Inherited: Twins. Jessica Hart

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СКАЧАТЬ to travel to London with me and help bring William and Daisy back. Ideally, it would be someone who wanted to stay at Mack River on a permanent basis, but they haven’t come up with anyone yet. That’s why I thought of you,’ he said, glancing at Prue. ‘When you said how much you wanted to come back to Australia, it seemed you could be just the person I need. I know you wouldn’t want to stay permanently, but it might take me some time to find someone suitable. You could stay at Mack River while you looked for another job in the area, if that’s what you want. You’d only be gone about a month. The Grangers might even keep your job open for you.’

      Prue sat up straighter, fired up by the mere possibility. ‘I could ask them,’ she agreed excitedly. ‘They’ll need to replace me while I’m away, but maybe they’ll get someone who doesn’t want to stay.’

      ‘More than likely,’ said Nat. ‘There’s always a high turnover of staff during the dry season. It’s too hot, or too isolated, or too boring, or too much like hard work.

      ‘There aren’t many people like you,’ he told Prue with a slight smile, and she found herself wishing that he’d smile the way he had smiled before.

      It wouldn’t take much, just a deepening of the creases on either side of his mouth, just a parting of the lips, just a crinkling of his eyes. She remembered how startled she had been, the way her heart had jolted, that odd sensation of suddenly finding herself face to face with a stranger.

      For some reason, Prue’s cheeks were tingling, and when she put up a hand to feel her skin she realised that she was actually blushing! Embarrassed, without knowing why, she dragged her eyes away from Nat’s mouth, which had lifted into something that was almost—but not quite—a proper smile, and forced her mind back to what they had been talking about.

      For a terrible moment her mind was blank, before memory kicked in. Going back to Cowen Creek…how could she possibly have forgotten?

      Giving herself a mental shake, Prue let herself picture the situation. If she went back, Ross would know that she was serious about wanting to live in the outback. He would realise that she meant what she said, and wasn’t just amusing herself for a few months, the way the girls who saw a stint on a cattle station as part of travelling around Australia did.

      Nat’s offer would mean that she would only be gone for a month or so. Surely even Ross couldn’t forget her in that time? He might even miss her. The thought flickered into life, grew stronger. Didn’t they say that absence made the heart grow fonder?

      Prue slid a sideways glance at Nat from under her lashes. He was a bit older, of course, and not in Ross’s league when it came to looks, but he wasn’t unattractive. What would Ross think when he found out that she was going to spend a month with Nat? Might he even be jealous? Prue wondered hopefully.

      Remembering how miserable she had been less than an hour ago, Prue smiled to herself. ‘I’m beginning to think that forgetting to check the fuel today was the best thing that ever happened to me,’ she said slowly.

      ‘Does that mean you’ll take the job?’

      ‘I’d love it,’ said Prue honestly, ‘but…well, I don’t have that much experience of babies. Wouldn’t you rather have someone more qualified?’ She grimaced, thinking of the catalogue of stupid mistakes she had made just since she had been at Cowen Creek, let alone the rest of her life. ‘Someone more efficient?’

      Nat took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her, with her unruly curls and her wide, tilting mouth and the nose that was just a little too big. ‘I’d rather have someone like you,’ he said.

      He didn’t know how to explain that there was a warmth about her that was much more appealing than efficiency. He might not be able to imagine her keeping an immaculately tidy house, but he could picture her holding a baby in her arms, offering unlimited tenderness and security and love.

      A little too vividly, in fact.

      Nat frowned and concentrated on his driving once more. ‘You’re a nice girl,’ he said gruffly. ‘The Grangers like you. You love the outback and you want to come back. Those are all good enough reasons as far as I’m concerned. And then, you need to go to London just when I do…’

      ‘You could almost say that we’re meant for each other!’ Prue finished for him cheerfully.

      A tiny pause.

      We’re meant for each other. Her words echoed in the silence between them, and she suddenly realised how easily Nat might have misinterpreted them.

      ‘I mean…job-wise,’ she added uncomfortably.

      Nat flashed her an enigmatic look. ‘What else?’ he said in a dry voice.

      Nobody could say that Mathison was a pretty town, but Prue loved the old hotel, with its wide, wooden verandahs, the great iron water-tanks beside every house, and the pokey general store which had a weird and wonderful selection of goods and an eccentric taste in displays. Prue perked up as they drove along the wide street. She had hated the thought that she might never see it again, of returning to soulless supermarkets where everything was wrapped in layers of plastic.

      Now, thanks to Nat, she could stop worrying about whether every trip would be her last and just enjoy being here. Oh, and do the shopping, of course.

      Nat dropped her at the store while he went off to find some fuel. Prue still had her list, although it was so creased from being folded and unfolded so much that she could hardly read it. It was better than nothing, though. Wandering around the store, Prue found it harder to concentrate on the shopping than she would have thought. She had to keep stopping and peering at the tattered piece of paper, while her mind drifted back to Nat and the fantastic offer that he had made.

      The more Prue thought about it, the better it seemed. There was no way she could miss Cleo’s wedding, but it had been hard not to resent the fact that she would have to leave Australia much earlier than she had originally intended. Now she would not only be a good sister, but she should also be able to spend another whole year here, and who knew what could happen in that time?

      Prue could hardly believe her luck. Her momentary embarrassment had passed, and now all she could think about was how everything was turning out better than she would have believed possible. No wonder it was hard to concentrate on how much flour and sugar she needed!

      She was coming back. Prue hugged the knowledge to her. Coming back to this place she loved so much.

      And to Ross.

      Prue’s heart melted when she thought about the daredevil blue of his eyes, about the way he threw his head back when he laughed and the air of suppressed energy he carried around with him, and happiness bubbled along her veins. Surely meeting Nat meant that she and Ross were destined for each other after all?

      When Nat found her, Prue was gazing at a pyramid of tinned vegetables, her mouth curved in a dreamy smile. Her sunglasses were pushed on top of her head, drawing the tousled hair away from her face, and even in the dim old-fashioned light of the store Nat could see that her grey eyes were shining.

      There had been a moment in the ute when something had tightened in the air between them, but whatever it had been it had gone now. Nat could tell just by the way Prue smiled when she saw him, a wide, open smile that said more clearly than words ever could that she might think of him as a friend, or an employer, but certainly not as a man.

      Which was just as well, in the СКАЧАТЬ