Life Support: Escape to the Country

by Nicki Edwards

  Emma’s mind raced in confusion. Nothing was making sense. “Are you on good terms?”

  “Very good terms. Chris and I were never right for each other. We were good at being friends but useless at being married. She hated living out on the farm. Once the novelty of our relationship wore off, we realized we had nothing in common and we weren’t right for each other. Ruby was a surprise baby and we were already on shaky ground when she was born, but we decided to be the best parents we could be for her. She’s a great kid and knows she’s loved by both of us. Chris and Rick got married when Ruby was just a baby.”

  “She does appear to be a happy and well-adjusted little girl.”

  “She is. But Chris, Rick and I have worked hard at that. Some people don’t understand it, but it works for us.”

  “Who does Ruby live with?”

  “With Christine and Rick in town, but she comes out to my place anytime she wants to. Before Mum and I moved out to Lexton Downs I lived on another property nearby and Ruby would sometimes stay the night, other times she’d stay for weeks on end. We make it work. And as you’ve seen, Chris and I communicate well. Rick’s a good bloke and an excellent dad. He and Christine are perfect for each other.”

  Emma didn’t know what to say. How could she voice what she was really thinking? That it was all odd and she’d never heard of a split family getting along so well?

  “That’s amazing,” she said finally.

  She shivered as a sudden gust of wind whipped around the corner of the house.

  Tom rubbed her arm. “You need to go inside and get dry. But the offer still stands.” He lowered his voice and gazed expectantly at her. “I’d like to have dinner with you. Maybe we could pick up where we left off with that kiss?”

  Emma’s cheeks flamed and she bit down on her lip.

  Tom chuckled. “Go on. Say yes. Have dinner with me. I’d like to get to know you more.” He reached for her hand again and tingles raced up her spine at the way his eyes bored into hers.

  “Where?” Her mouth said yes before her brain could formulate the right reply.

  “My place.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Where do you live?”

  “At Lexton Downs. In one of the outbuildings behind the stables.”

  Ah, so that’s who lived there. She wasn’t going to admit she’d seen his place when she’d been wandering around.

  “You don’t look convinced. I can cook, you know.”

  “Okay.”

  He ignored her hesitancy. “So is that yes?”

  Emma felt the ground shift beneath her as she nodded.

  “Good. I’ll make you glad that was your answer.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, leaving her in no doubt what he meant. “See you tonight.”

  *

  Emma pulled up near the stables at six o’clock on the dot. The rain had stopped but a cold wind blew straight off the Blue Mountains. Candles flickered in glass jars either side of the front door to Tom’s little cottage. Emma knocked once and Tom opened the door immediately. She gasped at the sight that greeted her. The room was aglow with hundreds of tiny fairy lights and candles. Soft music played from somewhere inside. And it was toasty warm.

  “It’s like Christmas!” She sucked in a deep breath and inhaled deeply. “Mm-mm. And what is that divine smell?” She pulled off her coat and hung it on the hook at the door. “I can’t believe you’ve gone to all this trouble. It would’ve taken you hours to set up.”

  He shrugged. “I wanted it to be special.” Sudden worry crossed his face “Is it too much?”

  “Not at all. I just wish I’d worn something nicer.” She indicated her jeans. In his camel colored chinos, navy wool sweater and polished brown leather boots, Tom looked more gorgeous than ever.

  “You could have worn sweatpants and Ugg boots and it wouldn’t have bothered me.”

  She blushed.

  “Now go and sit in front of the fire while I finish cooking.”

  “Can I do anything to help?”

  “Nope. It’s almost ready. Hope you like pork belly.”

  “Absolutely. It smells amazing.”

  “Can I get you a drink? Glass of wine?”

  “I have to drive home later.”

  “How about a Diet Coke?” He crossed the room to the small kitchenette, opened the fridge and removed a can. Popping the lid, he poured the drink into a glass. “Here.”

