As they ate, they talked on about their work, about the places they’d been to. They were amazed to discover that they’d both spent the same Easter break enjoying a camping holiday on Fraser Island, and they couldn’t believe they’d missed seeing each other. Throughout the meal, their glances seemed to grow more sizzling. At times, Alice felt such an intense connection with Seth she could scarcely breathe.
She’d never shared a meal with a man who had such a devastating effect on her. Had never spent an entire evening wondering, imagining . . . and it was almost impossible to remember why this was unwise.
Despite the delicious menu options, they agreed they had no room for coffee and dessert. When Seth paid the bill, he ducked his head around the doorway to the kitchen and Kieran Quinn appeared, round-faced and jovial, wiping his hands on his white apron.
‘Very pleased to meet you,’ the grinning chef said, as Seth introduced Alice and he shook her hand. ‘Although I should warn you,’ he added with a cheeky wink, ‘you’re asking for trouble going out with this guy.’
‘I’m sure that’s good advice,’ Alice replied.
The problem was, primed by wine and their very pleasant evening, she didn’t feel inclined to follow it.
Outside, beyond the restaurant’s awning, rain was falling in a fine mizzle.
‘You wait here,’ Seth told Alice, ‘and I’ll get the ute.’
‘No, no.’ She shook out her wrap and pulled it around her, tossing a long black and gold tail over one shoulder. ‘The rain’s only light. I’ll be fine.’
Seth hesitated. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course.’ It was only a couple of hundred metres to her shop.
So they set off together, over the road and through the park filled with pretty flower beds, with Seth’s warm arm protectively around her shoulders. The scent of night jasmine drifted on the fine misty rain. In the darkness ahead of them a curlew scurried on long skinny legs before disappearing into a clump of ginger.
At the corner of Alice’s street, the rain began to fall in earnest and they ran now, heads ducked against the drenching needles. Alice was a little breathless by the time they reached her shop, but the breathlessness wasn’t merely from running.
Seth’s white shirt was almost transparent and the wet fabric was clinging to him, outlining his taut, athletic frame. Water droplets gleamed silver in his thick dark hair.
She managed to open the door without fumbling and turned on the light.
‘I can’t send you home like that,’ she said. ‘Come up and I’ll get a towel.’
She saw the flash of an unreadable emotion in his eyes, and she turned quickly before her own feelings showed. Her heart pumped hard as he followed her up the stairs.
When they reached her small living room she turned on a lamp, shed her sodden wrap, draping it over a wooden chair, then headed quickly for the linen press, where she found a couple of thick, man-sized towels. She handed one to Seth.
‘Thanks.’ He didn’t immediately start to dry himself.
He stood in the middle of her lounge room, staring at her. His mouth quirked in a happy-sad smile. ‘You know, you’re even more beautiful when you’re half-drowned.’
It wasn’t the first time Alice had been told she was beautiful, but the praise had never mattered in the way it did now, had never made her feel so emotional, so close to the tipping point.
Stepping forward, Seth lifted the towel to her face, wiped the splashes of rain from her nose and her lips. Her eyes were level with the dark column of his throat and she could smell the faintest hint of his aftershave and the damp cotton of his shirt.
She looked up and met his gaze, and the message in his blue eyes was burning. Inescapable. In that moment, she knew for certain where this evening had been heading from the moment he’d stepped out of his ute.
Their first kiss was incendiary. A blaze of passion exploding like a starburst, leading quickly to the shedding of damp clothes.
They left a soggy trail behind them. His shirt, her dress, his belt and jeans, falling in rapid succession as they made their way to the bedroom, stopping only for impatient nibbles and kisses.
She’d left a lamp on and the bed, with its colourful Indian throw rug, looked inviting.
‘You’re shivering,’ Seth murmured as he slipped his hand beneath the elastic of her panties.
‘Not from cold,’ she assured him.
He pushed the wispy fabric down, letting it fall silently to her ankles. As his fingertips brushed a teasing path over her stomach, desire tugged and licked deep inside her. She wound her arms around his neck, pressed close and kissed him again.
