Hamish fumbled for his phone as Greer braced herself over a chair and cried out.
“I should be timing these.” He opened the stopwatch app on his phone and watched as the numbers rolled past.
Justin, Mark and Meredith quietly left, being needed at work, but Freya and Nina stayed to help, promising to call them with news.
An hour later, Skye arrived with all sorts of bags and birthing paraphernalia. Ever the calm, smiling type, she instructed Hamish to blow up the birthing pool while she examined Greer. “With the electric pump.” She laughed as he looked at the mouthpiece.
He marvelled as the air transformed the deflated blue pile into a large, round pool. Once it was full, he plugged in the bung, unhooked the pump, and connected a hose to the kitchen sink. It was really happening. Greer was about to give birth. He was going to be a dad.
“Hamish? Can you come here?” Skye called from the bedroom, and Hamish took off at a run.
Greer had changed into a loose cotton nightgown, her hair in a messy knot on top of her head, and she was walking around the room in tight circles.
“She’s almost ten centimetres dilated. Her waters haven’t broken yet, but that’s fine. Everything is progressing normally.”
Greer was pulled into another contraction and Hamish could do nothing except hold onto her as she gripped his shoulders and panted deeply, urged on by the midwife.
Nina and Freya helped Greer climb into the pool, dressed only in a singlet. Hamish threw them a smile as he supported her shoulders on the other side.
“She’s getting ready to push.” Skye pointed them to spots either side of the pool and Greer held their hands.
The gentle soothing music could just be heard over the splashing of the pool water as Greer squeezed her eyes closed and quietly delivered their baby into the world.
Wave after wave of pain like nothing she’d ever felt before in her life washed over Greer’s body, until finally it was released.
Black spots flickered across her vision as she allowed her head to flop back.
“It’s a boy!” Hamish whispered into her ear as Skye placed the tiny pink creature on her chest.
Greer cradled the naked baby against her and gaped at the little face and wide eyes staring back at her. “He’s perfect.” She counted his toes and fingers, marvelling at the miracle before her. The baby’s quiet snuffles matched her mother’s ragged breath.
“He sure is,” Freya said from over her shoulder. “Well done, sis.”
“You did amazingly.” Nina stroked her hair. “I screamed and yelled through both of your births. I had none of these breathing techniques and visualizations.”
Greer turned to Skye. “Thank you.”
“You did all the hard work. Do you want me to help you feed him?”
Greer shifted in the still warm water, then pulled down the strap of her singlet. Skye helped to guide the baby’s head to her breast. The sensation was at once comforting and frightening as the baby mouthed her skin before settling into suckle.
When he’d had enough, Greer looked at Hamish. “Would you like to hold him?”
Answering with a nod, Hamish held out his hands and took the baby from her arms. The umbilical cord freshly cut, Greer was helped out of the pool and showered before climbing into bed.
Feelings of joy and elation swirled in her chest. Already she was so in love with her child. A boy. A son with her big coffee-coloured eyes and Hamish’s thick dark hair.
Hamish sat next to her on the bed and together they admired their child.
“You have visitors,” Freya said as she ushered in their parents, Justin, and Meredith.
Ohh and ahhs were expelled as everyone vied for a look at the infant and discussed who he most looked like.
“So, what’s his name?” Meredith asked, obviously excited to finally be an aunt.
Greer looked at Hamish who smiled back.
“I was thinking about Caleb.”
“I like that.” He stroked his son’s tiny cheek. How about Caleb Mark Montgomery-Pearson?”
“Perfect.” Greer kissed Hamish. She had her family now. Both a man she loved and the baby she’d longed for.
Together she and Hamish had made their very own perfect blend.
About the Author
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Bestselling author Sarah Williams spent her childhood chasing sheep, riding horses and picking Kiwi fruit on the family orchard in rural New Zealand. After a decade travelling, Sarah moved to Queensland to enjoy the endless summer, pristine beaches and tropical rainforests.
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When she's not absorbed in her fictional writing world, Sarah is running after her family of four kids, three dogs and an ever growing number of chickens.
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She is Founder and CEO of Serenade Publishing, runs writers workshops and retreats, mentors and supports her peers to achieve their publishing dreams.
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Sarah is regularly checking social media when she really should be cleaning.
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To receive updates and free books, sign up for her mailing list.
www.sarahwilliamsauthor.com
Also by Sarah Williams
Brigadier Station Series:
The Brothers of Brigadier Station
The Sky over Brigadier Station
The Legacies of Brigadier Station
The Outback Governess (A Sweet Outback Novella)
Christmas at Brigadier Station (An Outback Christmas Novella)
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Heart of the Hinterland Series:
The Dairy Farmer’s Daughter
Their Perfect Blend
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For more information visit:
www.sarahwilliamsauthor.com
* * *
The Dairy Farmer’s Daughter
(#1 in the Heart of the Hinterland series)
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Will Justin choose riches over his heritage or will he find a love more valuable than all the money in the world?
