Kitabı oku: «New Arrivals: Surprise Baby for Him: The Cattleman's Adopted Family / The Soldier's Homecoming / Marriage for Baby»
The child he never knew…until now!
SURPRISE BABY FOR HIM
BARBARA HANNAY
DONNA ALWARD
MELISSA McCLONE
New Arrivals: Surprise Baby for Him
The Cattleman’s Adopted Family
Barbara Hannay
The Soldier’s Homecoming
Donna Alward
Marriage for Baby
Melissa McClone
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
The Cattleman’s Adopted Family
About the Author
PROLOGUE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
EPILOGUE
The Soldier’s Homecoming
About the Author
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Marriage for Baby
About the Author
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
Copyright
The Cattleman’s Adopted Family
BARBARA HANNAY was born in Sydney, educated in Brisbane, and has spent most of her adult life living in tropical North Queensland, where she and her husband have raised four children. While she has enjoyed many happy times camping and canoeing in the bush, she also delights in an urban lifestyle—chamber music, contemporary dance, movies and dining out. An English teacher, she has always loved writing and now, by having her stories published, she is living her most cherished fantasy. Visit www.barbarahannay.com.
PROLOGUE
AT FIRST, when Amy saw two policemen at the ballroom’s grand entrance, she felt no more than mild curiosity. She didn’t dream they were about to turn her life upside down.
She was way too excited to entertain such dark thoughts. For weeks, she’d been on tenterhooks planning tonight’s high-gloss corporate launch. Its success or failure rested almost entirely on her shoulders, and she was relieved that everything was turning out well.
‘Love it, love it, love it!’ her ecstatic clients cheered.
As far as they were concerned, Amy hadn’t put a foot wrong. They were thrilled with the venue she’d found on Melbourne’s Southbank. They were especially thrilled with the video walls that showed off their brilliant new range of environmentally friendly lighting systems.
Amy was equally pleased with the way she looked tonight. She’d dieted for three weeks to squeeze into her divinely chic, but frighteningly expensive little black dress. She’d paid another outrageous sum at a trendy salon in Chapel Street to have glamorous blonde highlights added to her rather ordinary, pale brown hair.
Now, with the addition of killer high heels and her grandmother’s diamond earrings, she’d received oodles of compliments about both the launch party and her appearance. Tonight it was clear—in Melbourne’s competitive, pressurecooker world of marketing and corporate events, Amy Ross had arrived!
But before she could take her first celebratory sip of her champagne cocktail, she saw the deepening sombreness on the policemen’s faces.
Why on earth were they here?
Surely they must have come to the wrong function. At any moment they would move on.
But no, the older of the two men approached the doorman and Amy saw the look of concern on his face. She felt a cold ripple of anxiety. Hastily, she scanned the crowded ballroom, searching the sea of guests. Could a criminal be lurking in their midst?
Her stomach tightened as she glanced to the doorway again. The doorman was turning.
He pointed directly at Amy.
Oh, God.
The glass in her hand shook, spilling wine onto her gorgeous new dress. Dismayed, she set it down. Any second now, the policemen would come marching into the very centre of this ballroom, and she had visions of the guests falling silent, eyes agog as they stepped aside to make a wide path for the blue uniformed men.
Amy knew she mustn’t let that happen.
Sending her clients a brave thumbs-up gesture, she started off across the vast expanse of highly polished floor, knees knocking, thoughts racing and skidding through distressing possibilities.
Had she accidentally invited one of Melbourne’s infamous gangland criminals to this party?
Or was this personal? Was she the policemen’s target? Had her car been towed away?
Had something happened to her parents? Please, no!
Her stomach gave another sickening lurch as she drew closer to the grim-faced men, but she forced a smile. ‘Good evening, gentlemen. How can I help you?’
The older policeman nodded to her gravely. ‘Are you Miss Amy Ross?’
‘Yes.’
‘You live at Unit 42, 67 Grange Street, Kew?’
‘Y-yes.’ Oh, cringe. Had she forgotten to turn off the iron? Had her flat burned down?
‘We’ve been informed that you organised this event and sent out the invitations. Is that correct?’
Amy gulped. ‘That’s right.’
‘Could we speak with you privately, please?’
She couldn’t hide her alarm any longer. ‘W-what’s the matter?’
‘We’re making enquiries, Miss Ross. We don’t want to cause any unnecessary fuss, so, if you could just come this way, please?’
Enquiries. Surely this was a euphemism to cover all kinds of awfulness?
Stomach churning, Amy followed the men out into the marbled splendour of the hotel’s lobby. She felt too ill to ask questions, so she stood very still while the younger policeman drew a piece of paper from his pocket.
She recognised it as one of the invitations she’d sent out for the launch party. Was she about to be quizzed about her guest list?
Amy’s mind whirled. Her clients had vetted her guest list and her only addition had been her best friend, Rachel. It was all above board. She’d been allocated one private guest and although her initial choice had been Dominic, her boyfriend, she’d changed her mind at the last moment and invited Rachel instead.
Rachel had been her best friend since they were fifteen, and she really understood how BIG this night was.
Besides, Rachel was a single mum and a writer, and since her daughter’s birth she hardly ever got out. This party was a terrific chance for her to exercise her social skills before her first book was published and she became famous.
Amy had no doubt that her brilliant friend would become famous. Of course, she wasn’t surprised that Rachel was running late tonight—she’d probably had trouble leaving Bella with a babysitter.
The policeman tapped the invitation with a long finger. ‘Are you the same Amy Ross who’s listed as Rachel Tyler’s next of kin?’
A strangled cry broke from Amy. She tried not to think the worst, but she was gripped by numb terror.
‘I—I suppose Rachel might have named me as her n-next of kin,’ she stammered. ‘She has no family and I’m her b-best friend.’
‘Your name came up when we checked her driver’s licence,’ the policeman said gently. Too gently.
Shaking, Amy wished with all her heart that she didn’t have to hear what these men had come to tell her.
‘We found this invitation and realised you’d be here,’ he said.
Amy almost screamed. She wanted these men to go. Away. Right now.
Instead they were beating around the bush, driving her insane with terror. ‘Please,’ she sobbed. ‘Just—tell me.’
‘There’s been an accident,’ the older man said. ‘A fatal accident. Only a block away.’
Chapter One
AMY stood at the open window of the shabby hotel room in Far North Queensland, and watched a utility truck emerge out of the heat haze to the north. She felt an anxious flutter tremble from her stomach to her chest. The driver was almost certainly Seth Reardon.
Her hair was damp against the back of her neck and her cotton clothing stuck to her skin, but as the ute rattled down the street and came to a halt directly opposite the pub she wasn’t sure if her discomfort was caused by the tropical heat or her nervousness.
The driver’s door opened and, with an excessive lack of haste, a man unfurled from the cabin.
His build was tall and lean, a perfect match for his faded jeans and well-worn riding boots. He wore a milk-blue cotton shirt, with long sleeves rolled to his elbows to reveal sun-darkened skin on his forearms. His hair was very black.
From this angle, Amy couldn’t see his face, but he crossed the empty street with a slow and easy stride that commanded attention.
Without warning, he looked up.
And saw her.
Gulp.
She swung away from the window, her heart thumping strangely. She’d gained a fleeting impression of masculine strength, of a grim mouth and a proud and resolute jaw, and eyes that were a breathtaking vivid blue.
‘Oh, Bella,’ Amy whispered, sending a glance back to the two-year-old playing with a toy pig on the bed. ‘This man is your daddy.’
It was too late to change her mind, but suddenly, for the first time since she’d left Melbourne, Amy wondered if she’d done the right thing to come all this way.
Rachel had been so cagey about Bella’s father. She’d always confided in Amy—always—and yet she hadn’t breathed a word about Seth Reardon until Bella’s second birthday.
Rachel had finally made the big confession after the birthday party, a very casual gathering in her backyard—a few playgroup mums and toddlers, with colourful cupcakes, jelly oranges and chocolate frogs.
Afterwards, Amy had helped to wash coffee cups and once Bella had been tucked into bed she and Rachel had opened a bottle of wine and made spaghetti. They’d eaten on the back patio and talked long into the night.
When Amy brought up the subject of Bella’s father, Rachel groaned. ‘Do you always have to act like my conscience?’
‘But Bella’s two years old now,’ Amy protested. ‘And she’s such a gorgeous little thing. I can’t help thinking there’s a guy out there who’s missing out on so much by not knowing her.’
To Amy’s surprise, Rachel actually agreed.
‘You’re right,’ she said, and, after almost three years of silence, the confession tumbled out.
Rachel had met this absolutely amazing guy when she’d been working on a cattle property on Cape York, in Far North Queensland.
