by Annie Seaton
“I think that would be an amazing idea,” Kelsey said.
“Do you know how much time it takes to look after a horse? There’s a lot of responsibility. You have to feed them and check they have water every day and keep their hooves trimmed.”
“Oh, I would love to do that. Do you think Daddy will let me?”
Maybe she should speak to Ned about it first. Jemima had noticed he was very protective of the children and even a bit overbearing about it. But living on a farm, they had to have freedom. She was looking forward to taking them yabbie fishing, swimming in the hot water bore, and simply letting them be kids in the fresh country air. She really needed to sit down and have a good talk to Ned. He’d grown up here. He would understand what she meant. She knew he’d been busy working since they’d arrived. He hadn’t even finished unpacking. There were dozens of boxes lining the hallway to the bedrooms. She hadn’t felt comfortable doing much in the house until she moved across. She’d mainly focused on helping the kids with their schoolwork, doing the dishes, and pegging the washing out. Gwennie had helped her out in the garden, and she’d promised to help her start a small herb and vegetable garden at the back of the house in a few weeks when the weather cooled down a bit. There was one thing that Jemima was sure about. There was so much to keep her busy; the next twelve months were going to fly by.
“Come on, we’d better hurry up. Liam and Angie have invited us all over to Prickle Creek Farm for dinner, and it’s time you got ready. And I have to take the ute and horse float back.”
“Are there more horses over there? And other animals? Do they have dogs?” Kelsey chattered away as Jemima took the saddle off Monty. “Maybe they’d like one of our kittens? I so want to be a vet when I grow up.”
“Here, you take the blanket, and put it in the shed while I take his bridle off.” Jemima smiled. She could almost see Kelsey’s chest puff out with pride. It had only been a month since she’d met Ned’s three beautiful children. The time she had spent with them had been amazing. For the first time since she’d left Spring Downs to follow her career, she was appreciated for being herself. Someone needed her.
Just Jemima.
Ned was grateful she was helping him out, but she was getting as much out of the deal on her side. The kids were constantly asking her questions, and she was able to help them in so many ways, and she loved playing with them. Ryan loved hide and seek, and she pretended not to find him most of the time. He had the most gorgeous little giggle, and she knew where he was hiding because he could never keep quiet.
“There are a few more horses, but they’re all work horses.” Jemima opened the gate and led Monty into the paddock, and then after she checked he had water, she slipped the chain over the hoop on the gate. Kelsey was swinging on the fence.
“Did you know that Angie is the vet in town?” Jemima asked.
“Really? That is so awesome.”
Jemima smiled. She was getting used to that word. It must be the current buzz word kids used when they liked something. She had so much to learn.
“Daddy will have to get a horse, too, for when he buys the cattle. If we all have one, I could help him in the paddocks. Grandpa only has one of those silly quad runners here.”
“I noticed that. I don’t like them. They can be dangerous.” Jemima smiled as Kelsey slipped her hand into hers as they walked back to the house, and Jemima’s heart swelled with affection for the almost-teenager. “But you’ll have to learn how to ride first.”
Progress was being made.
Ned had showered while Ryan was in the bath and had dressed in clean jeans and a white T-shirt that fitted snugly to his broad chest. He was combing Ryan’s hair, and Jemima smiled to see that Ryan was dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, too.
“You’re optimistic.”
“Huh?” Ned’s forehead wrinkled in a frown.
“The white T-shirt on Ryan.”
The crinkles besides Ned’s eyes deepened. “He chose it.”
“I’ll head back over now. I’ll see you all when you get over there.” Jemima picked up her bag and the ute keys. “Liam asked me to take his ute back.”
“Thank you for bringing the horse over, Jemmy.” Ned smiled, and Jemima noticed that the shadows beneath his eyes were not as dark as they’d been a few weeks ago.
“My pleasure. I’ll see you all over at Prickle Creek in a while.”
“I feel bad not bringing anything with us. I’ve got a six pack of beer in the fridge.”
