The Outback Cattleman's Hired Wife

by Natalia Elder

  Jared, her saviour.

  How could she ever have thought of him as a transitional man?

  He was her one true love. In two weeks, he’d shared her life in every sense of the word.

  She missed him already and wanted to be in his safe, secure and loving arms once again.

  Driving back towards Brisbane, having skipped breakfast, she decided to stop at an al fresco café in Broadbeach. She bought a heated ham and cheese croissant and a small cappuccino, devouring them hungrily.

  Would she really miss all the city had to offer? She looked around and honestly didn’t think so.

  Like she usually did after breakfast at home, she checked her mobile phone for text messages. Her editor had sent her one. She smiled when she read that he’d loved her article and offered her the rural journalist job again. She replied immediately that she’d take it.

  Her mobile phone, still on silent mode, pipped with an incoming text message. Kirra viewed it immediately. It said, ‘Phil is playing at Carrara at two today, please come. Miss you. Elise.’

  Kirra checked the time on her phone. It was almost two now. She didn’t reply. She’d just turn up like she always did when she felt like it. Elise liked surprises too!

  The football field was at Carrara on the northern end of the Gold Coast. It wasn’t far from where she was. She’s been there a few times before.

  Driving there in record time, she sat down beside Elise a minute before the kickoff and caught her breath.‘Made it!’

  ‘Kirra? Kirra!’ Elise whooped and hugged her, then prattled on, ‘I’m sorry for the deception.’ She chewed on her lower lip, but didn’t wait for her reply. ‘It was naughty of me, wasn’t it? Will you forgive me? Us?’

  ‘Yes and yes,’ Kirra said seriously, then added, ‘but I really need to thank you. I couldn’t see the trees from the forest until I had the Farm-Stay and life became simpler.’

  ‘And Jared? Was I right or was I right about your compatibility?’ she asked proudly and grinned from ear to ear.

  ‘Oh Elise, I love him and Caleb so much. I want to thank you. I’m so happy!’ She hugged her best friend, long and hard.

  Elise whispered in her ear. ‘I don‘t want thanks, just name your first baby after me.’

  Kirra laughed and pulled back a little. ‘What if it’s a boy?’

  ‘What’s this?’ Jared’s deep voice behind her startled her. ‘Are you pregnant, Kirra?’

  Kirra spun around. Her heart hammered against her ribcage in excitement. ‘Jared? Caleb? What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t like football?’

  ‘We can learn to love it?’ Jared said and gave her a heartfelt smile. ‘Caleb was invited by his uncle, remember?’

  ‘Kirra!’ Caleb surged forward and hugged her tightly. The shell necklace he’d made which she wore every day, dug into the back of her neck. ‘Dad and I have missed you so much.’

  Kirra looked up into Jared’s soft grey-blue eyes and smiled with a newly-found serenity and happiness in her heart.

  ‘Have you done what you needed to do?’ he asked solemnly.

  ‘Yes,’ she replied, emotion making her voice hoarse.

  ‘There’s plenty of time,’ he said quietly. ‘There’s no hurry. We have a lifetime ahead of us.’

  Her heart swelled with pure love at his considerate words. Did she deserve such a wonderful man? If she believed in karma, she would say yes. He was her reward in this life. ‘I truly have closure now,’ she replied in earnest.

  He nodded and gave her a look of understanding, as if he knew exactly what she’d done, having shared a similar experience.

  Elise interrupted on a light note, ‘Caleb, how about I treat you to a hot dog and soft drink?’

  Caleb released Kirra then.

  Kirra smiled at him, while she rubbed the back of her neck where the shells had dug in. She really had to get a strip of protective leather for it, she thought in the back of her mind. And maybe, one for Jared’s mother.

  ‘This is Elise,’ Kirra said, a wicked glint in her eye. ‘Uncle Gus’s fiancée.’

  ‘Kirra, I hate that name!’ Elise bristled.

  Kirra chuckled, ‘I know. I’m only teasing you.’

  Elise rolled her eyes. ‘I suppose I deserve a little payback after what I did,’ she laughed, then said adamantly, ‘When we get married, I’d like you to call him Uncle Phil.’

