Captivated By The Single Dad. Barbara Hannay

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СКАЧАТЬ in tears.

      And then he’d surprised her further by cooking dinner.

      ‘Because you’ve been working so hard,’ he’d said with an endearingly shy smile that sent her stomach fluttering. ‘And only if you like spaghetti bolognese. I’m afraid there’s a limit to my kitchen skills.’

      Spaghetti bolognese was absolutely fine, Holly assured him. Unfortunately, anything seemed fine when he sent her those smiles.

      Except she didn’t want to be susceptible to his smiles, did she? She was simply grateful for the chai latte he’d brought her from the drugstore two and a half blocks away, as well as the chance to soak in the tub and change her clothes before dinner, and then enjoy a meal she hadn’t had to cook.

      Over dinner, Anna and Josh talked about Australia. They were very excited to hear that Gray had an airstrip on his property and that his mail and supplies were delivered by aeroplane.

      ‘We’ll fly to Normanton,’ Gray explained, ‘and then we’ll drive home to Jabiru from there.’

      We’ll drive home to Jabiru…

      Holly pictured Gray and his children in a big SUV, skimming over wide red plains towards a distant homestead, and she was swamped by a wave of loneliness.

      What was wrong with her? She’d known all along that this would happen. But she still couldn’t help feeling miserable. Everyone who was important in her life was being taken from her—Chelsea, Brandon, and now Anna and Josh.

      I’ll start again and build a new life around my new job.

      Right now, it was hard to feel happy about that.

      Suddenly she realised Josh was asking his dad about their new school.

      To Holly’s surprise, Gray’s ears reddened. He looked pained and cleared his throat. ‘The school in the Outback is a bit different from what you’re used to.’

      ‘How different?’

      ‘It’s called School of the Air.’

      ‘School of the Air?’ This time it was Holly who butted in. She couldn’t help it. Her interest was thoroughly piqued. ‘How does that work?’

      Gray smiled crookedly. ‘It’s like a normal classroom, but the classes are held over the radio. There are children living in homesteads scattered all over the Outback and each homestead has a special transceiver. They send messages back and forth. The teacher can talk to all of the pupils and they can talk to each other.’ He shrugged. ‘It seems to work really well.’

      ‘School over the radio? Wow. That sounds totally awesome.’ Josh couldn’t have looked more excited if he’d been told there were pet baby dinosaurs at his new school.

      ‘It sounds amazing,’ Holly agreed, thoroughly intrigued. To her surprise, she felt quite jealous of the nanny who would mentor Anna and Josh as they came to grips with this unorthodox schoolroom.

      She shot the children sparkling grins. ‘Aren’t you two lucky?’

      Josh, twirling spaghetti onto his fork, nodded enthusiastically.

      Anna, however, looked uncertain. She turned to Holly. ‘Will you still be our nanny?’

      Holly held her breath, not trusting herself to answer this question without giving her feelings away.

      To her relief, Gray answered for her. ‘Holly can’t come to Australia, Anna. You know that. But we’re going to find a nice Australian nanny.’

      Anna drooped. ‘I want Holly. And I like my school here. Why do you have to live in Australia? Why can’t you live in New York?’

      Holly saw the sudden bleakness in Gray’s eyes, the wavering of his smile. Even though he’d sounded confident about finding a nice Australian nanny, he was obviously worried by Anna’s reaction.

      She’d been determined to keep out of this conversation, but her heart was melting at the sight of Gray’s discomfort and she felt compelled to jump to his aid.

      ‘How could your dad live in this apartment?’ she asked with a deliberate smile. ‘What would he do with all his cattle?’

      Anna shrugged. ‘Put them in storage?’

      ‘As if.’ Josh groaned and rolled his eyes.

      An awkward hush fell. Gray continued to look worried and Anna looked as if she might cry. Her lower lip trembled.

      Watching her, Josh began to look anxious, too. ‘It’s going to be great living with Dad,’ he urged his sister softly.

      ‘Not if Holly can’t come with us.’

      Holly saw Gray’s shoulders stiffen at the same moment she felt her face flame.

      Then Anna burst into tears.

      ‘Hey,’ Holly said, quickly drawing the little girl onto her lap, and not daring to catch Gray’s eyes again. ‘How can you cry in the middle of this lovely dinner your dad has cooked?’

      Anna’s response was to cling to Holly tightly, sobbing louder than ever. ‘Why can’t you come with us?’

      It was a truly difficult moment. Holly knew Gray was anxious about his ability to care for his fragile daughter and now her tearful reaction would only deepen his apprehension.

      But, despite this, Holly couldn’t help feeling electrified, too, as if she’d touched a live wire. Anna had innocently brought into the open the very question that had rattled around in her head all day.

      The thing was—school in the US didn’t start again till the autumn, which meant she could spend June and July in Australia helping the children to settle in to their new home and school, and she’d still be back in time to start her new teaching job.

      And now that she’d heard about this School of the Air, the idea was especially intriguing.

      Of course, it wouldn’t be plain sailing. After the past hectic months she would have liked a proper vacation and, if she went to Australia, she’d still be ‘working’. She’d have very little chance to catch her breath before she had to start in the new school.

      Then again, she didn’t have any particular plans for the next few weeks—and she certainly didn’t fancy going home to Vermont, where she’d spend her time either avoiding Brandon or being showered with sympathy from family and friends. And she was intrigued by the set-up in the Outback—and, of course, she would love to see Anna and Josh happily settled.

      The only negative factor was the silly frissons that danced over her skin whenever Gray Kidman came too near—but Holly was sure she’d soon conquer that foolish tendency.

      For heaven’s sake, there wasn’t any danger she’d actually fall for poor Chelsea’s ex when the pain of being dumped by Brandon hadn’t even healed. She planned to be mega-cautious around all men in future—especially the attractive ones.

      ‘Why don’t you tuck the children into bed and read them a couple of stories?’ СКАЧАТЬ