The Outback Cattleman's Hired Wife (16 page)

‘
Yes.
’

She clutched her bag tightly in her lap.
‘
You
’
re crazy. Children
grow up and make their own way in life.
’

‘
Yes, they do, but they also need love and to feel
secure to develop into healthy adults.
’

‘
I agree.
’

Jared touched her forearm with his hand. His need for
her was strong and intrinsic.
‘
Stay. Spend time
with Caleb. See if you like each other. That
’
s all I
’
m asking.
’

‘
Okay,
’
she said, schooling her thoughts,
‘
I understand your concern, but I will not sleep with
you again, unless you are willing to commit.
’

He removed his hand and placed it on the steering
wheel.

‘
Agreed,
’
he said,
though he didn
’
t know how he was going to keep his hands off her. It
would take all his willpower and determination to resist making love to her.

He could see a lot of cold showers in his immediate
future.

Jared put the car into gear and released the
handbrake. Stilling the guilt rifling through his thoughts, he concentrated on
driving back down the mountain.

When Jared pulled the car up outside the homestead, he
turned to her and gave her a genuine smile, then said,
‘
Thank you for coming to the Teahouse with me tonight,
Kirra. It
’
s been a long time since I
’
ve had a meal out and a dance. I had a great evening.
’

‘
Me, too,
’
Kirra
replied, desire racing through her veins. How simple would it be to let him
kiss her until she was mindless and carry her into his bed? But she had to be
true to her conviction.

With what pride she had left, she opened the passenger side door and
stepped out.
‘
Thanks
for the date, Jared. It was enlightening. I
’
ll see you in the morning.
’

She closed the door and ran up the steps. The front
door was unlocked, so she went straight in and closed the door. Tears burnt at
the back of her eyes, as she headed into her granny flat and closed that door
too, her heart throbbing with pain.      

Hugging herself, she leaned against the back of the
door. Her eyes closed instinctively and a tear spilled down her cheek. What had
she done? How foolish must she seem in his eyes? It was madness declaring her
love only after three days?
Wasn
’
t it?

Kirra slept fitfully. When she woke the next morning,
it was as if she hadn
’
t slept at all.

On hearing the puppy’s whimpers as he scratched behind
the laundry door, she rose and slipped on her robe.

Arriving at the laundry, she opened the door gently
and picked him up.
‘
Hello, puppy,
’
she said,
kissing his forehead.
‘
Your master will be home shortly and he
’
ll give you a proper name.
’

Tucking him in her
robe to keep him warm, she padded into the kitchen to feed him. She poured some
milk Max gave her especially for puppies into a bowl and set it down on the
floor with the puppy. The puppy lapped it up.

Jesse already had food in her bowl. Kirra also noticed
a note on the fridge held up by a cow fridge magnet. The writing, in long,
definite strokes had to belong to Jared.

It simply said,
‘
Gone to Rutherford
’
s Farm. Cow having difficulties. Hope to be back by 11 am.
’
There was a phone number and
J.G.
signature at
the bottom of the note
.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, it was then Kirra
noticed an open newspaper beside her. A quick check of the front page told her
that it was the latest
Brisbane Bulletin
. It had been left open at the
Personal Ads. A speed read of the lonely hearts
’
section told her that Jared
’
s ad for a
wife and mother wasn
’
t there.

Kirra gasped and her hand covered her mouth.
Was
someone playing a cruel joke on her as well as Jared?

She
’
d ring Reece, her
editor after breakfast, she decided. Maybe, he could get to the bottom of this
mysterious ad.

Obviously, Jared had noticed its absence this morning too. He wouldn
’
t be too happy about it either.
Would he think she
made up the whole story?

After tea and toast, she tucked the puppy back into
her robe and padded into Jared
’
s study to use the
phone.

She called the office and asked to be put through to
Reece
’
s extension. Once connected, she explained what had
happened.

After he promised to look into it, he said,
‘
Are you interested in writing rural stories? Elise
tells me you like Glengarry.
’

‘
Did she now?
’
Dammit Elise, for being such a
gossip! Did she realise how much trouble it caused for other people … like her,
her supposed best friend!

Reece cut into her thoughts and demanded,
‘
Do you have his story yet?
’

‘
No.
’

‘
Dammit!
Tyler has
decided to take a year off to travel abroad again,
’
he exploded.
‘
Kirra, I
really need a story for next week
’
s edition.
’

‘
I don
’
t know about that,
but I
’
ll think about the job,
’
she replied, knowing that would suit her perfectly if Jared would commit
to her. She could base herself here and work from home.
‘
I
’
ll let you know
when I return from holidays.
’

‘
And what about a story?
’
he persisted.
‘
Glengarry -
’

‘
No. I promised I wouldn
’
t write about him, but I’ll see what I can come up with.
’
Annoyed, Kirra ended the call. She hated being
pressured.

