Her Outback Cowboy (Prickle Creek) Read online

  She opened the door of the microwave and shoved the frozen dinner on the glass plate just as someone knocked at the door. She frowned and wondered who it was. Seb had stayed at the farm, and Jemima was in Melbourne at the Myer fashion show. After that, she was going straight from Melbourne to the farm for her three-month stay.

  Company was the last thing she wanted tonight. She’d lost touch with her girlfriends while she’d been away, but tonight Jenny, her closest friend in Sydney, had called to see if Lucy wanted to go to the movies. She had declined—too much thinking to do. She’d gotten used to the loneliness.

  Lucy crossed cautiously to the door and listened, jumping back as the door rattled when someone knocked again.

  “Who is it?” she called.

  “It’s me. Garth. Open the door, Luce. It stinks out here.”

  What?

  “Garth?”

  Lucy put her hand to her mouth as a maelstrom of emotions surged though her.

  Joy. Confusion. Panic. Happiness and dread fought for precedence as she flicked the lock over.

  Garth? She was thinking about him and he’d come knocking at her damn door?

  The door opened, and she peered around it. The joy surging through her pushed away every other feeling clamouring inside her. She stepped back, and Garth came through the open door into her apartment. She drank in the sight of him as her heart almost pounded out of her chest.

  Garth stared at her, his beautiful lips breaking into a broad smile. “Hello, Lucy-Lou,” he said softly. “I came to say sorry.”

  Lucy shook her head, unable to believe that Garth was in her flat.

  “You took your time,” she said drily.

  “I didn’t think you wanted me. I was leaving you in peace.”

  “What made you change your mind?” She pointed to the couch and waited till he sat, pushing down the emotion. All she wanted to do was jump into his arms, but she had to be sure.

  Lucy sat down beside him, her hands folded in her lap. Disbelief filled her, and she unclenched her hands as Garth held out his to her. He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. Joy shot through her and settled in her chest.

  “What made me change my mind?” His voice was quiet, and he didn’t take his eyes from her. “How long have I got?”

  “As long as it takes.” She kept the smile from her voice, but it was hard to stay calm.

  “First off, the brightness has gone out of my days—and nights. The farm work is just a chore. Without you there, there’s no reason to go out and do anything. There’s no one to look forward to seeing. The bottom line is, Lucy, I can’t go on like that.” His eyes were intent as he looked around the room. “But I tell you what, when I move to Sydney, we’re going to have to find a better place to live.”

  “When you move to Sydney?” she repeated, but her voice was shaking as much as the rest of her.

  Garth raised his other hand and cupped her cheek in his palms. The rough pad of one thumb rubbed gently over her lips. “If that’s what it takes to be with you, that’s what I’ll do.”

  Lucy closed her eyes as his words washed over her.

  “I love you, Lucy. I’m not letting you go. No matter what it takes, I’ll follow you wherever you want to be.”

  She opened her eyes and met Garth’s loving gaze.

  “No matter what it takes,” he repeated. “I can get work down here.”

  “You mean you would move to the city for me?” Joy pulsed through her body in time with her fast-beating heart.

  “I’ll do anything to make you happy. Anything to be where you are.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” Finally she let the smile cross her face. “I was going to come home, anyway.”

  “Home?” His voice held a smidgeon of hope. “Home to where?”

  “Home to Prickle Creek Farm.” She shook her head. “No, not Prickle Creek Farm. Home to the Mackenzie farm. If the farmer will still have me?”

  “Have you?” Garth clutched both her hands in his and stared at her. She’d forgotten how beautiful his eyes were. And they were even more beautiful as his eyes held hers, full of love. “I’ve never wanted anything more. Are you sure, Lucy?”

  “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. I love you, Garth.” Lucy lifted her hand from his and placed it on his cheek.

  Garth’s arms went around her as she hugged him, and they fell back onto the sofa together. “I can’t believe it. Are you really, really sure?”

  “I think I hate the city,” she said with a smile.

  “I thought you loved your Thai restaurant?” His grin was huge. “Not that I mind one bit. I’ve been teaching myself to cook Thai…and Japanese, too.”

  Lucy caught the look of love on Garth’s face just before his lips took hers in a kiss that sealed her future.

  Their future.

  Epilogue

  Jemmy made Lucy sit at the table to shell the peas from Gran’s veggie patch for the minted green pea salad.

  “Liam, will you go and pick me a lemon?” she called out to the verandah where the men were making a racket.

  “No, I’m busy.”

  Jemmy rolled her eyes and headed outside to the veggie patch, where the lemon tree protected Gran’s plants from the harsh winter winds.

  Gran watched her as she ran across the yard and turned to Lucy with a smile. “Where did the fashion model go?”

  Lucy grinned. “I can’t believe she’s taken up her teaching course again. She’s only got one subject to go and she’ll graduate. She didn’t need to, you know. She’s selling her unit on the harbour.”

  “I couldn’t believe she’d dropped that course when she was so close to finishing it,” Gran said. “She could have been out here in the local school all this time instead of swanning around the world modelling clothes.”

  “Oh, come on, Gran, don’t be an old prickle.” Lucy’s lips twitched as she waited for Gran’s response.