  She accepted it, shivering slightly as his fingers brushed against hers. She took a sip. “Are you sure I can’t do anything to help?”

  “I’m sure. Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got it all under control.”

  Casting her eyes around the tidy room, she tried to get a feel for Tom. He liked restful colors – the room was decorated in earthy tones with touches of soft blue, and he didn’t like clutter. There was nothing personal in the room other than a simple black and white photo of him with Ruby. She glanced at the immaculate kitchen benchtops and narrowed her eyes. “Did you cook or did you get your mum to prepare something for us and you’re just reheating it?”

  Tom chuckled. “I cooked. It’s something I enjoy doing.”

  Why had she expected him to be a pizza and paper plate kind of guy? “Looks like you also clean up after yourself too.”

  He shot her a lazy smile. “I am house-trained.”

  The man got better and better.

  Tom bustled around in the kitchen, checking the meat and putting vegetables into the steamer. He caught her staring. “You sure you won’t have at least one glass of wine?”

  She checked her watch. “Okay, just one.”

  Tom laughed. “You’ll have to drink more than one to take you over the limit.”

  He went back to the fridge, poured her a glass of white wine from the already opened bottle and handed it to her. “Will you have one too?”

  “Maybe later. I don’t tend to drink while I’m cooking or I get distracted. And I’m already distracted enough.”

  She almost choked on her first sip of the wine. “Are you hinting that I might be the cause of your distraction?” she teased.

  Their gazes locked. “Not hinting. Saying. Ever since I walked in the back door and saw you sitting at Mum’s kitchen table I’ve been distracted.”

  Heat rushed through her.

  Tom laid the wooden spoon on the bench and washed and dried his hands, not taking his eyes off her. He closed the gap between them. Gently lifting the glass from her fingers, he set it on the bench.

  “I find the best way to fix a distraction is to deal with it,” he said, his voice husky, a cheeky smile playing across his mouth.

  Her breath felt trapped, fluttering in the back of her throat like the wings of a bird caught in a cage. “And how do you like to deal with it?” she whispered.

  Up close, his aftershave blended with the herbs like an aphrodisiac. Her lips parted. She had the strangest sense of déjà vu. He was going to kiss her this time. And she was ready.

  “I deal with distraction by doing this.”

  Strong arms pulled her closer and she found her face pressed against his chest. She inhaled his scent and sighed heavily. Warmth radiated from him, making her powerless to resist the magnetic physical pull between them.

  She turned her face toward his and he slowly bent over her, moving his hands to cup her cheeks between his palms. Their mouths met in a soft, tender, hesitant kiss, before it deepened. The short stubble of his whiskers scratched her mouth but she didn’t care. She kissed him harder. He rubbed his thumb over the nape of her neck and up into her hair and she moaned with pleasure. Forget dinner, she was hungry for something else.

  Daringly, she tugged roughly at his shirt, pulling until it came untucked from his jeans. Sliding her hands up his bare back, she traced the shape of the hard muscles that lay there. He shivered. Drawing in a ragged breath he closed his eyes and kissed her again. Her blood hammered through her veins and a whooshing sound filled her ears. Tears pricked her eyes.

  Tom pulled back. “
Emma? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

  He raised his hand and gently smoothed his thumb along her cheek. Her skin tingled at his touch. He searched her face, the depths of her eyes, and she was lost in two dark pools of concern.

  She pressed her fingers to the corners of her eyes to stop the flow of happy tears and tried to smile. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just this – this.” She was unable to find the words.

  “This?”

  “Us. Together. It’s perfect. Dinner. The candles. All of it. I love it. Being with you and kissing you again takes me back to that night when we were teenagers.”

  Tom’s expression told her he had no idea what she was talking about. Should she tell him? She opened her mouth to tell him when his phone chirped. He ignored it, but the moment between them evaporated. The phone kept ringing.

  “You should check that,” she said, stepping away and attempting to catch her breath. “It might be Ruby.”

  It was.

