The Cattleman's Ready-Made Family
Michelle Douglas
Tess Laing moved to Bellaroo Creek with her orphaned niece and nephew for a fresh start. Unlucky in love, she is surprised when meeting tall, dark and deliciously handsome Cameron Manning starts a flutter in her heart…But can Cam accept this ready-made family and find a happy-ever-after or will Tess be disappointed in love again?
Praise for Michelle Douglas
“Douglas’ story is romantic, humorous and paced just right.”
—RT Book Reviews on Bella’s Impossible Boss
“Laughter, holiday charm and characters with depth make this an exceptional story.”
—RT Book Reviews on The Nannywho Saved Christmas
“Moving, heartwarming and absolutely impossible to put down, The Man Who Saw Her Beauty is another stunning Michelle Douglas romance that’s going straight onto my keeper shelf!” —CataRomance
About the Author
At the age of eight MICHELLE DOUGLAS was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She answered, ‘A writer.’ Years later she read an article about romance writing and thought, Ooh, that’ll be fun. She was right. When she’s not writing she can usually be found with her nose buried in a book. She is currently enrolled in an English Masters programme for the sole purpose of indulging her reading and writing habits further. She lives in a leafy suburb of Newcastle, on Australia’s east coast, with her own romantic hero—husband Greg, who is the inspiration behind all her happy endings.
Michelle would love you to visit her at her website: www.michelle-douglas.com.
The Cattleman's Ready-Made Family
Michelle Douglas
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To the Valley Girls for the support, the laughter and the champagne.
CHAPTER ONE
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A TREE CHANGE?
Do you long for fresh air and birdsong?
Do you relish fresh-picked produce?
Do you hunger for a gentler pace of life?
RENT A FARMHOUSE FOR $1 A WEEK!
If you’re a community-minded family, why not rent a farmhouse for $1 a week in beautiful Bellaroo Creek?
We can promise you a fresh start and genuine country hospitality.
CAMERON MANNING PACED from the fence to the empty farmhouse and back again. He checked his watch. The second hand hadn’t moved much from the last time he’d looked. With a curse, he threw himself down on the bench, squatting beneath one of the Kurrajong trees that screened this farmhouse from the rest of his property, and drummed his fingers against his thigh.
Where was the woman?
The slats of the bench, badly in need of a nail or ten, bit into his back. It would’ve been more comfortable to sit on the veranda, but here the deep shade screened him. It’d give him a chance to contemplate his new tenants unobserved.
He scowled. If they ever turned up.
To be honest, he didn’t much care if they did or not. All he wanted was Tess Laing’s signature on his contract so he could hightail it out of here again. He had work to do. Serious work.
He leaned forward, steepling his hands under his chin as he glared at the farmhouse. Now that he had the cattle station on the western edges of his property sorted and in the capable hands of an under-manager, and he and station manager Fraser had dealt with all that needed overseeing for the operation of the sheep station and the planting and harvesting of the wheat crop, the only item left remaining was the canola contract.
He needed that locked in.
Once it was he’d be free to leave this godforsaken place. He’d shake off the dust of the poisonous memories that not only plagued his dreams at night but his waking hours too.
He leapt up, a familiar bitterness coating his tongue and the blackness of betrayal settling over him like a straitjacket. For the first time in his life he understood his father’s retreat from the world. He recognised the same impulse in himself now. He gritted his teeth. He would not give into it.
Blasting out a breath, he glanced at his watch. 3:30 p.m. The woman had said she’d arrive somewhere between two and three o’clock. He slashed a hand through the air. Lucky she wasn’t an employee.
Lucky for her, that was. He could fire an employee. He wrenched his gaze from the forty hectares of lovingly improved land that stretched out behind the farmhouse. Land he’d spent the last two years painstakingly improving—turning the soil, digging out rocks, fertilising…backbreaking work. And now…
He seized the contract he’d tossed onto the bench, rolled it up and slapped it against his legs. Once it was signed he could shake the dust of Bellaroo Creek from his feet for good. After that, his mother could deal with the new tenants.
And good luck to them.
He paced some more. He threw himself back to the bench and kept his gaze firmly fixed on the road and not on those contentious forty hectares. Finally a car appeared at the end of the gravel road, moving slowly—a big, solid station wagon.
Cam didn’t move from his spot in the shade, not even stirring when the breeze sent a light branch dancing across his hair, but every muscle in his body tightened. He dragged in a breath and counselled patience. He would explain the inadvertent mix-up to Tess Laing. He would patiently explain that a mistake had somehow seen his forty hectares included in her lease on the house. He would get her signature to turn those forty hectares back over to him. End of story.
If the mix-up had been inadvertent—an honest mistake. Bile burned his throat. Honesty and his family didn’t necessarily go hand in hand. He expected betrayal from Lance. His nostrils flared and his lips thinned. He would never underestimate his little brother’s treacherous resentment again. He would never again trust a word that spilled from Lance’s forked tongue. But his mother, had she…?
An invisible hand tried to squeeze the air out of his lungs, but he ignored it to thrust out his jaw. Mistake or not, he needed that land. And he would get it back. He’d talk this woman out of whatever ridiculous hobby farm idea she’d come out here with. He’d offer her a fair price to lease the land back. He’d make whatever bargain he needed to. His hand curled around the contract. Once he had her signature, Kurrajong Station’s obligations would be met. And he’d be free to head off for the far horizons of Africa.
Lance, Fiona and his mother could sink or swim on their own.
The car finally reached the farmhouse and pulled to a halt. He rested his elbows on his knees, eyes narrowed. Would she be some hard-nosed business type or a free-spirited hippy?
Three car doors were flung open and three passengers shot out from the car’s interior like bottled fizzy water that had been shaken and then opened—a woman and two children. All of them raced around to the front of the car and bounced from one foot to the other as if they’d been cooped up for too long.
He studied the woman. She didn’t look like a hard-nosed businesswoman. She didn’t look like a nature-loving hippy either. She looked…
In her red-and-black tartan skirt, thick black tights and black Doc Martens she reminded him of a ladybird. Her movements, though, were pure willy wagtail—light, graceful…cheeky. In fact, she looked like a university student. He sat up straighter. She couldn’t be old enough to have two kids!
He turned his attention to the children—a boy of around seven and a girl a year or two younger. He had a vague recollection of his mother mentioning their ages as being a real coup for the school. It was the main reason the committee had chosen this family from the flood of applicants.
A frown built inside him. They might be a coup for the school, but right now they were a disaster for him.
Finally he allowed himself a grim smile as the woman shook out her arms and legs as if she’d spent too many hours in the car—granted it was a bit of a hike from Sydney to Bellaroo Creek—and then moved to rest her hands on the front fence, a child standing either side of her. Her dark hair shone in the autumn sun. It made him realise how brightly the sun shone in the soft autumn stillness of the afternoon.
The boy glanced up at her, indecision flitting across his face. ‘What do you think?’ He glanced back at the cottage. ‘Did you know it would look like this?’
Cam pursed his lips at the edge of disappointment lacing the boy’s words. The little girl moved closer to the woman as if seeking reassurance. Cam straightened. If they hated the place they’d happily sign the whole kit and caboodle back over to him! That’d solve everything.
‘I had no idea what it’d look like.’
Her voice sounded like music.
She beamed down at the children and then clasped her hands beneath her chin. ‘Oh, but I think it’s perfect!’ She knelt on the ground, heedless of the danger to her tights, to put an arm about each of them.
The little girl pressed in against her. ‘Really?’
‘You do?’ The little boy leaned against her too.
‘Oh, yes!’
Cam wondered where she came by such confidence and enthusiasm. She was from the city. What did she know about country living?
