Grand Parade (Show Time Fever Book 1)

by Lilliana Rose

  “Pleased to meet you, I’m Megan.” She’d also learnt that the old-fashioned manners her parents instilled in her came in handy. And they were certainly appreciated with the older folk she had been dealing with all day. “If you can both stand over in the center here.” She moved to stand where they needed to go with the sheep. “Were you looking for a head shot with the sheep or full body?”

  “Would both be all right?” asked Mr Lang.

  “Of course.” Megan was surprising herself at the level of flexibility she’d discovered. “If you stand on the right with the ram, and then Danny on the left with the ewe, you can point their heads down the pavilion.”

  She was positioned here in the corner of the pavilion. Even some of the show-goers had stopped to take pictures of her taking pictures of the prize-winning sheep and their owners.

  “Just a minute.” Mr Lang pulled off the broad ribbon that hung on his shoulder and draped it over the ram.

  Megan adjusted the ribbon to make sure it hung in the center, and straight. If only Mum could see me now. Her heart tightened for a moment, then eased as she knew her mum would think that this was great because her daughter was following her heart, and living life. With lanolin-stained hands, she lifted her camera to check the frame.

  “Good. They have to straighten up a bit.” The vague instruction had the outcome she wanted. They both checked their sheep, and pushed them into position. Then she took the photos. The Langs left happy, and with no one else lining up, she took the moment to take out her phone with mind to text Jackson.

  Bugger. The message from this morning to Jackson hadn’t sent. She quickly pressed send. Bugger. A window popped up on her screen saying that there was less than 5% charge left on her phone. Megan quickly typed out another message, but then the next farmer came with his sheep. She hastily put away the phone, not wanting to look unprofessional. This was more or less her first real job, and she wasn’t about to stuff it up.

  I’ll text him in a minute. She helped get the sheep in a good stance for the photo, then her photography mind focused and she forgot about texting Jackson.

  She kept snapping photos for the next two hours. There were a few extras who came along for photos who hadn’t put their name down, and even though she was exhausted, she didn’t want to turn them away. Tired from standing all day, she packed away her camera, pulled down the screen, and the lamp, putting the equipment in the boxes Frank had conveniently left for her. Struggling with the load, she walked back to the office on the show grounds, stumbling in with a sigh.

  Helen wasn’t there. One thing she wasn’t going to do today, was go around the show and take candid shots. That could wait. Right now she would be lucky to be finished up before midnight. She picked up her phone. Damn. It was dead.

  Her lips pursed together. She didn’t want to not have the chance to see Jackson. So she locked up the office, took her camera bag with her, and went off to find him. There was only one place she thought he could be, and she hoped to hell he was there with his cattle.

  Jackson stared at his blank phone screen. The only message that had come through from Megan, something about the sheep pavilion, hadn’t made any sense. He could tell she had been in a rush. But, he hadn’t been able to go and see her. He’d been roped into helping out as a Steward with the Angus judging. Then it was late, so Jackson had walked past the office once more, but no one was there, and with some of the other farm guys and girls, he’d ended up at the Goodwood Hotel, Goody for short, across the road from the show, having a few drinks. Tonight he wasn’t planning on drinking like he had the other night. He took a mouthful of beer. It was still his first, and getting a little on the warm side, but he wasn’t about to drink it fast just to get another one.

  “So how’s that new girl of yours?” asked Julie as she slipped onto the bar stool next to him.

  The place was busy, packed with people down from the country who had come to the show. The music had been turned up, some pop songs on the chart, and everyone was yelling just to be heard by the person next to them.

  Jackson suddenly had a pang of homesickness squeeze at his heart. Home was calling, the peace and quiet, the earthy smell of the land, and the fertile scent of ripening crops that would soon need to be harvested. Not here, in the stale smell of a pub, which marginally smelt better than the cattle shed.

  “What’s it to you?” He glared at her over his beer.

