Page 27 of Jillaroo from Jacaranda

‘Hi, love. Are you settling in okay?’

‘Yeah, not too bad. How’s everything back home?’

‘Yeah, all good on the home front.’ Molly paused. ‘But there’s some gossip going around town and I wanted to be the one to tell you.’

Rose knew all too well what the bush telegraph could be like in a country town. ‘What kind of gossip?’

‘It’s about Finley.’

Rose sucked in a sharp breath. ‘What about him?’

‘Old Marge at the post office just told me he went home from the pub with Madeline Hew last night.’ Molly’s tone was cautious.

Rage filled her. ‘That son of a bitch.’

‘I’m so sorry, love. I thought you should know.’

Rose looked to the sky. ‘He’s a single man, I suppose, but gee whizz, he didn’t waste any time, did he?’

‘At the very least, you know what kind of man he really is, Rose.’

‘Very true.’ Tears threatening, Rose blinked them away. ‘Can you believe he rang in the middle of the night and left a voice message telling me how much he misses me and that he still loves me?’

‘Ha! More like he slept with Madeline and regretted it afterwards.’ Molly breathed a heavy sigh. ‘Please make sure you focus on yourself while you’re there, and don’t let him get under your skin.’

‘I’ve blocked his number, so he can’t contact me now.’

‘That’s my girl,’ Molly said proudly.

‘Thanks for always having my back, Mum.’

‘Of course.’ A strident beep sounded in the background. ‘Oh, sounds like the grocery delivery is here, so I better run.’

‘Okay. Love you, Mum.’

‘Love you too, with all my heart. Make sure you say hi to Ty for me, won’t you?’

‘I will. Bye, Mum.’

‘Bye, love.’

Pushing her phone back into her pocket, Rose took a moment to let the news of what Finley had done really sink in. He was turning out to be an absolute stranger to her, one she didn’t want a bar of. It made her sick to think he’d spent intimate time with Madeline then called her straight afterwards – what kind of person did such a thing?

Not wanting to dwell on it, she decided to find Ty; his company would be a nice distraction from her thoughts. He’d mentioned he was spending the next couple of days in the training yard with a new horse, so she headed off in that general direction.

Spotting Ty from a distance, his towering silhouette dominating her attention, Rose’s downtrodden spirit lifted. She walked up to the roundyard as unobtrusively as she could, rested against the railings and witnessed Ty in his element. His back to her, Ty’s thumbs were hooked into the pockets of his jeans as he observed the lively mare strutting up and down the fence line, a woman on a mission. With four white socks and a blaze down her forehead, the rescued stockhorse was stunning. He turned away a little more and crouched. The horse halted – Ty’s presence was clearly as powerful to this horse as it was to Rose. A few minutes passed. Rose knew exactly what Ty was doing, having watched her mum work her horse-whispering magic over the years. He was allowing the mare to come to him in her own time. And just as Rose had surmised, the mare bobbed her head then sought him out, as if looking for him to take the lead, so she could follow. It was only when the mare was close enough for him to touch her, that Ty made a few more moments before he gradually came to his feet. Then, with the kindest of touches, he reached out and stroked a gentle hand down the mare’s long, sleek neck. Rose couldn’t hear what he was saying, but his tone was soft and soothing. Oh, how she wished it were she he was touching so tenderly.

A sneeze catching her unawares, she tried to muffle it.

Turning in her direction, Ty pushed the brim of his hat up. ‘Oh, hey, Rose.’ His deep voice carried and somehow slipped right into her. ‘I didn’t see you there.’

‘Hey, Ty.’ She offered a wave as he took steps towards her.

Lifting his sunglasses as he neared her, he rested an arm on the top rung of the fence. ‘You have a good sleep?’

‘Uh-huh.’ She wasn’t about to fill him in on Finley. ‘You?’

‘Yeah, not too bad.’