Unless she’d known about those forty hectares before times and knew of their value. Unless Lance had already got to her, somehow. Unless—
‘Look at the size of the yard. Just think how perfect it’ll be once we’ve mown the lawn and trimmed back that hedge of…’ She gestured with her head because it was obvious she didn’t want to let go of either child.
‘You don’t know what it is,’ the boy accused.
‘I have no idea,’ she agreed with one of the widest grins Cam had ever seen.
Plumbago. He could’ve told her, but something hard and heavy had settled in his stomach. He could’ve at least mown the lawn for them, couldn’t he? He might’ve been flat out with organising the cattle station, the wheat crop and mustering sheep, but he should’ve found the time to manage at least that much. He mightn’t want these new tenants—his mother had manipulated him superbly on that front—but that wasn’t this woman’s fault, or her children’s.
‘But won’t it be fun finding out?’
‘I guess.’
‘And just imagine how pretty the cottage will look once we’ve painted it.’
She was going to paint his cottage?
‘Pink!’
‘Blue!’
‘Cream!’ She grinned back at the kids. ‘We’ll draw straws.’
He hoped she rigged that one.
The little girl started to jump up and down. ‘We can have chickens!’
‘And a dog!’ The little boy started to jump too.
‘And a lemon tree and pretty curtains at the window.’ The woman laughed, bouncing back upright. ‘And…?’
‘And we’ll all live happily ever after,’ they hollered together in a chorus, and Cam found he couldn’t drag his eyes from them.
It was just a house on an average acre block. But it hit him then what this property represented. A new start. And he knew exactly what that meant.
With everything in his soul.
The woman clapped her hands, claiming his attention once more. ‘I think we should sing our song to our new perfect home.’
And they started to sing. The children held a wobbly melody and the woman harmonised, and they so loved their song and grinned so madly at each other that Cam found his lips lifting upwards.
‘The house loves us now,’ the little girl whispered.
‘I believe you’re right.’
‘I love a veranda,’ the little boy said and Cam knew it was his way of saying he approved of the house…of their new start.
The woman smiled that smile again and Cam had to shift on his bench. ‘Right,’ she said, dusting off her hands, ‘what we need now is the key.’
That was his cue.
He hadn’t meant to sit here for so long watching them without declaring himself. He’d only thought—hoped—that a moment’s observation would give him the measure of his new tenants. Except…He found himself more confounded than ever.
‘That’d be where I come in.’
Both children literally jumped out of their skins at his abrupt declaration and he found himself wishing he’d cleared his throat first to give them warning of his presence.
The little girl ducked behind the woman, her hands clutching fistfuls of the woman’s shirt. The boy wavered for a moment or two and then moved in front of the woman, face pale and hands clenched, but obviously determined to protect her. It was a simple act of courage that knocked Cam sideways. His heart started to pound.
The woman reached out and tousled the boy’s hair and pulled him back in against her. She kept her voice solidly cheerful. ‘Aha! You’ll be our emissary from the town.’
Not quite, but…‘I have your key.’
‘Good Lord!’ She planted her hands on her hips as he emerged more fully into the sunlight. ‘Look at the size of you. I bet you’re a big help to your mum.’
And beside her both children immediately relaxed, and he found himself careful to keep the smile on his face and to move towards them slowly. ‘Actually, I guess I’m your landlord. I’m Cameron Manning.’
She frowned. ‘I thought Lorraine…’
‘My mother.’
‘Ah.’ She nodded, and then a cheeky grin peeked out. ‘The mother you’re such a big help to, no doubt.’
Actually, there was every doubt in the world on that head.
‘I’m Tess, and this is Tyler and Kristina—Ty and Krissie for short—and we’re very pleased to meet you.’
She held out her hand and he moved the final few feet forward to shake it. With such dark hair—nearly black—he’d thought she’d be pale but she had skin the colour of deep golden honey. Her palm slid against his, smooth and cool. Large brown eyes surveyed him with undisguised intensity as if attempting to sum up the man beneath the bulk. She smelled of liquorice and cool days, and when he finally stepped back Cam found his heart pounding.
‘Can you ride a horse?’ Tyler asked, awe stretching through his voice.
‘I can.’
‘I want to be a cowboy when I grow up.’
‘Then you’ve come to the right town,’ Cam said, though he could hardly believe that he spoke them. He hadn’t meant to be so welcoming. He’d meant to be businesslike and brisk. But that boy had stepped in front of his mother when he’d thought she’d needed protecting. There were grown men who were afraid to take Cam on physically. At six feet three and sporting the kind of muscles that hard work on the land developed, he understood that reluctance.
He was big and he was strong. Yet, still, this little boy had faced his fear and Cam couldn’t ignore that.
‘Auntie Tess—’ the little girl tugged on the woman’s sleeve ‘—I’ve gotta go.’
Auntie? She wasn’t their mother?
‘Right.’ She stared at him expectantly. ‘The key?’
He recalled how he’d considered talking them out of this property. The contract he’d left sitting on the bench fluttered in the breeze. He considered Tyler’s act of courage and Krissie’s excitement about chickens and the way Tess had quieted the children’s fears with a song.
A new start. He knew all about the need for those.
He fished the key out of his pocket and handed it over.
The three of them raced to the front door of the old farmhouse. Cam retrieved his contract and then stood under the Kurrajong tree and dragged in a breath. Okay, the house was neither here nor there. he had no plans for it. Those forty hectares, though, did matter and he wanted—needed—Tess’s signature on the dotted line.
And he wasn’t leaving until he had it.
He followed them into the house.
‘Bags this room!’ Tyler shouted from the corridor off to the right. ‘It has a view of the front and I can see who’s coming, which is good ’cause I’m the man of the house.’
That almost made Cam smile again, only he remembered how pale the boy had gone when Cam had appeared unannounced.
The toilet flushed, the sound of water running in a tap and then Krissie raced down the corridor too. ‘Auntie Tess, this is your room! And this one is mine ’cause it’s right next to yours!’
Cam let out a breath as he glanced around. The yard might need some TLC, but the women from the Save-Our-Town committee had cleaned this place to within an inch of its life. The furniture might be mismatched—favouring comfort more than elegance—but there wasn’t a single dust bunny in sight. ‘Coffee?’ he called out, wanting Tess to know he’d followed them into the house.
‘Excellent idea,’ she called back.
He strode into the kitchen and put the jug on to boil. The farmhouse wasn’t fancy by any means, but it had a certain homey charm. he had the impression that Tess would turn it into a home in the blink of an eye.
What on earth was he talking about? He shook his head. She already had, and he wasn’t sure how. It took more than a smile and a song to make a home.
Didn’t it?
He let himself out of the back door, the contract burning a hole against his palm as he moved down the steps to stare out at those magical forty hectares. She was paying a dollar a week in rent for all that. It was enough to make a grown man weep.
He straightened. He had a canola contract to fulfil—he’d given his word—and he wasn’t going to let anyone steal it out from under him. His lips twisted. He didn’t doubt for a moment that one person in particular in Bellaroo Creek would try to do exactly that, but would his mother be party to such duplicity?
‘You better get that particular look off your face quick smart or you’ll give Ty and Krissie nightmares for a month.’
He blinked to find Tess holding a mug out to him. He frowned. ‘I was supposed to be making those.’ He’d meant to make a stab at the country-hospitality approach first before bombarding her with his demand. Besides, she had dark circles beneath those magnificent eyes of hers. If she’d left two hours from the other side of Sydney this morning she’d have driven for the best part of eight hours.
The least he could’ve done was make her a cup of coffee. And mow the lawn. And trim that hedge of plumbago.
‘No matter, and sorry but I put milk in it before I thought. If you want sugar—’
‘No, this is great,’ he said hastily. ‘Thanks.’
Her lips twitched. ‘You didn’t strike me as a sugar-in-theircoffee type.’
What was that supposed to mean?
She stared out at the fields and drew a breath deep into her lungs. ‘Oh, my, look at it all!’
