song and dance over how dangerous they were, and how only the hard-core dare-devils messed around in those waters. ‘Was he swimming or what, you think?’
Bruce held out his hands. ‘They don’t know, and what ‘they’ don’t know, Ry doesn’t know. They did find a beaten-up kayak down the way from where his body was, run aground on some rocks so it’s likely that he was in it and then thrown from it… but without knowing his real name, there’s no way of knowing if he was there as a tourist or if he had a green card, and because he woke up with the ability to speak several languages in an Australian accent, they can’t even be certain where he was from,’ Bruce smiled gently, ‘before he was from ‘upstream’, that is.’
‘He doesn’t look French or Japanese…’ Leigh mused. ‘Surely, if he came out speaking English with an Aussie accent, he’s got to be an Aussie?’
‘That doesn’t mean that he was a resident there when he went abroad though,’ Bruce pointed out. ‘And it’s not just Japanese and French he speaks either. He’s also fluent in Greek and Italian. It’s really something to see- he taught me and a few friends how to cuss in all four languages!’
Leigh looked down at her feet again, embarrassed. She’d rubbed Ryan Weaver’s multilingual talents in his impersonator’s face, and all the while, the fake Ryan was twice as cultured as the fictional one! ‘Just… wow...’
Bruce chuckled and patted her hand. ‘Like I said, he’s a great guy. I was half afraid that he wouldn’t come back downstairs after I let him up; so to say I was shocked to happen upon you two fighting is an understatement. What happened?’ Leigh’s cheeks heated further and she munched on her lower lip. But before she could answer, there was a knock at the door and Bruce got up from his chair. ‘Excuse me.’
Leigh did so gladly, burying her face in her hands again and moaning softly at the memory of Ryan catching her with her skirt up. When Bruce walked back, he had two takeaway coffee cups in his hands.
‘You know what’s weird? You’re not the first girl to sort of flip on him. In fact, it’s happened a few times, now that I think about it. He never recognises them of course, but they know him, and they attack- usually while speaking a language he doesn’t know, so he has no idea what they’re on about.’ Bruce winked. ‘It’s given him a bit of a complex, and he’s come to the conclusion that he must have lived somewhere nearby before, and burned a few bridges, probably while fronting a band that don’t care enough about him to look for him after.’
‘Here in Niagara?’
Bruce shrugged. ‘Could be anywhere in the region, given how no one local has actually recognised him. Could have been a big band too, because a lot of the recognition he gets is positive, you know? Just last week, this gorgeous Filipino girl came up to us at a bar and took a selfie with him and just babbled for an hour before her husband dragged her away… would that have anything to do with your reaction? Do you recognize him or something?’
Leigh snorted gently, seeing the pattern that none of them had read enough, to see. Readers of the novel were jumping to the exact sort of conclusions she had, and they either loved it, or loathed him for it. She had thought that he was treating her like an idiot, for expecting to get away with the ‘act’ but what if he was the one who didn’t have a clue? If that was the case and it was all a fluke, then the poor guy was utterly blameless and Leigh could forgive his attitude.
But Leigh was a reader- and readers weren’t stupid. There was a very good chance that Ryan knew exactly what he was doing, and had gone with the name ‘Ryan Weaver’ because he aspired to be like him now that he had a fresh slate. Or, as a more sinister ‘what if’ Leigh had to force herself to wonder, if maybe the whole coma/ amnesia thing was a lie? What if he knew who he really was,
Bruce held out his hands. ‘They don’t know, and what ‘they’ don’t know, Ry doesn’t know. They did find a beaten-up kayak down the way from where his body was, run aground on some rocks so it’s likely that he was in it and then thrown from it… but without knowing his real name, there’s no way of knowing if he was there as a tourist or if he had a green card, and because he woke up with the ability to speak several languages in an Australian accent, they can’t even be certain where he was from,’ Bruce smiled gently, ‘before he was from ‘upstream’, that is.’
‘He doesn’t look French or Japanese…’ Leigh mused. ‘Surely, if he came out speaking English with an Aussie accent, he’s got to be an Aussie?’
‘That doesn’t mean that he was a resident there when he went abroad though,’ Bruce pointed out. ‘And it’s not just Japanese and French he speaks either. He’s also fluent in Greek and Italian. It’s really something to see- he taught me and a few friends how to cuss in all four languages!’
Leigh looked down at her feet again, embarrassed. She’d rubbed Ryan Weaver’s multilingual talents in his impersonator’s face, and all the while, the fake Ryan was twice as cultured as the fictional one! ‘Just… wow...’
Bruce chuckled and patted her hand. ‘Like I said, he’s a great guy. I was half afraid that he wouldn’t come back downstairs after I let him up; so to say I was shocked to happen upon you two fighting is an understatement. What happened?’ Leigh’s cheeks heated further and she munched on her lower lip. But before she could answer, there was a knock at the door and Bruce got up from his chair. ‘Excuse me.’
Leigh did so gladly, burying her face in her hands again and moaning softly at the memory of Ryan catching her with her skirt up. When Bruce walked back, he had two takeaway coffee cups in his hands.
‘You know what’s weird? You’re not the first girl to sort of flip on him. In fact, it’s happened a few times, now that I think about it. He never recognises them of course, but they know him, and they attack- usually while speaking a language he doesn’t know, so he has no idea what they’re on about.’ Bruce winked. ‘It’s given him a bit of a complex, and he’s come to the conclusion that he must have lived somewhere nearby before, and burned a few bridges, probably while fronting a band that don’t care enough about him to look for him after.’
‘Here in Niagara?’
Bruce shrugged. ‘Could be anywhere in the region, given how no one local has actually recognised him. Could have been a big band too, because a lot of the recognition he gets is positive, you know? Just last week, this gorgeous Filipino girl came up to us at a bar and took a selfie with him and just babbled for an hour before her husband dragged her away… would that have anything to do with your reaction? Do you recognize him or something?’
Leigh snorted gently, seeing the pattern that none of them had read enough, to see. Readers of the novel were jumping to the exact sort of conclusions she had, and they either loved it, or loathed him for it. She had thought that he was treating her like an idiot, for expecting to get away with the ‘act’ but what if he was the one who didn’t have a clue? If that was the case and it was all a fluke, then the poor guy was utterly blameless and Leigh could forgive his attitude.
But Leigh was a reader- and readers weren’t stupid. There was a very good chance that Ryan knew exactly what he was doing, and had gone with the name ‘Ryan Weaver’ because he aspired to be like him now that he had a fresh slate. Or, as a more sinister ‘what if’ Leigh had to force herself to wonder, if maybe the whole coma/ amnesia thing was a lie? What if he knew who he really was,
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