Page 23 of A Chance to Believe

‘Yes.’ She bit the word out, but he didn’t back off. If anything, his gaze sharpened.

‘Have you been married or engaged? Committed?’

She’d been unforgivably nosy about his family; she couldn’t justify being cagey about her own past. Not that she had to over share. ‘I was engaged once. It was a long time ago.’

He straightened, as if her words triggered an alert. She shouldn’t have added the time frame.

‘What about since we met?’

‘Hardly.’ She touched her bump. ‘I had other things on my mind.’ Including him.

She shifted closer to the door of the annex. ‘Look, what business is it of yours, anyway?’

‘If you marry again, he’ll be a stepfather to my children. That gives me a vested interest in your future relationships.’

Huffing out a laugh, she turned away. ‘I have no intention of even thinking about marrying again, Shayne Smith. You can be sure of it.’

‘Why not? Most people want to have relationships.’

‘Most people aren’t cursed.’ She half smiled at her own drama. ‘Anyone I’ve ever been close to in the past has died. I have more consideration for people than to expose them to that kind of risk.’

He stood, silent and still, his eyes dimming to a dull grey green. She’d never seen eyes so variable. Like a mood ring she’d had as a kid, a gift from Tess. Only on her the colours had faded to nothing and it was buried somewhere in her vintage musical jewel box with the dancing ballerina, another present from Tess. By all rights, her cousin should be dead too, but she’d come close, so maybe it still counted.

A sudden jerk brought him back to life. ‘You should be resting. I’ll see you at lunch.’

He stalked into the house, the door clicking shut behind him. Shaking herself into action, she did as he suggested, showering off the dust and sweat and putting her feet up on the bed. She should organise to see Tess. The weeks had gone by with only their usual exchange of messages. Slack, considering she’d been living in the same town for a month. She reached for her phone before she could procrastinate.

A date settled, she found herself half dozing with Shayne Smith on her mind. She was learning a lot about him, and he was gradually drawing her to share her own past. He’d wonder about her after that outburst. Maybe she was a little odd. Losing people did that to you, took a little piece of who you were with them. If enough of them died, how much of yourself was left? How much did you have to do to hide the emptiness that was impossible to fill?

Her stomach rippled and she laid her hands over the movement. Had she been so absorbed she hadn’t noticed the hollow space inside was no longer empty? Those early months had left her too terrified to believe her babies would survive. She hadn’t realised she was believing they might escape the curse. It would give her a family of her own to love.

* * *

Shayne flung himself into the chair in his office. The woman was keeping secrets, and it was frustrating as hell. She’d sent her excuses for lunch, claiming she needed to rest before going out in the evening. Parker had taken over a light meal before letting Shayne know, so there’d been no good reason to disturb her.

He’d thought opening up would encourage her to do the same. She’d responded, but not with what he expected. What the devil did she mean by being cursed?

Opening the top drawer, he pulled out the framed photograph of Brittany he kept on his desk when his parents weren’t around. He planted it in the spot he usually kept it and determined he would leave it there. It was long past time he gave up being oversensitive about his parents’ grief. He’d grieved too, and the photo was a comfort. Sometimes he was afraid of forgetting what she looked like.

Maybe he could understand Cassie’s sentiment. Sometimes he wondered if his own family were cursed. Both he and Ben had an abysmal taste in women. It had been because of Ben’s ex-girlfriend they’d lost Brittany. His own experiences had made him wary. Yet amidst all the caution he kept urging on himself, he wanted to trust Cassie.

After all the lessons he’d learned, he kept hoping Cassie had a touch of the ambition that had made Courtney and Louella pursue him. Even the suggestion of her marrying someone else had made him bite his tongue so as not to give himself away. At the same time, her declaration against marriage had hit him fair in the gut.

Brittany’s bright eyes watched him from the photograph. Be patient, they seemed to say. It was hard sticking to his plan when he wanted more. Wanted Cassie to see him as someone she could depend on. Someone who could be not only a father to her children but a husband to walk beside her. He smiled wryly. Who was he kidding? He wanted a lot more than simple companionship. He wanted her back in his bed and the most obvious solution, to seduce her, was totally off the table. For the time being.

If he could keep her here after the birth of the twins, he might stand a chance of reminding her of how spectacular they’d been together. In the meantime, it was all about getting to know her. Letting her get to know him. He wasn’t sure which would be the toughest ask. If only the damn weather and the normal vagaries of farm life allowed him to spend time with her.

With luck, the strategies he’d put in place would make a difference. There were usually a few people around wanting short-term work with the seasonal nature of most agriculture. Today he’d been lucky enough to snabble a married couple from the US doing a working tour of Australia. They’d be arriving in the district on Monday and had put an ad on social media. They could help with the general work, but he still needed someone with animal husbandry experience. Coming into autumn was about the worst time with fruit harvesting and for some cattlemen who preferred calving before winter. His cousin Jordan had split his herd with the bulk due in spring so he could spare a man to help Shayne out for a few weeks.

With the extra hands, he might even make it in for dinner most nights now.

A ping on his phone forced him to drag it out and look at it. Fortunately, it was only an update from the man checking damage to the fences near the road and nothing he needed to attend to personally. It reminded him that time was getting away, and he’d persuaded Cassie to come into his parents’ place for dinner this time. A casual barbeque, so it would be earlier in the evening. The casual thing might have persuaded Cassie to front up with the promise of an early night.

A quick shower to dispose of the smell of horses and sheep and he was ready to go. He’d dragged out his cream chinos and a light blue shirt in due deference to his mother’s idea of casual. Jeans were only ever worn for work in her mind. He pulled on his tan dress boots over the Sylvester and Tweety socks his daughter gave him for Christmas. There was no point in going overboard with the Oxford lace-ups he only wore when absolutely necessary. These days, you could even get away with dress boots for a wedding. Something to keep in mind, though the bride usually had a say in those kinds of choices.

He had no concerns about what Cassie would wear tonight. She was always beautifully dressed, even with her changed shape from the pregnancy. His daughter he wasn’t so sure about. He still hadn’t taken her shopping. Definite Dad fail, which meant he couldn’t complain at what she might be wearing.

It was a good thing he’d braced himself because Kimberley was already defensive when he met her in the hall. If he’d allowed his surprise to show, it might have turned into a disaster. Not that the clothing was a disaster.

---