Page 44 of Road to Rosalee

‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘Just didn’t think you’d be the type to.’

‘Well, you got me all wrong, Miss Harrison slash Walsh.’ He shook the shifter at her. ‘I love cooking, and eating. And watching cooking shows.’

‘You do?’

‘No word of a lie.’ He cast her a sidelong glance. ‘Can you pass me something to tip whatever is clogging this bugger up into.’ He wiggled the piece of pipe.

‘That’ll most likely be tea leaves.’ She grimaced as she passed him an empty ice-cream container.

He took it from her. ‘Tea leaves, huh? Righto. You do know you’re meant to brew your tea in a teapot, not down the sink?’ His smirk was endearing.

‘Smartarse.’ Just as she suspected, he banged the piece of pipe and a clump of earl grey leaves plopped out and into the bucket, along with gloop and god only knew what. ‘Ew.’

‘Uh-huh.’ He passed her the bucket of gunk and got back to it. ‘You still keen for a cuppa?’

She looked into the container. ‘I think I’ll pass.’

A couple of minutes later, all was well under her kitchen sink again.

‘Thanks so much, Zai.’ She watched him wipe his clean hands onto the towel then tug his shirt back on. ‘You want a beer before you head off?’ She really didn’t want him to leave.

He checked his watch ‘Thanks, but better not. Got a bit to get done before knock-off.’

She followed him down the hallway. ‘Okay, what time would you like me to head over for dinner then?’

He stopped at the door and tugged his boots back on. ‘About five-thirty sound good for you?’

‘Of course, it’s not like I have any other plans.’ She leant against the frame and shoved her hands into her pockets.

‘Geez, talk about making a man feel special.’

She went to respond but he reached out and gave her arm a quick squeeze. ‘Just kidding.’ Grabbing his hat from the banister, he tugged it on. ‘FYI, I’ve had my infamous chilli con carne going at it in the slow cooker since sunrise.’

‘Oh, yum, I love a good chilli.’ Melody couldn’t recall the last time she’d had it.

‘Well, prepare to be wowed because mine trumps everybody else’s.’ He wiggled his brows self-assuredly. ‘We’ll have that beer when you head over too.’

‘Okay, sounds like a plan.’ She watched him stride away, his long-legged gait and the confident way he carried himself sexy as hell.

Three hours later, with her mouth watering from the scrumptious aroma wafting from the slow cooker, a freshly showered, delicious-smelling tower of manly man reached into his fridge and grabbed them both a longneck. Twisting the lids off, Zai passed one to her.

‘Cheers,’ she said, chinking her bottle against his.

They took a long swig, saying, ‘ahh’ in unison.

Zai held his up. ‘Want to knock the rest of this back outside?’

Melody loved the idea. ‘Yeah, why not.’

Side by side, they wandered out to the golden glow of the setting sun. Settling themselves into the day bed on the back verandah of the cottage, they watched the lustrous orb begin to fade into the horizon, as if sinking over the curve of the earth. As usual, Melody found herself in complete and utter awe. Never had she seen such beautiful sunsets, or sunrises, as the outback of Australia provided. A sneaky sideways glance told her Zai still found them as captivating as she did, even after all his time here. She totally understood the magic of Rosalee Station never getting old – it was a place unto itself, a living, breathing landscape with so much to appreciate.

Taking a thoughtful gulp from her beer, she wholeheartedly wished she could fit into this world that Zai slotted so perfectly into. There was something to be said about the healing qualities of the solitude here, far away from technology and the hustle and bustle of city life. Rosalee Station had been exactly what the doctor had ordered – it was going to feel strange arriving back to the bright lights of the city. A part of her, a really big part, wanted to stay here forever, living in this bubble she always seemed to find herself in when she was in the company of Zai. But life didn’t work like that. The reality was, she had to go back and sort out her life, and where she wanted it to go from there.

Zai turned to her. ‘Ready for some fodder?’

‘Sure am. Would you like a hand dishing it up?’

‘No, I got it. You stay here and rest those ribs of yours and I’ll bring us a bowl each out here.’ He smiled gently. ‘It’s going to be too much of a nice night for eating inside.’