One-Click Buy: July 2009 Harlequin Blaze

by Julie Kenner

  “Yes,” she said. She fumbled with her wallet, then withdrew the rest of the American money she’d brought along. “Here, keep the change.”

  He frowned. “But this is too much.”

  “Don’t worry. I don’t need it. I’m going home. And I’m not going to be leaving again anytime soon.”

  “IT’S GOOD GRAZING LAND,” Callum said, staring out across the landscape toward the horizon. “If we have more land, we can increase the size of the mob. How many hectares do you want to lease?”

  “As much as you want. I plan to start small,” he said. “Maybe twenty-five mares. Good stock. We won’t need a lot of grazing land. I’m hoping you’ll sell me five or six Kerry Creek mares.”

  “I don’t know if I should be helping you. You’re going to be competing with us.”

  Teague drew a deep breath, ready to lay out his plan. “You never wanted the horse-breeding operation in the first place. I’m the one who talked you into it. Why don’t you let me move the whole thing over here. You’ll get your pick of stock ponies at a good price and you can concentrate on cattle.”

  Callum thought about the offer for a moment. “He won’t go for that,” Brody said, his hands folded over his saddle horn, his hat pulled low over his eyes. “Cal would never pay for anything that he could get for free.”

  “There’s where you’re wrong, little brother.” Callum turned to Teague. “All right. It’s a deal. I’ll trade you the Kerry Creek horses for lease rights on Wallaroo grazing land.”

  Teague glanced over at Brody. “What’s wrong with Cal?”

  “Lovesick,” Brody said. “Right now he’d say yes to just about anything. Gemma has turned him into a shadow of his former self.”

  “Not only me,” Cal countered. “Look at poor Teague. We’re both alone again. You’re the only lucky guy in this bunch. How does that figure?” He paused. “And what the hell are you doing here with us when you have Payton waiting back at the homestead?”

  “She has a serious case of jet lag. I think she’s going to be sleeping for the next week,” Brody said.

  The three brothers turned and silently surveyed the land in front of them. Teague found it odd that three women had swept into their lives in a single week, turning their lives upside down before sweeping back out. What were the chances of that happening to one of the Quinn brothers, much less all three? Well, at least Brody’s girl had come back.

  “Yep, we’re a pretty pathetic pair,” Teague said, patting Callum on the shoulder. “Do you think it’s something in the genes?”

  “Must be,” Brody muttered. “I have plenty in my jeans to satisfy a woman.”

  “Genes,” Teague said. “G-E-N-E-S. You know, DNA? Not your trousers, you big boof.”

  “Right,” Brody said. “Leave it to you to get all scientific on us, Dr. Einstein.”

  “So, Casanova, what do you propose we do about this mess?” Teague asked.

  Brody shrugged. “Why do you think you should do anything? Gemma and Hayley went home. Obviously they weren’t interested in living out here in the middle of nowhere. Do you blame them? Our own mother couldn’t handle it. Why would they even try?”

  “It’s not that bad,” Callum said, leaning forward in his saddle to look at Brody. “Payton likes it here.”

  “She does,” Brody agreed. “With Teague over at Wallaroo all the time, you’re going to need some help running the place. We thought we’d stick around and give you a hand.”

  “But you’re going to take the tryout, right?” Cal’s expression turned serious. “You can’t give up that chance.”

  Brody nodded. “Once the knee is stronger.”

  “Hell, if I could pick this station up and move it to Ireland, I’d do it straightaway,” Callum said. “Without a second thought.” He turned to Teague. “And you. Why should you even be worried? Hayley has a job in Sydney. At least for a few more months. If that’s not enough time to convince her to move in with you, then you’re not as smooth as I thought you were.”

  Callum was right. At least he and Brody had more options. Cal was pretty much stuck. He’d never walk away from the station. He’d dreamed about running Kerry Creek since he was a kid. But then, he’d never been in love before.

  “Maybe you ought to try and convince Gemma to come back,” Teague said. “Go to Ireland. Explain to her how you feel and ask her to come home with you.”

