Outback Dreams Page 10

  Disappointment clenched in Monty’s gut. Maybe it was like watching a movie that everyone had raved about and built up hype. Maybe he’d been expecting too much and just needed to give it time. What was that old adage about practice making perfect?

  He pulled back, determined not to let the disappointment show on his face. The woman before him was sweet and beautiful and everything he’d always desired. And it wasn’t just her charm and good looks. Quite aside from her loveliness, there was something about Ruby that intrigued him—an air of mystery. Tonight he’d spoken more about himself than he had in a long time; she had a knack for making him talk about things that he normally kept very closely guarded … but now that he thought about it, she’d been reluctant to share anything personal about herself.

  Ruby licked her lips, and Monty wondered if she’d felt something more than he had. Her cheeks glowed a sweet shade of red but her eyes gave nothing away. ‘Thank you too. It was lovely. Will I hear from you again?’

  ‘Yes. Definitely.’ He wasn’t about to give up on the woman of his dreams simply because their first kiss hadn’t blown his socks from here to New York. ‘Stay close to the phone,’ he instructed with a smile as he stepped out of the way to let her pass.

  ‘I’ll look forward to it,’ she said. Then she leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek before swishing her hips up the garden path.

  He palmed his cheek where her lips had been, but damnit, there was still nothing.

  Chapter Ten

  Where most women she knew would have nursed a broken heart with chocolate and a soppy movie marathon, Faith spent the weekend watching Star Wars—all six of them—with salt and vinegar chips her snack of choice. The movies were as good as comfort food for her. She and Monty used to dress up as Princess Leia and Han Solo and take to the paddocks to defeat the galactic empire. She knew the words of each movie off by heart. Princess Leia had been her favourite fictional heroine as a child, and it was comforting to return to a place she knew so well. A place where things were still how they should be.

  Of course she wasn’t nursing a broken heart, merely a soul wounded by life’s injustices. She had a long reel of questions on permanent replay in her head.

  Why did my mother have to die? A favourite whenever she felt like this.

  Why does Dad have to be so grumpy all the time? Another chestnut.

  She could understand his ill temper if she’d landed on the couch and hadn’t moved, but between movies, she’d kept up her end of the household bargain. She’d collected the eggs, milked Daisy, made lunch and dinner, and kept the never-ending washing churning—all the home duties that drove her insane with the unfairness. And still he’d only glared at her before going on to complain about the damn weather to Ryan. Sometimes she felt as if it were her fault the skies hadn’t opened yet, her fault they might have to dry-seed for the first time in years. Did he want her to go out onto the front verandah and do a rain dance?

  Another question: Why wasn’t I born a bloody male? Okay, maybe she didn’t really want that, but it sometimes seemed an easy answer to her problems. If she’d been a boy, she felt certain her dad would have made room for two sons on the farm. But a daughter? Definitely not. All she was good for was taking up household chores where her mother had left off.

  Then there were the big ones: Why was Monty so intent on wooing the one woman who rubbed her up the wrong way? And why did she?

  Although answers to these questions weren’t forthcoming, by Sunday night, Faith had come to one conclusion: she needed to find Ruby and apologise. It would be as bitter as swallowing a lemon whole, but she’d do it because it had to be done. She needed to make an effort—for Monty’s sake if not her own. She might even ask Ruby to join the Barking Ball committee.

  Thus semi-enthused, she dragged herself from the couch, went to help Ryan with cleaning the kitchen then showered, washed and blow-dried her hair ready for the morning. After that, she fell into a deep slumber. Who knew slothing could be so damned exhausting!

  ‘Faith! Wake up!’

  Dripping with sweat and tangled up tightly in her bed covers, Faith opened one eye and registered Ryan leaning over her. His fingernails dug into her shoulders and he had a worried expression on his face.

  She tried to speak but her heart was hammering too fast.

  ‘You were having a nightmare,’ Ryan told her, his grip finally loosening. ‘It was so loud, you woke the both of us. I couldn’t just leave you.’

  As she looked up into Ryan’s concerned eyes, a vivid flashback to that nightmare surfaced in her brain. Oh. Sheesh. She tried to extricate herself from her blanket, almost tripping in her rush to get out of bed. ‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ she exclaimed as she fled from her bedroom.

