Her Happy-Ever-After Family

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. What kind of people was he used to dealing with? ‘Of course I don’t want any payment! I’m not entitled to any payment. Rightfully the land is yours. If you want to pay anyone a fee for leasing the land, then pay your mother.’

He sat back. ‘I’ve offended you.’

Why did the wonder in his voice suddenly make her want to cry? Since Sarah’s death, the silliest, most unexpected things could make her cry. ‘You will if you keep going on in that vein.’

Her voice came out husky and choked. His gaze lowered to her mouth and it gave her a moment to study him. He had a strong jaw and lean lips and she couldn’t tear her eyes away. She could keep telling herself that he wasn’t sexy, but he was. His eyes darkened. A pulse throbbed in her bottom lip, swelling it and making it ache. The heat in the air between them sizzled with such unmistakable intensity it made her head whirl. With an oath, Cam pushed away from the table. He seized the teapot and started making tea. She closed her eyes. She’d been surrounded by death, preoccupied with it. Life wanted to reassert itself. This—her body’s rebellion at her common-sense strictures—was normal.

The explanation didn’t make the pounding in her blood lessen any, but it did start to clear the fog encasing her brain.

She jumped when Cam set a mug of tea in front of her, his face a mask. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just used to paying my own way.’

She wasn’t. Not really. Her cold realisation dissipated the last of the heat. She’d always relied on staff or assistants to take care of her day-to-day needs. But she could learn. She was learning.

He hooked out his chair again and sat. ‘A free ride feels wrong.’

‘It’s not a free ride. A free ride is if I also did the planting for you. You’d discussed that land with your mother. You had her permission to use it. Like you said, the fact it ended up on my lease agreement was simply an error or an oversight. Cameron, I have no plans for that land. I’m not losing out on anything.’

He didn’t say anything.

‘Besides, don’t knock a free ride. I’m getting one—a dollar a week rent! Who’d have thought that was possible?’

His lips turned upwards, but it wasn’t really a smile. ‘You’ve brought two school-age children into the area. You’re boosting the school’s numbers and increasing its chances of remaining open. The town will think it a very good swap.’

Speaking of children…She rose and went to the window again to check on them. She laughed at what she saw. ‘Are you sure they won’t wear Boomer out?’

‘I’m positive.’ He eyed her as she took her seat again. ‘They are safe with him. I promise.’

‘Oh! Of course they are. I didn’t mean…’ She could feel herself starting to colour under his stare. The thing was, most days she felt as if she didn’t know a darn thing about parenting at all. Maybe she did fuss a little too much, worry too much, but surely that was better than not fussing enough.

That was when the idea hit her.

He leant towards her, his eyes wary. ‘What?’

She surveyed him over the rim of her mug. ‘You’re obviously not very comfortable with me just handing the land back to you.’

‘You could make a tidy profit from the lease.’

‘Believe me, the one thing I don’t need to worry about is money.’ Sarah had seen to that. ‘But maybe,’ she started slowly, allowing the idea to develop more fully in her mind, ‘we could do a kind of swap. I’ll give you the land…’

‘In exchange for what?’

She rose and went to the window again. She loved those kids. Just how fiercely amazed her. She’d do anything for them. Anything. And what she needed to do most was provide them with a positive start here in Bellaroo Creek.

Cam stared at Tess as she peered out of the kitchen window again. She had a stillness and a straightness, even when agitated, that he found intriguing.

And she had the cutest little butt he’d ever seen. There’d probably been a hint of its perfect roundness in her tartan skirt yesterday if he’d been looking, but there was no hiding it in a pair of fitted jeans that hugged every curve with enviable snugness.

And today he was definitely looking!

For heaven’s sake, he was male. Men looked at—and appreciated—the female form. It was how they were wired. It didn’t mean anything.

But he hadn’t looked at a woman in that way since Fiona, and—

With a scowl, he dragged his gaze away. He needed to keep on task. Tess was proposing a deal of sorts. He glanced up to find her watching him, her brow furrowed as if she couldn’t figure him out. Not that he blamed her.

