by Lisa Ireland
‘All right shearers, take your positions. Ladies, please join me in counting them down.’ Mal held up three fingers. ‘Three, two, one, go!’
All three men grabbed hold of the metal clippers hanging above them and got to work on removing the wool from their sheep’s belly.
Despite not being professionals they seemed to know what they were doing, expertly holding the sheep still between their feet as they manoeuvred the clippers over the animals’ bodies.
Jenna couldn’t take her eyes off Luke as he firmly but gently went about removing the wool from the sheep’s back. Before starting he had stripped off his shirt and now a close-fitting navy singlet rode up to reveal glimpses of his washboard stomach as he worked. His tanned body glistened with sweat as his quick, strong hands moved over the sheep. Jenna’s pulse quickened as an image of those hands caressing her body flashed through her mind.
Brooke was caught up in the excitement of the competition, clapping and cheering beside Jenna. ‘Go Luke,’ she yelled.
Suddenly Luke stopped and stood upright. The ewe was bare. He nudged the fleece forward with his foot and a young teenaged boy stepped forward to collect it. The boy shook the fleece out and laid it on a round metal table. Luke let go of the clippers and threw a fist in the air.
Jenna held her breath as Mal examined the fleece.
‘Ladies,’ he shouted above the noise. ‘We have our winner!’
Matt and Cameron were both now finished. The shearers released their sheep into a small pen while the young rouseabout took their fleeces. The losing competitors were quick to shake Luke’s hand and slap him on the back.
‘Luke, time to get your prize. Which of these lovely ladies will you choose to get a kiss from?’
Luke laughed and shook his head. ‘It’s too hard to choose, Mal.’
‘A deal’s a deal, son. Let’s not disappoint the ladies now.’
Luke nodded as his eyes scanned the crowd. ‘Alright then.’ He stood still for a moment, seeming to consider his options as the girls all called out to him, hoping to sway him their way.
Butterflies of nervous anticipation swirled in Jenna’s stomach, which was ridiculous. As if he would pick her. Luke Tanner had made it quite clear he thought she was a pain in the butt so she was probably last on his list. Nevertheless, he was striding towards her purposefully it seemed. His gaze was fixed on her, and with each step it seemed more and more likely that she was his chosen target. Her pulse thudded in her ears as Luke came to a halt almost directly in front of her.
‘Made your choice have you, Luke?’
Jenna held her breath as he answered.
‘Sure have, mate.’ He leaned in and planted a kiss on Helen’s cheek. ‘Thanks for the afternoon tea, Mrs D. It was top notch.’
Jenna was grateful for the resounding cheer from the crowd. Hopefully she was the only one to notice her involuntary gasp of disappointment.
Chapter 3
Luke stood on the veranda in the suit he had worn to Joe’s funeral, feeling like a fool. For some reason he’d let that woman get under his skin. God, he’d even contemplated kissing her this afternoon. She was clearly trouble — selfish and spoiled — so it was lucky he’d had the good sense to stop himself before any damage was done. Why was he always attracted to the dangerous ones?
It was too damned hot to be trussed up in this monkey suit but he’d promised Maggie he’d make an effort. Now he wondered if he’d made the right choice. What if the sight of him upset Maggie? Of course she would recognise the suit; it was the only one he owned. Hopefully she would be too busy to think about the last time she saw him in it.
Lots of the other blokes had driven to Mynyip and hired dinner suits especially for the occasion but he’d been too busy running Tandarra and helping organise the weekend to put any thought into what he might wear to the dance.
He pulled a clean white handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at the sweat on his forehead. What on earth could be taking those women so long? Whenever he and Maggie went into town for a bite to eat at the pub, she was ready in a flash. These two had been preening for hours and if they didn’t hurry the pre-ball match-ups would be over.
Brooke was the first to make an appearance. She teetered out onto the veranda, in spiky heels and a clingy red dress. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head elegantly.
‘Wow,’ he said. ‘You scrub up well.’
Brooke laughed. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment, shall I?’
