The Outback Cattleman's Hired Wife (21 page)

‘
WHAT ARE
YOU doing?
’
Jared ground out through gritted teeth, when Kirra
left Caleb
’
s bedroom and entered the hallway. Smiling to herself,
her head was down and she almost bumped into him.

Kirra stilled and gave him a perplexed look.
‘
What?
’

‘
Telling Caleb that you love him.
’
Jared raked strong fingers through his hair.
‘
Have you gone mad? You only met him yesterday.
’

‘
Calm down,
’
she
insisted, then added on a wise note,
‘
He
’
ll hear you. Can we talk on the verandah?
’

Jared grunted, obviously perturbed by something she
couldn’t even begin to fathom. Without further explanation, he strode towards
the front door, opened it and ushered her out.

It was cold and windy outside and Kirra folded her arms across her belly
to keep warm.
‘
My
mother used to say that to me every night,
’
she explained, turning quickly to face him.

When he remained silent, she sat down on a wicker
chair out of the wind. He looked angry and out-of-sorts as he stood there with
his arms crossed over his broad chest.

She wanted to wait for him to digest what she’d said,
but she wanted to reassure him.
‘
It made me
feel secure and well-loved. Do you tell Caleb that you love him every day?
’

‘
He knows,
’
he replied.
His jaw jutted out stubbornly.

‘
Most people appreciate hearing the words,
I love
you
,
’
she said, annoyed that he
’
d never said them to her.
‘
Did your father ever tell you that he loved you?
’

‘
No,
’
he said,
grimacing.
‘
He used to punch me gently on the shoulder. I knew.
’

‘
And your mother, did she tell you that she loved you
every day?
’
Kirra pressed.

‘
No, but a few times when I
’
d won a sporting trophy or graduated from school and
university she did,
’
he refuted.
‘
She hugged
me a lot. It was okay.
’
From the pained look on his rugged face, she knew it
cost him a lot to admit his feelings.

‘
If we
’
re going to parent
together,
’
she said with a quiet resolve,
‘
I insist on us being consistent, on the same page, so
we can back each other up.
’

After a moment, his shoulders relaxed and he smiled
that heart-warming crooked smile of his.
‘
So you will
marry me?
’

‘
I haven
’
t decided
yet,
’
she said, annoyed at his attitude. You haven’t read
any books on being a parent, I bet? Just because you have a baby, doesn
’
t mean you
’
re
automatically a good parent.
’

One dark eyebrow rose.
‘
Are you saying I
’
m a bad parent?
’

‘
No, but I haven
’
t been a
parent before,
’
she explained, calming down a little,
‘
you need to give me a chance. Instant motherhood is
like climbing Mount Everest. I
’
m not even at the
first base camp yet.
’

Kirra stood and felt the urge to run inside. It was
cold, she told herself, but in truth, she was annoyed that Jared hadn’t
appreciated her ministrations with his son. ‘If you don’t believe me, then …’
she finally said, emotion catching in her throat and she started to head back
inside.

Jared caught her up in his arms and she struggled against him.
‘
I
’
m sorry, Kirra,
’
he said on a frustrated sigh.
‘
This is all new to me too. Heather did very little
parenting so there was no united team effort.
’

She stilled. Looking up at him, she saw his blue-grey
gaze soften.

‘
Forgive me?
’ he said, his deep tone gravelled with
emotion.

‘
Alright, but next time don
’
t jump down my throat,
’
she quipped back,
‘
I
’
m doing the best I can with the knowledge and
experience I
’
ve got.
’

‘
Agreed.
’

Though it felt wonderful to be in his arms, she said
firmly,
‘
Now let me go. I need some shut-eye if we
’
re to have an early start tomorrow.
’

He released her.
‘
I
’
m tired too,
’
he
admitted,
‘
after that very early start this morning.
’
He slipped his arm comfortably around her waist and
walked with her to the granny flat door. To her surprise, he kissed her
forehead and said,
‘
See you in the morning, my love.
’

Next morning,
Kirra was startled awake, when she realised Caleb and Chocolate were snuggled
in beside her under the bedcovers.

