Breaking The Drought

by Lisa Ireland

  She pushed her large framed sunglasses on top of her head and stared back at him. ‘Can I help you?’ she asked.

  Inexplicably his pulse quickened as she spoke. ‘I was just admiring your…shoes.’

  ‘Jimmy Choos.’

  ‘I’m sorry?’

  ‘I picked them up on my last visit to New York. Don’t think they make them in…’ her gaze shifted to his feet, ‘cowboy size.’ She turned her back on him and walked to the back of her car.

  Damn. She’d caught him checking out her legs. What did she expect? Any guy not noticing those pins didn’t have a pulse. Perhaps a little country charm was in order to smooth things over.

  ‘Allow me,’ Luke said, placing his hand on the large leather suitcase she was dragging from the car.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, ‘but I’m fine. I’m used to carrying my own baggage.’

  Her friend was more obliging. She smiled and offered him a small overnight bag. ‘Don’t mind Jenna. She’s just caffeine deprived. She’ll be in a better mood after a coffee. I’m Brooke, by the way.’

  ‘Luke Tanner. Welcome to Barlow, ladies.’ He tipped his broad brimmed hat, which earned him a wide grin from Brooke and even a smile from Jenna. ‘If you’d like to follow me to the registration table, we can sort out your accommodation and maybe rustle up a coffee.’

  * * *

  Brooke kept pace with Cowboy Luke, chatting amiably. Jenna teetered along behind them on her unruly heels. Her oversized suitcase was proving to be difficult to manoeuvre along the bluestone sidewalk, its wheels squealing in protest at the unfamiliar surface.

  ‘Are you sure you’re okay with that?’ Luke asked as she struggled along.

  ‘Absolutely.’ She could hardly admit she needed help after the show she’d put on back there.

  He was really pretty cute, Cowboy Luke. Hell, who was she kidding? He was gorgeous. When she had caught him looking at her as she alighted the car her heart had begun to pound. Even now, as she thought about those dark eyes lingering a moment too long on her legs, she felt a strange fluttering in the pit of her stomach. It was just a physical reaction, she told herself. Who wouldn’t respond to such an attractive man?

  The sound of Brooke’s laughter made Jenna look up. Luke was laughing too and his hand drifted casually to the small of Brooke’s back as he guided her up the steps of the pub. Looked like Brooke had found herself an admirer already. It was no surprise. What man wouldn’t be attracted to her, with her dark features and bubbly personality?

  Men looked at Jenna, she knew that, but it was Brooke they talked to, flirted with, and ultimately took into their arms. Jenna wished she could be at ease with the opposite sex in the way that her friend was. She wished she didn’t scrutinise every attractive man she met, looking for flaws. She couldn’t let herself get interested until she knew there was a good prospect that the guy was ‘marriage material’. Trouble was, by the time she had decided that a potential lover was worth the investment, she had usually scared him away with her lack of enthusiasm.

  As she dragged her suitcase up the pub’s timber steps Brooke beckoned her. ‘Come on. I want to check in so we can start having fun.’

  The woman sitting at the registration table handed Jenna a welcome pack. ‘Wow, I love your top. Such gorgeous fabric.’

  Jenna acknowledged the compliment with a smile. ‘I have my friend here to thank for that,’ she said. ‘Brooke’s a textile designer and this fabric is one of her creations.’

  ‘It’s certainly unique,’ the woman said. ‘Now, let’s get down to business. May I have your names for registration?’

  ‘Jenna McLean,’ Jenna said, ‘and this is Brooke Chambers.’

  ‘Maggie Tanner,’ the woman replied. ‘I’m the event co-ordinator this weekend so if you have any questions or problems feel free to let me know.’

  Tanner? Jenna’s gaze darted to Maggie’s left hand. An intricate gold band adorned her ring finger. She wondered if Luke Tanner’s wife knew about his wandering eyes.

  She smiled at Maggie, feeling an immediate affinity with her. ‘I believe we have rooms reserved in the hotel here,’ she said. ‘Do we get the key from you or should we check in inside?’

  ‘I’m sorry but you’re not staying in the pub. The rooms were allocated on a first-in basis. I’m afraid you girls were rather late in booking. Don’t worry though, we have both of you billeted together.’