‘You can take the contract and run,’ she said. She walked back to the table, seized the contract, signed and dated it and then handed it back to him. ‘Nothing more needs to be said. I don’t believe you’re beholden to me, not one jot.’

Honour kept him in his seat. Tess hadn’t taken advantage of the situation as she could’ve done. As Lance and Fiona would’ve done. He did his best to clear the scowl from his face. She’d been reasonable and…generous. ‘What kind of bargain were you going to propose, Tess?’

‘I want to make moving to Bellaroo Creek a really positive experience for Ty and Krissie.’

She hadn’t needed to say that out loud. He could see how much it meant to her. He wanted to tell her how much he admired her for it, but he didn’t. He didn’t want her to think he’d mean anything more by it than simple admiration. Because he wouldn’t.

‘But frankly I’m clueless.’

That snapped him back. ‘About?’

She lifted her arms and let them drop. ‘Everything! I didn’t even know that was a lemon tree and yet you heard all our plans for it.’

Something inside him unhitched.

‘I don’t know the first thing about keeping chickens, but Krissie has her heart set on it. I expect I need a…a hutch or something.’

‘Henhouse.’

‘See? I don’t even have the right vocabulary. And what about a vegetable garden? Other than supposing there’s a lot of digging involved, I haven’t the foggiest idea where to start.’ She frowned. ‘I expect I’ll need compost.’

And, suddenly, Cam found himself laughing. ‘Believe me, Tess, the one thing we aren’t short of in Bellaroo Creek is compost.’

She gripped her hands on the table in front of her and leant towards him. ‘Plus I need to get Ty a puppy, but is a puppy and chickens a seriously bad combination?’

‘They don’t have to be.’ He leaned across and covered both of her hands with one of his own. She stiffened and he remembered the way he’d stiffened at her touch yesterday and was about to remove his hand when she relaxed. Her hands felt small and cold and instead of retreating he found his hand urging warmth into hers instead.

‘So you want help building a henhouse and a veggie patch, and in selecting a dog?’

‘It has to be a puppy. Apparently that’s very important.’

Cam understood that. He nodded.

‘And maybe some help choosing chickens?’

She winced as if she were asking too much, but it was all a piece of cake as far as he was concerned. ‘Tess, helping you with that stuff is nothing more than being neighbourly.’

The townsfolk of Bellaroo Creek would have his hide if he didn’t offer her that kind of support. Though—his lips twisted—he expected there’d be quite a few single farmers in the area who wouldn’t mind offering her any kind of help whatsoever.

‘Then…maybe we can agree to being good neighbours. That’s something else I can learn to do.’

He frowned, but before he could say anything she leapt up to glance out of the window again. ‘And until I manage to get one of my own, may I borrow your lawnmower?’

‘Done.’

She swung around and beamed at him. ‘Thank you. Now watch me as I make a fresh pot of tea to make sure I’m doing it right.’

She had the kind of smile—when she really smiled—that could blow a man clean out of his boots. Mentally, he pulled his boots up harder and tighter.

‘Why can’t Cam come to our party?’

Excellent question. Tess glanced briefly in the rear-view mirror to give Krissie an encouraging smile. ‘He said he had lots of work to do.’

‘I bet he had to take time off work to bring Boomer around to play,’ Ty said from the seat beside her. It was his turn in the front. ‘His farm is really big, isn’t it?’

‘Six thousand hectares is what he said.’ And Cameron didn’t strike her as the bragging type. He was definitely the state-plain-facts type. ‘Which I think is really, really big.’

‘So he probably has loads and loads of work to do.’

Was that admiration or wistfulness in Ty’s voice? She couldn’t tell.

A mother would know.

She gulped. ‘Good thinking, Ty, I expect you’re right.’

His chest puffed out at her simple praise. Blinking hard, she concentrated on the road in front of her.