  ‘Welcome to the family, Elise,’ Jared said magnanimously. He took out his wallet and handed her some money, ‘Please buy enough for everyone.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Elise said. She took the money in one hand and Caleb’s hand in the other. She leaned over to Caleb and whispered, ‘With this amount of money, maybe we can get an ice-cream too.’

  When they skipped away, Jared sat down beside Kirra on one of the brightly-coloured individual seats and took both her hands in his. He looked tired, but happy and she knew their fierce and incredibly wonderful volume of love-making had had something to do with it.

  His eyes narrowed with a seriousness that she appreciated and trusted. ‘I have a confession to make.’

  Kirra sucked on her lower lip. Was it something that she wanted to hear? Would it change things between them? She doubted it. After spending years with Zac being unpredictable, it was refreshing that Jared spoke with discernment and always from the heart. She smiled serenely. ‘I’m all ears.’

  He squared his shoulders and closed his eyes briefly, as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. ‘That day when you ran towards the river, I lied. It did feel like déjà vu. I thought I’d driven you to the same fate as Heather.’

  Tears burned at the back of her eyes. Here was this strong and stoic farmer opening his heart to her. She squeezed his hand in reassurance, her natural and compassionate, journalistic instincts kicking in. ‘Go on.’

  A burst of air flared his nostrils like a horse welcoming a rub down after a strenuous gallop. ‘Having lived with Heather and her deteriorating mental health, I was always trying to quick fix it. I should have asked for more help sooner. Sometimes, the frustration at not knowing what to do was insurmountable.’

  ‘You did your best to look after her. It wasn’t your fault, Heather became mentally ill.’

  His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed deeply. ‘When the detective grilled me about her death, I didn’t handle it very well. I felt guilty that I’d failed her as a husband and protector, but the truth was we hadn’t been husband and wife for a long time. The night before she’d died, Heather had started an argument. Usually, I could calm her down or I’d walk away, but that time I stood my ground.’

  Kirra rubbed his forearm and watched him close his eyes in anguish, his head tilting towards the sun that had begun to warm up the day. ‘Is this the suspicious circumstances one journalist wrote about?’

  ‘Mm.’ He glanced at her, pain still evident in his eyes. ‘Heather had accused me of having an affair with Magda and demanded that I leave. She was totally irrational. Any number of denials and reassurances fell on deaf ears.’

  ‘Was there any reason for her to think that it was a possibility?’ She was being the journalist now.

  ‘Of course not,’ he said adamantly. ‘I took my vows seriously. That night though, something snapped and my heart broke,’ he added, his head dropping forward in defeat. I couldn’t take it anymore and I knew in the morning I’d have to take her to the hospital even if I had to call her doctor and demand that she have a Psychiatric Assessment.’

  ‘Oh Jared, how awful for you.’

  ‘That’s not the worst of it,’ he rasped harshly. ‘That night was the first night I’d slept on the sofa in my study. I didn’t hear her leave.’

  ‘The sofa where we made love?’ she recollected, squeezing his arm in compassion. ‘Nobody’s perfect, Jared. It was an impossible situation.’

  He nodded, though his eyes were closed, as if he was having his own nightmarish flashes of memory. ‘It didn’t matter how much money I had, there was nothing I could d
o for her. I worked that out a while ago.’

  ‘And when you found her, it must have been dreadful.’

  ‘I knew she was lifeless, so I dragged her body out of the river and phoned the Police,’ he said quietly, meeting her gaze with trust and relief. ‘Somehow, the media got wind of it and the circus began.’

  Kirra knew all about how News articles were sourced and she cringed inwardly. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘That was only the start,’ he bit out harshly. ‘Unflattering photos appeared in the newspapers and trashy magazines. I bought them all. Every word was fabricated from grainy photos. They said that I bumped off my wife because I was having an affair with a gorgeous, younger woman.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Magda, of course.’ His lips pursed together in a grim line. ‘It was as if Heather was gaining her revenge from the grave. It was doing my head in!’

  Kirra had an ah-ha moment. ‘So that’s why Magda pretended to be your lover at first?’

  ‘Yes, it’s a joke between us. She helped me see the funny side of it. The compromising, telephoto shots of us were taken while she was artificially inseminating one of the cows I was steadying. The angle it was taken, the cow looked like a rug that we were lying on.’