  Five minutes later after he’d chatted to Ruby and been reassured by Christine that their daughter was sleepy but fine, he said good night. He served the meal but something was wrong. The connection between them was shattered and Emma had no idea how to fix it. What had caused him to turn from hot to cold in a heartbeat? Had Christine said something? Or Ruby maybe? And what was it with his mood swings?

  He placed the plates on the table and sat opposite her. Holding his wine aloft, he gave a smile, which didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Here’s cheers. Bon appetit.”

  “Cheers.”

  While they ate, Tom chatted about his plans for Lexton Downs and slowly his mood defrosted. By the time he’d spoken about his mum, his sister and her life in the UK, and his relationship with Christine and Rick, he was almost back to normal again. Emma let the food, the music, the warmth, and the candles lull her into a relaxed state. Had she imagined his cold behavior earlier?

  “Ruby’s a gorgeous little girl,” she said, setting her knife and fork down on the plate. “How would she feel about us having dinner together?”

  Tom dropped his knife and she thought she might have imagined it, but his face appeared to darken slightly. “I don’t want Ruby to know about us having dinner.”

  A sudden burst of irritation fizzed within her. What was it with men and secrets?

  “Why? Do you think she’d have a problem seeing you with another woman other than her mother?”

  Tom ran a hand across his jaw. “She’s still young and it might get confusing for her.” He hadn’t answered her question.

  “Are you kidding? She’s nearly six and already has a stepfamily. I’m pretty sure she’s more resilient than you’re giving her credit for. Look how well she coped today with the fall, the ambulance, the hospital, everything.”

  “I don’t want her to see me bringing a string of different women home.”

  Emma’s eyes widened. “Has there been a string of women?” She pointed at the candles, her empty plate, indicated the music playing softly in the background. “Do you do this for every woman you invite for dinner?”

  Tom scowled. “No.”

  “But it doesn’t mean there haven’t been other women.”

  “None I want Ruby to meet. Someone once advised me never to go on a second date with a woman unless I plan to marry her.”

  Emma forced a laugh. Surely he was joking. “So in the meantime you plan to date every single female in Birrangulla once?”

  “No. But I haven’t met a woman who’s made me want a second date yet.” He scooped up their plates and took them to the sink.

  Emma crossed her arms and stared at his back. “Well, at least I know where I stand,” she muttered.

  Chapter 15

  Emma was in a deep dreamless sleep when her phone rang. She grabbed it and grunted a groggy greeting that she hoped sounded something like hello.

  “Good morning. You awake?” It was Tom, sounding far too chirpy.

  She hadn’t spoken to him since their disastrous dinner date two weeks earlier. They’d started the night off well. It had peaked when he kissed her, then it had plummeted to the ground like a fizzed-out firecracker the moment Christine had called. Emma had forced her way through the pork belly and sticky date pudding dessert before claiming tiredness as her reason for leaving so early. She was glad she hadn’t finished her one glass of wine and was able to drive home without worrying that she was over the legal blood alcohol limit. She pictured him lying in bed on the other end of the phone and despite her confusion about the mixed messages he was sending, she felt a shift in her heart and a fluttering in her chest.

  “So, are you awake?” he repeated.

  She was instantly alert. Why was he calling?

  “I am now,” she said, shifting position under the covers and half sitting up. She rubbed at her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Oh.” She relaxed back against the pillow.

  “Want to come out and milk the cows with me?”

  The proposition was delivered in a laid-back, no-pressure kind of way, but Emma couldn’t help but feel there was more to it. A flurry of butterflies lifted off.

  “When?”

  “Now.”

  She rubbed her eyes again and squinted at the red numbers on the digital clock beside the bed. What the hell? No way.

  “It’s four thirty in the morning! On my day off.”

  She hated getting up early when she wasn’t rostered on an early shift. Getting out of bed now sounded like torture considering it was probably freezing outside.

  Tom gave a throaty laugh that did something to her insides. She burrowed deeper under her blankets.

