“So I’ve decided that the only thing left to do is to come with you.”
She goggled at him. What had he just said? “You what?”
“If you will have me along, that is.” He gave her a beseeching smile that tugged at her heartstrings. “I saw your fancy friend head out of town without you, and it gave me hope that I wasn’t too late.”
Her mind was whirling so fast she couldn’t keep up with her own thoughts. “Too late?”
“I’ve got it all worked out, see. Georgia can have Old Bert’s farm as promised, and I’ll put a manager in charge of mine. Terry would do pretty well, I’d say. He’s earned it. Then I can come back to New York with you. Get a job in an office—I’ve got an MBA in finance, so that shouldn’t be a problem. You can introduce me to all those fancy restaurants you like. Concerts. Art galleries. Exhibitions. It will be an adventure.”
“But your farm,” she protested.
“I love my home town and I love the farm and being a farmer, but I realized that without you, all that meant nothing. I love you more. So, city girl, what do you say? Could you make a life together with me in New York?”
She shook her head. This was all wrong. “No, no.”
He went as still as death for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he said, breaking out of his trance. “I didn’t realize you had gotten back together with your ex. Wishful thinking on my part, I guess. I’m sorry to have bothered you.” And he made a move as if to get up and leave.
She reached out and grabbed his sleeve. “No, don’t go. I meant no to New York. Not no to you. I don’t ever want to go back to living in a big city, except for a visit now and then. I love it here. And James is in the past. He has been ever since I came here and first saw you.”
He blinked. “You mean you want to stay?”
She reached out and took hold of his hand. “Yes, I do.” Forever, if she had her way.
A dawning realization was creeping over his face. “Here? In the country?”
“I decided that I would make a pretty good sheep farmer after all. Sheep aren’t so bad when you get to know them. A bit like sheep farmers.”
His grip tightened on hers. “So we have a chance, then? You and me?”
“If you can forgive me for being an ass.”
He gave a whoop of joy and drew her into a hug. “On one condition. That you can forgive me for being an ass back to you.”
“Done.”
Epilogue
Two years later
Alexis smiled widely as she navigated her way along the grassy path through the middle of a sea of folding chairs, followed by Phoebe and Georgia, to the sound of the local band playing a jazzed-up version of Here Comes the Bride. Maybe she ought to look solemn, given the importance of the binding legal contract she was about to make, but she was too happy for that. Everything about the day, from the cloudless skies to the handsome man waiting for her at the altar, truly was a dream come true.
Mason, flanked by his brothers, stood in the bright summer sunshine at the flower-covered arch. A minister stood behind them, waiting as she made her way up the makeshift aisle. As she drew level with him, he reached for her hand and held it tight. “You ready to do this?” he mouthed.
She nodded, her eyes shining. “Sure am.”
And in front of their family, friends, and most of the town, Alexis and Mason pledged to love, honor and cherish each other for the rest of their days.
“Throw the bouquet,” Georgia called, as they all gathered on the lawn for a champagne picnic lunch.
She turned her back to them and got ready to toss her bouquet.
Georgia clapped her hands. “Throw it to your right—to Hunter or Lucas. I’d love another sister-in-law, as long as she was just like you.”
“Keep it away from me,” yelled Lucas, Mason’s youngest brother, to the sound of laughter from the rest of the assembled guests.
Alexis closed her eyes and tossed her beautiful bouquet behind her, wishing with all her heart that whoever caught it would find as much happiness in their partner as she had.
A guttural groan closely followed by a loud swear word.
Noah, Mason’s eldest brother, was standing at the back of the crowd looking shell-shocked, with her bouquet cradled in his large hands. “Reflex action, dudes,” he said, in a tone of despair. “I was walking past, and I saw something flying fast at my head and I just up and caught it before it hit me. That surely doesn’t count. Can I just throw it again?”
Alexis grinned at his discomfiture. “I’ve thrown it now. No backsies.” She grabbed a flute of champagne from one of the high school students they had employed as waiters for the day and gave him a toast. “To another wedding this time next year. And may it be as happy as Mason’s and mine.”
“But“
Georgia was crowing loudly and dancing a little jig of utter triumph. “Nope. You caught it fair and square. You’re done for now, Noah. You may as well just face up to it and start planning your wedding right away.”
He glared at her. “My love life is none of your business, sis. I’ll be a bachelor forever.” He turned on his heel and headed towards a group of attractive young women, rolling up his shirt sleeves slightly so his tattoos were visible.
