His Outback Nanny

by Annie Seaton

  Jemima jumped as the door creaked open, and a tiny old woman in a floral dress and a straw hat with flowers round the crown stepped into the waiting room, closely followed by Ned and an elderly gentleman in an old-fashioned suit.

  The woman held a small posy of flowers in one hand, and she held out her free hand to Jemima as she hurried across the faded carpet.

  “Oh, my dear. Look how much you’ve grown! And how beautiful you are!” She turned to the man in the suit. “Isn’t she, Alfred?”

  Jemima stood and accepted the hand that was held out to her. She towered over the little lady. She looked to Ned with her eyebrows raised.

  Who are these people?

  “Jemmy, you remember Mrs. McGillicuddy?” Ned smiled, and Jemima’s mouth dropped open as she looked down at the elderly lady who was smiling up at her.

  “Mrs. McGillicuddy? I haven’t seen you since you taught me in kindergarten!”

  “Please call me Ethel.” Her voice was as high-pitched as it always had been in the classroom, and Jemima shook her head as she looked back at Ned.

  “I don’t think I’ve seen either of you since you were little children.” The elderly woman’s eyes sparkled as she looked around. “And now I get to come to your wedding.”

  “I noticed Mr. and Mrs. M in the foyer when we came into the building,” Ned explained. “And I thought it would be nice to have someone we both knew to witness our wedding. Luckily, they had the time to help us out.”

  “Your grandmother told me you were coming home to Spring Downs the last time I saw her at the CWA meeting,” Mrs. McGillicuddy tutted. “But she didn’t tell me you were engaged to Ned McCormack. Wait till I talk to her!”

  Uh oh. Another quick phone call she’d have to make before the day was up. Gran and Pops wouldn’t be happy if they heard about the wedding on the local grapevine. All Jemima could hope was that they were still out of phone service. Last time she’d tried to call them, they’d been incommunicado.

  The door to the office opened, and the celebrant came back into the room.

  “Good. All ready, then?”

  Jemima’s mouth dried. All of a sudden with the McGillicuddys in their old-fashioned clothes and Ethel pressing the flower posy into her hand, she felt as though she’d fallen down a rabbit hole.

  “I’ve finished with the flowers, so you can have them now.”

  “Finished with them?” Jemima asked, and damn if her voice didn’t come out in a high-pitched squeak, too.

  “Yes.” Ethel looked up at her husband and winked. “Alfred and I decided to renew our vows. It’s our sixtieth wedding anniversary today. And isn’t it wonderful that you and Ned will share it with us?”

  As Ned squeezed her hand gently, Jemima felt like an absolute fraud. Her breath hitched as she wondered why on earth she had agreed to do this. Ned leaned over, and his warm breath brushed her ear as he whispered.

  “Take a deep breath, Jemmy. It’s okay.”

  Jemima took a deep breath as he directed and clutched the flower posy in her left hand as Ned led her to the small area at the side of the office where two pairs of plastic chairs had been arranged near a small stand.

  Think of the children. Think of how I’m helping Ned out. Think of—

  “Thank you. Let’s get started.” The celebrant’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

  Ethel and Alfred sat in the chairs to the left of them, and Ned and Jemima stood in front of the celebrant. Ned held her hand tightly, and she wondered for a moment if he worried she was going to make a run for it.

  What was the name of that movie she and Lucy had loved to watch in their teens? The one where the bride took off at each wedding? Jemima bit back a smile as she imagined pulling free from Ned’s hand and clambering over the plastic chairs and pushing open the door and running down the corridor. Nowhere near as romantic as the fleeing bride on horseback.

  The celebrant smiled and began to speak. “My name is Barbara Deevers, and I am duly authorised by law to solemnise marriages according to law. Before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these two witnesses”—she nodded to Ethel and Alfred with a smile—“I am to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter. Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.”

  Jemima’s heart sank. For life. Oh dear.

  Ned leaned over, and his breath whispered on her cheek this time. “It’s okay.”