‘I suppose I was totally overawed by him,’ she admitted. ‘He was the most attractive man I’ve ever met.’
‘You mean,’ Amy whispered, ‘he was The One?’
Rachel’s face was white, her voice edgy. ‘Yes, I’m afraid he was—but that’s what scared me, Ames. That’s why I never kept in touch with him. If I’d told him about Bella, he would have wanted me to live up there with him.’
‘But if you love each other you’d live happily ever after,’ Amy declared. It seemed incredibly simple and romantic to her.
But Rachel’s mask slipped to reveal raw fear. ‘I couldn’t live there,’ she said. ‘He’s the boss of a massive cattle station. It occupies his whole life, and it’s so hot and wild and remote. I’d be mad with loneliness and I’d drive the poor man insane.’
A glass of wine later Rachel said more calmly, ‘You’re right, Amy. God help me, you’re always right. I really must make contact with Seth again. I do want to take Bella to meet him. I just need to find the right time.’
But she’d never found the right time…
Which was why Amy was here now, in the Tamundra pub, almost three thousand kilometres north of Melbourne.
When Seth Reardon heard footsteps on the bare timber stairs, he stood in the empty hotel dining room, facing the doorway, shoulders squared, hands lightly fisted at his sides.
He wasn’t looking forward to meeting this friend of Rachel Tyler’s, and he frowned, sensing something odd as he listened to Amy Ross’s approach.
He was here for a business meeting and he’d expected to meet her alone, but he could hear another set of footsteps—eager, small footsteps.
Without warning, a tiny girl burst, like a small torpedo, through the doorway.
‘Hello, man!’
Arms outstretched, the child greeted Seth with a huge grin, as if a reclusive cattleman, whom she’d never met, was the one person in the world she most wanted to see.
Seth’s stomach dropped as she headed straight for his knees, blue eyes dancing, dark curls bouncing. He knew next to nothing about children, would rather face an angry scrub bull than a small, toddling female.
To his relief, an anxious young woman, the same woman he’d glimpsed in the window upstairs—Amy Ross, he presumed—came hurrying behind the child.
‘Bella!’ She reached for the little girl’s hand and halted her headlong dash to embrace Seth’s legs.
‘I’m sorry,’ she huffed, slightly out of breath and blushing brightly. ‘I’m afraid Bella’s very friendly.’
‘So I see.’
Seth’s dryly drawled response was the result of habit rather than displeasure. Now that the child was safely perched on her mother’s hip, he could see that the two of them formed a charming picture.
The child’s dark, curly hair, dimples, and blue eyes were in startling contrast to her mother’s brown eyes and straight honey-brown hair. Amy Ross’s complexion was warmer than her daughter’s, with the slightest hint of a golden tan.
But in spite of the differences in their appearances, the close bond between the two of them was clear, and Seth was suddenly lassoed by unexpected emotion. He’d been stoically resigned to his life as a loner, but now he felt strangely left out, excluded from a very special unit.
He’d thought he’d thrown off his urges to be a family man.
‘Perhaps we should start again,’ Amy Ross said, and she held out her hand with a smile as appealing as her daughter’s. ‘I’m Amy and you must be Seth. How do you do?’
He accepted her greeting with a stiff nod, and as they shook hands he was super-conscious of the soft warmth of her skin.
‘You didn’t mention that you were bringing your daughter,’ he said with an asperity he immediately regretted.
Amy’s eyes widened. ‘I hope you don’t mind. I’m afraid I couldn’t leave Bella behind. She’s usually well behaved.’
Seth made no comment and the little girl continued to regard him with enormous delight, which he found quite extraordinary.
He swallowed to clear the tightening in his throat. He was mad with himself for allowing a total stranger—a woman, no less—to convince him to drop everything and race into town.
Admittedly, Amy Ross’s phone call had delivered alarming news that Seth couldn’t afford to ignore. He’d been shocked to hear about Rachel Tyler’s death. He hadn’t heard from Rachel since she’d worked on Serenity, and he’d tried to put her clear out of his mind.
Her death was a tragedy.
And already, there’d been too much tragedy.
Amy hooked the straps of her shoulder bag more securely and held Bella’s hand. But the child immediately began to squirm.
‘Man, up!’ she demanded, running to Seth’s side and tugging at his denim jeans with determined little hands.
‘Bella, no.’ Grimacing with embarrassment, Amy pulled picture books from her shoulder bag. ‘Come and sit here quietly and look at these books while I talk to Mr Reardon. Come on now, be a good girl.’
Seth tried to be patient while Bella was persuaded to sit cross-legged on the carpeted floor with books and a handful of toys. He and Amy sat at one of the dining tables.
‘Hey, diddle, diddle,’ the child announced gleefully.
He stifled a sigh of irritation. ‘Does your daughter usually accompany you to business meetings, Mrs Ross?’
‘Cat an’ fiddle,’ chanted Bella.
Flushing, Amy nervously lifted her hair from the back of her neck. Clearly, the heat and the tropical humidity were bothering her. Her hair was damp against her skin, and her neck was flushed and shiny with perspiration.
‘I’m not married,’ she said.
It was only then, as Seth watched her elegant hands securing a twist in her honey hair, that he noticed she wasn’t wearing rings.
So she was a single mother. He supposed he should be more tolerant. He’d heard all the news reports about the excessive costs of day care.
‘I don’t usually have Bella with me while I’m working,’ she said. ‘But I had to travel such a long way this time, and I didn’t want to leave her.’
He bit back a question about the child’s father, but he couldn’t help wondering where the guy was and why he hadn’t been able or willing to help out.
‘You’ve come quite a distance,’ he said.
‘Don’t I know it? It’s so hot and muggy here.’ She lifted the limp collar of her cotton shirt away from her skin. ‘The tourist agency told me it’s as far from Melbourne to Tamundra as it is from London to Moscow.’
Seth nodded. ‘And you’ve chosen the very worst time of the year to make such a long journey.’
Her lower lip pouted. ‘I had no choice. There’s so little time to get publicity organised. Rachel’s book is coming out in April.’
‘Ah, yes, Rachel Tyler’s book,’ Seth said quietly and he narrowed his eyes.
‘Aren’t you pleased about it?’
‘Why should I be pleased? When Rachel was on Serenity three years ago, she never once mentioned to anyone that she planned to write a book. I was very sorry to hear about her accident, but I can’t say I’m happy that there’s a book coming out now, after such a long silence.’
‘Rachel’s—Rachel was—a brilliant writer. She had a wonderful gift for description.’
That was all very well, but what had she described? As a reclusive bachelor, who prized his privacy, Seth was distinctly unhappy that a former employee had written a book about the six weeks she’d spent on his cattle property.
On the phone last week, Amy Ross had gone to great lengths to assure him that the book was a work of fiction and people’s names had been changed to protect the innocent. But Seth wasn’t at all confident he could assume that Rachel Tyler had been discreet.
Rachel had claimed to have been on a back-packing holiday, but she’d never hinted that she planned to race off and write a book about it.
To Seth, Rachel’s behaviour had been sneaky. People in the bush were upfront and open and the whole business of this book made his gut churn with apprehension. Even so, he was determined to find out what he could. It was why he’d agreed to this meeting.
He frowned at Amy. ‘You were Rachel’s best friend, so I assume you can shed some light on this book.’
Amy smiled awkwardly. ‘I’m afraid I don’t know much at all. I’m here because the publishers have a limited budget for the promotion, and I wanted to do as much as I could for—for—’
Her eyes rested on the child. ‘I wanted to do this for Rachel.’
The little girl looked up suddenly. ‘Mummy?’
To Seth’s surprise, Amy paled and closed her eyes, as if the child had upset her.
When she opened her eyes again, a moment later, Seth was struck by their dark, liquid beauty.
There was something very graceful and feminine about Amy Ross that he found eminently watchable. On the other hand, there was something about her story that didn’t quite add up.
The child’s presence…Amy’s nervousness…Her insistence on coming now at such an inappropriate time when the wet season was about to break over their heads.
He knew Amy hoped to return to Serenity with him to take publicity shots, but already he was convinced that even agreeing to this meeting had been a huge mistake.
Amy could feel her heart beating in her throat. It had been such a shock to see Seth and Bella together. She’d never dreamed there could be such a strong likeness between a grown man and a baby girl, and she found it hard to believe that he hadn’t seen the resemblance for himself.
How much time did she have before he began to notice and to ask difficult, searching questions?
She was pretty sure he could see huge holes in her claim that she’d come here solely to gather promotional material for Rachel’s book. She was terrified Seth Reardon might change his mind about allowing her to spend a couple of days on his cattle property, and if that happened she would have no choice but to reveal her real reason for coming north.
