Outback Dreams (16 page)

‘I guess Mack has explained our situation,' Tim said, pushing his bowl away a little and glancing between Faith and Monty. It was obvious he thought them a couple. She wondered whether she should say something to make it clear she was only here for support.

Monty nodded, finished his mouthful and rested his spoon in his empty bowl. ‘He said you wouldn't sell to just anyone, that you wanted someone who'd love the land and be a part of it. He said you refused to sell to some big company who couldn't give a rat's about anything bar the bottom line.'

‘That's right.' Tim scowled at the notion. ‘Farming is supposed to be a way of life, not a get-rich-quick scheme. This land,' he raised his arms and gestured out the open kitchen window into the paddocks beyond, ‘has been good to me, but we've been good to it too. Yes, you want to earn money, enough to feed your family and live an honest life, but you need to respect the land, love it. At least that's my philosophy.'

‘Watch your heart, love,' Nora warned as Tim's voice became louder and more animated.

Tim ignored the warning, continuing with equal fervour. ‘I've had two big-wigs from the city come in here and offer me big bucks for this property, for our home. One wanted to plant bloody trees everywhere—trees—and the other wanted to combine it with next door's property and bring in a farm manager. No love at all in their offer. I want someone who has the land in their blood. Someone who treats stock like animals, not numbers. Someone with a family to bring noise and laughter to these walls.'

Monty bowed his head. ‘I'm sorry Tim, I don't have any children.'

Tim brushed off this comment with a wave of his arm and a wink at Faith. ‘Plenty of time for that, isn't there?' As she blushed, he added, ‘It's what's in here that matters.' He knocked his knuckles against his chest and fixed his gaze on Monty. ‘Do you have the kind of passion I'm looking for?'

‘Yes, sir.' Monty's Adam's apple bobbed slowly up and down but he seemed unable to make any further comment.

Faith bit down on the confirmations that were itching to burst forth from her mouth. She had to let Monty sell himself. This was his baby.

Finally, he found his voice. ‘Sorry,' he said quickly, ‘this just means so much to me. But yes, I do have that passion. For as long as I can remember I've wanted my own farm. I've lived briefly in the city, I've worked other trades, but my heart hasn't been in any of them. I always thought I'd inherit my family farm, but my parents sold it before I was old enough to take over.' He sniffed and Faith stiffened, her heart breaking at the emotion in his words.

‘That day,' Monty continued, ‘I vowed that I would save enough to one day buy my own farm—to be the farmer I always dreamed of being.'

Pure instinct made Faith reach sideways and take his hand in her own. Pride swelled her heart. She squeezed and he squeezed back.

‘I've spent years working hard to achieve this goal, but I'm tired of being just an employee. I want to be my own boss.'

As she watched him, Faith swore she saw water glistening in the corners of Monty's eyes.

‘This is what I've wanted my whole life. I promise, if you decide to sell your property to me, I'll do everything within my power to care for it the way you would.'

When Monty finished talking, they both looked to Tim and Nora for their reaction.

Silence rang out in the old kitchen for a few moments then a massive grin cracked open on Tim's face. ‘In that case, let's do the tour.'

As Tim stood, Nora complained, ‘Let the poor kids have a slice of my apple cake first. Plenty of time to look around.'

Monty's shoulders slumped, and it was Faith's turn to kick him under the table. He straightened immediately and tried for a smile. ‘That sounds delicious, Nora.'

Tim sighed, but sank back into his chair nevertheless. Somehow they found room for a slice of warm apple cake and cream and then finally the time came to tour the property.

Nora showed Monty and Faith to the bathroom so they could relieve themselves before heading out, and she and Tim went off to the other bathroom, presumably to do the same. When they were out of earshot, Faith grinned at Monty.

‘You may as well have won Lotto.'

‘I know. I can't believe it. He's rather eccentric, isn't he?'

‘Anyone who's offering what they're offering you has to be a little eccentric. But they're good people. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.' She paused, pondering whether she should tell Monty her suspicions. ‘But I think we may have given them the impression that we're together.
Together
together.'

He looked a little sheepish. ‘You noticed that too?'