His skin tightened. His muscles tensed.
‘You live in a beautiful part of the world, Cameron.’
‘Cam.’ The correction came out husky. The only person to call him Cameron was his mother. ‘But you’re right.’ He nodded towards the fields. ‘It’s beautiful.’
And by rights it should be his. He spun to her. ‘There’s something—’
‘I want to apologise for being late.’
He blinked at her interruption. ‘No problem.’
‘We had one threat of car sickness.’
He grimaced.
‘And I took a wrong turn when we left Parkes. I started heading towards Trundle instead of Bellaroo Creek.’
‘That’s in completely the opposite direction.’
‘That’s what a man on a tractor told us.’
He shifted his weight, opened his mouth.
She pointed back behind her with an infectious grin. ‘Do you know somebody left us a cake?’
He found one side of his mouth hitching up at her delight. ‘That’d be my mother. I’d know her sultana cake anywhere. It’s her speciality.’
‘Then you must stay for a slice.’
He adjusted his stance. ‘Look, there’s something I need to talk to you about.’
Her gaze had dropped to take an inventory of his shoulders and he could feel himself tensing up again, but at his words her eyes lifted. She sipped her coffee. ‘Yes?’
‘It’s about that land out there.’ He gestured out in front of them.
‘Wow! Look how big the yard is!’
With whoops, Ty and Krissie swooped down the back steps and into the yard. Cam winced at how overgrown it all was.
‘What kind of tree is that, Auntie Tess?’
She shaded her eyes and peered to where Krissie pointed. ‘Tell me?’ she shot out of the corner of her mouth and it made him want to laugh. ‘Please?’
‘Lemon tree,’ he answered in an undertone.
She turned and beamed at him. It cracked open something wide inside him—something that made him hot and cold at the same time. Before he could react in any way whatsoever, she set her coffee to the ground, danced down to the lemon tree and the children with her arms outstretched as if to embrace them all. But he could’ve sworn she’d whispered, ‘Smile,’ at him before she’d danced away.
‘It’s a lemon tree!’
The children cheered. They all started rattling off the things they’d make with the lemons—lemonade, lemon butter, lemon-meringue pie, lemon chicken, lemon tea—as if it were a litany they’d learned off by heart. As if it were a list that made the world a better place.
And as he watched them Cam thought that maybe it did.
‘Where do you live, um…Mr…?’
He gazed down at Krissie with her blonde curls, and her big brown eyes identical to Tess’s, and recalled the way she’d jumped when he’d first spoken. Smile. ‘You can call me Cam,’ he said, making his voice gentle. ‘If that’s okay with your auntie Tess.’
Tess nodded her assent, but he was aware that she watched him like a hawk—or a mother bear hell-bent on protecting her cubs.
‘You can see my house from here.’ He led them towards the line of Kurrajong trees at the side fence and gestured across the acre field to his home beyond.
‘Wow,’ Ty breathed. ‘It’s big.’
It was, and the sandstone homestead was a point of local pride. ‘My great-great-great-grandfather was one of the first settlers in the area. His son built that house.’
‘Is it a farm?’
‘It is. It’s called Kurrajong Station because of all the Kurrajong trees. It’s large for these parts at six thousand hectares.’ It wasn’t a boast, just pure fact.
‘What do you farm?’
That was Tess. He eyed her for a moment. He sure as hell hoped she didn’t have any interests in that direction. ‘Cattle, sheep and wheat mostly.’ And just as soon as he had his forty hectares back he’d be branching out into canola. Diversification would ensure Kurrajong’s future. And once that was all in place, he could leave.
For good.
‘Are we allowed to play in that field?’
Ty glanced up at him hopefully. Cam bit back a sigh. He didn’t have anything against the Save-Our-Town scheme in principle. He mightn’t want to live in Bellaroo Creek any longer, but his station’s prosperity did, to some extent, hinge on the town’s ongoing existence. It was just that in practical terms…
So much for his jealously guarded privacy.
Still, they were just kids. They wouldn’t disturb his peace too much. And kids would be kids—they’d want to explore, kick balls, run. Besides, he sensed that these kids needed more kindness than most. Rather than declare the paddock out of bounds, he found himself saying, ‘You’d better wait till you’ve made friends with my dog first.’
Ty’s face lit up. ‘You have a dog? When can we meet him?’
Cam shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced at Tess. ‘Tomorrow?’
She nodded. ‘Excellent.’
Her cap of dark hair glowed in the sun and her eyes were bigger than they had any right to be. He gave himself a mental kick and turned back to the kids. ‘I want you both to promise me something. If you see a paddock with either cows or big machinery in it, promise you won’t go into it. It could be dangerous.’
They gazed up at him with eyes too solemn for their age and nodded.
Lord, he didn’t mean to frighten them. Smile! ‘We just want to make sure you stay safe, okay?’
They nodded again.
‘And you shouldn’t go outside your own yard or this paddock without letting your auntie Tess know first.’
Tess watched Cam as he talked with the children. His initial gruffness apparently hid a natural gentleness for all those smaller than him. Not that there’d be too many who’d be larger! The longer she watched, the more aware she became of the warmth stealing over her.
She shook it off. She wanted this move to be perfect. She wanted to believe that everyone in Bellaroo Creek would have Ty and Krissie’s best interests at heart. She wasn’t going to let that hope lead her astray, though. Too much depended on her making the right decisions. She swallowed, her heart still burning at the children’s reactions when Cam had startled them—their instinctive fear and suspicion.
She gripped her hands together. Please, please, please let moving to Bellaroo Creek be the right decision. Please, please, please let the children learn to trust again. Please, God, help her make them feel secure and safe, loved.
She relaxed her hands and crossed her fingers. After the initial shaky start, it certainly looked as if the kids had taken to their laconic neighbour. After all, not only did he know how to ride a horse, but he had a dog too. True hero material.
Her gaze drifted down his denim-clad legs and a long slow sigh built up inside her. He could certainly fill out a pair of jeans nicely. With cheeks suddenly burning, she wrenched her gaze away. For heaven’s sake, she hadn’t moved to Bellaroo Creek for that kind of fresh start!
Besides—she glanced up at him through her lashes—Cameron Manning was a man with something on his mind. She’d sensed it the moment he’d stepped out of the shadows of the trees. She had relaxed a little, though, when he’d handed over the key. She had no intention of handing it back. She’d signed a legally binding lease. She’d paid the first year’s rent up front. All fifty-two dollars of it.
The children ran off further down the backyard to explore, but even while she sensed he wanted to talk, she didn’t suggest they go inside to do just that. She wanted to keep an eye on Ty and Krissie. She wanted them to know she was nearby. She wanted to share in the joy of their discoveries. She had every intention of smoothing over any little concerns or ripples that threatened their well-being.
That was her first priority. That mattered a million times more than anything else at the moment. Joy, love and hope— that was what these kids needed and that was exactly what they were going to get.
She shot Cam another half-veiled glance. Still, if he was happy to talk out Here…‘I—’
‘You’re their auntie Tess?’
She blinked.
‘Where are their parents?’
Ah. She’d thought the entire town would know their story considering she hadn’t been reticent about the details in her application. In fact, she’d shamelessly used those details in an attempt to tug on all the unknown heartstrings that would be reading their application.
They walked back towards the house. Tess swooped down to pick up her abandoned coffee from the grass. She chugged back its lukewarm contents and then let the mug dangle loosely from her fingers. ‘Why is your surname different from your mother’s?’
‘I’m the son from her first marriage.’
Right. She nodded towards the children. ‘Their father and mother—my sister—died in a car accident three months ago.’
He stilled. ‘I’m sorry.’
He sounded genuinely sympathetic and her eyes started to burn. Even now, three months down the track and a million tears later, she still found condolences hard to deal with. But Cameron’s voice sounded low and deep—the tone and breadth midway between an oboe and a cello—and somehow that made it easier. She nodded and kicked herself back into an aimless meandering around the yard.
