The Outback Cattleman's Hired Wife (23 page)

‘
You
’
re right of
course,
’
she tittered and waved her lie away with a brief
flick of her hand.
‘
I was just testing your mettle. You
’
ll be very good for him. You see, he blamed himself
for Heather
’
s death. She really was quite mad. Poor dear, she
wandered off in the middle of the night and drowned in the river. Jared found
her face down in the morning.
’

‘
Oh, how awful.
’ Kirra chewed on her bottom lip.

‘
You didn
’
t know?
’

‘
No.
’

Magda smiled in triumph.
‘
Jared doesn
’
t like to talk about it, but we
’
re old friends. We go back a long way.
’

Jared came out then. He looked every inch the virile
man Kirra knew he was.

‘
I thought you
’
d be at the
barn by now,
’
he said to Magda.
‘
Let Kirra
pass, I
’
m sure she
’
d like to
get out of those wet clothes.
’

‘
It
’
s okay, Jared,
’
Kirra said lightly.
‘
We were just getting acquainted.
’

‘
Magda lives in the city. She provides her services to
farms within a three hundred kilometre radius,
’
Jared informed her.
‘
You may not see
her too often.
’

‘
The city is much more fun, darling,
’
Magda said and flounced down the steps, brushing past
Kirra.

‘
Caleb and I will be out this afternoon,
’
Jared said to Kirra.
‘
We
’
ll bring home something for dinner.
’

‘
I
’
m sure I can keep
myself busy,
’
Kirra said, as he cupped the back of her head with a
large, gentle hand and kissed her on the forehead. Kirra smiled, feeling a
glimmer of hope in her heart that he loved her.

Kirra padded into the homestead. She tossed all the
wet towels and swimwear into the washing machine and turned it on.

After taking a quick shower, she pulled on well-worn
jeans and a long-sleeved, cream t-shirt, before heading into Jared
’
s study.

With practiced efficiency, Kirra turned on the
computer and plugged in her camera. She knew exactly how she would spend her
alone time.

Firstly, she downloaded the photos taken today and
saved them into a folder. She thought Jared might like them for keepsakes.

Secondly, she did some research on the internet about
accidents with low, narrow bridges without guard rails. A five hundred word
article ensued about the accident near Jared
’
s homestead
they
’
d come across this morning.  

Thirdly, after a proof-read and edit, she attached the
article, along with the photo she took of the car and the bridge, and emailed
it to her editor.

The usual thrill, like a Mexican Wave, whipped around
her mind. When she
’
d finished an article, especially one where she could
make the public aware of an injustice, nothing compared to it.

After two hours of work, she stood and stretched, then
went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She gave Jesse a long
tummy-rub, before carrying her tea back into the study.

Suddenly, she decided to check the national newspaper archives for any
further information on Heather Glengarry
’
s death.

To her surprise, she found something.

Jared was detained on suspicion of murdering her,
while an autopsy was performed. Later, he was released without charges. The
autopsy had proved there was mental illness in the brain and no other evidence
of foul-play. So he had told her the truth.

Kirra gasped and covered her mouth with her hand,
feeling heartfelt compassion for him. Her burning curiosity satisfied, she
closed the window on the monitor. A moment passed before she realised Jared was
leaning against the door frame.

‘
Enjoying yourself?
’
he said
lightly. When she didn’t answer, his brow knitted together and he folded his
arms loosely across his chest.

Kirra unconsciously whipped out the camera cord from
his computer. It was a silly thing to do. It made her look like she was up to
something underhanded.
‘
Jared, I -,
’
Kirra
stopped cold. How could she explain that she
’
d checked up on him?
‘
I
’
m sorry for using your computer without asking.
’

His eyes turned to steely-blue.
‘
If you
’
ve written that
article about me and plan to publish my photo or Caleb
’
s without my consent,
’
he ground out,
‘
I won
’
t be impressed.
You gave me your word.
’

Kirra jumped up out of his chair.
‘I certainly have
not!’ She crunched up the camera cord with her camera in one hand and strode
towards him. ‘
I
’
ll tell you the
truth if you
’
re willing to listen.
’

‘
What do you mean?
’
he said,
his eyes pure steel.
‘
What truth?
’

‘
I did write an article and I
’
ve already sent it to my editor with a photo, but -
’
She hesitated, when he swore and shook his head in
disgust.

‘
How could I be so stupid as to trust a journalist?
’
Jared bit out harshly.
‘It’s just a story to you, but real
lives can get damaged by what you print.’

