Page 55 of Jillaroo from Jacaranda

‘You crashed hard on my chest for a while, so that’s probably why.’ Something crossed his features, and he adjusted the rim of his hat, shadowing his face even more, as if trying to keep his expression hidden. ‘I was about to head over to the cottage when I spotted you here. Are you good to head off in about half an hour?’

‘Sure am.’ She gestured to Buck, now with his neck stretched over the railing, madly sniffing her pockets for the carrot she’d hidden there. ‘I just got to saddle this one up and we’re good to go.’

‘Great. I’ll get my mount ready and we’ll hit the trail.’ Reaching out, he gave Buck a scratch. ‘I’ve packed water bottles and a couple of sangas for afternoon tea.’

‘Oh, thanks, Ty, I hadn’t even thought about food.’ She swung the gate to the paddock open and attached the lead rope to Buck’s halter. ‘Meet you over at the stable in a sec.’

‘Yup.’ Pausing, he looked like he was about to say something, but then stopped and sauntered off.

A sense of giddiness made her steps lighter and her heart flutter as she led Buck towards the hitching rail, where she would saddle him up. Once Buck was good to go, she hopped up and settled into the saddle. Ty did the same alongside her and they rode side by side. Off in the hazy distance, a mirage hovered above the earthy trail, like water running across the road, and the clear blue sky stretched on and into the never.

After making their way past all the outbuildings, Ty gave her a sideways glance. ‘You good to hit the accelerator, Jonesy?’

She nodded. ‘Definitely.’

Easing from a trot into a canter then to a gallop, they made their way up the rise. Dust billowed from the horses’ hooves as they rode the fence line, and the rumble of hooves striking the earth was rhythmically soothing. The scent of freshly slashed grass skimmed the air, mixed with red dirt and livestock. Feeling freer than a bird, Rose released a slow breath, which helped to ease some of the tension in her neck. Reaching an open stretch of land, Ty slowed, and she followed suit.

‘There’s forty-two head in here, and we need to get them over yonder, to greener pasture.’ He thumbed over his shoulder. ‘But a word of warning, there’s a scoundrel of a bull in here that always likes to test the waters when he’s being mustered, so keep an eye on him.’ He grinned roguishly. ‘And you can’t miss him, because he’s got horns that go on for miles.’

‘Thanks for the heads up.’ It sounded like it was going to be a bit of a bumpy ride, and Rose pushed her hat on nice and tight.

‘I’ll head thissa way,’ he gestured with a tip of his head, ‘and you go thatta way.’ His head tipped in the opposite direction. ‘We need to push the lot of them up and over the rise and through the gate I’ve already opened for them.’

She chuckled at his directions, typical of a muster. ‘Gotcha.’

They headed their separate ways and got to work. Rose couldn’t help but sneak glances to where Ty was working the herd like a true-blue cattleman – rugged, hardworking and owning his jeans, boots and cowboy hat like a boss, he was the epitome of a cowboy. But she really needed to keep her eye on the job at hand. Spotting a mob of cattle meandering in the middle of a clearing, she assessed the outlaying landscape to see where there were clumps of trees the cattle could flee to. Comfortable with her course of action, she made her way wide and began pushing the cattle forward, while Ty worked from the opposite side. It was all going to plan when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the glint of horns. Turning Buck on a three-penny bit, she narrowed her gaze and waited a few breath-held seconds as the bull did the same. The one-tonne beast snorted and pawed the ground, his beady eyes homed in on her like the scope of a rifle. She could see Ty nearing carefully, his gaze going from her to the bull and back again. Then, in the blink of an eye, all hell broke loose. Just as Ty had warned her, the bull broke ranks and made a wild dash for freedom, panicking the rest of the mob. Clouds of dust and the bellows of the calves filled the air. Turning Buck in a horsey pirouette, she bolted after the belligerent brute, holding the reins with one hand and her hat onto her head with the other. A whip cracked from behind her, and Ty galloped in from the other side, sliding to a stop only metres from her. The bull backed up to the safe haven of a mammoth paperbark tree, looking left to right. It dropped its head, as if about to charge. Ty cracked the whip again. Then, like an unruly child who’d just been told off, the bull trotted off to join his girls, giving Rose and Ty the evil eye as he joined the ranks.

‘Great job, Jonesy.’ Ty’s slow smirk was sexy as hell. ‘Told you he’s a bit of a bastard.’

‘Oh yeah, he is,’ she exclaimed with a grin. ‘But he’s nothing I can’t handle.’

‘I didn’t doubt that for a second, Jillaroo from Jacaranda.’ His lips quirked, and he tipped his hat to her. ‘Best get back to it, then.’

Jillaroo from Jacaranda, huh?

Rose liked the sound of that.

It was close to sunset when they pushed the last of the cattle into their new paddock. Rose breathed a weary sigh when she closed the gate behind the last one.

Ty rode in beside her. ‘That’s a good job, done and dusted, Jonesy. Cheers for the help.’

‘I really enjoyed it. Thanks for inviting me along, Parker.’

‘All good. I really enjoyed the company.’ Allowing the horses to make their way, they moseyed back towards the homestead. ‘You want to join me for a beer once we’ve got this pair back to their paddocks?’ He said it as casually as he could, but there was a hesitancy that had never been there before.

‘Does a bear poop in the woods?’ she replied with a smile, wanting to put him at ease.

‘Ha, I’ll take that as an affirmative hell yeah.’

And just like that, everything felt normal again.

Well, as normal as it could be after experiencing the most mind-blowing kiss of her life.

* * *

Ty matched Rose’s stride, closing the gap between them so his arm occasionally brushed up against hers as they made their way down the path that led to the homestead. He stamped his boots on the welcome mat, strode over to the beer fridge and retrieved two icy-cold ones from the depths. Wandering back to where Rose had settled herself on the top step, he admired all that was her. He didn’t just want her; he craved her. This woman stirred him, deep down in the parts he’d long ago closed off. He couldn’t quite explain it. All he knew was that she made him want to take chances again, and to live, and love, more than he ever had before. And that was something he was finding incredibly hard to ignore.

‘Here you go.’ He handed Rose her beer, plonked down next to her, then held his beer up to clink. ‘Cheers to a brilliant arvo.’