Page 77 of Where the Heart Is

There’d been no mucking around that night. Jack had declared he’d found the woman he wanted to marry, and while she’d laughed him off initially, deep down she’d known she’d found the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Until she didn’t.

‘Thank you.’ She took the bunch and pressed her lips to his, a soft lingering kiss that tempted her to drag him inside and tear the tux off his body. ‘You look dashing.’

‘And you look beautiful,’ he said, taking hold of her hand and spinning her around. ‘I hope those fancy shoes are comfortable though, because I intend to dance the night away.’

‘Promises, promises.’

He spun her into his arms and held her tight, staring at her like he wondered how he’d got so lucky. This is how he used to look at her before their marriage went to crap. But she wouldn’t think about the negative stuff, not tonight.

If Jack was intent on having fun, she’d make the most of it. She’d never seen this side to him, not after their initial whirlwind courtship, and she couldn’t get enough. It made her wonder: if Jack had changed this much, was it worth sticking around and giving their marriage another shot?

She didn’t have to make any hasty decisions. She could stay in town longer, spend more time with him, see how their relationship developed. She could put a halt on divorce proceedings—not that she’d got beyond making that appointment for advice, which would be easy enough to cancel—and take her time.

At her age, the type of connection she shared with Jack was unique. Not once in the last fourteen years had she been remotely emotionally invested in any of the men she’d dated, and even her relationship with Raven was lukewarm compared with the sizzle she had with Jack.

She owed it to them to give their marriage another shot and after the ball tonight, she’d tell him.

‘What are you thinking about?’ His fingertip traced the frown lines between her brows, down her nose, before ending on her lips.

‘If I tell you, we’ll never get out of here, and our granddaughter won’t forgive us for not turning up to the ball.’

‘Fair point.’ He ducked down to whisper in her ear, ‘But whatever you’re thinking, I reckon we can give it a red hot go when we get home later.’

We. Home. It had a nice ring to it and Adelaide couldn’t wait to tell Jack the good news that she’d be sticking around.

‘Remind me again why I can’t give Phil a mouthful for dumping our Mila at the altar for some woman he just met?’

Adelaide laughed and laid a hand on Jack’s arm as he parked and turned off the engine. ‘Because she doesn’t need you defending her honour.’ She pointed at Mila and Sawyer, their heads bent close together at the entrance to the marquee. ‘She’s found her own knight in shining armour.’

Jack grunted. ‘Sawyer Mann’s a good kid. Always respectful when he used to hang around our place.’

‘Which was every day.’

Adelaide had often wondered if Sawyer knew Mila had a crush on him and chose to ignore it because of his friendship with Will, or if he was just obtuse, as most boys his age were.

The three of them, Mila, Will, and Sawyer, had been close. They loved camping out in the backyard of the homestead, stringing a few old sheets between branches of the eucalypts and sleeping underneath them in their swags. She’d provide them with food they could cook over a campfire—sausages, damper, marshmallows—and loved hearing their laughter as they tried to outdo each other with who could stay up the longest.

They’d ride their bikes around the property, play cricket in the summer, and kick the footy in the winter. Sawyer spent a lot of time at the homestead and Adelaide treated him as another grandchild. From what she heard about his fraught home life, the less time he spent there the better. He’d been too proud to discuss what he faced on a daily basis—she’d tried to broach it once and he’d changed the subject quickly—so she mothered him as best she could.

She often asked him to stay for dinner and he rarely said no. Shepherd’s pie, apricot chicken, and curried lamb chops were his favourite, and he had a massive soft spot for her roly-poly pudding.

If Mila and Will knew about his tough home life, they never said, and she liked that Sawyer could depend on her grandchildren. They’d been good kids and Adelaide couldn’t be happier that Sawyer finally reciprocated Mila’s feelings.

‘I’d like her to find a decent bloke and settle down.’ Jack sighed. ‘She deserves happiness.’

‘We all do,’ she murmured, reaching across to clasp Jack’s hand. ‘I’ll be honest, Jack, that in returning to Ashe Ridge, I never expected … this … us …’ Overwhelmed by emotion, she cleared her throat. ‘What I’m trying to say is, I’ve loved every moment with you these last few days and I hope to create many more.’

‘Sounds like you’re planning on staying a while.’

‘If that’s okay with you.’

He shrugged, feigning nonchalance, but she saw the elation in his eyes. ‘Fine by me.’

‘Now that’s settled, you promised to dance me off my feet, remember?’

‘Lady, I’m about to make all your wishes come true.’

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