Beneath Outback Skies

by Alissa Callen

  ‘Paige,’ he growled.

  ‘I know. I know. Relax and stay still.’

  ‘Exactly. Now go to sleep.’

  To his surprise she did as she was told. The tension left the warm body moulded to his side. Her gentle breath washed over his throat and the fingers on his chest relaxed.

  Again he closed his eyes. The machine on the drip stand beeped and voices murmured in the corridor beyond the doorway, but his senses remained focused on the woman beside him. He needed to sleep but his mind revved in overdrive. What he wouldn’t give to always have Paige by his side. To know when he reached out a hand he could touch her and that when he woke in the morning he’d see her.

  But before he could even think about being worthy of Paige he had to correct the wrong turns he’d taken. He had to honour the memory of his country mother by fulfilling her final wish that the circle be completed. He had to take his place in his forefather’s land of ochre dust and blue skies. Exhaustion bit deep into his bones. He had to reclaim the inheritance that he’d thrown away in a selfish fit of fury and grief.

  Chapter Eighteen

  If Bundy’s heaven would be filled with shoes, Paige’s heaven would be filled with unlimited hot water.

  She sighed with bliss as she angled her back beneath the pressurized spray. Resting her forehead on the gleaming white tiles, she ignored her inner stopwatch that was reminding her she’d already had a fifteen-minute shower. Her hands might be wrinkly and the heat making her dizzy, but she had dust to wash from her soul. In the small steamy world of the hotel bathroom there was no drought and no financial worries.

  She relaxed beneath the streaming water for another minute before turning it off. Tait was in the adjoining room and she should check on him. The doctor had advised them he could suffer side-effects from the EpiPen and requested he not leave town until tomorrow. So with Dubbo being a bustling regional centre, Tait’s PA had been able to organize a hire car and book them into a swish hotel. Paige wrapped the thick white towel around her hair and slipped her arms into the bathrobe. She limped into her bedroom that was decorated in the muted colours of the French provincial style. She flopped onto the spotless white coverlet of the vast bed and moved her arms and legs as though she were making a snow angel.

  Knuckles rapped on the room’s connecting door.

  ‘It’s unlocked,’ she called, rolling onto her stomach and looking at the door.

  Tait strode into the room. Her light-headedness returned ten-fold. Even though dark circles underpinned his eyes, he looked as good as the foil-wrapped chocolate on her pillow. His damp hair curled onto the collar of his white shirt, which gaped open thanks to the two buttons she’d ripped off last night trying to help him breathe.

  ‘How was your shower?’ The side of his mouth curled into a smile. ‘I hope you left some hot water for the other guests.’

  ‘Shower was sublime.’

  She manoeuvred herself off the bed and freed her hair to finger-brush out any tangles.

  Tait tracked the movement of her hand. ‘You smell different, almost like vanilla.’

  ‘It would be the hotel shampoo and soap with the fancy foreign names.’

  ‘Cheryl did well in finding this hotel. I asked her to check if there was anything in town that might have had some French touches.’

  Knots forgotten, Paige’s hand lowered to her side. Tait had remembered she and her mother had dreamed of travelling to France. He’d actually listened to her the first morning they’d fed the cattle. Chris had been flat out to even remember her mother’s name.

  ‘Thanks,’ Paige said, speaking slowly. ‘This will probably be as close as I’ll get to going overseas.’ She gazed around at the stylish room with its white furniture and the delicate tear-drop chandelier. ‘But it’s lovely.’ She headed towards the bathroom. ‘I’m sure you’ll need another coffee. I’ll get dressed and then we can go out.’

  Once inside the bathroom, where a vanilla-mist lingered, she briefly closed her eyes. She might have come close to losing Tait yesterday but she couldn’t forget next week he’d be just a memory. She unhooked the ball gown from where she’d hung it behind the door, shrugged out of her robe and dressed. Her growing feelings for Tait were irrelevant. Sure his touch could rob her of all reason, and sure his smile could make her steps feel lighter, but at the end of the day they weren’t a couple. And never could be. Tait had a city to return to and she had Connor and Banora Downs to look after. She re-entered the room and saw Tait rubbing his brow.

