Outback Sisters Read online

  Outback

  SISTERS

  RACHAEL JOHNS

  www.harlequinbooks.com.au

  About the Author

  Rachael Johns is an English teacher by trade, a mum 24/7, a chronic arachnophobic and a writer the rest of the time. She rarely sleeps and never irons. A lover of romance and women’s fiction, Rachael loves nothing more than sitting in bed with her laptop and electric blanket and imagining her own stories.

  Rachael has finalled in a number of competitions, including the Australian Romance Readers Awards. Jilted (her first rural romance) won Favourite Australian Contemporary Romance in 2012 and she was voted in the Top Ten of Booktopia’s Favourite Australian Author poll in 2013.

  Rachael lives in the Perth hills with her hyperactive husband, three mostly gorgeous heroes-in-training, two fat cats, a cantankerous bird and a very badly behaved dog.

  Rachael loves to hear from readers and can be contacted via her website www.rachaeljohns.com. She is also on Facebook and Twitter.

  Also by Rachael Johns:

  Man Drought

  The Hope Junction novels

  Jilted

  The Road to Hope

  The Kissing Season (e-novella)

  The Next Season (e-novella)

  The Bunyip Bay novels

  Outback Dreams

  Outback Blaze

  Outback Ghost

  Secret Confessions Down and Dusty: Casey (e-novella)

  The Patterson Girls

  Dear Lovely Readers

  Once upon a time I created a town called Bunyip Bay and a cast of crazy characters who lived there, and decided to write three stories about them. Some of you may have read them—Outback Dreams, Outback Blaze and Outback Ghost. Although I never intended to write more, the response from you guys was out of this world and so heartwarming to this little writer. When you asked for more Bunyip Bay, I wanted to give you what you requested and really the only characters I could think of, who had become a big part of the stories but hadn’t yet starred, were sisters Frankie (who runs the town café) and Simone (a single mum of teenage daughters).

  Ideas come to writers from ALL over the place and it was during a conversation on a road trip while touring with my friend and awesome author Fiona Palmer, that the seeds of this story sprouted.

  Outback Sisters is a story of family, friendships and following your heart. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

  Happy Reading

  In memory of the road trip I took with Fiona Palmer in October 2014.

  Without our long conversations on the road, I’m not sure Frankie and Simone would ever have gotten their own story.

  Contents

  About the Author

  Also by Rachael Johns

  Dear Lovely Readers

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Eight months later

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Francesca Madden, known as Frankie to everyone who mattered, closed the café door behind Stella’s bridal party and breathed a sigh of relief. With only four weeks to the big day, excitement was really ramping up—but for some reason she was struggling to get into the mood. She slumped in a chair at the table the group had been sitting at and eyed the half-finished chocolate mud cake. While the meeting had been in progress, Frankie had been so busy helping to serve everyone that she hadn’t had time to eat. To say she now felt exhausted—emotionally and physically—would be the understatement of the millennium. She sighed and dragged the plate towards her, hoping, as she dug a fork into the cake, that a little chocolate boost would help renew her energies.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t like weddings. She couldn’t be happier for her cousin Adam and his soon-to-be blushing bride, Stella. If any two people deserved happiness it was them, but they weren’t the only loved-up couples around here—her thoughts drifted to Faith and Monty, Ruby and Drew, Ryan and Grant; even her niece Harriet had herself a high-school sweetheart, for crying out loud. In fact, it was starting to feel like everyone in the world—or at least in Bunyip Bay—was getting a happy ever after.

  Everyone, that is, except her.

  Oh, and Simone, but at least her big sister had once experienced the blessing of true love. Although Simone had been widowed for almost ten years, she knew what it felt like to be the centre of someone’s world, to be the last thing someone wanted to see when they went to bed and the person they couldn’t wait to wake up to in the morning.

  Was it wrong that Frankie wanted that too? She had good health and a wonderful business and that was a lot more than some people. Shouldn’t the café, her friends and family be enough? She shoved more chocolate cake into her mouth just as one of her waitresses stuck her head out from behind the counter.

  ‘Are you okay if I head off now?’ Stacey asked as she scribbled down her hours on the staff clipboard.

  Frankie glanced around the café, noted the two elderly diners still nursing cups of tea, decided she could handle them on her own, and hurried to swallow her mouthful. ‘Yeah,’ she said as she stood and started to collect the plates from the table. ‘Thanks for all your help today.’

  ‘No worries. I’ll see you Tuesday.’ Stacey whipped off her apron, grabbed her bag from under the counter, released her long, wavy, blonde hair from her café cap and all but skipped out the door. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her job, but rather she had a date with the new vet that she’d been looking forward to all week. Frankie couldn’t blame her—Dr Mitchell Clarke was undeniably hot, and good with animals. What was there not to love? She lifted a hand to wave. ‘Have fun.’

  See? Love was everywhere, except she must be in some kind of bubble because no-one had asked her on a date in what felt like forever. All the local guys treated her like a good friend. Maybe she needed to go further afield—jet off on a Contiki tour or something and find romance on foreign shores—because it didn’t look like Mr Right was going to come to her. But where would that leave the café?