Georgia just grinned and poked her tongue out at him.
“I can see why you decided to stay,” Phoebe admitted, as she kicked off her high-heeled sandals to walk barefoot in the lush grass of early summer and eyed the groomsmen, Mason’s brothers, who were scattered around chatting to guests, each of them distinctive by their suntanned skin and broad shoulders. “They make the men big and handsome here.”
Alexis gave her bridesmaid and best friend a hug. “I love Mason to bits, but you will always be my best friend. I’m so glad you could come out for our wedding. It means a lot to both of us.”
“New York just isn’t the same without you,” Phoebe grumbled. “I miss you heaps. Which is why I’ve applied for a job in Auckland. I have an interview with them next week.”
Alexis squealed in excitement at the thought of Phoebe joining her in New Zealand, even if it was on the other side of the country in the biggest city. “Really?” She’d always thought Phoebe was a born and bred New Yorker and that nothing would ever shake her loose. But then again, she’d thought that about herself once, and now look at her. Running a sheep farm and marrying another sheep farmer and living in the wild high country of New Zealand, miles from what she had earlier thought of as civilization. And she had never been happier or more contented than she was now.
Phoebe nodded, her eyes shining with delight at her friend’s reaction to her news. “I didn’t want to say anything about it earlier in case it all came to nothing, but I’m pretty sure they are going to offer me a contract.”
“Oh, Phoebe, I’m so happy that you will be so close. But are you really sure you want to move here? It’s a long way from home.”
“It’s only for a couple of years to start with, to see how I like it. I haven’t been all that happy in New York for a while. Coming out to visit you here made me see how much more there was to life than blingy jewelry and climbing the corporate ladder. And I thought, well, you met your soulmate here. Maybe that’s where mine is hiding out, too. After all, I’ve kissed so many slimy frogs lately, that sooner or later one of them has to turn into a handsome prince.” She ran her beautifully manicured fingernails through the multi-stranded heavy gold necklace she wore, and shook her arm gently where the bracelet she had bought from Alexis sat, and grinned. “Not that I’m planning to give up the jewelry any time soon.”
Alexis grinned back at her. The bracelet looked amazing on Phoebe and the money she paid for it had been donated anonymously to Mrs. Hetherington, who had apparently burst into tears when she received the donation. “You wouldn’t be my Phoebe if you did!”
Later that evening, Alexis lay back in Mason’s arms in the hot tub of their honeymoon suite.
He leaned over and kissed her on the neck. “Happy?” he asked her.<
br />
“Absolutely and utterly.”
He signed happily. “I’m so happy that I can’t think of anything that could make me happier. Our wedding was the best ever. And that was such a kind gesture you made to Georgia, signing over Old Bert’s farm into her name once she has finished college.”
“She deserved it. She’s worked so hard on getting her veterinary degree, and I just know she will be an asset to the entire neighborhood. Besides, I’m going to want to take life a bit easier for the next little while.”
“Have you been working too hard on the farm lately?” His voice was concerned. “I know it can be a lot of work. We can get in another farmhand if you want to cut back.”
“Not at all. You know how much I love it here.’ She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. “But little potato in here is going to need a fair bit of his mom’s time when he comes along.”
There was stunned silence for a moment. “You mean—”
“Yes. We’re going to have a baby. In about seven months, I guess.”
He let out a whoop of pure joy. “That is just the most absolutely, utterly and perfectly perfect news to end this perfect day.”
THE END
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Don’t miss the other books in Samantha Black’s Quinn Brothers series:
HEADLONG
HEADSTRONG
HEADS OR TAILS
HEADS UP
Read on for a sneak peek at the second book of the series, HEADLONG.
When Abby looked back on the whirlwind that completely changed the studious, meticulously planned life that she had been crafting since the day she was old enough to understand what a career was, she could pinpoint the exact moment that the whirlwind hit and her new life began.
It was the moment that a rather large brown kangaroo hopped right in front of the loaned and beat-up old Ford Ranger that she was driving (much more carefully than the previous users of the car evidently did, judging by the many dents in the panel work) across a bumpy dirt track in the Australian outback. It was the moment the kangaroo froze while she desperately tried to brake, swerving to the right then over-correcting and plowing straight into the poor animal.
In the minutes before the event that altered the course of her life, Abby had been completely engrossed in her work. A geologist, recently graduated and now throwing herself into her Masters’ research, Abby was only here for the rocks. Rocks were the only thing that would pull her out of her hometown and drive her to travel halfway across the world on her own to join a research team in an isolated town.