  The next five minutes was a blur for Jemima as she and Ned agreed to be the lawful wedded husband and wife of each other, the requisite paperwork was signed, and the marriage certificate was handed to Ned.

  Jemima jumped as Ethel’s squeaky voice demanded that the groom must now kiss the bride. Before she could think, Ned’s arms went around her, and cool firm lips pressed briefly against hers. A ripple of heat warmed her skin where Ned’s hand pressed into the small of her back. She looked up into a pair of dancing brown eyes, and the warmth in Ned’s expression calmed her.

  “Well, we’ve done it, Jemmy. We’re married.” He lowered his head, and this time, she saw the kiss coming. She opened her lips slightly as he pressed his mouth against hers.

  “Thank—”

  Jemima shook her head, and the sensation of Ned’s lips sliding gently against hers set butterflies fluttering in her tummy. She pressed her hand against his chest and pulled her head back a little bit. “No more thanking me. You promised, remember?”

  “I do.” He smiled, and the butterflies in her tummy fluttered harder. His lips felt as good as she’d remembered from when they’d hidden in the linen cupboard a couple of weeks back. The hard part was going to be forgetting.

  “Are you having a wedding lunch?” Ethel asked as she smiled at them.

  “Um…” Jemima looked at Ned.

  He nodded. “I think that’s an excellent idea. Alfred and Ethel, would you like to make it a double”—he glanced at Jemima with his eyebrows raised—“celebration?”

  Chapter Ten

  Ned knew that Jemima had been on edge in the courthouse, but the arrival of the McGillicuddys had seemed to settle her nerves. Lunch at the old hotel on the corner of the main street had been fun, and after a while, she’d relaxed and they’d shared school memories and laughs with the elderly couple.

  Ethel seemed to know his background, but she didn’t delve too much, and he was grateful when she simply asked how old his children were.

  Spring Downs was a small town, and there wasn’t a lot that was private. He’d received many sympathy cards from the locals after the funeral.

  Jemima didn’t fare so well, but she handled herself well when Ethel asked her how she felt about taking on a ready-made family.

  “Oh, I’m sure I’ll be fine. The children are wonderful, and I love spending time with them.” She caught Ned’s eye, and a strange feeling settled in his stomach. The jolt of desire that had shafted through him when he’d kissed her in the registry office had been a shock. Her lips had been soft beneath his. He’d had to try really hard to resist kissing her, ever since they’d played hide and seek with Ryan. Jemima’s eyes were shining, and he realised that she meant every word she was saying. “I think it’s going to be better than being a teacher. After having the kiddies in your class for a whole year, it must be so hard to hand them over to the next teacher at the end of the year.”

  Ned smiled as Jemima neatly turned the conversation over to the retired teacher, and they talked teaching for the rest of lunch.

  “Some kiddies you love to hand over at the end of the year.” Ethel shook her head as she laughed, and her cheeks wrinkled even more. “Your cousin, Sebastian, was one of them. I thought that boy would be the death of me. The practical jokes he used to play. Even in kindergarten!”

  As they left the hotel an hour later, Ned shook Alfred’s hand, and Ethel leaned over and whispered in Jemima’s ear. As his new wife dropped her head
, her cheeks flamed bright red, but her lips were lifted in a smile.

  “We’d better get a move on, so we’re home before dark.” Ned kissed Ethel’s cheek and took the arm of a still-blushing Jemima.

  Ned frowned, worried that their business arrangement had been revealed somehow. If Paul Crowe got wind that their marriage was not the real deal, the loan would be in jeopardy. Spring Downs was too small to let the truth out to anyone.

  The sky had clouded over while they were inside, and a hot wind was blowing from the west. He kept his hand on Jemima’s elbow until they were around the corner and out of the McGillicuddys’ sight.

  “Was everything okay back there?” he asked.

  Jemima glanced up at him with a nervous smile. “Back where?”

  “In the hotel when Ethel whispered to you.”

  Her cheeks coloured again.