But she couldn’t tell him yet.
It was too soon.
To surprise this cold and forbidding cattleman with the news that he’d fathered a daughter was a delicate and difficult exercise. The timing was crucial, and there was no way she wanted to tell him such distressing news now in this strange hotel, miles from anywhere.
This exercise couldn’t be rushed. She needed a chance to get to know Seth Reardon first. She wanted to win his confidence and trust—if that were possible, which right now she seriously doubted. She had hoped that together she and Seth could work out the best way to care for her precious Bella.
Amy forced a shaky smile, uncomfortably conscious that Seth Reardon was an exceptionally good-looking man. Rachel had always had good taste in men, and Seth’s lean, rugged physique and arresting blue eyes were enough to make any young woman forget her mother’s warnings.
Last night, when Amy had arrived here, she’d mentioned his name to the publican’s wife, Marie, and the woman’s reaction had puzzled her.
‘Seth Reardon?’ Her eyes had widened with sudden surprise. ‘Oooh…He’s a quiet one. Doesn’t hang around the pub much. He’s…cold. But there’s something about him though. Eyes that make you wonder.’
‘Wonder what?’ Amy had prompted, hoping to hear a positive comment.
The woman had actually blushed, and then she’d shot a quick glance at Bella, who’d been sitting at the dining table, absorbed in drinking a glass of iced milk with a straw.
‘What?’ Amy had asked again.
‘Oh, I’ve always had a soft spot for a man with blue eyes,’ Marie had said lamely and she’d become very busy clearing dishes while she muttered about needing to get back to the kitchen.
Amy had been left with the impression that Seth Reardon was dangerous.
Even Rachel had admitted that Seth had been cool and distant at first, until she’d got to know him. Not that Amy would allow her mind to dwell on thoughts of Rachel and Seth becoming familiar…
Or intimate.
The very idea…of Seth Reardon making love…was like a close encounter with a lightning bolt.
He sent a frowning glance to the window and Amy saw that it had started to rain rather heavily. ‘When you phoned last week you said you planned to take photographs, but this weather’s going to rule that out. I did try to warn you that this is the wet season.’
‘I suppose I could take photos of the rain. Rachel might have written about the wet season.’
‘I doubt it. She was here in the dry season, in the winter.’
‘Oh, yes, of course.’
Seth frowned at her. ‘Haven’t you read her book?’
‘Actually…no.’
Her friend had been uncharacteristically protective about this story and she’d never offered Amy so much as a peek at the manuscript.
After the accident, Amy hadn’t liked to search through the files on Rachel’s computer. It had felt too much like snooping. She had sat down once to read a section of Rachel’s poetry, but she’d been overcome by grief. It was like hearing Rachel’s voice—and the thoughts expressed had been too intensely personal.
Amy had been in tears as she’d shut down the computer.
She hadn’t opened it again.
Seth’s eyes widened. ‘How do you plan to promote this book, then?’
‘These are early days, and I’m just starting my research. I have the publisher’s back-cover copy, and a picture of the front cover. It’s rather beautiful. Would you like to see it?’
She dug a folder out of her bag, and handed it to him. The book’s cover depicted a balmy tropical beach at sunset with palm trees and white sand. Distant islands floated in the background, and the sun melted into a smooth golden sea.
‘I know it’s not very accurate,’ she admitted, sending another glance out of the window. She’d been dismayed by Tamundra’s rather desolate main street and the drab gum trees beyond it, and red earth that stretched for miles. She was pretty sure the whole of Cape York looked just as bad, so the cover was deceptive to say the least.
Seth Reardon shrugged. ‘There are sections on the eastern edge of Serenity that look exactly like that.’
‘Oh.’ Amy looked again at the idyllic palm trees and golden sand and felt her jaw drop with surprise.
Seth’s blue eyes froze her. ‘You haven’t done your homework, Amy Ross.’
‘I—I’ve done my best,’ she spluttered. ‘I—I told you I’ve only just started. It’s only two months since Rachel died and I—I’ve been busy. With Bella.’
They both looked down at Bella, who was sprawled on the carpet, busy with a scrapbook and fat crayons.
‘My drawing Amy,’ the little girl announced proudly as she made a lopsided circle with a purple crayon. ‘An’ here’s Amy’s eyes.’
Happily, Bella drew small purple squiggles inside the circle.
Amy gave her an encouraging smile. ‘That’s lovely, Bella. Now draw my mouth.’
A small sigh escaped Seth and he lifted his gaze from the child and studied Amy.
She resisted an urge to squirm beneath his scrutiny. It was important to appear calm and in control.
‘I’d like to know more about Rachel’s stay up here,’ she said, hoping to convince Seth that she wasn’t wasting his time. ‘What kind of work was she doing? How did she fit into life on a cattle station?’
To her dismay, his frown deepened. With a long brown finger he tapped the book’s back cover blurb. ‘But the answers to your questions are right here.’
‘They’re generalities,’ she countered, desperately trying to ignore the niggling of her conscience that told her he was right. ‘I’m looking for details.’
His expression was immediately guarded. ‘What kind of details?’
Amy gulped. ‘Nothing too personal.’
His frown deepened and she felt her face redden.
‘I’m looking for anything quirky or interesting,’ she said. ‘Rachel was a city girl. I doubt she’d ever touched a cow before she came here, or cooked on an open fire, or slept in a swag on the ground.’
Abruptly, Seth stood, making his chair scrape on the wooden floor. He strode to the window, where he leaned a shoulder against the wall, looking out into the rain as he thrust his hands into his jeans pockets.
‘I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time.’
‘What do you mean?’ She knew she sounded too scared, but was he going to refuse to take her to Serenity?
Seth’s eyes narrowed. ‘If you’ve come all this way in search of scandal to spice up the promotion, you should leave now,’ he said.
‘Scandal?’ Amy was dumbfounded. ‘Why would I want to tarnish my best friend’s name?’
‘For money? To sell more books? You’re in marketing, aren’t you?’
‘How dare you?’
Seth shrugged again. ‘Whatever. But you haven’t been straight with me.’
Oh, help. Already he was pushing her towards making her confession. But if she told him about his daughter now, he might be so immediately shocked and angry that he stormed back to his cattle station alone, without giving her a chance to really discuss what was best for Bella.
‘Rachel was my best friend,’ Amy told him, softly. ‘And—and I’ve lost her.’
She tried to go on, but suddenly the difficult, grief-filled weeks since Rachel’s death seemed to overwhelm her. It had been a nightmare trying to deal with the horror of her best friend’s death while taking on the responsibility of her little daughter.
She’d been trying so hard to do everything right, including coming all this way.
Now, on the brink of failure, Amy couldn’t look at Seth, didn’t want him to see her tears.
‘Look,’ he said suddenly, clearly uncomfortable with her evident emotion, ‘I’m prepared to take your word.’
Her head snapped up.
Grimly, he said, ‘But if you’re coming to Serenity with me, we’d better get cracking, before this weather really sets in.’
Her jaw dropped, she was so surprised by his sudden hasty about-face.
‘Did you drive here from Cairns?’ he asked brusquely.
Amy blinked. ‘Yes. I hired a car.’
‘A small sedan?’
‘Yes.’
‘With four-wheel-drive capability?’
She shook her head.
‘You’d better travel in my vehicle, then,’ he said quietly and with grim resignation.
Seth was actually offering her a lift. Was it wise to accept? Would he also be willing to drive her back here in two days’ time?
‘Wouldn’t it be simpler if I followed you in my car?’ she said.
‘The road’s too rough and in this rain it’ll be slippery. I don’t want you or your little daughter’s safety on my conscience. But let’s not waste time. It’s a long drive.’
Chapter Two
SETH wasn’t exaggerating his desire for a hasty departure.
Fortunately, Bella didn’t kick up a fuss when she was suddenly strapped into a booster seat in the back of his dual-cabin ute. The little girl was mildly puzzled, but she’d lunched on Vegemite and cheese sandwiches, a banana and milk, so she obligingly fell asleep soon after they left Tamundra.
Rain streamed down the windows, making the sky and the trees a grey blur. Amy could see nothing but a small view, cleared by the wipers, of the muddy red track in front of the vehicle.
Apparently it would be dark by the time they got to Seth’s property, but despite the prospect of a long journey he didn’t seem inclined to talk. Whenever Amy stole a glance his way, he looked utterly relaxed and competent, his sun-browned hands resting lightly on the steering wheel as he skilfully negotiated the rough and slippery surface.
Amy supposed he would look equally relaxed and competent on the back of a horse, or driving a tractor.
