His Outback Temptation (Pickle Creek)

by Annie Seaton

  “Wonderful. I haven’t see Harry and Helena for a couple of years.” He headed off towards the group sitting on the verandah while Isabella got the carry bag from the boot.

  “Let me take that for you.” Sebastian reached over for the insulated bag, and she handed it to him.

  “What is that incredible smell?” he asked.

  “Just a little something I brought along for dinner.” Isabella smiled when he inhaled and closed his eyes.

  “That aroma takes me right back to Italy.” He grinned at her and her heart did a funny little flip. “Gran believes in wholesome country cooking. The only herbs she uses come from a jar.” He sniffed again. “I can smell real garlic, oregano, and—”

  “And fresh tomatoes. Dad has a lovely little garden behind the café. Wait there and I’ll get the roses from the back seat.”

  “Roses?” His mouth fell open. “You brought roses?”

  “Didn’t you ask for champagne and roses?” She threw him a cheeky grin. Keeping him on his toes was fun. “The champagne’s in the bag.”

  “Where the heck did you find fresh roses in Spring Downs?”

  “It was hard but where there’s a will there’s a way.” She wasn’t going to tell him that the idea had come to her when she’d been in the IGA and the delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables—and flowers—had come while she was talking to the order clerk. “And don’t get your hopes up, boyo, they’re not for you. They’re for your grandmother, as a thank you for having us both visit.”

  She laughed when he put on a pretend pout. “And what do I get?”

  “You get the pleasure of my company.”

  “So still not a date?”

  “Nope.”

  Once she’d taken the roses from the car, Isabella put her arm through Sebastian’s and they walked across the lawn together.

  “Gran. Do you remember Isabella? Bella, this is my grandmother, Helena.” Sebastian introduced her when they reached the verandah.

  Isabella was surprised. Considering Helena had grown-up grandchildren, she looked younger than she’d expected. She was tall and slim, with fair skin and blonde hair pulled back into a braid.

  Helena held out her hand. Her skin was soft, and her perfume was a modern one that Isabella recognised.

  “Welcome, Isabella. And I’m sorry I don’t remember you, but I did work with your mother on the CWA. She was a wonderful cook, and we used her skills mercilessly. We should get you to join us.”

  “Oh, I’m only here for a visit, Helena. Although I did meet quite a few of the CWA ladies in the milk bar yesterday.”

  “Oh, I thought you’d moved back to live with your dad.”

  “Oh no. I’m just here for a visit.” Isabella was taken aback by the glance that Helena shot at Sebastian. It contained disappointment and something else she couldn’t put her finger on.

  Helena took the bag from him. “Oh thank you, Isabella. You didn’t need to bring anything.”

  “I thought I’d do a sample of one of the dishes I’m considering for the wedding. Then you can all tell me if it suits what you have in mind.”

  “It smells wonderful, and it’s lovely to have you here. Come on in. The girls are out the back talking weddings.” She put her arm around Isabella’s shoulder as they walked onto the verandah. “Seb, you can bring this in, pour us a drink, and then come join us.”

  “Yes, Gran.” He caught Isabella’s eye and grinned.

  Lucy, Angie, and Jemima were at a large table poring over a magazine.

  “Oh, you’re here, Isabella. Look what we found!” Excitement filled Lucy’s voice.

  “Gran bought the magazine at the London airport,” Jemima explained.

  Isabella crossed to the table and looked down at the glossy magazine. It was a double-page spread of photographs and an article on the top restaurants of England. Lucy pointed to the picture in the bottom right corner. “Look, it’s your restaurant. The Three Ducks!”

  “Your restaurant?” Helena stared at her. “How can it be your restaurant?” Her brow was wrinkled in a frown.

  Isabella laughed. “It’s not my restaurant, but when I leave here I’m going to work there as a sous chef.”

  “Well, how special is that! Harry and I had dinner there the week before last.”

  “What a coincidence!” Angie exclaimed.

