Red Dirt Heart 3 (31 page)

“I can take your gift back if you don’t want it,” I teased.

“No! I want it. Actually I wanted it this morning, and you said I had to wait. Just how long have I gotta wait for?”

“’Til later,” I said. “Anyway, you didn’t half mind what I did give you this morning.”

He grinned and groaned, rolling his hips into mine. “You can give that to me anytime.”

I kissed him lightly. “I will if you want, but I was gonna say you can fly home.”

I’d no sooner said the words than Travis was gone and I almost fell face-first against the helicopter. When I looked into the cabin, Travis was already in my seat with the headset on and a smile a mile wide.

“Hurry up,” he said.

“So much for anniversary sex in the chopper,” I said. He barked out a laugh as I climbed in and buckled myself in. “Do me a favour. Just breathe for a minute. If you’re in too big a hurry, you’ll forget something. Not much room for mistakes when your twenty meters up.”

His grin never faltered. Actually, I think it got wider. “Mistakes? Jeez, it’s like you don’t know me at all.”

“If your smug-Yank attitude drops us out of the sky, I’ll kick your ass.”

Of course, that just made him laugh.

I pulled off my hat and slid on the headset he normally wore. Yes, he was all smug and smiles, but when it came time for me to actually give him instructions, he really was a very good student.

Travis had flown the chopper twice before. I’d shown him the dash instruments and gone through the checks and routines with him before, even when I was flying, I’d talk him through what I was doing. But he listened and nodded, paid attention like it was the first time we’d been through it.

He was a perfectionist, and he took learning new stuff pretty seriously. I knew he wouldn’t be happy until he was the best he could possibly be, and I loved that about him.

“You ready?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yep.”

“So take her up.”

His eyebrows almost met in the middle of his forehead as he concentrated. But as soon as he had the skips off the ground and he took us up, he looked over at me and grinned.

And all in all, he did pretty good. Actually, he did real good. Even without the instruments, he had a good sense of direction and handled the weight of the chopper against the throttle perfectly.

We were about a twenty-minute flight from home, and I felt completely comfortable with him flying. It was kind of nice actually, being a passenger every now and then. It meant I could look out over the landscape instead. I got to appreciate the vast red dirt, the shrubs and trees. Looking over to the right, out Travis’s side, there was a large mob of kangaroos in full flight over the dirt, obviously startled by the chopper.

I pointed to them, but Travis was too busy concentrating on the controls and what was out front. It made me smile, and when he risked a glance at me and found me looking at him, he was quick to ask, “What?”

“Nothin’,” I said, shaking my head. “Just looking at you. Flyin’ a chopper.”

He smiled, but it was quick and he went back to focusing. I put my hand on his thigh and sighed. I still couldn’t believe the fact he was still here. I still felt truly lucky that he’d not only dug his stubborn heels in and stayed the first time, but he’d gone home to the States and still came back to me. He was here for good, of that I had no doubt. And yet, a simple act of being out in the paddocks, working this farm and doing everyday things
with my boyfriend
was something I swore I’d never take for granted.

Each and every day with him was a gift.

I pointed out ahead and the homestead came into view. “Bring her down ’round the back of the house.” All smiles were gone now, and he was back to concentrating. “How’s your height?”

“Eighteen.”

“Speed?”

“Twenty-five.”

“Good. Start to slow her down.” I pointed to the holding yard fence we were coming up to. “You’ll want to be down to fifteen metres by the time we get over the fence, and down to about eight kilometres per hour. Bring her around to one-sixty-five degrees,” I instructed, and he did it perfectly.

He pulled back on the throttle like he’d seen me do a hundred times and put the helicopter down on the ground with no more than a soft bump.

It shouldn’t have surprised me that he did it so well, but I was impressed. “Perfect.”

He cut the engine, pulled off his headset and gave me his biggest grin yet. “That was so fucking cool.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled off my headset. “Right. Pilot’s responsible for maintenance and log-book entries. I’ve got
stuff
to do inside,” I said, getting out the chopper, swiftly ditching all after-flight checks.

I walked off toward the house and heard him call out. “That
stuff
better include my present!”

