Read Online The Outback Bridal Rescue by Emma Darcy - Free Book Online
Authors: Emma Darcy
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dreams…
Why couldn’t she let them go?
‘Mind if I join you, Megan?’ His voice was soft and deep, seeming to carry the dark loneliness of the night.
She looked up. A big man. As big as her father. Broad shoulders. Ready and wil ing to carry the weight of Gundamurra on them. For her father. For her.
But with her? For the rest of their lives?
Her chest tightened up. She took a deep breath, fiercely told herself she had to be fair, and said, ‘I’d like you to, Johnny.’
He settled on the seat beside her, leaning forward, his forearms resting on his thighs, hands linked between his knees. ‘I miss him, too, Megan,’ he said softly, ‘though I guess your sense of loss encompasses much more, having been with your father every day, working with him…’
‘Don’t!’ She swal owed hard to press back the swift wel ing of grief. ‘I need to talk to you about…about something else,’ she rushed out.
‘Whatever you want,’ he gruffly offered.
Want… He didn’t have a clue what she wanted of him.
Was it so hopeless? He hadn’t married. Hadn’t met anyone he felt right about bringing here. If she showed him she understood something of what he felt…though she didn’t real y. His pop-star life kept getting in the way.
He turned towards her, reached across and took her hand from her lap, wrapping his around it, holding it stil .
‘You’l wear your fingerprints out doing that,’ he gently chided. ‘Come on, Megan. Spit it out. You had no hesitation in letting me have it straight between the eyes this morning.’
‘But my aim was wrong, Johnny. I wanted to shoot you down in flames and…and I had it so screwed up…’
‘It’s okay,’ he soothed.
‘It’s not okay!’ she flared, not wanting to be indulged.
‘Mitch told me I didn’t know where you were coming from and I just brushed that aside because I didn’t want to see…
didn’t want to know any good reason for Dad choosing you. ’
‘I’m sorry it was such a bad shock, on top of everything else.’
His thumb caressed her palm, sending warm tingles right up her arm. It was difficult to keep her mind focussed on what had to be said. Al her defensive instincts were urging her to reject his touch, not let herself feel this treacherous thril of pleasure in it. Yet if she stopped being negative, stopped fighting…
‘I never asked Dad about you…’ she blurted out, determined on at least clearing the air between them. ‘…
about your life before you came here. You were just Johnny to me. Then later on you were Johnny, the star, making a big name for yourself.’
‘Al through your childhood and teen years, I liked the fact I was just Johnny to you, Megan. I would have liked it to stay that way. I had more than enough people only seeing me as a star,’ he said drily.
She was glad he couldn’t see the angst stirred by that statement. ‘I’m sorry I took a…a bad view of you.’
Whether he sensed the angst, she didn’t know, but he instantly injected some humour into his tone, trying to lighten the conversation. ‘Wel , it was certainly a change from the usual reaction I got from women. Brought me down to earth with a thump every time I came back to Gundamurra.’
‘Stop it, Johnny!’ she cried in exasperation. ‘I don’t want your charm. I’d rather know what’s behind it.’
She sought his eyes but he looked away, his gaze lifting to the stars in the sky. His hand started to squeeze hers, then relaxed again, as though he was very conscious of not transmitting tension. Yet she sensed it was coiled inside him, wound tightly around whatever it was he didn’t want to reveal.
‘When the three of you went off to the bunkhouse tonight, I had a talk with Lara and Kathryn,’ she pressed on. ‘I didn’t know what any of you had done to bring you here to Dad in the first place. I learnt a lot about Ric’s background. And Mitch’s. But they couldn’t tel me anything about you, Johnny.’
‘They had nothing to
Why couldn’t she let them go?
‘Mind if I join you, Megan?’ His voice was soft and deep, seeming to carry the dark loneliness of the night.
She looked up. A big man. As big as her father. Broad shoulders. Ready and wil ing to carry the weight of Gundamurra on them. For her father. For her.
But with her? For the rest of their lives?
Her chest tightened up. She took a deep breath, fiercely told herself she had to be fair, and said, ‘I’d like you to, Johnny.’
He settled on the seat beside her, leaning forward, his forearms resting on his thighs, hands linked between his knees. ‘I miss him, too, Megan,’ he said softly, ‘though I guess your sense of loss encompasses much more, having been with your father every day, working with him…’
‘Don’t!’ She swal owed hard to press back the swift wel ing of grief. ‘I need to talk to you about…about something else,’ she rushed out.
‘Whatever you want,’ he gruffly offered.
Want… He didn’t have a clue what she wanted of him.
Was it so hopeless? He hadn’t married. Hadn’t met anyone he felt right about bringing here. If she showed him she understood something of what he felt…though she didn’t real y. His pop-star life kept getting in the way.
He turned towards her, reached across and took her hand from her lap, wrapping his around it, holding it stil .
‘You’l wear your fingerprints out doing that,’ he gently chided. ‘Come on, Megan. Spit it out. You had no hesitation in letting me have it straight between the eyes this morning.’
‘But my aim was wrong, Johnny. I wanted to shoot you down in flames and…and I had it so screwed up…’
‘It’s okay,’ he soothed.
‘It’s not okay!’ she flared, not wanting to be indulged.
‘Mitch told me I didn’t know where you were coming from and I just brushed that aside because I didn’t want to see…
didn’t want to know any good reason for Dad choosing you. ’
‘I’m sorry it was such a bad shock, on top of everything else.’
His thumb caressed her palm, sending warm tingles right up her arm. It was difficult to keep her mind focussed on what had to be said. Al her defensive instincts were urging her to reject his touch, not let herself feel this treacherous thril of pleasure in it. Yet if she stopped being negative, stopped fighting…
‘I never asked Dad about you…’ she blurted out, determined on at least clearing the air between them. ‘…
about your life before you came here. You were just Johnny to me. Then later on you were Johnny, the star, making a big name for yourself.’
‘Al through your childhood and teen years, I liked the fact I was just Johnny to you, Megan. I would have liked it to stay that way. I had more than enough people only seeing me as a star,’ he said drily.
She was glad he couldn’t see the angst stirred by that statement. ‘I’m sorry I took a…a bad view of you.’
Whether he sensed the angst, she didn’t know, but he instantly injected some humour into his tone, trying to lighten the conversation. ‘Wel , it was certainly a change from the usual reaction I got from women. Brought me down to earth with a thump every time I came back to Gundamurra.’
‘Stop it, Johnny!’ she cried in exasperation. ‘I don’t want your charm. I’d rather know what’s behind it.’
She sought his eyes but he looked away, his gaze lifting to the stars in the sky. His hand started to squeeze hers, then relaxed again, as though he was very conscious of not transmitting tension. Yet she sensed it was coiled inside him, wound tightly around whatever it was he didn’t want to reveal.
‘When the three of you went off to the bunkhouse tonight, I had a talk with Lara and Kathryn,’ she pressed on. ‘I didn’t know what any of you had done to bring you here to Dad in the first place. I learnt a lot about Ric’s background. And Mitch’s. But they couldn’t tel me anything about you, Johnny.’
‘They had nothing to
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