  Callum shook his head. “She wouldn’t want to live here.”

  “Why not? If she loves you, she probably won’t care where you live. And Brody and I can watch over the station while you’re gone.”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  “What did she say when you asked her to stay?” Brody inquired.

  Callum frowned. “I didn’t ask. She had to go home. She didn’t have a choice. Besides, I didn’t want to deal with the rejection.”

  “Jaysus, Cal,” Brody and Teague said in unison.

  “You don’t get anything unless you ask.” Teague chuckled. “This is the problem. You’ve been trapped on this station for so long, you’ve never learned to deal with women. You are completely clueless.”

  “If you know all the right moves, then why are you alone?” Cal countered.

  “Point taken,” Teague muttered.

  “I have an idea,” Callum said. He pushed his hat down on his head. “Follow me.” With a raucous whoop, Callum kicked his horse, and the gelding took off at a gallop. Teague and Brody looked at each other, then did the same, following after him in a cloud of dust and pounding hooves.

  Teague assumed they were going to Kerry Creek for a few coldies and some brotherly commiserating. But instead, Callum veered north. As they came over a low rise, he saw the big rock and instantly knew what his brother had planned.

  Brody looked over at him and laughed, then urged his horse ahead, overtaking Callum to reach the rock first. He threw himself out of the saddle and scrambled to the top, waiting as Teague and Callum approached.

  Brody gave them both a hand up and when they were all standing on top of the rock, he nodded. “Doesn’t seem as big as it used to, does it?”

  Teague couldn’t believe it, either. The rock had once seemed like a mountain, but now he could understand how it might have been rolled here from another spot. “So what do we do? I’m not sure I remember.”

  “We have to say it out loud,” Callum replied. “One wish. The thing you want most in the world.”

  “How do we know it will work?” Teague asked.

  “It worked for me. Remember? I wished I could be a pro footballer. And it happened.”

  “And I wished I could run a station like Kerry Creek,” Callum said. “And I’m running Kerry Creek. I remember what you wished for. You wanted a plane.”

  “Or a helicopter,” Brody said. “I guess you got your wish, too.”

  “So what makes you think it will work again?” Teague asked.

  “We won’t know unless we try.” Callum drew a deep breath. “I wish Gemma would come back to Kerry Creek for good.”

  “I wish Hayley would realize I’m the only guy she will ever love.”

  “I wish Payton would say yes when I ask her to marry me,” Brody said.

  Teague and Callum looked over at him in astonishment and Brody grinned. “You don’t get anything in life unless you ask.”

  “Well, I guess that’s it,” Callum said in his usual down-to-business manner. “We’ll see if it works. Are you riding back to Kerry Creek with us?”

  “I’ve got work to do on Wallaroo,” he said. “But I’ll come by tomorrow to talk about our deal.”

  They jumped off the rock and remounted their horses. Then Brody and Callum headed toward Kerry Creek and Teague toward Wallaroo. The ride to the homestead was filled with thoughts of Hayley. She’d left for L.A. four days ago and he hadn’t heard from her since. He’d tracked down her phone number and tried calling, but had gotten her voice mail and hung up.

  He thought if she answered, he would know what to say. Some
thing would come to him. But he couldn’t leave a message. So he called occasionally, hoping that she’d answer. And when she did, he’d be able to put into words how he felt about her.

  But didn’t she already know how he felt? Hadn’t he made it clear? Or, like Cal, had he forgotten to ask her to stay? He rewound every one of their conversations. No, he’d asked, over and over. And she’d refused.

  “Guess I’ll have to find a better way to convince her,” he murmured.

  When he reached the stable, he groomed and fed Tapper then sent him out into the yard with Molly and two other horses he’d brought over from Kerry Creek. As he got the operation running, he’d bring over more and more stock until all the breeding mares were stabled at Wallaroo.

  There were still repairs to make on the paddock fences and supplies to buy. Between working on the house and the stables, he spent his time making calls, flying out of Wallaroo and returning each evening before sunset. The airstrip on Wallaroo was much closer to the house than the one on Kerry Creek had been, and he’d considered running electricity out for some crude landing lights. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about the length of his workday.