‘Yep. What do you want to do about it?'

He sighed. ‘I know it's not strictly honest, but I get the feeling they'd prefer to sell this place to someone they think will have a family here. Do you reckon you could pretend to be my girlfriend while we're here?'

She raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, well, well. How things have changed. I do recall only a couple of weeks back you were horrified at the idea.'

‘Cut it out, Faith. You know how much this means to me.' He smirked, but there was real terror in his voice. ‘Will you do it or not?'

Unable to resist, she reached up on tippy toes and kissed him on the lips. It was purely platonic—meant to be a bit of a joke— but the effect almost knocked her off balance. He caught her by the elbow, confusion and a flush creeping across his face. ‘Was that supposed to be a yes?'

‘Uh-huh.' Then, in an attempt to catch her breath, she fled into the toilet. What the hell was she thinking by kissing him?

Ten minutes after feeling Faith's lips against his own, Monty was in the back of a dusty four-wheel drive, trying like hell to concentrate on the words coming out of Tim's mouth. Instead of taking in the layout of the paddocks around him, he kept glancing across at Faith. He kept thinking about how easily she'd fit against him when he'd pulled her into his side to introduce her to the Pattersons. How perfect she'd looked sitting at the big kitchen table in the house he wanted to call home, and even more, how that brief brush of her lips had set off a chain reaction of sparks inside him.

Sparks.
Damnit.

Desperately trying to exorcise this ridiculous line of thinking, he racked his brain for a sensible question to put to Tim. ‘What was the rainfall last year? ‘Have you sown any other crop besides canola?'

Tim rattled off numbers and gave a rundown of his crops over the last few years. He also spoke about the seasonal workers he contracted and how he'd needed more help than he could afford since he'd had his hip operation.

They spent the next couple of hours surveying every inch of Clancy's Breakaway. Everything from the fences to the buildings and livestock was in such good order that Monty really couldn't believe his luck when Tim started talking as if the deal was done. He hoped he wasn't getting in over his head, but wasn't about to let fear of the unknown and a couple of thousand cows put him off.

When Faith let slip a yawn, Nora said, ‘You two must be knackered. Let's head back to the homestead and have something to eat.' Tim's wife and Faith had that in common—they were always trying to feed people.

‘I'm fine,' Faith argued, but Nora wasn't having any of it.

‘Nonsense. Tim and Daniel can talk any further business in the warmth and comfort of the house.' The four of them bundled back into Tim's four-wheel drive and headed for the homestead. ‘Now, you two will stay in our guest room, won't you?'

Monty guessed this room held one big bed and whereas usually this wouldn't faze him, right now the idea of sharing such an intimate space with Faith didn't seem such a good one. Her long legs in skinny-fit denim jeans left little enough to his imagination as it was.

‘Thank you, but you've already been far too kind,' he said forcefully. ‘We've got my tent and our swags. We'll be quite fine.'

‘Sleeping under the stars.' Nora sighed wistfully. ‘So romantic. All right you lovebirds, suit yourself. But do promise you'll come in if it gets too chilly overnight.'

‘We will,' Monty agreed, the words “romantic” and “stars” ringing loud and clear in his mind.

Leaving Tim and Nora alone to organise dinner and locate the last few years' farm records for Monty to look over, he and Faith trekked a short way away from the house and set up his tent. As usual, Faith worked as hard as any bloke to erect the tent and then crept inside to straighten out their swags with the kind of touch only a woman could. She was wrong in thinking she wasn't feminine. He may have only just noticed, but she was everything any man would want in a wife. Good on the farm, an excellent cook, the best sense of humour and a body to run your hands over and…

Any man but me that is.

Monty chastised himself for having such thoughts about his best mate. That was asking for trouble. How many good friendships had he seen ruined because of sex? And then there was the fact he was practically dating Ruby. Guarding his thoughts, he kept his distance and gathered a few sticks for a campfire in case they needed one in the cool of the evening.

‘You okay?' Faith asked, emerging from the tent. He straightened from where he'd been bending to pick up a stick.

‘Sure, why wouldn't I be?'

