Taming the Outback (20 page)

“It still does, but I love it.” Libby guided Joan into the kitchen and put on the kettle for coffee.

“Your grandma had this place looking so nice. I was heartbroken when she died, and I think that was when your uncle lost his joy with being in this world too.”

“Did you know her well then?” Libby retrieved the cups from the cupboard.

“Yes, I did. She was older than me, of course, but she didn’t let that worry her. She was always helping someone in the community.” Joan’s face lit with a wistful smile. “When I came home from the hospital with my first baby, she was there. Just like a surrogate mother, she was. Always there when I needed help or I wasn’t coping so well. Nothing was ever a problem for her. Running the station and looking after anyone that needed help. She was a gem.”

“Tom said that she was good at collecting orphans.” Libby smiled. She poured the boiling water into the cups, and walking to the table, handed one to Joan. She pulled out a chair opposite and sat down.

“That she was,” Joan agreed, sipping her coffee. “Even before she convinced your uncle to move in here after your grandfather died, she’d earned the tag. It’s scary how much you look like her, you know. You could have knocked me over with a feather the night of the dance. Walking in on Tom’s arm in her dress, I thought I was seeing her again. It made my skin go all goosey-like.”

“I didn’t even know she existed until I got that letter from the lawyer,” Libby said. “Why are there no photos of her in the house? I wish I knew more about them, but I don’t.”

“It was Thaddius who took them down, I suspect. When she died, he changed, and not for the better either. I think he loved her more than she knew, and her death left him a little bit unhinged, you could say. If you want to know more about her, I can help you.”

“I would love that. Thank you,” said Libby. “It’s kind of an eerie feeling knowing we’re so alike, and I didn’t even know she existed, yet here I am.”

“I’ll get the ball rolling if you like. Being as how we are a close community here in Charleville, everyone will have something to show you or tell you about her. There will be photos of the family in just about every house, I would reckon.”

“That is so sweet of you. I really appreciate it.”

“Think nothing of it.” Joan leaned closer. “Now, I don’t mean to be indelicate here, but I have to ask. Is there anything between you and Nathan? Don’t fuss yourself, my girl,” she said as Libby sat back in her chair. “As I say, we’re a close community, and we all know Nathan’s history. I just don’t want to stand on anybody’s toes when the gossip mill is already running rampant.”

“What are they saying?” Libby’s back stiffened.

“Just that a few people noticed the heat between the two of you at the dance, and then Nathan seemed to be ready to kill anyone who looked in your direction. Tongues started wagging. I know there are a couple of young bucks who are looking forward to seeing you again at my party. I just wanted to warn you, that was all. You don’t need to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”

Libby felt heat rise into her face, and she rubbed her hands down her thighs before she responded. “I wish I could tell you there was something there, but I don’t know if there is. I have what he wants, and he’s not going to get it by giving me a quick roll in the hay. That’s basically the story, I’m afraid.”

“I never would have thought Nathan was the type to treat a woman like that,” Joan replied. “I grew up with him, and he always treated the girls well. But that was before his fiancée took off with that city fellow, I guess. Things could have changed. I know he’s kept to himself the last few years. I figured he was hurt so bad he didn’t want to go down that road again.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Libby said. I’m a big girl, and I can take care of Nathan. I don’t care if folk talk about it. I can take it. Now, what can I make for your party?”

They talked and scoured cooking books until Libby had been allocated her recipes for the night. She put the book to one side and walked Joan out to her car. Libby said good-bye, watching as the car drove away before heading back into the house.

She did care what the locals were saying, regardless of what she’d said to Joan. It hurt her feelings they would gossip about her and Nathan like that when they didn’t know anything of what happened, but that was the way of small towns. She understood that. It didn’t mean she had to like it though. What did amuse her was the fact they’d noticed the heat between her and Nathan and the way he’d glared at the young men who had tried to cut in on their dancing. He was going to be at the party, so she would take care to look her best and be the friendly neighbor.
See if that makes his blood boil and his interest in me rise.

Libby set to work in the office going over the sheep and cattle charts she was working on before the kids got home from school. Tom was working on the tractor and didn’t need her help. She promised herself she would sort it out so she could get in touch with Aaron and start improving the herd.

Between her and Tom, they had separated the stock they wanted to get rid of, and the local stock agent had already made Libby an offer she had accepted. But Tom warned her they would still have to throw in a good amount of cash in order to get the good bloodlines they needed to bring the quality of their wool and meat up to scratch.

They had a load of young ewes being delivered in the next few days that would be ready for breeding next season. Bill McNally was pricing another herd of older ewes that were already pregnant and due to drop their lambs next month. This kind of deal did not come up often, and it was the main reason she wanted to get it down on paper for Aaron’s approval.

Once they had the sheep situation under control, she would work on getting more heifers for her new bull.

_***

Libby carried the salad, and Tom took the cheesecake as she herded the kids out to the truck. She was looking forward to the party and seeing her new neighbors again. When they arrived, she placed the gift for Joan and Bill on the table already piled high with brightly wrapped presents and made her way into the house to put her food in cold storage, keeping an eye out for Nathan among the other guests as she went.

“Libby,” Joan cried, giving her a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. “You remember these girls from the dance, don’t you?” she said as she quickly reintroduced Libby to the ladies working in the kitchen.

They drew her into their group, and she helped as they prepared the remainder of the food. She glanced out of the window while she worked, hoping nobody noticed. To her disappointment, Nathan didn’t appear to be among the crowd already there. The men were all talking around the spit while the pig turned slowly, wafting a tantalizing fragrance throughout the garden.

“That smells awesome, Joan.” Libby looked out the window again, hoping he was amongst the men.