  “Well, I’ve been called lots of cranky names but that’s a first.” Her grandmother’s mouth dropped open and she burst out laughing. “And you’re right, Jemima will be a wonderful bridesmaid tomorrow.”

  Lucy couldn’t believe that tomorrow was going to be her wedding day. The day that she and Garth would start their lives together. “I’m going to be a bride, Gran.”

  “A beautiful bride,” Gran said. “I’m so pleased you decided to have the wedding out here at Prickle Creek Farm.”

  “And I’m so pleased I’ve got the best caterer in the west doing the catering.”

  “Even with your grandfather wanting lattice slice for the dessert?” Gran laughed as she placed a plastic bride and groom in the middle of a huge tray of the creamy slice.

  Lucy pushed herself to her feet and walked to the window. Pop was on the verandah issuing directions to Seb, Liam, and Garth, who were up three ladders pinning fairy lights along the edge of the verandah roof. She crossed the room to Gran as Jemmy walked in with an armful of lemons.

  Lucy pulled her grandmother for a hug and held Jemmy’s gaze as she spoke softly.

  “Listen, Gran. Close your eyes and listen. Can you hear it?”

  “Hear what, love?” Gran tipped her head to the side.

  “I can hear Mum and Aunty Jean and Aunty Carol laughing. They’re here with us in spirit.” Lucy smiled as a feeling of peace settled on her, and Jemmy’s eyes filled with tears as she held her gaze. She dropped the lemons into the sink and walked over to join the group hug.

  “You’re right, love. So can I,” said Gran. Her voice softened, and her faded eyes glowed with contentment. “So can I.”

  Garth was watching them through the large sliding glass door, and his teeth flashed as he grinned at her. A warm feeling curled in Lucy’s stomach and she smiled back as Garth blew her a kiss.

  Lucy had come home to Prickle Creek, and tomorrow she would be Garth’s wife, and finally she acknowledged to herself what coming home meant.

  It didn’t matter if there was red dust or prickl
es.

  Or smelly cattle and hot winds.

  Home was where your heart was, and Lucy’s was very firmly entrenched at Prickle Creek Farm.

  With Garth Mackenzie…and the rest of her beautiful family.

  She giggled as Garth stuck his head around the door and started to sing.

  “Way out here away from the city, thank God, she’s my country gal.”

  Love you, she mouthed to him over the top of Gran’s head.

  “Love you back,” he said.

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  Glossary of Australian Terms

  Akubra: a type of broad-brimmed hat traditionally worn by farmers and cattlemen in Australia.

  Anzac bikkies: An Anzac biscuit is a sweet, hard-tack biscuit, popular in Australia and New Zealand, made using rolled oats

  B&S ball: Bachelor and Spinsters Balls (B&S) events are hosted regularly in rural Australia, known locally as “B & S Balls” or simply “B&S’s”. They are staged for young (18 years and older) spinsters and bachelors and traditionally the couples dress up in formal wear.

  Bex: Bex was a strong compound analgesic which was popular in Australia for much of the twentieth century.

  Bollocky naked: Australian slang for completely naked

  Bore: a bore is where you find groundwater that has been accessed by drilling a bore into underground water storages called aquifers.

  CWA: (Country Women’s Association) The CWA is the largest women’s organisation in Australia and aims to improve conditions for country women and children.

  Dam: a reservoir used as a water supply.

  Gammy: unable to function normally because of injury or chronic pain.

  Headers: is a versatile machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops

  Milk bar: a corner shop that sells milk drinks and other refreshments.

  Paddock: small field

  Prickle: a short pointed outgrowth on a plant; a small thorn.

  Pilliga Scrub: is a forest of some 3,000 km2 of semi-arid woodland in temperate north-central New South Wales, Australia.

  RSL: The Returned and Services League, Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Defence Force and provides a social club in communities.

  Swimmers: a bathing suit

  Thermos flask: vacuum flask that preserves temperature of hot or cold drinks

  Ute: a utility vehicle; a pickup in Australia or New Zealand

  Yabbies: freshwater crayfish species found in Australia

  Acknowledgments

  As always, a huge thank you to my fabulous editor Erin Molta.

  About the Author

  Annie Seaton lives on the edge of the South Pacific Ocean on the east coast of Australia. She is fulfilling her lifelong dream of writing and has been delighted to discover that readers love reading her stories as much as she loves writing them. Annie lives with her own hero of many years. Their two children are now grown up and married, and two beautiful grandchildren have arrived. Now they share their home with Toby, the naughtiest dog in the universe, and two white cats. When she is not writing she can be found in her garden or walking on the beach…or most likely on her deck overlooking the ocean, camera in hand as the sun sets. Each winter, Annie and her husband leave the beach to roam the remote areas of Australia for story ideas and research. In 2014, Annie was voted Author of the Year, and in 2015 was voted Best Established Author in the AusRomToday.com Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can contact Annie through her website: annieseaton.net, or find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

  Also by Annie Seaton…

  Holiday Affair

  Italian Affair

  Outback Affair

  Ten Days in Tuscany

  Tangling with the CEO

  Brushing Off the Boss

  Guarding His Heart

  Dangerous Desire

  Hot Rock

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