Page 69 of Where the Heart Is

By the speed he bolted out the door, he understood why she was enjoying her time in Ashe Ridge.

So what was he going to do about it?

CHAPTER

41

After leaving her grandparents to their own devices, Mila stopped at the supermarket. She usually cooked sporadically, often making do with a frozen meal at the end of a long day on the farm. But with Sawyer staying, she wanted to make an effort. Not to impress him, but because it was the hospitable thing to do.

Besides, she needed to feed him so he could keep his energy levels high.

Grinning at the memory of their scintillating night together, she grabbed a trolley and headed for the fruit and veg aisle. She made a mean stir-fry, so that would be on the menu tonight, with chilli con carne for tomorrow, and grilled salmon the next night. She usually ran through the supermarket flinging stuff into the trolley but today she took her time making selections. Maybe her inner domestic goddess had awoken. Or maybe she was nervous about heading home and finding Sawyer ready to move in for however long he was in town, and grocery shopping was an avoidance technique?

Silly, because she’d issued the invitation. And they were comfortable around each other, even naked. That was the ultimate test for her; if a guy saw her without clothes on and she didn’t feel awkward, he was a keeper. Which was precisely why she was single.

But with Sawyer, it had felt right. There’d been no ‘morning after’ dash, picking her clothes up off the floor and hightailing it to the bathroom. When he’d found her at the dam, they’d chatted and laughed like the old friends they were. A girl could get used to that. Not that she would. She knew their fling had an expiration date.Part of the appeal, really. No emotions. No muss. No fuss.

She’d learned early on not to get too invested, because the people in her life left. Her folks. Will. Gran. Only Gramps stayed around, but that was only because he was too set in his ways and couldn’t be stuffed leaving.

She’d been hurt by Sawyer leaving last time, even though they’d been nothing more than friends. But this time around, she was a big girl who knew the score. Zero expectations meant she couldn’t get hurt.

As she perused the different brands of red kidney beans for the chilli con carne, she heard voices from the next aisle.

‘Did you see Sawyer Mann’s back in town? And looking mighty fine, I might add.’

‘Yes, I saw him having lunch with Mila Hayes at the pub. The same day she got dumped at the altar, no less.’

Mila couldn’t recognise the first voice, but she knew the second. Anne Curruthers, the notorious gossip who’d waylaid her and Sawyer that afternoon they’d had lunch at the pub. The ex-school librarian who’d made snide comments about Sawyer’s lack of book smarts and it had annoyed the hell out of her.

‘Don’t you think it’s strange that Mila and Phil were good friends but had zero sparks between them from what I saw, and she’s moved on so quickly to Sawyer, who by all reports is worth a pretty penny now?’ Anne tut-tutted while Mila struggled to clamp down on her outrage. ‘Gold-digger springs to mind.’

The other woman sniggered. ‘She’s young enough to still turn a man’s head, I suppose. Though isn’t she in her thirties now? Not much longer and she’ll be past it. Shame, because without a husband, she’s going to end up a lonely old spinster.’

‘Unless she gets her hooks into Sawyer Mann,’ Anne said, every word laced with disapproval. ‘I’m not sure if this is true, but Babs saw him leave the motel today, bags packed, and he was headed towards Mila’s farm rather than taking the road out of town.’

‘Oh my. Do you think—’

‘Yes, he’s moving in with Mila. Which just proves what I’ve been saying. She’s reeling him in, hook, line, and sinker.’

The women moved away, and not a moment too soon, as red spots of rage danced before Mila’s eyes. She knew the gossip mill thrived in town. Most people had nothing better to talk about than each other. But to hear what those women thought of her … She had a good mind to go find them and rub it in their snooty faces that she was rooting Sawyer for his body and had little interest in his money. But it wasn’t worth the angst.

Instead, she bottled up her anger, paid for her groceries, packed her car, and headed home. She’d find a felled tree and an axe to take the edge off her fury.

CHAPTER

42

Sawyer had just returned from a walk around Hills Homestead when Mila pulled into the driveway, a cloud of dust in her wake. She appeared to be driving too fast, her back tyres spinning a tad as she reached the house and pulled in next to his car. He’d only caught a fleeting glimpse of her expression behind the windscreen, and she didn’t look happy.

Hell, had she changed her mind about inviting him to stay?

It wasn’t Mila’s style to throw a tantrum. If she wanted to renege on her invitation, she would’ve called him. No, this was about something else, and when she got out of the car and slammed the door, barely glancing his way, he knew he had to tread carefully.

He’d only seen her this mad once before, when her parents had cancelled a Christmas visit at the last minute, and he’d been the one to comfort her back then too. She’d been sobbing when he’d come upon her near the dam, and he’d been powerless to do anything other than sit next to her, hoping his silence conveyed support.

She popped the boot and started grabbing bags of groceries, and he moved to help her.

‘I can do it myself,’ she muttered, but he heard the slightest hitch in her voice.

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