  “Don’t be like that.” She looked at him smugly, hands wrapped around the glass stem of the wine she was drinking.

  “What did you do?” Jackson didn’t know what Julie had been up to, but he knew enough about her that she wouldn’t have been content throwing his belongings out in the dirty laneway.

  “Nothing.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t give me that.” Anger bubbled inside of him. It was bad enough that Megan hadn’t messaged him, but he figured she’d been busy, hopefully not unwell from the head injury, but to hear that Julie could’ve interfered made his blood heat up.

  “Just don’t think she’s cut out for farm life that’s all.” She looked at him, her eyes cool and manipulative. “You know reality-check.”

  “She’s more of a woman that you are. I’m sure she’s up for hard work.”

  “I don’t know. She’s from the city. She’s not used to hard work at all.”

  “I’m not looking for a woman like that.” Jackson looked directly at her, a dark stare. “I’m not looking for someone like you when all you can do is bitch, nag, and hurt someone who’s never done you dirt.”

  “Bastard.”

  “You keep your nose out of who I’m seeing. Nothing to do with you, ever.”

  He saw the tears well in her eyes. His gentle nature wanted him to stop now, but he had to leave Julie with a clear message. “And leave Megan alone, otherwise I’ll come and find you and give you such a talking to, you’d wished you’d never spoken to her before. She’s been through a lot, and doesn’t need a jealous bitch like you to be harassing her.”

  “Why didn’t it work between us?” She pouted her bottom lip.

  “Seriously?” He stood up. He didn’t want to be here around her. “Look at your behavior right now? There’s your answer.” He turned and left.

  “Hey, it’s too early, Jackson,” yelled Heath.

  “Got to help out tomorrow with the junior judging,” said Jackson. “Plus it’s gotten too bitchy in here.” He shrugged away, taking a breath of the cool night air. His blood chilled. Enough, so he could think clearer. He took out his phone and called Megan’s number. It went straight to voice message. “Call me. I’m trying to find you.”

  He put his phone away, before he sent a dozen messages and embarrassed himself over a girl who’d apparently lost interest in him.

  Chapter 12

  Megan didn’t want to hang around the cattle, but she’d looked through the barn unsuccessfully for Jackson. She was also exhausted. Plus, she had to get the photos edited, up and ready online for them to be viewed tomorrow. She had a feeling that people would want to check them very early.

  She looped around the aisle once more looking for Jackson, or even his mum, just not Julie.

  “Can you tell me where he is?” she asked Bruce as she wandered past him again. He only swished his tail and blinked before turning his head back to take another mouthful of hay. “Thanks.”

  With a dead phone, and no time to waste, Megan sighed, and started to head back to her car. She wasn’t sure where else to look for him. It would take hours, literally, to try and find him at the show in the crowds of people, and while she ached to see him, and do a lot more than just talk, she wasn’t about to spend that time wandering around with a heavy bag on her shoulder.

  If I get home, I can charge my phone and then message him. She walked down the dark street to her car. Then I can finish my work, sleep, and tomorrow we can spend the day together. She hoped that would be the case. After all, she didn’t know if he had left the show or not. The
re were too many possibilities and she was tired.

  Home then. Megan knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to finish the photos. Because already Jackson’s naked image was coming into her head.

  The next morning, Megan frowned as she looked at her phone. She slumped in her PJ’s on the lounge, tucking her legs under her as she scrolled through the dozen or so messages, and voice mails. First things first, she read the messages from Jackson. There were a couple from last night. Guilt pricked at her for not replying. She’d logged onto her computer, then had left her phone charging in the lounge room. When she had finished, well after midnight, she had enough energy to crawl into her PJ’s then bed.

  Now, she read his messages. Her heart tightened and she wished she’d replied to him last night. His message sounded protective which made her ache more for him. ‘I don’t know what Julie said to you, but I told her to leave you alone. I hope she didn’t upset you. I’d hate for her to get between us.’ It was good to know that he’d spoken to Julie again. Her words didn’t hurt so much today.

