Sons Of Australia: The Mackays: Australian Boss: Diamond Ring/Surprise: Outback Proposal/Tempted by Her Tycoon Boss

by Jennie Adams

  ‘There’s no apology needed. You’re not responsible for the weather. I’m just sorry we’re here when we could have stayed with your uncle. But you got answers today. That’s really good, Alex.’

  Let me…

  Jayne didn’t even know what she was silently asking, except that she needed to give him whatever he needed, if she even could. ‘It’s all right. We’ll leave when we can.’ She took several deep swallows of the water. ‘Thank you. I needed that. Alex—’

  ‘Same here. It’s been quite a day.’ His gaze examined hers and he gestured to the sofa. ‘Feel like sitting a while? I’ve got so many thoughts going around in my head, I don’t think I’m going to be good for much else for a while until I get them sorted out.’

  They sat side by side. Little pinging sounds started to hit the outside walls and the windows of the pilot’s home. Alex glanced towards those closed windows before he turned back to her. ‘We’re safe here while the storm rolls through. Provided we stay inside and keep things closed up, the worst will be some dust getting inside.’

  The pilot’s home closed up well and Jayne doubted there’d be too much dust invasion. ‘I’m not worried.’

  ‘It will be worse back at the settlement.’ Alex shook his head. ‘I admit I’m not sorry to have left. I needed time to absorb what I was told today. I have my answers now.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m surprised. I thought I’d hit a wall and that I’d never know, but one of the elders I saw last night got thinking and dredged up a memory.’

  ‘How did Brendan come into it?’ Jayne had wondered about that.

  ‘He knew the elder. I mentioned that I knew Brendan and that I was hoping to see him today if he could free up any time.’

  ‘So the elder phoned Brendan?’

  ‘Yes, because Brendan knew Morgan out at the settlement.’

  And that was why Brendan had wished he could have gone with Alex.

  ‘Morgan seemed as though he really wanted to know you.’ It made Jayne angry that Alex’s father had not. Angry for Alex and…angry for herself as well because parents shouldn’t do that. They shouldn’t just walk away or turn their back before they ever knew a child, either. For Alex, both parents had done it. ‘You’ll come back out soon—let Morgan give you some history about this part of yourself? Does it help, Alex? Does this help fill the void of not knowing?’

  ‘It…does.’ As he said it he seemed to come to accept the fact. ‘Yes. It does help. I needed to know where I’d come from. I got the added bonus of an uncle who wants to know me. I need to share this with my brothers. I’m not sure how I feel about that just yet, but I do have my answers now.’

  Jayne had her answers, too, really. Her mother had left without explanation or a backward glance. That might feel unpalatable and…it always had. But that was what Jayne had.

  ‘You helped, Jayne. Without this trip, who knows when I might have got out here or whether those particular puzzle pieces would have fallen into place.’ He hesitated. ‘I wish I could give you more than the knowledge…’

  ‘That my mother left? It was a long time ago.’ She wanted to say the platitude that it was okay; it didn’t even bother her any more. But it did bother Jayne. Mostly, she tried not to think about it but she knew she would always feel abandoned. Angry. Confused. Alex’s situation had been the same, and he wouldn’t suddenly stop having those feelings about it. But he had a chance to know a relative who wanted to know him. That was nice.

  ‘Sometimes there are things in life that aren’t right.’

  ‘That’s certainly true.’ Jayne drew a breath and a smile pushed through her emotion and spread until she couldn’t hold it back. ‘I am so happy for you, Alex. You’ve gained a relative you didn’t know you had, and a greater sense of your history and who you are.’

  ‘I have, haven’t I?’ He smiled, too, and blew out a breath.

  Time had passed as they spoke, and Jayne got up. She sensed Alex could do with dropping the topic for now. ‘Are you hungry? Let’s see if we can find something to eat.’

  She knew the pilot wouldn’t mind. He’d made it clear they were welcome here until he got back.

  Alex joined her and they rummaged through the cupboards and refrigerator. They found tinned soup, and bread in the freezer, and a shake-and-make pancake mix that just needed water to be added.

