Read Online The Cattleman's Special Delivery by Barbara Hannay - Free Book Online
Authors: Barbara Hannay
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timber Queenslander, painted white, with a faded red iron roof that was almost completely shaded by two massive old Moreton Bay fig trees.
Jess remembered the other time she’d arrived here—peering at the house through the rain, and seeing the lights shining on the veranda, then the semi-dark sanctuary of Reece’s bedroom. Today, sheltered from the blazing sun, this house looked a little shabbier perhaps—certainly in need of new coats of paint—but unexpectedly welcoming just the same. In fact, to Jess, who’d spent her entire life living in cramped rented flats, arriving at Warringa felt like a dream come true. Dangerously so.
But she’d been planning to make a new start with Alan in the outback, and now she was doing it alone. This was her chance to get ahead and she had to get it right.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘ Y OU’LL sleep inmy room again tonight.’
Jess stared at Reece in puzzlement and prayed that she wasn’t blushing.
‘Just for one night,’ he elaborated. ‘The other rooms aren’t quite ready for you and Rosie.’
‘But—but—’ Far out. She should be able to handle this simple situation without stammering, but the day’s close proximity to Reece had apparently downsized her brain.
‘But?’ A dark eyebrow lifted as his mildly amused gaze seared her. ‘Are you worried about where I plan to sleep?’
‘Not really.’ It was a lie. Where he planned to sleep was exactly what she needed to know.
‘I’ll swag down on the veranda. Same as last time.’
Of course. She should have known that. Cringe. She hadn’t really thought that Reece was angling for them to sleep together. He showed no sign that he found her attractive, and that was totally understandable after the way they met when she was as wet as a drowned rat and groaning in labour.
But should her employer be sleeping on the floor? It seemed wrong.
‘Don’t look so shocked, Jess.’ His eyes flashed again. ‘I’ve spent a good part of my life sleeping in swags out in the bush.’
‘Yes, yes, of course you have.’
‘Anyway,’ he went on smoothly. ‘Before we sort the bedrooms, let me show you the kitchen. We can put the kettle on.’
With Rosie chirping happily in her arms, she followed Reece’s easy stride across a covered walkway lined with hanging baskets of rather bedraggled ferns to a smaller wooden building, which proved to be the kitchen.
‘The separate kitchen is a hangover from the old days,’ Reece explained as he filled a kettle and lit the gas. ‘Everyone had wood stoves back then, and the theory was that if the kitchen caught fire, the rest of the house could still be saved.’
‘It makes very good sense.’ Jess looked about her. She wouldn’t mind working in a separate domain. The room was rather plain, with no feminine decorative touches, but it was light and airy, with a bank of deep casement windows to catch the breezes. There was also a huge stove with two ovens, and masses of bench space, as well as a scrubbed pine table and chairs for everyday dining.
Once Rosie’s high chair was in place with a few toys scattered about and various ingredients dotted about the work surfaces, it would look very homely. Jess could hardly wait to start work.
‘And the pantry’s through here,’ Reece said.
Wide-eyed, she followed him into another room lined with shelves stacked with enough provisions to stock a small grocery store.
‘Oh, wow!’ she exclaimed with a huge grin. ‘I. Am. In. Heaven.’
Reece gave a shocked laugh. ‘You’re easy to please.’
‘Every cook dreams of having storage space like this.’
‘You haven’t seen the cold room yet.’
She gaped at him. ‘There’s a cold room too?’
‘Right here.’ He pushed open a heavy door.
‘Oh, my God.’
‘I know it’s a bit confronting to meet half a beast hanging from a hook.’
But Jess had no qualms at all about the butcher-shop scenario. ‘It’s amazing. It’s fabulous, Reece.’ She was grinning. ‘I think I’m in
Jess remembered the other time she’d arrived here—peering at the house through the rain, and seeing the lights shining on the veranda, then the semi-dark sanctuary of Reece’s bedroom. Today, sheltered from the blazing sun, this house looked a little shabbier perhaps—certainly in need of new coats of paint—but unexpectedly welcoming just the same. In fact, to Jess, who’d spent her entire life living in cramped rented flats, arriving at Warringa felt like a dream come true. Dangerously so.
But she’d been planning to make a new start with Alan in the outback, and now she was doing it alone. This was her chance to get ahead and she had to get it right.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘ Y OU’LL sleep inmy room again tonight.’
Jess stared at Reece in puzzlement and prayed that she wasn’t blushing.
‘Just for one night,’ he elaborated. ‘The other rooms aren’t quite ready for you and Rosie.’
‘But—but—’ Far out. She should be able to handle this simple situation without stammering, but the day’s close proximity to Reece had apparently downsized her brain.
‘But?’ A dark eyebrow lifted as his mildly amused gaze seared her. ‘Are you worried about where I plan to sleep?’
‘Not really.’ It was a lie. Where he planned to sleep was exactly what she needed to know.
‘I’ll swag down on the veranda. Same as last time.’
Of course. She should have known that. Cringe. She hadn’t really thought that Reece was angling for them to sleep together. He showed no sign that he found her attractive, and that was totally understandable after the way they met when she was as wet as a drowned rat and groaning in labour.
But should her employer be sleeping on the floor? It seemed wrong.
‘Don’t look so shocked, Jess.’ His eyes flashed again. ‘I’ve spent a good part of my life sleeping in swags out in the bush.’
‘Yes, yes, of course you have.’
‘Anyway,’ he went on smoothly. ‘Before we sort the bedrooms, let me show you the kitchen. We can put the kettle on.’
With Rosie chirping happily in her arms, she followed Reece’s easy stride across a covered walkway lined with hanging baskets of rather bedraggled ferns to a smaller wooden building, which proved to be the kitchen.
‘The separate kitchen is a hangover from the old days,’ Reece explained as he filled a kettle and lit the gas. ‘Everyone had wood stoves back then, and the theory was that if the kitchen caught fire, the rest of the house could still be saved.’
‘It makes very good sense.’ Jess looked about her. She wouldn’t mind working in a separate domain. The room was rather plain, with no feminine decorative touches, but it was light and airy, with a bank of deep casement windows to catch the breezes. There was also a huge stove with two ovens, and masses of bench space, as well as a scrubbed pine table and chairs for everyday dining.
Once Rosie’s high chair was in place with a few toys scattered about and various ingredients dotted about the work surfaces, it would look very homely. Jess could hardly wait to start work.
‘And the pantry’s through here,’ Reece said.
Wide-eyed, she followed him into another room lined with shelves stacked with enough provisions to stock a small grocery store.
‘Oh, wow!’ she exclaimed with a huge grin. ‘I. Am. In. Heaven.’
Reece gave a shocked laugh. ‘You’re easy to please.’
‘Every cook dreams of having storage space like this.’
‘You haven’t seen the cold room yet.’
She gaped at him. ‘There’s a cold room too?’
‘Right here.’ He pushed open a heavy door.
‘Oh, my God.’
‘I know it’s a bit confronting to meet half a beast hanging from a hook.’
But Jess had no qualms at all about the butcher-shop scenario. ‘It’s amazing. It’s fabulous, Reece.’ She was grinning. ‘I think I’m in
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