by Mandy Magro
His belly flipped with excitement. Considering it was his very first day back at Sundown Farm – and his very first as a landowner – he was sure there’d be plenty to see and do. But before anything else, he needed to head into town with Larry to open a bank account and to also apply for his new driver’s licence. Once they got back he’d have a stroll around the place to see what needed doing as well as checking out the shed where all his tools of his trade had been stored while he was in jail. Along the way he would make sure to introduce himself to all the farm animals Lottie had collected over the years. He couldn’t wait to see her two horses, Merle and Hank, both geldings having shared many a ride with him over the years. And after all that he was going to try his hand at driving again now he was in a place without traffic. So much to do and he couldn’t wait to do it all. Staring out the window while the kettle boiled and with Jessie now sitting on his feet Ronny beamed from ear to ear. Today was without a doubt going to be a magical kind of day.
***
Ivy pulled up in the last free parking space out the front of the National Bank and snatched her ringing mobile from the dash of her treasured 1964 EH Holden ute, which had previously been her aunt Alice’s. ‘Hey Aunt May.’
‘Hi love, how far away are you?’
‘I’ve just pulled up out front. I’ll be in in a sec. Sorry to make you all wait like this.’
‘That’s all right. We were just getting worried. Is everything okay?’
‘It is now. I’ll explain what held me up later.’
‘Okay, love, we’ll meet you in Gerald’s office.’
‘Yup, righto.’
Ivy gathered her things from the passenger seat and floor of her ute while cursing under her breath. Her aunts had left an hour before her to run some errands while they were in town and must have accidentally locked Bo inside the homestead, which meant he’d had to relieve himself on the kitchen floor – the poor bugger had looked mortified when she’d discovered the mess. Now she was running late. Pausing to steal a glance at her reflection in the rear-view mirror, she grimaced at her wayward hair – having the window down on the way into town hadn’t done her any favours. Huffing, she tossed everything in her hands onto her lap and quickly pulled her long black hair into a ponytail, then, grabbing her strawberry lip gloss from the centre console, she applied some, smacking her lips together. She sucked in a deep breath to calm her nerves and dived from the ute. Rushing for the front door of the bank, she spritzed on her favourite perfume, Roses de Chloé, tossed the bottle back in her bag, and pushed the door open with her boot while tossing her handbag over her shoulder. And ran smack-bang into a bloke on his way out. Every last bit of her composure unravelled as her paperwork went flying – it was going to take her ages to get it all back in some kind of order.
‘For fuck’s sake,’ she mumbled as she eyed the mess then sank to her knees to pick it all up.
In her frazzled state she didn’t take much notice of the man she’d collided with. His hand lightly touched her arm, making her jump as though she’d just been electrocuted. Heat seared throughout her. She glanced up at him, getting a look at his face, and her breath caught in her throat. Mr whoever-he-was was drop-dead gorgeous. Their eyes locked for a few seconds and for a fleeting moment she felt as if she knew him from somewhere.
A strong hand rubbed the dark stubble on his chin, his amber eyes full of concern. ‘I’m so sorry. Here, let me help you.’ He knelt down and began gathering the pieces of paper with her. His hand brushed hers, sending another shockwave throughout her, the sensation making her feel strangely drawn to him. Ivy shook her head as if in a daze. She’d never experienced such an immediate reaction to anyone before.
‘Oh, don’t apologise. It was my fault rushing in here like a maniac.’ She smiled as she admired his chiselled features. Where in the hell did she know him from? ‘And I’m so sorry for the colourful language, I’m just having one hell of a crappy morning.’
He laughed. It was the sexiest laugh she’d ever heard, husky and deep and a little suggestive. Of what, she had no clue. As much as she tried, she couldn’t tear her eyes from him, or the glimpse of his burly chest inside the collar of his shirt. This man was the most delicious blend of tall, dark, handsome … and mysterious. It was all she could do not to reach out and pull him into a kiss right then and there.
‘No worries, I can completely understand what a hell of a morning can do to a person – I’ve had them myself from time to time.’ The hint of a smile at the corners of his lips made them even more kissable – if that was possible.