It gave Kirra a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. She could
definitely get used to this.

Jared opened the door quickly, a frantic look on his
face.
‘
There you are!
’
he said,
relief evident in his breathless tone.
‘
I don
’
t believe it.
’

‘
Quick,
’
Kirra whispered,
take a photo before they wake up. There
’
s a camera
in my shoulder bag.
’

Jared did as he was bidden and snapped a photo.
‘
When did they hop into your bed?
’

‘
I don
’
t know,
’
she continue to whisper,
‘
but it was a lovely surprise.
’

Later, when they had all dressed and the picnic ready, Jared locked the
puppy in the laundry for safe-keeping, fending off Caleb
’
s and Chocolate
’
s protests.

‘
I
’
m sorry, son,
’
he said quietly.
‘
Dogs aren
’
t allowed at Natural Arch.
’

Caleb cheered up after they were on the road and Kirra started up a game
of
‘
I Spy.
’
Even Jared joined in after a while when Kirra couldn
’
t guess Caleb
’
s thing starting with the letter,
‘
C
’
.

‘
After cloud, cow and car,
’
Kirra said,
‘
What else
is there?
’

‘
Cicada, creek, cattle,
’
Jared chimed in.

‘
Nope!
’
Caleb said
proudly.
‘
Give up?
’

Kirra and Jared said,
‘
Yes!
’
simultaneously and Kirra held out her Pinkie finger.
Jared held out his and they linked them together.

‘
Make a wish,
’
she said
to Jared and they did.

‘
That
’
s awesome!
’
Caleb said.
‘
Bridie
taught me to do that.
’

‘
Okay, what is it?
’
Kirra
said, confounded.

‘
Me,
’
Caleb chuckled
mischievously.
‘
Caleb starts with a
‘
C
’
.
’

‘
Not fair!
’
Kirra
opined.
‘
It
’
s supposed to be
outside the car.
’

Jared drove the Land Cruiser over the low bridge and
skidded to a halt.

‘
What
’
s the matter?
’
Kirra said. She thought she
’
d said or done something wrong again.

‘
Look!
’
Jared pointed
down the river slope, then drove the vehicle over to the embankment.
‘
A car
’
s missed the
bridge.
’

Kirra noticed that there were no guard-rails on the
old bridge.
‘
This is so dangerous!’ she said. ‘Does it happen
often?
’

‘
Sometimes,
’
Jared
replied,
‘
but it
’
s usually drivers
that don
’
t know the road or are driving tired.
’

‘
There
’
s someone in the
driver
’
s seat,
’
Kirra
realised.
‘
We
’
d better see if he
’
s alright.
’

Jared said,
‘
You two
stay here. I
’
ll check first to make sure he’s breathing.
’
His tone brooked no argument and he hopped out of his
vehicle, after grabbing the First Aid box from the glove compartment.

When he
’
d skidded
down the slope, Kirra grabbed her camera and hopped out.
‘
I won
’
t be long, Caleb,
’
she said calmly.
‘
Stay here.
’

‘
Is he alright?
’
Kirra
called out from the top of the embankment.

‘
He seems okay, but his neck is sore.
’

Kirra snapped a
photo of the front of the stricken car with the hazardous bridge in the
background. An idea for a story formed in the back of her journalistic mind.
She quickly hopped back in the vehicle to be with Caleb and let him know that
the man was alright.

Jared came back moments later.
‘
He appears to have had too much to drink.
’

He pulled out his mobile phone and called the
Emergency Number. Without preamble, he gave a concise and precise description
of the accident, the driver
’
s condition and
the location.

They waited until Emergency Services arrived, then
left it in their capable hands after Jared had answered a few questions and had
given them his contact details to the Police.

When they started on the road again, Kirra saw red.
‘
You know, something really should be done about that
bridge. It
’
s not safe! Someone could get killed.
’

‘
It belongs to the Local Council,
’
Jared said flatly.

‘
Have you tried petitions?
’

‘
Yes, but apparently, there
’
s not enough traffic to warrant the expenditure.
’

‘
Traffic!
’
she fumed.
‘
People
’
s lives are at stake here.
’