“This is for the baby.” Hannah handed Meghan a parcel with a silver ribbon on top. “He shouldn’t miss out on gifts too.”
Meghan grinned. “He?”
“Uh-huh. It’s a boy,” she replied matter-of-factly.
Meghan carefully unwrapped the package and lifted out a white baby-sized jumpsuit.
“Are those little cowboy boots and hats on it?” Darcy leaned closer to his wife.
“How lovely.” Harriet turned to Abbie and Lachie, who beamed with pleasure.
There was a knock on the door and Harriet rose to answer it. Being Christmas in the country meant visitors would drop by to extend they best wishes on their way to visiting family and friends. Cups of tea and baking would be shared as well as stories and memories of the past. It was a lovely time of the year that Harriet always looked forward to.
But when she opened the door and found Tom Carmody standing on her doorstep, she halted in surprise.
“Merry Christmas.” Tom reached for his hat and pulled it from his head, leaving his silver-streaked hair looking tousled in a bed-sexy way.
“I thought you were going back to Hughenden.” Was all she could utter.
He toyed with the seam of his Akubra as he spoke. “I thought about what you said and you’re right. So I figured out how to set up one of those video chat things and we spoke that way. Poor bloke is just doubting himself and needed to talk his plans out. They’re great actually—really modern and forward-thinking.” Pride softened his eyes and voice. “We had a good chat and I told him how proud I was of him. I think that’s all he really wanted.”
“You hadn’t told him that before?” Harriet asked.
“You know us old blokes. We weren’t raised to show affection and shower our kids with praise. But I felt it and wanted him to know.” He looked at her like he was seeking his own approval. Harriet swallowed hard over the fist-sized lump forming in her throat.
“I told him I was only ever a phone call away. Or video call if I can remember how to do it.” He chuckled. “But my life is out here now. Life is short and I’m already on the pointy end of mine. I want to spend what time I have left out here, with the woman I love.” He reached for her hands and she let him pull her towards him. When their bodies were touching ever so slightly and he was gazing lovingly at her, his breath warming her nose, she knew she felt the same.
“I’ve loved you since I was a teenager.” Tom’s voice was low and husky. “You were the first girl I ever wanted and I want you to be the last.”
Speechless, she reached out and curled her fingers around his neck before tugging him down to meet her lips.
Their kiss was needy and desperate, clingy and raw. Their bodies melded together as desire burned hot in her blood. When she finally pulled away, panting heavily, she knew she wanted Tom by her side for the rest of her life. They would be equal partners; neither would dominate or belittle the other. Theirs would be a relationship based on mutual respect and love.
She pressed her lips against his again before speaking. “I love you too, Tom. I always have. You’re the man I’ve been waiting for all my life.”
He smiled wide. “I’m sorry it took me so long.”
They shared another kiss before Harriet took his hand in hers. “The whole family are inside and I’m sure they’re all wondering where I am. Will you spend the holiday with us?”
He lifted their joined hands and kissed her knuckles. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Epilogue
Cold sliced meat, salads and breads adorned the table aswere placed on the table and the ever-growing group of family and friends munched their way through it. Harriet replenished the dishes as they emptied, Tom never far from her side.
“So, Tom, how are you settling in?” Beverly, dressed festively in a red and white cotton shirt, asked.
He caught Harriet’s glance, holding it with those amazing brown eyes of his. The corners of his mouth curved just a little before he spoke. “Better than I could have expected. I have high hopes for the future.”
Harriet snuggled into his side and he put his arm around her. She didn’t care what anyone thought. She was happy. Happier than she had been in a long time.
“I’m so glad to hear it.” Beverly said with a hitch in her voice. “My sister is certainly one of a kind. The best friend I could ever have asked for.”
Harriet squeezed her hand lovingly as Cara joined them, a huge grin plastered across her face.
“Darcy just offered me a job at Arabella Plains.” She said her auburn hair swinging from its long ponytail. “They want to set up a riding school for disabled kids and use their horses for therapy. Isn’t that great?”
Beverly turned to her daughter and pointed to the cast on her arm. “But what about your wrist.”
“I’d have to train first and get accredited, but I used to teach kids when I wasn’t competing, so I have some experience.”
“That’s great. They’ve been talking about expanding into teaching for a while.” Harriet said remembering the many conversations and meetings Darcy and Meghan had had on the topic. It would be a lot of work to set up but could be an amazing place for children with all sorts of physical and learning disabilities to come to for therapy. “What about your trick riding? Will you give that up?”
Cara shrugged. “I’ve loved doing it, but this last fall was pretty bad. I think I’m ready to take a step back.” Tenderness and affection filled her eyes when she looked at her mother. “I forgot how important my family was to me and how much I’d missed the outback. I’m excited to do this with them.”
Harriet smiled at Cara, so young with so many opportunities ahead of her. “It will be great to have you back.”
Beverly hugged her daughter. “Welcome home, sweetheart.”
“That’s exactly how it feels.” Cara smiled brightly, her gaze drifting over her surrounding family. “I’m finally coming home.”
Thank you so much for reading Christmas at Brigadier Station. I hope you enjoyed this sweet journey to love. For more information about me and my books, including the inspiration behind my stories, how I help other authors, and plenty of other fun stuff visit my website. If you’d like to know when my next release becomes available, plus gain access to exclusive content, news and giveaways, please sign up to my newsletter via my website and social media:
www.sarahwilliamsauthor.com
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Help others find their next read by leaving a review of this novella on your favourite book website.
About the Author
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Bestselling author Sarah Williams spent her childhood chasing sheep, riding horses and picking Kiwi fruit on the family orchard in rural New Zealand. After a decade travelling, Sarah moved to Queensland to enjoy the endless summer, pristine beaches and tropical rainforests.