  “Oh no.” Ned put one hand up to his eyes. “Don’t tell me the game’s up already?”

  To his surprise, the sound that came from Jemima’s lips was a cross between a giggle and a snicker. More like something he was used to from his girls.

  “Well?” He stopped walking as they reached the entrance to the car park. “What is it? What are you smiling at? What’s so funny?”

  He tipped his head to the side and stared at her. “Please tell me I don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “You don’t. They think we’re a couple. I can guarantee that.” Her cheeks were still flushed, but her eyes were dancing. “I’m merely embarrassed because of what my kindergarten teacher said to me.”

  Ned frowned. “What did Ethel say? You went bright red.”

  This time, Jemima did giggle, and Ned couldn’t help smiling. “Come on, Jemmy. Spill.”

  “She took my hand in hers and told me she had something very important to tell me. She said it was the secret of their sixty years of happy marriage.”

  “Do I really want to know this?” Ned took her hand. “Come on. I’m not going to let go until you share with me.”

  Jemima leaned forward, and a whiff of her perfume tickled his nose. “She told me to make sure that I looked after you.”

  “That’s sweet of her.”

  “Really looked after you.” Another giggle bubbled out. “Then she told me that a man has needs and if I made sure I looked after all your needs, she could guarantee us sixty years together, too.”

  “Oh my God. I hope I don’t run into them in town. I’ll never look at Ethel McGillicuddy the same way again.”

  “I almost said we were business only, and then I realised I couldn’t. And then she asked me if I was pregnant and was that why we were getting married before Gran and Pop came home!”

  “Oh, the joys of living in a small town.” Ned shook his head, but he was enjoying this light side of Jemima. “We will have to be careful, especially around the kids. You know what Gwennie’s like.” Ned kept hold of her hand as they walked to the car. “We’d better sort some things out in the car on the way home.” He opened the door and waited for her to climb in. “There you go, Mrs. McCormack.”

  …

  Mrs. McCormack.

  A strange feeling settled in Jemima’s chest, and she clasped her hands together in her lap. Suddenly, what they had planned and discussed for the past month was real. Every time when they had talked about their “business arrangement,” Ned had been polite…no, that wasn’t the right word.

  Jemima frowned.

  He’d been pleasant but distant.

  But today, Ned had been different. The barrier that was usually there was gone. He’d been warm and friendly. And he’d smiled a lot more.

  Much more relaxed.

  Much easier to talk to.

  This was a different Ned she was going to have to get used to. Especially, since tonight when they got back to Prickle Creek, she’d be taking most of her things across to Ned’s farm. It had to look real; it had to look as though she was going there for good. It was no use just packing a suitcase as though she was only going for a visit.

  Gwennie didn’t miss a trick, and the last thing they wanted was for her to blab at school that Jemima wasn’t really married to her dad.

  Jemima stared through the car window as they turned onto the highway and headed back towards home. The afternoon was fading, and the lowering sun was bathing the ghost gum trees in a soft orange light. The usually white trunks were a soft apricot. Smoke haze lingered in the treetops from a fire west of town, and the clouds were tinged with golden hues.

  “It’s going to be a pretty sunset.” Ned’s words echoed her thoughts.

  “We should be home before dark.” Jemima turned to look at him. One hand was on the steering wheel and the other was tapping on his thigh in time with the music playing softly on the radio.

  “You look…relaxed.”

  Ned turned with a smile. “I am. It was good to get that out of the way. And having lunch with the McGillicuddys was fun.”

  Jemima swallowed.

  Out of the way.

  Just as well she had no emotional investment in this marriage or that comment would have stung. She sat up straight in the seat, ignoring the little kernel of hurt that lodged in her stomach.

  “Yes.” Her voice was firm. “That’s out of the way. Now only twelve months to go, and it will be done and dusted.”

  Ned’s glance was curious. “You sound like you can’t wait for the time to go.”

  Jemima waved a casual hand to cover up the funny ache in her chest. “No, not at all. It’s going to be fun looking after the children.”

