Driftwood (17 page)

Taylor stood shocked, her mouth trembling as a wave of emotion thundered through her. It felt like it the other day at the dam, but then he'd pulled away and she honestly didn't know how to take that. She sighed. ‘Yep, I understand what you're getting at, mate. I just hope you're right, Jaz, I really do, but only time will tell. And I'll have plenty of time with him out on the station now that I'm going to be working there.'

‘Hey ladies, any chance of a drink round here?' Jay called from the far end of the bar. ‘A man would die of thirst if it were up to you two,' he added, laughing uneasily.

‘Fuck, how long has he been standing there?' whispered Taylor, planting the biggest smile she could on her face at the same time.

Jasmine shrugged and gave her a jab in the back. ‘Dunno. But stop acting like a stunned mullet and go and serve the bloke.'

Taylor took a step forward on shaky legs, feeling like her heart was thumping its way out of her chest. ‘Hi Jay, what can I get you?'

‘Hey Taylor, just the usual, a pot of Tooheys Gold, and is it too early to order some grub? I've been in town all arvo with the accountant and had to skip lunch. Don't reckon I'll make it home without my stomach eating itself.'

Taylor looked at her watch, relieved to be able to look at something other than Jay's big brown eyes. ‘The kitchen doesn't open for another twenty minutes but I'm sure Faith won't mind starting a bit earlier, seeing it's for you. She's in there doing prep at the moment.'

‘Nah, don't bother her. I'll wait twenty minutes. But I'll order with you now, if that's all right?' He held the menu up, running his fingers down the list as he read. He licked his lips. ‘I'll have the crispy pork belly and garlic mash please.'

Taylor scribbled it down on the order pad. Not that she needed to write it down to remember it but she desperately needed something to do with her hands. ‘Good choice, that's one of my favourites.'

Jay closed the menu and popped it back on the bar. ‘Yeah. Me too.'

Taylor poured his beer and then passed it to him, feeling his eyes burning into her the entire time. ‘There you are. If you want to have a seat, Jasmine will bring the food over when it's ready. I'm just about to knock off. Gotta go pack my stuff up seeing I'm moving to the station tomorrow.'

Jay tried his best to act casual. ‘Yeah, I can't believe this week has gone so fast. The blokes are looking forward to you moving in with them.'

‘Aww, are they? Me too. I reckon it's going to be great fun, and loads of hard work. But I can handle it.'

‘Hey, I've been meaning to ask you. Have you got your own horse? Or do you want to use one of mine?'

‘Oh, my horse is back in Brisbane. Well, not that she's my horse any more. My stepdad sold her to some bloke from his work about a year ago, without even asking me.' Taylor sniffed, the familiar lump she got every time she thought about it returning with full force. ‘I miss Dolly. I named her after Dolly Parton because she was an absolute star. Charles, my stepdad, thought if he got rid of Dolly he'd get rid of my passion for horses. He was dead wrong. It broke my heart having to say goodbye to her. But if I wanted to live under his roof, which I needed to at the time, he told me I didn't have a say in it. And my mum supported him.'

Jay shook his head sympathetically. ‘Arsehole.'

‘You got that right,' she said, blinking back tears. She sniffed, straightening. ‘Anyhoo, it would be great if I could use one of your horses. Sorry I hadn't mentioned it. I just gathered that's what would be happening anyway.'

‘No worries. I have one that would be perfect for you: Boomerang. Aptly named because when I first got him as a colt the bugger kept taking off, but he always came back.'

Taylor laughed.

Jay grinned. ‘He stopped doing it after I gelded him at eighteen months. Now he's well behaved with plenty of manners, other than the odd pigroot if one of the other horses is pissing him off.'

‘Great. He sounds like my type of horse.'

Jay took a sip of his beer, licking the froth from his lips. ‘Seeing you're finishing up now, how about you join me for dinner? My shout. We can have a chat about the big muster coming up.'

Taylor hesitated.

‘Just to say thanks for taking the job,' Jay said hastily, sensing her apprehension.

‘Okay. Thanks. Two crispy pork bellies it is. I'll just go put the order in with Faith. Be back in a minute.'

‘Excellent. You game for a round of pool while we're waiting for the food? I'll go set the table up if you are.'