“It’s fine, but bring that if it makes you feel better. Gran’s freezers are always stocked, and Lucy loves cooking. Did I tell you Lucy and Garth are coming over, too?”
Ned nodded as Gwennie walked into the kitchen. “Who’s Lucy?”
“She’s my cousin,” Jemima said with a smile.
“Will that make her my aunty when you and Daddy get married?”
Jemima raised her eyebrows and looked at Ned over Gwennie’s head. She didn’t think he’d told the children yet that they were getting married. Even though he hadn’t said it in as many words, she knew he was worried about Kelsey’s reaction.
He shook his head slightly and shrugged. “Where did you hear that, Gwennie?”
“My teacher asked me when you were getting married, and I said Jemima was coming to live with us so I guessed it was going to be soon.”
“Bloody Spring Downs gossip mill,” Ned muttered beneath his breath.
“Maybe before you come over, you should tell the children it’s tomorrow?” she said quietly. They had decided to marry quietly at the court house in Dubbo, the closest town where they could have a civil ceremony. “Best to be honest, because for all we know, we’ll bump into someone from Spring Downs in Dubbo!”
Gwennie switched the television on and was soon engrossed in cartoons. The noise covered their conversation as Ned took Jemima’s elbow and walked her to the door. She ignored the funny shaky feeling that ran down her legs when his fingers brushed her skin.
“That’s a good point. I’ll sit them down when Kelsey gets out of the bathroom.” He held open the screen door as she walked onto the verandah. “And thank you, Jemmy. I owe you so much.”
“Unless you promise to stop gushing gratitude every time we have a conversation, I might change my mind. It’s not too late, you know.” She tempered her words with a smile. “We’re not married yet.”
“Okay, okay.” He put his hands up and laughed. “One last time and then I’ll stop. Thank you.”
“I’ll see you at Prickle Creek.” Jemima stopped and turned as she reached the bottom step. “Um, Ned. This might sound like a silly question, but what are you wearing tomorrow? I don’t want to be over…or underdressed.”
Ned shrugged again. “I hadn’t thought about it yet. I guess whatever I can find clean in the wardrobe.”
Jemima walked to the car. “As long as I know if it’s jeans or a suit, I can choose what to wear.”
She regretted her words as soon as his smile faded.
Stupid. No need to remind him of his first wedding.
“Make it jeans. After all, this is the country,” she said gaily as she opened the car door.
…
Ned walked slowly back inside. Was he making a stupid mistake? Marrying Jemima tomorrow might solve his problems, but was he rushing into an easy solution for working the property? Maybe he should have toughed it out and tried to get a loan to hire some help through a broker in Sydney. When he’d come up with the idea, he hadn’t given it enough thought. There were so many complications and others who were going to be affected by his actions. He should have thought of his children. It was time to tell them he and Jemima were getting married.
He walked through the living room and called down the hall. “Come on, Kelsey. Hurry up.”
While he waited for his eldest daughter to appear, thoughts whirled around his head. This was his last chance to change his mind. Once he told them, there was no backing out. It was really out of character for him to be indecisive. Usually, once he
settled on a course of action, he followed through. His whole life had been like that. The decision to leave the farm to go to university in Sydney, even though Dad would have loved for him to stay and take over; choosing his career path, marrying Cath, starting a family, and buying their home on the beach in Sydney. He’d always followed through, once he’d made a decision. No second guessing.
Hell, even the gut-wrenching and life-changing decision to turn off Cath’s life support, two months after the bloody car accident—when the doctors had told him there was no hope of recovery—he’d made that decision without the doubt that was plaguing him now. And like then, this decision would affect the well-being of his three children.
His fingers gripped the edge of the bench. It was feeling like a final step. Marrying Jemima—for whatever reason—was like closing the pages of his marriage to Cath. He’d vowed to himself the night of her funeral that he would never leave himself so vulnerable to grief again.
Ned clenched his jaw. Tomorrow wasn’t a true marriage—even if they had to go through the vows—Jemima would be his wife in name only.