‘Are you interested in farming? In keeping cattle or horses or growing a crop?’
The abrupt change of topic took her off guard. ‘God, no!’ She hoped he didn’t take her horror personally, but she didn’t know the first thing about farming. She didn’t know much about vegetable gardens or keeping chickens either, she supposed, but she could learn. ‘Why?’
‘Because there’s been a bit of a mix-up with the tenancy agreement.’
Her blood chilled. Just like that. In an instant. Her toes and fingers froze rigid. He couldn’t kick them out! He’d given them the key.
The children loved this place. She’d made sure they’d fallen in love with it—had used her enthusiasm and assumed confidence to give it all a magical promise. Ty and Krissie weren’t resilient enough to deal with another disappointment.
And they didn’t deserve to.
‘I mean, yes,’ she snapped out as quickly as she could. ‘Farming is exactly the reason we’re out here.’
He frowned. In fact, it might be described as a scowl. But then he glanced at the kids and it became just a frown again. ‘I beg your pardon?’
She didn’t like the barely leashed control stretching through his voice, but he was not kicking them out. ‘What I’m trying to say is that I’m fully prepared to learn farming if that’s part of my contract.’
She’d gone over the contract with a fine-tooth comb. She’d consulted a solicitor. Her chin lifted. She’d signed a legally binding contract. She had understood it. The solicitor had ensured that. She wasn’t in the wrong here. A fine trembling started up in her legs, but she stood her ground. ‘I’m not going to let you kick us out.’ She even managed to keep her voice perfectly pleasant. ‘Just so you know.’
‘I don’t want to kick you out.’
That was when she knew he was lying. Even though he’d been kind to the children. Even though he’d handed over the key. This man would love it if they left.
Didn’t he want to save his town?
By this stage they’d reached the back fence. She set her mug on a fencepost, and then leant against it and folded her arms. ‘It’s been a long day, Mr Manning, so I’m going to speak plainly.’
He blinked at the formality of her Mr Manning. And she saw he understood the sudden distance she’d created between them.
‘I signed a contract and I understand my rights. If there’s been a mix-up then it hasn’t been of my making.’ She folded her arms tighter. ‘Whatever this mix-up may be, the children and I are not leaving this house. We’re living here for the next three years and we’re going to carve out a new life for ourselves and we are going to make that work. This is now our home and we’re going to make it a good home. Furthermore, you are not going to say anything in front of the children that might upset or alarm them—you hear me?’
His mouth opened and closed. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’
He leaned towards her and he smelled like fresh-cut grass, and it smelled so fresh and young that she wanted to bury her face against his neck and just breathe it in. She shook herself. It’d been a long trip. Very long. ‘Then smile!’ she snapped.
To her utter astonishment, he laughed, and the grim lines that hooded his eyes and weighed down the corners of his mouth all lightened, and his eyes sparkled, the same deep green as clover.
Her breath caught. The man wasn’t just big and broad and a great help to his mum—he was beautiful!
The blood started to thump in a painful pulse about her body. Four months ago she’d have flirted with Cam in an attempt to lighten him up. Three months ago she’d have barely noticed him. It was amazing the changes a single month could bring. One day. In fact, lives could change in a single moment.
And they did.
And they had.
She swallowed. The particular moment that had turned her life on its head might not have been her fault, but if she’d been paying attention she might’ve been able to avert it. That knowledge would plague her to her grave.
And men, beautiful and otherwise, were completely off the agenda.
She snapped away from him. He frowned. ‘Tess, I’m not going to ask you to leave. I swear. This house is all yours for the next three years, and beyond if you want it.’
She bit her lip, glanced back at him. ‘Really?’
‘Really.’
‘Still—’ she stuck out a hip ‘—you’re less than enthused about it.’
He hesitated and then shrugged. ‘My mother has, in effect, foisted you lot on to me.’
She glanced at the house and then back at him. ‘Isn’t the house hers?’
‘Not precisely.’ He exhaled loudly. ‘My father made certain provisions for my mother in his will. She has the use of this house along with an attached parcel of land for as long as she lives. When she passes the rights all revert back to the owner of Kurrajong Station.’
‘You?’
‘Me.’
She pursed her lips. He met her gaze steadily. She wanted to get a handle on this enigmatic neighbour of hers. Was he friend or foe? ‘Don’t you want to help save Bellaroo Creek?’
‘Sure I do.’
‘As long as you’re not asked to sacrifice too much in the effort, right?’
‘As long as I’m not asked to give up a significant portion of my potential income in the process,’ he countered.
‘How will our being here impact negatively on your income?’ Her understanding was that the Save-Our-Town scheme only offered unused farmhouses in exchange for ludicrously cheap rents. If their farmhouse was unused he couldn’t possibly be losing money. In fact, he’d be fifty-two dollars a year richer.
Her lips suddenly twitched. Cameron Manning didn’t strike her as the kind of man who’d stress too much over fifty-two dollars. Not that she needed to stress over money either. It hadn’t been the cheap rent but the promise of a fresh start that had lured her out here.
He drew in a breath and then pointed behind her. She turned. ‘Forty hectares,’ he said. ‘Forty hectares I had plans for. Forty hectares my mother had promised to lease to me.’
She slapped a hand to her forehead. ‘They were allotted to me in my tenancy agreement? That’s the mix-up you’re talking about.’
‘Yep.’
‘And you want them back?’
‘Bingo.’
She laughed in her sudden rush of relief. ‘Oh, honey, they’re all yours.’ What on earth did she want with forty hectares of wide, open space? She had a house and a backyard and a whole ocean of possibilities enough to satisfy her.
She clapped her hands. ‘Hey, troops, who’s for sultana cake?’
CHAPTER TWO
IT TOOK TESS until her second bite of sultana cake to realise she hadn’t allayed her sexy neighbour’s concerns.
She stiffened. Umm…not sexy. Taciturn and selfcontained, perhaps, and, um…She dragged her gaze from shoulders so broad they made her think of Greek gods and swimsuits and the Mediterranean.
Sleep, rest, peace, that was what she needed. The last month had been a crazy whirlwind and she quite literally hadn’t stopped. The two months prior had been a blur of pain and grief.
She flinched at the memory and brushed a hand across her eyes. Bellaroo Creek would bring her the rest and the sleep she craved, but peace? She wasn’t sure anything on earth could bring her that.
And she wasn’t sure she deserved it.
Cameron hitched an eyebrow. ‘A penny for them.’
She stiffened again. Nu-huh. But the exhaustion made her silly—an after-effect of the nonsense she’d used all day to keep the children entertained and in good spirits. ‘Are you sure you can afford a penny when I’m only paying you a dollar a week in rent?’
His green eyes gleamed for a tantalizing moment. It made him look younger. She dragged her gaze away and rose. ‘I’ll just check on the kids. The promise of cake should’ve had them sprinting inside.’
On cue, the pair came racing through the front door. ‘We found a lizard,’ Ty announced, breathless with excitement.
‘Will it bite us?’ Krissie asked, wide-eyed.
She directed the question at Cam. He’d obviously become the source of trusted information. Tess’s chest cramped as she stared at them—took in their simple wonder.
‘That’ll be Old Nelson, the blue-tongue,’ Cam said, leaning back in his chair, one long, lean leg stretched out in front of him.
Krissie’s eyes widened even further. ‘He has a name?’
‘Wow, awesome!’ Ty breathed. ‘Will he bite?’
‘Only if you poke him or try to pick him up.’
‘Can we take our cake outside, Auntie Tess?’
With a laugh, Tess assented. She watched as they left the room and her chest burned. If only Sarah could see them now. If only—
‘You okay?’
