She opened the door.
‘G’day.’
Luke was wearing a blue chambray shirt and cream moleskin trousers and a lopsided, shy, sweet smile.
Sally’s heart gave a foolish little swoon.
‘Hi.’ She wasn’t sure what else to say, had no idea why he’d come. Jess leapt through the doorway, madly wagging her tail and making excited yips of welcome, but Sally wasn’t inclined to invite an ex inside, so she stood holding the flyscreen door.
‘I was in town,’ Luke said, giving Jess’s ears a quick scruff and then straightening. ‘So, I thought I’d drop by.’
Why? Sally wanted to snap. Even if a guy didn’t know he’d shattered your heart, he wasn’t supposed to break up with you and then simply drop by.
The sun was beating down hard on their heads, making Sally squint. Luke dropped his gaze to his hands and she saw that he was holding some kind of wooden box.
‘I brought this for you,’ he said, holding the box out to her. ‘Just a little something I thought you’d – well, a kind of thank-you present for doing the story and for helping with the party and – and everything.’
For the second time in a matter of moments, Sally was tongue-tied.
Luke looked nervous. ‘I – uh – made it out of off-cuts of timber from Moonlight Plains. Cedar and kauri and a little silky oak. It might be useful for storing your jewellery or something.’
Her throat cramped on a sudden glut of tears. Luke was being thoughtful and sweet. He probably didn’t know it, but his handmade gift was almost exactly the same sort of thing Kitty’s Andy used to make for her.
Just a little something I thought you’d like. Wasn’t that what Andy used to say?
But there was one major difference. Kitty and Andy had been married, while Sally and Luke had gone their separate ways. Did Luke know this was killing her? Every time she saw this box she would think of him and she’d probably be as emotional as Kitty had been about a few rocks and a pond of water.
‘Sally, are you okay? I’m sorry, I . . .’
Luke seemed as lost for words as she was. He was holding out the box, however, and she had to take it.
The soft honey tones of the timber glowed and it felt warm and silky-smooth beneath her fingers. When she opened the lid she caught the woodsy scent she’d admired so much when she’d first visited Moonlight Plains.
She felt her mouth pull out of shape as she struggled not to cry. ‘It’s lovely. Thanks.’
‘Sally, I was also hoping to speak to you.’
Oh, God, was she strong enough for a conversation?
‘Well . . . okay,’ she managed in a squeaky voice. ‘I guess – um – come in.’
She was shaking as she backed into the flat and Luke followed, bringing a faint hint of aftershave as he closed the screen door carefully behind him. It was cooler inside, but Sally still felt flushed and nervous. So nervous.
She pointed to the lounge chairs, but Luke didn’t seem to read this as an invitation to sit.
‘I wanted to – to find out how you are,’ he said, standing stiffly in the middle of her living room and filling it with his suntanned, outdoorsy maleness.
‘I’m fine.’ Although it depended on how you defined fine.
‘Congratulations on the story, by the way. It’s brilliant.’
‘Thanks.’
His mouth tightened and he squared his shoulders as if whatever he had to say next was even more difficult than this initial awkwardness.
Anxiously, Sally gripped the box, clutching it tightly against her stomach.
Luke’s green eyes flashed as he caught her gaze and held it. ‘So, I’d like to know how you really are, Sal. Honestly. I need more than fine.’
She opened her mouth, and then quickly shut it. She couldn’t lie, but she wasn’t brave enough to tell Luke that these past few weeks had been miserable. It was a different kind of misery from the shocked grief that had followed Josh’s death, but in its own way just as painful.
She needed to find exactly the right thing to say, the right words for both of them. She’d stuffed Luke around, playing the widow card, and if this was any kind of last chance she needed to get it right.
‘In case you were wondering,’ Luke said, sensing her reluctance, ‘I’ve found it pretty damn hard since we split.’ Then before she could react, he hurried on. ‘So here’s the thing. I want to scrap what I told you at Moonlight Plains. I still want you, Sal. I know you’re not ready. I know you’re still grieving, but I’m not prepared to walk away from what we had.’
Sally gasped. She couldn’t believe Luke was offering her another chance; a very real chance for happiness.
‘I’m not,’ she said.
He frowned. ‘Excuse me?’
‘I’m not still grieving.’ And before she lost her nerve, she launched into the speech she’d been practising in her head, hoping against hope. ‘I’ll never forget Josh, but I know I can’t bring him back, and I want to focus on the future now.’
Luke’s smile flickered briefly. ‘When you say the future, do you mean our future?’
‘Yes.’ Most definitely. Absolutely. No doubt about it.