  Kirra gave him a knowingly look. She knew full well that paparazzi went to extraordinary length to achieve a saleable photo. Though Jared was a billionaire, he wasn’t famous. ‘Did you sue them for slander or ask them for a retraction?’

  ‘No,’ he said matter-of-factly. ‘My lawyer advised against it. He seemed to think it was better to ignore it, while the detectives were awaiting the autopsy report.’

  ‘Sometimes,’ she said thoughtfully, ‘but I believe it’s better to clear your name.’

  ‘People believe stories more when there’s photo evidence. They can make up their minds quickly, if they don’t know you, mud sticks,’ he bit out.

  She rubbed the middle of his back in consolation. ‘So did your friends and family believe it?’

  ‘No. They knew Heather wasn’t well because she never left the house. When they came to visit, they could see she wasn’t quite right all the time. They were supportive. That’s all that mattered. They knew that I was doing all I could and that they couldn’t do any better with one of their own,’ he said, his voice laden with emotion. ‘When the autopsy revealed that an aneurism had caused her to pass out and fall into the river, the coroner’s inquest found that she would have had no conscious awareness of wandering off and there was no foul play surrounding her death.’

  ‘That was printed in the newspaper,’ she said with compassion and squeezed his hand again, as she remembered the small article on page ten. ‘I was also questioned by detectives after Zac died,’ she admitted.

  ‘Why?’ he said, his brow knitting together. ‘You weren’t even there.’

  ‘Exactly, but I had bought the food and drink for the boat trip,’ she explained, as the horrific memory flashed through her mind, like a screeching crow in flight.

  ‘They thought you’d poisoned him?’

  ‘Yes and no,’ she said calmly. ‘They were just covering all possible scenarios, but it still hurt that they would think such a thing.’

  ‘But they didn’t know you either.’

  ‘Yeah. Detectives have a tough job, but it’s very necessary to uncover the truth. Nowadays, they don’t often get it wrong with so much state-of-the-art, forensic testing available.’

  ‘You have a tough job too,’ Jared acknowledged and gently squeezed her hand. ‘I apologise for painting you with the same brush as those few unscrupulous journalists.’

  She gave him a heartfelt smile. ‘Already forgiven.’

  He wrapped his arms around her and drew her in close. ‘You’re such a gracious person, Kirra Whitely. I love you with all my heart.’

  Kirra’s heart sang, as she snuggled under his warm, protective arm and knew she was home.

  The crowd rose to their feet, yelling, ‘Go! Go! Go!’ and cheered victoriously when a footballer crossed the try line and scored.

  When it was announced over the loud speaker that Phil had scored another try, Kirra abruptly pulled out of

  Jared’s comfortable embrace. She stood up and whooped. ‘Way to go, Phil! Way to go!’

  After a few moments, Phil gave her a wave from behind the try line, while the half-back kicked for goal. She sat down elated, and smiled broadly at Jared. ‘Phil’s incredible. He’s so fast! Nobody can catch him when he gets a break. I’m sure he’ll get player of the match.’

  ‘You really love this game, don’t you?’

  ‘Yeah, I do!’ Kirra was proud to be a football supporter. ‘I grew up with it. Every Sunday night, Mum, Dad and I watched the footy,’ she said proudly. ‘We only had one television so we had to vote on what shows we watched. But Dad and I always insisted on watching the football,’ she explained, as she remembered happy times from her childhood. ‘It was even better when he took us to a live game to experience the atmosphere . . . and the hotdogs and ice-creams.’

  ‘Then football will be part of our life,’ Jared agreed. ‘We’ll grow to love it too.’

  ‘I think Caleb is already a convert,’ Kirra said, as she turned and pointed towards Elise and Caleb standing at the fence, close to the sideline of the field. ‘Look, over there.’

  Elise had crouched down and was pointing to all the players, while Caleb nodded enthusiastically.

  Jared followed the imaginary line from Kirra’s pointed finger. ‘I think you’re right.’