She was surprised that she wasn’t more worried about heading into the wilderness with a man she hardly knew. Seth Reardon was different from almost any man she’d ever met, and she could totally understand how Rachel had been both attracted to him, and cautious about sharing her life with him.
He was clearly at ease in his own skin, but he had the wary intelligence of a loner—the Outback equivalent of street smarts, she supposed. More than likely, he never allowed anyone to get too close, which meant it wasn’t going to be easy to find the right moment to tell him that Bella was his daughter.
And yet, the weight of her secret loomed large. She would be relieved to finally get it off her chest.
Needing to make conversation, she asked tentatively, ‘Have you lived here on Cape York all your life?’
Seth shook his head. ‘I moved up here when I was twelve.’
Amy waited for him to expand on this and when he didn’t, she dived in with more questions. It was ridiculous to waste this golden opportunity for a getting-to-know-you chat.
‘Where did you live before that?’
‘In Sydney.’
‘Really?’
‘Does that surprise you?’ he asked, sliding a quick glance her way.
‘I was expecting you to say that you moved here from another cattle property in Queensland.’ Bustling, metropolitan Sydney was as alien to this environment as her own home in Melbourne. ‘Coming here must have been a big change for you.’
Seth nodded. ‘I came after my father died, to live with my uncle.’
‘So it was a very big change,’ Amy said quietly, and she was unexpectedly moved by the thought of him as a grieving, lonely boy, on the cusp of adolescence, leaving his friends in the city to live so far away.
She wanted to ask him about his mother. Why hadn’t she been able to look after him when his father died? Why had he been moved into an uncle’s care?
A glance at the set lines in Seth’s face, however, silenced further questions.
The rain continued as they drove on.
The relentless downpour and Seth’s rather grim silence were enough to make Amy feel sorry for herself. It wasn’t her habit to be self-pitying, but the weeks since Rachel’s accident had been rough and she wasn’t quite sure how she’d managed, actually.
She’d made the decision to care for Bella swiftly. On the night of the accident she’d gone to Rachel’s house, numb with shock, and paid the sitter, then tiptoed into the little room where Bella lay innocently asleep.
She’d looked down at the little girl’s soft, chubby-cheeked face, at her closed eyes and her soft, dark eyelashes and her heart had almost broken.
There’d been no question. She had to devote herself to caring for Rachel’s daughter. A succession of babysitters could never provide the round-the-clock security and stability a two-year-old needed.
But the transition from marketing to motherhood hadn’t been easy, especially when in the midst of it all, Amy’s boyfriend, Dominic, had suggested that they both needed time out…to give each other some space.
Amy had known it was the thin edge of the wedge that would crack their relationship irreparably apart. Dominic was jealous of the closeness she’d quickly developed with Bella. He’d started to snap at the little girl when she’d innocently interrupted his computer games. Being upfront as usual, Amy had told him that things had to change now that Bella had arrived.
In the end they’d had the most appallingly ugly and bitter row over Bella. Dominic couldn’t see why Amy should automatically assume responsibility.
The fact that she’d been named as Bella’s guardian was a mere technicality, he said. It didn’t mean she had to care for the child day in, day out—which proved that, after almost twelve months together, he didn’t really know Amy at all.
She’d reminded him that he was living in her house, that she always had to jog his memory to get him to pay for his share of the food, the phone and the electricity, and she’d also let him know how annoying it was when he disappeared into the spare room and spent hours on computer games, racking up a huge Internet bill as well.
Whether Dominic had left her or whether she’d finally shown him the door was academic now. The whole catastrophe had been draining, and Amy might have collapsed in a complete heap if Bella hadn’t been so resilient and such an utter darling.
It was amazing how quickly the little girl had transferred her trust to Amy, and the nights when she’d cried for her mummy had gradually lessened, but it still cut Amy to the core that she was now the focus of the little girl’s love, the love that rightly belonged to Rachel.
She’d get weepy, though, if she thought too much about that.
For much of the journey the vehicle rattled down a long straight track, which every so often climbed a low hill, then dipped down again to cross a rising creek. Yesterday, on her journey north to Tamundra, the creeks had been mere trickles, but already these gullies had begun to swell with fast-flowing muddy water.
Seth drove in silence and Amy felt the beginnings of a tension headache. She let her head fall back and tried again to relax as she watched the rain slide down her window. Every so often she caught the blurred outlines of cattle hunched together in mobs, looking desolate. A stalwart few continued to graze, apparently untroubled by the driving rain.
Bella woke up and was immediately chirpy and eager.
‘Moo cow!’ she announced importantly. And then ‘Moo! Moo!’ over and over.
Amy stole glances in Seth’s direction and she was quietly pleased to catch him smiling at Bella’s enthusiasm.
He looked incredibly gorgeous when he smiled.
Amy wondered if he’d been infatuated by Rachel. Most guys had been. Had there been other girlfriends since? She supposed there wouldn’t be too many available women here in the wilderness, but perhaps there was a beautiful girl who waited impatiently in Cairns for Seth’s visits.
‘How long were you and Rachel friends?’ Seth asked suddenly, much to Amy’s surprise.
At first she was nervous that he’d guessed the direction of her thoughts, and almost as quickly she worried that he’d somehow made the link between Bella and Rachel. But he looked too relaxed, and Amy let out a huff of relief.
Actually, she was really pleased that he wanted to talk, especially to talk about Rachel. It would pave the way for the news she had to share.
‘Rachel and I were both fifteen when we met,’ she told him, ‘and we were in hospital, having our appendixes out.’
‘Ouch. I suppose you cheered each other up,’ he suggested with a smile.
Heavens. A smile and conversation. Things were looking up.
Amy returned his smile. ‘We had a great time. We were in a small hospital run by nuns and we had beds side by side in a room to ourselves. We soon discovered we were in the same year at school, so we had tons to talk about.’
‘And you stayed in touch afterwards?’
She nodded. ‘Rachel went to a very snobby, private girls’ college and I went to an ordinary co-ed state school, so we didn’t see much of each other, but we kept in email contact. And we got together on weekends sometimes. Rachel even came away with my family to the beach for the summer holidays.’
‘You really clicked,’ Seth said quietly.
‘We did, and then we ended up at Melbourne University, and that’s when we truly became best friends.’
She took a packet of butterscotch from her bag. ‘Would you like one of these?’
‘Thanks.’
‘I’ll unwrap it for you.’ Carefully, she untwisted the ends of the paper and as she offered him the sweet his hand bumped hers. She felt a zap of electricity that made her gasp. Good grief. She shouldn’t be getting the hots for this guy.
To cover the reaction she said quickly, ‘I suppose you went to a boarding school.’
Seth nodded, and finished chewing before he said, ‘I used to fly down to school in Townsville.’
‘I’ve always thought boarding school would be great fun.’
‘Yeah. We had plenty of fun.’ He looked genuinely happy as he said this.
‘And what about after school?’ Amy prompted, more tentatively. ‘Did you go straight back to your uncle’s property?’
An almost imperceptible sigh escaped Seth. ‘I spent a year in England, playing rugby.’
She was so surprised she almost cried out. She struggled to picture Seth Reardon in a rugby jersey on a soft green English playing field, surrounded by his teammates. He was athletic, certainly, but was he a team player?
She’d had him pegged as a natural-born loner. ‘Was it hard to come back to Cape York?’
‘Not at all.’
He said this quickly, almost too quickly, and his eyes became very bright and hard, as if he was warding off any further discussion.
After that, they continued their journey in silence once more, while Amy’s mind seethed with unasked questions. There were so many gaps in Seth’s story, things he plainly had no intention of sharing with her. Where was his mother? Was she dead too? Did he miss Sydney? Or rugby? Or England?
Most of all, she wondered if he really liked living on Cape York. If he didn’t, why had he stayed up here in the north? If he’d been willing to move south, he and Rachel and Bella might have been a family.
One thing was becoming very clear to her, however. She’d underestimated Seth Reardon.
She’d come north with the vague idea that she’d meet a guy wearing an Akubra hat, a suntan and a smile. She’d imagined an attractive, but uncomplicated, country fellow, who’d had an affair with her best friend and who now deserved to know that the affair had resulted in…consequences.
She’d been a fool to think that it would be easy and straightforward to share the news about Bella with him.
Twisting around in her seat, she looked back at Bella, who’d dozed off again, but then woken up to gaze around the interior of the vehicle with a slightly dazed frown. Amy felt her heart swell with love for the dear, innocent little scrap.
It was hard to believe that she’d grown so close to her in two short months, but the truth was her emotional connection to Rachel’s daughter was so strong at times it shocked her.
They’d been on quite a journey together, she and this little girl, as they’d slowly learned to cope with unbearable loss, and to live with each other.
To love each other.