Luke gave a sheepish grin. ‘Highest compliment a man can pay a lady.’
‘Why thank you, kind sir,’ Brooke said as she gave a little curtsy.
Jenna’s voice broke into the merriment. ‘What’s all this?’ she asked.
Luke turned and there she was.
Breathtaking.
Today, when he’d won the shearing contest his first thought had been of kissing her, but he’d stopped himself. Instinct told him that kissing Jenna would be like falling off a cliff — once he took that leap there would be no turning back. Seeing her now, looking dangerously beautiful, only served to reinforce that belief.
‘And what about this lass? How does she scrub up?’ Brooke asked.
Luke’s heart was pounding and he didn’t trust himself to speak. Luckily Brooke’s voice filled the silence and he had a moment to catch his breath.
‘Give us a spin, Jen,’ she said. ‘Let the gentleman see if you’re suitably scrubbed.’
Jenna obliged, giving a quick twirl. Silver fabric swirled around her legs, revealing a pair of strappy heels. The dress was backless, exposing enough skin to raise his pulse rate, but not so much as to be indiscreet. A band of silver sequins sat below her breasts, drawing Luke’s attention to her impressive cleavage. Jenna’s auburn curls were gathered into a loose knot at the nape of her neck but a few errant strands had escaped, which only served to enhance her goddess-like appearance. Luke had a sudden desire to pull the clasp from Jenna’s hair and watch her curls tumble down onto those deliciously bare shoulders. A vision of him placing a hand on her back, drawing her close and planting his mouth on hers danced in his imagination.
He averted his gaze.
‘Well?’ Jenna said as Luke reapplied the handkerchief to his brow.
‘Very nice,’ he managed, not daring to meet her eyes.
There was an awkward silence until Brooke came to his rescue.
‘Apparently that’s a high compliment out here in the country. I was told I had scrubbed up well.’
Luke smiled at Brooke, grateful for her efforts. ‘Let’s go, shall we? I’d hate you ladies to miss the match-up. You never know, the man of your dreams may be waiting.’
He helped the two women climb up into his four-wheel drive and they headed back into town. Brooke sat beside him chatting amiably as they bumped along the unsealed roads. Every so often he would catch a glimpse of Jenna in the rear vision mirror.
God, she’s beautiful. What if he was matched with her? His pulse quickened in anticipation.
He gave a small shake of his head as if to clear the thought from his mind. He had volunteered to be a bachelor for the town’s sake, well, for Maggie really. He wanted the weekend to be a success, but there was no room in his life for romance right now. The baby would be here soon and he owed it to Maggie, and to his brother, to be there for the two of them.
Suddenly a grey object flashed in front of the car. Instinctively, Luke slammed on the brakes, easing back when the car began to slide. They were sideways for what seemed like an eternity before he managed to gain control and pull over onto the road’s soft shoulder. His first thought was of Jenna. He swung around to look at her. ‘Are you okay?’
Jenna nodded.
He turned to Brooke, who was laughing. ‘Did you see that, Jen? It was a kangaroo. I can’t believe we just saw a real live Skippy.’
Jenna didn’t seem quite so amused. ‘Skippy nearly got us killed. I can live without any more wildlife encounters, thanks very much.’ Her words were light eno
ugh but the slight waver in her voice indicated her shock.
Brooke’s response was lost on Luke as an image of Joe laughing flashed before his eyes. The two of them were mucking around, ribbing each other as usual. They hadn’t noticed Dad’s distress, or the vehicle straying from the road. Not until it was too late…
‘Luke?’ Brooke’s voice shattered the memory. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Sure.’ He released his vice-like grip on the steering wheel and managed a smile. ‘Bloody roos. Nothing but a menace if you ask me.’
‘Oh, but they’re so cute,’ Brooke protested.
Luke glanced at his watch. They were now officially 10 minutes late. Maggie was going to have his head. ‘I think that’s enough wildlife spotting for one evening. Time to get you ladies to the ball.’