  She couldn’t get the image out of her head. The local Uniting church dressed up in flowers and bows, harp music wafting from the front. Monty dressed in a suit—tails, top hat and all. Crowds and crowds of people. Her father and Ryan, Jenni, Stuart and Will Montgomery, Adam and even old Mrs O’Neal. Monty’s cousin Laura’s little son and daughter were a sweet picture of page boy and flower girl. There were even a couple of ewoks, which should have alerted her to the fact it was all a dream.

  At first she’d thought it was her wedding day. The bright orange dress should have been hint enough, but it was Ruby—walking down the aisle in the most stunning white gown ever—who had sent Faith screaming from the church.

  What did it all mean? Her sordid dreams, which were embarrassing but enjoyable at least, had transformed into this. She’d never get any sleep again if this nightmare haunted her every night. And, oh—realisation slammed into her gut like a dodgy Chiko roll—what if Monty did marry Ruby? But was it Ruby that worried her so damn much or was it—

  She lurched forward and hurled a weekend’s worth of salt and vinegar chips into the toilet bowl. No, she couldn’t be thinking like this.

  ‘Are you okay in there?’ Ryan stood at the door to the bathroom, which in her haste she’d forgotten to close. ‘Can I get you anything?’

  ‘A drink of water, please.’ She grabbed a flannel, wiped her mouth and washed her face. Ryan returned with a glass of cold water and she said, ‘I woke Dad too, hey? Just something else for him to hold against me.’

  Ryan smiled sympathetically as he leaned against the doorjamb. ‘Was that what the nightmare was about? Or did you eat something bad?’

  Funny that despite her dad being hell to live with lately, that wasn’t her biggest woe. But she said, ‘Yes’, lying because she didn’t want to admit what the dream had really been about. Once she spoke her strange new feelings aloud, there’d be no taking them back.

  ‘You really need to talk to him,’ Ryan said, and for one scary second Faith thought she’d voiced her thoughts out loud. ‘Dad,’ he said, replying to what must have been confusion on her face. ‘Who did you think I meant?’

  Faith sighed. ‘No one.’

  ‘I’ve tried talking to him, but I think it might be better coming from you.’

  ‘I know.’ She really should, but there just seemed too much else to think about right now. ‘I will. After seeding. He’s stressed enough as it is at the moment.’

  ‘All right then, if you’re okay now, I’m going back to bed. I need my beauty sleep.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ she replied with a forced laugh.

  Even as his sister, Faith could see that Ryan didn’t need any beauty sleep. He was almost too handsome for his own good. She on the other hand would benefit immensely from a few good hours of rest, but something told her it wasn’t going to be easy.

  ***

  ‘Mack?’ Monty held his phone tight against his ear, trying not to let the hope overwhelm him.

  ‘Morning,’ the real estate agent replied. ‘Good weekend?’

  Damn the weekend. Monty wasn’t in the mood for small talk. ‘Yeah, not bad, yours?’

  ‘Busy. A real estate agent is never off duty.’ Mack chuckled. ‘I think I may have stumbled upon g
old for you. It’s a little outside the brief, but hear me out. I’ve found a farm going for a good price—way under the market. Cattle is currently the main source of income.’

  Cattle? Most of his experience was in sheep and crops, but he could learn. Monty tried to quell his excitement. ‘Tell me more.’

  ‘The current owners are way past retirement and their children aren’t interested in taking over the property. They want to move closer to their grandies. Thing is, they don’t want to sell to one of the big companies. They won’t sell to anyone they don’t believe in. I think they’d believe in you, Daniel.’

  ‘Where is it?’ He wanted to know the whole picture before he dared to let the hope grow.

  Mack paused. ‘About eight hours south.’ He mentioned a town Monty had heard of, then added, ‘It’s about half an hour from Mount Barker.’

  Eight hours. That would mean well and truly leaving Bunyip Bay behind. But if the price was right… ‘What exactly do you mean by “good price"?’

  Mack named a figure higher than Monty had been approved for.

  His heart plummeted, sparking an immediate ache in his gut. ‘Thanks for thinking of me, Mack, but I can’t stretch that far.’