She heard him groan, and pulled back. ‘You okay?’ she whispered.
He gave a soft chuckle. ‘Yeah, of course, but it’s been a while.’
‘Me too. Maybe we should calm down.’
‘Never,’ he said, slipping her straps from her shoulders and dipping his head to her breast.
16
Soft lamplight outlined their bodies as they lay, catching their breaths, like exhausted swimmers who’d finally made landfall.
Seth knew he should probably say something meaningful to Alice, but he was afraid he might sound way too enthusiastic, like some dickhead who’d finally scored after an entire year of abstinence.
Truth was, this night with Alice Miller had been beyond amazing. Seth hadn’t been sure she would even come out with him and he’d left the dinner invitation till the last minute, to give her fewer chances to back off.
Now, he’d not only shared a thoroughly enjoyable dinner with her, but this . . .
He’d never expected such spontaneity and passion. Had never experienced such satisfying pleasure. Everything about this girl was damn off-the-charts perfect.
Thank God he’d come prepared, even though he hadn’t expected this to happen. That was one life lesson now indelibly imprinted on his brain, although as it turned out, Alice was on the pill. She’d even joked that she would have taken two pills a day if she thought it would make her less likely to get pregnant.
Seth might have continued to ponder this, but a movement beside him caught his attention. Alice was brushing tears from her eyes.
His heart stilled in his chest. ‘Alice?’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, sniffling. ‘I’m okay. Honest.’ She reached for the sheet that was pooled at their feet and dragged it up to cover herself, used a corner of it to dab at her eyes. ‘I just didn’t expect –’
She left the sentence dangling.
‘No,’ Seth said softly. ‘Neither did I.’
She looked at him, her brown eyes glistening. She smiled, but the smile seemed slightly bewildered, and he had a feeling his might seem that way too.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said next, as she dabbed at her eyes again. ‘I know guys hate girls who cry.’
‘Tears are okay,’ he assured her. ‘As long as you don’t say, “Now you’ll think I’m awful.”’
She gave a soft giggle.
‘And girls with brown eyes and a golden fleck have special immunity anyway,’ he added.
She sighed. ‘You’re so damn nice.’
Seth feigned shock. ‘I’ve been called a lot of names. Never nice.’
‘Well, I could be more accurate, but I don’t want to give you a swelled head.’
She sat up, tugging the sheet around her, holding it over her breasts. Her auburn hair glowed in the lamplight, tumbling in soft curls to her shoulders, and Seth now had a view of her pale and perfect back. He longed to touch her skin again, touch her hair. Touch her.
‘The thing is, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression,’ she said.
Seth had been reaching towards her, his hand in mid-air. Now he drew back. ‘What wrong impression?’
Alice gripped the sheet more tightly, bunching it in front of her. ‘I – I know this was –’ She stopped and seemed to be hunting for the right words. ‘I just felt I should warn you – that I’m not really ready to start a relati
onship.’ She turned to him sharply. ‘I know I’m probably jumping the gun. You – you might not even be thinking about long-term or anything. But I – I just wanted you to know.’
Seth needed a minute to take this in. He hadn’t really had a plan beyond hoping to see Alice tonight. Now he was certainly interested in seeing her again. And again.
He’d never met a girl quite like her before. So serious and conscientious and yet so unbelievably sexy.
But he felt concerned for her too. He wasn’t sure what had upset her, but losing her family at such a young age must have been hell. The emotional fallout was bound to be complicated.
‘Well, you can rest easy,’ he said. ‘I’m not looking for a long-term relationship either.’
Alice blinked as if he’d surprised her. ‘I see.’ Her shoulders relaxed a little. ‘That’s – that’s good. I wasn’t sure. I thought maybe – you know – because of Charlie –’ With a groan she pulled the sheet right over her head. ‘Oh, God, just tell me to shut up, will you?’
Seth leaned over and pulled the sheet down. Her eyes were tightly closed, her mouth pulled into a tight grimace.
He touched her cheek with his fingertips and she opened her eyes.