It only took three minutes to drive from their front door to the community hall in Bellaroo Creek’s tiny main street. Across from the hall stood a row of late-Victorian townhouses—tall, straight, eye-catching, but with all their windows boarded up. Whatever businesses had operated from them were long gone. Once upon a time the town had been prosperous. Tess crossed her fingers. Hopefully they could help make the town prosperous again.

Unhooking her seat belt, she turned to the children. ‘Ready?’ They watched her so carefully. She knew they’d take their every cue from her. The realisation made her swallow. She had to get this just right.

Krissie leaned forward. ‘Is this party really just for us?’

‘It sure is, chickadee. Everyone is dying to meet us. They’re so excited we’ve come to live in Bellaroo Creek.’

‘What if they don’t like us?’ she whispered.

Tess feigned shock. ‘Do you really think they won’t like me?’

Krissie giggled. ‘Not you, silly.’

‘They’ll love you,’ Ty announced.

She knew what he was really saying was that he loved her and it made her heart swell and her eyes sting. ‘And I absolutely promise that they’ll love the two of you too.’

They stared at her with their identical brown eyes—eyes the same as Sarah’s. They trusted her so much! She racked her brain to think of a way to make this easier for them.

‘You know,’ she started, ‘it can be a bit awkward making new friends at first, and I bet they’re just as worried that we should like them too.’ She could see that thought hadn’t occurred to either child. ‘Sometimes it helps to have something ready to talk about. So…when you’re talking to someone today you might like to ask them what their favourite thing about living in Bellaroo Creek is, or if they have a dog, or if they keep chickens.’

Both children’s faces cleared immediately.

‘Ooh!’ She clapped her hands. ‘I could send you both on a quest to find out what everyone thinks would be the best vegetables to grow in our backyard.’

Ty squinted up at her. ‘Because that’s important, right?’

‘Vital,’ she assured him.

He grinned. ‘And you could find out how to make Cam’s mum’s cake.’

She pointed a finger at him. ‘Excellent idea!’ She straightened her shirt. ‘And I’m going to remember to smile nicely at everyone and remember to say please and thank you in all the right places. Ready?’

The children nodded. They tumbled out of the car and, holding tight to each other’s hands, they entered the hall together.

Tess blinked. There had to be at least thirty people in here! As well as one seriously long trestle table covered with more sandwiches, pies, quiches, cakes, slices and biscuits than Tess had seen altogether in one place. The sight of all that food, and all those faces, made her head spin. A hush fell over the crowd.

Thirty people, and yet for one craven moment she’d have given anything to swap ten of them for the familiar reassuring bulk of Cameron Manning. Which was crazy because she didn’t know Cameron well enough for him to be either familiar or reassuring. But so far Bellaroo Creek consisted of their farmhouse, their lemon tree and Cameron.

All these people will become your community, your friends, too.

First-day nerves, that was all that this was. Taking a deep breath, Tess beamed about the room. ‘Hi, I’m Tess, and this here is Ty and Krissie. We can’t tell you how happy we are to be in Bellaroo Creek and how much we’re looking forward to meeting everyone.’

A tall, straight woman detached herself from the crowd. ‘I’m Lorraine Pritchard, and we’re all absolutely delighted that you’ve joined our little community.’

And just like that the silence was replaced with a hubbub of voices, and the three of them were swept into the heart of the crowd. An older woman—Stacy Bennet, the schoolteacher—whisked Ty and Krissie off to join a small band of children, stopping by the refreshment table to make sure they armed themselves with a fairy cake each first, and thereby winning herself two friends for life.

‘The children will be fine with Stacy,’ Lorraine told her kindly.

Of course they would. The same way they’d been fine with Boomer this morning. It was just…she hated losing sight of them, even for a moment. Telling herself to stop being so silly, she turned back to Lorraine. The older woman took her arm. ‘Come and meet everyone.’

It’d take her longer than a single afternoon to get everyone’s names straight in her mind, but they were all so friendly and kind with their welcomes and their offers of assistance to help her settle in that in under ten minutes Tess felt wrapped in warmth. The glimmer of light that had taken up residence in her heart the moment her application had been accepted now became a fully floodlit arena.

