The Cattleman's Special Delivery (7 page)

Reluctantly, Jess shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, Reece. I think I’d rather stick to working in Cairns.’

‘Of course.’ Apart from the tightening of his jaw, she saw no hint of a negative reaction. So that was a good thing.

‘It was a long shot.’ His quick smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘Worth a try.’

‘Thanks for thinking of me.’

He shrugged. ‘No problem.’

Jess glanced down the street. The day-care centre was only three doors away and she nodded towards its sign, complete with pictures of teddy bears and wide-eyed dolls. ‘I’d better collect Rosie.’

‘Sure.’

‘Reece, I hope everything works out for you. With your father and everything.’

‘Oh, it’ll be fine. Don’t worry.’

‘Please give him my regards.’ Feeling inexplicably depressed, Jess stepped closer, lifted her face and pressed a hasty kiss to his jaw. Her lips met his masculine stubble and she had to fight a longing to linger. ‘I’d better go, but I’ll keep in touch.’

‘Yes, do that. Give Rosie a cuddle from me.’

‘I will.’

As she turned and hurried away her eyes filled with tears. How crazy was that? She knew she’d made a wise decision.

And yet...

If I was working in a homestead, Rosie wouldn’t have to be in day-care. I could have her with me every day, all the time.

But no...she couldn’t give in to immediate regrets. She had to be strong, had to stick to her goals of independence and eventual security.

Then again...taking that job would be a way of repaying Reece.

This thought brought Jess up with an appalled jolt.

Was she being horribly selfish? Reece was facing a dilemma. He needed help with caring for his father, in the same way that she’d needed his help on the night Rosie was born.

He hadn’t hesitated to help them, and yet she’d dismissed him so coolly...

Poised in the doorway of the day-care centre, Jess turned and looked back down the street. Reece was striding away on long legs and he’d almost reached the corner.

She started to run.

* * *

It was for the best, Reece told himself as he walked away and valiantly ignored the gutted hollowness inside him.

Hiring Jess to work at Warringa was a crazy thought anyway. Sure, she was a great cook, and she almost certainly needed a chance to save money, but taking her to Warringa was a risk. Already, after she’d spent one night in his home, he’d found himself caring about her and her little daughter. He could become too attached if they stayed for six months or a year or more before they left.

And Jess and Rosie
would
leave.

Reece had absolutely no doubts about that. He’d learned lessons from his mother’s desertion as well as a few failed attempts when girlfriends had found his home too isolated. He knew Jess had been sensible when she knocked back the offer, and, despite the lingering imprint of her soft lips on his skin, he
was grateful.

He’d go straight to an employment agency and find a sensible woman with good credentials. Failing that, he’d hire a contract mustering team and he’d take care of his dad himself. One way or another he’d get around this problem and—

‘Reece!’

Jess’s call zapped through him like an electric charge. He turned to find her running down the footpath and, to his dismay, his heart began to pound.

He began to run too. ‘Is something wrong?’ he called as he neared her. ‘Is Rosie OK?’

Jess shook her head and stood panting and breathless. ‘This isn’t about Rosie,’ she said, eventually. ‘I—I’ve had second thoughts. About the job. I’d like to help you out.’

Reece willed himself to remain outwardly calm while his heart thrashed.

‘I’m sorry I turned you down,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why I hesitated.’

‘Warringa is very isolated.’

‘I know that, but I wouldn’t mind. Alan and I were planning to live in Gidgee Springs, so Rosie and I would have been in the outback anyhow. And—’ She flashed a shy smile. ‘And I owe you.’

‘No, you don’t.’

‘I do, Reece. You’ve done so much for me.’

‘This isn’t about gratitude. It’s a practical job offer.’

‘Yes...’ Jess nodded. ‘And I’d be very pleased to accept the offer.’

Was she sure about this? Reece didn’t dare to ask. She might change her mind.

Ignoring the loud pealing of warning bells, he said, ‘That’s wonderful.’

* * *

‘Jess Cassidy?’ scowled Reece’s father. ‘Isn’t that the girl who had the baby?’

‘Yes. She’s also an excellent cook and housekeeper.’

His father’s eyes narrowed shrewdly. ‘So you’re keen on her, after all. I thought you were.’

‘Course I’m not. I’m hiring her to take care of you.’

‘I don’t need taking care of.’

