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

And yet, even now, her body throbbed with a primitive hunger. she yearned to explore each and every line of his powerful body—naked. She craved his hands on her again—gentle hands, knowing hands. Oh, so knowing. Her knees quivered before she could stop them.

Enough of that!

She kicked herself into action and moved down the path, sidestepping Old Nelson who currently sunned himself on the cement path. Cam met her at the gate to take the picnic basket from her. He searched her face. She let him—freely and openly. She searched his face too. It was amazing how much information they could convey to each other without a word. He liked how she looked, and he wanted her in the same way she wanted him, but…

They both sighed and nodded at the same moment. Romance wasn’t on the cards for either of them. She didn’t know his reasons, but she knew her own. She’d been selfish her entire life—selfish and clueless—but not any more.

I won’t let you down again, Sarah. I promise.

‘Where are we going?’ Krissie demanded the minute Cam started the car and eased it onto the road.

‘Our first stop is the O’Connell farm. Blue O’Connell has the best layers in the entire district. He has show chickens too. He takes out the blue ribbon every year at the Parkes agricultural show. What’s more, his black lab has had a litter of puppies.’

Ty started talking so fast Tess couldn’t understand a word he said.

‘Steady, buddy.’ Cam laughed. ‘We’ve also a litter of border collie pups—like Boomer—to check out as well as some poodles.’

When they reached the farm, the children literally launched themselves out of the car. They both jumped and danced—at least in Krissie’s case—and jumped and hopped—in Ty’s—with uncontained excitement. Tess watched them and something inside her swelled. To see their faces alive with hope instead of fear, to see them grinning at the unknown farmer who came to greet them rather than backing up towards her with suspicion clouding their eyes, lifted something inside her.

To see them, for just one moment, truly happy. It made her want to weep. It made her hope. It made her think that coming to Bellaroo Creek had been the perfect plan after all.

‘Are you Mr O’Connell?’ Krissie asked.

‘That I am, little miss.’

‘I’m Krissie.’ She walked right up to the farmer and held her hand out. ‘And we’re here to see your chickens.’

Sweet Lord, she must want a chicken badly.

Ty hung back for all of five seconds before bursting forward as well. ‘And your puppies too.’

‘Well, young folk, that’s something I can certainly accommodate. Come right this way.’ With a wink and a smile for Tess and Cam, he led the children towards the barn.

‘Are you okay?’ Cam asked, those green eyes of his seeming to plumb her soul.

‘Oh!’ She pressed both hands to her chest. ‘Oh, Cameron, I think they’re going to be fine after all.’

He tipped his hat back—a dusty, sweat-stained Akubra. ‘Why wouldn’t they be?’

She had to swallow before she could speak. ‘The last three months have been just awful. And…’

‘And?’

Beneath her hand her heart pounded. ‘I didn’t know if they would ever be happy again,’ she whispered. ‘I didn’t know if I could help them be happy again, but…But your mum was right. Children are resilient.’ This was the beginning of the brand-new start she’d been hoping for. Now she just had to focus on keeping them all on an even keel and making sure they felt secure.

‘C’mon.’ He took her arm. ‘I have a feeling you need this as much as they do.’

They found Krissie sitting in a pen with the silliest piece of feathered nonsense that Tess had ever seen perched on her lap. It looked as if it should be worn on some posh hat for Melbourne’s Spring Carnival. Krissie raised her big brown eyes. ‘This one,’ she whispered, hope so alive in her face it stole Tess’s breath.

Cam stiffened and opened his mouth. Tess dug her elbow in his ribs. ‘Can’t you see it’s true love?’ she murmured, leading him further into the depths of the barn.

‘But it’s a show chicken. It won’t lay a tuppence worth of eggs.’

‘And yet Krissie doesn’t care…and neither do I.’ She wanted to sing! ‘Let’s find Ty.’

They found him being licked to within an inch of his life by six puppies. Cute, round, roly-poly puppies. When he saw Tess and Cam he picked one of the puppies up and clambered to his feet. He hitched up his chin. ‘I thought about it very long and hard,’ he vowed. ‘This is the absolutest, bestest puppy in the world for me. I don’t need to look any more.’

Cam’s mouth dropped open. ‘We were only supposed to look!’

But she’d started laughing. ‘Cameron, you have a lot to learn about children if you really thought all we were ever going to do today was just look.’

They went home with a chicken and a wire cage loaned to them by Mr O’Connell, a puppy, a dog basket, a collar and lead, and plenty of pet food.

And their picnic.

Tess set up a card table in the backyard to keep the food out of reach of their furred and feathered friends, and two camp chairs for her and Cam. Children and animals cheerfully settled on the blanket until they’d finished eating, and then Krissie and Ty set about introducing Fluffy and Barney to the backyard.

Tess selected a pikelet liberally slathered in butter and jam and bit into it, closing her eyes for a moment to savour it. If she didn’t stop eating like this soon, she’d outgrow all her clothes. She took a second bite. ‘I can’t believe that chicken is following Krissie about as if it’s a dog.’

‘I can’t believe you bought a White Bearded Silky instead of a Leghorn or a Rhode Island or…or anything that’s a proven layer. You know that thing is going to lay next to no eggs.’

She just grinned at him. ‘Have a piece of sultana cake.’

He had a piece of fruitcake instead. ‘And a black Labrador?’ He shook his head.

‘Labrador puppies are the cutest in the world.’

‘They don’t stop being stupid until they’re about four years old. It’ll chew everything it can find, you know?’

‘That’ll teach the kids to pick up after themselves. And while Barney may not prove to be the cleverest of dogs, I suspect he’s going to be loving and loyal.’

‘He’ll never be a working dog.’

‘We don’t need a working dog.’ She polished off her pikelet and licked her fingers. ‘Cameron, I know we’re breaking every rule of being proper country folk, but look how happy they are.’ She found herself grinning like an idiot. ‘How can that be a bad thing?’

He glanced at her and those green eyes of his softened. ‘It’s not, I guess. Not when you put it like that. I just can’t help feeling you’ve taken on more work than you realise. And I’m responsible for that. If I’d known earlier what would happen—’

‘I’m glad you didn’t! You’re responsible for the kids remembering all the good things they wanted from our move to Bellaroo Creek. You’re responsible for them being happy that we moved here rather than afraid. Do you always focus on the negatives rather than the positives?’

He didn’t answer. His eyes had lowered to her mouth and there was absolutely nothing negative about his gaze. What if he had kissed her earlier? What would that have been like? She swallowed. Heat circled in slow spirals through her veins. She recalled in microscopic detail the feeling of being pulled up hard against him and the need that had roared through her.

The world contracted about them. She touched her lips—lips sensitised beyond measure. Her index finger traced her bottom lip. It swelled and throbbed…until she encountered something sticky.

Sticky? She closed her eyes in sudden mortification. Jam!

She had jam all over her face? No wonder Cameron was staring. She scrubbed it off and when she opened her eyes she found him staring straight out in front of him at his precious forty hectares.

She scowled but it didn’t slow the thud of her heartbeat.