Time was measured by the thump of Sally’s heartbeats as she and Luke stared at each other. It felt like an age before they moved, but when they did, they moved towards each other, and everything that had been difficult became wonderfully simple.
Luke took the box from her hand and dropped it onto a lounge chair and drew her close.
It was so good to feel his arms around her, strong and certain. Until this point, she’d felt lost in a maze, desperately trying to find her way out, but at last she had finally, finally opened the right door. She was home, safe.
Their kiss was quite possibly the sweetest kiss ever, and Sally could feel all her tension dissolving as happiness flowed into her, filling her from her toes up.
It was ages later when they found themselves on the sofa, touching close, but needing to talk.
Luke took Sally’s hand in his and turned it over to expose her wrist, which looked pale and fragile compared with the hugeness of his.
‘I’ll play this any way you want,’ he said. ‘We can keep it casual.’
‘No,’ Sally said, emphatically shaking her head.
His eyes were intense now, demanding total honesty. ‘You want to play for keeps?’
‘I do.’ She smiled, so happy to know for certain. ‘I love you, Luke, and I’ve been so miserable without you.’
‘Sal, you’ve no idea what this means.’
This time she was the one who started their kiss, but when Luke scooped her into his lap, things rapidly turned steamy.
Until a car door slammed outside. Oh my God, the party. How could she have forgotten?
‘Sorry,’ she muttered scrambling to her feet and smoothing down her T-shirt. ‘I somehow forgot to mention that I’m actually about to throw a party.’ She waved her hand at all the flowers. ‘It’s a bridal shower for Megan. And at least a dozen women are about to land on my doorstep.’
Luke sent a glance out her window. ‘I think they’re already here.’
‘Yoo-hoo, Sally!’ called Jane’s voice.
Sally knew her face was bright red as she rushed once again to the door. Jane, Dimity and Megan were all there on her doorstep, a trio of young women in summery dresses as pretty as the cupcakes she’d ordered.
The trio spied Luke standing a few feet behind her, tucking in his shirt, and in unison their eyes widened and their mouths gaped.
Sally’s blush deepened as she went through the introductions, followed by explanations that Luke had just dropped by unexpectedly, and then she realised that Megan was glaring at them. Her friend still hadn’t forgiven Luke for breaking up with Sally.
‘It’s okay,’ Sally muttered to Megan out of the side of her mouth.
Megan raised a doubtful eyebrow.
‘Truly,’ Sally whispered. ‘We’re fine.’
‘You mean –’ Megan gasped. ‘Fine
as in okay and back to normal? Or fine as in absolutely fabulous?’
Grinning, Sally slipped an arm around Luke. ‘We’re absolutely fabulous.’
Megan squealed. ‘So you’re not – don’t tell me – engaged?’
Whoops. Sally shot a quick glance to Luke and saw that he was grinning as broadly as she was.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Yes, we are.’
Next moment she was enveloped in an ecstatic hug.
‘I’m so happy!’ Megan squealed again, this time in her ear.
There were more hugs before Sally escaped with Luke to the footpath, while her friends headed for the kitchen.
‘Sorry about that,’ she told him.
‘At least we have witnesses.’ Luke slipped his arms around her waist. ‘And Megan saved me from getting down on my knees.’
‘Well, there’s always time for that later.’ Sally looked up at him with a playful smile.
‘I can see you later? After this party?’
‘I’m counting on it.’
The road stretched ahead, an undulating ribbon rippling through cattle-grazing country, heading south. Sally and Luke were in the front of the ute with Jess safely caged in the back, along with their luggage and Luke’s tools.
They were off on an adventure: another restoration job in New South Wales at a sheep station near Inverell. The owners of the property had tracked Luke down after reading Sally’s magazine story. They’d sent photos of their homestead and, after several phone calls, everyone was excited about this new venture.
Luke and Sally would be living in an old shepherd’s hut, a very simple dwelling, but they didn’t care. Everything about this was exciting for them. A new beginning.
‘Did you know the name Inverell means a meeting place for swans?’ Sally asked as they zipped down the highway.
Luke grinned. ‘I’m glad you’ve started your research. You’ll probably need to write more about the homestead this time and quite a bit less about the builder.’
‘Most definitely. I don’t want half the women in Australia ogling my man.’
She was smiling as she dropped her gaze to her engagement ring, a lovely coppery-gold tourmaline, so different from the traditional little diamond she’d left behind in Townsville. She’d had to store quite a bit of stuff with her parents, but luckily they hadn’t minded in the least. They both adored Luke, and her mother had promised to spend more time at the nursing home with her own mother, Sally’s gran, so Sally could leave without worrying on that score.