  ‘Don’t write Clancy’s Breakaway off just yet.’

  The name reminded him of a poem he’d had to learn at school—‘Clancy of the Overflow’. He’d never been much of a reader, but Banjo Paterson’s bush poem just happened to be the only poem that had ever gripped him.

  ‘I’ll be in town this arvo to do some business. Let’s meet and run through the specs.’

  Although reluctant to waste his time on pie-in-the-sky dreams, Monty knew Mack wouldn’t mess with him. ‘All right. I’m finishing up at the Burtons this morning. How about lunch at the café?’

  ‘Perfect. I’ll see you there.’

  As Monty put the finishing touches on the cottage, he tried to think of anything but a place called Clancy’s Breakaway. But it was a hard task, and four hours later, as he sat across from Mack at Frankie’s café, looking at images on the real estate agent’s laptop, he finally let his dreams take him away.

  The first person he called after shaking Mack’s hand was Faith, but her mobile went immediately to voicemail, and when he called her at home, the phone rang out. Twice. Desperate to share his excitement, he headed for The Ag Store where he knew Ruby would be working. He didn’t want to tell everyone like last time, but neither could he sit on the news completely.

  It was only when he stepped inside the store that he realised what moving so far away—if it came off—would mean. Would Ruby even consider leaving Bunyip Bay when she’d only just come back? There’d be plenty of room for her horses at Clancy’s Breakaway, but still, it was a big thing to dump on someone so early in a relationship. That’s if you could call one date and the promise of another a relationship.

  He hesitated by a massive pile of dog food bags.

  ‘Monty.’ Ruby looked up from the counter and smiled. ‘What a nice surprise.’

  He strode towards the counter and decided to be up front and honest. If they had any hope of a future, she’d be as enthusiastic about this prospect as him. ‘Have you got a moment?’

  ‘Sure, I’m just about to take a tea break. Give me two seconds.’

  He nodded and soon found himself sitting outside the front of the massive building relaying to Ruby everything Mack had said. ‘It’s going to be very different from up here—the main crop is canola, the annual temperatures are a lot cooler and the farm’s current stock is cattle. All new things for me, but I’ve never been one to shirk a challenge.’

  ‘It sounds great.’ She sounded genuinely pleased for him. ‘What’s the next step?’

  ‘I’m heading down there tomorrow to check it out.’ He took her hand and she glanced down at where their bodies connected. ‘I’m serious about you Ruby, and I hope that if this works out it won’t change anything between us.’

  ‘I hope so too, Monty.’ Her gaze met his again and her cheeks flushed slightly.

  His body tightened as he stared down at her full red lips. He wanted so badly to kiss them properly. The moment seemingly perfect, he leaned forward but she turned her head at the last second and his lips brushed her cheek instead.

  Damnit.

  She laughed and extracted her hand, standing quickly. ‘I’d better get back inside before Dad sends out a search party, but good luck tomorrow. I can’t wait to hear all about it.’

  If Faith had been the one behind the wheel, she’d have done a U-turn and zoomed back to the farm at the sight of Monty and Ruby sitting snugly on the bench outside The Ag Store. As Ryan was driving, Faith had to pretend the sight of them together didn’t send her insides whirling again. Now they were holding hands and standing up … was he actually kissing her? She wished she could have concocted some excuse to stay in the truck.

  By the time she’d undone her seatbelt and climbed down out of Ryan’s massive Ford truck, Ruby had gone inside, leaving Monty on his own. He saw them and waved wildly, a smile threatening to leap off his face. Knowing Ruby was responsible for his goofy grin made the idea of going inside and making friendly conversation with the woman even less desirable.

  Ryan leapt out, eager to pick up the chemicals he’d had on order and get back to the farm. ‘Don’t be long,’ he called to Faith as she dawdled across the tarmac.

  ‘Hey.’ Monty stepped towards her as she reached the shop’s verandah. ‘What brings you into town?’

  ‘I actually came to take Ruby up on her offer to help with the Barking Ball. You guys organising another date?’ She tried to smother the acerbic tone.

  ‘That’s awesome,’ he said, blatantly ignoring her question about the date. ‘She’ll be stoked to be involved. And I have news.’