She jumped, swung back patting her chest. ‘Tired,’ she said. She sat and forced a smile. She’d become good at that over the last couple of months—smiling when she didn’t feel like it—but she could see it didn’t fool Cam. She shrugged. ‘They’ve been through so much, but for this moment they’re happy and…and that’s no small thing.’
He stared towards the front of the house and then glanced back at her. ‘They’re great kids, Tess.’
She nodded. ‘They really are.’ And they deserved so much more than life had dished out to them. Focusing on the negatives wouldn’t help anyone, though—least of all Ty and Krissie. She sipped tea. Cam had made a pot while she’d sliced the cake. It was the best tea she’d ever tasted.
She lifted her cup. ‘This is seriously good.’
‘My mother was the president of the Country Women’s Association for a hundred years. Believe me, she made sure her sons knew how to brew a proper pot of tea.’
She made a mental note to join the CWA. But for the moment…‘You want to tell me why you’re still so worried about your forty hectares?’
His eyes widened a fraction, but he held her gaze with a steadiness she found disconcerting. ‘I had a contract drawn up. I need you to sign it before I can start planting.’
He whipped out a sheaf of papers, literally from thin air as far as her tired brain could tell. He flicked through to the final page and pointed. ‘I need your signature here.’ He handed her a pen.
She lowered her cup back to its saucer and dropped her hands to her lap. ‘I’m not signing anything I haven’t read.’
‘Fair enough.’ He placed the contract in front of her and leaned back.
‘And I’m not reading it now when I’m so tired.’
He frowned.
‘And if there’s something I don’t understand, I’ll be consulting my solicitor for clarification.’
He was silent for a long moment and the silence should’ve sawn on her nerves, but it didn’t. After a day of chatter and noise in the confines of the car, the silence was heaven.
‘You don’t trust me,’ he finally said, nodding as if that made perfect sense.
‘I don’t know you. Once upon a time I’d have been prepared to take spur-of-the-moment risks and trust my gut instincts, but I won’t now Tyler and Krissie are in my care.’ She leant towards him. ‘Are you saying you trust me?’ She waved a hand in the direction of the back door and his precious forty hectares. ‘By all means start planting tomorrow. I’ll keep my word. I’ll get the contract back to you by the middle of next week.’
His lips twisted but his eyes danced. ‘Nope, don’t trust you as far as I could throw you.’
Given his size and the breadth of his shoulders, she had a feeling he could throw her a long way if he so chose.
This time it was he who leaned in towards her, and that fresh-cut-grass scent danced around her and it was almost as relaxing as silence. ‘But I do need to get started on the planting soon if I’m to meet my obligations.’
‘I promise not to drag my feet.’ She wanted to be on good terms with her neighbours and the townsfolk of Bellaroo Creek. She just had to make sure she didn’t risk the children’s futures in her eagerness to fit in.
Without thinking, she reached out and touched his hand. He immediately stiffened and she snatched her hand back, her heart suddenly thundering in her ears. ‘I, uh…You said you’d bring your dog around to meet the children. Why don’t you aim to do that tomorrow morning some time—say, ten o’clock? I’ll try and have your contract read by then.’
‘If you need more time…’
Her pulse rate refused to slow. ‘No, no, it’s obvious that time is of the essence. Besides, the kids will no doubt be up early and we have a midday meet-and-greet luncheon at the community hall, so I should have plenty of time in the morning to go over this contract of yours.’
He rose in one swift motion. ‘I’ll see you at ten.’ And then he was gone.
She heard him say goodbye to the children. She supposed she should’ve followed him to the door to wave him off, but the strength had leached from her legs and she found herself momentarily incapable of even rising from her chair. She’d spent nearly ten hours in the car today. She was dog-tired. She’d just turned her entire life on its head—hers and the children’s. And if this move didn’t work out…
She shook that thought off. This move had to work out. In the meantime, she refused to allow her sexy neighbour to unsettle her.
She frowned. He wasn’t sexy.
She glanced at her empty plate, and then at Cam’s and realised he hadn’t touched his cake—he hadn’t even broken off the tiniest corner. She hadn’t been hungry for the last three months—ever since she’d received the phone call informing her of Sarah’s car accident. But now…
She stared at the cake. She pulled the plate towards her and then poured another cup of tea. She devoured both, slowly, relishing every single delicious mouthful.
The children made instant friends with Boomer, Cam’s border collie.
‘Will he fetch a ball?’ Ty asked, pulling a tennis ball from his pocket.
Cam’s mouth angled up in a lopsided smile as he surveyed Ty and Krissie and their barely concealed eagerness. ‘Believe me, he’ll fetch for longer than you’ll be prepared to throw.’ With whoops of delight, the children raced around the backyard with Boomer at their heels.
He had a way of smiling at her kids—and, yes, somewhere in the last month she’d started thinking of them as hers—that could melt a woman where she stood. ‘Morning,’ he finally said, the green of his eyes strangely undiluted in the mid-morning sun.
‘It will be,’ she countered, ‘if you’ll teach me the trick to making a perfect pot of tea.’
He laughed and it was only then she saw that while his eyes might be the purest of greens, shadows lurked in their depths. Shadows momentarily dispelled when he laughed.
He followed her into the kitchen. ‘One demonstration coming up.’
He should laugh more often. ‘Jug’s just boiled,’ she said, shaking the odd thought aside. Cam might well laugh a hundred times every single day for all she knew.
‘Did you fill the jug using hot or cold water?’
‘Hot. It makes it come to the boil faster.’
‘There’s your first mistake.’ He poured the contents of the jug down the sink and refilled it from the cold tap. ‘Cold water has more oxygen than hot. That’s key for the perfect cuppa.’
She sat and stared. ‘Well, who’d have known that?’ Other than a chemistry professor. And a president of the CWA… and her sons.
He sat too, his eyes twinkling for the briefest of moments. ‘It’s important to be properly trained in country ways.’
‘I never doubted it for a moment.’ She leapt up to glance out of the kitchen window to make sure the children were okay. When she swung back she could’ve sworn he’d been checking out her backside.
His gaze slid away. Her heart thumped. She’d imagined it. She must’ve imagined it. She frowned, scratched a hand through her hair and tried to think of something to say.
‘Did you get a chance to read the contract?’
Of course she’d imagined it, but the shadows were back in his eyes with a vengeance and it left a bitter taste in her mouth, though for the life of her she couldn’t explain why. ‘Yes.’ She took her seat again.
‘And?’
The contract had been remarkably straightforward. It hadn’t asked her to give up her firstborn or sign her rights away to the house and the acre block it stood on. It simply requested she sign over the attached forty hectares of land and to waive her rights to any profits he accrued from the use of the land. Except…
On the table, one of his hands tightened. ‘You have a problem?’
She hauled in a breath and nodded. ‘I do.’
‘You want more money for the lease?’
She hated the derisive light that entered his eyes. She pushed the contract towards him. ‘I made my amendment in black ink. That’s what I’m prepared to sign.’
Blowing out a breath, he pulled the contract towards him and flipped through the pages to the end. And then he stilled and rubbed his forehead. ‘You don’t want any payment at all?’
She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. What kind of people was he used to dealing with? ‘Of course I don’t want any payment! I’m not entitled to any payment. Rightfully the land is yours. If you want to pay anyone a fee for leasing the land, then pay your mother.’
He sat back. ‘I’ve offended you.’
Why did the wonder in his voice suddenly make her want to cry? Since Sarah’s death, the silliest, most unexpected things could make her cry. ‘You will if you keep going on in that vein.’
Her voice came out husky and choked. His gaze lowered to her mouth and it gave her a moment to study him. He had a strong jaw and lean lips and she couldn’t tear her eyes away. She could keep telling herself that he wasn’t sexy, but he was. His eyes darkened. A pulse throbbed in her bottom lip, swelling it and making it ache. The heat in the air between them sizzled with such unmistakable intensity it made her head whirl. With an oath, Cam pushed away from the table. He seized the teapot and started making tea. She closed her eyes. She’d been surrounded by death, preoccupied with it. Life wanted to reassert itself. This—her body’s rebellion at her common-sense strictures—was normal.
