Outback Ghost (12 page)

‘Wow, that's awesome. What's it about?'

He saw her suck in a deep breath before she answered. ‘My experience with Down Syndrome.'

Frankie leaned back against the veranda railing. ‘How old were you when you had Heidi?'

Stella flushed as if uncomfortable being the centre of conversation. Or was she only uncomfortable with him knowing about these things? ‘Um… just nineteen,' she said eventually.

‘Geez.' Frankie sighed. ‘I wouldn't have known the first thing about raising a child at that age, did you get much help from your parents?'

Stella shook her head. ‘No, none at all.'

Frankie opened her mouth again and Adam could tell she hadn't sensed any of Stella's reticence and would continue bombarding their guest with twenty personal questions if someone didn't stop her.

He was about to ask something lame like how many sausages everyone would eat when Simone jumped in before Frankie could ask anything else. ‘I'll definitely buy your book,' she said. ‘I'm a single mum and I know how tough it can be but to be so young, with no support… well, I think you've done an amazing job.'

Adam let out a breath of relief and resisted the urge to hug Simone, who appeared to have inherited the tact gene that her sister had missed.

‘Thanks.' Stella smiled proudly as the women turned to look at Heidi. She and Mutton had stopped zooming around like crazy and now lay together under the shade of the willow tree, Heidi using Mutton as a pillow. ‘How old are your girls, Simone?' Stella asked, obviously redirecting the conversation.

‘I've got Harriet who's…'

Adam zoned out, continuing to turn the sausages while Simone waxed lyrical about her teenage girls. Although the older one had recently found boys and, as Simone joked, was intent on turning her mother's hair grey, they were the centre of her world. They were living reminders of the husband she'd loved fiercely but lost when her daughters were only young.

‘If you ever need a babysitter while you're here, my girls would be more than happy to oblige,' Simone offered. ‘They're good with little kids and they'd fall in love with Heidi.'

‘Thanks, but I can't imagine I'll have any need. I don't exactly have much of a social life.'

Frankie laughed. ‘Join the club, but there's always the pub on a Friday night. It can be fun. We should have dinner there one night.'

‘The meat's done,' Adam announced, sensing Stella's awkwardness. He didn't know if it was because she didn't like the idea of leaving Heidi with anyone or because she no longer knew how to have fun on her own.

‘Great. I'm starving.' Stella patted her stomach.

‘I'll go get the salads,' Esther said, already turning to head inside.

‘I'll help you.'

Stella followed his mum and Adam took the opportunity to grill his cousins. ‘What's going on here?' he asked as he transferred the sausages from the grill to a plate.

Frankie and Simone shrugged, but their eyes twinkled with excitement.

‘Did you guys arrange this?' He didn't need to explain what ‘this' meant.

‘No.' Simone shook her head. ‘Aunty Esther called me yesterday and asked me to pick up some items in town for her and then she asked if Frankie and I would like to come and have lunch with the people staying at the cottage.'

‘When Simone told me, I moved mountains so I could get away from the café. I know how big this is.'

‘And neither of you thought to tell me?' he asked.

‘I thought you'd know,' Simone replied, ‘but it's great, isn't it?'

‘I haven't seen Aunty Esther this happy in…' Frankie paused to think, then said, ‘ever.' She was only twenty-five and too young to remember her cousin or the dramas that had occurred when she'd gone missing. She knew the story and the mystery that remained unsolved but she didn't remember what Esther had been like before the bottom dropped out of her world.

‘Me neither.' Was it Stella or Heidi that had instigated this change? He suspected the latter. The little girl was the same age as his sister had been and he guessed she reminded his mum of the child she'd lost. All these years he'd been looking for something to light a spark in her heart but he'd never thought of getting her to spend time with another little girl. Could it really be as simple as that?

Stella stabbed her fork into a piece of carrot and popped it into her mouth, glancing surreptitiously at Adam while he sat chatting to Heidi about her love of animals.