‘Do you know my favourite moment of these past few weeks?’ Sally asked Luke now.
‘I can think of several highlights, but in most of them you were naked.’
She grinned. ‘Well, yes, okay, that’s very true, but I also loved it when we went to see Kitty to show her this ring.’
At the mention of Kitty, she could see the emotion flood Luke’s face even though he was staring straight ahead at the road. He nodded. ‘She was certainly happy, wasn’t she?’
‘I’m almost crying again just thinking about it. She was so teary and thrilled; it was like we’d fulfilled her final wish or something.’
‘We have, Sal.’ Luke shot her a shiny-eyed smile. ‘I know we have.’
Acknowledgements
While this book continues my rural romance stories about the Fairburn family, the inclusion of Kitty’s World War II story is a new direction for me, but it’s a step I’d been looking forward to for quite some time. The urge to write about wartime Townsville has been quietly brewing since the city celebrated VP 50 – fifty years since victory in the Pacific.
In 1995 Townsville opened its arms to the hundreds of veteran American servicemen who returned to the place that held so many vivid, life-changing memories for them. Amazing stories circulated in the newspapers, on the radio and TV and, as I began to see the city where I lived in a very different light, I was captivated.
I’ve spoken to many people about the war years, but I would particularly like to thank Kay Ramm, who shared her experiences of living on a cattle station during the war. I’m also grateful for two very inspiring books – The Morning Side of the Hill by Marion Houldsworth and A Soldier Remembers by Herbert C. Jaffe.
When it came to writing Luke’s story about restoring the old homestead, I was greatly aided by conversations with Louis Simon and Fiona Stewart, who are not only wonderful renovators but also great storytellers.
Of course, huge thanks go to my editors at Penguin, Belinda Byrne, Ali Watts and Arwen Summers, and proofreader Emma Dowden. Thanks to all of you for your belief and your encouragement and most of all for your wisdom. Thanks too to my wonderful first readers, my insightful and eternally patient husband Elliot Hannay and my brilliant, generous friend Anne Gracie.
Coming home can break your heart . . . or change your life.
For Bella Fairburn, a girl from the bush, her new life in Europe is a dream come true. But news of her beloved father’s heart attack brings Bella rushing back to Australia along with her aunt Liz, an acclaimed musician who’s been living in London for the past thirty years.
Coming home is fraught with emotional danger for both Bella and Liz. While Bella is confident she can deal with drought, bushfires and bogged cattle, she dreads facing her neighbour. Gabe Mitchell is the man she once hoped to marry, but he’s also the man who broke her heart.
And for Liz, Mullinjim holds a painful secret that must never be revealed . . .
In the rugged beauty of the outback, new futures beckon, but Bella and Liz must first confront the heartaches of the past.
‘An engaging story of joy, tragedy, romance and heartache set within the dusty landscape of the Australian outback.’
Book’d Out
‘In beautiful, fluid prose, Hannay once again puts together all the ingredients for a real page turner.’
Toowoomba Chronicle
When Zoe, black sheep of the Porter family, discovers that her biological father is a Far North Queensland cattleman, her deep desire to meet him takes her from her inner-city life to a job at remote Mullinjim Station. But Zoe is sworn to secrecy. Her mother, Claire, is afraid to confront the ghosts of her past.
Virginia Fairburn is happily married to Peter but she’s always lived with the shadow of the other woman her husband loved and lost.
On the muster at Mullinjim, Zoe meets brooding cattleman Mac McKinnon. Every instinct tells Mac that Zoe is hiding something, and as the pressure to reveal her mother’s secret builds, Zoe fears she must confide in him or burst. The truth has the potential to destroy two families. Or can it clear the way for new beginnings?
Set in the rugged outback of beautiful Far North Queensland, Zoe’s Muster is a passionate love story from award-winning romance writer Barbara Hannay.
‘Hard to put down . . . get your hands on a copy of this book and you will not be disappointed.’
Weekly Times
‘An engaging story with appealing characters set in a wonderful landscape . . . Another fine example of the growing rural fiction genre.’
Book’d Out
MICHAEL JOSEPH
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First published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2014
Text copyright © Barbara Hannay 2014
The moral right of the author has been asserted
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Cover design by Nikki Townsend © Penguin Group (Australia)
Text design by Grace West © Penguin Group (Australia)
Cover photograph: girl by Blend Images/Trinette Reed/Getty Images; girls/grass/hills by Andrej Godjevac/Getty Images; palms by Iakov Kalinin/BIGSTOCK; house by Dieter Woelfle/Ozstockimages.com
penguin.com.au
ISBN: 9780857975348
THE BEGINNING
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Moonlight Plains Page 33