Summer Down Under (9 page)

“Oh, buggar,” she cursed under her breath.
“That’s all I need, to get laughed at from both sides of the
door.”

She spun around to reach for the exit when
she heard the sound of the bolt sliding across on the stall door.
Footsteps resounded on the hard tile floor.

“Too late.” Sam closed her eyes and waited
for the response she was expecting.

“Sam?”

Her eyes flew open. That was not the response
she was expecting. A familiar voice caressed her ears, stopping her
dead in her tracks. Her heart started pounding so hard she could
hardly hear herself think.

It couldn’t be him, could it? Australia is
such a big place, what are the chances? She wanted so much for it
to be the person who had haunted her thoughts and dreams for the
past couple of months, but dared not turn around and have her hopes
shot to the ground by a cruel twist of mistaken identity.

“Samantha?” the voice repeated. His warm
timbre just as she remembered it. “Is that you?”

Sam felt sure he could hear her heart
pounding over the noise of the cistern filling up. Finally, she
started to turn. Her body was screaming at her to move faster, but
her brain was reluctant to send it the right signals to do so.
After what seemed like an eternity, her eyes finally met his. Those
beautiful blue eyes. She’d recognize them anywhere. It
was
him.

“Daniel?”

Without thinking Sam ran up to him, threw her
arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. He
hesitated at her reaction for a split second before wrapping his
arms around her. She breathed him in, and it was the same spicy
masculine scent that haunted her dreams. Then she realized what she
was doing and quickly pulled away, casting a sheepish glance to the
floor.

“Um, sorry,” she mumbled as she regained her
composure. “Homesickness will do that to you. See a familiar face
and you to lose all sanity.”

“You’re homesick?” he asked with concern.

She held her thumb and forefinger up and
opened them half an inch.

“Just a tad. It happens when I move onto
somewhere new and don’t know anyone.”

“Well, you do now.” He smiled a warm,
welcoming smile.

“Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, what on earth are
you doing here?” She finally got around to asking.

“I live here. Well, not here in the hotel,
obviously.”

Sam noticed his cheeks flush.

“I came into town with Mum and Dad,” Daniel
continued. “They’re picking up an English gir…” his voice trailed
off and his eyes grew wide as realization crept across his
face.

“…To help on their sheep station for the
season.” Sam finished his sentence for him.

“You?” he said, stunned by his own
announcement. “You’re Sophie’s friend?”

Sam raised her eyes to the heavens. Sophie,
of course. Sam had told Sophie all about meeting Daniel in Bali.
Sophie never even hinted that she might know him. The little minx
had arranged all this, and Sam could kiss her right now. No wonder
Sophie seemed so anxious for Sam to take the job. Oh, she was good.
Sam had absolutely no idea what her friend was scheming.

“I guess that would be me, yes,” she replied,
still reeling from seeing the man who had frequented her every
waking minute since last seeing him two months ago.

Excitement caressed Daniel’s face only to be
replaced by a horrified expression a moment later. “Oh, bloody
hell,” he blurted.

“Whatever’s wrong?”

“You can’t tell my mum or dad that we met in
Bali.”

“Why ever not?” Sam asked, startled by his
outcry.

“Because Dad would never let you work for us
if he thought there was anything between us,” Daniel explained.
“He’s really old fashioned that way, doesn’t want me having any
distractions
while I’m supposed to be working.”

“But there
isn’t
anything between us,”
Sam lied, knowing full well that given the chance, every muscle in
her body would betray her right now.

“Sam, I’m begging you. Please don’t tell him.
I thought I would never see you again, but here you are...” he
looked around the room and shot her a look of confusion, “...in the
men’s toilets.” The confusion in Daniel’s eyes turned to
pleading.

Sam had to admit, she didn’t particularly
want to have traveled eighteen hours just to turn around and go
back.

“Okay, no worries. I won’t breathe a word,
but we better get out there pretty quick because he knows you’re in
here, and I know he saw me walk in here, too.” With that comment,
Daniel’s expression changed from pleading to amusement. He raised
one of his gorgeous eyebrows in question.