When she'd accepted Esther's invitation to lunch it had been because Heidi would never have forgiven her if she'd said no and also because she'd been pretty certain Adam would be too busy harvesting to attend. Although she had Joanna and a few other friends in Perth, she normally didn't have time – what with work and Heidi's needs – for socialising, so today felt like a huge treat. Until he'd turned up, she'd been enjoying herself immensely.

Now all she could think about was the fact he'd seen her breast. Had he thought about that morning as much as she had? She swallowed the moisture that rushed to her mouth at the thought of Adam and her breast. It was only a bit of bare flesh but the fact that he'd seen it meant she found it almost impossible to look him in the eye whenever he spoke to her. What must he make of that? He'd probably seen more than his fair share of breasts in his time and hadn't paid hers a moment's thought since the other day but she could barely think about anything else.

If she wanted to survive her time of living on his farm, which would undoubtedly involve chance meetings like this one, she had to say something. She had to clear the air.

When they'd all finished eating, Simone and Frankie offered to clear up and Heidi sweet-talked Esther into taking her into the pool area where Whiskers lay sunning herself on a lounger. That left Stella and Adam sitting alone around the wooden table on the veranda. She took a long gulp of water, placed the glass back on the table and then cleared her throat.

‘Adam,' she began, ‘I've been meaning to apologise for the other morning.'

His cheeks flushed red, which told her he knew exactly what part she referred too. ‘There's really no need. Heidi was fine and I enjoyed showing her the harvester.'

He'd made it clear she didn't have to talk about the other thing but something inside her wanted to. What if he thought she'd known about flashing her breast? Worse, what if he thought it was intentional? He knew she'd gotten into a scrape at nineteen and found herself pregnant, maybe he thought that was just the type of person she was.

‘I was referring to,' she swallowed as she felt her cheeks turn the same colour as his, ‘the way my towel slipped and I showed you my…'

When she couldn't say the word, he assisted. ‘Breast?' he asked, a teasing twinkle in his eye.

As his lips curved at the edges, the tension in her body dissolved.

‘I could be a gentleman and pretend I didn't notice,' he said, ‘but it was a very nice breast and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the experience.'

She couldn't help but laugh. ‘Well, in that case I'm glad I could oblige.'

He nodded, feigning seriousness. ‘Yes, it was very kind of you. Especially since it's been a long time since I've seen such a lovely specimen.' His gaze drifted to her chest and he winked. ‘If you feel the need to expose yourself again, I could probably handle it. Just.'

Heat flared within her at the thought of voluntarily revealing her breasts to him. Her nipples tightened and something low in her belly quivered. Was he flirting with her? It'd been so long since she'd partaken in such a simple pleasure that she didn't know how to react. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea but it felt so good to be bantering with a good looking man in this way.

‘Typical male.' She rolled her eyes but before he could reply, a shriek and a loud splash sounded down by the pool.

Stella's heart twisted as she snapped her head to look. ‘Heidi!' she screamed as she saw her little girl's head bob up above the water. She could swim adequately but it was still a shock to see her in the pool, fully clothed, and the pregnant stray cat paddling like a dog in a furious attempt to escape the water. She must have fallen in while holding Whiskers. Stella leapt off her chair, her legs two steps ahead of her brain as she ran towards the fenced off pool but Adam got there first.

‘She can swim,' Stella called, but it was too late. Adam – jeans, T-shirt, boots and all – had already launched himself into the water. She watched as he landed alongside Heidi and scooped her up into his arms.

‘You okay?' she heard him ask.

‘We're swimming,' Heidi replied with a giggle.

A deep sigh and Adam laughed. ‘If you wanted to go swimming, you only had to ask.'

He waded through the water to the shallow end and popped Heidi up onto the edge of the pool. The cat, who'd already scrambled up the steps, slunk off through the gaps in the pool fence to lick itself dry in the sun. Uncaring that it would make her wet, Stella pulled Heidi into her arms and looked to Adam as he too hauled himself out of the water. He stood there, his hair, his T-shirt, his jeans all dripping. She had no doubt if he walked, they'd hear his boots squelch. Thank God it was warm.

‘You're making a habit of rescuing my daughter,' she said, glancing up at him. ‘Thank you. Again.'

