Outback Sisters Page 9

  ‘Hello.’ Grace briefly met his gaze and offered a little smile before looking back to the floor. She reminded him a bit of Olivia at that age, shy and not quite grown into herself.

  ‘Hi,’ he said, feeling uncharacteristically nervous, as if this were some kind of test. ‘It’s good to meet you both too. I’ve heard a lot about you.’

  ‘We know.’ Harriet smirked as if something hilarious was going on. ‘All good, I bet.’

  ‘Of course.’ Logan nodded uncertainly. Simone had never said a harsh word about her girls during their online exchanges, although in person she’d alluded to the normal teenage dramas. Five seconds in Harriet’s company and he reckoned she could have said a whole lot worse. Maybe Angus had a point about dating women with children, but Logan wasn’t the type to let a sixteen-year-old scare him off.

  ‘Are you staying for dinner?’ Harriet asked, yanking open the fridge and retrieving a tub of yoghurt. She turned back to him. ‘I promise we won’t let Mum poison you.’

  He quirked an eyebrow. He wanted to stand up for Simone but it probably wasn’t his place to reprimand her daughter. Instead, he shook his head. ‘Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got to get back to the farm.’ He didn’t want to risk another night on the side of the road so he needed to head off before dark. ‘Maybe some other time.’

  Harriet shrugged. ‘Whatever.’ And then tore the foil lid off her yoghurt.

  ‘Is your farm big?’ Grace asked, glancing up at him again.

  ‘Big enough for me. You interested in farming?’

  She shrugged one shoulder. ‘My dad’s parents have a farm. I like them well enough.’

  Grace sounded as if she didn’t want to show too much enthusiasm in front of her big sister. An idea popped into Logan’s head. ‘You three should come for a drive on the weekend.’ He looked sideways to Simone. ‘What about it? Want to come out for a barbecue lunch on Sunday? I promise not to burn the sausages,’ he teased, ‘and you can meet Angus. It’ll do him good to have some company.’

  Simone raised an eyebrow. ‘I can hardly wait.’

  ‘Ah … he’s not as bad as all that,’ Logan said, feeling a little contrite at the way he sometimes painted his brother. ‘What do you say?’

  ‘Sounds good. Can we bring anything? Like drinks or something I can buy in a packet.’

  Logan laughed. ‘Just yourselves.’

  Agreeing to finalise the details on the phone, he said goodbye to Harriet and Grace and then followed Simone back down the corridor. They stood on the porch awkwardly for a few long moments. It reminded Logan of his first ever real date, when he’d spent most of the night contemplating whether or not to kiss the girl goodnight. So much so that he’d forgotten to actually talk to her.

  He knew he should kiss Simone—how could he not?— but it felt wrong to do so with her daughters just inside, and he’d meant what he’d said about not rushing her into anything.

  ‘Thanks for a lovely afternoon,’ he said eventually, then leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek.

  That would have to do for now.

  Chapter Eight

  ‘I thought you liked Logan,’ Simone said, her fingers clenched tightly around the steering wheel and her jaw set rigid as she drove towards Mingenew. She was trying not to lose her shit with Harriet—she didn’t want them both to be in a mood when they arrived at the farm—but her patience was wearing thin. Simone resisted the urge to tell her daughter to take her feet off the dash. Some wars simply weren’t worth fighting and she was already nervous as it was.

  ‘I do.’ Harriet, sitting in the passenger seat, sighed loudly as if her life was over. ‘But that doesn’t mean I want to waste a perfectly good Sunday afternoon playing happy families, when I should be supporting my boyfriend at the game.’

  ‘The game’ was the local under-18s footy team—hardly the AFL—but Simone reminded herself that at sixteen, little things mattered a lot.

  ‘I’m sure Jaxon will tell you all about it later. Please, at least try to have a good time.’

  In reply, Harriet gave another dramatic sigh, crossed her arms and turned her whole body so she was looking out the window.

  Simone rolled her eyes and kept on driving. It was too late to relent now. Maybe she should have allowed Harriet to stay in town—Frankie was there in case of an emergency—but Logan had invited all of them and she didn’t want to offend him. Not all men would go to such efforts to get to know their girlfriend’s kids. Besides, it could be Harriet’s punishment for setting up this whole online dating thing behind her back. She dared not say this to Harriet or she might to throw it back in her face and decide to tell Logan the truth.

