Page 30 of Secrets of Riverside

‘Well, as they say, time flies when …’ He was looking at her in that earth-giving-way-beneath-her-feet way again. She tried to clear the butterflies from where they’d landed in her throat. ‘I better try and get what sleep I can, before my alarm goes off at five-fifty-five am.’

‘Five-fifty-five hey, why not six?’ His expression was delightfully playful.

‘I like to take five minutes to wake up, before my feet hit the floor.’

‘Nice.’ He arched a brow. ‘Me, on the other hand, I half wake up when my feet hit the floor, and then an extra-strong coffee gives me the boot up the butt I need to get out the door before sun-up.’

She grinned, nodding. ‘I have to agree that caffeine is a much-needed boot up my butt in the morning too.’

‘Like you said, Miss Millie, we’re two peas in a pod, you and me.’ He placed his hand in the curve of her back and joined her on the short walk across the back verandah and to the foot of the stairs.

Millie didn’t want him to take his hand away, nor did she want to leave. But if she didn’t extract herself from this situation, there’d be some deep regrets come sun-up. ‘I can take it from here, Jarrah, no need to chaperone me.’ Before she could chicken out, she reached up on her tippy toes and pecked his cheek. There was no harm in a friendly kiss. ‘Thank you for a lovely night, and great company.’

‘My pleasure, anytime.’ He dropped his hand from her back and tucked it into his pocket.

The magnetism she felt in that moment, the impulse to throw caution to the wind, was almost unstoppable. And for an out breath, and an in breath, she almost gave in to her desires, gave in to him.

Almost …

‘Night.’ She squeezed the word past those damn fluttering butterflies, not only lodged in her throat, but now also inhabiting the entirety of her body.

One second stretched into another, then another. They lingered in between each one. Holding onto whatever this was between them.

Should I kiss him?

Would he kiss me back?

Jarrah lowered his head a little, meeting her gaze head on. ‘Night, Millie, sleep sweet, won’t you.’

Find that voice of yours, Amelia!

‘I’ll try to.’ Heavens, she sounded like a pipsqueak. ‘You too.’

Turning, she forcibly took steps away from the temptation of him, towards her motel room, where she would climb beneath the covers, close her eyes, and hopefully dream of him all night long.

Well, at least for the next five hours.

CHAPTER

10

The rest of the week flew by, and Sunday arrived in glorious tropical fashion, with a gentle breeze and powdery blue sky. It was her first day off since starting on Monday, and Millie was determined to make the most of it. Her motel room was being repainted, along with a few of the others, so she was calling the homestead home for the day, and possibly even the night if the fumes were too strong. Curled up on the day bed on Jarrah’s back verandah, with a paperback from his bookshelf in her hands, she decided to read one last page of the edge-of-her-seat thriller before heading inside to make a coffee.

She’d awoken after an early bedtime, feeling rested – in spite of the fact that her monthlies had arrived two days early – and ravenous; and not only for the sustenance of food. However, not wanting her attraction to Jarrah to be obvious, she’d pushed her longing to the side, and done her best to get on with her morning by stuffing her face with way too many carbs. She’d had to do something to deter one half of her cravings. The other half, she’d never satisfy – Jarrah King was way out of bounds. She was well aware of the number one rule of Riverside Acres, and she wasn’t about to step over any threshold to break it. She needed to be here. Getting herself fired by Tommy was not an option. She knew he wouldn’t blink an eyelid if he had to. In fact, he’d likely enjoy every second of it. She wasn’t going to give the brooding, and in her firm opinion spoilt-brat eighteen-year-old the chance, or the satisfaction.

Placing the colourful feather that she’d found on her way over there between the pages she was up to, she closed the novel and glanced up at the picturesque view. Jarrah hadn’t been there when she’d arrived just after eight, which she’d expected, but she still had him within her sights, just up the rise, working in the top paddock with one of the agisted horses. He’d mentioned this particular gelding had been mistreated, and its new owner was paying to have him learn that some humans could be trusted. Jarrah was certainly the right man for the job – it hadn’t taken her, a woman who trusted almost no one, long to trust him. Even though she couldn’t make out his handsome face from her vantage point, she identified his broad-shouldered frame and soaring height. And the way he moved, so confidently, so patiently, she knew it was him. But she couldn’t just sit here and perv all day. She needed to stretch her legs, and a double-shot espresso wasn’t going to go astray either.

Crossing the back verandah, past where Scruff was having a kip on his hammock bed, she felt the cool floorboards creak beneath her bare feet as she stepped into the homestead. As she passed through the laundry and padded down the hallway, the sense that she didn’t belong in here crashed over her. But then she’d never felt as though she belonged anywhere else, either. The big old house felt different when she was spending time in there with Jarrah. He always made her feel more than welcome and while this made her feel special, she reminded herself that he’d likely make anyone he invited into his home feel comfortable, special, looked after.

Sweet notes of native birdsong floated through the open window of the kitchen as she made use of Jarrah’s coffee machine. His couple of lessons had taught her well. Within minutes the delicious scent of dark roasted beans filled the room, and she breathed in deep. Ahhh, coffee, it was her lifeblood. Next she frothed the milk, then added it to her double shot. The clinking of her teaspoon as she stirred in a teaspoon of raw sugar mingled with an approaching melodic whistling to a familiar Hank Williams tune. A quick glance out the window made her belly flip-flop. It looked as if Jarrah was making his way home for lunch. With her. She almost danced on the spot as she watched him stride through the gate to his enthusiastic welcome-home committee of one – Scruffball. Crouching down, Jarrah appreciated his doggy mate’s warm greeting with a wide smile and a ruffle of his floppy ears, and as he straightened, he looked straight in her direction. And bam, caught red-handed ogling him, she returned a shamed smile. Not realising she’d been holding her breath, she released it with a sigh. With her lips still curled ever so slightly, she felt a little giddy as she dragged her gaze from the window.

Bugger, she should have thought to make a nice lunch, but then she hadn’t known he was going to be coming back to the homestead around midday. It was the least she could do after everything he’d done for her, including putting the wind up the mechanic the day before about getting her car fixed by sometime next week. Apparently, the part he needed had been delayed in transport, but it was going to be here Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. Fingers and toes crossed he was right. She missed having transport. There was so much more of Banshee Bay she wanted to explore. Deciding to at least make Jarrah a coffee, she quickly retraced her steps, grinding beans, infusing the coffee and then frothing more milk. All the while she contemplated how he was proving more than just handsome, in just a little over a week. And not only that, he was intriguing her. How she was meant to fight off such a beautiful fascination, she hadn’t a clue. But she had to give it her best shot, for the cause. So, demanding her voice of reason step to the forefront, it did so just as the object of her fantasies moseyed into the kitchen and made her forget what she was thinking.

‘Howdy, Mills, how goes it?’

Mills, aww. ‘Howdy yourself, King.’ His husky tone had her turning to offer him the sweetest of smiles. ‘And it goes pretty well, thanks. How’s your day panning out?’ Their eyes met, and locked, and he offered her a charming smile, one that reached deep inside her chest and caressed her heartstrings.

‘It’s panning out fabulously, thanks for asking.’ He sniffed, and then rolled his eyes in pleasure. ‘I smell caffeine.’

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