Page 40 of Jillaroo from Jacaranda

Freshly showered, a glass of red wine in hand and the weight of her workload lifted from her shoulders, Rose was enjoying some time on the verandah, slow country ballads playing from inside the cottage blending nicely with the peaceful ambience. Taking a contemplative sip of pinot noir, she stared out at the clear country evening blanketed with radiant stars. A blushing pink sunset had stretched across the horizon not long before, and the beauty of it had taken her breath away.

Jillarooing had taken her to some amazing places, and she’d always known and loved the country with all her heart, but never had she been anywhere quite like this. The silence was even quieter, the landscape more rugged yet also refined, and the far-reaching sky seemingly wider. Or could it be the extremely charming owner, who gave Wildstone Station so much heart?

Buck hung his head over the nearby paddock fence and nickered, as if saying a horsey g’day to someone in passing. Turning her attention down the driveway, Rose spotted a silhouette coming towards her. Her heart picked up pace with the thought it might be Ty. Or was it his sister, calling in for the second time today? She wouldn’t mind that at all, Leah was so lovely to be around … but Ty’s company was more enticing, especially under a starry kind of night.

‘Hey, Rose.’ Ty’s voice carried across the drive. ‘Mind if I join you?’

With Ty stepping into the glow emanating from the string of fairy lights, his hypnotic gaze caught hers. ‘No, of course I don’t.’ She offered him a smile. ‘It’d be nice to have some company.’

Especially yours.

Climbing the six steps two at a time, he stopped just short of her. Dressed in a pair of board shorts and a chest-hugging black T-shirt, he looked mighty fine indeed. Hell, this man would look good in a hessian bag.

And out of it.

‘It’s a nice night for chillaxing outside, huh?’ He leant against the banister, looking from the sky to her.

‘It most definitely is.’ Rose liked the fact he hadn’t just plonked down beside her, but seemed to be waiting for an invitation. Rose patted the seat beside her. ‘Come, sit, you’re making the place untidy.’

With a slight dimple-clad smile, he sank down, his thigh brushing up against hers. It was such a simple touch of their skin, but it made her want to tumble into his field of gravity. And boy, he smelt good. Edible, in fact. Her thoughts scrambled for a few moments and her pulse skyrocketed. She took a moment to steady her breathing so her voice sounded relaxed. ‘I popped into town for a few things today and made a detour through the bottle shop on the way home, so would you like a glass of red? Or I have beers, if you’d prefer a cold one.’

Ty rubbed his hand on his thighs as he made up his mind. ‘Actually, a glass of red would be nice, thanks Rose.’

‘Wine it is. I’ll be back in a sec.’ Tossing loose tendrils of hair over her shoulder, she stood on legs weakened by all that was him, and went into the cottage, grabbing a bottle and an empty glass and returning as quickly as possible. ‘Here you go. Tell me when to woah.’ She began pouring, and pouring … and pouring. ‘The safe word is woah, Ty.’

‘Oh shit, sorry, I was too busy looking at—’ He smirked as though he was keeping a secret. ‘Elsewhere.’

Her stomach backflipped and her breath hitched. She knew he was about to say her, and she liked that fact a lot … way too much, in fact. Sitting back beside him, she placed what was left of the bottle of wine on the side table and folded her legs up beneath her.

‘Have you finished all of your edits now?’ His head resting back, he turned to her with pensive eyes.

The way he was regarding her made it almost impossible to stop thinking about ripping every shred of clothing from him, let alone conjure up a reply. ‘Sure have, and oh my goodness, it feels so good to be free of the stress of it.’ Despite the power of his smile, she was not going to cave.

‘That’s great! Now you can really kick back and relax.’

‘Cheers to that.’ She raised her glass and he clinked his against it.

After taking a sip, they rested back, both admiring the view in silent contemplation, the background country tunes the perfect tempo. They were always so comfortable in each other’s company, and there was a lot to be said for that, in Rose’s firm opinion. Sinking into the warming sensation, she looked to where the stars sparkled like jewels in the velvet black sky. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ty occasionally examining her with his kind, intelligent eyes, his lips quirked up ever so slightly at the corners. How she’d ever believed this man was shallow was beyond her – he was deeper than any man she’d ever come across, so much so she felt way out of her depth even as she knew she was so very lucky to be able to spend time with him in his very own part of the world. There was so much to like about him, inside and out, so much so that she wanted to bury her face into his burly neck this very second, and never come up for air. Her tongue ran along her bottom lip, an instinctive reaction to the way he was making her feel without even trying, and that made him even more fascinating. As if he was reading her train of thought, the corner of his mouth turned slightly upwards, like he was holding a wide smile at bay, and in that moment, something that had been floating lost inside her for so long finally felt as if it clicked into place, a perfect fit.

Ty leant into her space. ‘What are you thinking about, Jonesy?’

The low tone of his voice sent her heart thumping. ‘I’m not really thinking about anything.’ He was so close, she had to tilt her head back to look at him. ‘Other than how much of a beautiful night it is.’

‘Mm-hmm. There’s lots of beauty around here. It pays to stop and appreciate it as often as you can, I reckon.’ His blue eyes grew more intense and he smiled in a way that spoke of seeing right through to her heart. ‘I don’t take anything that moves me for granted.’

Blinking the raw emotions that he’d just brought to the surface away, she cleared her throat. She needed to change the direction of the conversation now, and fast, before she said something stupid, like …

You move me, Parker, so deeply.

‘It was really great meeting your sister today. She’s so much like you.’ She quickly turned her gaze back to the starry sky.

‘In all the good ways, I hope.’ His chuckle was soft before he sighed. ‘I hate knowing she’s hurting because the father isn’t stepping up to the plate.’

‘It is very sad, but at least you can be here for her and her baby.’ She tried to smile. ‘Wildstone Station is a wonderful place for a child to grow up.’

‘I’m glad you think so. I really hope to have children of my own here, one day. When I’m lucky enough to meet the one.’

There was an undercurrent to his sentence, and as much as she wished she could embrace it, she wasn’t in the right place emotionally. Instead, she turned the focus back on Ty. ‘Leah sounds like she worries about you a bit, too, you know.’