‘Um, I dunno . . . only if you don't mind a woman whipping your arse.' Taylor winked wickedly.

Taylor leant over the pool table, conscious of Jay's muscular body pressing against her own as he helped her play her shot. His warm breath on her neck was doing things to her she never thought possible without being naked. She thought she'd get away with pretending she knew how to play pool, not having had much to do with the game in Brisbane and assuming she'd be able to wing it. Her plan had backfired. When she'd nearly scraped the felt lining off the tabletop while sending the eight ball flying to the floor, Jay had immediately figured out she couldn't play. But on the plus side, she'd had his strong body pressed up against her own for the past twenty minutes as he'd taught her how to aim, hit the right ball
and
sink it. He was a whiz with a pool cue, leaving her slightly envious at how he seemed so adept with everything he touched, including her.

It was the final shot and he stood behind her. She leant in and allowed him to cradle her body. He rested his hand upon her own, his fingers sensuously guiding hers as they slowly pulled the pool cue back, aimed and then socked it forward. She held her breath, neither of them moving, as the ball rolled into the hole they were aiming for. The whole time finding it impossible not to imagine what it would be like to be in bed with this sexy man.

‘That's it. Brilliant, Taylor, you did it.'

Jay's voice caressing her ear made her tremble as she used every bit of her strength to remain standing. He moved from behind her and she tuned to face him, reaching out her hand to shake his. ‘Congrats on winning and thanks for helping me sink all my balls so I didn't look like a right chump.'

Jay squeezed her hand, returning her handshake. ‘My pleasure, Taylor.'

Ahh, but the pleasure was all mine
, she thought mischievously as Jasmine wandered out to the dining area, placed two plates on the table and glanced towards her, giving her the thumbs up and mouthing ‘go for it' before Jay spotted her.

Taylor grinned back, signalling for Jasmine to be quiet. Jasmine chuckled and walked back to the bar.

She'd love to go for it but one step at a time, she thought as she sat down opposite Jay and began tucking into her dinner.

2012 — Far North Queensland

The workers' cottage was silent other than the creak and groan of iron and timber as it expanded in the autumn sunshine, as if stretching to life for yet another day. The men had left hours ago to check fences and prepare food and equipment for the muster. Taylor was up and ready to go with them but Jay had insisted she go back to bed and have her first day at Waratah Station to herself, so she could settle in. He was always so thoughtful. Sliding back into her bed at 4.30 a.m. had been delightful and she'd drifted into a dream-filled slumber within minutes, with Floyd rolled up at her feet.

She couldn't wait to get in the saddle tomorrow, especially alongside Adam Brand, who was apparently arriving tonight. Oh God, she hoped she didn't make a fool of herself when she met him, like stumbling for words and going all shy. Even the thought of Adam staying under the same roof as her made her pulse quicken. Graham and Fang were happily sharing the room with two single beds so Adam had one to himself. They seemed to be as excited as she was about his arrival. She just had to keep reminding herself Adam Brand was a normal human being, like everyone else, and then she'd be right.
Hopefully.

Sunshine poured in through the open kitchen window, filling the room with golden light as Taylor popped on her oven glove and pulled a tray from the oven. The smell of fresh date scones wafted deliciously about the room and she inhaled deeply, the thought of tucking into them making her mouth water as she placed the tray on the sink then gathered the fresh cream and strawberry jam while the scones cooled.

Her spur-of-the-moment plan for the morning was to duck over and have some morning tea with Jay's mother, Patty. She just hoped she wouldn't be intruding. Glancing at the clock, she was delighted to see she'd timed it perfectly. Jay hadn't introduced her to his mum yet and Taylor was eager to meet her, especially considering she was the only other woman on the station. She was sure Jay wouldn't mind her introducing herself. Not that it should be a problem but he'd seemed hesitant when she'd offered to call in and meet her yesterday, blurting out the excuse that his mum was not well and most probably sleeping. Taylor gathered that he was covering up the fact Patty was drunk. That is, if what she'd been told while working at the pub was true.

