Her Happy-Ever-After Family: The Cattleman's Ready-Made Family / Miracle in Bellaroo Creek / Patchwork Family in the Outback

He grinned at her. He had one of those infectious kinds of grins. ‘Oh, ho! The single farmers in the district are sure going to be pleased to meet you.’

She laughed. And he had an easy charm his older brother totally lacked.

She’d met men like Lance before—full of fun, but often not much else. On closer inspection, though, the colour was high on his cheeks and she couldn’t help feeling his joviality was forced.

‘It’s great to meet you, Tess. Welcome to Bellaroo Creek.’

‘Thank you.’

‘And as I’m not the kind of man to let the grass grow under my feet…’

Really? She didn’t believe that for one moment.

‘I’d like to talk business with you.’

The hair at her nape prickled. She folded her arms. ‘Oh?’

‘Lance.’ Lorraine laid a hand on his arm. ‘This is neither the time nor the place.’

He shook off his mother’s touch. ‘Of course it is.’ He bounced on the balls of his feet, a fine sheen of perspiration filming his top lip and his forehead. ‘Now I understand, Tess, that you have forty prime hectares on your allotment that are just going begging. I want to make you an offer you can’t refuse.’

Several groups nearby stopped talking and turned to listen. Others moved forward.

‘Oh, Lance, I can’t believe this of you!’ Lorraine hissed. ‘I think—’

He held up a hand, his eyes glittering. ‘I’d like to lease that land from you at very generous terms.’

Someone nearby snorted. Lance ignored it, but Lorraine’s hand fluttered about her throat. ‘Lance, please,’ she whispered.

He rocked back on his heels. ‘What do you say, Tess?’

That was when she realised thirty pairs of eyes watched her closely, waiting to see what she’d say, and instinct told her whatever she did or said now would seal her, Ty and Krissie’s fate in Bellaroo Creek, for good or ill.

And she didn’t know what would work for or against them.

She swallowed. She hadn’t done anything wrong. All she could do was offer Lance the truth. ‘I’m sorry, Lance, but I signed a contract this morning leasing that land to Cameron. I understood he had a right to it.’

Cameron was his brother. Surely Lance would be happy for him?

Lance stared at her, the blood draining from his face. ‘But…I need that land more than he does. I need that canola contract.’

‘Cam’s spent the last two years improving that land,’ somebody from the crowd said.

He had?

‘Yeah, back off, Lance. Cam’s earned the right to that land,’ someone else called out.

Lance swung back to Tess, his face twisting and his eyes wild with panic. ‘You’ve ruined me. You and Cam both.’ His voice rose on each word. ‘It’s what he wants, and you’ve been party to that!’ He stiffened. ‘I hope you’re happy?’

Happy? She was appalled!

One of the older farmers muttered, ‘One can hardly blame Cam for that.’ He lifted his voice. ‘And it’s sure as heck not Tess’s fault. So like Stuart said, back off, Lance.’

Lance pointed a finger at her. Tess swallowed. She opened her mouth just as Ty came barrelling up, shaking, his small hands clenched to fists. ‘Don’t you yell at my auntie Tess!’

Bursting into tears, Krissie hurled herself at her aunt. Tess scooped her up and held her close, dangerously close to tears herself.

Fiona raced up and took Lance’s arm. With an apologetic glance at Tess, she led him away.

Lorraine turned to her, pale, her hands shaking. ‘Oh, Tess, I’m so sorry. I—’

Hauling Ty in close to her side, she said, ‘Just give me a moment,’ before leading the children to a quiet corner where she tried to quieten Krissie’s sobs. Not easy when her insides were quivering and all she wanted to do was drop her head and cry too.

The luncheon had been so perfect. She’d started to feel like a part of the community. She’d thought everything was going to work out exactly as she needed it to. And then, bam!

Her head reeled. She found it hard to catch her breath. She closed her eyes and dragged air into her lungs. ‘Shh, honey.’ She rubbed Krissie’s back. ‘Everything is okay.’

It would be okay. She’d make sure it’d be okay. A setback, that was all this was.

‘Why was that man angry?’ Krissie hiccupped.

‘It’s not so much that he was angry as he was upset. He’s very worried about some things.’

Her whole body shuddered. ‘Is he going to hurt us?’

‘No, honey, he’s not.’ She hugged Krissie close and then touched Ty’s cheek. He was so quiet. ‘I promise. Okay?’

‘’Kay,’ he murmured.

‘The man was being very silly and we don’t need to worry about him at all.’ She prayed they’d believe her, that they trusted her enough. Time for a brave face. ‘You know what I need?’ she whispered. ‘A lamington. Are there any?’

‘Ones with cream in them.’

‘Ooh, yum.’ She made her eyes wide. ‘Let’s go look.’

They each selected a lamington, they each took a bite, and then Tess caught Stacy’s eye. ‘Don’t forget,’ she whispered before the teacher reached them, ‘I need the names of vegetables.’

They were laughing again by the time they reached the group of other children. Tess didn’t doubt there’d be more questions tonight, but for now things were fine.

She moved back towards Lorraine and the group of women who surrounded her. ‘Are the littlies okay?’ one of the women asked her.

Tess hesitated, her gaze darting back to the circle of children. ‘I think so.’ She swallowed. She’d given an account of Ty and Krissie’s circumstances in her application letter. Not a full account, perhaps, but full enough. She didn’t doubt that everyone in the room knew about the death of their parents. ‘It’s just that they’ve been through so much in such a short space of time…Little things can unduly upset them.’

‘An angry man isn’t a little thing. Especially when you’re five years old.’

Tess had to close her eyes for a moment. An angry man. The shaking started back up inside her. Lorraine touched her arm. ‘I can’t tell you how sorry I am, Tess. Lance has a lot on his mind at the moment, but that doesn’t excuse his behaviour.’

Lorraine was obviously appalled.