Desperately trying to curb her desire to tear every shred of his clothing off, right here, right now, Ivy gathered the paperwork in her hands to her beating chest. ‘Please don’t think I’m hitting on you by saying this, but do I know you from somewhere?’
The man looked a little surprised, and then shrugged as he rubbed his stubble once more with a calm assured confidence. ‘Oh, I doubt it. I’m only new to town. Moved here yesterday.’ Handing her a messy stack of paperwork, he stood quickly, as though he’d sat on a thorn. He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. ‘Anyhow, I better be off – let you get to wherever you were going in such a rush.’
Ivy stood too, feeling like a complete idiot – he clearly did think she was hitting on him. ‘Oh, yup.’ She gestured towards Gerald’s closed office door with her thumb. ‘Important meeting with the manager.’
He grabbed the front door and yanked it open, flashing her a dazzling smile. ‘Might catch you around sometime,’ he said, and he was gone.
Ivy watched through the glass as he tugged on the brim of his hat to greet a passer-by before sauntering away. A new man in town. And a very sexy one at that – she’d never been able to resist a hot country bloke dressed in his western best. Hmm. Her interest was piqued.
Shaking her head again, she brought herself back to reality. She didn’t have time to swoon over some bloke she may never encounter again – he’d probably just turn out to be another arsehole like Malcolm who would break her heart anyway. And her heart was already broken enough. Nope, she wasn’t going to even fantasise about going there with Mr Sex-on-a-stick. Spinning on her heel, she made a beeline for Gerald’s door, sucking in a calming breath and squaring her shoulders before she opened it and stepped inside.
***
Might catch you around sometime?
As he hightailed it away from the bank, Ronny shook his head at his bad choice of words. The last thing he wanted to do was catch her around, even though her sweet perfume lingered in the headiest of ways. He strode down the street as though he was on a mission but his head was in a crazy spin, so he had no idea where he was going. But as long as it was far away from Ivy Tucker, he was heading in the right direction. He knew he’d run into her one day, though maybe not as soon as this, and he’d thought he’d be able to be happy to know she was out living her life, before moving on with his. Yeah, right! Who was he trying to kid? After seeing her in the flesh, it was crystal clear to him that was going to be much easier said than done.
With her long dark hair pulled up in a high ponytail, intense chocolate brown eyes and sensual womanly curves, Ivy Tucker was even more beautiful, even more captivating, than he remembered. Seeing her was exactly as it had been all those years ago – like a bolt of lightning hitting his heart. No other woman had ever been able to evoke such feelings, especially when they weren’t even aware they were doing it. It was weird, considering he and Ivy were basically strangers, but then again, he felt as though he’d known her for a lifetime. The night he’d first laid eyes on her there’d been something magical, though he hadn’t been able to put his finger on it, and he’d thought maybe when he saw her again those unexplainable feelings would have gone. But they had only intensified at the sight of her: seeing Ivy had brought back everything he’d felt for her that night. And if he was going to be perfectly honest with himself, what did he expect? Ivy Tucker had changed his life without even knowing – it was all because of her he
was the person he was today, the person he was destined to be. If it wasn’t for their paths crossing on that fateful night, Ronny doubted he’d even be alive with the dark path he’d been on at the time – the wrongdoings of his father leaving him with a massive chip on his shoulder. The friends he had chosen for himself before ending up in jail were the kind of people he was now glad to see the back of.
Now a fair distance down the road from the bank, he stopped and drew in a deep breath as a familiar voice grabbed his attention.
‘Hey, mate.’ Larry was approaching, pointing down a side street. ‘The RTA is down that way.’
‘Oh, right.’ Ronny tried to smile but failed.
Larry picked up pace so he was soon standing beside Ronny. ‘Shit, mate, is everything okay? Ya look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
‘Well, I kinda have. I just ran into Ivy Tucker.’ Ronny shook his head. ‘And I mean literally ran smack-bang into her as she was heading into the bank.’
‘Oh, fuck.’ Larry took his hat off and scratched his head. ‘Did she recognise ya?’