‘You seem a bit jumpy.' She approached him. ‘If you're worried about what Tim and Nora think of you, then stop right there. They're already convinced you're the perfect man for this place, and I know they're absolutely right.'

‘Thanks, Faith.' He looked into her familiar eyes and smiled. Her words were those of a friend, but he couldn't help feeling there was something more in the air between them this evening. Something stronger.

‘Come on,' she said, linking her arm through his, apparently oblivious to the something more. ‘We'd better not keep our hosts waiting.' Although they were both wearing jumpers, her heat emanated through the layers of clothing. He thought about how much hotter things could get if there weren't any such barriers between them.

Oh, hell. This crazy thinking had to stop.

Pretending he had to pull up his socks, he stooped and adjusted his boots unnecessarily. When he stood again, he made the conscious decision not to take her arm.

The kitchen door was wide open in welcome when they arrived on the back verandah. They could hear Nora singing as she stirred a pot that looked big enough to feed a small army. Dinner smelled divine, and they yanked off their boots, eager to get inside and taste it.

As their boots clunked against the wooden flooring, the older woman spun around and smiled, not at all fazed that she'd been caught in the act of belting out songs along with an old-fashioned wireless.

‘Hello, you two.' She dumped her wooden spoon on a chopping board, wiped her hands against the apron and turned off the radio. ‘Now, what can I get you to drink?'

Before they could reply, Tim entered, a stubby of beer in his work-roughened hands. ‘You'll have one of these, won't you Daniel?'

‘Sounds good, mate.' Monty had never felt more in need of a beer.

‘What about you Faith?' Tim asked. ‘Shall I open a bottle of wine for you and Nora?'

Faith glanced at Nora and then back to Tim. ‘To be honest, I'm not much of a wine drinker. I'd kill for a beer, though.'

Tim slapped her on the back and she jolted slightly. ‘That's the spirit. I love a girl who knows how to drink.'

Faith blinked, looking slightly bemused.

Tim went to the fridge and returned with four fresh cans. ‘Nora is exactly the same, only she pretends to be a lady when we've got guests.'

‘Oh, be off with you,' Nora said, as she took the can and cracked it open.

‘Now all we need is a deck of cards, a few good belches and we'll have ourselves a right old night.' Tim guffawed and pulled a seat out from around the table. ‘Sit down, kids.'

Nora shook her head, took a sip of her beer and turned back to her dinner preparations. Monty looked across to see Faith stifling a giggle. If only he could just relax a bit, they might all have a very good night.

Faith wasn't sure how many beers she'd had—she'd lost count a couple of hours ago—or how many serves of Nora's lethal sticky date pudding. They'd migrated to the lounge room after dinner, and she'd lost every game of blackjack since. She was glad they weren't playing strip poker because from where she was sitting, Monty looked mighty fine even with all his clothes on.

When Nora yawned and Tim lost yet another hand to Monty, the older couple decided it was time to call it a night. The four of them struggled to standing then stumbled down the corridor to the back door almost as one.

Tim took hold of Faith and Monty in one hearty embrace, his firm fingers gripping into their shoulders. ‘Thanks for a great night, friends. I'll be calling Mack first thing tomorrow. It would be my honour if you would take the reins of our beloved home.'

‘Ah, thanks, mate.' Monty clapped Tim on the back, letting the older man decide when to let them go.

Faith merely smiled, suffering a smidgen of guilt at the way they were deceiving this lovely couple. Although right now, the way she felt, it was anything but deception. She'd spent all night gazing around the homestead, fantasizing about living here herself. Fantasizing about setting up house with Monty and building a life together. It was probably why she'd played so dismally at cards.

‘Now, are you sure you two are going to be okay out there in the cold?' Nora's concerned voice jarred her thoughts, snapping her back to reality.

‘Yes, thank you so much for dinner and such a good night.' Faith gave Nora a quick hug. She swayed a little and felt Monty's steadying hand on her back. It burned, sending short, sharp, sensual messages to every nerve ending in her body. Without removing his hand, he pecked a quick kiss on Nora's cheek and echoed Faith's sentiments.