Meet Me in the Middle (Wattle Valley, #2)
Page 23
‘I’m going to miss you too. But I’m not far away and now you can get to work on finding yourself a girlfriend without having to worry about me cramping your style.’
He grinned but shook his head. ‘You never cramped my style, but I can see how much better it will be when I don’t have to admit to a date that I live with my sister.’
Neve laughed. ‘Exactly.’
Jager parked near the big sheds and Anders came racing out the back door to meet them. His smile was so broad and excitement shone in his eyes.
For a short moment, she had wondered if it was too early to be moving in together, but they practically already did anyway. With Anders’ new role at the dairy, she spent many nights every week with him here at the farmhouse. So it was a no-brainer that she lived with him full-time.
Seeing Anders’ face now, his big, bright smile, she knew this was exactly the right decision.
Mrs Adams stood in the door frame, smiled and waved as Neve climbed from the car. She was partway through a wave back when Anders was upon her and lifted her in the air, twirling her around. ‘How did you go getting everything packed?’
‘Easy peasy.’
He rested her feet on the ground and kissed her lips. ‘I can’t wait until I get to wake up with you beside me every morning.’
‘Me too.’
‘All right, all right. Brother present,’ Jager said with a teasing laugh as he walked past them.
Neve unfurled herself from Anders’ embrace and playfully hit Jager in the arm.
Jager pretended to be wounded, rubbing his arm, but a huge grin filled his face.
When Neve went inside, she kissed Mrs Adams on the cheek. It had taken a couple of months and a lot of persistence to break through Mrs Adams’ hard exterior and convince her that she was right for her son. But they got there in the end, and Mrs Adams had become a wonderful support and friend.
‘Hi, Tony,’ she said, throwing her arms around him and kissing his cheek.
‘Welcome home,’ he said with a grin.
Tony and Mrs Adams had purchased a caravan. They were heading off tomorrow for a trip touring Australia, something they had always wanted to do but had never had the chance.
They planned to spend time up north in the hotter climate soaking in the sand and sun. Then, when they arrived home in a couple of years, they would renovate one of the workers’ cottages and live in that on the property.
Anders had moved into his new role with all the determination she would have expected from him. No doubt, he was an all or nothing guy and that’s how he approached the dairy too. It was the characteristic she loved most about him because she always knew where she stood.
From the very first day, he gave this farm his all. When Neve helped him out some mornings in the milking sheds or out in the paddocks testing soil, she would watch him, his calm, considered and contented demeanour, and she was saddened that it had taken him so long to realise that farming ran thick in his blood.
But she understood. Anders had confessed everything to her about his father and the sexual assault when he was younger. Seemed he had scars of his own, only they were less physically apparent.
The farmhouse was Anders’ and Neve’s domain now, and they were able to do what they wanted with it. It was thrilling. A whole new life in a way. A wonderful new beginning after so much heartache.
All she needed in the meantime was a room she could turn into a studio and high-speed internet for her business, which Anders had already organised for her.
For the next hour, they carried all her possessions inside. When she cuddled Jager and said goodbye, a tear rolled down her cheek. Even Jager had to blink quickly to hide his emotions. She was now out from under his wing. But it was the right move for them both, and they would be fine from here on out.
Tony and Mrs Adams made an excuse to head out for a while—citing they needed to buy last minute items for the trip tomorrow—to give them some privacy in their new home.
Anders pulled Neve to him and wrapped his strong arms around her. ‘It’s just you and me from now on.’
‘Sounds like heaven.’
‘I’m so glad you’re here.’
She looked up at his smiling face, his two big dimples, and grinned. ‘Me too.’
‘I love you so much,’ he said and kissed the tip of her nose.
‘To think we almost didn’t make it.’
He shuddered and shook his head. ‘But we did, and that’s all that matters.’
‘I love you so much, Anders,’ she said and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
She looked around at the big house and they were the only two. ‘So, what do we do with this privacy we’ve been so generously given?’
‘I can think of one or two things that would pass the time.’
He took her hand and led her up the hall towards his bedroom. She giggled as she tried to keep up with his long strides. ‘I like the way you think.’
‘This has nothing to do with thinking.’
‘Oh, I know.’
Thanks for reading Meet Me in the Middle. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you liked this book, here is my other title in this series, Catch Me A Cowboy. Some of my other books include Beyond Coincidence and the Brothers of the Vine series.
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ISBN: 9781489291141
Title: Meet Me in the Middle
Copyright © 2019 by JACQUIE UNDERDOWN
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