These days, more often than not, Amy woke when Bella bounced into her bed, eager to greet her with hugs and kisses and laughter.
With Bella, Amy had discovered the joy of simply being alive. She’d relearned the pleasure of simple things like trips to the park to feed the ducks, riding slippery slides, and splashing in wading pools. She’d forgotten that it could be so much fun to blow bubbles at bath time, or to share bedtime picture books.
Already, it was hard to remember a time when corporate launches with champagne cocktails and gourmet canapés had been vitally, crucially important.
More often than not, meal preparation these days involved oatmeal or boiled eggs and toast soldiers, and bunny-shaped mugs of milk. Amy had learned to always carry an extra bag, to accommodate Bella’s sunhat and a change of clothes, as well as a drink and a banana, or tiny packets of sultanas for snacks.
Her life in marketing had been put on hold.
Being self-employed had made the transition possible—not easy, but possible—but there was a limit to how long she could continue this lifestyle without earning. She’d already gobbled up a major chunk of her savings. Luckily, she had no big debts hanging over her, but she knew she would have to return to work soon.
Just the same, she certainly hadn’t come looking for Bella’s father because she needed his financial help. Caring for Bella might require a few sacrifices, but Amy knew she would manage.
Eventually, they stopped at a gate and Seth got out to open it.
‘Are we almost there?’ Amy asked hopefully when he got back into the car. Bella was grizzling more loudly now. ‘Is this Serenity?’
‘This is one of the boundary gates,’ he said as he steered the vehicle between timber fence posts. ‘I’m afraid it’ll be another half-hour before we reach the homestead.’
Another half-hour…It was already dusk, and growing dark quickly because of the rain. Amy found it hard to imagine owning so much land that you could drive across it for such a long time.
Seth got out again to shut the gate, and when he came back he said, ‘Would you like to let Bella out for a bit, to stretch her legs?’
‘I’m sure she’d love that, but it’s raining.’
‘You have raincoats, don’t you?’
‘Well, yes.’
Seth shrugged. ‘This is the tropics, after all. The rain’s not cold.’
‘You’re right.’ In a matter of moments, Amy found their raincoats, which she’d packed in an outside pocket of her suitcase, and she was buttoning Bella into hers. She glanced at Seth, who was standing alone…looking…not lonely, surely?
A sudden instinct prompted her to ask, ‘Are you coming to walk with us?’
For the first time, Seth lost his air of cool certainty. His bright eyes rested on Bella’s eager face peering up at him from beneath the yellow hood of her raincoat. The lines of his face softened, then broke into a smile.
Wow! Amy felt the impact of his smile deep in the pit of her stomach.
‘Why not?’ he said and he snagged a dark oilskin coat from the back of the vehicle.
Amy’s chest felt weirdly tight, but moments later they set off together along the red dirt track between straggling gumtrees and pandanus palms.
Bella was thrilled to be allowed out in the rain, skipping between the two adults. She insisted on holding their hands, but every so often she would let go and dash off to splash in a puddle, then she would turn and grin at them ecstatically and Amy’s heart would leap into her throat.
Surely Seth must see how closely the little girl’s smile resembled his?
But apart from that anxiety, Amy enjoyed the little outing much more than she should have. There was something about being out in the rain in the middle of a journey through nowhere, just for fun, that felt impossibly rash and carefree. Seth was smiling almost the whole time and their gazes kept meeting. Every time his blue eyes met hers she felt a knife-edgy thrill zap through her.
It was inappropriate and foolish, but she couldn’t help it. A strange, shiver-sweet happiness seemed to have gripped her and she felt as if she could have walked along the darkening, rain swept track for ever.
But at last she had to be sensible and to suggest that it was time to head back to the ute.
As they went on Seth had to get out to open and close gates at least another six times. Each time he got back into the car, he brought the smell of damp earth and a fine spray of rain.
‘I should be looking after the gates,’ Amy protested after the third stop.
‘Outback gates are notoriously tricky.’ He frowned as he looked at her more closely. ‘Are you OK? You’re looking pale.’
‘Bit tired. That’s all. I’m fine, thanks.’ Truth was, she was feeling ill and scared, scared of the shivers of awareness this man caused. It was ridiculous to feel so hung up about him. He was Rachel’s ex, and Bella’s father, and once she revealed her real reason for coming here he might hate her.
‘We’re almost there,’ he said, sounding surprisingly gentle.
Ahead of them, Amy saw lights winking through the rain, and then at last they pulled up at the bottom of a short flight of wooden steps.
She was familiar with pictures in magazines of homesteads on Outback cattle stations—ageing timber houses with corrugated iron roofs and wrap-around verandas, sitting in the middle of grassy paddocks.
It was too dark to see much tonight, but if she guessed correctly they’d arrived at the back of this house. Rain drummed loudly on the iron roof, and the veranda was in darkness but a light came on as they got out of the vehicle.
They hung their damp coats on pegs near the back door and Seth turned to Amy. ‘I’ll show you straight to your room,’ he said, watching her with a thoughtful frown.
‘Thanks.’
He walked ahead of them, carrying their bags, and Amy followed, hugging Bella close, reassured by the familiar warmth and softness of her baby skin. She wondered where Seth’s uncle was. Wondered if she should tell Seth tonight, while they were alone, that this little girl was his daughter.
Surely it was better to get the truth out in the open sooner rather than later?
Fear rippled through her as she pictured the moment of revelation. She had no idea how Seth would react, whether he would be angry, or shocked, or disbelieving. Or suspicious of her motives.
Or all of the above.
Perhaps it would be prudent to wait till the morning. It had been a long, unsettling day. Her tiredness made her fragile and susceptible to tears and she wanted to be strong like a mother lion when she broached Bella’s future with this man.
‘I thought this room should suit you,’ Seth said, pushing open a door.
‘Oh.’ Amy couldn’t hold back an exclamation of surprise as she entered the room and he set their bags down. ‘This is lovely.’
It was the prettiest room possible, with soft, pale green carpet and matching green and cream wallpaper. Romantic mosquito nets hung over twin beds and French doors opened onto the veranda.
‘There’s an en-suite bathroom through there.’ He pointed to a door.
‘Thank you, Seth. That’s wonderful.’
Setting Bella down, Amy peeped around the doorway. The bathroom was sparkling clean and as lovely as the bedroom. Thick, soft towels hung on the rails and there was even a purple orchid in a cut-glass vase on the washbasin. It was amazing, really, to find such comfort all the way out here, like coming across a mirage in the middle of a desert.
Perhaps Seth and his uncle were used to having guests. Amy wondered if he wasn’t nearly as antisocial as she’d believed. This wonder was compounded when she turned back into the bedroom, and found Bella and the antisocial man in question trying to touch the ends of their noses with their tongues.
As she watched them Amy’s throat tightened and her mouth wobbled dangerously. They looked so alike, giggling together and having such incredible fun being silly. Without warning, her guilty conscience got the better of her and she very nearly blurted out the truth. Right there and then, accompanied by tears.
I mustn’t. Not now. It would be too cruel to walk into Seth’s house and immediately dump the news on him like an emotional thunderstorm.
She pretended to be terribly busy, opening Bella’s suitcase, struggling to feel calmer.
As if he hadn’t noticed anything amiss, Seth said, ‘I told Ming we’d be happy with something light for supper. How do scrambled eggs with tea and toast sound?’
‘That sounds fine.’ She was dazed with surprise. ‘Who’s Ming?’
Seth smiled. ‘My cook.’
His cook?
Amy blinked. This was another surprise. From the way Rachel had spoken, she’d always imagined that life on this cattle station was pretty rough.
‘So are scrambled eggs OK?’ Seth asked.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘They’d be perfect. Bella would love some, too.’
‘No problem. I’ll let Ming know. Come along to the kitchen when you’re ready. It’s just down the hall.’
‘One, two, five, six!’ Bella chanted proudly as she counted the buttered fingers of toast on her plate, then beamed happy smiles at both Amy and Seth.
They were eating alone in the kitchen, the mysterious Ming having prepared their food and then disappeared before Amy could meet him.
Fortunately, Bella was quite adept at filling any awkward silences that lapsed during their dinnertime conversation. In between Bella’s choruses, Amy answered Seth’s questions about her work in marketing and he elaborated on the export beef market.
She wished she could follow up on their earlier conversation with more personal questions like how he’d felt about giving up rugby, or whether he planned to live on Cape York for ever. Or whether he looked forward to having a family one day. Most importantly, she wanted to know how he’d felt about Rachel.
Instead, she told him about her Melbourne flat and Bella’s playgroup and the day care centre where she planned to leave Bella when she returned to work.
Seth’s gaze met Amy’s when she told him this, and wariness crept into his eyes, as if he sensed her underlying tension.