‘Nah, I don’t think so. She asked if she knew me from somewhere but I just said that wasn’t possible because I was new to town.’
Larry tugged his hat back on and gave Ronny a firm nod. ‘Good answer.’
Ronny’s brows knitted together as he began to pace the footpath. ‘I really hope it doesn’t come to her later on, Larry. She’s much better off thinking I’m still in jail, for all our sakes.’
‘I reckon you’re pretty safe. Ya don’t look much like you did before ya went to jail.’ Larry gave him a friendly pat on the back. ‘Word of advice – don’t stress about something ya have no control over.’
Ronny nodded; his training in meditation had taught him the very same thing. ‘Yeah, you’re right. Stressing isn’t going to achieve anything.’
Larry winked as he flashed Ronny a tooth-filled smile. ‘I’m always right.’
CHAPTER
5
Gerald Fromstein was as frazzled looking as ever, his office as muddled as he looked, even at nine forty-five in the morning. His desk was strewn with paperwork and more was piled up beside him on the floor, so high it resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He was clearly under the pump, and Ivy felt sorry for him. Gerald had lived in Bluegrass Bend for all his life, and tried his very best to look after the interests of the locals he also classed as friends – Ivy had witnessed his kindness firsthand amongst some of their family friends. He understood rural life, and how demanding and challenging it could be, trying to survive off the land, so he usually bent over backwards to try to stop a property from being snatched from its owners. Ivy prayed he graced her with the same leniency.
Gerald said nothing as he perused the wad of paperwork she’d brought in – which she’d been able to get back into some kind of order – his glasses perched on the end of his long nose, the metal rims making his face look wider as the arms splayed outward to his protruding ears. He was clearly taking her proposal seriously, his thin lips pursed so tightly it seemed like he had none. Other than him clicking the end of his pen in and out – which was driving Ivy nuts – it was so quiet that the ticking of the clock on the wall sounded like bombs dropping. It was as though the clock was deliberately counting her life away and she wished she could stop it, reverse it or at least slow it down. She glanced at his hair, or lack of, trying to avert her attention from the anxiety she was feeling inside. Then for some reason she tried to imagine him naked – May had once suggested it as a way to calm nerves. Ivy subtly screwed her face up, the image of a naked sixty-eight-year-old man didn’t do the trick at all. All she wanted to do now was burst into laughter. Not the ideal time to do so.
Looking from her aunt May seated on one side of her to her aunt Alice seated on the other, Ivy had to fight her urge to escape. Even though her aunts each graced her with a small smile, they looked as nervous as she felt. And Gerald’s office was so small and poky, lacking any windows, that she was beginning to feel claustrophobic, as though the walls and ceiling were slowly closing in on her. An iridescent light blazed, the light so fake it grated on her eyeballs. No wonder Gerald always looked as pale as a ghost. How anyone could work under these conditions amazed her. She needed endless space and fresh air to be able to think straight – what she’d give to be able to breathe a lungful of it right now.
Gerald finally made a noise like he was trying to clear his throat but instead only sounded like he was choking, then he brought his small dark eyes to hers, the rings around them almost darker than the pupils. ‘So, Ivy, are you the one behind this idea? Because I’m guessing, from my experience with your aunts over the years, they wouldn’t have easily agreed to you selling your property to save Healing Hills.’ His eyebrows met in the middle as his face became clouded with concern. ‘Have you honestly thought long and hard about letting go of your mother’s house?’
Ivy swallowed with difficulty, feeling as though she had a golf ball lodged in her throat. She pushed back her shoulders and sat up a little straighter. She needed to look super confident. ‘Yes, Gerald, it was all my idea, and I’m very comfortable with selling the house.’
Alice grabbed her hand beneath the table and gave it a loving squeeze. The simple gesture made Ivy want to burst into tears. It was going to hurt to say goodbye to the cottage, but she wasn’t going to say that out loud. Her poor aunts felt terrible about what she wanted to do, and she didn’t want them carrying that unwarranted heartache; May and Alice had done so much for her throughout their lives and it was time she paid them back now she was in a position to do so.