  Jenna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Billeted out to stay with strangers? Unthinkable. ‘There must be some mistake. We specifically asked to be placed at the hotel.’ Jenna swung around and looked at Brooke. ‘Do you know anything about this?’

  Brooke shook her head. ‘I asked for private rooms in the hotel.’

  ‘You have been allocated private rooms,’ Maggie said. ‘I’m sure you’ll be perfectly comfortable.’

  The weekend hadn’t even started and already it was a disaster. What was she thinking, letting Brooke talk her into leaving the metropolitan area? It was bad enough that the whole town seemed to consist of just one street, and that her mobile phone had ceased to get a signal. Now she was expected to stay in some bush shack with strangers. ‘It’s not what I’d envisaged,’ Jenna said.

  Brooke shot her a furious look.

  ‘You’re actually down to stay with Luke and me. Our place is a 15 minute drive out of town, but it’s very large. You’ll both have your own room and a private bathroom.’

  ‘Sounds great, doesn’t it, Jen?’ said Brooke.

  It seemed there was no getting out of it. Jenna tried to smile graciously. ‘Sure,’ she said.

  ‘Shame you got your luggage out of the car,’ said Maggie, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. ‘Never mind. Luke can give you a hand. I’ll get him to drive out to the property and you can follow if you like. We don’t want you getting lost.’

  Perfect. She’d left Melbourne to escape Simon the Snake only to be billeted with Barlow’s resident Lothario.

  Luke was nowhere to be seen. At Maggie’s suggestion Jenna and Brooke decided to wait inside the pub.

  The old hotel was filling quickly, but Jenna managed to find a table near the window and Brooke headed to the bar. The cool dark room provided some welcome relief from the heat outside.

  Jenna looked around the pub while she waited for Brooke to return with the coffees. The brown laminated tables and floral carpet took her back to her childhood — Saturday afternoons spent beside Grandpa Bob at the bar of the Railway Hotel, sipping raspberry lemonade and eating packets of chips, while he drank his beer and watched the races.

  Brooke arrived back with a couple of lemon squashes.

  ‘What happened to the coffee?’ Jenna said. Her last caffeine hit was at a roadside stop three hours ago now. Her head thumped in withdrawal.

  ‘The barman’s going to bring it over. I thought you might like something cold while we wait.’ She placed the drinks on the table and looked around. ‘How cool is this old pub?’

  Jenna smiled. ‘It’s a blast from the past. It reminds me of my childhood.’

  ‘A misspent youth, no doubt.’

  Jenna laughed.

  Brooke folded her arms and looked at Jenna smugly. ‘Are you ready to thank me yet?’

  ‘Thank you? For what? Bringing me to a dustbowl and forcing me to stay in some antiquated house which probably doesn’t even have air conditioning?’ Jenna rolled her eyes. ‘Thanks a lot, Brooke. A brilliant plan.’

  ‘The plan, as I recall, was to kiss cowboys. You have to admit the prospects are pretty good. Take Cowboy Luke for instance.’

  ‘I told you I had no intention of kissing anyone. And I don’t think either of us should set our hearts on Cowboy Luke. Looks like he’s married.’

  ‘What makes you think that?’

  ‘He has the same surname as Maggie and they live together. Pretty big clue I’d say.’

  Brooke laughed. ‘I see you’ve been paying attention. Oh well, where there’s one there’s bound to be more. Cute g
uys roam in packs.’

  The subject of their conversation pushed open the bistro door and walked towards them, putting an end to further speculation on whether or not his friends were kissable.

  Luke removed his hat and wiped his brow with a tanned forearm. He glanced at Jenna before settling his gaze on Brooke. ‘Maggie tells me you two are to be our guests.’ He was clearly trying hard — maybe a little too hard — to sound enthusiastic about this fact. ‘I’ll escort you out to the property whenever you’re ready. You can find me on the veranda.’ Without waiting for an answer he turned on his heel and exited the bar.

  The barman arrived carrying two insipid-looking lattes. Murky liquid sloshed into the saucer as he plonked Jenna’s coffee down in front of her.