  ‘Headache?’

  ‘Yes, nothing caffeine wouldn’t fix. Shall we head out?’

  She nodded and gathered her hair to the side in order for him to zip up her dress. ‘Mr Wardrobe Expert, if you could please do the honours?’

  The light brush of his fingers on her skin as he pulled the zip closed was enough to trigger a chain reaction in her senses. Her breathing quickened. Damn it. Hadn’t her hormones listened to a single word of her mental pep-talk?

  She moved away and released her hair so that it slid over her shoulders and erased the feel of his touch. ‘Right, let’s go and paint Dubbo red.’

  He looked at her mouth and then down to her toes. ‘Before we paint Dubbo red we’d better get you some shoes.’

  Paige sat in the hire car and waited for Tait to finish his take-away cappuccino. Through the clean windscreen she could see shoppers entering Myer, the largest department store west of Sydney. Mothers pushed laden prams or chased energetic toddlers in through the sliding doors. And, in one case, out again, as a grinning little boy made a dash towards his father. The man scooped up the child, tickled his tummy and then secured him safely on his hip. The smiling mother came to stand before them. She placed a hand on her son’s back and then on her husband’s arm. Unable to look away, Paige became pulled into their private world of love and belonging. Her heart clenched. She had no right to wish for the things she wouldn’t ever have. The course of her life was set and she should be bloody grateful she still had a father to care for and a home to live in.

  ‘Is your toe hurting?’ Tait asked.

  She lifted the hem of her dress. Her foot, now a rainbow of colours, at least had returned to its normal size. ‘No, it’s okay. It looks worse than it is.’ She glanced at the coffee Tait held. ‘Finished?’

  ‘Just about.’

  Even as he took a last gulp, she had the passenger-side door open. The strength of the sun bit into her uncovered shoulders and she squinted against the glare. Broken toe or not, she was going to have to walk barefoot across the hot concrete. She swung her legs out of the car and stood. Tait appeared by her side and before she could warn him to leave her alone, he’d swept her into his arms and set off towards Myer. After a moment, she relaxed against him.

  Tait set her down on the cool, polished floor inside the store, his hands loitering on her waist. She stepped back as curious shoppers looked their way. She pushed her hair out from her eyes. Even with the local university and the various race days associated with the racecourse, a couple in last night’s ball gear was still a novelty. An elderly lady smiled at her. She smiled in return, knowing from the temperature of her cheeks her self-consciousness had translated into a blush.

  Beside her, Tait pulled his wallet from his trouser pocket. He opened the black leather and peeled off a handful of notes he’d drawn from the automatic teller machine near the coffee shop. He took Paige’s hand and placed the notes firmly into her palm. She could tell from the set line of his mouth that refusing the money wasn’t an option.

  ‘I believe ladies’ wear is behind you. Now if you need any help I happen to know a thing or two about …’ He looked over her shoulder and gave a lopsided grin.

  Paige turned to see what he’d found so amusing and saw rack upon rack of lace bras.

  She pulled a face. ‘Don’t tell me, you’re also an expert in lingerie.’

  ‘Not at all. I was going to say I know what’s hot and what’s not. According to Angelica, red, navy and white is i
n this summer and greens and blues are so-not-cool.’

  ‘Mmm. I think you should stop right there before your nose grows as long as Pinocchio’s.’

  Tait watched Paige as she slowly made her way towards the dress department. In the Balgarry Hall it’d been touch-and-go but now he was very much alive and filled with the urgency to savour life. For a brief time he wanted to forget that a secret stood between them and crushed him like a curse. He had a chance to spend time with Paige without cattle needing to be fed and jobs to be completed and he was going to make the most of it.

  He lost sight of her as she disappeared behind a rack filled with floral dresses. He turned and strode toward the men’s department and busied himself selecting a new set of clothes. Then with hands full of black and white Myer bags he went in search of Paige. He spied her at the shoe counter wearing a sleeveless red dress that ended just above her knees, and a pair of red thongs.