I snorted out a laugh and didn’t even turn around. Truly, it wasn’t anything too special. I bought us three days at Uluru at a five-star luxury accommodation and a box of those American chocolate biscuits his mom sent him once. It wasn’t anything too extravagant, but he was gonna love it almost as much as me making him wait.

I was almost to the house when Billy came outside and leapt off the veranda. “Charlie,” he called, running over to me. “George called from the hospital. Charlie, you better get in there.”

The drive into the hospital was long and quiet. Travis drove and I got lost in my over-thinkin’ mind. “She’s been doing so well,” I whispered. “It was just supposed to be a check-up.”

Trav held out his hand and I took it without hesitation. “I’m sure she’s okay.”

Walking into the hospital, I was reminded of the time we first came here with Ma. The god-awful smell, the way staff looked at you like they weren’t sure if they should offer congratulations or condolences. I hated them. Hospitals, not the staff. The nurse we accosted in corridor was helpful, pointing which way we should go.

We followed the signs and raced into the waiting room, and my heart just about stopped when I saw George. He was sitting there with his head in his hands like the first time we saw him with Ma, looking all sorts of helpless and lost. He stood up and took off his hat when he saw us.

“How is she?” I asked, my voice cracking.

“They won’t tell me,” he answered with a frown.

Oh, Jesus.
“What kind of stupid policy is that?” I asked.

“Charlie,” Travis said quietly, rubbing his hand on my back. “They’ll tell us when they can.”

I shook my head. “But we’re family.”

“Not technically,” he answered.

I sighed—it was more like a growl—and threw myself into a waitin’ room chair. But that wasn’t any good, so I started to pace instead. And then two people in scrubs stood in the doorway, and our lives were changed forever.

It was Ma and Bacon; she was grinning, and he looked like he’d seen the light of God. “It’s a girl” was all he said.

It’s a girl.

Trudy and Bacon had a little baby girl.

I hugged ’em both, and then I hugged ’em both again. I was probably more excited than I should have been, and Lord knows Travis had told me I had to stop buying baby stuff. I couldn’t help it. It was exciting and amazing, and Sutton Station was getting a new family member.

“Can we see her?” I asked.

We had to wait a little while, but when they finally let us in, Trudy was lying down with a wrapped-up bundle of pink blankets. I kissed Trudy on the top of the head and peeked in the blanket. There was a tiny, scrunched-up, wrinkled, pinkish, most beautiful sleepin’ baby. “Look at what you did!” I said to Trudy, rubbing her arm. “You did so good.”

She was exhausted and, truthfully, looked like she’d gone through hell, but she was just beaming. “She’s perfect.”

I nodded. “Of course she is.”

“You came all this way?” she asked. “Just for us?”

“Of course we did,” I told her.

Bacon came over and kissed Trudy and then he kissed her again. He picked up his daughter, looking like he just might burst, and he looked at me. “Wanna hold her?”

I shook my head. “Oh no,” I said, shaking my head again. “She’s too little.” And she was. She was tiny. And breakable. And perfect, and did I mention that she was tiny? And breakable?

Bacon ignored me and shoved her into my arms. When I say shoved, I mean ever-so-gently put the most precious thing in the world in my arms. All I could do was look at this perfect little thing, and I was suddenly blinking back tears.

Trav put his hand on the back of my neck and kissed the side of my head.

“Hey,” I whispered to the sleeping angel in my arms. “I’m your uncle Charlie.” I swallowed thickly. “And this is your uncle Travis.”

“I’m the funny, handsome one,” Trav whispered, peering over the blankets. “He’s the cranky one.”

“Don’t listen to him,” I told her. “You stick with me. When your mummy and daddy want you to do boring stuff like chores and schoolwork, you come see me. We’ll go horse riding and jumpin’ in the river… well, maybe not the river because it’s only got water in it when it floods, but there’s a lagoon, we’ll hang out there. And maybe Uncle Trav can find you your very own wombat—”

Bacon took her off me at that stage, and my arms felt suddenly very empty. I wiped my hands on my jeans. Trudy was lookin’ at me like she was considerin’ getting off the bed just to smack me in the mouth, so I told her, “Well, I’d teach her swim first, ya know, before I throw her in the lagoon. Actually, I wouldn’t just
throw
her in…”

Trav put his arm around me. “Shut up, Charlie.”