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.”

  “You don’t know what you’re missing out on.”

  “I’m sure I’ll survive.”

  “Have you ever milked a cow?”

  “No. And I don’t see any reason to learn now.”

  “An extra pair of hands would be welcome. Between us we could get them milked in half the time.”

  “Ah, so you have an ulterior motive,” she teased. “I’m sure you’ve coped perfectly well without me in the past. The closest I’ve ever come to a cow was the last time I bought milk at the supermarket. I’m sure I’d be more of a hindrance than a help.”

  “I’m happy to teach you.”

  “And as I said, I’m happy to pass up that offer.”

  Tom chuckled again. “Suit yourself. But I’m telling you, you’re missing out.”

  Emma hung up and lay back in bed, tugging the covers tighter around her body. Oddly enough, she felt like she was missing out. She lay there a minute, sighed, rolled over and rolled back again. It was pointless. There was no way she’d be able to fall back to sleep. Giving in, she got dressed, dragging on the clothes she’d left lying on the floor the night before. Grabbing a thick coat and gloves she quietly let herself out of her parents’ house to head to Lexton Downs. And Tom.

  Her decision was made. She was going to give him another chance.

  *

  The still dark blue sky stretched endlessly above her without a cloud in sight as she drove the twenty minutes from Birrangulla to Lexton Downs. A white half-moon hung in the west and in the east, a tiny golden orb began to glow. It was going to be another perfect spring day.

  When she arrived, her car headlights picked Tom out, perched on the gate that led to the dairy, oozing sexuality. He looked relaxed, graceful, and better-looking than ever, sitting with the heels of his boots tucked beneath him and his hands loosely clutching the metal gate either side of his thighs. His hair was still damp from the shower and he was clean-shaven.

  Emma’s emotions were a scrambled mess and her nerve endings were on fire. Even though she’d said she wasn’t coming, he was obviously expecting her. She ran her tongue over dry lips. Maybe saying yes was a mistake. Every time she was in Tom’s company, she was like a hormone-fueled teenager. All she could ever think about was his lips on hers again. She sucked in
a breath and tried to kick-start her stalled brain. The deep-down unsettling truth was, as much as she didn’t want to be one of his “string of women,” if he so much as directed another of his smiles her way, she’d fall straight into his arms and kiss him again. She couldn’t help herself.

  Kookaburras screeched a welcome chorus as she got out of her car. Pulling on her gloves, she tried not to stare at him, but failed miserably. Glancing around, she inhaled deeply, smelling nothing except fresh, cold country air. The pull of his blue eyes tugged at her and she finally looked up, straight into his gaze, feeling the full weight of his appraisal.

  “Good morning.”

  Two simple words and she was blushing. “Good morning,” she stammered, stubbing the toe of her gumboot into the damp ground. She cleared her throat. “How did you know I’d come?”

  One side of his mouth curled upward in a grin, showing off the dimple in his cheek. “Lucky guess.”

  She raised her eyebrows at him.

  He smiled. “I saw the dust from your car. Figured it would be you. Who else would be out this early?”

  “Of course.”

  “Besides, I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist seeing me again.”

  “Is that so?” She met his gaze head on and almost burst out laughing at the expression on his face. Were they canary feathers poking out of his mouth?

  He adjusted the hat on his head. “I’m irresistible.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “I came to see the cows, not you,” she said, hands on hips, returning his grin with one of her own.

  “Is that right?”

  She nodded. “Yep.”

  “Then I guess I’ll have to make it worth your while coming out here.”

  She shivered as she tried to tamp down the emotions building inside her. It was a losing battle.

  He jumped down from the gate and took a step toward her, his face filled with genuine concern. “Are you cold?”

  She shook her head. “It’s okay, thanks. My coat is in the car.”

  He unlatched the chain and held one arm out. “Let’s go.”

  She grabbed her coat and her feet overtook her brain as she chased after him all the way to the dairy.