  Telling herself to stop being a sorry-for-herself grump, she finished clearing the table, asked Dolce and Mrs Brady if they wanted refills, silently cheered when they declined and then went to grab a cloth to start the evening wipe down. Frankie was about to begin on the table she’d been sitting at when the door to the café squeaked loudly, signalling another customer. She fixed a smile on her face, despite the fact it was nearly closing time and she was already thinking about curling up on her couch, reading Picnic at Hanging Rock with her kittens for company. Halfway to becoming a crazy cat woman, that’s what she was.

  She opened her mouth to begrudgingly welcome this latecomer but the greeting died on her tongue. Standing in the doorway, his tall, incredibly buff body filling the space, was without a doubt the hottes
t guy she’d ever laid eyes on. About her age, or maybe a few years older, he wore faded jeans, a navy blue chambray shirt with sleeves pushed up to his elbows and heavy, brown boots—classic farmer attire.

  Well, hello there! No farmer around these parts had ever made her stomach flutter the way looking at this guy did. He couldn’t be a local because she’d lived in Bunyip Bay all her life and if there was a specimen like this in the region without her knowing … well, that was impossible. His dirty blond hair was cropped close to his head and she had a crazy urge to run right over and sweep her fingers through it. Maybe the sugar had gone to her head.

  ‘Hey there.’

  As he spoke, she glanced behind her to check he wasn’t talking to a customer she’d missed sneak in, but unless said customer was invisible, he was speaking to her. She turned back and he hit her with a sexy grin that made her feel like she was the centre of his world, which was ridiculous because they’d only just met. Well, technically they hadn’t even done that yet but this had to be love at first sight. She felt giddy, like her knees were about to fail her. Visions of puffy white dresses danced in her head.

  ‘Um … Hi …’ she stuttered, straightening to a stand as she summoned a smile. Don’t blow this, Frankie. First impressions and everything. ‘What can I get for you?’

  In reply, this tall, dashing hunk of a man closed the short distance between them, put his hands on either side of her face, drew her towards him and then lowered his mouth to hers. Her eyes widened as heat flooded from her long-ignored lips right through her body. Places that hadn’t felt a man’s touch in years lit up and burned. His three-day stubble felt deliciously rough against her chin and she couldn’t help but whimper.

  Is this a dream? A divinely inappropriate but wonderful dream? If so, she didn’t want to ever wake up.

  Somewhere—it sounded very, very far away—she vaguely registered the disapproving tutting of the two old women, and the mundane reality of her everyday life threatened to intrude.

  Who was this guy? He was the epitome of all she’d ever fantasised about in a man: tall, ruggedly handsome, desperately sexy … but she didn’t know him at all. He could be a crazed psycho or an axe murderer for all she knew. A tiny voice told her she should slap him in the face and ask him what he was doing, but that would mean ripping her lips from his, and that would be an atrocity. Whatever this was, she couldn’t bear to break the illusion of bliss, so instead, she wrapped her arms around the handsome stranger and pressed her body against his. To hell with local gossips like Dolce and Mrs Brady; hot men and bone-melting kisses like this didn’t come along everyday.

  He was all firm muscle and yummy hardness and for a few brief seconds, Frankie thought that maybe her luck really had changed. Maybe it was fate that had brought this man of men into her café late on a Friday afternoon. Stranger things had happened at sea, right?

  And then he pulled back.

  She swallowed a moan of disappointment and pressed a hand against her chest to try to slow her racing heart.

  His face was still only centimetres from hers. He had the most beautiful big brown eyes she’d ever seen. ‘Hello, Simone,’ he whispered. ‘It’s so great to finally meet you.’

  ‘What?’ she cried, stumbling back and bumping awkwardly into the hard corner of a table. Ignoring the pain, she glared at him. ‘I’m Frankie!’

  ‘Huh?’ He jerked his head back as if she’d slapped him. He couldn’t have looked more surprised if she’d admitted to being Frankenstein’s monster. And he wasn’t quite as handsome with that scowl on his face either.

  Of course it had been too good to be true. But hang on, why would a man like him be kissing Simone? As far as Frankie knew—and Simone had always told her everything—her sister didn’t have a man in her life. After the recent debacle with Ryan Forrester, Simone had all but sworn off men, deciding that she’d been blessed with love once and that was enough.

  ‘Who are you?’ Frankie practically hissed, her heart still racing but now for entirely different, less pleasurable reasons.

  ‘Oh, you must be the sister,’ he said, a sheepish smile forming on his face. ‘Whoops.’

  ‘Whoops?’ Frankie tried to ignore how adorable he looked as he ran a hand through his already mussed-up hair.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Whatever-his-name-was held out a hand. ‘I’m Logan. Logan Knight?’ He spoke as if this name should ring a bell, but she came up blank. When she simply continued glaring at him, he slipped his hand into his jeans pocket and elaborated. ‘Simone’s friend? We’ve been online dating for a couple of weeks now. I was driving home from Perth today and thought I’d surprise her. You two could almost pass as twins.’

