Page 74 of Jillaroo from Jacaranda

Ty made sure to leave them both to their female conversations for the rest of the evening – the details of childbirth weren’t for him, nor was the mention of Rose’s name, several times. Retiring to the backyard, he sought out some country-night peace. If one American Wild Honey didn’t take the edge off his aching heart, maybe a couple more would. He wasn’t usually a drown-my-sorrows kind of guy, but he couldn’t see the forest for the trees right now and wanted to do anything he could to try to numb the pain, if only for a night. He pulled his fold-out chair closer to the campfire and sank back down as though the weight of the world rested upon his shoulders. Staring into the flicker of the flames twirling their way up towards the velvet black sky, he couldn’t help but wish Rose was here. Try as he might, he just couldn’t find a way to let her go. Was he going to have to live with this anguish forever? Was she always going to own a piece of his heart? Had he made a huge mistake, drawing a line and telling her to never cross it?

He grabbed his mobile phone, and that’s when he saw it: her name. And a text. His heart jumped into his throat. Blinking his haziness away, he flicked the message open.

I miss you, Parker, and I’m so very sorry.

Please forgive me.

I hope we can talk, so I can explain everything.

CHAPTER

21

Tropical storms made for a very bumpy ride from Cairns to Townsville. Rain hammered the plane as it hovered over Magnetic Island while awaiting clearance for landing. Lightning flashed through the oval window Rose had her face pressed up against, and she shivered as she imagined plummeting into the turbulent, black ocean beneath. That would be her luck – then she’d never get the chance to tell Ty to his face just what she thought of him.

Shifting in her seat, she stared straight ahead, clasped her hands together, and silently prayed for the safety of herself and all onboard. She was almost where she needed to be, there was no way she could die now.

The plane dropped abruptly. Her belly pitched. Gasping, she instinctively grabbed the man’s arm beside her. ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.’ She quickly extracted her hand and shoved it beneath her bouncing leg.

‘Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.’ The kind-faced stranger was fighting a chuckle as he regarded her.

‘Uh-huh.’ Gripping her armrests as if her life depended upon it, she felt her belly somersault as they approached the landing strip. The plane shimmied and swayed so much, she half expected her oxygen mask to drop. The clunk of the wheels hitting the ground was a godsend – and apparently half the passengers agreed, as cheers erupts. The pilot braked hard and she swayed in her seat as it bounced and rattled along the tarmac. Crisis avoided, Rose closed her eyes for a few deep breaths, her mind now travelling back to thoughts of Ty, and the fact she was about to see him again.

Sweet memories flickered through her mind. All the time they’d spent together flowed over her in a comforting wave. She’d liked him from the second they’d met, and through comfortable companionship, she’d grown to love him in the magical time they’d spent together. She wanted to be with him, to feel what it was like to know they were together, and that it was her he was coming home to at the end of each day, that it was his face she would see when she closed her eyes each night, and when she opened them in the mornings.

But after everything they’d been through, was it still going to feel the same between them when they came face to face?

The seatbelt sign flickered off and people shot to their feet. The urgency Rose felt deep down in her soul was something she’d never experienced before. It was as if Ty was her oxygen, and she simply couldn’t breathe without him. Her overhead luggage retrieved, she all but raced down the corridors that would lead her into the arrival hall. She couldn’t wait to tumble into Ty’s big strong arms, and stay there.

It didn’t take long to spot his handsome, smiling face among the sea of people.

His stride was powerful as he closed the distance. ‘Hello, beautiful.’

One look from him set her on fire. ‘Hey, handsome.’ She wasn’t sure what to do next.

‘Come here, you.’ With a low growl, he dragged her to him, and she melted against him. ‘It feels so good to be able to hold you.’

With a profound soul-sigh, she rested her cheek on his chest as she savoured the strength of him. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’ The intensity of his masculine scent and the beating of his heart filled her with a deeply centred peace, as if she was finally arriving home, to the place she was meant to be for the rest of her life. ‘I’m so sorry I ran away from you. I was just so scared of having my heart broken again.’

‘I can promise you, Rose, I’ll never hurt you, or leave you.’ Ty pulled her closer still. ‘I honestly don’t know how to do life without you by my side.’ He pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing her softly.

Relief rushed through her as she gave a shuddering sigh before drawing back a little from his embrace. ‘Let’s go home, Parker.’

With her heart and soul finally at peace, and her head resting on Ty’s shoulder, Rose almost drifted off to the rhythmic sound of the windscreen wipers arching back and forth as they made their way back to Wildstone Station. Leah had gone to Townsville with Delilah, in preparation for her giving birth in a week’s time, so they were home alone.

No sooner had they climbed from the LandCruiser, traipsed up the steps hand in hand, and into the homestead, Rose had her back against the wall, with the man of her dreams pressed up against her.

‘I don’t want to talk, Rose.’ He put his forehead against hers. ‘All I want right now is to make love to you.’

She ignited beneath the intensity of his gaze. ‘I want that too.’

Ty stepped back a little, and she rested down from her tippy toes. They stood facing each other and, for the longest of moments, they just held each other’s eyes and hands. The look he settled on her was filled with meaning and promise and so much undying love. Then, slowly, he brought his lips to hers. Unlike when their lips had last met, his kiss wasn’t gentle and yielding. This time, it was deep and demanding, hungry and possessive. Her fingertips sliding inside his shirt and trailing down his chest and abs, she whimpered as longing engulfed her. When he finally dragged his mouth from hers, and she fought to catch her breath, she knew right then and there that there’d be no turning back. Relief flooded her veins with this understanding, and almost brought her to tears.

Lifting her from the floor, he carried her down the hallway, up the stairs, and into his bedroom. Placing her down at the foot of the bed, he switched the lamp on, and soft light spilled over the room.

‘Oh my gosh, Ty! You have enough cushions on there to start a haberdashery shop,’ she said with a light chuckle.

‘What cushions?’ He swept them to the side and, as he took her back into his arms, they tumbled onto the bed. ‘Are you sure you’re ready for this, my beautiful Rose?’