All of a sudden she was desperately, achingly tired and she realised she’d been tense for hours. The closer she got to telling Seth about his relationship to Bella, the more frightened she was.
The fact was, telling Seth was one thing. Handing her precious little girl over was another matter entirely. Amy had no intention of giving her away. As Bella’s guardian, she planned to take the child back to Melbourne with her. Seth could stay in touch, certainly, but he couldn’t expect to have Bella permanently.
Could he?
All through the meal, there was a question in his eyes, which Amy tried to avoid. She focused on his hands as he cut a piece of toast into the shape of a sailing boat for Bella. They were very workmanlike hands—sinewy and strong and suntanned. To Amy’s intense dismay, she found herself imagining his hands on her skin and the thought caused crazy explosions deep inside.
By the end of the meal, Bella was growing sleepy again and Amy grabbed the excuse to escape, to put her to bed.
‘Good idea,’ Seth agreed easily, but as Amy was about to leave he said, ‘Would you have time for a chat after Bella’s settled?’
Time for a chat?
Her heart jumped with sudden fright. Why did his simple question sound ominous? His blue gaze was quiet and steady, in complete contrast to her hectic pulse.
‘Yes, of course,’ she managed to reply. ‘It shouldn’t take too long to settle Bella.’
‘Half an hour?’
‘That’s plenty of time.’
For once Amy was pleased that Bella knew every word of her bedtime story by heart. She only had to turn the pages while the little girl happily pointed to the pictures and recited snippets of dialogue.
Meanwhile, Amy’s mind raced, trying to guess why Seth wanted to chat.
Ever since Rachel’s accident, her mind had developed the alarming habit of leaping to worst-case scenarios. She wondered if Seth wanted to talk about Rachel and Bella. Could he have guessed?
She wasn’t ready to tell Seth the truth. She’d mentally prepared herself for a confession in the morning.
But would there ever be a right time?
Amy watched Bella’s innocent little face as she snuggled down beneath the crisp white sheets with her favourite toy, a fat stuffed pig.
‘Night, night,’ she murmured, touching her fingers to a silky curl of jet-black hair.
Bella eyed her sternly. ‘Say bed bugs.’
‘Bossy boots,’ Amy chided, but she obliged. ‘Night, night, sweetheart. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.’
Bella grinned with satisfaction and they hugged tightly. Amy kissed her warm, baby-soft skin, and tried not to think about distressing possibilities that involved handing Bella over, or nights in the future without this ritual.
An awful panic gripped her, and suddenly she knew with blinding clarity how vitally and deeply important Bella had become to her. She simply couldn’t bear to give her up.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she fought tears as she stroked the child’s soft curls and watched her eyelids grow heavy. And she tried, frantically, to sort out a strategy in her mind for dealing with Seth Reardon.
Chapter Three
SETH stood on the back veranda, staring out into the rain without really seeing it. Instead, he kept seeing a lovely young woman and her cute little daughter, so happy together, and the image gnawed at a private pain he’d tried very hard to keep buried.
With an angry groan he strode to the far end of the veranda, and stared out into the black, rain-lashed night, willing his reckless thoughts to the four winds.
He’d invited this woman and her child into his home, and already today, during a simple walk down a bush track, he’d let down his guard. But he knew that he mustn’t allow a single mother’s warm brown eyes and her daughter’s appealing ways to slip under his defences.
It seemed there was no other man in the picture for Amy and Bella, but so what? Seth had given up all thoughts of domestic happiness, and he’d done so with the fierce determination of a smoker, or a gambler giving up an addiction.
Women, he’d learned after too many mistakes, were a health hazard. Families looked cosy and attractive when viewed from the outside, but he knew from bitter firsthand experience that the inside story could be something else entirely.
Closing his eyes, Seth saw his own mother—slim, elegant and beautiful, her sleek, dark hair framing her face like a satin cap. He remembered her tinkling laugh and the way she’d smelled of delicate flowers. Remembered her infrequent hugs.
He remembered, too, the many evenings he’d stood, nose pressed against the glass, watching her from his bedroom window as she stepped into a limousine. She’d always looked remote, like a goddess, in a glamorous red evening gown, in sequins, or gold lamé—a glittering evening bag in one hand, cigarette in the other.
Mostly, he remembered the day she’d left him for good.
The departure of females had become a pattern in Seth’s life.
He was done with relationships.
This evening, he had to remember to be very careful when he talked to Amy Ross. There were important things about Rachel Tyler that he needed to know—an awkward mystery that he needed to clarify—but he couldn’t allow himself to be sidetracked by any further discussion of Amy’s life as a single mother. If she’d been abandoned by a gold-plated jerk and left to struggle with a baby on her own, Seth didn’t want to know about it.
He didn’t want to feel pity for her and her daughter. And he didn’t want to feel concern. Or longing.
He simply needed to get to the truth.
When Amy heard the soft tap on her door she felt a hot rush of adrenaline. Anxiously, she snatched a glance at her reflection and hoped she’d achieved a small improvement by changing into a fresh T-shirt and jeans.
Her hand was pleasingly steady as she reached for the door knob, but as soon as she saw Seth, tall and dark and filling her doorway, her steadiness deserted her.
She stepped outside quickly, and through the open doorway he sent a silent glance to the bed where Bella slept.
‘Yes, she’s out to it,’ Amy said quietly and she let out a huff of breath, hoping it would settle her nerves.
‘Would you like coffee?’ he asked. ‘Or something stronger?’
‘Not especially,’ she said, wanting a clear head, although she suspected she would benefit from a stiff drink right now.
He gave a curt nod towards the back veranda. ‘Perhaps we should go out there, if it’s not too wet. We shouldn’t disturb Bella, but you’ll still be able to hear her if she cries.’
‘All right.’
Leaving a single bed lamp on, she closed the door softly and followed him, and she felt nervous, as if she were going to a job interview she hadn’t prepared for.
On the veranda, a wall light cast a soft glow over a trio of potted plants and two deeply cushioned cane chairs beside a wicker table.
Amy took a seat and she peered out at the curtain of rain, which was falling more softly now. She wondered what Seth wanted to ‘chat’ about. Avoiding that thought, she asked, ‘How long will this rain last?’
‘Hard to say.’ He shrugged. ‘In some wet seasons it rains non-stop for weeks.’
‘That sounds depressing.’
‘It can be. Most of us try to get away for at least part of the wet.’
‘I’ve read about roads being cut off by floods.’
‘That’s why I have a plane,’ Seth said in a dry, matter-of-fact tone.
A plane? Before Amy could register her astonishment, he said, ‘So you’ve never been in the tropics before?’
‘No, never.’
‘You’re not seeing it at its best. You should have come in winter.’
‘But that would have been too late to help Rachel’s book launch.’
‘Ah, yes.’ Seth looked out to the black and silent night, with only his profile showing to Amy. ‘I was hoping we could talk about Rachel’s book.’
Goosebumps broke out on Amy’s arms. At least Seth hadn’t guessed about Bella, but she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or alarmed. What else could she tell him about the book?
If he realised that she’d come all this way, and imposed on his hospitality, on the pretext of promoting a book she knew next to nothing about, he would be justified in thinking she was crazy, and bad mannered.
She studied the dark lines of his brow and his nose and the angular jut of his jaw, but they gave her no clue to his thoughts.
He spoke without looking at her. ‘You said you were Rachel Tyler’s best friend.’
‘Yes, I did, because it’s true.’
‘You’ve known her since you were fifteen.’
‘Yes.’
‘You’ve gossiped together.’
‘I wouldn’t call it gossip.’ Amy sounded more prudish than she’d meant to. ‘But sure, we talked a lot.’
‘And yet she never talked to you about her book?’
‘Not in any kind of detail.’ Amy watched a moth dance into the pool of light. ‘I—I think Rachel was superstitious. The book was terribly important to her, and I think she might have been afraid that it wouldn’t be a success if she talked too much about it.’
‘Did she tell you about her time at Serenity?’
‘Very little,’ Amy admitted with a sigh. Rachel had been totally absorbed by the aftermath of her trip north—her pregnancy and the birth of her baby.
‘But she told you about me,’ Seth said coldly. ‘You knew how to find me.’
‘Yes.’
Feeling hopelessly cornered, Amy closed her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to tell Seth the whole story tonight. She’d wanted to wait till she’d been refreshed by a good night’s sleep. She’d wanted to feel calm and composed, able to take her time and to choose her words carefully.
More importantly, she’d wanted to retain the upper hand in this, but Seth was pushing her, giving her no choice. She had to speak now. If he dragged the truth out of her, she would lose every ounce of credibility in his eyes.