  Simone shuddered, uncomfortable with the deception but unsure how to handle it. It had been more than two weeks now, so probably best to just let it go. What would he say if he found out? Would he find it amusing if he discovered he’d been sharing intimacies with her daughters back at the beginning or would it change things between them? He might be embarrassed that they knew so much about him. Maybe she should tell him herself before somebody else did.

  Argh! Not wanting to think about this conundrum, she glanced in the rear-view mirror. ‘You okay, Grace?’ Her youngest daughter had been excited about the prospect of getting out of Bunyip Bay for the day but so far she’d barely said a word on their journey.

  ‘All good, Mum,’ Grace squeaked from the back seat before burying her nose in her book again. So much like Frankie at that age, no wonder they got along so well. And maybe Simone and Harriet were alike, which was why they kept butting heads.

  The girls were quiet for the rest of the drive, leaving Simone alone with her thoughts. The closer they got to Logan’s farm, the more her pulse skittered. So far they’d met in her territory and venturing outside of that, going to visit him on his farm, somehow seemed like a big step. He’d get to spend some real time with her kids and she would quite possibly meet the mysterious Angus. What if he didn’t like her? The way Logan spoke, he sounded like someone who was hard to please.

  She tried to tell herself it didn’t matter what Angus thought—that as long as Logan and the girls got along, they’d be okay—but by the time she slowed the Pajero in front of Knight’s Hill, her stomach was aflutter with nerves.

  ‘We’re here,’ she said as she turned down the gravel track. Logan had said the house was about a kilometre off the road, so she had maybe a minute to prepare herself.

  ‘No shit,’ Harriet snapped.

  ‘Don’t swear,’ Simone said automatically.

  ‘That’s rich coming from you.’ Simone could feel Harriet’s glare on her and she really didn’t want to argue right now.

  ‘Shut up, Harriet. Leave Mum alone,’ Grace said, dumping her book on the seat beside her.

  ‘Thank you, Grace.’ Simone took a deep breath. ‘But Harriet’s right. I need to watch my language as well. How about we all agree to try a little bit harder to speak like ladies?’

  ‘What. Ever.’

  Simone ignored Harriet’s insolent tone and continued on down the bumpy farm track. Only a couple of hours from Bunyip Bay, Mingenew was further inland and a little drier, but the property looked much the same as Adam’s, the Forresters’, her in-laws’ and all her other friends’ farms. Somehow this familiarity helped ease her anxiety a little.

  ‘Hey, there’s Logan,’ came Grace’s voice from the back seat.

  A large house came into view and Simone saw Logan out the front, waving. She waited for another sarcastic remark from Harriet, but was surprised to see a smile find its way onto her older daughter’s face. Maybe she wouldn’t be a total nightmare after all.

  Logan, wearing faded jeans and a simple black hoodie, gestured for her to park under an old gum tree just to the right of the house and jogged over to them. He opened Simone’s door for her, startling her when he leaned forward and greeted her with a peck on the cheek.

  ‘It’s great to see you again,’ he said, his smile feeling like it was reaching out an
d wrapping itself around her.

  ‘Thanks.’ She swallowed, slightly embarrassed by his show of affection in front of the girls. ‘You too. We found your farm easily enough.’

  Harriet and Grace climbed out and slammed their doors.

  ‘Oh, isn’t he just the cutest thing,’ Harriet gushed and Simone turned to see her squatting down and rubbing the ears of a young red kelpie. Harriet had always adored animals when she was little and it was nice to see this rare display of excitement. Last year, when a cat on Adam’s farm had kittens, Harriet and Grace had begged her for one, but she’d refused. The idea of having another living thing to look after had filled Simone with horror and dread. Sometimes she felt like she was only just managing to keep her daughters alive.

  Logan chuckled, put his palm in the small of Simone’s back and ushered her around the four-wheel drive. ‘That’s Rascal and he’s a devil. Angus is very original with his names.’

  The girls laughed. Simone forgot about whatever it was she’d been thinking about, every cell in her body focused on the tiny touch of Logan’s hand.