  This morning’s message from Jackson read, ‘I would really love to see you today. Coming into the show? If you haven’t had enough of me, I’ll be at the cattle all day. I hope to see you.’

  Megan had a twist of guilt in her stomach for not responding to him. Poor guy. He really wants to see me. She blushed at the attention. It was a little much. Then about another hour ago, there was the last message, ‘I sound desperate. If you’re interested come and see me. If not, I get it. I won’t text again.’

  She’d been the one who had dropped off the radar because her phone had died, plus she’d been given too much work to complete. Not the thing to do after having sex, unless it was the sort that didn’t work for you, then of course such behavior was more than acceptable. That wasn’t the message that Megan wanted to give to Jackson.

  She wished she’d texted him last night. Of course, she wasn’t sure that she’d have been able to stop at one text. Now, that she hadn’t seen him for over a day, she couldn’t wait to see him. Eagerness burned inside of her.

  She typed out a response, ‘Sorry, busy day. Then phone died. Overslept. I’m on my way in now. See you soon.’

  There, problem solved. Well almost. Hopefully, Jackson would understand.

  She also had a voice message from Helen. Megan listened to what her boss had to say and exhaled with relief. Helen only had praise about how happy the clients were with the photos Megan loaded up online. The editor-in-chief was happy too, and there was a bonus coming Megan’s way. She needed to drop her tax forms into the office in the city and that could be arranged. She felt all grown up. She quickly responded to a few other messages, plus a few from her friends on social media.

  Then she left her phone. She showered and dressed. To her dismay she’d completely ran out of clean jeans. Checking the weather, she saw it was a warm spring day, and decided on a knee-length skirt, with a loose floral top. She put on flat shoes for something different, then grabbed her camera bag and went into the show.

  Because she was late, she had to park thirty minutes away, to avoid exorbitant parking fees, and then walked to the show grounds. It took all her self-control not to stop by at the cattle, made slightly easier by not having a response from Jackson. Who would’ve thought it would be so difficult to catch each other at the show? But, then she’d hardly seen Kristie since she’d come back to the show either.

  Megan made a mental note to text her later. Once she’d checked in at work, she’d look for Jackson. She wanted to make sure he was genuinely still interested in her. It had felt like he was. The messages suggested he was, but she didn’t want to hand over her heart to him before being really certain. After missing each other yesterday, she worried that maybe this was a sign that they weren’t meant to be, and they should go on with their separate lives.

  Megan bumped into something soft. “Sorry.” She hadn’t been looking where she was going. Instead, she worried over whether things could really work between Jackson and her.

  She froze. Julie stood in front of her. Megan pursed her lips together.

  “You should be looking where you’re going,” said Julie.

  “So should you.” Megan folded her hands across her chest. She wasn’t about to be taking any bitchiness from Julie. “Doesn’t anything polite come out of your mouth?”

  “How dare …” Julie suddenly clamped her mouth shut. Her face hardened.

  Megan glared at her, challenging her to keep speaking. “You have no right to say what you did to me, or about my mum, just because you’re jealous Jackson has turned his attention to someone else.” Megan took a deep breath, to try and still the anger rising fast inside of her.

  Something changed in Julie’s expression. “You’re right.”

  “I know.” Megan looked hard at Julie. Is she being sincere?

  “I shouldn’t have said those things.” Julie’s eyes softened. “It was mean of me.”

  “It was.” Megan stood, shocked by what she was hearing. This was the last thing she expected from Julie.

  “I’m sorry. I couldn’t live without my mum, and well, you’re so young to be without your mum, and I was being spiteful. There’s other guys out there for me I’m sure, just not Jackson. The other day when I say you both kissing I realised that for the first time and it broke my heart.” She inhaled heavily, and her eyes misted.

  Megan didn’t know what to say. She felt herself soften a little towards Julie, albeit cautiously.