When she's not absorbed in her fictional writing world, Sarah is running after her family of four kids, one husband, two dogs, a horse and a cat.
She is Founder and CEO of Serenade Publishing, hosts the weekly podcast/vlog Write with Love, runs writers workshops and retreats, mentors and supports her peers to achieve their publishing dreams.
Sarah is regularly checking social media when she really should be cleaning.
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www.sarahwilliamsauthor.com
Also by Sarah Williams
Brigadier Station Series:
The Brothers of Brigadier Station
The Sky over Brigadier Station
The Legacies of Brigadier Station
The Outback Governess (A Sweet Outback Novella)
Christmas at Brigadier Station (An Outback Christmas Novella)
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Heart of the Hinterland Series:
The Dairy Farmer’s Daughter
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For more information visit:
www
.sarahwilliamsauthor.com
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The Brothers of Brigadier Station
(#1 in the Brigadier Station series)
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She came to the outback to marry the love of her life. She just didn't expect him to be her fiancé's younger brother.
When Meghan Flanagan, a vet-nurse from Townsville, moves to Brigadier Station in outback Queensland to marry the man of her dreams, she is shocked to discover that perhaps her fiancé isn’t the man she wants waiting for her at the altar. The man she's destined to marry, just might be his younger brother.
Cautious of women after a disastrous past relationship, Darcy is happy living on his beloved cattle station, spending his spare time riding horses, going to rodeos and campdrafting. He didn't expect the perfect woman show up on his doorstep. Engaged to his brother.
With the wedding only hours away, Meghan must make the decision of a lifetime. But, her betrayal could tear the family apart. She knows all too well the pain of losing loved ones and being alone.
Now that she has the family she so desperately wants; will she risk losing it all?
Buy The Brothers of Brigadier Station
The Sky over Brigadier Station
(#2 in the Brigadier Station series)
* * *
He guards his heart. She yields to no man. Will a chance encounter set a course for true love?
Noah McGuire buries his demons deep inside. But when he’s forced to return home to Brigadier Station to collect his inheritance, he can no longer avoid digging up his painful past. With the wounds of childhood trauma reopened, his world plunges into darkness until a beautiful pilot sets his heart afire.
Riley Sinclair isn’t afraid to fly against the wind. While the spunky helicopter pilot’s cattle herding business ruffles the feathers of most men, the handsome Noah seems different. But as demand for her skills grows, she worries that giving into passion could keep her dreams grounded.
As their chemistry soars, an unexpected tragedy throws their lives and their budding romance into a tailspin.
Can Noah and Riley leave their baggage behind to let love fly free?
The Sky over Brigadier Station is the second standalone book in the captivating Brigadier Station Western romance series. If you like flawed characters, simmering scenes, and stunning Australian and New Zealand settings, then you’ll love Sarah Williams’ rugged tale.
Buy The Sky over Brigadier Station
The Legacies of Brigadier Station
(#3 in the Brigadier Station series)
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Can Lachie be the father Hannah needs? And the man Abbie deserves?
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Lachie McGuire is trying to make a fresh start. He’s sobered up and is making amends for all the people he has hurt and the pain he has caused. But some of his past actions have consequences. Even if he doesn’t remember them.
Needing her independence, single-mum Abbie Forsyth accepted a nursing position in the small outback town of Julia Creek and uprooted her daughter, Hannah from the only life she had ever known. Now, in the dusty, sun burned land they are creating a life together, just the two of them.
When Lachie is injured and needs medical assistance, Abbie is there for him. She’s by his side every step of the way, including letting him stay with them while he recovers from surgery. But Abbie knows how volatile life with an addict can be and she has to think about her daughter’s safety above her own growing affection for the handsome grazier.
Then tragedy strikes the small rural town and secrets begin to unravel…
* * *
Return to the Outback for the third instalment in the bestselling Brigadier Station series.
Buy The Legacies of Brigadier Station
The Dairy Farmer’s Daughter
(#1 in the Heart of the Hinterland series)
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Will Justin choose riches over his heritage or will he find a love more valuable than all the money in the world?
Justin would have preferred to stay in the city and pretend it was an ordinary day. A day that didn’t include a funeral for a father he’d barely known...
* * *
Justin Wheeler is not a country boy. He could have been, if his mother had stayed married to his father and not moved back to the city when he was only a toddler. But now that his estranged father is dead and he has inherited the dairy farm, Justin finds himself considering if the life he is living is actually the life he wants.
* * *
Family means everything to Freya Montgomery. She loves living on the land and helping to grow the family business. She knows how important agriculture is to their small hinterland community, so when Justin arrives in town and is offered a generous price from a housing developer to buy his property, Freya must convince him not to accept the deal and instead lease the land to her family.
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The Dairy Farmer’s Daughter is the first novella in an exciting new sexy, small-town series called “Heart of the Hinterland” by Bestselling author, Sarah Williams.
Buy The Dairy Farmer’s Daughter
Acknowledgments
My sincere thanks to all my writer friends who support and encourage me on this amazing journey. They include but are not limited to Kelly Ethan, Michelle Dalton, my awesome cover designer Lana Pecherczyk and my incredible editor Lauren Clarke.
Also to Myles Pollard for his amazing performance in the audiobooks and giving my characters a voice.
A big thank you and much love to my family for all your support and for putting up with me while I write. I love you all.
And to you, dear reader. Thank you for choosing this book to read. I know there are many other distractions and entertainment options available these days, so thank you for joining Harriet, Tom and me on this journey.
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