Jodi or anyone I saw you tonight. I hope you won't be a stranger for long, though. I'd love to catch up and I know Jodi will be over the moon to see you. It's been too long since we were all together. Russell is looking well. Is everything going well for the two of you?" asked Tess.
"Yeah. Things are great with Russell. I'm lucky to have him," replied Kate.
"There is so much to catch up on, but I'll leave you to your secret plans. I hope we see you really soon, Kate. Please don't be a stranger for long," requested Tess.
Tess gave Kate another big hug and got into Stevie's ute and headed back to Drovers Run.
Kate went into the pub and found Russell. He had checked in and gotten the key to room 9. He and Kate went down the hall to their room.
"Well I guess my surprise won't be a total surprise anymore," admitted Kate
"Don't worry about it, Kate. I still think you should just call Jodi in the morning. She is going to be so happy about your news," said Russell.
"No. I can still salvage this. Tess agreed not to tell anyone I'm in town and I agreed not to tell anyone she was kissing that American bloke. I guess we all have secrets," said Kate.
"Oh, Kate. You do love a complicated plan. I think you should just keep it simple. You're a terrible liar. I'm surprised you didn't completely spill your guts to Tess already." replied Russell.
"No, I can do this," Kate said confidently.
"Okay, honey. I said I'd go along with it and I will. But it's been a long day with lots of travel so I think we should just go to bed now."
"I'm ready to go to bed with you, but I'm not quite ready to go to sleep yet." Kate flirted and kissed her husband.