  But that was a project for a later date. There were too many things to be done. He strode to the house, slowing his pace when he reached the porch. He’d managed to paint the facade a bright white and the trim a deep green. When he’d chosen the colors, he’d thought about what Hayley might have picked and wished she’d been there with him. But without her input, he’d depended on an old color photo of the place.

  It looked good. In fact, he couldn’t remember ever seeing the house looking quite that nice. He planned to get flowers and bushes for around the porch in spring. And he’d put a porch swing up and buy some comfortable chairs so they could—

  “They,” he repeated out loud. He was still thinking in terms of “they.” He and Hayley, together on Wallaroo. It was always good to be optimistic, but when did optimism turn into delusion? “Give her three months,” Teague said. “No, six.” After that, he’d be forced to come to terms with the possibility that she wouldn’t come back.

  He pulled open the front door and walked inside. The interior smelled like fresh paint. He’d finished the front parlor and rearranged the furniture, bringing over his favorite chair from his room at Kerry Creek.

  He walked across the parlor to the small desk that Harry had used to keep the accounts for the station. He’d been meaning to go though the papers and see if there was anything he should keep.

  Grabbing a chair, he sat down and started with the top drawer. He pulled it out, then dumped it at his feet. A packet of letters caught his attention and he picked them up and examined the envelope on the top.

  His breath caught as he recognized his name and his old address at Murdoch University, all written in Hayley’s careless scrawl. He slipped the string off the packet and flipped through each envelope. There were letters to him and from him, all of them unopened.

  Teague rose and walked out the front door to the porch. He sat down on the step and opened a letter in his handwriting.

  As he read the text, memories flooded his mind, memories of a nervous teenager, alone in a strange city, wishing he was home with the girl he loved. Teague chuckled at the clumsy declarations of love, the silly questions, the assurances that they’d be together again soon.

  Harry had obviously intercepted his letters, probably meeting the mail plane himself each week. And he’d obviously searched through the outgoing mail for Hayley’s letters, as well. Teague had never imagined her grandfather might interfere with the mail. Would things have been different if the letters had been delivered? There was no way of knowing.

  He opened a letter from Hayley, written on stationery he’d given her right before he left, stationery decorated with an ink drawing of a horse. It was nearly the same as his letter, declarations of affection and news of her days on Wallaroo.

  He stared out across the yard. It was a bit ironic. Now he was the one left waiting and wondering when he’d see her again, hoping for any type of communication. “Come home, Hayley,” he said softly. “Come home soon.”

  HAYLEY’S EYES drifted closed. She shook herself awake and squinted at the deserted road in front of her. She’d landed in Sydney about fifteen hours earlier. She’d lost an entire day on the trip back, but she’d managed to sleep most of the way home. After landing, she’d packed the car and headed north on the Pacific Highway.

  A breakfast stop outside of Brisbane provided the opportunity for a short nap before heading west toward Bilbarra and Wallaroo. The drive had been pleasant when she’d made it a month ago. She’d taken her time, traveling over two days, rather than driving straight through.

  But she was anxious to get home, to see Teague again and to try to repair the damage she’d done by leaving. They hadn’t spoken for a week and Hayley hadn’t bothered to call and warn him of her arrival. She didn’t want to explain her actions. She just wanted to walk up to him, throw herself into his arms and kiss him until she was certain he understood how she felt.

  She felt like a fool for leaving him in the first place. Teague had put up with a lot of foolish behavior from her, but she hoped he would forgive this one last mistake. She wasn’t about to walk away again, at least not until they’d come to an understanding.

  They needed to discuss whether they would live together at Wallaroo as friends, as lovers or as two people who were planning to spend the rest of their lives together. Hayley preferred the latter, but she was willing to settle for the other two choices.

  As she passed the road to Kerry Creek, she slowed her car, wondering if she ought to stop there first. Over the past week, she’d wondered if Teague had changed his mind about living on Wallaroo. The house was a wreck and it would be a lonely place to live compared to the hustle and bustle of his family’s station.