Reece sighed. ‘OK. I’m not going to argue about this. You know I’ll have to start mustering soon and I’ll be a darned sight more relaxed if there’s someone at the homestead with you.’

‘A prison warder.’

‘Hardly.’

‘What about her baby?’

‘Her name’s Rosie and she’ll be coming too, of course.’

‘She’ll be crying all night.’

‘I don’t think she cries much, but, anyway, I’ll put her and Jess at the far end of the house, away from you. And I’ll buy you ear plugs, or you can turn the television up. I’m sure Jess and Rosie won’t bother you. You might even enjoy having a baby about the place.’

‘I doubt it.’ His father pulled a face. ‘You were a terrible baby. Cried all the time.’

Reece sighed again. ‘I’m sure Rosie’s much better behaved than I was.’

* * *

‘Gran, it’s Jess. How are you?’

‘I’m very well, dear. How are you? How’s Rosie?’

‘We’re fine, thanks. Rosie’s growing so fast. I wish you could see her.’

‘I have the lovely photo you sent on my dressing table.’

Yes, it would be there along with the rest of her seven grandchildren. Sometimes it was hard for Jess to remember that she had to share her grandmother. Since her mum died, Gran was the only member of her close family still alive. But Gran had three sons Jess had only met once or twice and six grandchildren besides Jess. Gran and her sons’ families all lived at the Gold Coast at the opposite end of Queensland from Cairns.

After Alan died, Jess had considered moving there, but she couldn’t afford the travel and removal costs.

‘I’m ringing to tell you that I have a new job,’ Jess said.

‘Oh. Is it a good one? Are you happy?’

‘I think it’s perfect, actually. I’m going to be working on a cattle property, as a housekeeper and cook.’

‘A cattle property? In the outback?’

‘Yes, it’s the property where Rosie was born, actually.’

‘I see. So you’ll be working for that wonderful young man who helped you?’

‘Yes. But I’m sure I didn’t tell you he was wonderful.’

‘But you really liked him.’

‘Not in the
way you’re thinking.’ She’d never been a very good liar. ‘This new job is just that, Gran—a job.’

She wasn’t like her mother, starting a new relationship with each new man she met, but she couldn’t explain that to her grandmother without implying criticism of her mum, Gran’s daughter.

At least her terms of employment were crystal clear in her own mind.

Jess was pleased about that.

* * *

Travelling down the track to Reece’s homestead in broad daylight was very different from the other panicky trip through a rainy night. Today Jess had clear views of rolling grassy paddocks dotted with Brahman cattle, as well as the white egrets that so often accompanied them. She could see the dark lines of trees that marked the creek’s winding progress, and there were red rocky ridges, long sloping plains and the smudge of blue hills in the distance.

It all felt like an adventure and she took in the views with fresh interest. Reece’s ute had a dual cabin, so she was sitting in the back seat beside her dozing daughter, while Reece’s father, Michael, was in the front, also napping, with his head lolling sideways.

In the very rear of the truck, along with Jess’s gear, they carried a brand-new white cot and a matching white chest of drawers, as well as a high chair, a mosquito net and several packages of baby clothes.

‘It gets cold out at Warringa in the winter,’ Reece had warned as he piled extra sleep suits and several pairs of fluffy socks into the trolley.

Jess had protested, but he’d insisted on buying these things. ‘Rosie has to be warm enough.’ He’d also insisted on buying a lovely mobile to hang above the cot—animals made of brightly coloured felt: a purple and pink owl, a black and white zebra with a fiery red mane, a golden and brown lion and a bright pink pig. Jess was grateful for these lovely things, but she hoped she could eventually pay Reece for them. She was determined to hang on to her independence and she didn’t want to be beholden.

As they approached the homestead, however, her excitement mounted. Outbuildings appeared—tractor sheds, stables, a windmill. Jess found herself sitting straighter, peering ahead, keen for another glimpse of the homestead.

They rounded a final bend and there was the house, a sprawling, low-set, timber Queenslander, painted white, with a faded red iron roof that was almost completely shaded by two massive old Moreton Bay fig trees.

Jess remembered the other time she’d arrived here—peering at the house through the rain, and seeing the lights shining on the veranda, then the semi-dark sanctuary of Reece’s bedroom. Today, sheltered from the blazing sun, this house looked a little shabbier perhaps—certainly in need of new coats of paint—but unexpectedly welcoming just the same. In fact, to Jess, who’d spent her entire life living in cramped rented flats, arriving at Warringa felt like a dream come true. Dangerously so.