And that mattered perhaps more than it should.
As she sat there, eyes closed, gathering courage, she heard the flutter of the moth’s wings against the light globe and the sound of Seth’s chair scraping on the wooden veranda boards. Her eyes flew open.
Seth was standing directly in front of her, towering over her. ‘There’s something you’re not telling me, Amy.’
His voice was hard and as cutting as a sabre. He was trying to intimidate her, which was one thing Amy wouldn’t tolerate. She’d learned in her own backyard to stand up to her brothers.
Bravely, she glared up at him. ‘I don’t like your tone.’
For a moment, he looked taken aback. ‘I’m being very civil.’
He ran tense fingers through his hair, and time crawled as he stood there staring at her, while she stared back at him.
Eventually, his expression relaxed, and the next time he spoke his voice held no menace. ‘Give me a break, Amy. I’m not used to playing these games. All I want is the truth. Why did you come here?’
‘Because I need to talk to you.’ Her eyes dropped to the moth, which now lay burned and dying on the bare floorboards. ‘I have something very important to tell you.’
Even though Seth hadn’t moved, she sensed the tension run through him, like a fault line in a wall of rock. She knew his mind was working at a million miles a minute and any second now he would put two and two together.
‘If we’re going to have this conversation, Seth, could you please sit down?’
He looked surprised, but to her relief he relented and resumed his seat, one long, jeans-clad leg crossed over the other, hands plunged deep in his pockets.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘I’m sorry, too,’ Amy admitted. ‘I came here to do the right thing, but I’ve made rather a mess of it.’
Seth shot her a sharp glance, and she knew he was waiting for her to explain.
So this was it. The moment she’d feared.
‘I’m not Bella’s mother,’ she said.
It was ages before he spoke, and in the stillness the rain continued to fall, needle-fine and shiny and silent.
‘Is she Rachel’s child?’ he asked at last.
‘Yes.’
Yes…
The word hung in the air, quivering like the vibrations of a tuning fork.
Amy wished she could feel relieved now that it was out, but she was too shocked by Seth’s reaction.
Even in the subdued light, she could see the colour drain from his face. Then, silently, he slumped forward, elbows propped on his knees as he covered his face with his hands.
Shocked, she sat completely still, two fingers pressed against her lips, wishing she could recall the single word that had revealed so much.
Too much?
Yes. One little syllable had told him everything. There was no need to add that Bella was his daughter.
The fact that Amy had brought Bella all this way pointed to it, and a few simple calculations confirmed the facts. Seth only had to count back to know that Bella’s conception had occurred during the time Rachel had spent at Serenity.
With him.
And, clearly, it was the worst possible news.
A cool breeze whipped onto the veranda, spraying fine rain over them.
Amy shivered and rubbed at her arms. ‘Seth,’ she said gently. ‘I’m sorry. I know this is a shock.’
He didn’t respond at first, then slowly he lowered his hands and let them hang loosely between his knees. He didn’t look at her and he didn’t speak, but Amy saw the movement of his throat as he swallowed.
‘I came here, because I—I thought you should know,’ she said. ‘I thought it was important. Not because I want money from you, but because—well, because Bella’s such a sweetheart.’
The thin, cold pricks of rain continued as she waited for a response from him. When it didn’t come, she went on, desperate now to make her point. ‘I think Bella’s the cutest thing on two legs, you see. And, to me, it seemed unfair that you didn’t know about her.’
At last Seth turned to her and she was shocked by the banked despair she saw in his eyes and in the deep lines that bracketed his mouth.
His eyes were bleak, but to her surprise he almost smiled. ‘Don’t feel bad. You’ve done the right thing.’
It was reassuring to hear this, but she wished he looked happier.
‘I’m not planning to offload Bella,’ she felt compelled to explain. ‘You don’t have to worry about that, Seth. I’m totally prepared to keep her with me and to take care of her.’
‘I’m sure that’s best,’ he said quietly.
She let out her breath on a sigh. This was awful, so different from how she’d imagined everything before she’d set out on this journey. She’d anticipated the possibility of fierce anger, or disdainful disbelief. She’d been worried that Seth might try to take Bella away from her, but the last thing she’d expected was this shocked and horrified acceptance.
When his gaze met hers again, his eyes warmed just a little. ‘So what’s your relationship to Bella? Are you her guardian?’
Amy nodded. ‘Rachel had no other family.’
‘Really? No one at all?’
Amy was surprised he knew so little. ‘She was an only child,’ she told him. ‘Her father has passed away, and her mother’s in an aged care facility, and she’s not at all well. Her parents were in their fifties when she was born. Apparently, they’d never expected to have a child, and Rachel was a huge surprise.’
After a bit, he said quietly, ‘That might explain why Rachel was…different.’
‘She was different, wasn’t she?’ Amy’s mouth twisted in a wistful smile as she remembered her friend. ‘She was brilliant, a ton of fun, but—yes—different.’
Seth nodded and looked away quickly, and she wondered if he’d been deeply in love with Rachel. The thought caused an unhappy pang.
‘You’re doing a great job with Bella,’ he said.
‘It’s no hardship. I love her.’
His piercing blue gaze swung back to study her for a heart-stopping stretch of time, and then he rose abruptly.
‘Thank you,’ he said simply, and she knew their conversation was over.
They went back inside the house and Amy shivered as breeze from a ceiling fan chilled her damp skin. She felt miserable as she stood outside her bedroom door.
‘Goodnight,’ Seth said. ‘I hope you’ll be comfortable.’
‘I’m sure I will.’ Then she remembered. ‘Just a minute, Seth. I have something you might like to see.’ She went into the room and fetched a photo album that she’d brought with her, especially for him. As she gave it to him his hands brushed hers and her breath caught as she felt the heat of his skin.
‘Thanks,’ he murmured, gripping the album tightly.
The house was silent, listening.
He seemed to remember his manners as a host. ‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like something to drink before you turn in?’
‘Could I make myself a cup of tea?’
‘I can get it for you.’
‘No, it’s OK, honestly. I can find my way around the kitchen.’
‘Be my guest,’ he said, gesturing down the hallway to the kitchen, and with a curt nod he left her.
Amy’s sense of anticlimax was overwhelming, and a warm shower and a brisk rub down with a luxuriously thick bath towel didn’t help her to feel any better. Standing in her nightgown between the twin beds, she looked down at Bella, sound asleep and blameless, hugging her plush pink pig, her mouth slightly ajar as she slept.
She felt an urge to climb into the bed and to cuddle the little girl close, seeking comfort and reassurance from her small, warm weight in her arms.
Have I done the right thing, baby?
She padded on bare feet down the darkened hall to the kitchen and found an electric jug and the makings for tea. On her way back, mug in hand, she saw light coming from beneath a door just across the hallway.
Was it Seth’s room?
The possibility made her skin flush hot.
Fool.
In her room, she piled up her pillows and sat in bed in a small pool of lamplight, nursing a mug of hot, sweet tea.
She thought about Rachel, and was swamped by a tidal wave of grief. If only she hadn’t invited Rachel to the launch party. For the trillionth time, she wished that she could go back into the past and change that night. Rachel had always been so full of life, so brimming with can-do confidence and charisma. She shouldn’t be dead.
Their friendship had been so strong, an attraction of opposites. Rachel was brilliant and wild and she’d always claimed that Amy was calming and steadying.
‘Amy’s my anchor,’ she used to tell people.
Guys were forever falling in love with Rachel—so much so that she should have had a warning light, like a lighthouse. Amy’s brother, Ryan, had been smitten, but he’d come to his senses eventually and married his sensible, sweet Jane instead.
For her part, Rachel had loved the attention of men, always had a boyfriend on tap, but somehow she’d managed to stay immune, never really falling in love.
Until her trip north.
‘You should have been there, Ames,’ she’d said, on that night she’d finally opened up. ‘I needed you there, to keep me on the ground. I lost my head completely.’
Swiping at tears, Amy thought about Seth. She wondered if he was looking at the photo album now. Would he sleep tonight? Or was he totally calm again?
Was he thinking about Rachel? About Bella?
He’d looked so terrible tonight when she’d told him her news, and the memory of the deep lines of pain etched in his face sent a throbbing ache to the middle of her chest.
It was so silly to care so much about a man she’d only just met, but she couldn’t help it. There was something about Seth Reardon that got to her—something elemental and deep. Whether he was happy or sad, whenever she was near him, she felt in danger of drowning.
She’d known, from the moment she first saw him—gosh, had it only been this morning?—that he wasn’t a man who would take fatherhood lightly. Chances were, Seth wouldn’t take any relationship lightly—which meant there was a distinct possibility that he’d really, really loved Rachel.