The gossip didn't bother Taylor one bit, other than the fact people should learn to keep their noses out of each other's business. It actually made her keen to meet Patty, her heart aching for the woman who had so suddenly lost her childhood sweetheart in such a tragic way. Taylor was a firm believer in the power of love and kindness, and that was exactly what she was going to give to Patty, and loads of it. For if it was she who'd lost the love of her life, she would hope there'd be someone there to pick up the broken pieces of her heart and put them back together. As her beautiful grandma used to say, do unto others as you would want done unto you.

Placing the last of the scones into a clean tea-towel, Taylor gently folded in the edges and placed it in a basket with the jam and cream. Floyd scurried over and sniffed madly, drooling. She gently pushed him away. ‘No, buddy, you're not getting any right now but I promise I'll save you one.' Floyd gave her his best puppy dog eyes, his tail dropping between his legs. ‘You can come for a walk with me, though.' The tail popped up immediately, wagging zealously. Taylor laughed at his ability to get over things in an instant; some humans could possibly learn a heck of a lot from dogs, like loyalty, kindness, respect and unconditional love.

Hooking her arm through the handle of the basket, she padded over to the dining table and gathered her hat, water bottle and sunglasses, absolute necessities in Far North Queensland. March had well and truly arrived but the temperatures were still sitting around thirty-five degrees. Apparently it didn't cool down until May, and although she loved the warm weather, she was looking forward to not sizzling in it, and maybe being able to wear a cardigan from time to time.

Pulling the timber door firmly shut behind her (not to stop humans but wildlife) Taylor slipped on her thongs and plodded down the steps. Turning to the right, she began to wander casually towards the homestead, taking pleasure in her surrounds along the way. Vibrant, rambling bougainvillea bushes tumbled over fences, and lemon, lime and orange trees were scattered about, the branches full of plump fruit. Ahead a windmill turned rhythmically, a flock of white cockatoos perched on top of a rainwater tank beside it, squawking rowdily. Large green paddocks were dotted around the countryside, filled with healthy-looking cattle, the land blessed with the dependable tropical rainfall, unlike the stations out in the heart of Australia that sometimes endured droughts for years.

Taylor grinned, still finding it hard to believe she was here, her life having changed so much in the past couple of months. All her dreaming, wishing and hoping had finally come true and brought her here, to Waratah Station. If only she could hear Jay speak of his undying love for her and bring her dad back from the dead, she would be one satisfied woman. But she'd just have to be grateful for what she
had
been blessed with, and she was, tremendously.

With the homestead finally coming into view after a gentle ten-minute walk, Taylor took a deep breath, unsure of what awaited her behind the front doors. It was such a stately looking Queenslander, with its sweeping, wrought iron-fenced verandas and commanding presence. A home that she guessed had seen so much life over the decades yet was enveloped by a feeling of emptiness. Tugging open the rusty iron gate, Taylor followed the pebbled path that led up to the front steps, noticing how tired and overgrown the gardens looked compared to the ones back at the cottage.

Padding up the last step, she rapped three times on the door, Floyd panting at her side. Taylor tapped her hand on her thigh as she waited. Soft footsteps approached and a dishevelled woman's face appeared as the door swung open. Patty stood before her, still dressed in her pyjamas and slippers, black rings around her puffy deep brown eyes.

Taylor smiled broadly and reached out her hand while keeping an over-friendly Floyd at bay with her foot. ‘Hi. I'm Taylor, the new jillaroo. I arrived yesterday.'

Patty stared back at her, clearly taken aback by having a visitor. She slowly licked her lips and then rubbed her eyes as if Taylor might have been a figment of her imagination. Taylor left her hand extended, not knowing what to do. ‘Um, I just thought I'd pop by and introduce myself. Sorry if this is a bad time. I can come —'

Patty clutched her hand, squeezing it more than shaking it, her grip much firmer than Taylor expected, as if she was scared Taylor was going to turn and run. ‘Oh, sorry to be rude, love, I just woke up.' She stood aside. ‘Please, come in, but excuse the mess.'

Taylor stepped inside and turned to Floyd. ‘You stay here, buddy. I won't be long.'

‘No, don't be silly. He can come in too. I adore dogs,' Patty said, stepping aside to allow a bum-wobbling, paw-tapping Floyd in. Patty knelt down and gave him a fervent scratch behind the ears and Floyd's eyes almost rolled back in his head with pleasure. Taylor couldn't help but notice with amusement that Floyd got a warmer welcome than she did.