But she’d been planning to make a new start with Alan in the outback, and now she was doing it alone. This was her chance to get ahead and she had to get it right.

CHAPTER FIVE

‘
Y
OU’LL
sleep in
my room again tonight.’

Jess stared at Reece in puzzlement and prayed that she wasn’t blushing.

‘Just for one night,’ he elaborated. ‘The other rooms aren’t quite ready for you and Rosie.’

‘But—but—’
Far out.
She should be able to handle this simple situation without stammering, but the day’s close proximity to Reece had apparently downsized her brain.

‘But?’ A dark eyebrow lifted as his mildly amused gaze seared her. ‘Are you worried about where I plan to sleep?’

‘Not really.’ It was a lie. Where he planned to sleep was exactly what she needed to know.

‘I’ll swag down on the veranda. Same as last time.’

Of course. She should have known that.
Cringe.
She hadn’t really thought that Reece was angling for them to sleep together. He showed no sign that he found her attractive, and that was totally understandable after the way they met when she was as wet as a drowned rat and groaning in labour.

But should her employer be sleeping on the floor? It seemed wrong.

‘Don’t look so shocked, Jess.’ His eyes flashed again. ‘I’ve spent a good part of my life sleeping in swags out in the bush.’

‘Yes, yes, of course you have.’

‘Anyway,’ he went on smoothly. ‘Before we sort the bedrooms, let me show you the kitchen. We can put the kettle on.’

With Rosie chirping happily in her arms, she followed Reece’s easy stride across a covered walkway lined with hanging baskets of rather bedraggled ferns to a smaller wooden building, which proved to be the kitchen.

‘The separate kitchen is a hangover from the old days,’ Reece explained as he filled a kettle and lit the gas. ‘Everyone had wood stoves back then, and the theory was that if the kitchen caught fire, the rest of the house could still be saved.’

‘It makes very good sense.’ Jess looked about her. She wouldn’t mind working in a separate domain. The room was rather plain, with no feminine decorative touches, but it was light and airy, with a bank of deep casement windows to catch the breezes. There was also a huge stove with two ovens, and masses of bench space, as well as a scrubbed pine table and chairs for everyday dining.

Once Rosie’s high chair was in place with a few toys scattered about and various ingredients dotted about the work surfaces, it would look very homely. Jess could hardly wait to start work.

‘And the pantry’s through here,’ Reece said.

Wide-eyed, she followed him into another room lined with shelves stacked with enough provisions to stock a small grocery store.

‘Oh, wow!’ she exclaimed with a huge grin. ‘I. Am. In. Heaven.’

Reece gave a shocked laugh. ‘You’re easy to please.’

‘Every cook dreams of having storage space like this.’

‘You haven’t seen the cold room yet.’

She gaped at him. ‘There’s a cold room too?’

‘Right here.’ He pushed open a heavy door.

‘Oh, my God.’

‘I know it’s a bit confronting to meet half a beast hanging from a hook.’

But Jess had no qualms at all about the butcher-shop scenario. ‘It’s amazing. It’s fabulous, Reece.’ She was grinning. ‘I think I’m in love.’

He switched his gaze to a far corner and scowled.

‘With your kitchen setup,’ she added hastily, cheeks burning.

‘The baby will get cold if we stay in here too long,’ he said, but he didn’t meet her gaze as he opened the door for her.

* * *

Reece’s father sat at the dining table, waiting for his dinner, a napkin already tucked into his shirt as he watched Jess mix Rosie’s formula.

‘What’s wrong with mother’s milk?’ he asked, his jaw at a belligerent angle.

Jess winced, instantly defensive. The old man might have had a hard life, but he had no idea how hard it had been for her in those early weeks. She’d been so scared trying to care for her tiny newborn daughter on her own, and at the same time grappling with the shock of losing Alan while acquiring his mountainous debts.

She took a deep breath before she answered. ‘I’m afraid I was too stressed after my husband died, and I just wasn’t able to breastfeed.’

As Michael shook his head, unimpressed, Reece turned from the stove—he’d insisted on fixing dinner on this first night. ‘Give the girl a break, Dad. What would you know about babies?’