AllFreeNovel
Share Us
chapter 4
Sam
I snagged the spot next to Ally at the dinner table and sat down before Craig could even think to muscle his way in. Even a blind man could see how besotted he was with her. The thing was, I was too. The moment she’d slid her work-roughened hand into mine to shake it, I’d wanted to pull her close and feel the contrast between her hands and the flawlessly smooth skin on her face and the rest of her body.
Knife and fork in my hands, I breathed in the delicious scent of good tucker. Homemade chunky meat pies with mushy peas and mash potato was one of my favourites, and the flaky pastry on top of the pie had me salivating. “S’good, Ma,” Ally spoke, her mouth shielded by her hand as she swallowed down a bite of the pie. I turned to her and nodded my agreement, sucking in a breath as she licked her lip, chasing a drip of tomato sauce. Dear God, she smelled like sensuality personified. Soft and warm with a hint of a citrusy spice too. I wanted to breathe her in and get drunk off the heady scent. I’d smelt those same notes before. No, they were matching, but still slightly different. Not quite identical.
I closed my eyes, concentrating on the smells and trying to follow the scent with my nose. All at once, memories slammed into me and I bit back a groan. Mint and that familiar citrus spice hit me, and I was transported back to the barn with Craig in my arms. My best mate used an aftershave with the same blend of notes that I’d just breathed in like a drug. Which one of them was I smelling? Was it the stronger splash of aftershave, or Ally’s gentler fragrance? I couldn’t be sure, but there was one thing I knew—I wanted to get intoxicated off it. Breathe it in and immerse myself in it. Rub it all over me until it was part of me. My body knew that scent. I was drawn to it, like a pheromone designed with my DNA in mind. I wanted more of it.
I blinked open my eyes when the nudge to my foot landed, and I realized it was harder than the first I'd been too absorbed to register. Craig. I turned to him and the disquiet in his eyes slayed me. He inclined his head ever so slightly and asked a silent question. I blinked slowly, barely nodding. The crease in his forehead lifted, but his eyes darted to the door asking me an unspoken question. I shook my head, the slightest of moves to reassure him that I didn't want to leave. I knew him. If I gave the word, he'd walk out, no questions asked. No explanation. But there was nowhere else I wanted to be. This right here was everything I’d ever wanted and nothing like we'd managed to experience since we'd lost my family's farm.
My movement was enough for Craig. He smiled tentatively and I grinned back, digging into my dinner. I only noticed everyone was finished when the conversation started back again a moment later and I was still eating my first mouthful of food.
“Is it okay, Sam?” Karen asked me, a little uncertain.
“It’s delicious. It feels like an age since I’ve had home cooking this fantastic. My brain short circuited on how good everything smelt.”
The answer obviously pleased her. She smiled and nodded at me, pointing the last piece of pie crust at me. “Good answer. You two can stay.” I laughed around my latest mouthful and looked over the table, taking in the new faces that were laughing and talking. The friendly faces that already had us eating at their table like family. The same people who’d waited for us to arrive so we could all eat together and had welcomed us by giving us a place to bunk and telling us to make it our own. The one who’d ridden a horse across a driveway and stolen my breath, shaking my very foundation in the very best of ways. Yeah, staying. That sounded just about perfect. My gaze landed on Craig last of all and I playfully knocked my shoulder into his.
“Hear that? We can stay.” When his answering smile lit his entire face, I knew we’d made the right call. I knew dialling the number we’d been given after the most random of conversations we’d had with a bloke, who said he knew a bloke who knew someone else who was looking for permanent stockmen, that we’d made the right decision. The drive out here cemented the feeling of rightness that’d swept over me when, less than twenty-four hours after we’d sent through our work history Scottie had telephoned us back with an offer to do a trial run with him. We still had to prove ourselves, but that was the one thing I knew we wouldn’t have a problem with. This property, this place… it was as if we’d worked for so long, sometimes in the shittiest of conditions, just so that when home called us, we’d know.
With dinner done, Karen excused herself to the recliner and Lynn cleared the dishes away. I offered to help, but my gesture was waved away. “No, love. You’ll be out there like the rest of them soon enough. The kitchen is our job. We all contribute here.”
“But we’ve just shown up and eaten tea—” Craig chipped in.
“Treat it as the welcome it was.” Lynn smiled and patted our shoulders warmly. “Everything here is swings and roundabouts anyway. You’ll get your chance to help out. Now, why don’t we get you lot sorted with some marshmallows you can roast outside.”
“You trying to get rid of us?” I smirked, already incredibly fond of her.
“Too right! You’ll just make a mess when I’m trying to clean up.”
Scottie walked around the table and kissed his ma on the temple. “Thanks for tea. I’m gonna get the bonfire set up. Let us know if you and Nan want to come out. We’ll move the rocking chairs for you.”
“No, love. We’re watching a new series on the tele. You young ones go and enjoy yourselves.”
Scottie went to the pantry and grabbed out a container of marshmallows and a lighter. “Come on, you two, let’s go get a fire on.” We followed him outside into the darkness, only to find Ally already out there, swinging an axe to chop timber by the light of a spotlight on the side of the house. Waru and Yindi were carrying an armful each, with timber of different sizes ready to be tossed onto the fire pit. Jono was breaking up small sticks and twigs and scrunching a couple of pieces of paper, ready for Scottie with the lighter.
“You do this often?” I asked.
“As often as we can, but we don’t have enough trees out here to chop down, so we buy firewood. We’ve pulled a lot of rotted-out timber off the old homestead though, so anything that’s not painted and can’t be reused is being used for fuel.”
The crackle of the fire started, and I watched as the flames curled and danced, licking over the timber and setting it alight. “All right, boys, pull up a seat and get comfortable.” The seats he was talking about were cut logs about a foot and a half high. They’d be uncomfortable as fuck to sit on for any length of time, but it didn’t matter right then. They’d done this for Craig and me, and I was more than appreciative of the welcome party they’d given us.
“So what’s your first impression?” Ally took a swig of water from a bottle she was carrying with her.
“Pretty bloody amazing.” I thoroughly agreed with Craig’s answer. “It’s picture perfect. The colours are so intense. I kept thinking that someone had dialled up the saturation on the filters, but I was seeing it through my own eyes.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it. In all the places we’ve been in Queensland and New South, there’s none that compare,” I added.
Scottie smiled and looked around, seemingly seeing the land even under the guise of darkness. “I can’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else. It’s a pretty special place to call home.”
I saw Ally flinch from the corner of my eye, and her reaction drew my attention. Lips pursed, she shook her head and huffed out a breath, before snapping the twig she held in her hand and tossing it into the fire. “On second thoughts everyone, I’m out. Night.” Ally stood and stalked away without a backward glance. The abrupt change in her sent me reeling. What had prompted it? I thought back, trying to figure out what could have upset her enough to make her leave, but without really knowing anything about her, I was grasping at straws.
“Scottie,” Jono chided gently.
“Yeah, I know,” he muttered, rubbing his forehead wearily. “Sorry, boys, I’ll be back.”
Jono smiled at us, silently apologizing for the hosts walking away from our gathering. “He’ll be back in a minute.” Jono opened the marshmallows and added three to the end of the stick he was holding before passing the container to Craig. “Help yourself.” Craig did, swapping my empty stick for a loaded one. After we were done, we passed them onto Waru, sitting next to Ally’s empty spot.