He ran a hand through his wet hair. ‘Feel free to repay me the same way as last time.'

His words might have sounded innocuous but the chemistry that arced between them felt anything but.

‘How about we bake you some cookies, instead?' she promised with a smile. Before he could reply, Esther came running from the pool shed with a couple of towels. She threw one at Adam and then crouched down next to Stella and Heidi and wrapped a massive, shell-print one around the little girl.

‘I'm so sorry,' Esther gushed, looking to Stella. ‘We were chatting about the cat and I didn't realise how close they'd gotten to the edge. Thank God she's okay.'

Heidi was fine and Stella wanted to comfort the other woman but her gaze had locked on Adam only a few steps away and her ability to string words into a sentence had vanished at the sight.

Having tugged off his boots, socks and T-shirt Adam now stood in nothing but his jeans, which hung revealingly low due to the excess water they carried. He rubbed the towel vigorously over his head in an aim to dry his hair. Still kneeling next to Heidi, Stella found her eyes were at the perfect height to admire the bulge in his…
Oh shit
! She couldn't believe she was openly gaping at the poor guy's groin. Her heart was still shaking in her chest only now she wasn't sure if it was due to the shock or the way a nearly naked Adam affected her.

She forced her eyes upwards, planning to bypass his impressive upper body but her gaze snagged on the tattoo on his chest. In the spot directly above his heart sat the sweetest lily. She thought a flower an odd choice for a man so clearly masculine as Adam, yet it was the colour – blue – that caused the tiny hairs on her skin to stand on end. A blue lily. Lily-Blue. The name of Heidi's new imaginary friend wasn't common but surely this had to be a coincidence?

‘Hmm hmm.' Adam cleared his throat and Stella snapped her head upwards to look at him. The smile on his face said he'd noticed her appreciation and didn't mind one bit. She bit down on the instinct to explain herself.

‘If you ladies are all okay,' he said, looking to Stella and then at his mum and cousins who'd arrived while she'd been inappropriately perving, ‘I'd better get back to work.'

‘Yeah, bout time you pulled your weight,' Frankie teased, ducking just in time to avoid being flicked by Adam's wet towel.

Feigning a scowl, he threw the towel over one shoulder, stooped to pick up the rest of his soggy attire and then paused to speak to Heidi. ‘Next time you want to go swimming, remember to ask your mum, okay?'

Clutching her towel around her, Heidi giggled at him. ‘Okay, Mr Adam.'

He straightened again and Stella tried to get another look at his tattoo but the damn towel covered all. ‘Bye,' she said, her head too full of questions to manage anything more.

With another irresistible grin, he turned and whistled to Mutton. The puppy, who'd somehow managed to sleep through all the excitement, sprang to life again and tore after his master round the front of the house. Less than a minute later, Stella heard Adam's ute rattling away over the gravel.

‘Well, you gave us all quite a fright there.' Esther spoke warmly to Heidi as she rubbed the little girl's arms with a towel.

Heidi looked to the ground and her lower lip wobbled.

‘Hey, don't stress,' Simone reached out and curled some of Heidi's wet hair around her finger. ‘I think it was quite funny watching Adam dive into the water fully dressed.'

Heidi giggled.

‘If only we'd had a video camera,' Frankie added wistfully.

‘I'm glad you didn't,' Stella said. ‘I feel terrible enough as it is.'

‘Ah, relax.' Frankie wrapped an arm around Stella's shoulders and whispered so the others couldn't hear, ‘Don't tell me you didn't enjoy the view.'

Smiling but pretending to ignore Frankie, Stella took Heidi's hand. ‘Come on, young lady, I think it's time to get you back to the cottage.'

‘Want to stay with Esther.' Heidi stamped her foot.

Heidi rarely made a scene and generally Stella felt she handled them quite well, but today she didn't know if she had it in her. Luckily Esther stepped in before the tantrum erupted.

‘I've had a lovely time with you today, Heidi, but I'm old and I get tired in the afternoons. I think I need to take a nap. You can come swim in my pool with your mum another day if you like.'

Heidi's eyes lit up. Her disgruntlement forgotten, she looked to Stella for approval.