‘Hmm, well, I’ll suppose I’ll have to take your word for that.’ Gerald pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, and then sat back in his leather chair as he folded his arms. ‘So tell me, Ivy, what other programs are you going to offer, other than the equine healing sessions, that is? You haven’t mentioned exactly what they are in your notes.’
Ivy folded her hands on the desk and made an effort to talk slowly, convincingly. The new healing sessions were crucial to the success of her plan. ‘Well, things like team-building workshop weekends for corporate offices to regain spirit in the workplace, emotional awareness workshops for schools, and couples’ programs to rekindle relationships – all done with the help of the horses, of course. And I’d eventually like to offer meditation classes and have a room for massages and acupuncture – if I can find trained therapists to do so. It’ll take a bit of advertising to get the word out there, but once it is, I’m sure people will be rolling through the gates.’
Alice smiled at Ivy and then at Gerald. ‘She’s certainly done all her homework, Gerald, and both May and I are very supportive of her ideas for the new programs. We feel, in the long run, if it’s done properly, which of course Ivy, May and myself will make sure of, it will make Healing Hills quite a profitable family business.’
‘Yes, I’m gathering you’re both in agreement with it all, Alice, seeing as you’re here with Ivy. And I’m over the moon you and May have finally seen sense in needing to make Healing Hills into more of a business than a safe house. Otherwise you’re never going to survive in this day and age.’ Gerald rested his elbows on the desk and folded his hands, eyeing Ivy for a little longer than was comfortable, before his lips curled ever so slightly at the sides, upwards.
Although feeling a little like she was standing in the spotlight of a hunter, Ivy sensed a glimmer of hope. She held her breath, wanting to squeeze her eyes shut as if someone was about to burst a balloon in her face, terrified of what Gerald was about to say next.
‘Good God, girl!’ Gerald leapt up as he smacked his hands onto the desk, making them jump in their seats. His smile broadened and filled his face. ‘I love your ideas, and I think there’s huge potential in what you’re proposing for Healing Hills. I wish more young people had your vision and drive.’ He began pacing as he rubbed his chin. ‘Because we don’t want to just look at a quick fix, which the sale of your property would be, we also
need to look at the long-term effectiveness of Healing Hills as a lucrative business.’ He stopped pacing as he threw his hands up in the air, and then shrugged. ‘Otherwise you’re all going to find yourselves back in this exact position in a year’s time because you’ve fallen behind again.’
Ivy sat on her hands, which were itching to reach out and pull Gerald into a hug. Instead, she smiled, trying to contain her bubbling excitement. Just because Gerald liked her plans didn’t mean he was going to give her the fifty-thousand-dollar loan she needed. ‘It’s fabulous you agree, Gerald.’
‘Thank you, Gerald,’ May and Alice said in unison, looking just as chuffed and surprised as Ivy was as they gave her a pat on the back.
Gerald rested against the desk as his broad smile faded, his fingers resembling spiders about to pounce. ‘Don’t thank me just yet, ladies. We need to talk the nitty gritty of terms first.’ He took a sip from a coffee cup that read You don’t have to be crazy to work here, we’ll train you, his thick grey brows furrowing as he sat down again, tried to straighten his crooked tie, and then leant forwards to address May and Alice. ‘Healing with horses is a fabulous service to the people who come to use it, but I agree with Ivy in that you need to broaden your market if you’re going to survive in these tough times. Government grants and the small amounts you charge for your programs are not covering the costs any more, and as much as I know you pride yourselves on not being greedy with program costs, you simply just can’t be charity cases any more, you have to price your services accordingly – and I’m relieved you’ve seen the sense in this.’
He sucked in a breath and shook his head as he removed his glasses. ‘But, as much as I’d love to, I can’t loan you the entire amount you’ve asked for, Ivy, when your income isn’t proving you can make the repayments at the moment.’
‘But can’t I use the property as security, Gerald? Wouldn’t that make all the difference?’ Ivy noticed she sounded desperate now, but she didn’t care.