She pressed her hands to her chest and blinked hard.

A group of women surrounded her. One handed her a mug of tea, another handed her a plate piled high with food. They filled her in on what produce was available from the general store and how to set up an account there. They shared their favourite online sites for ordering in school supplies, work boots and make-up. When she asked, they told her the date for the next CWA meeting and promised to meet her there.

Several men came up to her too. One to tell her he was her man if she ever decided to keep pigs. another to let her know he could help her set up her own home brew if she wanted. Another introduced himself as the soccer coach for the Bellaroo Creek under tens team and told her that both Ty and Krissie were welcome when training started up in another month.

The entire town, it seemed, welcomed them with arms wide open and friendship in their hearts. Her earlier nerves suddenly seemed ludicrous.

‘How are you doing, dear?’ Lorraine said, coming up behind her. ‘I hope we haven’t overwhelmed you?’

‘This is…’ Tess swallowed and gestured around the room. ‘It’s just something else. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.’

‘Nonsense! We wanted to welcome you to town in style. Now may I introduce my future daughter-in-law, Fiona?’

‘Lovely to meet you.’ Tess balanced her mug on her plate and shook hands with the pretty young woman. They exchanged pleasantries for a couple of minutes before Fiona, with a glance back behind her, excused herself. Tess turned back to Lorraine. ‘Thank you so much for the cake you left yesterday. I can’t tell you how much we appreciated it after that long drive.’

‘You’re welcome, my dear. I’m only sorry I couldn’t be there to greet you in person.’

‘That’s okay, Cameron deputised honourably in your absence.’

Lorraine’s head shot up. ‘Cam?’ Two beats went by then, ‘Oh, I’m so glad to hear it.’ Her hand fluttered to her throat. ‘I’ve been meaning to ring him, but…Is he well?’

Tess thought about those broad shoulders and long legs and had to swallow. ‘He seemed very well.’

Lorraine leaned forward, her eyes eager. ‘Yes?’

She blinked. ‘Umm…I mean, he obviously works hard, but he brought Boomer around to meet the children this morning, which was kind of him.’

‘Oh!’ Lorraine clapped her hands together, her eyes shining. ‘Oh, I’m so pleased to hear that.’

She was? She continued to stare at Tess as if eager to hear any news about Cam that Tess was willing to share. Tess lifted a shoulder. ‘There was a bit of a mix-up on the lease agreement, but we sorted it out.’

Lorraine stilled. ‘Mix-up?’

‘Something about forty hectares that belong to Cam, or that he was supposed to be leasing from you or something like that, accidentally being on the lease agreement I signed.’

Lorraine paled. ‘Oh…no. Are you sure?’

Tess stilled then too because it was evident that something was wrong. Very wrong. She wanted to ask what it was but manners prevented her. She rolled her shoulders. ‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned it.’ She forced a wide smile, wanting to ease the other woman’s evident anxiety. ‘But I promise we sorted it out. He’s happy with the outcome and so am I.’

A breath shuddered out of the older woman and she sent Tess a smile that signalled her relief. ‘I’m very, very glad to hear that. If you see him, please give him my love.’

‘Of course.’ But…why didn’t Lorraine give Cam her love in person?

Lorraine stared beyond Tess and suddenly straightened. ‘Would you excuse me for a moment, Tess? I—’

Before she could move, however, a man Tess hadn’t met charged up and kissed Lorraine’s cheek, before turning to survey Tess. ‘Would you introduce me to Bellaroo Creek’s newest resident?’

Lorraine bit her lip. Finally she shook her head and said, ‘Tess, this is my son, Lance.’

Cameron’s brother? Tess hastily set her plate and mug on a nearby table and extended her hand. ‘I’m very pleased to meet you.’ He was prettier than Cameron with his blond good looks and golden tan, but neither his size nor his presence was anywhere near as commanding.

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.

‘It wasn’t your fault.’ But…She twisted her hands together. ‘Is there anything I ought to know?’