Justin would have preferred to stay in the city and pretend it was an ordinary day. A day that didn’t include a funeral for a father he’d barely known...
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Justin Wheeler is not a country boy. He could have been, if his mother had stayed married to his father and not moved back to the city when he was only a toddler. But now that his estranged father is dead and he has inherited the dairy farm, Justin finds himself considering if the life he is living is actually the life he wants.
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Family means everything to Freya Montgomery. She loves living on the land and helping to grow the family business. She knows how important agriculture is to their small hinterland community, so when Justin arrives in town and is offered a generous price from a housing developer to buy his property, Freya must convince him not to accept the deal and instead lease the land to her family.
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The Dairy Farmer’s Daughter is the first novella in an exciting new sexy, small-town series called “Heart of the Hinterland” by Bestselling author, Sarah Williams.
Buy The Dairy Farmer’s Daughter
The Brothers of Brigadier Station
(#1 in the Brigadier Station series)
* * *
She came to the outback to marry the love of her life. She just didn't expect him to be her fiancé's younger brother.
When Meghan Flanagan, a vet-nurse from Townsville, moves to Brigadier Station in outback Queensland to marry the man of her dreams, she is shocked to discover that perhaps her fiancé isn’t the man she wants waiting for her at the altar. The man she's destined to marry, just might be his younger brother.
Cautious of women after a disastrous past relationship, Darcy is happy living on his beloved cattle station, spending his spare time riding horses, going to rodeos and campdrafting. He didn't expect the perfect woman show up on his doorstep. Engaged to his brother.
With the wedding only hours away, Meghan must make the decision of a lifetim
e. But, her betrayal could tear the family apart. She knows all too well the pain of losing loved ones and being alone.
Now that she has the family she so desperately wants; will she risk losing it all?
Buy The Brothers of Brigadier Station
The Sky over Brigadier Station
(#2 in the Brigadier Station series)
* * *
He guards his heart. She yields to no man. Will a chance encounter set a course for true love?
Noah McGuire buries his demons deep inside. But when he’s forced to return home to Brigadier Station to collect his inheritance, he can no longer avoid digging up his painful past. With the wounds of childhood trauma reopened, his world plunges into darkness until a beautiful pilot sets his heart afire.
Riley Sinclair isn’t afraid to fly against the wind. While the spunky helicopter pilot’s cattle herding business ruffles the feathers of most men, the handsome Noah seems different. But as demand for her skills grows, she worries that giving into passion could keep her dreams grounded.
As their chemistry soars, an unexpected tragedy throws their lives and their budding romance into a tailspin.
Can Noah and Riley leave their baggage behind to let love fly free?
The Sky over Brigadier Station is the second standalone book in the captivating Brigadier Station Western romance series. If you like flawed characters, simmering scenes, and stunning Australian and New Zealand settings, then you’ll love Sarah Williams’ rugged tale.
Buy The Sky over Brigadier Station
The Legacies of Brigadier Station
(#3 in the Brigadier Station series)
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Can Lachie be the father Hannah needs? And the man Abbie deserves?
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Lachie McGuire is trying to make a fresh start. He’s sobered up and is making amends for all the people he has hurt and the pain he has caused. But some of his past actions have consequences. Even if he doesn’t remember them.
Needing her independence, single-mum Abbie Forsyth accepted a nursing position in the small outback town of Julia Creek and uprooted her daughter, Hannah from the only life she had ever known. Now, in the dusty, sun burned land they are creating a life together, just the two of them.
When Lachie is injured and needs medical assistance, Abbie is there for him. She’s by his side every step of the way, including letting him stay with them while he recovers from surgery. But Abbie knows how volatile life with an addict can be and she has to think about her daughter’s safety above her own growing affection for the handsome grazier.
Then tragedy strikes the small rural town and secrets begin to unravel…
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Return to the Outback for the third instalment in the bestselling Brigadier Station series.
Buy The Legacies of Brigadier Station
Acknowledgments
My sincere thanks to all my writer friends who support and encourage me on this amazing journey. They include but are not limited to Kelly Ethan, Heather Reyburn, my awesome cover designer Lana Pecherczyk and my incredible editor Lauren Clarke and her team.
A big thank you and much love to my family for all your support and for putting up with me while I write. I love you all.
And to you, dear reader. Thank you for choosing this book to read. I know there are many other distractions and entertainment options available these days, so thank you for joining Greer, Hamish and me on this journey.
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