  From the way the saleswoman beamed at her and chatted, he knew Paige’s smile had worked its magic.

  ‘You poor darling,’ he heard the lady say as he approached, ‘what a night you both have had.’ The dark-haired woman smiled at Tait as he stopped beside Paige. ‘And you must be Tait?’

  ‘Guilty as charged.’

  ‘Well, you both certainly have had a night to remember,’ the shop assistant said, clucking her tongue, ‘and now you’ve a whole day in Dubbo to twiddle your thumbs.’ She handed Paige her change. ‘You know what the two of you need? Some pampering.’

  Paige in turn passed the change to Tait before shaking her head at the friendly woman. ‘Another hot shower will do me and another five cups of coffee will make Tait almost human.’

  The lady laughed.

  ‘Actually,’ Tait said, ‘do you know of anywhere Paige could have her hair done?’

  He ignored the warning look she shot him.

  ‘Yes, I do, and in fact I can do even better.’ The shop assistant winked at Tait and reached for the phone. She dialled and then covered the handset. ‘My good friend owns a hairdressing salon, and not just any hairdressing salon – one that offers massage chairs and as much coffee as you can drink.’

  ‘Perfect,’ Tait said in a stage whisper.

  Paige’s good foot connected with his ankle.

  After a one-minute conversation, Paige was booked in for an eleven o’clock appointment. Paige’s smile as she thanked the shop assistant and said goodbye dissolved into a fierce frown as she turned and walked away from the counter.

  Tait took the bag containing her ball dress and feigned innocence. ‘What? Can you think of anything better to do?’

  He disregarded the surge in his testosterone. There was one thing he could think of doing.

  ‘Come on,’ he coaxed, ‘when did you last have your hair done?’

  ‘You don’t have to do this. You need to rest. I’m quite happy staying in the hotel.’

  ‘I’ll be doing exactly what the doctor ordered, I’ll be sitting in a massage chair and drinking coffee. How much more relaxing can you get?’

  But it didn’t matter how good the coffee blend of the ritzy hair salon or how soothing the massage chair beneath him, Tait was wound as tight as an engine ignition-coil. For an hour Tait had sat and watched Paige be fawned and fussed over. When her eyes had met his in the mirror, he knew the accelerated pace of his heart couldn’t be blamed on any side-effects of the EpiPen. He was no stranger to beautiful women – they were a by-product of his success – but Paige’s beauty stemmed from far more than symmetrical, fine-boned features. There was something intangible in her eyes that drew him to her. Something so compelling about her spirit that he was powerless to pull away.

  Paige nodded as the hairdresser held up a mirror to show her the back of her hair. Her long, coffee-coloured curls had been blow-dried into a glossy, silken mass. He withheld a groan. For God’s sake, he’d just survived an allergic reaction. He should have more things on his mind than imagining her hair sliding over his chest and appreciating the way her curves fitted against him as though made-to-measure.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Paige asked as she approached, the red dress swinging around her knees.

  He wrenched his thoughts out of the gutter and focused on keeping his expression nonchalant. ‘Never been better,’ he said as he stood, but his hoarse tone made mockery of his words.

  ‘How about lunch then? There’s a pub in Brisbane Street that used to do a nice counter meal, or we can have room service?’

  ‘Room service sounds good.’

  As he followed her out from the hairdresser, his gaze glued to the fall of her heavy hair down her back and the wide belt that accentuated her slender figure, he knew he should have suggested an option C. Lunch in Siberia. Sub-zero temperatures would be the only thing that could guarantee he’d keep his hands to himself.

  Nerves stretched, he settled into the driver’s seat.

  ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ she asked. ‘You look pale.’ She reached over to briefly touch the hand he was resting on the gear stick. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve kept you out for so long.’

  ‘Getting your hair done was my idea. It looks great by the way.’

  ‘Does “great” mean it’s an improvement or that I look like an idiot?’