  And it would be. Jemima couldn’t think of anything she’d rather be doing for the next year.

  Apart from getting a full-time teaching job.

  …

  Prickle Creek Farm was lit up like a Christmas tree when Ned pulled the ute up near the house gate just after sunset. When he turned off the engine, voices and laughter drifted out of the house on the still evening air. He opened the door and went around and opened Jemima’s door.

  As he waited, she reached down for the posy of flowers that she had held during the ceremony. She leaned forward, and a loose strand of hair slipped from the clip, and before he could think, he reached over and tucked it behind her ear. Jemima stilled as she moved back with the flowers, and his hand froze.

  “Sorry, habit with the kids.”

  “I’ll put these flowers in a jar of water. They’re so pretty it would be a shame to see them wither.”

  “Jemmy?” Ned kept his voice soft.

  She swung her legs out of the car and looked up at him as he held his hand out. “Yes?”

  “Look, I know it wasn’t a real wedding, but I want to tell you how lovely you looked today.” He rushed on, feeling like a bit of an idiot as a slight pink rose in her cheeks. God, how many people would tell her in a working day how beautiful she was?

  She was a model, for goodness sake, you jerk.

  But Jemima squeezed his hand as she took it, and he helped her down from the high seat of the ute. “Thank you. Even though it wasn’t a real wedding, I did have fun.”

  “That’s a good start for the rest of the year, then,” he said. She held his gaze and nodded.

  “Daddy, Daddy.” The front screen door burst open, and Ryan ran out, closely followed by the two girls, and the moment was gone.

  Just as well. It wasn’t the right thing to do, get all soppy about a business arrangement. He dropped Jemmy’s hand and closed the door behind her as they walked over to the steps together.

  “Looks like you’re all ready to go home. Have you been good for Liam and Angie?” Ned asked as Ryan tried to climb up his legs. He bent down and swung his little boy up into his arms. His hair was wet, and his face was scrubbed clean. “Mmm, you smell like…apples?”

  Kelsey folded her arms as she waited on the top of the steps. “Angie took us to feed the pigs, and Ryan fell in the mud.”

  Jemima caught Ned’s eye, and they shared a smile. “That doesn’t sound like Ryan.”

/>   “Oh yes it does, Jemmy,” Gwennie piped up. “He’s always getting in the dirt.”

  “I’ve noticed,” Jemima replied as she reached out for Gwennie’s hand. Ned watched as his little girl took it without hesitation. Over the past month, both of the girls had accepted Jemima.

  “Come on, you pair.” Kelsey tapped her foot at the top of the stairs. “We have a surprise.”

  “We have bwekfast,” Ryan squealed and bounced up and down in Ned’s arms.

  “Ryan! Don’t spoil it!” Gwennie said.

  “Breakfast?” Ned asked. “It’s teatime.”

  The door opened again. “Come inside, everyone.” Angie held the door open as Gwennie and Kelsey hurried inside.

  She glanced at Ned, and her smile was half apologetic. “I’m sorry, I know you’re probably in a hurry to get back home, but the girls really wanted to do this.” Angie held her arms out to Ryan, and he almost jumped out of Ned’s hold. “We’ll go first and”—she glanced at Jemima—“you pair, wait a minute and then come in when we call you.”

  She disappeared inside with Ryan on her hip, and he glanced over at Jemima with his eyebrows raised.

  “What do you suppose they’re up to?” she asked.

  Ned chuckled. “Honestly? With those girls, you never know.”

  As they waited, the soft strains of orchestral music drifted out through the door, followed by Kelsey calling, “You can come in now.”

  Ned shrugged. He held open the door for Jemima and followed but bumped into her as she stopped dead in the doorway to the kitchen. “Here Comes the Bride” played from a phone propped up on the table.

  His three children and Liam and Angie were sitting at the table.

  A table that had been decorated with more flowers than he’d seen for a long time and in the middle sat a huge cake. Ned swallowed as he looked at his children. Their faces were beaming, and his chest tightened. They looked happy.