The explanation didn’t make the pounding in her blood lessen any, but it did start to clear the fog encasing her brain.
She jumped when Cam set a mug of tea in front of her, his face a mask. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just used to paying my own way.’
She wasn’t. Not really. Her cold realisation dissipated the last of the heat. She’d always relied on staff or assistants to take care of her day-to-day needs. But she could learn. She was learning.
He hooked out his chair again and sat. ‘A free ride feels wrong.’
‘It’s not a free ride. A free ride is if I also did the planting for you. You’d discussed that land with your mother. You had her permission to use it. Like you said, the fact it ended up on my lease agreement was simply an error or an oversight. Cameron, I have no plans for that land. I’m not losing out on anything.’
He didn’t say anything.
‘Besides, don’t knock a free ride. I’m getting one—a dollar a week rent! Who’d have thought that was possible?’
His lips turned upwards, but it wasn’t really a smile. ‘You’ve brought two school-age children into the area. You’re boosting the school’s numbers and increasing its chances of remaining open. The town will think it a very good swap.’
Speaking of children…She rose and went to the window again to check on them. She laughed at what she saw. ‘Are you sure they won’t wear Boomer out?’
‘I’m positive.’ He eyed her as she took her seat again. ‘They are safe with him. I promise.’
‘Oh! Of course they are. I didn’t mean…’ She could feel herself starting to colour under his stare. The thing was, most days she felt as if she didn’t know a darn thing about parenting at all. Maybe she did fuss a little too much, worry too much, but surely that was better than not fussing enough.
That was when the idea hit her.
He leant towards her, his eyes wary. ‘What?’
She surveyed him over the rim of her mug. ‘You’re obviously not very comfortable with me just handing the land back to you.’
‘You could make a tidy profit from the lease.’
‘Believe me, the one thing I don’t need to worry about is money.’ Sarah had seen to that. ‘But maybe,’ she started slowly, allowing the idea to develop more fully in her mind, ‘we could do a kind of swap. I’ll give you the land…’
‘In exchange for what?’
She rose and went to the window again. She loved those kids. Just how fiercely amazed her. She’d do anything for them. Anything. And what she needed to do most was provide them with a positive start here in Bellaroo Creek.
Cam stared at Tess as she peered out of the kitchen window again. She had a stillness and a straightness, even when agitated, that he found intriguing.
And she had the cutest little butt he’d ever seen. There’d probably been a hint of its perfect roundness in her tartan skirt yesterday if he’d been looking, but there was no hiding it in a pair of fitted jeans that hugged every curve with enviable snugness.
And today he was definitely looking!
For heaven’s sake, he was male. Men looked at—and appreciated—the female form. It was how they were wired. It didn’t mean anything.
But he hadn’t looked at a woman in that way since Fiona, and—
With a scowl, he dragged his gaze away. He needed to keep on task. Tess was proposing a deal of sorts. He glanced up to find her watching him, her brow furrowed as if she couldn’t figure him out. Not that he blamed her.
‘You can take the contract and run,’ she said. She walked back to the table, seized the contract, signed and dated it and then handed it back to him. ‘Nothing more needs to be said. I don’t believe you’re beholden to me, not one jot.’
Honour kept him in his seat. Tess hadn’t taken advantage of the situation as she could’ve done. As Lance and Fiona would’ve done. He did his best to clear the scowl from his face. She’d been reasonable and…generous. ‘What kind of bargain were you going to propose, Tess?’
‘I want to make moving to Bellaroo Creek a really positive experience for Ty and Krissie.’
She hadn’t needed to say that out loud. He could see how much it meant to her. He wanted to tell her how much he admired her for it, but he didn’t. He didn’t want her to think he’d mean anything more by it than simple admiration. Because he wouldn’t.
‘But frankly I’m clueless.’
That snapped him back. ‘About?’
She lifted her arms and let them drop. ‘Everything! I didn’t even know that was a lemon tree and yet you heard all our plans for it.’
Something inside him unhitched.
‘I don’t know the first thing about keeping chickens, but Krissie has her heart set on it. I expect I need a…a hutch or something.’
‘Henhouse.’
‘See? I don’t even have the right vocabulary. And what about a vegetable garden? Other than supposing there’s a lot of digging involved, I haven’t the foggiest idea where to start.’ She frowned. ‘I expect I’ll need compost.’
And, suddenly, Cam found himself laughing. ‘Believe me, Tess, the one thing we aren’t short of in Bellaroo Creek is compost.’
She gripped her hands on the table in front of her and leant towards him. ‘Plus I need to get Ty a puppy, but is a puppy and chickens a seriously bad combination?’
‘They don’t have to be.’ He leaned across and covered both of her hands with one of his own. She stiffened and he remembered the way he’d stiffened at her touch yesterday and was about to remove his hand when she relaxed. Her hands felt small and cold and instead of retreating he found his hand urging warmth into hers instead.
‘So you want help building a henhouse and a veggie patch, and in selecting a dog?’
‘It has to be a puppy. Apparently that’s very important.’
Cam understood that. He nodded.
‘And maybe some help choosing chickens?’
She winced as if she were asking too much, but it was all a piece of cake as far as he was concerned. ‘Tess, helping you with that stuff is nothing more than being neighbourly.’
The townsfolk of Bellaroo Creek would have his hide if he didn’t offer her that kind of support. Though—his lips twisted—he expected there’d be quite a few single farmers in the area who wouldn’t mind offering her any kind of help whatsoever.
‘Then…maybe we can agree to being good neighbours. That’s something else I can learn to do.’
He frowned, but before he could say anything she leapt up to glance out of the window again. ‘And until I manage to get one of my own, may I borrow your lawnmower?’
‘Done.’
She swung around and beamed at him. ‘Thank you. Now watch me as I make a fresh pot of tea to make sure I’m doing it right.’
She had the kind of smile—when she really smiled—that could blow a man clean out of his boots. Mentally, he pulled his boots up harder and tighter.
‘Why can’t Cam come to our party?’
Excellent question. Tess glanced briefly in the rear-view mirror to give Krissie an encouraging smile. ‘He said he had lots of work to do.’
‘I bet he had to take time off work to bring Boomer around to play,’ Ty said from the seat beside her. It was his turn in the front. ‘His farm is really big, isn’t it?’
‘Six thousand hectares is what he said.’ And Cameron didn’t strike her as the bragging type. He was definitely the state-plain-facts type. ‘Which I think is really, really big.’
‘So he probably has loads and loads of work to do.’
Was that admiration or wistfulness in Ty’s voice? She couldn’t tell.
A mother would know.
She gulped. ‘Good thinking, Ty, I expect you’re right.’
His chest puffed out at her simple praise. Blinking hard, she concentrated on the road in front of her.
It only took three minutes to drive from their front door to the community hall in Bellaroo Creek’s tiny main street. Across from the hall stood a row of late-Victorian townhouses—tall, straight, eye-catching, but with all their windows boarded up. Whatever businesses had operated from them were long gone. Once upon a time the town had been prosperous. Tess crossed her fingers. Hopefully they could help make the town prosperous again.
Unhooking her seat belt, she turned to the children. ‘Ready?’ They watched her so carefully. She knew they’d take their every cue from her. The realisation made her swallow. She had to get this just right.
Krissie leaned forward. ‘Is this party really just for us?’
‘It sure is, chickadee. Everyone is dying to meet us. They’re so excited we’ve come to live in Bellaroo Creek.’
‘What if they don’t like us?’ she whispered.
Tess feigned shock. ‘Do you really think they won’t like me?’