Without warning, Amy’s tears began to fall in earnest, and she buried her face in the pillow so she wouldn’t wake Bella.
The photo album lay abandoned on the nightstand.
Seth had taken a look at it, leafing quickly through the pages, catching glimpses of Bella as a tiny newborn, and later, as a gummy, smiling infant…later still, as a sturdy toddler, learning to walk…
He’d seen pictures of Rachel looking surprisingly maternal, and healthy and happy. There’d even been a shot of Amy, hovering somewhere in the background behind a cake with pink icing and two striped candles. But he’d had to set the book aside. It was too hard to look at these happy snaps.
Amy had offered them to him in all innocence, but she had no idea of the size and force of the bombshell she’d dropped this evening.
She thought he’d fathered Rachel Tyler’s baby.
He’d never dreamed that Rachel was pregnant when she left Serenity, but, hell, in many ways everything would be a whole lot easier if he were the little girl’s father. He would face up to the responsibility, and he could have worked something out with Amy—a way to share custody of Bella, perhaps. Truth be told, the thought of spending more time with Amy was enticing.
But it was a fantasy.
He wasn’t Bella’s father. He hadn’t slept with Rachel.
Not once.
Never.
The real story was something else entirely, and it smothered him with a mountain of guilt and heartache.
While Rachel had flirted openly with him almost as soon as she’d arrived at Serenity, Seth had sensed she could spell trouble and he’d given her the brush-off, so she’d set her sights…elsewhere…
With tragic consequences.
Those consequences were the cross Seth had to bear, but they were too painful to share this evening with a warm-hearted, soft-eyed girl like Amy.
With a harsh groan, he launched to his feet and began to prowl.
This whole business was more complicated than Amy could possibly have imagined and he needed time—days, weeks, years—to work out the best way to explain it to her.
Damn it, he didn’t want to burden her with the truth. Not so soon. She’d been such a loyal friend to Rachel. She’d put her career on hold and she’d devoted herself to Bella, and she’d come all this way, to do something Rachel should have done three years ago.
Reaching for the album, Seth looked again at the photo of Amy, smiling in the background. Her dark eyes were so warm and pretty, and just looking at her made him want to smile.
She was as generous and open-hearted as his uncle had been when he’d taken Seth in after his father died, giving him a home, an education, a sense of belonging. Family.
Seth owed so much to his father’s younger and much admired brother, after whom he’d been named.
But now…damn it…what was the right thing to do?
He couldn’t turn his back on this little girl. How had Amy described her? Cutest thing on two legs.
Too true.
Thing was, it would be easy to wash his hands of this, to tell Amy she was mistaken, that he wasn’t the father. Send her packing.
Except—he felt such a weight of responsibility…and it was all so painful…and even though Amy was warm and compassionate, he didn’t feel ready to talk to a woman he’d just met about what had happened…
He needed time.
‘Wake up, Amy! Wake up!’
Amy felt small fingers trying to prise her eyelids apart.
‘It’s too early,’ she moaned, refusing to open her eyes.
She’d had a dreadful night, endlessly tossing and turning, and she felt as if she’d fallen into a deep sleep only five minutes ago. But a sudden knock at the door brought her smartly awake.
‘Man!’ Bella squealed, gleefully slipping from the bed. ‘Man at the door!’
With a groan, Amy pushed her bedclothes aside and swung her feet to the floor. She had no idea of the time, but daylight was streaming through the shutters.
Bella was banging on the door. ‘Hello, man!’
‘His name’s Seth,’ Amy grumbled. She couldn’t remember where she’d left her dressing gown and she grabbed up a silk wrap to throw around her shoulders to cover her nightgown. ‘Bella, you can’t keep calling him man. Say Seth.’
‘Sef.’
‘That’s better.’ Amy grimaced at her reflection. She looked a fright—hair everywhere, dark circles under her eyes.
There was another knock.
‘Hello, Sef man,’ Bella called through the door.
With one hand clasping the wrap modestly over her front, Amy ran frantic fingers through her hair, but she knew it wouldn’t improve her appearance. She opened the door.
Seth, freshly showered and shaved, was rather too much at such an early hour, but she didn’t have time to go weak at the knees. She was distracted by Bella’s shriek of joy.
‘Hello, Sef!’ the little girl shouted, and she beamed a gorgeous smile up at him, holding her arms up to be lifted.
For a moment, Amy thought he might resist the appeal of those little outstretched hands, but after only the briefest hesitation he bent down and scooped Bella high.
‘How are you this morning, possum?’
Giggling, Bella planted a wet kiss on his cheek and hugged him hard. Amy choked back her surprise. When had this pair become such firm friends?
She watched Seth’s ears redden, but with the typical fickleness of a two-year-old the little girl was soon wriggling to be set down again.
Seth’s smile was shy as he took in Amy’s dishevelled appearance. ‘I see I’m too early for you.’
‘I forgot you cattlemen get up at the crack of dawn.’
His eyes shimmered with mild amusement as he took in her nightgown and her efforts at modesty. He glanced at his wristwatch.
‘What’s the time?’ she asked.
‘Seven-forty.’
‘Oh…well…not exactly dawn, then.’
‘Breakfast’s at eight. Is that too early?’
‘No, that’s fine, thank you.’
She dropped her gaze, unsure what to say now. She wondered if Seth had adjusted to the news that he was Bella’s father. Even though he looked calm enough, he could be angry that she’d come to Serenity under false pretences. Last night she’d lain awake worrying and imagining that he’d send her packing this morning, straight after breakfast.
‘It’s stopped raining,’ Seth said. ‘So you might have an opportunity to take some photos after all.’
‘Really? That’s great.’ She felt her heart skip in relief. So, not straight after breakfast, at least.
Behind her, Bella began bouncing on her bed, treating it like a trampoline.
Amy whirled around. ‘Bella, stop that, or you’ll fall.’ She reached out to catch the little girl’s hand.
‘I was thinking it would be good if you could stay on for a bit longer than we’d planned,’ Seth said, ignoring the distraction.
Amy blinked at him from beneath tumbled hair.
‘You came here because you wanted me to get to know Bella,’ he said. ‘So it doesn’t really make sense that you should rush away too soon.’
‘I—I—’ Catching giggling Bella in midjump, Amy held her close to keep her still. ‘I’d have to change my flights.’
‘I’m sure we could arrange that.’
She rubbed at her forehead, trying to clear her sleep-fuzzed brain. ‘You were so upset last night. Are you sure you want us to stay?’
‘I’ve had time to think, to get used to everything. I’d like the chance to get to know Bella. I’d like her—both of you—to enjoy Serenity.’
‘Will your uncle mind?’
Seth’s face seemed to cave in. Shadows darkened his eyes and his throat worked. ‘My uncle’s not here. He died a couple of years ago.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said, but it was hard to feel the appropriate depth of sympathy when she hadn’t known his uncle, especially when her stomach was fluttering madly at the possibility of staying on, alone with Seth.
Amy couldn’t think why she was hesitating. This invitation was exactly what she’d come north to achieve. Twenty-four hours ago, time on Serenity so that Bella could get to know her father had been her primary goal. Her dream.
Twenty-four hours ago, she hadn’t met Seth Reardon. She hadn’t developed a silly, useless and problematic crush that would only get worse if she spent more time with him. But there were other problems, too. There was every chance that Seth would fall for sweet Bella as swiftly and certainly as she had fallen. How would she cope if Seth wanted to keep Bella?
Part of Amy wanted very much to whisk the little girl safely back to Melbourne and to resume her life. She couldn’t give her little girl up.
She would have to make it clear that Bella couldn’t stay at Serenity permanently. That had never been her plan.
Amy knew how Rachel had felt about remote Cape York, and yesterday she’d seen for herself how far Seth’s home was from anywhere else. It was no place for a single dad to try to raise a sociable toddler.
‘Look, I’ll give you time to think about it,’ Seth said, backing down the hall. ‘We can talk about it at breakfast.’
‘No, it’s OK.’ Amy sent him an apologetic smile. ‘It’s a good idea and we’d love to stay. Thank you.’
‘Terrific.’ Seth smiled in a way that put creases in the suntanned skin around his bright blue eyes. ‘We’ll have breakfast on the front veranda at a little after eight. You just have to turn left at the end of the hallway.’
‘OK. Thanks.’
It was only after Seth had gone that Amy realised her wrap had fallen during their conversation—while she was trying to catch the bouncing Bella, no doubt. She’d been standing here, talking to Seth in her fine cotton nightgown, exposed in all its transparent glory.
A glance in the mirror showed her just how much of her Seth had seen, and a blushing river of heat flooded her.
At least he’d been too polite to stare at her breasts.
She wished she could take more comfort from that.
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