The puppy was asleep so she put him back in his bed
and closed the laundry door for safe-keeping, while she showered and dressed
for the day.

Once in the shower, she lathered herself in slow
circles with soap. The soft rainwater from the tank felt heavenly on her skin.
It made her recall Jared
’
s lovemaking and desire welled up in her loins in an
instant.

How could she miss him already?

His gentle, loving touch that made her quiver all over
and take her to a mind-blowing zenith was not something to be taken for
granted. Zac didn
’
t love her, she knew that now. But did Jared? All he
had to say to her last night was those precious three little words.
‘
I love you.
’
It would have made all the difference in the world.

How could he block out his feelings?
She wondered in hope.

Now, everything rode on Caleb
’
s compatibility with her. Fear sent a chill down her
spine. If he didn
’
t like her, what then? Was it the end of the road as far as Jared was
concerned? She hoped not. It took time to nurture relationships - build trust,
especially if Caleb had had a revolving door of carers.

Kirra cleared her mind. It was imperative, lest she go
mad. She turned off the water and stepped onto the soft bath mat. 
Towelling herself dry, she dressed quickly in jeans and a turquoise knitted
top, applied moisturiser to her face and ran a brush through her hair. Peering
into the mirror, though her eyes looked a little tired, she thought that she
was presentable enough for a seven year old boy.

She collected the puppy, took it outside and placed it
on the grass. The warm sunshine brightened her mood, as she gathered her dried
clothes and popped them in the basket.

Taking the puppy with her, she headed straight to her
room. Plopping the puppy on her bed, she proceeded to fold the clothes and slip
them away in her drawers.

Jared had never mentioned domestic arrangements. The
house was clean, but Kirra noticed that there was a load of Jared
’
s clothes freshly-washed this morning in the washing
machine.

Ever-the-practical,
she pulled it out and hung it out on the clothes line to dry. It would be
foolish to let damp clothes sit too long in the machine. Mould could take hold
very quickly with so much moisture in the air.

Later, seated in a
white wicker chair on the front verandah with the puppy curled up asleep in her
lap, she sipped some hot lemon tea and read her book, awaiting Caleb’s arrival.
Even Jesse shuffled out and sat beside her to wait.

Her nerves on edge, Kirra peered out at the green
pastures and the mountains. Breathing in the fresh country air, she relaxed a
little. Jared
’
s farm was the closest place on Earth to paradise
she‘d experienced. She hoped, even though things weren’t quite right between
them, that he would return soon.

Leaning forward, her heartbeat quickened when she
spotted Jared
’
s Land Cruiser a long way off, coming up the gravelled
road towards the homestead.

A flicker of excitement coiled through her blood. She
was glad that he arrived home before Caleb. When he drove nearer, behind the
wheel, he looked so handsome with his rugged, tanned face and dark hair falling
lightly over the collar of his shirt. He smiled warmly and waved to her, then
drove around the back to park in the garage. It almost undid her. She had an
impulsive urge to veto her conviction, run down the hallway and into his arms.
She wanted him, needed him so badly.

But in the end, common sense won out. If there was any
hope for them, she
’
d have to wait for Caleb
’
s arrival and deal with whatever life threw at her.

Moments later, Jared walked through the homestead and
onto the verandah.

‘
Morning, Kirra,
’
he said in
a low tone, as he leaned against the railing. He faced her looking every inch a
virile man in his jeans, red-checked shirt and boots.
‘
Did you sleep well?
’

Kirra glanced up from her book.
‘
No. Did you?
’

‘
No,
’
he informed her
flatly.
‘
Caleb will be home shortly. Maybe, then . . . Ah, I
’
ll clean up first, shall I?
’

It was then that she noticed his shirt was stained
with blood.
‘
Is the cow okay?
’

‘
Yes, I managed to save her calf too.
’

‘
You did?
’
she said
and smiled warmly.
‘
I
’
m so glad.
’

‘
Me, too,
’
he exhaled
on a tired sigh.
‘
It was touch and go for a while there.
’

‘
You must be a very good veterinarian.
’

‘
Thank you. Kirra, I -
’

‘
What?
’

‘
I want to thank you for hanging out my clothes. I didn
’
t expect you to.
’

‘
No problem.
’
She
lowered her eyes to the text in her book.

Jared let out a frustrated sigh.
‘
I
’
ll take a shower.
Then we need to talk.
’
   He turned on his heel and disappeared
inside.