  “But, it was a good thing for me to see because now I can move on. Now, I have better perspective I can also be happy for you and Jackson.” Julie leaned forward and grabbed Megan’s hand.

  Megan had to stop herself from pulling away. Her own eyes were beginning to water, but she still wasn’t sure about trusting Julie regardless of how honest she sounded. It was hurtful what she had said, and how she had bought her mum into it, even if she didn’t known that Megan’s mum had passed.

  “And I hope it really works out between you both.”

  “Thanks,” said Megan, feeling a little overwhelmed by the apology. “It was nasty what you said about my mum. That’s what hurt the most you know.”

  Julie nodded. “I didn’t know and it isn’t an excuse. I want you to know that I’m truly sorry, and I wish I’d kept my mouth shut.”

  “Okay.” It was all Megan could say. Her anger dissipated. All the hate she felt towards Julie faded. There was one thing she needed to get off her chest. She wasn’t she could forget the words so easily, not the way they had carved into her heart opening up the pain of losing her mum once more. “Please don’t treat me like that ever again.”

  “I promise.” Julie squeezed her hand. “Also I hope I can be a bridesmaid at your wedding with Jackson.”

  “That’s jumping the gun a bit.”

  Julie laughed. “I don’t know about that. I’ve never seen Jackson so happy. Anyway, whatever happens, I want us to be friends. If not, then know that I have no ill feeling towards you.”

  “That’s good to know.” Megan managed to smile sincerely back at Julie, glad the air was cleared between them. It left her without such a weight on her shoulders, knowing Julie wouldn’t want to get between her and Jackson. Which reminded her. “Do you know where Jackson is?”

  “Yeah, he’s over at the arena. They have the junior judging on today and he’s helping out. Come on. I’ll take you to him. He’ll be stoked to see you.” Julie started walking.

  Megan followed. She better not be playing a practical joke on me.

  Right now, Megan felt a little cautious, especially after working long hours the day before and missing seeing Jackson. Suddenly, a swarm of bees took flight in her belly, sending out a strong wave of nerves through her. She swallowed hard. Will I feel the same when I see him next?

  It had only been over twenty-four hours since she saw him last, and having sex changed everything. She wasn’t sure now that expectation was building up heavily in her gut. />
  “This way.” Julie’s voice broke through her nervous thoughts and Megan hurried to catch up.

  They weaved between cattle being led down the aisle. Megan surprised herself by keeping calm as she slipped past them, close enough to touch them. Her head pounded for a moment, remembering the pain of being kicked by Bruce, but then it went away, and she felt a surge of confidence take hold. I will know when I see Jackson if I still want him.

  In front of them was a cordoned off, rectangular area, with fake grass on the ground. There were four cows being led around in a tight circle by teenagers dressed smartly in cream moleskins, striped shirts, and polished boots.

  “There he is.” Julie stopped and pointed. “Next to the Over-Judge.”

  Megan saw Jackson standing to the side with a clipboard in hand, a serious expression on his face as he stood next to the older man, who watched the handlers in the arena and how well they guided the cows around.

  Jackson glanced up. His expression softened when he saw her. He smiled, broad and mischievous. Peace flooded through Megan as she grinned back. I want him. There was no doubt.

  “I’ll catch you later,” said Julie.

  Megan nodded, not taking her gaze off Jackson. He walked toward her, keeping to the edge so as not to disturb the judging in the center of the ring.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” His eyes shone with cheekiness as he came to her.

  “Hi,” said Megan. Her pulse increased.

  He leaned over the railing, slipping his free hand under her chin, and kissed her. A fiery pleasure burst on her lips as she welcomed him. His kiss provided a burning certainty that she wanted him not just for now, but for a longer term, no she wanted him forever. She rested her hand on his shoulder to steady herself. His masculine scent fired up her senses further.

  “I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said, once he finally pulled away. Her lips tingled from his touch, and she had to stop herself from reaching up to kiss him again. The yearning for him was too intense and she wasn’t sure she could stop at a kiss.