  It was going to be a long weekend.

  Chapter 2

  Jenna had to admit the trip out of town was scenic. Brooke followed Luke’s four-wheel drive back up Barlow Road for a few kilometres and then onto a series of minor roads, which wound their way through thick bush. Magnificent eucalypts towered above them, the forest canopy bringing visual relief from the simmering heat outside.

  Jenna looked up from the map she had pulled from her welcome pack. ‘Looks like the Tanner’s property is on the edge of the National Park,’ she said.

  ‘Seems like we’ve been climbing for ages,’ said Brooke. ‘I’m glad we’ve got someone to follow, I would never have found my way otherwise.’ As she spoke they came to a clearing at the crest of a hill. Nestled in the valley below was a sprawling homestead.

  ‘Wow,’ said Jenna.

  ‘It’s enormous,’ said Brooke. ‘Do you think that’s the place?’

  ‘He’s heading in that direction.’

  The Land Cruiser in front of them snaked slowly down the hill, towards the cypress lined driveway of the property. The homestead — Tandarra, according to the sign swinging from the white timber archway at the driveway’s entrance — was even more beautiful up close. Wide verandas surrounded the weatherboard house, which was set amongst a lush cottage-style garden. Luke drove past the house, pulling up into a large carport at its rear. He beckoned for Brooke to follow.

  ‘Welcome to Tandarra,’ he said as they got out of the car.

  ‘This place is amazing,’ said Brooke.

  Luke smiled. ‘We like it here. Tandarra’s been in the Tanner family for three generations.’

  Jenna could hardly believe how different this home was to the bush shack of her imagination. ‘The garden is just beautiful,’ she said, giving Luke her first genuine smile since their arrival.

  ‘It’s been hard to maintain it through the drought but Maggie’s managed to keep it alive with grey water and compost. My grandmother planted this garden when she was a young bride.’ He gestured towards the rose bushes lining the pathway to the veranda’s wide steps. ‘These roses are the most significant plants in the garden. Every time a new Tanner is born a rose is added to the collection.’

  Thick white gravel scrunched under their feet as they made their way along the path to the home’s entrance.

  Inside the home was cool and dark. Jenna’s platforms clunked on the highly polished timber floors as Luke ushered them through the entry hall, past the antique-filled lounge and formal dining room into the light-filled kitchen. A large hardwood table was positioned in the centre of the room. ‘Pull up a pew,’ he said.

  He meant it literally. The benches either side of the table looked like authentic church pews. ‘Where did these come from?’ Jenna asked as she sat down.

  ‘There’s an old church up the road a bit. When it came up for sale a few years back my parents decided to buy it. My brother was doing it up before he…’ Luke hesitated for a moment. ‘The pews came from there.’ He swung open a cupboard door and pulled out a couple of mugs. ‘Help yourselves to tea or coffee. I’ll collect your bags and show you to your rooms when you’re ready.’

  * * *

  Jenna flopped back on the huge four-poster bed that sat in the centre of the enormous room she had been allocated. Despite her initial misgivings it seemed that she and Brooke had been luckier than most. Tandarra was up there with the most luxurious boutique accommodation she had ever stayed in. The crisp white bed linen beneath her was lavender scented and a vase of fresh roses adorned the dresser. The French doors leading to the outside veranda afforded Jenna a breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside. There was even a private bathroom.

  As she took in the scenic vista Jenna noticed a figure on horseback riding along the property’s fence line. As the figure came closer to the house she recognised Luke’s masculine form and her stomach gave an involuntary flip.

  Stop it. What was it with this ridiculous attraction to unreliable men? First Simon and now she was ogling Cowboy Trouble. To be fair to herself she hadn’t known about Simon’s philandering ways, but Luke Tanner was quite obviously a player — she couldn’t help but notice the way he kept looking at her — and there was nothing attractive about that. It didn’t matter how many times her stomach did somersaults at the sight of him, he was married. Married to a very nice woman at that.

  Maggie had been so courteous in the face of her misgivings earlier. Heat crept into Jenna’s cheeks as she recalled the fuss she’d made about not having a room at the hotel. She had been so precious. Rude, if she was totally honest with herself. An apology to Maggie was in order. It was one thing to rub Luke up the wrong way but offending Maggie was unacceptable.