  Alex lined it all up on the kitchen bench and raised his brows, and Jayne laughed and shrugged. ‘Why not? We don’t care if it’s a bit of a weird combination, do we?’

  They’d talked about some intense things today. Alex had experienced some intense things. It did feel good now, to relax in the small kitchen area to put together a simple meal and sit at the dining table to eat.

  Jayne looked across that small table towards the end of the meal and she thought of just how much her emotions had become involved in Alex today. She’d made that connection with him in a different way as the story of his past had unfolded. Jayne felt so privileged to have been there for that—privileged and very soft inside for Alex with all of this. How had she let her emotions become so wrapped up in Alex when she’d promised herself she wouldn’t let that happen?

  Because it had and, whether she wanted to blame it all on the personal ground Alex had covered last night and today in relation to family, Jayne knew it was a lot more really even than all that. She’d bonded somehow with Alex as she’d never connected to any other man.

  This fact—inexplicable, challenging and scary—was something Jayne didn’t know how to manage or control or keep within any boundaries she might set.

  ‘Are you all right, Jayne?’ Alex leaned across the table to briefly touch her hand. ‘We’ve talked about me, but what about you? If today has raised bad memories for you I’m going to be very sorry.’

  ‘No. Don’t think that.’ Jayne’s gaze locked with his. ‘I admit it is painful thinking back to the loss of my mother but not because of you, Alex. I can’t get the kind of responses you got today about my past. There’s no one out there waiting to connect. Mum knows where Cutter’s is. She could make contact through the office at any time if she chose. So I’m just reconciled that her choice to leave, for whatever reasons, won’t ever turn around. An explanation would have been nice, but I don’t expect to ever have that, either.’

  ‘I guess for both of us there’s good and bad in our family histories.’ He didn’t refer directly to his father not wanting to know of his existence. Jayne understood, anyway.

  Alex changed the subject then. ‘Have you thought more about the offer from the Lis? Would you consider working for them?’

  ‘I’d like to know more about their offer.’ Jayne wasn’t sure where she would go from there. But she was interested.

  Alex nodded. ‘Then let’s see if there’s phone reception here. I think we both need to make some calls.’

  CHAPTER NINE

  WHILE Jayne spoke on her mobile with Mr Li, Alex called Brendan and filled him in on the outcome of his trip. He then contacted Morgan’s relative and asked the woman to pass on the message that Alex was safe and sound. After that, he phoned the hotel in Alice Springs. He asked them to pack and store his and Jayne’s luggage ready for collection and explained what had happened.

  Jayne was thoughtful after her call to the Lis, but silent on that topic. Alex chose not to push for information and hoped she would tell him of her own accord eventually.

  The day and evening passed, and the dust storm played out while they sat side by side talking on the sofa. Jayne took a break to work on her proposal to her father. The pilot’s radio set came to life several times with reports about the storm and the progress of their missing pilot.

  ‘The radio is interesting listening, I’ll give it that,’ Alex said as another burst of chat subsided. ‘It seems a great way for people around the region to keep in contact.’

  By listening to the broadcasts, Jayne and Alex had learned that the pilot had landed safely with his injured cargo, who was now receiving the much-needed medical treatment.
The flying doctor service for the area had already been busy elsewhere, and that trip was also looking as though it would have a positive outcome.

  The outcome of the dust storm wouldn’t be known until tomorrow morning. That piece of feedback had frustrated Jayne. She’d stared at the radio as though willing it to offer more information.

  Alex had teasingly said she could get on there and ask, but his intrepid Jayne had quickly shaken her head. ‘I don’t know the protocols for using it.’ Jayne had spoken the words in a prissy version of her beautiful smooth voice.

  She’d still sounded sexy as hell. Alex had been fighting the ever growing awareness of her since they’d arrived here. He’d driven with a storm brewing behind them, had felt the need to protect her, get her to safety.

  In the middle of all that he’d been coming to terms with meeting his uncle, with finding answers to questions that had been with him throughout his lifetime.

