Driftwood by Mandy Magro Page B

combination of some of the businesses. After living in Brisbane all her life she had never seen anything like it.
    First and foremost, though, after a shower and some hot food, she’d have to find a lift to go and pick up her Jeep. Her entire life was in there, but most importantly her cherished guitar. Grinning broadly, and with Floyd now back inside, she bounded towards the bathroom. For once in her life she felt like she was where she was meant to be, doing exactly what she was destined to do.
    A muggy breeze whipped in through the open windows of the Holden ute, sending curls across Taylor’s clammy face. She tried to tuck the stray hair behind her ears but to no avail, her long locks taking on a life of their own in the wind. It was so nice to be driving along a road without the relentless noise of traffic assaulting her senses and the pulse of city life passing by out the window. Taylor closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of the country surrounding her, untainted air veiled with the salty aroma of the sea. It was to die for. The tropical draught did little to cool her down, but it was nice all the same, taking the harsh edge off the stifling summer heat. She had always known it was hotter up north, but nothing could have prepared her for just how hot, the humidity so thick she could barely breathe. January was apparently the muggiest month of the year in Driftwood due to the combination of the blistering sun and flash monsoonal showers. Not that she was complaining. There was something very sensual about feeling so lusciously warm. She loved it.
    Zoe sat at the wheel, her glossy black bob swishing about her face, her seat as close to the steering column as it would go to accommodate her lack of height. She reminded Taylor of Uma Thurman when she’d played Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction , almost a spitting image. Zoe was gorgeous, a younger version of her mum, Faith, with the same hazel eyes and flawless olive complexion; the complete opposite of her dad, Col, with his curly blond hair, immense build and fair, freckly skin.
    Taylor licked her lips, the wind instantly drying them again. ‘So, tell me, Zoe, do you have a boyfriend?’
    Zoe laughed raucously, a small snort escaping. ‘A boyfriend? Here, in Driftwood? Nah! There’s not much talent to choose from, the good-looking ones are either taken, or complete arseholes, and the not-so-good-looking ones are normally too nice to keep me interested. I tend to like the bad boys.’ Zoe sighed dreamily. ‘I am keen on someone who lives out of town, although nothing’s happened yet. But he’ll come round, eventually.’ Taylor raised her eyebrows. ‘I have ways to make any man fall at my feet.’
    â€˜An out of towner, you go, girl! And I’m hearing you about the bad boys. There’s just something about them, hey?’ Taylor said. With so much in common — country music, their taste in wayward men, and only one year’s difference in age (Zoe the younger one) — Taylor couldn’t help but really like her. Perhaps Jay’s dislike of Zoe was uncalled for; some people just didn’t get on, that was life, and maybe that was the simple case for him and Zoe.
    â€˜Uh huh. Sure is. They get the fire going and the loins tingling. But because of my preference for the bad ones, any guy that even looks at me suggestively is basically chased away by my dad with the shotgun,’ said Zoe, smiling.
    Taylor laughed. ‘That’d certainly be a deterrent.’
    Zoe straightened her sunglasses as she glanced around the surroundings. ‘Shit me, Taylor, you’d have had a long walk ahead of you if Jay hadn’t come along. I didn’t realise how far out of Driftwood you ran out of fuel.’ Zoe raised her eyes briefly towards the azure sky. ‘Someone’s looking after you up there, I reckon.’
    â€˜You betcha there is. I was terrified wandering around in the dark and so