  There was a tap on the door as Brooke bounded into the room without waiting to be invited. ‘Not too shabby, hey?’ she said, looking around Jenna’s room.

  ‘Five stars, at least.’

  ‘I’m glad you approve, madam.’

  Jenna winced. ‘I know, I know. I’ve been a royal pain. I didn’t know places like this even existed in the country.’

  Brooke laughed. ‘Did you think everyone outside of the city lived in log cabins with dirt floors?’

  ‘Of course not. I thought…well, actually, I don’t know. Maybe I did have a few preconceived ideas.’

  ‘So maybe country life isn’t so bad after all.’

  Jenna shrugged. ‘It’s a nice place to visit.’

  Brooke gestured at Jenna’s unopened suitcase. ‘You’d better get cracking if we’re going to leave on time.’

  ‘Leave for where? The ball’s not until tonight.’

  ‘Didn’t you read the info in your welcome pack? There’s some type of farming demonstration on this afternoon. Something involving dogs rounding up sheep. And shearing.’

  Jenna glanced at the laptop bag she’d tossed onto her bed. ‘You go, I need to check in at the office.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Think about what you’ll be missing. All those cowboy types, shirtless, bodies slick with sweat…’

  Jenna laughed. ‘I’ll live.’

  ‘Honestly, Jen, you are being ridiculous. We came out here to do something different. Experience another side of life. That’s not going to happen if you never leave this luxurious bedroom.’

  ‘Sorry, but work comes first.’

  Brooke frowned. ‘Well, I’m going. If you change your mind you need to be ready in half an hour.’

  Jenna could see she was annoyed but it couldn’t be helped. She really did need to check in back at work. The last contact she’d had was hours ago, before she lost her phone signal. She had her staff negotiating a deal for an exclusive interview with Summer Richards — her first interview since winning an Oscar on the same night her fiancé was found dead in a Hollywood hotel. It was imperative to stay in the loop. Not to mention the myriad of other niggling problems with the current issue that needed her attention.

  She slid her laptop out of its case and settled herself back on the bed, ready to work, mentally ticking off her priority list while the computer searched for a network connection. First priority: read emails, reply to anything urgent, then read cover and content proposals for upcoming issues and formulate her response. That should be enough for now.
If there was enough time before getting ready for the ball maybe she could jot down some notes about Tandarra for her column.

  Her computer blipped. No network connection found.

  Jenna stared at the screen, momentarily not comprehending the words. Surely these people were connected to the Internet? Everyone was, weren’t they? Perhaps the network was down for some reason. Undeterred, she grabbed her phone in order to set up a personal hotspot. No signal. Damn! How did people survive out here?

  Perhaps the bedroom was in a dead spot. Or maybe there was some trick to connecting here she didn’t know about. She snapped the laptop shut and shuffled off the bed. Hopefully she could catch Luke before he left to show off his skills at the shear-a-thon or whatever the hell it was.

  She found him sitting on the veranda steps, pulling a pair of work boots on.

  His eyes settled on her feet. ‘I don’t think your Jimmy shoes are the best choice of footwear for the farm visit. I assume you did bring some form of appropriate footwear with you?’

  ‘Jimmy Choos.’

  He raised his eyebrows. ‘Whatever. You’d better make it quick. We’re about to leave. Brooke’s already in the car.’

  ‘I’m not coming to the farm. I have a lot of work to do. I just need an Internet connection. I’d use my phone to connect but I can’t seem to get a signal. I’m just wondering — ’

  ‘There’s no mobile reception out here so you can forget that, and as for Internet connection, well, sorry to tell you this but the modem died on Wednesday and I haven’t had a chance to get into Mynyip to pick up another one.’

  ‘You mean we are totally offline here?’ Jenna made no attempt to conceal her horror.

  ‘For the next few days at least. Look, if you really need to check your email or whatever, coming to the Dawsons’ farm is your best bet. The homestead’s up on a hill and they get reasonable mobile service there, but if you are coming do me a favour and put on a sensible pair of shoes.’