  Lucy looked at Jemima and then at Gran. “It’s not the one you were telling us about before you left, was it, Gran? The one that’s near where you grew up.”

  Helena’s eyes sparkled. “It is, and when we went to look at the old house we decided to stay in town and have dinner there. It’s an absolutely beautiful place, and the food was divine.”

  “The old house?” Isabella asked.

  “Gran grew up in London,” Lucy explained. “Notting Hill. Just like the movie that Julia Roberts was in. But her family had a country estate near Windsor Castle.”

  “I loved that movie. And I didn’t know that you were from London, Helena!” Angie exclaimed. “Liam never mentioned it.”

  “So how did you get to Spring Downs?” Isabella asked. “It’s a long way from London.”

  “I love the story.” Lucy jumped in. “It’s a lesson for all of us, if only we’d known it when we were wondering whether to come home.” She put her hand on her heart and fluttered her eyelids, much to the amusement of the others. “True love!”

  “So tell us, please? We want to know. There’s nothing like a real-life romance.” Angie looked at Isabella and she nodded.

  “Gran and Pop met on a kibbutz in Israel.” Lucy looked at Helena who had a dreamy look on her face. “Harry, was a fine strapping young man, a young Australian farm boy from Western New South Wales, and Helena was the pretty social butterfly from Notting Hill in London.” Lucy put her hand on her heart. “They fell in love at first sight.”

  “We did.” Helena smiled at Lucy. “How many times did you sit at my knee and listen to this story, Lucy?”

  “Oh, dozens. But I still see the way Pop looks at you, and it makes me all warm and gooey inside. I always said I wouldn’t marry until I found a man who looked at me like that.”

  “And you found one in your own backyard.” Helena pulled Lucy in for a hug. “I’ve missed you grandchildren while we’ve travelled the world.”

  “And we missed you, too. And I did find Garth, even though I couldn’t see what was in front of me until we went through all sorts of angst.”

  “I missed Harry so much, when he went home to Australia I followed him to see this Pilliga Scrub he went on about.” Helena added for Isabella and Angie’s benefit. “And I fell in love with the land, too.”

  “That’s a beautiful story.” Isabella swallowed down the ache in her throat. “It’s not often that you hear about a love match like that. But I’m a career girl, and it will be a long time before I’m looking for a soul mate.”

  Helena smiled and nodded. “You often don’t have the chance to choose when love finds you.”

  “Cupid and all that,” Lucy added. And to add to the mushy atmosphere, Angie sniffed a tear back.

  Discomfort filled Isabella. All this emotion was a bit too up close and personal for her. She felt like she’d walked into the Hallmark channel. She rubbed her hands together. “Okay, let’s go back to the kitchen, and you can show me the ovens.”

  Jemima waved an elegant hand from her chair.

  “You don’t need me there,” Jemima said. “I don’t know one end of the oven from another.”

  “Maybe, Isabella can give you some cooking lessons while she’s here.” Helena’s voice was dry. “Sometimes I worry about Ned and those poor children.” She turned to Isabella. “Jemima is more interested in her horses than learning how to cook.”

  “I’m doing okay.” Jemima’s voice held amusement. “No one’s starved yet.”

  Angie and Lucy followed Helena and Isabella as they went back to the kitchen.

  “The preparation space looks adequate,” Isabella said briskly. As she gla
nced over at the benchtops, she was surprised to see Sebastian in the doorway, his expression intense.

  “Great, here’s Seb with our drinks.” Helena waved him in.

  Once the drinks were passed around, he didn’t stay. Lucy took Isabella on a tour of the whole kitchen area. The walk-in pantry, the laundry with its huge chest freezers, and the old concrete tubs in the corner of the back verandah were all discussed for the wedding reception.

  “We can fill these with ice and keep a lot of the salad stuff cool on the morning of the wedding,” Helena said, but Isabella was only half paying attention, wondering why Sebastian had taken off so quickly.

  “It all looks perfect,” Isabella said with a nod. “It’s almost as good as a commercial kitchen.”