“What
are
you doing in here, anyway?”
he asked.

“Wrong door.” She shrugged, as if it was a
totally normal thing for her to do.

Daniel opened the door for her. She noted
that he did the gentlemanly thing so well. They walked out into the
reception area where they could see his mum and dad standing over
by the bar. His parents turned towards the couple as they
approached.

“Oh, I see you found our new jillaroo,” Paul
retorted sarcastically. “Odd place to find her, though. Wouldn’t
you say, Son?” He faked stifling a laugh, and Sam could feel her
cheeks burn.

Daniel looked at her with apologetic eyes and
she smiled back, trying to make him feel better.

His parents ordered drinks for them both as
they explained to Sam there was another fifty miles to go before
they got to their homestead, so it was nice to have some
refreshments first.

“Sam...Sam...Sam?” Paul repeated. “Where have
I heard that name before?” Then his expression gave away the fact
that he remembered where he had heard that name before. He turned
to Daniel with a conniving look.

“Sam,” he said smugly. “Wasn’t that the name
of the girl you had a fling with in Bali?”

Sam’s eyes grew wide and then she narrowed
them at Daniel, making sure his parents couldn’t see her. That
explained why he didn’t want his father to know who she was. Fling
indeed, did he think she was the kind of person who would sleep
with someone after just one day? How dare he? He obviously didn’t
understand anything about her. She thought she had gotten to know
him quite well in the short time they spent together
.
She
was disappointed that the instincts she had come to rely on so
innately had done her a severe disservice.

Daniel’s cheeks looked flushed and his gaze
dropped. Sam imagined he could read her thoughts with the look of
thunder on her face.

“Really?” Sam asked sweetly, as she leaned in
front of him to get her drink off the bar, pressing the heel of her
boot heavily on his toes as she did so. He let out a small grunt
but didn’t say anything. She stepped back once she had retrieved
her drink and shot him another angry glare.

“Sounds like you had a good time in Bali,”
she continued, sweetness seeping out of every pore. Then she looked
at Paul and said bluntly, “Unfortunately Sam is a fairly common
name in England. There were four of us in my class at school.”

Paul looked satisfied with her answer and the
conversation moved onto more formal things. He was adamant that
they were to be called Mr. and Mrs. Miller and not by their first
names. They were her employers, not her friends. Sam pushed back a
swallow and felt like she was shrinking into herself. What kind of
people were they? Everyone she’d met in Australia so far was
friendly. Suddenly, she felt like she should curtsy or
something.

Sam sighed with an understanding. Everything
was fitting together now. Sophie had been very clever not writing
down their last name on the piece of paper she’d given her. The
Australians were so laid back in every aspect of their lives, Sam
hadn’t thought anything of it. Being supplied with only first names
seemed pretty appropriate at the time.

Daniel was right, though. His parents were
old fashioned, but after cogitating on it for a moment, Sam decided
she could live with that. They knew what they expected from someone
and laid it out at the beginning, Sam could respect that. At least
she would have no doubts where she stood in the hierarchy, right at
the very bottom. They did seem like they’d be fair people to work
for, even though Mr. Miller had annoyed her by what he just
revealed. She was feeling some animosity towards Daniel right now,
but walking away was not on her list of things to do. Fate had
brought her here, and because she was a great believer in fate, she
had to find out what else it held in store for her.

Daniel was looking very uncomfortable when
she eventually turned to look at him again. She had the feeling it
had nothing to do with her crushing his toes.

The four of them finished their drinks and
Daniel picked up Sam’s backpack without hesitation or being asked.
They walked outside and Mr. and Mrs. Miller got into an awaiting
taxi. Sam was somewhat confused as she was expecting them to have a
car. Taking a taxi fifty miles out into the middle of nowhere would
surely cost them an arm and a leg. Nevertheless, that was none of
her concern, so she got in the back seat beside Daniel. A few
minutes later, they were pulling into a small airport. They all got
out and Sam followed her new employers like a lost puppy, past
several hangers and various types of aircraft, until they stopped
next to a plane.