  Her uncertain smile was his undoing. He leaned forward and kissed her. The way Paige’s lips parted on a sigh and the way her mind suddenly dissociated itself from all culpability told her she’d lost the battle to resist Tait even before it’d begun. Last night he’d almost been taken from her and right now she was going to relish every second of his mouth on hers, because she mightn’t ever get another chance to kiss him.

  All too soon his head lifted. ‘Does that answer your question?’

  She ran her fingertips along his jaw and smiled. ‘No. You’d better explain how my hair looks again.’

  ‘I didn’t take you for a slow learner.’

  She angled her head to whisper against his mouth. ‘A very slow …’

  But whatever else she was going to say was lost in his kiss.

  When they next drew apart, Tait leaned back in his seat to fire up the hire car’s engine. ‘As much as I’d like to continue our conversation, I think the person waiting behind us for our parking space will soon be hammering on our window.’

  Anne pushed a mug towards Connor. ‘Have your tea. There isn’t anything to worry about. I’ve fed Gidget, filled in the holes Bundy has dug in the herb pots and made sure Paige and Tait will come home to clean rooms.’

  Connor sipped at his tea, hoping that the right words would form. Anne had already said he didn’t need to thank her but he had to find a way to show his appreciation. He set his mug down and wheeled himself away from the table. ‘You must have some of my lemon slice. Tait brought a bag of lemons from Glenalla last visit.’

  Without waiting for an answer, he disappeared into the huge pantry and collected a container filled with the cake. He sat the Tupperware on his lap but didn’t lower his hands to propel his chair backward.

  Emotion thickened in his throat. He needed more than lemon and coconut slice to show Anne how much of a difference she’d made in a lonely man’s life. Her quiet beauty and kindness had pushed back the darkness that had consumed him since Molly had died.

  But when he returned to Anne’s side and placed the container onto the table, he knew he had to at least try to tell her how he felt. He swallowed down his fear. He could do this. He’d told Molly he loved her. He told Paige. And now he could tell Anne.

  He breathed deeply. ‘Anne, I …’ Panic crashed over him. ‘I … like having you here.’

  Anne’s eyes widened. Tears glistened as though she too were buffeted by a wave of emotion. Her shaking hand covered his and he held her fingers as though he was drowning and she was his only lifeline.

  ‘I can stay.’ Her words might have been whispered but the promise in her gaze guaranteed he’d understood her perfectly.

  ‘I’m not easy to live with. Sometimes I have no words for
how I feel.’

  ‘I know and I understand.’ She clasped her other hand around his. ‘I’ll fill in the blanks.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Hope flared inside him.

  ‘I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.’ She smiled a loving smile. ‘By your side is where I want to be.’

  Chapter Nineteen

  What was wrong with her? She was as wired as a sugar-high toddler and she’d only eaten a leafy salad for lunch.

  Paige pummelled the pillow into shape and slipped it behind her shoulders. She so hated sitting still and, thanks to her foot, taking a walk was out of the question. She wriggled but still couldn’t get comfortable on the huge bed. She released a frustrated breath and flicked through the television channels in case anything gripping had come on in the last five minutes. Nothing.

  She set the TV controller beside her knee and glanced towards the connecting door. When they’d returned to the hotel, Tait had been white as a sheet, and even though he’d pulled her close for another kiss outside his room she’d opened his door and pushed him inside. Alone. The hospital doctor had prescribed sleep not sex. She could only hope Tait had eaten the lunch she’d heard delivered and was now having more of a rest than she was. She lowered her bare feet to the lush brown carpet. She should check on him in case he was awake and needed anything for his headache.

  She quietly tapped on the connecting door and, after hearing Tait’s quiet reply, walked into the room. Apart from the television’s soft light and the glow from the lamp on the bedside table, the room was dark, the curtains closed. As she drew closer to where he lounged on the bed, she could see his feet were bare and he’d dressed in the jeans and sky-blue Polo shirt he’d bought that morning. Exhaustion smudged the skin beneath his eyes. He put down the book he’d been reading and offered her a bowl of grapes.