  Jayne had so clearly wanted to be happy for him and comfort him if he needed that. The soft, womanly response was not only generous because of her history. It had made Alex feel good, had only made him want Jayne more.

  He wanted Jayne back in his arms again. It was that complicated, and that simple. The tensions of a few days, the questions of a lifetime. Affinity with a woman whose mother had abandoned the family. Affinity with Jayne, because she was Jayne.

  They took showers and then talked about Jayne’s family—her niece, her sister who was younger than Jayne. About Alex’s brothers, the landscaping business Brent and Fiona ran together, and Linc’s chain of plant nurseries.

  It helped Alex to talk about Linc and Brent—helped to get all of his thoughts about family back into perspective. ‘What I really want to do is to take my brothers to meet Morgan. I won’t tell them about this until I get back to Sydney. I’d rather do it face to face, but yeah, that’s what I’d like to do.’

  ‘You’re all very successful,’ Jayne said. ‘You most of all, Alex, because you’ve got where you are so early in your working career.’

  ‘The need to provide safety and security for us drove Brent and Linc to try to make money.’ Alex remembered Brent’s determination, how hard his brother had worked because it was the one thing he could do until he got Linc, and then Alex out of the orphanage.

  At the time, though those sacrifices had meant the world to him, Alex’s restlessness had been at its peak. ‘I didn’t always make things easy for them while I was still in that orphanage.’

  Jayne’s face creased into a smile that was a combination of understanding and wryness. ‘Did you get into a lot of trouble, Alex?’

  She let her gaze drop to his hands and reached out with her fingertips to touch two small scars on the back of one of them. ‘I wondered how you got these. I thought there might have been a bit of a story behind them.’

  ‘Most people don’t even notice them.’ Yet he wasn’t really surprised that Jayne had.

  Alex’s fingers meshed with hers. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken that touch, but he did, and it felt right to thread his fingers through hers, to look at the contrast of his strong fingers with Jayne’s soft, ladylike ones. ‘I got the scars running away one night after I’d…expressed my opinion about a few core issues in an inappropriate form and place. I discovered I had a handy knack with a can of spray paint.’

  He’d needed to do something to let his energy out. What he’d really needed was to get out of the orphanage and be with his brothers. The wait for that had come at a time in his teenage years when he hadn’t been able to manage himself as well as he otherwise might have. ‘I was a bit reckless for a while. I regret that, but I did grow out of it.’

  ‘And turned to abseiling and other sports and activities to satisfy your need for a challenge and excitement.’ Jayne’s fingers felt warm in his.

  Her words were warm too, and understanding. They accepted, rather than judged. And they teased, just a little, as she went on, ‘You’re still getting all of the fun with your adrenalin sports, but without getting into trouble over it. I’m guessing your brothers are relieved about that.’

  ‘Yeah, actually they are.’ His grin held good humour before it faded and he went on, ‘I turned to business, as well. Maybe that’s what all of us did when we got free of that place—set out to make money because at least then we’d be sure we had a roof over our heads, food on the table and nobody would be able to separate us from each other.’

  ‘I admire you…’ Jayne’s words trailed off as her gaze locked with his.

  ‘That’s mutual, you know.’ As was the tide of desire that flowed between them. It didn’t seem to ever leave. Today it had been there, simmering beneath the surface, waiting for its time and place.

  Was there any control at all for either of them with that? Alex had never felt so out of control in his response to a woman. His other hand wanted to cup the back of her neck, bring her closer. ‘You’ve faced your own set of challenges. A fractured family, raising your sister.’

  ‘My father withholding a partnership from me after he said I was due for it, all because of a new employee he favours more.’ Jayne hadn’t meant to say the words, but here, in this setting with her…heart so open to Alex, they slipped out.

  Open because Alex had been through a lot emotionally today.

  Jayne hastened to put her reactions into that perspective.

  Alex frowned. ‘Your father has stopped you reaching the peak of your working career in the family company?’