‘I get where you’re coming from,’ he said. ‘My mum’s always telling me I need a woman to help look after Charlie.’
‘Don’t you want one?’ she asked, looking surprised.
‘Not at the moment.’
It was more or less the truth. Seth couldn’t pretend he wanted to remain a bachelor forever, and it wasn’t as if he hadn’t thought about finding a girlfriend who’d be happy to step in as a mother for Charlie. But he had enough on his plate just now with looking after his son. Inviting a woman to move into their household would be a huge step and would bring a host of other responsibilities – like worrying about whether she enjoyed the bush life, or fitted in with his family, or wanted another kid of her own.
‘I’m not in any rush,’ he said.
‘Oh.’
Alice’s response was so soft it was hard to tell if she was pleased by his answer or not.
Seth touched her hair, as he’d been longing to do, and let his fingers thread through the silky curls. ‘That doesn’t mean I’m not hoping to see you again.’
She smiled now, and dropped her head to one side, letting her cheek rest against the back of his hand. ‘I’d like that too, Seth.’
‘There you go.’ He was relieved and happy; things were turning out fine. ‘We’re in total agreement.’
And he wanted her again. Now.
Luckily, she put up absolutely no resistance when he ran his hand over her thigh, over the super-smooth curve of her hip, and rolled her on top of him.
17
When Jackie woke, the sun was already up and streaming brightly across the bed. She turned and saw Hugh lying with his back to her, and she remembered it was Saturday. He would head out later to check on his pregnant and newly delivered cows, but there was no urgency. They could lie in for a bit.
She settled back against the pillows, wriggled comfortably and closed her eyes. She might have drifted back to sleep, if a sound hadn’t reached her from the room down the hallway. A soft gurgling laugh.
Jackie’s eyes flashed open. Good heavens, she’d almost forgotten that Charlie had spent the night with them. He was obviously awake and playing in his cot. He wasn’t too bad at entertaining himself, but the laughter would turn to tears if she left him there for too long.
She swung out of bed, put on her slippers and the green and pink silk dressing-gown that Hugh had brought back from a business trip to Indonesia. Not wanting to wake her husband, she tiptoed down the hall and greeted Charlie quietly.
Her grandson’s grin was ecstatic, and he held up his arms to her with such endearing glee that her heart did a small somersault of joy. ‘Hello, darling. How are you this morning, my happy little boy?’
After a lovely hug and a kiss, she gave him his favourite rabbit to play with while she laid him on the spare bed and changed him. Then she took him through to the kitchen and set him in the high chair with a mug of milk and a biscuit, before turning the kettle on.
From the window over the kitchen sink, she could see to the east where the sun was already quite high above the gum trees. It had rained during the night. Hugh would pleased. With luck, the dams would hold out till the proper wet season arrived after Christmas.
Her garden, at least, looked refreshed.
Honeyeaters greeted each other noisily as they feasted on the last of the bottlebrush flowers. Jackie was sorry to see the end of the bottlebrush season, but with spring, new flowers were arriving. Several varieties of ginger were sending up colourful spikes and the day lilies had promising fat buds. They should be open in time for Hugh’s party.
Jackie looked beyond her garden to Seth’s cottage and saw his ute parked beneath the big African tulip tree. She wondered what sort of night he’d had. She certainly hoped he’d enjoyed himself.
The kettle came to the boil and she made two mugs of tea. Hugh was awake when she took them through to the bedroom, with Charlie toddling behind her, clutching his half-eaten milk arrowroot biscuit.
‘Pum-pa!’ the little boy squealed.
‘Hey there, Bruiser,’ Hugh greeted him.
‘I don’t know why you call him Bruiser,’ Jackie complained. ‘He’s the gentlest little fellow, aren’t you, Charlie boy?’
Hugh merely chuckled. ‘If he can call me Pum-pa, I can call him Bruiser.’ He gave Charlie a helping hand to clamber up onto his side of the bed.
Jackie set Hugh’s mug on the bedside table. The boy was already bouncing on Hugh’s knees and she was reminded of their early years, when they’d had their little ones in bed with them on the rare mornings that Hugh slept in.