* * *
The main street was lined with four-wheel drives and utes. Jenna hadn’t noticed the community hall earlier but tonight, draped in fairy lights and with the strains of a string quartet emanating from within, it stood out like a beacon. Luke parked at the opposite end of the street. Jenna detected a sense of urgency as he hustled them out of the car and along the street. ‘What’s the hurry?’ she asked.
‘We’re late.’
‘Only 20 minutes or so. It’s no big deal.’ Jenna laughed a little. ‘In Melbourne we’d consider this being early.’
Luke frowned. ‘More like half an hour. Maggie will kill me. I’m supposed to help with the match-ups.’
‘I guess we’d better get ourselves inside then,’ Jenna said.
They were greeted by the buzz of excited chatter in the foyer. Jenna saw that many of the crowd were wearing lanyards with a heart-shaped number attached. The match-ups, she guessed. Her belly gave a little flip as she thought about being matched with Luke. She pictured their bodies meshed together as they moved on the dance floor. The thought of placing her cheek against that hard torso and dancing to the rhythm of his heartbeat made her own heart pound.
God, this was ridiculous. She had only known him for a few hours but she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She had never had such an intense attraction to a man in her life. Not only was he gorgeous, but according to Helen Dawson he was sweet and selfless as well.
Unfortunately, it seemed the attraction only went one way. Rather than beguiled by her, Luke seemed totally disinterested. In fact, he seemed to actively dislike her. Not that she could blame him after her brattish behaviour this afternoon. If only she could start the weekend over…
Oh for heaven’s sake! This schoolgirl crush had to end right now. This was the type of behaviour that had her mother finding herself in trouble time and time again. Had she learned nothing from this example? This sort of inappropriate attraction was the whole point of developing the checklist. When afflicted by lust, stick to the plan. Blind passion always ended in disaster. End. Of. Story.
Jenna and Brooke followed Luke as he wove his way through the crowd. Several locals stopped him to shake his hand or slap him on the back. Jenna noticed how he smiled generously at each of them, pausing to give them his full attention for a moment, despite his hurry to get to Maggie.
She felt their eyes on her, too. In a sea of black strapless dresses her silver gown stood out as a flamboyant mistake. Her designer outfit would be right at home at an awards night in Melbourne or Sydney, but here she felt conspicuous, ostentatious even. At least Brooke was wearing siren red, so she didn’t feel totally alone.
‘Everyone’s looking at us,’ she whispered to Brooke.
‘Of course they are, darling,’ Brooke said with absolute confidence. ‘We’re the belles of the ball.’
They found Maggie standing behind a trestle table, several lanyards draped over her arm. She came out from behind the table to greet Luke with an embrace. ‘I thought you’d chickened out,’ she said.
‘Sorry. We had a run-in with a roo,’ he said.
‘Oh my goodness, is everyone okay?’
‘Yeah, it was a near miss, that’s all. Now that I’m here what can I do to help?’
Maggie smiled at the three of them. ‘Nothing. You three are the last to collect your matches. Take one of these.’ She handed Jenna and Brooke a hot pink lanyard each and placed a blue one around Luke’s neck. ‘You need to find your partner in the room,’ she said. ‘They have the same number as you.’
Jenna quickly scanned Luke’s number before checking her own. Despite decreeing him an unsuitable match just moments before she couldn’t help but feel a stab of regret when she discovered he was not to be her date for the evening.
‘Seems we’ll have to look further afield to find our partners,’ Luke said, holding up his number.
Oh God. Was her disappointment that obvious? Jenna felt her cheeks begin to burn. ‘Yes, we’d better get to it. Don’t want to keep our dates in suspense any longer.’ She grabbed Brooke by the hand and started off across the room, silver fabric swishing around her feet.
The crowd in the foyer was thinning out as the newly formed couples made their way into the main hall. Jenna spied a dark haired, tuxedo-clad man heading towards them. His attention was focused on Brooke, and when he was close enough to see her number he smiled and held out his hand. ‘I believe you belong with me,’ he said.
Brooke took his hand and allowed herself to be led away. She turned back to blow Jenna a kiss before disappearing through the main hall entrance.