Krissie giggled. ‘Not you, silly.’
‘They’ll love you,’ Ty announced.
She knew what he was really saying was that he loved her and it made her heart swell and her eyes sting. ‘And I absolutely promise that they’ll love the two of you too.’
They stared at her with their identical brown eyes—eyes the same as Sarah’s. They trusted her so much! She racked her brain to think of a way to make this easier for them.
‘You know,’ she started, ‘it can be a bit awkward making new friends at first, and I bet they’re just as worried that we should like them too.’ She could see that thought hadn’t occurred to either child. ‘Sometimes it helps to have something ready to talk about. So…when you’re talking to someone today you might like to ask them what their favourite thing about living in Bellaroo Creek is, or if they have a dog, or if they keep chickens.’
Both children’s faces cleared immediately.
‘Ooh!’ She clapped her hands. ‘I could send you both on a quest to find out what everyone thinks would be the best vegetables to grow in our backyard.’
Ty squinted up at her. ‘Because that’s important, right?’
‘Vital,’ she assured him.
He grinned. ‘And you could find out how to make Cam’s mum’s cake.’
She pointed a finger at him. ‘Excellent idea!’ She straightened her shirt. ‘And I’m going to remember to smile nicely at everyone and remember to say please and thank you in all the right places. Ready?’
The children nodded. They tumbled out of the car and, holding tight to each other’s hands, they entered the hall together.
Tess blinked. There had to be at least thirty people in here! As well as one seriously long trestle table covered with more sandwiches, pies, quiches, cakes, slices and biscuits than Tess had seen altogether in one place. The sight of all that food, and all those faces, made her head spin. A hush fell over the crowd.
Thirty people, and yet for one craven moment she’d have given anything to swap ten of them for the familiar reassuring bulk of Cameron Manning. Which was crazy because she didn’t know Cameron well enough for him to be either familiar or reassuring. But so far Bellaroo Creek consisted of their farmhouse, their lemon tree and Cameron.
All these people will become your community, your friends, too.
First-day nerves, that was all that this was. Taking a deep breath, Tess beamed about the room. ‘Hi, I’m Tess, and this here is Ty and Krissie. We can’t tell you how happy we are to be in Bellaroo Creek and how much we’re looking forward to meeting everyone.’
A tall, straight woman detached herself from the crowd. ‘I’m Lorraine Pritchard, and we’re all absolutely delighted that you’ve joined our little community.’
And just like that the silence was replaced with a hubbub of voices, and the three of them were swept into the heart of the crowd. An older woman—Stacy Bennet, the schoolteacher—whisked Ty and Krissie off to join a small band of children, stopping by the refreshment table to make sure they armed themselves with a fairy cake each first, and thereby winning herself two friends for life.
‘The children will be fine with Stacy,’ Lorraine told her kindly.
Of course they would. The same way they’d been fine with Boomer this morning. It was just…she hated losing sight of them, even for a moment. Telling herself to stop being so silly, she turned back to Lorraine. The older woman took her arm. ‘Come and meet everyone.’
It’d take her longer than a single afternoon to get everyone’s names straight in her mind, but they were all so friendly and kind with their welcomes and their offers of assistance to help her settle in that in under ten minutes Tess felt wrapped in warmth. The glimmer of light that had taken up residence in her heart the moment her application had been accepted now became a fully floodlit arena.
She pressed her hands to her chest and blinked hard.
A group of women surrounded her. One handed her a mug of tea, another handed her a plate piled high with food. They filled her in on what produce was available from the general store and how to set up an account there. They shared their favourite online sites for ordering in school supplies, work boots and make-up. When she asked, they told her the date for the next CWA meeting and promised to meet her there.
Several men came up to her too. One to tell her he was her man if she ever decided to keep pigs. another to let her know he could help her set up her own home brew if she wanted. Another introduced himself as the soccer coach for the Bellaroo Creek under tens team and told her that both Ty and Krissie were welcome when training started up in another month.
The entire town, it seemed, welcomed them with arms wide open and friendship in their hearts. Her earlier nerves suddenly seemed ludicrous.
‘How are you doing, dear?’ Lorraine said, coming up behind her. ‘I hope we haven’t overwhelmed you?’
‘This is…’ Tess swallowed and gestured around the room. ‘It’s just something else. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.’
‘Nonsense! We wanted to welcome you to town in style. Now may I introduce my future daughter-in-law, Fiona?’
‘Lovely to meet you.’ Tess balanced her mug on her plate and shook hands with the pretty young woman. They exchanged pleasantries for a couple of minutes before Fiona, with a glance back behind her, excused herself. Tess turned back to Lorraine. ‘Thank you so much for the cake you left yesterday. I can’t tell you how much we appreciated it after that long drive.’
‘You’re welcome, my dear. I’m only sorry I couldn’t be there to greet you in person.’
‘That’s okay, Cameron deputised honourably in your absence.’
Lorraine’s head shot up. ‘Cam?’ Two beats went by then, ‘Oh, I’m so glad to hear it.’ Her hand fluttered to her throat. ‘I’ve been meaning to ring him, but…Is he well?’
Tess thought about those broad shoulders and long legs and had to swallow. ‘He seemed very well.’
Lorraine leaned forward, her eyes eager. ‘Yes?’
She blinked. ‘Umm…I mean, he obviously works hard, but he brought Boomer around to meet the children this morning, which was kind of him.’
‘Oh!’ Lorraine clapped her hands together, her eyes shining. ‘Oh, I’m so pleased to hear that.’
She was? She continued to stare at Tess as if eager to hear any news about Cam that Tess was willing to share. Tess lifted a shoulder. ‘There was a bit of a mix-up on the lease agreement, but we sorted it out.’
Lorraine stilled. ‘Mix-up?’
‘Something about forty hectares that belong to Cam, or that he was supposed to be leasing from you or something like that, accidentally being on the lease agreement I signed.’
Lorraine paled. ‘Oh…no. Are you sure?’
Tess stilled then too because it was evident that something was wrong. Very wrong. She wanted to ask what it was but manners prevented her. She rolled her shoulders. ‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned it.’ She forced a wide smile, wanting to ease the other woman’s evident anxiety. ‘But I promise we sorted it out. He’s happy with the outcome and so am I.’
A breath shuddered out of the older woman and she sent Tess a smile that signalled her relief. ‘I’m very, very glad to hear that. If you see him, please give him my love.’
‘Of course.’ But…why didn’t Lorraine give Cam her love in person?
Lorraine stared beyond Tess and suddenly straightened. ‘Would you excuse me for a moment, Tess? I—’
Before she could move, however, a man Tess hadn’t met charged up and kissed Lorraine’s cheek, before turning to survey Tess. ‘Would you introduce me to Bellaroo Creek’s newest resident?’
Lorraine bit her lip. Finally she shook her head and said, ‘Tess, this is my son, Lance.’
Cameron’s brother? Tess hastily set her plate and mug on a nearby table and extended her hand. ‘I’m very pleased to meet you.’ He was prettier than Cameron with his blond good looks and golden tan, but neither his size nor his presence was anywhere near as commanding.
He grinned at her. He had one of those infectious kinds of grins. ‘Oh, ho! The single farmers in the district are sure going to be pleased to meet you.’
She laughed. And he had an easy charm his older brother totally lacked.
She’d met men like Lance before—full of fun, but often not much else. On closer inspection, though, the colour was high on his cheeks and she couldn’t help feeling his joviality was forced.
‘It’s great to meet you, Tess. Welcome to Bellaroo Creek.’
‘Thank you.’
‘And as I’m not the kind of man to let the grass grow under my feet…’
Really? She didn’t believe that for one moment.
‘I’d like to talk business with you.’
The hair at her nape prickled. She folded her arms. ‘Oh?’
