Jade felt so self-conscious. It had been so long since she had been out in public in revealing clothes and she wanted to pull the denim fabric down to cover her legs as well. But there wasn’t any spare fabric and none was about to magically appear. The shorts were so small and the T-shirt was stretched very snugly over her breasts. She was at least grateful she had worn a sports bra and not a lacy number.
Mitchell emerged as if he had chosen the outfit. Jade knew he couldn’t have done better with a stylist. The tank top showed off his perfectly sculpted arms and the cargo shorts sat low on his hips, just the way he liked them and the way she had seen him wear them at the beach.
Remembering the fact that Mitchell had already seen her in her bikini, and the others were involved in an Outback yoga class, and the kookaburras definitely wouldn’t care about her attire, she decided she had no choice but to let it go.
‘Looks like you’re about to get your first sighting of marsupials from the land Down Under,’ Mitchell said with a smile.
He grabbed some bottled water from the campsite cooler and they headed off through the dry scrub with the leaves and bark snapping under their feet. The air was still dry and warm and Jade could smell the distinctive scent of the eucalyptus leaves. She was thrilled when half an hour into their walk she spied a lizard sunning itself on a hollow tree branch. The brown and black scales blended with the tones of the bush surroundings and it became almost invisible.
‘Would poisonous snakes, like rattlesnakes, be around here?’ she asked as she surveyed the tufts of dry grass dotted on the red dirt around her.
‘There are poisonous snakes, but we don’t have rattlesnakes, they’re one of your countrymen. I’d say the deadly brown snakes would be the ones to watch out for around here.’
‘That’s a help.’ She laughed as she jumped from one large boulder to another. ‘That’s the colour of most snakes!’
‘Then maybe,’ he called to her, ‘don’t try to pat any of them.’
Mitchell loved seeing that side of Jade. She was carefree and spirited. He wished they could stay here for a week and get to know one another. To see how much more he could uncover about the woman who was now standing atop a two-foot rock and smiling into the setting sun.
She was perfect and he was dangerously close to falling for her.
* * *
They were having such a great time that Jade even forgot how inappropriate her outfit was. The Outback and Mitchell were both captivating and distracting. The walk was wonderful with the scent of the warm summer night and the wildlife sounds all around them.
‘So how do you like Outback Australia?’
‘Well, it’s definitely a far cry from LA,’ she said as she climbed over some rocks to where he was standing. ‘Can you tell me more about where we are?’
‘As your personal tour guide—unpaid, I might add—I can.’ His mouth curved into a ridiculously handsome smile. ‘This is the Flinders Ranges National Park. We’re about three hundred miles from Adelaide...’ He paused as he realised immediately that it also meant from her niece.
‘And Amber,’ she added dryly. ‘But I’m okay, really.’ She decided the rock could be her makeshift seat in the sun as she dropped down onto the hard but warm boulder for a rest while she enjoyed the view. ‘I’m sure Maureen and Arthur are spoiling her rotten and, to be honest, I couldn’t be happier about it. She needs to know she has family who love her as much as I do.’
Mitchell was surprised. It was a huge step for Jade. He hoped he’d had something to do with her shift in demeanour. She was still far from the wild child that David had spoken about, but she was even further from the governess in those shorts.
‘We all do,’ he said, and their eyes met for the longest time.
Jade pointed ahead and purposely broke the spell. ‘So what’s over there?’
Mitchell didn’t want the moment or the feeling to end. For the first time in his life he loved the way he felt about a woman beside him.
Finally, he looked across the landscape and answered. ‘Bunyeroo Gorge is about twenty miles from here. It’s a great drive with spectacular views and a trip through the gorge itself. The last time I travelled through there, a few years ago, there was a fair amount of water, which added to the driving experience but we won’t have time to do it today. Maybe if you want to see more of Australia we could come back.’
Jade was surprised by the invitation. She had not thought past this trip, and definitely not planned that they would spend additional time together, but it made her feel good that he had. She smiled at the thought of exploring the wilderness with Mitchell.
‘Some of the rock formations are over six hundred million years old,’ Mitchell continued. ‘Then there’s the Brachina Gorge, which is particularly awesome. It’s rugged country but stunning up there.’
‘So you’ve spent a great deal of time travelling around Australia?’
‘I backpacked around when I was eighteen. I needed some space of my own and to not be responsible for anyone else so I took off and worked odd jobs to pay my way. I do love Outback Australia.’
‘Tell me some of the history,’ Jade said, then added, ‘Your history, not the gorge’s.’
Mitchell took Jade’s cue and sat down on a rock not too far from her. ‘Not much to say. I travelled a lot after graduating, I told you that in the plane. I worked overseas and I’m back in Adelaide for a while. That’s about it.’
‘What about your childhood?’ she said, lying back a little on her rocky platform above the dirt. ‘Did you want to study medicine because of your stepfather? Did he encourage you during your high-school years?’
Mitchell wished that Arthur had been there while he’d been in high school. That would have made his life much easier and particularly his mother’s and brother’s lives.