Jenna looked around. Her partner had to be around somewhere. Luke was nowhere in sight. He must have found his match and headed inside with the others. The foyer was rapidly emptying out so surely her other half wouldn’t be too hard to find. Jenna heard laughing behind her, loud guffaws obviously coming from a group of males. She turned to see a lanky, redheaded boy, who couldn’t have been more than 19. The laughter was coming from his mates, who had him surrounded. The others in the group all had pretty young girls on their arms. Something told Jenna these were local girls, not city imports like herself.
‘Stood up eh, Jacko? Can’t even get yerself a blind date,’ said the loudest of the group.
‘Ah, she probably checked out his freckle crop and decided to do a runner,’ another said, to the general amusement of the group.
Jenna rolled her eyes. Teenagers could be so cruel. She had spent her teenage years being an ugly duckling, a tall redhead when all the other girls were petite blondes. She wished there was something she could do to help the young man but she knew from experience that intervening would probably just give the group more ammunition.
‘Might as well give up, Jacko,’ the loud one continued. ‘She ain’t coming.’
Suddenly it dawned on Jenna, they were talking about her. This awkward, blushing teenager was her date for the evening. A smile settled on her face as she realised that she could do something to help young Jacko. All thoughts of Luke and the disappointment she had felt just moments earlier vanished as she thought about what she could achieve for her young partner. She decided to give Jacko’s mates something to talk about. She pulled herself up to her full height and thrust her chest out.
‘Excuse me,’ she said, in what she hoped was a soft, sexy voice, ‘can any of you tell me where I can find number 50? He’s my date for the evening.’
The group parted slightly and Jacko stepped forward. ‘I’m 50,’ he said, while the others sniggered and looked at Jenna.
‘Oh thank God you’re tall,’ she said, casting a disparaging eye over the other males in the group. ‘I was so worried I’d be paired with someone short.’ She reached out and took him by the hand. ‘Shall we go? I can’t wait to get inside and get the evening underway.’
Jacko loped along beside her, apparently rendered speechless. ‘Don’t look back,’ Jenna instructed. ‘Just act confident, even if you don’t feel that way.’ When they reached the ballroom, Jenna pulled him around to face her and took both his hands in hers. ‘I’m Jenna,’ she said. ‘What’s your name?’
‘I’m Jacko.’
Jenna laughed. ‘I mean your real name.�
�
‘Oh,’ he said, looking at his feet. ‘My name’s Jason, Jason Jackson, but everybody calls me Jacko.’
‘Nice to meet you, Jason,’ Jenna smiled at him. ‘It will be my pleasure to spend this evening with you as my date.’ His hands were clammy and his face had paled so that his freckles seemed even more prominent. Jenna knew she needed to be very gentle. ‘I guess you weren’t expecting your date to be an older woman.’
Jason blushed. ‘I don’t mind,’ he said.
‘I’m sure there are other girls you would rather spend your time with. But let me tell you something, Jason, a man who can win the heart of an older woman has a certain cachet that younger women find attractive.’
Colour flooded into Jason’s face, turning his cheeks beet red.
Jenna laughed. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to seduce you.’ She released his hands and hooked her arm through his. ‘Just think of me as your fairy Godmother, Jason Jackson. Now take me to the ball.’
Chapter 4
Luke handed his date a glass of champagne and tried to concentrate on what she was saying. Trish was pleasant enough and she was certainly pretty, so why couldn’t she hold his attention? She was prattling on about her job as a teacher, or was it a childcare worker? Her hands flitted about, sending little droplets of champagne into the air as she laboured her point. Luke smiled and tried to feign interest as his eyes scanned the room.
He could see Brooke, spinning around the dance floor in the arms of Rob Fraser, but Jenna was nowhere to be seen. He wondered who she was paired with. Please not Cameron Richards. The captain of Barlow’s cricket team was known for his charm and for his wandering hands.
Luke frowned. Why was he so worried? Jenna seemed perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Still, the thought of Cameron Richard’s hands sliding over Jenna’s bare skin made him queasy.