‘Lance.’ Lorraine laid a hand on his arm. ‘This is neither the time nor the place.’
He shook off his mother’s touch. ‘Of course it is.’ He bounced on the balls of his feet, a fine sheen of perspiration filming his top lip and his forehead. ‘Now I understand, Tess, that you have forty prime hectares on your allotment that are just going begging. I want to make you an offer you can’t refuse.’
Several groups nearby stopped talking and turned to listen. Others moved forward.
‘Oh, Lance, I can’t believe this of you!’ Lorraine hissed. ‘I think—’
He held up a hand, his eyes glittering. ‘I’d like to lease that land from you at very generous terms.’
Someone nearby snorted. Lance ignored it, but Lorraine’s hand fluttered about her throat. ‘Lance, please,’ she whispered.
He rocked back on his heels. ‘What do you say, Tess?’
That was when she realised thirty pairs of eyes watched her closely, waiting to see what she’d say, and instinct told her whatever she did or said now would seal her, Ty and Krissie’s fate in Bellaroo Creek, for good or ill.
And she didn’t know what would work for or against them.
She swallowed. She hadn’t done anything wrong. All she could do was offer Lance the truth. ‘I’m sorry, Lance, but I signed a contract this morning leasing that land to Cameron. I understood he had a right to it.’
Cameron was his brother. Surely Lance would be happy for him?
Lance stared at her, the blood draining from his face. ‘But…I need that land more than he does. I need that canola contract.’
‘Cam’s spent the last two years improving that land,’ somebody from the crowd said.
He had?
‘Yeah, back off, Lance. Cam’s earned the right to that land,’ someone else called out.
Lance swung back to Tess, his face twisting and his eyes wild with panic. ‘You’ve ruined me. You and Cam both.’ His voice rose on each word. ‘It’s what he wants, and you’ve been party to that!’ He stiffened. ‘I hope you’re happy?’
Happy? She was appalled!
One of the older farmers muttered, ‘One can hardly blame Cam for that.’ He lifted his voice. ‘And it’s sure as heck not Tess’s fault. So like Stuart said, back off, Lance.’
Lance pointed a finger at her. Tess swallowed. She opened her mouth just as Ty came barrelling up, shaking, his small hands clenched to fists. ‘Don’t you yell at my auntie Tess!’
Bursting into tears, Krissie hurled herself at her aunt. Tess scooped her up and held her close, dangerously close to tears herself.
Fiona raced up and took Lance’s arm. With an apologetic glance at Tess, she led him away.
Lorraine turned to her, pale, her hands shaking. ‘Oh, Tess, I’m so sorry. I—’
Hauling Ty in close to her side, she said, ‘Just give me a moment,’ before leading the children to a quiet corner where she tried to quieten Krissie’s sobs. Not easy when her insides were quivering and all she wanted to do was drop her head and cry too.
The luncheon had been so perfect. She’d started to feel like a part of the community. She’d thought everything was going to work out exactly as she needed it to. And then, bam!
Her head reeled. She found it hard to catch her breath. She closed her eyes and dragged air into her lungs. ‘Shh, honey.’ She rubbed Krissie’s back. ‘Everything is okay.’
It would be okay. She’d make sure it’d be okay. A setback, that was all this was.
‘Why was that man angry?’ Krissie hiccupped.
‘It’s not so much that he was angry as he was upset. He’s very worried about some things.’
Her whole body shuddered. ‘Is he going to hurt us?’
‘No, honey, he’s not.’ She hugged Krissie close and then touched Ty’s cheek. He was so quiet. ‘I promise. Okay?’
‘’Kay,’ he murmured.
‘The man was being very silly and we don’t need to worry about him at all.’ She prayed they’d believe her, that they trusted her enough. Time for a brave face. ‘You know what I need?’ she whispered. ‘A lamington. Are there any?’
‘Ones with cream in them.’
‘Ooh, yum.’ She made her eyes wide. ‘Let’s go look.’
They each selected a lamington, they each took a bite, and then Tess caught Stacy’s eye. ‘Don’t forget,’ she whispered before the teacher reached them, ‘I need the names of vegetables.’
They were laughing again by the time they reached the group of other children. Tess didn’t doubt there’d be more questions tonight, but for now things were fine.
She moved back towards Lorraine and the group of women who surrounded her. ‘Are the littlies okay?’ one of the women asked her.
Tess hesitated, her gaze darting back to the circle of children. ‘I think so.’ She swallowed. She’d given an account of Ty and Krissie’s circumstances in her application letter. Not a full account, perhaps, but full enough. She didn’t doubt that everyone in the room knew about the death of their parents. ‘It’s just that they’ve been through so much in such a short space of time…Little things can unduly upset them.’
‘An angry man isn’t a little thing. Especially when you’re five years old.’
Tess had to close her eyes for a moment. An angry man. The shaking started back up inside her. Lorraine touched her arm. ‘I can’t tell you how sorry I am, Tess. Lance has a lot on his mind at the moment, but that doesn’t excuse his behaviour.’
Lorraine was obviously appalled.
‘It wasn’t your fault.’ But…She twisted her hands together. ‘Is there anything I ought to know?’
The women surrounding them discreetly melted away, leaving Tess and Lorraine alone. Lorraine gripped her hands together. ‘Cameron and Lance have had the most dreadful falling out, Tess. They haven’t spoken to each other in over ten months.’
Ten months!
Lorraine’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I…I certainly didn’t expect any of that fallout to land in your lap, though. I’m absolutely mortified.’
The older woman’s heartache tugged at her. But…‘That forty hectares?’ she whispered.
Lorraine blinked hard and swallowed. ‘I knew nothing about it, I promise.’
The shaking inside her started to slow.
‘Tess, I can’t tell you how sorry—’
She reached out to clasp the other woman’s hands. ‘There’s no need to apologise further, Lorraine.’ She had no desire to make things even harder for the other woman. Especially when she’d gone to so much trouble to welcome them to town so warmly. ‘Let’s forget about it.’ She made herself smile and then turned to check on Ty and Krissie again. She prayed there hadn’t been any permanent harm done there.
‘Honey.’ Lorraine moved in close so they were touching shoulders. ‘I understand your concern. Your Ty and Krissie have had a lot to deal with, but…children are remarkably resilient, you know?’
She gave a shaky laugh. ‘Are they?’ She didn’t have a clue.
‘Yes, I promise. And I promise they’ll be okay. All you can do is love them the best you can…as you obviously do. All of us here in Bellaroo Creek will do our best to become a second family to them. It’ll all work out in the end.’
The other women, who’d moved back in closer, all nodded and murmured their agreement.
They made it sound so easy.
Why, then, was it proving so very, very hard?
CHAPTER THREE
CAM WENT TO knock on Tess’s front door, but the sound of voices out the back had him redirecting his path around the side of the house.
Tess, Ty and Krissie all sat on a bright blue rug beside the lemon tree. They sat in a row—Tess in the middle—with legs stretched out in front of them and their backs to the sun, and him.
The scene hit him in a place he’d thought he’d locked up for good. For three beats of his heart a gnawing, ragged ache threatened to split him open. Reaching out, he steadied himself against the boards of the house. He’d dreamed of being part of a picture like this once. Ten short months ago, in fact, though it seemed like a lifetime ago now.
A family.
His jaw clenched. Lance and Fiona had stolen this from him.
A boulder of a lump stretched his throat. His temples pounded.
No! He refused to be beguiled by this dream again. He would never again open himself up to the kind of betrayal Lance and Fiona had inflicted upon him.
Filling Kurrajong House with a family, that had all been a ludicrous, out-of-reach dream. He’d found that out the hard way, just like his father. Unlike his father, however, he had no intention of burying himself on Kurrajong Station and stewing in ‘what might have beens’ and regrets, and waiting for death to come claim him. He’d fill the gaps somehow.
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