Page 35 of Secrets of Riverside

This sounded very much like a date. ‘Ah.’ She had to force herself to look away, because if she stared into his eyes a second longer, who knew what might happen.

‘Come on, Mills, you’ll love it,’ he insisted softly.

How could she say no to a man as wonderful as him? ‘Okay, sounds good, I’ll see you at five.’

‘Awesome, look forward to it.’ His smile was slow and sexy as he tugged on his hat and headed back outside.

Three and a half hours later, sitting on his tailgate with the landscape unfolding all around her, Millie swung her legs to and fro while taking tentative sips from her icy cold beer. Beside her, Jarrah was doing the same. He’d been right in saying she’d love it. With awesome views, awesome company, and awesome country tunes playing from the stereo, what wasn’t to love? Feeling relaxed and at peace, she breathed in deeply, and softly sighed it away. The numbness she’d lived with since losing her family had splintered since being here, allowing shards of Jarrah’s mesmerising light into places she wasn’t sure she wanted awakened, although she was helpless to stop it. The sensation was both frightening and stimulating, like jumping off a cliff and not knowing whether she’d fly or fall. But something told her, if it were the latter, that Jarrah would be there to catch her if needed.

‘Hey, Miss Millie.’ Jarrah gave her a little nudge with his elbow. ‘What’s going through that head of yours?’

She shrugged, and offered him a small smile. ‘A whole lot of nothing and a little bit of something.’

He eyed her like she was an intricate puzzle, and said nothing.

Ha, yes, I am a puzzle, with a few missing pieces too …

Growing anxious beneath his unwavering gaze, she shifted. ‘What’s with the staring, King?’

As if briefly considering her question, his shoulders lifted ever so slightly. ‘You never give too much away, do you?’ He took a casual swill from his beer.

She shrugged a little too. ‘Why should I, when I can keep someone guessing?’ She was enjoying their banter as much as his smile was revealing he was too.

‘Why would you want to keep me guessing?’ He chuckled and waved her words away. ‘Are you worried I might get bored of your company if you don’t remain a little mysterious?’

‘Ha, fair play, I could say the same about you, Jarrah King,’ she said matter-of-factly.

His gentle smile was filled with overwhelming understanding. ‘Two peas in a pod, hey.’

‘Kind of, yeah.’ Her laugh was a little rueful as she nodded. ‘I actually reckon we’re more like what Pink Floyd sang, and we’re two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, maybe?’

He drew in a deep breath, and she liked the way he relished it before sighing it away.

Jarrah nodded. ‘Hmmm, I know the song well, and we’re that too, I suppose.’

She liked the way he’d seen them as kindred souls – it made her wonder if this man was what she’d been missing all her life. And she continued to quietly ponder this as they sat, side by side, with their gazes pinned to the sunset-hued horizon with the hint of ocean beyond it. If only things could be different, if only she wasn’t here to unravel the secrets of Riverside Acres, she knew, without a shadow of doubt, that she’d fall mighty hard for him.

***

The following morning she woke in the pre-dawn darkness of the homestead with the overwhelming sensation of wanting with all her heart to stay there, so she could explore the feelings she had for Jarrah, and also so she could call Riverside Acres her forever home. Of course she knew she was being ridiculous, but something about this place, about him, stirred a sense of familiarity, of belonging, as if she’d finally found where she was meant to be. It was as if there was a glimmer of hope for a brighter future if she stayed there, especially with him by her side. But forever felt like a long time, especially when she considered her nomadic past.

