Copper Creek: The Complete Boxed Set

by Smith, Wendy

  James pulls away. “I’m gonna go see how Dad’s going.”

  As he walks away, I spot Constance heading toward me. She stops just before she reaches us and lets out a big yawn.

  “Have you had enough, sweetness? We can get out of here.”

  She shakes her head. “I’m fine. We can stay as long as you want.”

  “Nope. If you need to rest, then we’re going home. Go get your stuff.”

  “Okay.” She presses a kiss to my cheek. “You take such good care of me.”

  “I like taking care of you.”

  Drew shakes his head as she walks away. “You are so pussy-whipped.”

  “Look who’s talking.” I laugh.

  “True. I guess we’re both in the same boat now. Mind you, so are Adam and Owen. James must be next.”

  “James has something going on he’s not talking about.”

  Drew’s eyebrows rise. “Really?”

  “Dude. You see more of him than I do. How can you not know that?”

  He shrugs.

  “Did you two want another drink?” Hayley walks toward us with two beers in her hands.

  “I won’t say no,” Drew says.

  “I know you won’t.” She hands him one. “Corey?”

  “Where are the twins?”

  “Ginny and Constance have one each with them. I think they’re practicing.”

  “Constance was on her way to get her things.”

  Hayley grins. “Well, I might have distracted her.”

  “Do you want to take one of them with you? If Ginny takes the other one, we’ll get a night alone.” Drew slips his arm around his wife’s waist.

  “No, you can look after your own children. I have plans for tonight.” I waggle my eyebrows.

  “I don’t want to know.” Hayley laughs. “Today’s been such a good day. I’m glad it all went well.”

  “It can’t have gone worse than the last time.” Drew pulls away from her as Hayley elbows him in the ribs. “Ouch.”

  “I’m going to go and rescue my lady from your baby and get her home. I’m sure she’s exhausted,” I say.

  Drew hooks his arm around Hayley’s shoulders. “I’m sure that’s why you want to get her home.”

  I grin. “See you two tomorrow?”

  “We’ll be here for lunch. Maybe dinner, too, if history is anything to go by,” Drew says.

  “Make the most of it while they have all the food.”

  Lily’s over-catered a little, considering it’s family and close friends. Tomorrow’s going to be like the days after Christmas with us grazing on leftovers all day.

  I walk over toward Constance. Lily’s beside her as they both fuss over the baby. Getting out of here might take some time.

  Lily stands as I approach. “You’re going home?”

  I nod. “Time to get this one to bed. So she can sleep, for a change.”

  Constance blushes, and I laugh while Lily punches me in the arm. I smile at my sister-in-law. “I hope you guys get some time alone.”

  Lily nods. “Max and Rose are having a sleepover at Owen’s place with Ava. They’re all camping in the living room.”

  I laugh. “That’ll be fun.”

  “They’re pretty good. Max is taking the book he’s reading so he can escape from the girls.”

  “Wise move.” I grab her hand and squeeze. “Congratulations. Today was amazing.”

  “Thank you. Both of you. Having you here made it even better. See you tomorrow?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Mrs Campbell.” I lean over and peck her on the cheek.

  Lily lets out a loud breath, reaching over to take Amelia from Constance. “That’ll take a bit of getting used to.”

  “You waited long enough for it.”

  She grins. “It was worth the wait.”

  “Thank you for letting me give you away.”

  Her eyes light up with happiness. “Thank you for being there for me.”

  “Always. You know that.”

  She nods. “I know.”

  I plant a kiss on top of Amelia’s head. She kicks and squeals.

  “Look at what you started.” Lily frowns.

  “I’m leaving now.”

  “You’ll have your own to deal with shortly, Corey Campbell.”

  I grin because I really can’t wait.

  39

  Constance

  I wake, surrounded by Corey. His body envelops me, and while my bladder screams, I’m not sure I can get out from underneath him. Since I’ve been pregnant, he’s been even more protective than normal.

  I wriggle out of his grasp and make it to the edge of the bed before a large hand lands on my waist and pulls me back toward him.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” He plants a kiss on my neck, and I laugh.

  “I really need to pee.”

  He sighs. “I suppose I could let you go for a few minutes. But you’d better come straight back.”

  “Promise.” I make my way through our home to the bathroom. The fire’s died down from last night, and I might be naked, but I’m still warm from the memory of Corey loving me on the rug in front of the flames.

  Even though I’m pregnant, nothing’s killed the need we have for each other. And our favourite place in this house has to be the spot right in front of the fireplace.

  He’s still been working away from home, sometimes for days at a time, but from now until after the baby’s here he’s grounded.

  When I jump back into bed, his arms wrap around me in a bear hug. “You were gone way too long,” he says, nuzzling my cheek.

  “Sorry.” I laugh.

  “Let’s just hibernate for a while. We’ll stay here like this.”

  “The baby might have other ideas.”

  He places his hand gently on my baby bump. “Stay in there as long as you can. I need to have my wicked way with your mother so many more times before you’re born.”

  “How many more times?” I stare at him.