  ‘He’s got another dog—Max—but he’s out with Angus right now,’ Logan said.

  ‘Oh, Angus isn’t here?’ Simone asked, feeling a weird sense of disappointment. She’d been strangely looking forward to meeting him after Logan’s descriptions.

  ‘He’ll be back for lunch. He promised to make an appearance.’

  Simone smiled and nodded, feeling completely weird about this situation. It was like her body was here, but her mind was still catching up. ‘I brought cake,’ she said brightly, suddenly remembering the box in the boot.

  Logan raised a sceptical eyebrow at her and she laughed, relaxing a little at his easy way. ‘Don’t stress. Frankie made it. She said to say hi.’

  He wiped his hand theatrically across his brow. ‘Phew.’

  Without thinking, Simone elbowed him in the ribs and couldn’t help but notice how solid he was. She blushed, hoping neither he nor the girls could read her mind, which was currently visualising him bare-chested. It was a very attractive picture indeed.

  ‘Ow.’ He doubled over, feigning pain. ‘Okay, okay, I asked for that. Where is this cake?’

  Simone nodded to the back of the vehicle and Logan opened it up and retrieved the cake. ‘Hmm … smells delicious. Now, ladies, shall we?’ He gestured to the house.

  The four of them, Rascal in tow, weaved through the front garden, slightly overgrown and in dire need of water, like much of the landscape in these parts.

  As if reading her thoughts, Logan said, ‘Neither Angus nor I are green thumbs and there always seems something that needs doing more.’

  ‘I know what you mean.’ Simone thought of her own garden, which basically looked after itself, although she did make an effort with her potted colour and hanging baskets.

  ‘I thought we could eat out here,’ Logan suggested as they climbed up onto the verandah and he gestured to a gorgeous wooden outdoor setting. ‘The weather’s quite nice today and it always feels wrong to eat a barbecue inside.’

  ‘Suits me.’ Harriet sat herself down on an old rocking chair at the corner of the verandah, curled up her legs beside her and looked down at her phone. ‘What’s your wi-fi password?’

  ‘Harriet!’ Simone exclaimed.

  ‘It’s fine,’ Logan said, tossing Simone a warm smile and then rolling off said password. ‘Can I get anyone a drink or would you like the grand tour first?’

  ‘The grand tour?’ Grace’s brow furrowed.

  Logan chuckled. ‘You’re right, it probably won’t be very grand, but Mum always showed visitors around the house when they arrived. Come to think of it, I never quite knew why.’

  Simone grinned. ‘My mum does exactly the same but I must admit I like it when other people do. I’m nosy by nature.’

  ‘In that case, be my guest.’ Logan gestured to the front door and as Simone and Grace started towards it, he linked arms with both of them.

  Simone glanced at her daughter and saw that Grace was blushing. Who could blame her? Logan had a knack for making a girl feel special.

  ‘My apologies for the mess,’ he said. ‘I do my best but Angus is a shocking housekeeper.’

  They stepped into a long hallway with gorgeous polished floorboards, high ceilings and antique furniture that made the artist in Simone swoon. Everything was so neat and tidy, she wondered what Logan must have thought of her place. ‘Wow,’ she breathed, reaching out and touching a finger to the beautiful turn-of-the-century hall table. ‘This is gorgeous.’

  ‘Thanks.’ He smiled. ‘Mum loved everything old-fashioned and we haven’t really changed anything.’

  ‘I must admit,’ Simone confessed, ‘when I heard you lived with your brother, I envisaged some kind of bachelor pad with big screen TVs, leather couches and smelly socks.’

  ‘Trust me, Angus has plenty of smelly socks in his room.’

  ‘I think it’s beautiful,’ Grace said, her eyes wide as she glanced around her.

  ‘Aw, thanks buddy.’ Logan ruffled her hair and her beam grew wider. If he did that to Harriet she’d have screamed blue murder for messing up her ’do.

  The three of them continued on—Logan showing them where the kitchen and bathroom were and then allowing them a quick squiz into the bedrooms. Logan’s was pristine—like some kind of hotel room, bar the shelves overflowing with books. The absent Olivia’s was suitably pink and girly, with a few posters of bands that Harriet also liked, reminding Simone that Logan’s sister wasn’t much older than her daughters.