Rolling onto her side and cuddling her pillow to her, she huffed a weighty breath. She knew she was allowing her mind to wander to places she shouldn’t be venturing into. But when it came to Jarrah King, and Riverside Acres, she couldn’t help herself. Maybe her instinctive feeling was to do with her quest to find answers, and had nothing to do with her future. Maybe she was closer than she’d ever been to discovering the truth, to learning exactly who it was that had saved her from the fire, and why her parents and brother had died. She was almost one hundred percent certain Tommy had something to do with that night, in one way or another. But then what in the hell did this place, or Jarrah, or both, have to do with her family’s deaths? Banshee Bay was so far away from the Blue Mountains. Almost another world. Or was it only Tommy who was the missing link to her past, to her questions? She hoped so, because she hated to think of the possibility that it had something to do with Jarrah and nothing to do with Tommy.

God forbid such heartbreak …

Lying beneath her doona until the first sliver of light peeked around the corners of her curtains, she turned off her alarm before it had time to demand she start her day. A small thing, but she wanted to do it on her terms. Throwing back the covers, she got up, tugged on her robe, made her bed, then made her way out of the room, turned right and then down the hallway. The floorboards were cool against her bare feet, as were the steps as she made her way downstairs and to the kitchen. She flicked on the overhead light, and her heart swelled when she spotted a cup, atop a yellow sticky note, right beside the coffee machine. Padding over, she picked it up and whispered Jarrah’s words to herself.

Good morning, Mills, I hope you had a great sleep and enjoy an amazing day! Please make yourself at home, because your motel room still isn’t ready. It’ll be another night before it’s all painted. And FYI, it’s my turn to cook dinner.

Jarrah xx

He’d ended with two kisses, how about that. With a wispy smile on her lips, she brought the note to her chest and pressed it against her cantering heartbeat. Where had this man been all her life? And why did she have to meet him in the exact place she’d been summoned to? If only she could indulge in learning him and loving him. Wouldn’t that be a dream come true? But life didn’t work like that. There was never an easy road. Not for her, anyway. So she slipped the note into her robe pocket, forgot all about making herself a coffee, and instead enveloped herself in the warm and fuzzy feeling, as if she was floating, as she made her way out of the kitchen and in search of a dose of sunshine before it was time to tuck herself away in the roadhouse kitchen again.

As she stepped outside, the scent of the white and pink frangipanis wrapped around her, as did the crisp coolness of dawn. The sun had just begun to crest the surrounding mountain ranges and the tropical landscape spread out before her, encouraging her to tumble into the soothing heart and soul of it. Early-morning fog blanketed the paddocks where the silhouettes of horses with their heads down and tails swishing created a vista that stole her breath. Settling on the top step, she hugged her knees to her chest, rested her chin on top of them, and waited for the end finale of the sunrise. In an ovation-worthy spectacle, the blazing sun rose above the lush green and spilt glorious golden sunshine over the countryside beneath. And in those few minutes, once the fog had all but dissipated, leaving the view with a whisper of what was to come, she slipped into the present moment like she never had before. With no traffic whooshing past, no sirens, no horns blaring, no high-rises blocking the view and no apartment blocks shoulder to shoulder, there was just so much to appreciate in the vastness of Riverside Acres. And before she knew it, tears were slipping down her cheeks, and there was an evocative pitter-patter of her heart as the power of Mother Nature’s heartbeat moved her beyond anything she’d ever felt or imagined while existing in her claustrophobic world with the burdens of city life looming over her. Warmth spread through her chest, giving rise to goosebumps, as she sucked in a shuddering breath with the powerful realisation that she could be at peace, and happy, and settled, without having the closure she’d been seeking since losing her family. She just needed a place like this, where she could sit quietly, at one with the gentle in and out breaths of untainted land. Drowning in her grief and guilt, she’d all but forgotten just how much she had loved living rurally. How was she ever meant to go back to a place that had encouraged her to take such shallow breaths for almost half of her life? Ebony and Felix the second were the only things drawing her back into a lifestyle suppressed by cityscape suffocation.

‘Beautiful, isn’t it, Millie?’

Jarrah’s husky voice made her jump, and a rush of euphoria at his presence left her bewildered. ‘Hey, you, how long have you been standing there?’ She quickly wiped at her cheeks, feeling silly for being so emotional.

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