  “When we have the harvesters here, we have to feed a couple of dozen workers at a time. We took that into account when we redid the house a few years ago.”

  “Come on, that’s enough work. Let’s go back out in the cool breeze,” Lucy said. “I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding everything.”

  “And you’ll have plenty of help, too,” Helena said.

  Isabella walked behind Lucy and her grandmother as they stepped out onto the verandah.

  “So what do you think of Seb coming home, Gran?” Lucy’s voice was quiet, and Isabella paused to let them have a private conversation.

  Gran’s reply was quiet, but Isabella caught it. “That boy won’t stay here, but he has to realise that for himself.”

  Isabella was thoughtful as she walked to the table and sat down beside Jemima. It sounded as though Sebastian really was the odd one out in the family. She shrugged; she felt sorry for him, but she had enough problems of her own with Mum and Dad. She wasn’t going to get involved in another family’s issues.

  There was no such thing as a perfect family. She’d learned that firsthand.

  Chapter Twelve

  The intense atmosphere lightened considerably when they all sat around the dinner table, and it was easier for Isabella to believe in happy families again. The pasta sauce she’d made had been a hit, and even the children had asked for more. They were excited, and after they’d finished eating, Sebastian egged the two girls on, much to Jemima’s displeasure.

  “Don’t encourage them, Seb. You’re as bad as they are.”

  He was showing them how to balance a spoon on their noses, and they were in awe when it fell off his nose three times in a row. Isabella couldn’t keep a straight face.

  Ryan tugged at Sebastian’s jeans, and they shared a look. A minute later they had both disappeared under the table.

  Helena rolled her eyes as she bounced baby James on her knee. “Honestly, Harry, that boy will never grow up. He reminds me of you more and more every day.”

  Harry and Isabella’s father were discussing the football at full volume, and Harry turned to his wife one hand cupped to his ear. “What did you say, love?”

  “Never mind.” She waved her hand. “Go back to your football.”

  Isabella sat back and let the happy noise wash around her. For the first time since she’d arrived in Spring Downs, the empty feeling of being in an unfamiliar environment disappeared.

  Something tickled her leg and, lifting the tablecloth, she peeked under the table. She smiled as she spotted the little brown spaniel that Liam usually had nipping at his heels. He looked up at her and licked her foot.

  Next minute, a pair of brown eyes, and a younger pair of blue eyes peered at her. “I hope you didn’t think that was us,” Sebastian said with a grin.

  “I think Ryan has much better manners than that,” she replied.

  “What about me?” Sebastian asked in a mock hurt tone.

  “I’m not so convinced about your manners. The spoon on the nose during dessert has made me wonder.”

  “It was a clean spoon,” he protested. “It didn’t have any custard on it.”

  “Just as well.” Isabella giggled. “You’re quite mad, you know.”

  Ryan ran off to play with the girls when Ned told them they could leave the table; Sebastian crawled out and sat beside her in the chair that Kelsey had vacated.

  “Having a good time?” he asked.

  “I am. What about you?”

  “You need to ask that? I love kids,” he said.

  “You are still a big kid,” Liam said from across the table. “I doubt if Seb will ever grow up,” he added for Isabella’s benefit.

  “And I’m happy like that,” Sebastian said, picking up the spoon again and tipping his head back.

  “No.” A chorus of groans sounded.

  “You will make a great father,” said her father, and Isabella tensed as he looked at her with a calculating glint in his eye. She glared at him, willing him not to say anything more but he ignored her. “I am so looking forward to having my own grandchildren running around like this one day. It will be wonderful.” He put his hand on his chest and let out such a loud sigh, Isabella was hard pressed not to pick up her spoon and bop him on the nose.

  Sebastian reached over and squeezed her hand sympathetically as silence descended around the table. Unfortunately, his grandmother leaned forward and saw him take her hand, and she nudged Harry.

  “It will be.” Isabella decided it was easier not to react. “Now let’s get these dishes done and I can see how this kitchen work space flows. Lucy and Angie said that the helpers will be from the CWA, Helena?” She pulled her hand out of Sebastian’s warm clasp. Altogether too many people were jumping to the wrong conclusion.