‘No,’ he replied as he waved a horse fly away from his brow. ‘Arthur came into my mother’s life when I was already in medical school. My father was long gone and she met Arthur when she was working as a dental receptionist. He needed an emergency appointment and she squeezed him in to see the dentist and that was it. Arthur asked her out to dinner after the dentist put in a temporary filling, and they’ve been together ever since. They say it was love at first sight.’
‘What a romantic story,’ Jade said as she stretched her legs out in front of her and instinctively curled her toes. ‘It sounds like David and Ruby. Theirs was love at first sight too.’
Mitchell said nothing. He couldn’t relate to the idea. Falling in love and settling down had always been the furthest thing from his mind. In his mind love didn’t last and the collateral damage scared him to the core. But for some strange reason, sitting with Jade, it suddenly didn’t seem so unnerving.
‘I guess they’re the lucky ones,’ she said, looking up into the pink and purple striped sky that hung over them like a giant patterned canopy.
‘Lucky perhaps the second time around, but not even close with the first,’ he said without thinking.
‘So her relationship with your father was very unhappy.’ She turned to face him, her expression suddenly serious.
‘Let’s just say he let us all down, shattered the family, but we got through,’ Mitchell said, climbing back to his feet. ‘Not without some scars, mind you, but it’s much too great an evening to waste it talking about my father.’
* * *
They walked in silence and enjoyed the sunset. While Jade was curious about Mitchell’s father, she didn’t bring it up again. He obviously didn’t want to discuss it further and that was his prerogative. But it did make her think it might be an underlying reason for his behaviour over the years. His father’s actions had definitely impacted on Mitchell.
They were both mindful they needed to be back before it was completely dark. Mitchell had a good sense of direction so he knew they would be safe. Jade realised how she once again she felt safe just being near him. And now knowing a little more about the man, feeling safe with Mitchell wasn’t scaring he
r at all.
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘SOMETHING TELLS ME Australian beer is not to Jade’s liking,’ Mitchell told the other campers. They had returned from their hike and had been invited to join them for a nice cold drink. It was the first time Jade had sampled the amber drink with the white froth and she quickly realised she would never ask for one again.
‘It’s so...bitter,’ she said as her face contorted a little, and she quickly passed the small bottle to Mitchell. Without hesitation, he took a sip.
‘It’s cold and I’m off duty, so I’m not about to complain.
Suddenly they both realised how comfortable they had become in each other’s company. They had a level of familiarity between them that made it natural for him to finish her drink.
The campsite hosts offered Jade a nice chardonnay instead and she quickly found that Australian wine was much more to her liking as they passed the evening with polite conversation. The men then pulled out some cards and suggested poker. Jade noticed Mitchell suddenly shift in his chair. She could see he clearly didn’t like the idea, which suited her as she was getting tired. It had been a long day, but she couldn’t help but notice there was more to Mitchell’s reaction than just tiredness. There was a look of disapproval.
‘It’s getting late and the plane will be back in the morning, so I think we’ll turn in for the night. Thank you all for your hospitality.’ Mitchell stood up and with a look that Jade had trouble defining in her own mind he reached his hand down to help her up.
Without thinking, he kept holding Jade’s hand long after he needed to and he led her to the other side of the camp and to their tent.
‘You don’t approve of cards?’ she asked as they neared the tent.
‘Let’s just say I don’t think much of anything related to gambling. No one should gamble money, lives...or people’s feelings.’
‘That sounds like it’s coming from a place of experience,’ she said softly. She wanted to know more about the man who was making her body and heart come alive.
Mitchell walked farther away from the others, still holding her hand. He sat down on a large fallen eucalyptus branch not too far from their tent and gently pulled her down beside him.
‘My biological father gambled with our family and when he lost, we all lost.’
Without thinking, Jade stroked his arm as he looked into the distance and into his past.
‘My father lost everything we owned, our home, savings, even my mother’s jewellery was pawned before he took off with his mistress when I was only fourteen.’
‘Mitchell, I’m so sorry.’
‘Hey, we still had each other but in my infinite wisdom as a teenager I decided it was my job to make it up to my mother.’
Jade was confused. ‘But it was your father who lost everything and walked out. You had nothing to do with it.’
Mitchell released her hand. His jaw tensed before he spoke. ‘I saw him with the other woman. I was catching the tram home from school and I saw him leave the casino, holding hands with a woman I knew worked in his office. It was about six months before he left us. Looking back, I should have said something, maybe prepared my mother. Perhaps we could have secured the house, or at least the money and her jewellery. But I did nothing. I hoped it was a one-night stand, an affair that would blow over. I didn’t tell anyone, not even my father.’
‘Your mother may not have believed you, Mitchell. She may have thought you were mistaken, and more than likely your father would have lied his way out of it. A man who would do that is not going to admit it.’
‘Who knows? But I couldn’t change anything so I decided to make it up to my mother and brother and lied about my age, got a false ID and got work in a warehouse. I told my mother that I hated school and got home schooling, which allowed me to work all day and study at night. David was only nine and couldn’t help. I just wanted him to stay on track and at school.’
Jade felt tears welling inside. Mitchell had made life choices at such a young age through misguided guilt and enormous reserves of compassion.