  He chuckles, returning to nuzzle my neck. To a lot of people, Corey is gruff and mean-looking. He doesn’t suffer fools, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind. I know he’s all marshmallow inside.

  He’ll be a wonderful father.

  “I know you don’t want to get out of bed, but we have somewhere to be.”

  He sighs. “I know. I’ll be in trouble if I stay here any longer. Lily will kill us if we’re late.”

  I place my hand on his chest. “I’m sure we have enough time for you to have your wicked way with me.”

  Waggling his eyebrows, he plants kisses on my breasts before disappearing under the covers.

  Life couldn’t be any better.

  * * *

  “It’s about time, you two.” Lily looks up from the table. “We thought we’d do the barbecue for lunch and then leftovers for dinner. Just so we’re not eating the same things three meals in a row.”

  “Good thinking.” I loop my arm around Corey’s waist.

  “Well, with you and Ginny being pregnant too, I wanted to make sure we had freshly cooked food. No cold meat for you two.”

  “Thank you,” I reply.

  Corey pulls me in against him tight and plants a kiss on the top of my head. “Thanks for looking out for my girl.”

  I sigh with contentment, and Lily’s eyebrows rise. She grins at me.

  “Babe, is everything ready to go?” Adam places his hands on Lily’s shoulders, and she tilts her head back to look at him. He bends to give her a kiss. “Barbecue’s ready.”

  “The meat’s on the middle shelf. There are plain steaks and some in the marinade you like.”

  “I’ll give you hand.” Corey pecks me on the head and follows his brother.

  “Sit down, Constance. Take the weight off your feet,” Lily says.

  I sit at the table opposite her. “Where’s everyone else?”

  “Owen and Ginny aren’t here yet. Hayley has a headache and is lying down in my room. Drew took the twins for a walk
with Max and Rose.”

  “Nice and quiet for you, then.”

  She laughs. “It won’t last. Did you enjoy yourself yesterday?”

  “It was beautiful. I was tired, but just getting out of bed makes me tired these days.”

  Lily nods. “I was like that with Rose. It passed, but for a while it felt like it was going to go on forever. You’ll have your baby before you know it.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  Corey walks back into the kitchen, opens the fridge and grabs a big plate of meat. He shoots a wink at me, and all I can do is smile as he walks back out.

  “Must be your turn next,” Lily says. “Getting married, I mean.”

  I sigh. “One day.”

  “I’ll make your dress.”

  “You’d do that for me?”

  She smiles. “Of course I would. I know exactly what it’s going to look like.”

  Laughing, I cock my head. “Do I get a say in any of this?”

  “Nope.”

  * * *

  After dinner, we make our way out to the ute. It’s been a long, wonderful day with family—and they are my family now.

  But there’s nothing like going home.

  I yawn as we reach the turn-off for the mountain, and glance sideways at Corey as he makes a left turn instead of right.

  “Where are we going?”

  He chuckles. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  The road turns to gravel, and I nearly fall asleep as we slowly make our way towards our mystery destination.

  He nudges my arm. “Stay awake. You’ll love this. I promise.”

  I stifle a yawn and nod.

  We turn down a driveway which seems as long as the road was, but after what seems like forever, I see a farmhouse in the distance.

  Corey pulls up outside the house and walks around the truck to help me out.

  “What is this place?”

  “You’ll see.” He knocks on the door, and a grey-haired man opens it.

  “Dennis Neill?”

  “That’s me. You must be Corey Campbell.”

  Corey nods. “This is my partner, Constance.”

  Dennis nods. “Nice to meet the two of you. It’s already dark out there, so I assume you just want to get down to business.”

  “Yes, please.”

  We step back as Dennis walks down out the front door and towards a large shed.

  I nudge Corey’s arm as we follow. “Business?”

  He laughs. “I told you. Just you wait and see.”

  Inside the shed, there’s a row of cages. The first one contains the skinniest sheep I think I’ve ever seen. I can’t take my eyes from it.

  Dennis stops at the third cage. “Here we go.”

  In the corner of the cage is a small dog. He’s black and brown, a Huntaway puppy.

  “A puppy?” I ask.

  Corey nods. “He’s a rescue dog. Dennis takes in rescue animals from around here. They’re usually neglected cows or sheep, but I heard that he had a special case.”

  Dennis clears his throat. “This little one was abandoned. But someone’s hit him or something. He wavers between growling and cowering.”

  My heart melts at the thought. “Can I go in?”

  “Sure.” He opens the cage door, and I step through. Corey stands behind me.

  “Hey, boy,” I say softly, taking slow steps toward the dog.

  A snarl comes from his throat.

  When I reach him, I squat. The dog whimpers as I reach my hand out. I turn my hand palm up, and the sounds stop.

  “It’s okay,” I whisper. I reach under his chin.

  “Careful,” Corey says.

  “It’s okay. You’re not going to hurt me, are you?” My hand makes contact with the dog, and in response, he pulls back. “It’ll just take some time to get him used to us.”

  “So, you’re keen on taking him?” Dennis says.

  “Yes.” I look back over my shoulder toward Dennis and Corey.

