‘I’ve often wondered what would have happened if we’d got married.’
She glanced to where the children were playing in the water. They weren’t taking any notice of what she and Danny were doing or talking about. And then, all of last night’s mental deliberations swept before her in a rush and, aware of a certain breathlessness, when she spoke it was so soft that he had to lean forward to catch her words.
‘It’s not too late to find out.’
The natural sounds of the bush, the occasional bird call, insects buzzing in the heat, all receded. The children’s laughter seemed a long way away too as Amy and Danny stared at each other.
It was Danny who broke the silence. ‘Are you saying what I think, hope, you’re saying?’
Amy’s smile was joyously radiant. Oh, yes. There was hope…‘I know that, traditionally, it’s done the other way around, but yes, I guess I’m asking you to marry me…if you still feel the same way you felt all those years ago.’
A half-strangled, choking laugh erupted from Danny’s throat. ‘Amy, my darling girl. The answer is yes. I’ve never stopped loving you, or wanting you.’ Danny smiled widely, as if he couldn’t believe his luck. ‘You do care, you do love me?’ When she nodded that she did, he got to his feet, reached for her and pulled her into his arms.
He sealed her proposal with a lingering kiss. ‘I’ve waited so long,’ his voice suddenly became husky, ‘but having your love has been worth the wait.’
Amy’s cheeks tinted pink under his passionate gaze. She had believed, after Randall’s death, that she would never know happiness again, but fate had decided otherwise, and she thought that Randall would approve. She loved Danny differently from the way she had loved his brother. This new love was gentle and deep, and destined to last a lifetime.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my literary agent, Selwa Anthony. My editors Emma Kelso and Sara Foster. The Hub of the Flinders by Hans Mincham. Speak to the Earth by Elyne Mitchell. Australia’s Yesterdays: A Look at Our Recent Past by Reader’s Digest. Outback magazine. Serving the Country: The History of the Country Women’s Association of New South Wales by Helen Townsend. Yield Not to the Wind by Margaret Clarence. Captain Richard Osborne (retired). Sister Mabel Pasfield (retired). John Gumbley. Maike Enghardt.
About the Author
Lynne Wilding published eight previous novels with HarperCollins: King of Cane Valley, Heart of the Outback, Whispers Through the Pines, Turn Left at Bindi Creek, This Time Forever, 52 Waratah Avenue, Outback Sunset and Sundown Crossing.
BY LYNNE WILDING
ALSO BY LYNNE WILDING AND AVAILABLE FROM HARPERCOLLINS:
Heart of the Outback
Whispers Through the Pines
Turn Left at Bindi Creek
This Time Forever
52 Waratah Avenue
Love, Obsessions, Secrets and Lies:
An Anthology (contributor)
King of Cane Valley
Outback Sunset
Sundown Crossing
Copyright
HarperCollinsPublishers
First published in Australia in 2007
This edition published 2010
by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
www.harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © Lynne Wilding 2007
The right of Lynne Wilding to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
HarperCollinsPublishers
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Wilding, Lynne.
Amy’s touch.
ISBN 13: 978 0 7322 8563 0(pbk.)
ISBN 10: 0 7322 8563 1(pbk)
ISBN: 978 0 7304 4401 5 (epub)
1. 1. Man–woman relationships – Fiction.
2. 2. Country life – Australia – Fiction.
I.Title.
A823.3
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