‘My mother found employment too, but with little or no workplace skills her money was not enough to keep a roof over our heads and pay off the credit-card debt my father had also run up. So we both kept working and I missed out on a huge part of my teenage years. My mother hated that I had to work and she told me she’d work longer hours so I could return to school but we both knew she couldn’t work any more hours. There weren’t enough in the day for either of us.’
‘Your father’s selfish behaviour cost you your youth. No wonder you’ve spent the last few years having fun.’
‘It was hardly the coal mines...’
‘To a teenage boy, missing out on everything normal and natural and silly in those precious years would be life-changing and devastating,’ Jade cut in, aware of her own carefree, rebellious youth.
‘Arthur came into my mother’s life when I was eighteen. He was a good man and I was very happy to see my mother happy, but I also was over it. I was over being responsible. I took off. It was as though I had handed my mother to Arthur and I was out of there.’
‘That’s being a little harsh on yourself. I’m sure Maureen was relieved that you no longer had to be the man of the house.’
‘I worry that I would have bolted anyway, even if Arthur hadn’t shown up. I was burnt out.’
Jade shook her head. ‘I’m sure you would have stayed. If you managed to hold it together for three long years, working and studying, you would have seen it through. I’m sure of it.’ Her hand reached up and brushed away a stray wattle flower that had landed on his shoulder.
‘Nice of you to think so, but I guess I share my father’s DNA. Maybe Arthur was a stroke of luck because I was done. That’s why I’ve avoided family. I don’t want to let anyone down. I felt trapped. Maybe that’s how my father felt when he left.’
‘Stop right there,’ Jade demanded of the man she had so quickly come to know. ‘You were fifteen when you took on the role your father abandoned, you held it down for three years and took care of your mother and brother, and finally, when you mother found love, you left to enjoy your life. How is that anything like a selfish middle-aged man gambling all the family’s money, leaving them in debt and shooting through with his mistress? They are poles apart. You showed maturity beyond your years, love and loyalty, while your father’s actions were despicable.’
‘Maybe that’s how you see it but I’m not that chivalrous. And I can’t change now,’ he admitted.
‘I disagree. I think you cut your hair and shaved your beard to meet your niece. You wanted her to like you and not be scared away by the wild bushman. You cared about how she felt. It might seem a little thing but add that to the way you melt around Amber, and it shows the man you are. You have a wonderful heart and you’re nothing like your father.’
Mitchell had told himself as he’d sat in the barber’s chair the day after he’d arrived in Adelaide that it would be cooler to have shorter hair in the summer, and perhaps this way he wouldn’t scare either Jade or Amber away. But he knew inside it was more than that. More than even Jade could see. A part of him wanted to be a little more like David. He wanted to be closer to the father Amber had lost, even if it was only for a few weeks.
But he doubted he could come close to being half the man his brother had been.
‘I like to have no roots, I don’t want to be in one place or responsible. I don’t think that I ever will...’
Jade saw Mitchell in a different light and she cut short his words with a kiss.
He had been running from guilt that he shouldn’t have been carrying and she felt her last walls of resistance fall with his honesty. She now needed to be honest with herself. She wanted Mitchell Forrester.
Looking at Jade, comfortable in her skimpy outfit, enjoying the Outback, Mitchell also saw a different side of her and he couldn’t hold back any longer either.
Their bodies only inches apart, her heart was pounding as she felt his
breath on her cheek and smelt the scent of his woody cologne. Neither moved. Neither had the strength to walk away. The sincerity and warmth in his words drew her to him and she didn’t know what to think any more. She was about to give in to feelings she had never thought she would feel again. The desire that he was stirring she had thought was buried completely under a sea of duty and guilt. With little effort he was resurrecting a side she had thought was lost for ever.
His hands cupped her face before passion took over and there was urgency as his mouth closed on hers. With no need for words, he pulled her close to him and, forgetting their bush surroundings, his hands roamed the curves of her body. Willingly, she pressed her body against the hardness of his and a little groan of pleasure escaped from her lips. She could hardly breathe.
His mouth moved slowly down her neck, trailing kisses across her skin. Her back arched as he gently tilted her head to take his kisses lower.
‘Is there room in your tent for both of us?’ His voice was low and husky.
She nodded her reply as his tongue teased her skin and he led her by the hand into the darkness of the tent, where he slowly removed every piece of her clothing. And then his own before he was consumed by passion for the woman lying naked on the ground.
* * *
Jade woke in the morning to the sounds of the kookaburras in the treetops and some rustling in the leaves on the ground outside. She sat upright in surprise.
Then she felt a warm hand pull her back down to the softness of the thick sleeping bag for two.
‘It’s probably just a possum or koala. Lie back down with me and I’ll protect you from ferocious marsupials.’
Her lips formed a soft smile before Mitchell’s mouth claimed hers. His kiss held the same level of passion that they had enjoyed during the hours of lovemaking before they’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms. It was very clear to Jade that the morning was beginning in the same wonderful way the night had ended. There would be no argument from her.
A Baby to Bind Them Page 13