Out since dawn, she’d been excited about the samples she was gathering, and time had flown by. The sun had begun to set and the warm orange glow on the horizon had suddenly reminded her of the warnings that her fellow researchers, based with her in the Australian outback in small hostel-like lodgings, had given her of the wildlife becoming much more active once the sun set.
The sudden memory of their warning had startled her to her senses and she had thrown her rock samples and notes into the Ford hastily, before starting the journey home.
She had pulled out her mobile to text her research supervisor that she would be late back to the accommodation, only to see in dismay the warning “out of signal” flashing on the screen. Crap.
Her mother had always warned her not to text and drive. She probably hadn’t expected this though, thought Abby, as her car screeched to a stop and then stalled. Through the spiderweb of cracks on the windshield, she could see the kangaroo rise and hop unsteadily away. Into the sunset, where the sun seemed to be dropping worryingly quickly.
At least the poor animal was okay. She had never hit an animal before. She had never hit anything before—she was much too careful a driver for that.
Come to think of it, she had never been in an accident, or even driven over the speed limit.
She had never even had a parking ticket.
She sat, staring at the ruined windshield, her hands glued to the steering wheel, and her foot still heavy on the brake, while she attempted to slow down her breathing. Her heart was pounding, and beads of sweat were dripping down from her hairline.
Oh my god oh my god oh my god.
It must have been a good four or five minutes before she could bring her breathing under control. She was good with control. Every aspect of her life was strictly in order and she avoided surprises and disorder like the plague. But surprises could happen to even the most organized of people, and Abby had long since learnt the benefits of deep breathing to control the sudden panic that would arise when she was faced with anything unknown or unexpected.
She eventually pushed her door open unsteadily and slowly extracted herself. She could tell even from inside the car that the panel work was going to be a mess and it was with dread that she walked to the front of her truck to survey the damage. The kangaroo must have hit the bumper and rolled up the windshield. The entire windshield was covered in a spiderweb of fine cracks. Below this, the front bumper was concave, and hanging on by a thread.
It was going to be embarrassing to explain this one to the research facility. Even her parents’ generous donation to have her stay to complete her Masters’ research here was not going to keep her in their good books if she had just totaled the one and only four-wheel-drive they had—and the only car capable of traveling the bumpy outback tracks that led to good rock sample sites.
She sighed heavily and climbed back into the truck. She turned they key and smiled as the engine gave a grunt and then started as if nothing had happened. Thank goodness.
The sun was perilously close to the horizon now. When it went under, the only thing lighting her way back would be her headlights, and with her phone still out of range of any signal she would be unsure which of the dirt tracks to take to lead her back to the accommodation in the dark.
This was Western Australia after all. Stretching for miles in either direction was nothing but dry red dirt, rocks, scrubby brush and undulating hills. No steep hills, but hills big enough that the small cluster of buildings that she would call home for the next three months would be hidden from view.
The main road in and out of town was little more than a slightly smoother trail, and probably would be easy to miss in the dark. She only hoped she could get close enough to the town to guess correctly the right way to go before the darkness hit.
Slowly she took off, handling the bumps as gently as she could, and squinting through the cracked windscreen. The sun was gently grazing the horizon now, and now it was dipping under, slowly, then faster and faster, before disappearing completely.
The darkness was instantaneous, and the details of the track in front of her were disappearing into the gloom. She sped up slightly, worried now about being caught at night in the desert.
Then—a pothole. Or a plain ole hole really.
As the truck hit it, the bumper lurched off completely and the vehicle came to a stop with a grinding halt.
She leaned her head on the steering wheel for a moment to lament her bad luck. She’d driven around this hole on her drive this morning. She remembered thinking it looked like an accident waiting to happen. How had she been so stupid to forget that it was here?
This time she got out of the truck much faster, scouting the ground for snakes or creepy-crawlies that would sting or bite or some other way administer a lethal dose of venom. Australian animals were walking killing machines by the sounds of it.
It took her barely a moment to see that this time it was going to be a lot harder to get going. The bumper was off and now crunched under the truck, while the truck itself hung at a drunken lean, one tire hissing air violently. She jumped back into the truck quickly and turned the key. A bit of a rumble, then the engine cut out.
She had really done it this time.
(Quinn Brothers Book 1)
Head First (Quinn Brothers Book 1) Page 15