It was purely a business arrangement. An arrangement that meant he could spend more time with the kids and not need to juggle family and work. Whatever it took, he would do it. He and Jemima had travelled to Dubbo to see a solicitor before they went to the court house last month to file their intention of marriage. The solicitor had looked over the top of his glasses as he’d drawn up the agreement, they had both signed it, and now it was filed at the solicitor’s office.
“I’m ready, Dad.” Kelsey walked into the kitchen.
“Gwennie, Ryan,” he called into the living room. “Come into the kitchen. I want to talk to you before we go to Liam and Jemima’s farm.”
Chapter Eight
Jemima had sat down with Lucy as she fed James in the nursery before the McCormacks arrived.
“Oh my God, Jemmy. I’m so excited for you. I wish we could come to the wedding tomorrow.” Lucy smoothed her hand over baby James’ soft cheeks as he nestled against her.
Jemima smiled. “It’s not a real wedding. We’re just getting married. But remember the deal is top secret, okay? As far as Spring Downs is concerned—and the kids—the marriage of Ned McCormack and Jemima Smythe is the real deal.”
Lucy grinned back at her as she stood. “This young man has a wet nappy. You know you can trust me, Jemmy. I won’t slip up. For the last month, I’ve dreamed it was the real thing for you.” She looked at Jemima from the corner of her eye as she put James on the change table. “It wouldn’t be such a bad thing, you know. Ned is quite a catch.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Jemima stood. “I’ll go and get the food organised.” She knew that Lucy was looking at her curiously as she headed to the kitchen. The last thing she needed was for Lucy’s romantic happy-ever-after nature to kick in. She was having enough trouble ignoring the attraction that was building for Ned McCormack.
And his behaviour was confusing her, too.
Last week, Ryan had insisted that Ned join in the game of hide and seek that she was playing with the kids. She could smile now, but at the time, she hadn’t known how to take it.
“One, two, eight, nine, ten, I’m coming, ready or not.” Ryan’s little voice came from the kitchen as Jemima opened the door to the cupboard that housed the linen and the hot water system and slipped inside. She smiled as Gwennie immediately revealed her hiding spot behind the sofa by yelling out to Ryan that he couldn’t count.
As the two children walked up the hall, Jemima stepped back and moved to pull the door further shut. She usually left it open a chink to give Ryan a clue. But when she stepped back, a chuckle warmed the back of her neck, and a pair of strong arms went around her.
“Looks like we chose the best hiding spot, Jemmy.”
Embarrassment—and something else pleasurable—surged though her as Ned held her close.
“Ssh, don’t give us away,” he whispered as she tried to move away. “He’ll hear us.”
They stood close together as Ryan’s little footsteps padded past the door. All sorts of thoughts skittered through Jemima’s mind, and she held herself perfectly still and quiet. Ned had showered after he’d come in from the paddocks, and the fresh masculine clean smell surrounded her. She resisted temptation.
But it was so hard. All she wanted was to jump his bones.
Somehow he must have picked up her thoughts. Mental telepathy in a cupboard? Those bones she was thinking about almost went to water as warm lips nuzzled the side of her neck.
“What are you doing?” she whispered as heat flooded through her.
There was laughter in his voice. “It’s easier to keep quiet if my lips are here.”
“Oh.”
Her head turned slowly, and his warm lips slid along her cheek, getting closer to her mouth with every breath she took. Her legs trembled, and just as she reached to hold the hand that had snaked around her waist, he turned her in his arms.
His lips descended on hers, and when Jemima opened her mouth, Ned murmured against her lips. “Excellent. Now we can both be perfectly quiet.”
His lips stayed on hers as little footsteps padded down the hall. Warm and soft, gentle, yet enticing.
The door flew open, and as light flooded into the cupboard, Jemima pulled away from Ned’s hold. And those lips that set her legs trembling, and the thoughts that ran rampant in her imagination.
“Found you!” Ryan giggled. “You always hide in there, Jemmy!”