  There was so much alien information in those few lines that Frankie needed a moment. Online dating? Twins? She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. Maybe she was still dreaming because this conversation was getting weirder by the second.

  ‘Simone is your sister?’ he asked, sounding a little less certain. ‘She does work here?’

  ‘Yes and yes.’ At least Frankie could answer that without thought.

  ‘Shit.’ A crestfallen expression appeared on Logan’s face. He cleared his throat. ‘I’m really sorry about … you know. I don’t usually do things like that, but well, when I saw you, I just kind of—’

  ‘It’s okay.’ Frankie held up a hand and tried to make a joke. ‘You wouldn’t believe the number of random hot guys who come in here and kiss me.’

  When Logan blushed and looked as if he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not, she gave up the attempt. ‘You only just missed her. She’s probably at home by now. Maybe you could go see her there.’

  ‘I don’t actually know where she lives … or have her number.’ He looked a little embarrassed and Frankie couldn’t help but find it cute. ‘We’ve only spoken via email. She told me she lives in Bunyip Bay and works here sometimes, so I thought I’d try my luck.’

  Frankie nodded. At least it looked like Simone wasn’t about to tie the knot without telling her.

  ‘She’s never mentioned me?’

  ‘She may have,’ Frankie lied. ‘I’ve been a little distracted lately. Let me call her for you.’

  Leaving Mr Gorgeous looking a little like a lost puppy, Frankie walked into the kitchen, yanking her mobile phone out of her apron pocket as she went. She generally spoke to Simone four or five times a day, so she was the last person on her recent calls list. She pressed ‘call’ and drummed the fingernails of her free hand on the kitchen counter as she waited for her sister to pick up.

  ‘I am in teenage daughter hell,’ Simone said the moment she answered. ‘Harriet wants Jaxon to sleep over tomorrow night. Can you believe it? She’s only sixteen for fuck’s sake but apparently I’m being unreasonable. Can you come over and try to—’

  Usually Frankie sympathised with Simone’s parenting woes. Although she had no children of her own, everyone knew teenagers were hard work and parenting them alone could be hell. But right now, she had other issues.

  ‘When were you going to tell me you’ve been online dating?’ Frankie interrupted, unable to keep the hurt from her voice. She didn’t know why Simone hadn’t confided in her.

  ‘Excuse me?’ Simone sounded outraged. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Your boyfriend just arrived at the café looking for you.’ Frankie didn’t mention the mistaken identity or the toe-curling kiss that had followed. Her lips still tingled from that kiss. She didn’t know if she’d ever recover.

  ‘Boyfriend?’

  ‘You know, Logan? Six foot tall, blond, looks like he’s chiselled from a block of marble?’

  ‘Have you been drinking? I have no idea what you are talking about.’

  Simone had never been a good liar and from the tone of her voice, Frankie could tell this was the truth. She glanced through the hatch from the kitchen into the café and saw that Logan had found a copy of the latest Bunyip News and was sitting on the couch, flicking through it. Man, he was divine. And
there was just something extra hot about guys who read: newspapers, books—she wasn’t fussy. The beady eyes of Dolce and Mrs Brady, the town’s famous gossips, were glued on him and she could only imagine what they were making of this crazy scene. She sighed and gave Simone a condensed, G-rated version of what had just occurred.

  ‘I promise you I’ve never heard of the man,’ Simone exclaimed. ‘And I’ve certainly never signed up to any online dating site. Haven’t you heard the horror stories? No-one uses their real photos, everyone lies about their age and their hobbies. If I was that desperate I’d go to one of those speed-dating sessions. At least then you see the person and they can’t pretend to be someone they’re not.’

  All that might be true but it didn’t solve the problem of what to do with Logan Knight. ‘Well, I don’t know where he got your details,’ Frankie interrupted, ‘but I assure you he’s very real, and he seems to know you. What do you want me to tell him?’

  Simone swore and Frankie heard a commotion in the background. Her grip tightened on her phone. ‘What?’

  ‘Oh no,’ Simone gasped. ‘You didn’t!’

  Frankie listened a moment and heard the terror-filled voices of her teenage nieces.

  ‘We didn’t mean any harm, Mum,’ came Harriet’s voice.

  ‘We just want you to be happy,’ added sweet little Grace.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Frankie demanded.

  Simone let out an angry puff of air. ‘It seems, unbeknownst to me, I have been online dating. Sorry, sis, I’ve got to go. I’m going to grill my daughters, then I’m going to lecture them on the dangers of talking to strangers online, and then I’m going to murder them. You’ll bail me out of jail, right?’

  ‘No, wait,’ Frankie blurted before Simone could disconnect, and then she lowered her voice. ‘Logan wants to meet you.’

  Simone snorted. ‘You’ll just have to tell him it’s all a big mistake. I’m sure he has a bevy of other online girlfriends to fall back on.’