“You have a plane?” she asked, aghast.

Mr. Miller puffed up his wiry frame with
pride, appreciating the awe that was showing on Sam’s face as she
looked over the single prop airplane. “My pride and joy,” he said,
running his hand along the gleaming paintwork.

They were standing beside a pretty little red
and white four-seater Cessna. Daniel held out a hand to help her up
into the back seat of the plane. Sam hesitated, still feeling a tad
miffed. She looked at him, then down at his hand without
expression. After a second, she decided to take the hand he offered
as it was a big step up into the plane, and, with her track record,
falling flat on her back on the runway in front of Mr. Miller was
not something she relished at that precise moment. It was probably
best if her clumsiness was kept to a minimum, if at all possible.
Daniel gave her a half smile as she accepted his hand. It made her
heart flutter, which annoyed her even more. One by one they all
climbed aboard. Daniel pulled himself up in the back seat beside
her.

He hadn’t said a word to her since his
father’s revelation, but his presence in such close proximity was
enough to command her every thought.

Mr. Miller started his plane and within
minutes they were taking off and soaring above the plains below.
Sam sat in silence for a while, looking out of the window and
enjoying the scenery drifting along below her. She could see for
miles, but all there was for miles, was a whole lot of wilderness.
She concluded, with a slightly nervous knot now growing in her
stomach, that she really was heading to the back of beyond.

Sam’s thoughts started to drift once more,
and the common sense side of her brain kicked in. If Daniel had
told his parents that he had a fling with her, that could mean one
of two things. Either he wanted to prove something, that he was
capable of getting a girl. She wrote that one off immediately.
Someone as handsome and caring as Daniel would have no problem
getting a girl. Or, that he actually did like her. She was secretly
hoping that it was the latter, but couldn’t be sure and made a
mental note to find out, subtly of course.

With that thought, the familiar feeling of
self-consciousness and awkwardness came flooding back. Sam found it
hard to imagine someone as handsome as Daniel wanting anything to
do with someone as plain and clumsy, as she considered herself to
be.

Trying hard to push the feeling aside, she
became aware of a sensation of being watched. She adjusted her
focus and could see Daniel’s reflection in the window. His eyes
were burning into the back of her head. Sam turned slowly, so as to
give him the chance to look away if he didn’t want her knowing he
was gazing at her.

To her surprise, he didn't look away and her
gaze fell on his. Instantly, her stomach did cartwheels.

His eyes were full of what looked like an
apology and a hope for forgiveness. Against Sam’s will, her insides
melted. She found it hard to stay annoyed with him for long. Her
eyes acknowledged his silent request.

Sam smiled, and his expression turned to one
of relief. Hesitantly, he slid his hand across the seat to where
hers was resting, covered it and gave it a squeeze. Tingles
skittered up her arm making her feel as if she had just touched a
live wire.

He pulled his hand away again, not wanting to
risk his parents seeing the connection between them.

The silence was suddenly broken by Mrs.
Miller’s booming voice over the sound of the engine. “Nearly there
now. Just up ahead in a few miles, you should see Shalroma come
into view.”

“Shalroma?” Sam asked.

“That’s the name of our sheep station. They
all have one. We’re not quite sure what it means,” Mrs. Miller
answered.

The plane banked to the left and Sam could
see some buildings far off in the distance. The buildings looked
like a small outpost, clustered together as they were. The plane
circled around the homestead once, leaving Sam in awe of its size
from above. The house was enormous, surrounded by numerous
outbuildings to one side and a swimming pool and tennis courts to
the other.

“We’re here.” Daniel leaned over and
whispered in Sam’s ear. His soft lips only brushed her ear for a
split second, but it was enough to start some fires.

“Welcome to our homestead,” Mrs. Miller
announced after the plane had landed safely on their airstrip and
was pulling up in front of the house.