She fanned herself with her hand as she stepped into the hall. “I’m pleased you found us. It was too hot in there.”
She could still hear Ned’s amused chuckle as she’d taken Ryan’s hand to help him find Kelsey. “It sure was,” Ned had murmured.
Ever since then, she’d been so much more aware of him but unsure how to take him.
“Jem?”
She jumped as Lucy’s voice intruded on her thoughts as she came into the kitchen.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I said, ‘I’m sure Maisey Sykes will come up with a story about you knowing each other in Sydney.’”
“Um, yes. We’ll leave it to Maisey.” Jemima smiled, her attention diverted as Ned drove in and parked near the shed. The three kids clambered out, and she could see the excitement on their faces as they ran across to the barbeque area. Ned walked more slowly behind them, his jeans moulding powerful thighs as he walked across the lawn. She forced herself to look away and pay attention to Lucy.
“Or Paris,” Jemima said as she turned away from the window.
“Paris?” Lucy screwed her nose up. “Paris, what?”
“For the Sykes story,” Jemima said. “But really, Ned and I met when we were kids when he used to play in Liam’s treehouse. She wouldn’t know that. She didn’t live here then.”
“I must admit when you told me, I wondered if you were making a huge mistake, if you were sure about what you were doing, but now that I’ve met Ned and the kids, I think it’s fine. You’re doing a good thing, you know, Jemmy. Missing out on that school job was meant to be.”
“It’s all good. Anyway, it’s only for a year, and it serves purpose for both of us.” Jemima opened the fridge. “What has to go outside?”
“The three bowls of salad.” Lucy took them from her as she passed them out. “There’s only one problem as far as I can see.”
“What’s that?”
“Ned’s a lovely guy, and the kids are sweet. How are you going to last a year without falling in love with the lot of them? That worries me, Jemmy. How will you feel about leaving them at the end of the year?”
Jemima laughed. “There’s no fear of that. It’s a job, and that’s what I’m treating it as. And besides, Ned’s not my type.” She crossed her fingers behind her back.
Lucy frowned and didn’t look convinced. “What is your type?”
“I don’t know. When I meet him, I’ll tell you.” She opened the oven and took out the garlic bread. �
�Come on, the meat’ll be cooked by now. I’m starving.”
Liam, Garth, and Ned were out by the barbeque, and the two little girls had walked over to the horse paddock, carrying Willow, Liam and Angie’s pup. Jemima stood at the kitchen window watching them as they balanced on the fence rail. She leaned forward and checked where Ryan was. She grinned when she spotted him playing in the red dirt at the back of the barbeque area. His once-white T-shirt was now streaked with red dirt.
As they walked out to the barbeque area to join the men and the children, Jemima smoothed her hair back.
“So you’re not nervous about making it real tomorrow? Or excited about being a bride?” Lucy asked quietly.
“No. I told you. It’s just a job. I’m not a real bride, remember. It’s a business arrangement.”
Lucy walked ahead and put the salads on the table. Jemima ignored the happiness that flooded through her when Ned looked up and smiled.
It’s a job.
…
Catching up with Liam socially had been great, but Ned had sensed a little reticence when they’d first shaken hands. Even though he’d been at Daniela for more than a month, they’d both been too busy on their respective farms to catch up. They’d spoken a few times on the telephone, but this was the first time they’d seen each other face to face. After dinner and a couple of beers, Liam had been up front about what was bugging him. Like he always had been. They’d walked over to the cattle crush and leaned against the rail, discussing the upcoming Spring Downs cattle sale where Ned was going to buy his first stock. After a while, Liam put his beer on the top of the timber railing and looked at Ned.
“I’m not going to say much. I’m just going to ask one thing of you.”
Ned looked at him over his beer as he leaned on the fence. “What’s that?”
“Don’t hurt my sister.”
“I won’t. You have my word on that.”
“She comes across as tough, but she’s not. She pretends she knows the world, but she’s done it tough.”
“What sort of tough?”
Liam shook his head. “I’ll let Jemmy tell you. If she wants to share.”