  Corey smiles.

  I turn back when the warm, wet tongue of the puppy hits my hand. “Oh, look at you.”

  “He’s a friendly wee thing while you’re at his level,” Dennis says.

  “He’s perfect.” I reach out, scratching the top of his head.

  “I’ll go get the carrier out of the back of the ute.”

  I stand, turning to face Corey. “You’ve got it with you?”

  He grins. “I know you. And this guy needs a loving home with someone who will understand him. I had to be ready to take him with us.”

  I fling my arms around his neck. “Thank you. I know this must be hard,” I whisper.

  “It’s time for me to move on with my life. And if you bond with him the way I think you will, he’ll protect you when I’m not around.”

  Tears roll down my cheeks at his thoughtfulness. We could have gone and got a puppy from a breeder, but he wanted to help this poor, abused little animal.

  He kisses my temple. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  I nod as he lets me go.

  “He likes you.” Dennis nods toward the puppy, and I turn to see he’s taken a tentative step toward me.

  Just like that.

  The puppy and I have a lot in common. He’s acting how I did when I first arrived at Corey’s place. I barked and snarled because I was scared, and I didn’t know if I could trust him.

  “We’ll be fine. Won’t we?” I say.

  I place a hand on my stomach.

  Our little family just grew.

  * * *

  We put the pet carrier in the bedroom for the night. There’s no point in disrupting the puppy too much, and he seems happy enough with some food.

  Corey takes him out to the back yard to go to the toilet before bed, but we place down extra towels on the base of the cage to take care of any mess. The most important thing is that the puppy feels safe and wanted.

  “What are we going to call him?” I ask.

  Corey shrugs. “I didn’t even think about that.”

  “I think we should call him Cassius.”

  Corey looks at me quizzically. “Why?”

  “He was one of Caesar’s assassins. Along with Brutus.”

  Corey’s face lights up. “That’s warped, but I love it.” He wraps his arms around my waist. “I also love living with a walking encyclopaedia. You’re just full of useful trivia.”

  I laugh. “Well, growing up, I didn’t have all the distractions of TV or a boyfriend.”

  “I think I like the ‘no boyfriend’ distraction the best.” He nuzzles my neck and I sigh.

  “Besides, Cassius starts with C, and that seems to be the trend in our family. Maybe we need to look at baby names beginning with C.”

  Corey laughs. “I think that’s taking it a bit too far.”

  “He or she might feel left out if we don’t.”

  Corey shakes his head. “Let’s go to bed and get some sleep.”

  I look down at the puppy. Corey left the cage door open, but Cassius seems content to curl up in there.

  “He’ll be fine for the night. It won’t take him long to be part of the furniture around here.”

  “I just hate that he was hurt.”

  Corey grasps my chin and pulls my gaze to his. “We’ve all been hurt, Con. But we’re alive and together, and that’s all that matters.”

  When he pulls me into his arms, I feel safe.

  He’s right.

  Being alive and together is all that matters.

  Teacher’s Pet

  1

  James

  Students sometimes have a reputation for partying.

  Not me.

  It’s rare for me to come out, but somehow tonight a few of my classmates talked me into it.

  I already regret it.

  The bar’s packed with uni students, and a headache’s started creeping across my forehead from all the noise.

  It makes me miss home.

  I’d always looked forward to moving to the big city
for uni, but there are times when it’s too big and noisy. Especially compared to the peace of Copper Creek. A quiet drink at the pub with my brothers is a far cry from the chaos here.

  “Want another beer?” Cody asks.

  I shake my head. “Nah. I’m going home.”

  “It’s still early.”

  “Yeah, but if I drink any more I can’t drive home, and I’m not leaving my car parked where it is.”

  He laughs. “You could always catch the bus and leave the car at home.”

  “I like driving.” I also like using it as an excuse not to be out all night. “I’m just going to finish my food and get out of here.”

  “It’s not anything to do with her, is it?”

  I don’t need to ask who he’s talking about. While I haven’t seen Ashley tonight, there’s only one person Cody talks about like that. He knows how heartbroken I was when she left me, and while it was months ago, it hurt for a very long time.

  “She’s not here. Is she?”

  He nods to the right, and my gaze sweeps past the others at our table, over the room until I see her. She’s sitting at a table on a barstool, and the guy sitting right next to her is practically groping her in public. His hand is on her breast, and she’s resting her head on his shoulder, a look of complete and utter contentment on her face.

  I’m not going to pretend seeing that doesn’t hurt.

  But it hurts a lot less than it used to.

  I’m still not sure what happened to us. She was the reason I came to Auckland Uni in the first place. But she chose to break it off with me for someone else. We’ve barely spoken since.

  Her gaze flickers up and meets mine. I’ve known her since we were kids, but she’s like a stranger now.

  She smiles at me. Does she think we’re friends now?

  Then she drops her gaze and turns back to the man who’s got his arm around her.

  I don’t want her back. Not when she hurt me so much. I’d hoped one day we could still be friends.

  I’m not sure, despite her smile, that’s ever going to be a possibility.

  I push my plate away and stand.