It was Grandpa George’s turn for a hold, and he asked much more sensible questions like “What’s her name?”

Trudy and Bacon both looked at each other and smiled. “Grace.”

Grace. What a fitting, most-perfect name.

When little Gracie started to fuss, she promptly got handed back to her waiting mum, and we promptly got booted out. It was late anyway, and George and Ma were gonna stay in town overnight and bring the whole new family home when they were allowed.

Travis and I walked out of the hospital, and I think I pretty much talked non-stop from the elevator to the old ute in the car park about how amazing that little girl was and how Trudy and Bacon were gonna be great parents and how Sutton Station was gonna have the pitter-patter of little feet, then of course I wondered out loud if R.M. Williams made boots for toddlers. In pink.

Not quite ready to leave, I leaned against the door and sighed. “Did you see her little hands?” I asked him, which was stupid, because of course he had.

His smile kind of drained away the longer he stared at me.

“Trav, what’s wrong?” I asked.

He stepped in close to me and lifted my chin so he could stare into my eyes. “Marry me.”

I blinked. Like an idiot.

“What?”

“Marry me.”

That’s what I thought he’d said. And dear God, he was serious. I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry, and I tried to speak. And failed. Like an idiot. “Huh?”

He smiled, just a little, just one corner of his mouth. And then he did that thing.

The thing that fries my brain and steals my breath.

He nudged his nose to mine.

“Marry me.”

“Trav.”

He almost—almost—touched his lips to mine. He licked his bottom lip like he was gonna kiss me, but he did that nose-nudge thing again, and my knees went weak. “Marry me.”

“You know,” I whispered, all out of breath. “You know what that does to me.”

He smiled his of-course-I-do smile, and spoke against my lips. “Then say yes.”

Well, I probably would if I bloody could, but there was a serious synapses Travis-and-his-nose-nudging dysfunction in my brain.

So I nodded.

And he smiled.

It was his heart-stopping, eye-crinkling kind of smile, and he threw his arms around me.

And I was still blinking like an idiot.

I think I just got engaged.

To be married.

Travis pulled back from me with concern on his face. “You’re not hugging me back.”

“You used your wizard-spell-nose-nudgin’ thing on me,” I said. “I can’t think straight when you do that.”

He laughed, but at least he had the decency to try and look apologetic. “I’m sorry. If I asked you now, would your answer be the same?”

“Of course it would, but that’s not the point.”

He went back to grinning. “You really said yes.”

“I can’t believe you asked me,” I said. I took his hand and shook my head. “Trav, this country doesn’t recognise… We wouldn’t technically be… you know, married.” God, it felt weird even saying it.

“I don’t care,” he said simply. “We don’t even have to actually get married, I guess. There doesn’t need to be a ceremony or any fancy pieces of paper, Charlie. Just promise me, right now, swear your heart to me, and I’ll consider it done.”

“Travis—”

He shook his head quickly, his smile long gone. “I saw you in there holding that baby, Charlie, and you know what? It just all made sense. I don’t even know how or why, but I just looked at you and thought, ‘I wanna marry him.’ How silly is that?”

“That’s not sill—”

He cut me off. “Something in my head switched on. I know we’ve talked about our future and the word
forever
’s been thrown around a few times, and that’s great, Charlie, it really is. But I want to make it real. And I want you to have kids.”

Okay, he lost me on that one. “What?”

“Kids,” he repeated. “You’d make such a great dad and just seeing you with Nugget and holding little Grace just now.”

I shook my head. “No, no, no. Marriage I can kinda get my head around, but kids?” I shook my head again.

“Why not?”

“Because last time I checked, neither one of us has a uterus, Trav, that’s why.”

“There are options, Charlie,” he said quickly.

I swallowed hard and lightly touched the side of his face. “Travis. I… I can’t be a father… I’m sorry, but…”

“But what?” he said softly. He stared at me for the longest minute. “Charlie, don’t tell me you don’t deserve it.”

I opened my mouth to argue, and for reasons I wasn’t even aware of until he’d just said it, I’d had no clue I even thought I didn’t deserve marriage and kids.