  If he wasn’t at Wallaroo, she’d take the time to clean up, maybe catch a few hours of sleep and then drive over to see him later in the day. She glanced in the rearview mirror then groaned at the sight she saw.

  Dark shadows smudged the skin beneath her eyes and her hair was a mess of tangles. The makeup she’d worn for her audition was long since gone. She hoped he’d be so happy to have her home he wouldn’t notice the details of her appearance.

  As she drove down the road to Wallaroo, her energy began to surge and she felt a jolt of adrenaline kick in. She was about to change the course of her life for the second time. Only this time, she was steering directly toward what she’d left behind.

  She stopped the car at the end of the long driveway into Wallaroo, then got out and retrieved her bag from the rear seat. She tugged off her T-shirt and jeans and slipped on a soft cotton dress. Then she found her brush and tamed her unruly hair, tying it back with a scarf.

  When she bent down to look at her reflection in the side mirror, she thought about lipstick and a bit of mascara, but then decided against it. Teague had always preferred her without makeup. She didn’t want to look like Hayley, the television star. She wanted to look like Hayley, the girl he’d fallen in love with years before.

  Gathering her resolve, she hopped back into the car and started off down the driveway. As she got closer to the house, she noticed something odd. It seemed to gleam in the morning sun. It was only when she entered the yard that Hayley realized the house had been painted.

  A tiny gasp slipped from her lips. The two-story clapboard structure looked so shiny and new she barely recognized it. Teague had painted the trim around the windows and the porch floor a deep green. And she noticed a row of new green shutters drying in the sun.

  She stopped the car and slowly got out, taking in the other changes that had been made in the course of a week. The yard was clean and raked, the various bits of junk that had collected over the years hauled away. Teague had dug up the ground along the front side of the porch as if to make a garden. And the weather vane that had once perched on the roof at a precarious angle was now fixed and functional.
>
  The front door was open and she peered through the screen, wondering if Teague was inside. She hesitantly opened the screen door, calling out his name, but the house was silent. Hayley looked around in astonishment. He’d worked miracles on the interior, as well. The walls had been painted and the woodwork had been oiled. The plank floors now gleamed with a fresh coat of wax and all the furniture had been rearranged.

  It was Wallaroo as it had been, back in its early days, when everything was bright and new, back in the days when her grandmother had been alive and this had been a real home. She walked into the parlor and sat down in a soft leather chair, a chair she recognized from Teague’s bedroom at Kerry Creek.

  Hayley noticed a pile of mail on the table nearby and reached for it. A tiny sigh slipped from her lips as she realized what she was holding. Her letters to Teague! They were all here, all neatly addressed with the stamps unmarked. She pulled one out of the envelope and read it, each word ringing in her mind as if it had been yesterday.

  “I found them in Harry’s desk drawer.”

  She glanced up to see Teague watching her from behind the screen door. He was dressed in work clothes, his stockman’s hat pulled low over his eyes. She couldn’t read his expression and didn’t know if he was pleased or displeased that she’d returned.

  Hayley slowly stood and dropped the letters onto the chair. “Hi,” she said.

  “Hi, yourself,” he replied.

  “I’m back.” She swallowed hard. It wasn’t sparkling conversation, but it was the best she could manage between her pounding heart and her dizzy head.

  “I can see that.”

  “I thought I should come home.”

  “To check up on me?”

  She frowned. “No. I mean, yes. To see you. I wanted to see you.”

  “Why are you here, Hayley?”

  She sighed impatiently. “Can we at least be standing in the same room when we have this conversation?”

  “What conversation is that?”

  “The one where I tell you that I was stupid to leave and that I’m in love with you and I hope you’re in love with me.” The words came out in a rush and after she said them all, she felt a warm blush creep up her cheeks. So what if it hadn’t been scriptworthy romantic dialogue. This wasn’t a scene from a television program, this was real life. And real life wasn’t perfect.