“Secret family recipe. That’s enough for now, girls,” Joan said, putting the last dish into the fridge. “Chardonnay or Riesling?” Joan pulled two bottles of wine from the fridge and presented them to Libby. Libby pondered the selection briefly before making a choice. “Riesling, please.” The other women smiled at her, and after settling Libby and the crew with respective glasses, they trudged outside to join the men.

“That sounds like a good deal to me.” Tom’s words drifted to Libby’s ears, and she sidled over to his side, listening intently, and waiting for a chance to insert herself in the conversation.

“Looks like we have those ewes, Libby,” he said, quoting her the price Bill had relayed to him. “Is it doable for that?”

“Just. Aaron will be pleased. Thank you, Bill. I can’t wait to see them,” Libby said, glancing around.

“My pleasure,” Bill replied. “I’ll get them delivered in the next couple of days. It would be good to get them well settled before they start lambing. Let them calm down a bit. I’ll drop the bill in your letter box, and you can post a check directly to the family.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. We’ll have to start looking for some more cows soon, or that bull you sold me will be trying to get to Nathan’s girls.”

“I don’t think you want that to happen somehow, sweetheart.” The voice came from behind her.

Libby’s skin tingled all over as Nathan brushed against her arm. She looked into his dark eyes, searching to see if he were annoyed with her or joking.

“Scared of getting some good, free bloodline in your herd, Nathan?” Bill asked, laughing.

“My girls are all sorted out as you know. I would like to keep them with the bulls I’ve chosen. Makes it easier to keep the lines pure if you know who the sire is,” he said. “Besides, I’ve noticed the fences are now fixed, sweetheart, so unless you plan on opening the gate for him, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“I’m not that petty.” She plastered a smile on her face and moved away from him, trying to appear as though she were mingling with the crowd. He followed her, his hand under her elbow as he directed her away from everyone toward the sheds.

“I never thought you were,” he said. “Just plain annoying.”

Libby turned to face him, her temper rising. “I am not annoying.”

“I beg to differ.” His face was inches from hers. “What would you call it, sweetheart? You come into my house, seduce me with those big, beautiful eyes and then abuse me and walk away. If that isn’t annoying, I sure as hell don’t know what is.”

“Me, seduce you? Give me a break. You were just as responsible as I was,” she retorted. “You started at the dance if I remember rightly, and all I did was finish it off afterward, and I don’t seem to recall you putting up any kind of a fight either.”

“You expect me to turn down free sex? You obviously don’t know much about men if you think what I did was wrong.”

“Nathan, stop.” Libby moved away. “We had sex. I wanted it, and so did you. Don’t even try to deny it, but is it going to be the only thing between us or is there more I’m not seeing? Because I don’t do friends with benefits. That was a oncer for me. I wanted sex, and you were it, okay? If you want more, you need to prove it and act like a man, not an animal that just wants a rut in the hay.”

“Why would you think I wanted more than that?” he asked, his eyes smoldering as he looked at her.

“I don’t know, Nathan. Maybe because I felt a spark between us and thought it might be more than sex. I’m sorry if I was wrong,” she said. Libby hid her disappointment as she turned and walked away from Nathan, leaving him standing by himself. Her breath caught in her throat, and she forced back a sob of frustration.

Libby almost made it back to the house before Joan cut her off, and taking her hand, led her into the kitchen. “Okay, girl, what gives?”

“Just Nathan.” Libby sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on, honestly. We spark each other off, and I thought it was more than just him being pissed I ended up with the station. I mean, after the dance, I seduced him and I hoped there was more than sex in the wind for us.”

“You seduced Nathan?” Joan laughed. “God, I wish I had seen his face.”

“It’s not funny,” Libby cried. “Sure, I was feeling toey and needed him as much as he needed me, but I thought maybe there was more. Maybe he would like me for myself and not because I wore sexy panties and high heels and own the farm he was promised.”

“Oh, you need to fill me in more than this.” Joan’s eyes shone with excitement. She poured Libby a fresh glass of wine and sat her down at the kitchen table while Libby gave her the short version of the night of the dance.

“No wonder he’s sore and out of sorts,” Joan said when Libby finished her tale. “Oh, you poor baby, what are you going to do?”

“What can I do? He seemed shocked that I would think there was more to it. How could he turn down free sex is how he put it. Doesn’t sound like he wants more than that to me.”

“Honey, I know Nathan better than you do. We went to school together, and I can tell you now that is not his style. God, the man has been like an iceberg since his fiancée left with that city bloke. He has not so much as looked at another female, and believe me, we’ve all tried to match him up with every available woman within a couple hundred miles. Give yourself a chance, Libby. Maybe it’s just a time thing, you know? Stop beating yourself up over it, and give yourself a break.”

“He only wants the station, and he’s made it quite clear I’ll be going back to the city with my tail between my legs,” Libby said.

“Will you?” Joan asked.

“Not a hope in hell.”

“That’s my girl.” Joan chuckled. “Just go with it and see what happens. You’ve had more luck with him than any other female in the last few years, so it can’t all be bad.”

“I don’t know if I can hold out for too long. I’ll end up hating him if he doesn’t want me for myself, then we both lose.”

“Come on out and talk to some of those young studs who wanted to see you again. Get him a little bit jealous and see what happens.”

Libby let herself be dragged back outside and introduced again to some of the cowboys she’d met at the dance. She made herself listen and laugh with them, all the while keeping an eye out for Nathan. She sat with Tom for her dinner, a couple of admirers never far from her. She could feel Nathan’s glare on her skin but avoided his eyes. If he wanted to talk to her, he could come over. She was intent on ignoring him regardless of what her body was telling her to do. Tonight, she would not go to him. It was his turn to offer himself to her.