And then she hugged him—hard and fierce—and it knocked the sense and the breath clean out of his body. Every sweet curve Tess possessed pressed against him, and his body soaked up her warmth and vigour. It brought him to aching life and sent a surge of primitive hunger racing through him with the swiftness of a rabbit startled in the undergrowth. A wildfire licked along his veins…carrying the same danger that fire did out here in the bush.
Reason screamed at him to move away. Instead, one of his arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her in closer, hugged her back. His hand rested against the top of her hip. He wanted to move his hand lower, he wanted to mould her against him, wanted her soft and pliant and…
He felt rather than heard her quick intake of breath. She stiffened. A heartbeat passed. A heartbeat in which the fire raging through him threatened all of his control, and then she softened against him.
He let his hand drift down to cup her bottom and lift it against him. She arched into him. He groaned. He couldn’t help it.
Her hands drifted down his chest, her face lifted to his, her eyes soft and her lips parted.
He wanted to taste her. He wanted to explore the fullness of her bottom lip and—
For God’s sake, she hugged you out of gratitude. She wasn’t inviting you to maul her like some low-life sleaze!
He recalled the raw pain he’d witnessed in her eyes a moment before and, rather than snap away, he eased her out of his arms gently. ‘Sorry, Tess.’ His voice came out raspy and hoarse. ‘I forgot myself for a moment.’
She blinked twice before the mistiness cleared from her eyes. Her cheeks flushed bright red. ‘Oh! I—’ She swung away. ‘You and me both. I’m sorry. It’s been an emotional morning.’
He shrugged and tried to appear as casual for her as he had for the children earlier. ‘No harm done.’
She turned back to him. ‘No harm done,’ she echoed, her eyes searching his to test that truth. They both stood there awkwardly until she glanced at her watch. ‘So you’ll be back at around eleven?’
He snapped to and nodded.
‘Should I pack a picnic?’ She smiled impishly and everything slowly returned to normal—the colour of the sky, the sound of birdsong, the racing of his pulse. ‘You wouldn’t believe how much food there was at yesterday’s do. And somehow most of the leftovers ended up in my car.’
He stared at her lips—they were more plum than rose. Hunger stretched through him as he took in the fullness of her bottom lip. His pulse began to race again. ‘Sounds great,’ he said, backing up. ‘I’ll see you in a while.’
He shot around the house and back towards his homestead. It occurred to him that burying himself out on his station for the last ten months might not have been the wisest course of action after all.
Cam’s four-wheel-drive pulled up out the front and Tess hauled in a deep breath and locked the front door. Ty and Krissie raced towards the car with all the alacrity of children promised their heart’s desire.
Cam had done that. He’d found the perfect way to remind them of all the exciting potential that living in Bellaroo Creek could bring. They’d gone from the doldrums to delight.
But she should never have kissed him. She most certainly shouldn’t have hugged him.
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