Now Hugh wriggled his toes beneath the quilt and Charlie giggled as he tried to grab at them. She thought of Seth living alone without an adult companion to share this kind of fun and she felt a motherly pang of regret. More than anything in the world, she wanted her children to be happy.
At least Flora seemed very content with her life and her boyfriend in Melbourne, and perhaps Seth would find someone soon. Jackie was glad he’d started going out again.
‘Seth’s home,’ she told Hugh.
‘Daddy!’ piped up Charlie, instantly recognising his father’s name.
‘Yes, darling, Seth’s your daddy.’ Jackie reached over with a tissue to wipe biscuity dribble from Charlie’s chin. ‘Now come to Nan and let Grandpa drink his tea.’
Obediently, Charlie allowed himself to be cuddled, and Hugh reached for his mug and took a deep, appreciative sip. ‘I heard Seth arrive home,’ he said. ‘It was pretty late.’
‘How late?’
Hugh chuckled. ‘Just before sun-up.’
Jackie’s eyes widened. Seth had been rather vague about his plans for last night. ‘Well, we’ve both been saying he needs a social life.’
‘Indeed we have. Let’s hope he enjoyed himself.’
‘I’ve had my fingers crossed,’ Jackie admitted. ‘But I hope Seth also remembered to collect the sideboard mirror for me while he was in town. I don’t really have time to get over to Burralea.’ She smiled at Hugh. ‘By the way, the acceptances for your party are rolling in. At last count we were up to forty-five.’
‘Forty-five guests?’ Hugh looked stunned. ‘I thought you weren’t going over the top.’
‘I’m not. But you have a lot of friends, Hugh, and people will be insulted if they’re not invited.’
Her husband didn’t look convinced. ‘Where are we going to put them all?’
‘Oh, we’ve got it all sorted. It’ll be easy enough to rearrange the lounge and dining rooms to make more space, and there are all the verandahs. And hopefully, the weather will be kind to us and people can spill out into the garden as well.’
‘Hmmm.’ Hugh was frowning. But the frown quickly morphed into a grin as he tickled Charlie’s tummy. ‘Forty-five party gues
ts. What do you think of that, Bruiser? Soon it will be sixty-five. One for each year.’
Jackie didn’t like to tell Hugh that yes, there were bound to be many more acceptances. ‘I was wondering about asking the mayor,’ she said as Charlie’s delighted squeals died down. ‘Do you want to invite him?’
This time Hugh looked totally appalled. ‘No, I bloody well do not want to invite the mayor. Why would I want him at my birthday party?’
She gave a defensive shrug. ‘You did serve a term on the shire council.’
‘That doesn’t mean I want politicians at my birthday party.’ Ignoring Charlie for a moment, Hugh regarded Jackie sternly. ‘Please be sensible, love. You know how I feel about these things. We don’t want this party to be bigger than Ben Hur.’
‘All right,’ she said contritely.
‘And I don’t want you wearing yourself out either. I know the girls are helping with the food, but you’ll still be cleaning the house from top to bottom, won’t you? Manicuring the lawn with nail scissors and scrubbing the ceilings with a toothbrush.’
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, there’s no need to exaggerate.’
‘Well, you do get carried away.’
‘I just want the place to look nice.’
‘You should at least hire someone to help you.’
‘You know why I won’t,’ she responded a little tersely.
‘Because you’re a control freak?’ Her husband said this without bitterness, but the comment still stung.
The problem was, he was partly right. Hugh had suggested years ago that Jackie should have household help.
‘I don’t hesitate to hire people to help with the mustering or the fencing,’ he’d said.
But Jackie knew that housework was a poor comparison. The thing was, she’d never felt comfortable about hiring a woman to help clean her house. Yes, it was true that her mother’s work as a cleaner had kept a roof over their heads after her father died, but it was the memory of her mother’s nightly exhaustion after long days cleaning other people’s homes that stopped her.
The memories were still painful now, all these years later. Even though there’d been times Jackie really could have done with help, she hadn’t been able to take that step.
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