  ‘That doesn’t impact on the proposal we’re working on together—’

  ‘I’m not worried about that,’ he said without hesitation. ‘I know I can trust your word. I’m just concerned that your talent and achievements aren’t being acknowledged.’

  Jayne drew a breath. ‘I didn’t mean to criticise my father in front of you. I…let my guard down with you.’

  That was a gift to Alex, even if it did make Jayne feel uncomfortable to have exposed her workplace vulnerabilities.

  ‘Thank you for giving me that gift, Jayne. I won’t say anything, but I’d like to help you if there’s some way that I can.’

  ‘There is, actually.’ This was something Jayne had been thinking about since she’d first spoken with him at their Monday meeting. ‘I’d like you to come with me when I present my proposal to my father. If I can ask you to speak in person about your company, the gifts you’ll be supplying, I think that can only strengthen the impact of the overall proposal.’

  ‘I’ll be happy to.’ He just made his commitment to it, there and then.

  Jayne nodded. ‘I’ll let my father know you’ll be there with me.’

  ‘In the meantime—’ Alex hesitated, then seemed to make a decision and went on ‘—what happens with your promotion?’

  ‘I’ve spoken to my father and explained how I feel about him holding back on the promotion.’ Jayne didn’t go into more detail—it wasn’t necessary. Instead, she just went on, ‘I’ve been thinking about it and I’m going to take the offer from the Lis to do the voicing for their virtual tours.’

  Jayne blew out a breath because it felt a little scary, but also good to make the commitment. ‘While you were in the shower earlier I phoned Mr Li a second time and we made our agreement. I start work on the voice recordings a month from now. I see that as a bargaining chip to use with my father, an indication to him that I can and will take work elsewhere if I feel I can’t progress any further in the family company, though the work with the Lis will only be part-time.’

  ‘Congratulations on making that choice, Jayne.’ Pleasure for her shone in his eyes.

  ‘I would have told you sooner—’ she gave a wry laugh ‘—but I was busy feeling a little freaked out about it.’ She hadn’t minded taking time to convince herself she hadn’t just done something way too radical and possibly risky. ‘I don’t regret it. It’ll mean dropping three days a fortnight from my job at Cutter’s, to make time to do the recordings for the Lis. It’ll be a two-year contract and, to be honest, it’s g
oing to be quite lucrative. I do truly hope that taking that on will make Dad sit up and take notice.’

  ‘I hope so.’ Alex’s words were soft. Gentle.

  Deep.

  Jayne didn’t know when she’d got to her feet but Alex was there beside her. And, when she lifted her face and let her gaze meet his, the blue of his eyes was deep and there was tightness across his cheekbones that told her that he desired her and, in this moment, he needed her.

  Jayne had fought that feeling and now she lost the fight. When Alex lowered his mouth towards hers, Jayne raised her lips to his and…kissed him.

  Jayne took this second kiss with Alex with her senses and her desire and her attraction and the closeness they had built through the revelation of family circumstances. And with feelings that were deep inside her. Still unnamed, but there.

  ‘Jayne,’ he whispered, ‘I want you so much.’

  If she gave in to this, they would make love here in the desert in a pilot’s hangar, surrounded by vast silence and red dust and everything that was at the core of nature in this stunning heart of their country.

  So many things passed through Jayne’s mind—so much insecurity about age, appeal, being someone who could engender strong abiding feelings in anyone.

  Need for Alex pushed those fears back into their dark place.

  In Alex’s steady blue gaze Jayne only saw encouragement and a chance to give to him all that she felt, all of her desire. She wasn’t a cougar. She was just…a woman.

  If Alex wanted her, wanted this, then Jayne would take what they could share. And then they would find their way back to Sydney one way or another and this would be over.

  It couldn’t be any other way, could it? A tight feeling rose in Jayne’s chest and squeezed, and she pushed it away. ‘I want this, too, Alex.’

  He searched her face. ‘I don’t have protection.’

  ‘I’m on the Pill.’

  ‘Thank you…for this,’ he whispered and reached out his arms to her. And he kissed her gently—so gently, letting his lips brush over hers, savouring each moment of connection with her.