‘The story wasn’t
about you,’ she explained, touching him on the forearm, her eyes pleading to
believe her. ‘Well, sort of, but not really –‘

A muscle in
Jared’s jaw tensed and Kirra knew wasn’t making much sense. She was making
things worse, if anything.

‘
I’m going out to the barn to check on some cattle,
’ Jared said
through gritted teeth, before he abruptly turned and strode down the hallway.

Kirra shivered involuntarily. She’d had all day to mention her idea to
Jared after she’d snapped the photo at the bridge, but it had slipped her mind
when they’d started playing
I Spy
again
.

How could everything go haywire so quickly?
She thought in dismay. To react so heatedly, he must
have had major problems with journalists before.

If only she
’
d had a
chance to read the entire article and searched if there were any follow-up
articles surrounding the inquiry into Heather
’
s death?

Jared wasn
’
t going to
talk it out with her now judging the state he was in.

She scampered into the granny flat and started to
pack. She could see no way out, but to leave.
What was she thinking?
 
She wasn’t. Her insides felt like a ship wrecked in a giant eddy in an ocean
storm, flotsam and jetsam flying every which way.  Dropping down on the
bed, she buried her head in her shaking hands. She didn
’
t want to go. She loved Jared and Caleb. Caleb
’
s fragile little heart, she knew, would be broken if
she left him without a word.

Feeling wretched, she ran out of the homestead,
needing fresh air, as she choked back the tears. She hated
‘
Catch 22
’
situations. That
’
s why she
’
d stayed
her married to Zac. She knew that now. She
’
d known
they weren
’
t compatible within the first month of their married
life, but pride and determination had made her persevere and try to make it
work. Young and naive, she didn
’
t know she couldn
’
t change people. She could only change her own
behaviour. And her behaviour just then had been thoughtless, purely impulsive.
Dammit!

Not mindful of where she was going, Kirra ran out
across the paddock towards the river. Within moments, the sound of a speeding
vehicle could be heard behind her.

Kirra glanced over her shoulder. It was Jared coming
after her in the Land Cruiser.

Surprised, when he drove the vehicle around her and
pulled up, effectively rounding her up like a stray cow, she spun around on the
spot.

He jumped out of the vehicle and bolted towards her.
‘
Kirra!
’
he called out,
his voice filled with a desperate kind of emotion she hadn’t heard
before. 

Her arms wrapped around her belly, she stood perfectly
still and caught her breath. It took an eternity for her mind to register what
was happening.

Jared
’
s face was
contorted with pain, as he ran full-pelt towards her and wrapped her up in a
bear-hug.
‘
Don
’
t kill yourself!
’

Kirra looked puzzled.
‘
I would never do that,
’
she said firmly.

He relaxed his hold a little, but he kept her in his
arms.
‘
I
’
m sorry I jumped
to conclusions,
’
he said ruefully.
‘
I didn
’
t let you explain. Come back to the homestead please,
Caleb -
’

‘
Where is he?
’
Kirra
’
s heart skipped a beat.
‘He’s not hurt?’

‘
He
’
s with Max,
’
he said soothingly. He cupped his hand on back of her
head and stepped in close.
‘
He wants to milk
the cows again this evening.
’

Kirra looked up into his intense, blue-grey gaze. She
dropped her hands and calmed down a little. ‘He likes agriculture?’

‘
Yes, I think he
’
ll want to
be a farmer when he grows up,
’
Jared said
proudly.
‘
He could tell the difference between bulls and cows as
soon as he could talk.
’

‘
Jared, why did you come after me like a man possessed?
’
Kirra asked, pressing her hand on his chest over his
heart. It was thumping hard against his ribcage.
‘
Was it because of Heather?
’

One dark eyebrow rose.
‘
Heather?
’

‘
Magda told me how she died.
’

He sighed wearily, then grimaced.
‘
I felt guilty for a long while because I didn
’
t wake up that fateful night she walked out of the
homestead.
’
His gaze softened.
‘
But no, I came after you because I realised I acted like a caveman back
there.
’

‘
Yes, you did,
’
she stated
matter-of-factly.
‘
All you had to do was ask to see the article and I
would have shown it to you.
’

‘
Will you show it to me now?
’

‘
Sure,
’
she said in a
flippant tone. Her hooded eyes, flared with anger. He still didn
’
t trust her. But maybe, it was just her profession in
general he distrusted. She hoped so.

With such access to instant information on the
technology highway, was anyone able to simply fall in love without checking out
everything there was to know about a prospective partner?