  They were not a couple. And wouldn’t be, ever.

  She glanced down at him as she stood and began to clear the table.

  Sebastian was like a forbidden dessert. If she was honest with herself, she knew she was tempted, but he would be bad for her in so many ways.

  She was only here for a few weeks—he was here to stay. Besides, he was too lightweight for her tastes. She preferred a man who— A man who what?

  Maybe someone who had a stronger work ethic? Maybe someone a little bit more serious about life?

  One who was more serious about setting a goal and working hard to achieve it?

  When she found a partner—or a soul mate—it would be someone who had a work ethic that matched hers. It was all very well to talk about love at first sight, but life didn’t work like that. You had to share common interests and be similar in what you wanted out of life to make a relationship work.

  Her life goals were set, and she was on her way to achieve them. Isabella wasn’t sure if Sebastian even knew what he wanted.

  But in the scheme of things, that didn’t matter because once she went to England, she would probably never see him again.

  Why did that make her feel so sad?

  …

  Sebastian could pinpoint the exact second that Isabella judged him and he was found wanting. A spark of temper sizzled for a second, and then he shrugged it off. He didn’t care what people thought about him.

  He knew what he wanted out of life, but he also knew he had to do the right thing by his family. If they were two different things, so be it. He would do what was right and what was expected, but he wasn’t prepared to take the judgment that came along with it. Luckily, no one picked up on his mood, and he managed to join in on the laughing conversation as it turned to the wedding.

  “As well as being my best man, Sebastian is going to take the photographs, Gran,” Liam said after the girls had cleared the table. Pop was in there helping them wash up.

  “So you brought your cameras and gear with you?” Gran asked. “That was thoughtful of you.”

  He stayed calm.

  Thoughtful!

  “Yes. I had all my gear sent from the airport by a courier. You obviously haven’t been in the spare room yet, Gran. It’s full of my stuff, and I’ve got my computer set up there. If it’s in the way, just let me know.”

  And I’ll move out. Find a place to rent. But it wasn’t the right time to say that. It was already starting to feel claustr
ophobic being in the house with Gran and Pop. As much as he loved them, he hadn’t planned on living in a house with a couple in their seventies.

  And they’d been home less than a day.

  “Tell me about your photography, Sebastian. Bella tells me you took photos in Italy.” Con’s voice broke into his musing.

  “Yes, I was working with the Firenze tourist agency.”

  Con nodded. “And now you have work here, too, and my Bella is going to help you with a photo shoot?”

  Damn, I didn’t want that out yet.

  “What photo shoot?” Liam stared at him.

  “Don’t worry, it’s only nights and weekends.” Sebastian waved a casual hand. “It’s just a contract taking a few shots of stars.” He played it down before Liam started in on him. “I was going to tell you about it later.”

  “Photos of the stars? Now that sounds romantic,” Gran said.

  “Yes, I’m doing an Outback series.” He turned to his grandmother. “Don’t worry, it’s only a weekend thing. It won’t take away from me working on the property. Not one bit.”

  “I wasn’t worried,” she said. “It’s always good to have other interests. Liam and Garth have the alliance. Ned has the children, and all of their activities.”

  Ned laughed. “It sure keeps me busy. Did I tell you that Ryan scored his first goal in the under-fives at soccer last weekend?”

  Sebastian relaxed as the focus of the conversation moved away from him as everyone congratulated Ryan, and then the conversation moved to the races next weekend.

  “Are you coming to the CBC races, Isabella?” Gran asked.

  “CBC?”

  “Come-by-Chance. It’s a tiny town about thirty kilometres down our road. The racecourse is on one of the cattle properties.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I saw the sign about the races when we were out the other night, but I hadn’t really thought about going.”

  Everyone spoke at once. “You have to come.”

  “It’s the social event of the season.”

  Her father looked at Isabella. “Of course we’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”