  ‘And this is my big bro’s room,’ Logan said, pushing open a door. ‘Don’t tell him I showed you or he’ll skin me alive.’

  Warm and cosy were the first words that came into Simone’s head as she looked into Angus’s space. She inhaled some kind of earthy, musky scent that she kinda liked—and it wasn’t half as messy as Logan made out. Lived in, yes; in fact, it reminded her a lot of her own house, minus all the art and teenage girl paraphernalia. There was a pile of old Farmer’s Weekly by the bed and a stack of CDs on the floor by an old stereo, which made her wonder what kind of music he listened to.

  Their snooping was interrupted by the deep clearing of a throat behind them.

  Simone spun around and found herself looking into the black, stormy eyes of a man who had to be Logan’s brother. Her breath stalled in her throat. Although Angus was dark and bearded, and Logan blond with a little stubble, it was clear they both shared the same favourable DNA. When God had handed out good looks, he’d given these boys a double dose of chiselled—even Angus’s scowl was sexy, making her heart turn in her chest. The brothers reminded her a little of Ridge and Thorne from The Bold and the Beautiful. Was that show even on anymore? Her mum used to watch it religiously every afternoon.

  ‘Angus, I’d like you to meet Simone and her daughter, Grace. You may have seen Harriet on your way in?’ Logan spoke as if they hadn’t just been sprung trespassing on his brother’s privacy, but Simone’s cheeks flared with heat. Such a great start to their relationship. What must he think of her?

  ‘If you don’t mind.’ Angus stretched past the trio and pulled his bedroom door shut with a thud that reverberated right through Simone’s body. For a moment she thought he wasn’t going to bother even acknowledging them but he nodded curtly. ‘Nice to meet you.’

  ‘Yes, you too.’ Simone smiled awkwardly and although he didn’t smile back, she felt his intent gaze, almost as if he were touching her. She wished they could turn back time and meet under better circumstances.

  Grace didn’t say a word and Simone reached out and took hold of her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

  ‘Well, let’s go fire up the barbecue,’ Logan suggested, his tone light. ‘Angus, do you want to get our guests some drinks?’

  She was almost certain Angus would refuse and retreat to his bedroom, never to be seen again, but she was pleasantly surprised when he said, ‘Of course. Would you like a glass of wine, Simone?’

/>   ‘Oh, yes, please, that would be lovely.’

  ‘White or red?’

  ‘White, please.’ She was being so damn polite she barely recognised herself but she so wanted Logan’s brother to like her.

  ‘Good. And what about you, Grace?’ Simone wasn’t sure but thought she saw a glimpse of a smile as Angus spoke to her daughter. ‘Lemonade? Juice?’

  ‘Just some water, thanks,’ Grace replied, before retrieving her hand and escaping back down the corridor to the verandah. Poor love, she hated any form of confrontation.

  Angus went to the kitchen and Logan took Simone’s hand and started in the same direction as Grace.

  ‘Well, that went well,’ Simone said, mortified.

  ‘Relax,’ Logan whispered, his thumb sweeping across her wrist. ‘Angus’s bark is worse than his bite.’

  Simone wasn’t so sure and she vowed to try to win him over by the time they left that afternoon. Whatever it took.

  * * *

  Angus couldn’t remember the last time they’d entertained and he had to admit it wasn’t as bad as he’d feared it would be. The food was good, the teenage girls friendly enough and Simone as gorgeous in person as he remembered from her online photo. After a few minutes in her charming company, he’d forgiven her for prying into his bedroom. It wasn’t like he’d found her in there alone—although that was a thought in itself; a dangerous one that he quickly pushed from his mind. No, Logan had been the one to intrude and he was such an open book himself he never thought to consider other people’s privacy.

  As they ate and talked—Logan orchestrating the conversation—Angus caught himself looking at Simone a few too many times. He couldn’t help himself. She had such a captivating, fresh face and every time she smiled, something felt like it shifted inside him. Her laughter was the most beautiful sound he’d heard in a long time—so open and honest and rich that he found himself wishing he could think of something funny to say just to hear it again. Uncomfortable with these thoughts, he turned to Harriet, who was sitting beside him, and tried to make conversation.

  ‘Are you at school in Geraldton?’