Page 75 of In Full Bloom

“Yeah, if that’s okay with you.”

Suddenly I’m hesitant. Maybe she’s not ready for this. Maybe she wants to keep it to sneaking lunchtime rendezvous and talking on the phone for hours at night after Sadie is asleep. Maybe she doesn’t want this to be public.

“That sounds perfect.” She reaches up and brushes her lips across mine. The movement causes my hand to slip from the edge of her skirt to her thigh and I pull away before I have the chance to caress her skin. If that happens, I’ll lose all self-control and end up doing something to her that’s better saved for behind closed doors, not on the front porch of her house.

“Let me get my jacket,” she says as I reluctantly step away from her. She disappears inside the house for a moment, returning with a handbag and denim jacket, that she holds over her arm. Then she hesitates. “Are you sure this is suitable?”

“It’s perfect,” I say, wrapping my arm around her and leading her to my ute.

Five minutes later we pull up outside the farm supply store and a look of confusion crosses Katie’s face.

“Come on,” I say, climbing out of the vehicle.

“You’re taking me on a date to the farm store?”

“Well, this is the first part of it. I need to pick something up.” A ‘what the fuck’ look crosses her face, but she shrugs and follows me while I struggle to suppress my laughter. “Just trust me, princess,” I murmur, linking my fingers with hers. She snags my keys from my other hand and drops them into the handbag she’s wearing slung across her body.

“Hey, Dallas, Katie,” Trevor, the store manager greets us as we enter the store. “Need any help today?”

“Yeah, I had an order come in.”

“Righto, of course.” Trevor fishes around under the counter for a moment, then pulls out a brown paper bag with the store logo on it. “All paid for. Anything else?”

“Not for now, thanks Trev.” I tug at Katie’s hand. “Come on.” Then, instead of leading her out of the store like she’s clearly expecting, I head towards the back corner where the women’s clothing is displayed. “Anything you like?”

“What?” Katie asks, turning to face me, confusion on her face.

I chuckle. “You sacrificed your favourite shirt to stop me bleeding out in that paddock. I figured the least I can do is replace it for you.”

“Oh.” Her face softens. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.” A shrug. “But I want to. So, is there anything here you like?”

Katie studies the clothing on the racks before us. Most of it is boring utility farm clothes and not really Katie’s style. “Not really,” she says, sounding disappointed. “Sorry.”

I shrug again, then hold out the bag to her. “I guess it’s a good thing I got this for you then.” My cheeks ache from trying to smother the grin desperate to break free as she cautiously takes the bag from my hand.

Katie opens it, still watching me warily, then peers inside, emitting a soft gasp when she catches sight of what’s inside.

“How did you get this? They don’t even sell them here,” shesays, pulling the shirt out of the bag. It’s exactly the same as the shirt she used to stop my arm bleeding.

“I had them order it in.”

“How did you even know what brand it was? Or what size?”

“I looked at the label while it was wrapped around my arm.”

Katie’s still looking at the shirt, rubbing her thumb over the lilac fabric that’s butter soft. I know because I saw it earlier when I dropped in the other part of her gift. She lifts her eyes to meet mine.

“Thank you,” she whispers. “I didn’t know you could get them anymore. That shirt … my grandma used to buy me one every year for my birthday. That one … it was the last one she gave me before she died. I can’t believe you could get the same colour and everything.”

“Well, it took some time,” I say, rubbing at the back of my neck as heat finds my cheeks. I didn’t understand the significance of it, but now I’m glad I spent hours trawling the internet to find that particular style and colour. “There’s something else in the bag, but you don’t have to look at it now.”

She drops the shirt back into the bag and pulls out the sheet of paper. “Oh my gosh,” she whispers, her eyes immediately going glassy.

“That one isn’t actually from me. Sadie wanted to give it to you and I asked if I could pass it along.”

“I love it so much.” Her voice cracks mid-sentence as she stares down at the colourful drawing.

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