Read Online Christmas at Waratah Bay by Marion Lennox - Free Book Online
Authors: Marion Lennox
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Sarah . . .
He had to concede she’d been amazing. She’d flown through bed-making—“One thing nursing training does is make you fast at beds!” She’d cooked and served up and cleared. She’d worked her butt off. For a supermodel and one of Harold’s spoiled step-daughters . . . There were things he didn’t understand.
And he didn’t want to understand them, either, he told himself. Sarah was a blip in his peaceful existence. She may well turn the place upside down, but then she’d be gone.
It was time for bed. He headed up the veranda steps . . .
“It’s a great night.” And there she was, almost as if she were waiting for him.
She was wearing baggy pajamas, soft, silk? They were pale blue with roses on them. Her hair was tumbling down her back, tousled, as if she’d gone to bed and got up again.
Those gorgeous toes were bare.
The sight . . . unnerved him. There was something about her that unnerved him.
Yeah, okay it wasn’t “something.” She was just plain beautiful.
Get a grip, he told himself and forced himself to focus on something that wasn’t . . . Sarah. Her pouch was still around her neck. Gerome wasn’t a tiny puppy. The weight might do that gorgeous neck some damage.
“If you put your pup in Bing’s basket he’ll settle,” he found himself saying. “Bing’s my foster Mum. He’s a sucker for babies. He’ll sleep with an orphaned calf and settle it beautifully. I reckon he’ll do the same for Gerome.”
“Really?”
“Really. And it might be more comfortable . . .for both of you.”
Liar, he thought. Gerome could hardly be any more comfortable than where he was right now.
“Would Bing sleep in my room? I kind of need to keep an eye on Gerome.”
“Gerome’s just a dog.”
“Like your cattle are just cattle. Right. They need checking how often?”
“Really often, when my family is here.”
“So it’s not like you care about your cows?”
“I care about my cows.”
“More than your family?”
“That’s a great question from someone who hasn’t seen Harold for how many years?”
There was a moment’s stillness and then she said, very softly: “Butt out of what’s not your business.”
“It’s the business of anyone who loves Harold.”
“If you want me to leave, just say so. Harold doesn’t know he’s coming here yet. We can still go to his house. Just say the word.”
More silence.
She would leave, he thought. He just had to say. Her face was expressionless in the moonlight. Blank. Like a puppy expecting to be kicked? But she looked . . . used to it, he thought. She was waiting for the kick, but not bothering to cringe, because she knew it wasn’t worth it.
What was this woman’s story?
Butt out of what’s not your business. Her words seemed to echo. He couldn’t ask, but he found his preconceptions shifting a little. She’d left school as a teenager. She’d trained as a nurse, and she’d put in some hard, physical work this afternoon. There must be things in her background . . .
“Well?” she demanded. “Do you want me to go?”
“No,” he said at last, grudgingly. “You’ve invited Katie and her brood. You need to feed them.”
“I didn’t invite them.”
“If it weren’t for you they wouldn’t have stayed.”
“And wouldn’t that have made you feel like the original Scrooge?”
“I’ve given my family enough!” It was an explosion, too loud, too angry. The dogs on the veranda moved back a little, and Bing growled. He clicked his fingers, Bing sidled up to him and he scratched his ears. The small action settled him. Calm down, he told himself. This is only for Christmas.
“How much is enough?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t . . . ”
“I only ask because I’m curious. How much family do you need to have before you start wanting out?”
“Your family wanted out years ago.”
“They certainly did,” she agreed. “Out, all the way. So now, it’s like I’m on the outside,
He had to concede she’d been amazing. She’d flown through bed-making—“One thing nursing training does is make you fast at beds!” She’d cooked and served up and cleared. She’d worked her butt off. For a supermodel and one of Harold’s spoiled step-daughters . . . There were things he didn’t understand.
And he didn’t want to understand them, either, he told himself. Sarah was a blip in his peaceful existence. She may well turn the place upside down, but then she’d be gone.
It was time for bed. He headed up the veranda steps . . .
“It’s a great night.” And there she was, almost as if she were waiting for him.
She was wearing baggy pajamas, soft, silk? They were pale blue with roses on them. Her hair was tumbling down her back, tousled, as if she’d gone to bed and got up again.
Those gorgeous toes were bare.
The sight . . . unnerved him. There was something about her that unnerved him.
Yeah, okay it wasn’t “something.” She was just plain beautiful.
Get a grip, he told himself and forced himself to focus on something that wasn’t . . . Sarah. Her pouch was still around her neck. Gerome wasn’t a tiny puppy. The weight might do that gorgeous neck some damage.
“If you put your pup in Bing’s basket he’ll settle,” he found himself saying. “Bing’s my foster Mum. He’s a sucker for babies. He’ll sleep with an orphaned calf and settle it beautifully. I reckon he’ll do the same for Gerome.”
“Really?”
“Really. And it might be more comfortable . . .for both of you.”
Liar, he thought. Gerome could hardly be any more comfortable than where he was right now.
“Would Bing sleep in my room? I kind of need to keep an eye on Gerome.”
“Gerome’s just a dog.”
“Like your cattle are just cattle. Right. They need checking how often?”
“Really often, when my family is here.”
“So it’s not like you care about your cows?”
“I care about my cows.”
“More than your family?”
“That’s a great question from someone who hasn’t seen Harold for how many years?”
There was a moment’s stillness and then she said, very softly: “Butt out of what’s not your business.”
“It’s the business of anyone who loves Harold.”
“If you want me to leave, just say so. Harold doesn’t know he’s coming here yet. We can still go to his house. Just say the word.”
More silence.
She would leave, he thought. He just had to say. Her face was expressionless in the moonlight. Blank. Like a puppy expecting to be kicked? But she looked . . . used to it, he thought. She was waiting for the kick, but not bothering to cringe, because she knew it wasn’t worth it.
What was this woman’s story?
Butt out of what’s not your business. Her words seemed to echo. He couldn’t ask, but he found his preconceptions shifting a little. She’d left school as a teenager. She’d trained as a nurse, and she’d put in some hard, physical work this afternoon. There must be things in her background . . .
“Well?” she demanded. “Do you want me to go?”
“No,” he said at last, grudgingly. “You’ve invited Katie and her brood. You need to feed them.”
“I didn’t invite them.”
“If it weren’t for you they wouldn’t have stayed.”
“And wouldn’t that have made you feel like the original Scrooge?”
“I’ve given my family enough!” It was an explosion, too loud, too angry. The dogs on the veranda moved back a little, and Bing growled. He clicked his fingers, Bing sidled up to him and he scratched his ears. The small action settled him. Calm down, he told himself. This is only for Christmas.
“How much is enough?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t . . . ”
“I only ask because I’m curious. How much family do you need to have before you start wanting out?”
“Your family wanted out years ago.”
“They certainly did,” she agreed. “Out, all the way. So now, it’s like I’m on the outside,
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