  ‘Oh?’ Faith’s heart pounded as a vision from her wedding nightmare hit. Not yet, please not yet!

  ‘I’ve just had lunch with Mack. There’s a farm down south, owned by this old couple. They need to retire but don’t want to sell their place to the bigwigs. He’s told them all about me and they’re prepared to drop the price, maybe even come to some agreement about paying them in instalments instead of a bank, if I’ll promise not to sell out either.’

  ‘Wow. It sounds—’

  ‘Too good to be true?’

  Faith nodded.

  ‘I thought so too at first, but Mack assures me they’re deadly serious. They want to meet me first of course, hear my plans for the place.’

  ‘Wow,’ she said again. ‘Where is it?’

  He told her the exact location and her heart fell. While Faith tried to get her head around the thought of Monty moving so far away, he added, ‘I’m going to check it out tomorrow.’

  ‘Can I come?’ She blurted the question before she had any time to think the idea through.

  He gave her an odd look. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes.’ With every second that passed the appeal grew. ‘It’s a long way to drive all by yourself.̵

  ‘I’ll be staying the night,’ he added. ‘Tim and Nora, that’s the owners, said I can stay over if I’d like. I thought I’d camp.’

  ‘Sounds great. I’m dying to get away from here, even for a day. Things are so tense at home with Dad, and he and Ryan aren’t seeding yet, so they won’t miss me. I’ll pack my swag.’ She paused. ‘As long as you don’t think Ruby will mind.’

  He quirked an eyebrow. ‘Why would she?’

  Of course, he’d ask this; he hadn’t been privy to Faith’s x-rated dreams, the kind of dreams no woman wanted another woman having about her boyfriend. ‘I just thought—’

  Before she had the chance to explain, he continued, ‘It’s a great idea. I’d love your opinion, and it’ll be good to spend some time together.’

  ‘It’s settled then. What time shall I come to yours?’

  He shook his head. ‘I’ll pick you up. It’s on my way anyway. But I want to leave early. Can you be ready at five?’

  ‘Of course.’ She’d a
lways been an early riser; Daisy got stroppy if she left the milking too late. ‘Shall I pack some supplies? Food? Drink? Extra blankets?’

  ‘All of the above.’ Monty grinned and then gave her a quick hug. ‘Don’t let me get too excited about this. Promise you’ll keep me grounded?’

  ‘I promise.’ She let her head fall onto his shoulder, relishing the warmth as his arms clung so naturally around her. This easy friendship was what she’d miss.

  Chapter Eleven

  At five o’clock the next morning, as Monty’s ute cruised down the long gravel drive to the homestead at Forrester’s Rock, Faith stood ready and waiting. She’d bribed Ryan to milk Daisy, and tried for an early night, but even after a busy afternoon spent baking and packing supplies, sleep hadn’t come easily. Instead she’d suffered another long night of saucy dreams and unfamiliar thoughts. Despite all this, adrenaline had her leaping from bed an hour ago, showering and dressing with time to spare. She used it to make bacon and egg sandwiches and two coffees for the trip.

  Monty’s headlights almost blinded her as he pulled up a few metres in front of the house fence and its neglected garden. She waved and then stooped to pick up the travel mugs that were resting on the backpack at her feet.

  He leapt out of the vehicle like an Olympic hurdler. ‘Good morning,’ he called as he strode up the garden path.

  She cringed, worried that his loud, excited voice would carry into the house and anger her father, but then shook that thought away because she realised she didn’t care. The next two days were about her and Monty. She could barely recall the last time they’d simply hung out, and she was looking forward to the long-overdue one-on-one time. Hopefully it would help eradicate the ridiculous thoughts she’d been having lately—the raunchy dreams and lingering glances at his more bulgy body parts.

  ‘Hi.’ She cleared her throat, which suddenly sounded husky, and then held out her morning efforts. He took the coffees, his fingers brushing against hers in the exchange. She sucked in a quick breath and turned away, focusing on the things at her feet. The sandwiches were wrapped in greaseproof paper and sitting on the top of an esky that held snacks for the rest of the trip. There was also her swag, a backpack containing her clothes and overnight necessities, and a slab of rum and colas.