  She turned back to him and smiled, deeply in love with this strong, stoic man who was always willing to meet her half way. She knew that she could easily and happily spend the rest of her life with him. She hoped her eyes expressed her deep, abiding love for him and that he could see it in her soul. ‘I will love watching Caleb play soccer too and anything else our children want to do.’

  Jared’s dark eyebrows rose in surprise. ‘Are you pregnant, Kirra?’ he asked again, his tone deeply serious.

  It hadn’t crossed her mind, but come to think of it, with the voracious amount of sex they’d been having, it was a distinct possibility. After all, the previous tests on her ovaries had proved to be normal and Jared could obviously sire children, having fathered Caleb already. ‘I don’t know, maybe,’ she said wistfully. ‘My breasts are tingly and I’m a day late. I’m never late, but it could be stress.’ Her heart sang with hope. Could she really be pregnant? She wondered.

  Imagine that!

  ‘It’s time you met my family,’ Jared said, then with a tone that brooked no quarter, ‘We will be married in a month.’

  ‘Now you are rushing me!’ she replied on a yelp. ‘That’s not enough time to make arrangements.’

  ‘How much time do you need?’ he asked frankly. ‘Do you want the big fairytale wedding?’

  ‘No, definitely not!’ she said adamantly. ‘I’ve had one of those. I had to do everything. It was such a production, so stressful and so many things went wrong on the day which led to a disastrous wedding night and, and -’ She became all choked up.

  He smoothed down her hair and cupped the back of her head in a calming gesture. ‘Let’s keep it simple, love,’ he said, then sealed it with a kiss right when the crowd went wild as another try was scored.

  Epilogue

  THREE MONTHS LATER, Desmond Whitely walked his only daughter down the red carpet of a simple, but elegant outdoor wedding setting on Jared’s property. Locals, family and friends, all smiling like Cheshire cats, sat either side of the long aisle decorated with ribbons, flowers and cow bells.

  The weather being warmer, Kirra decided on an off-the-shoulder, three-quarter length gown with a full skirt in ivory silk with a chiffon overlay and crystals sewn onto the bodice. She teamed it with gloves and a fashionable pillbox hat with a wisp of tulle attached for a veil. Matching low-heeled ankle-boots and a delicate green sapphire and diamond necklace and earrings for jewelry that Jared and Caleb had given her as a wedding present, comp
leted her ensemble. She’d borrowed Granny’s blue sapphire broach and her bouquet was one of red roses bundled with white baby’s breath.

  Standing proudly under a lattice arch covered in roses, Jared looked suave in his black tuxedo. The red bow tie he wore stood out against the white shirt and to Kirra, it meant he had a wild, sexy side to him. It gave her a thrill that she was the only one privy to that information and she looked forward to experiencing it tonight on their wedding night.

  Jared waited patiently beside the marriage celebrant, glad that Kirra had written down his words to say as part of their vows. Gus, soon to be officially Uncle Phil, stood beside him as his Best Man.

  Both father and son wore gold watches that Kirra had given them as a wedding present. It took her an eternity to choose something, but she was glad they liked her practical gifts.

  With his heart in his throat, Jared watched his son in his miniature version of his tuxedo walk down the aisle to the strains of ‘Here Comes the Bride’ by a string quartet.

  He saw that Caleb walked in measured steps and carried a silk heart-shaped pillow with two gold wedding bands tied onto it. Jared felt so proud of him, the way he’d taken to Kirra. He knew Caleb was as happy and contented as he was, and revelled in her genuine love and compassion.

  Elise walked in front of Kirra and looked rather sexy in a red silk skirt suit. She held a posy of white roses, but Jared only had eyes for his beautiful, incredibly generous bride.

  Excitement raced through his veins. He savoured the moment and appreciated the importance of their wedding day, as the beginning of a long and happy marriage. At least, he hoped so. He knew there were no guarantees in life, but he was willing to take a risk with Kirra by his side.

  With that breathtakingly-handsome crooked smile of his on his face, he whispered, ‘You’re beautiful. I love you.’

  Kirra smiled. His words filled her heart with joy.

  ‘Ditto! I love you too,’ she whispered back.

  When the celebrant asked, ‘Who gives this woman to be married?’ Desmond handed Kirra over to Jared. ‘No returns,’ he said cheekily and Jared chuckled.