Catch Me A Cowboy (25 page)

‘Becky and I were having a picnic together. I'd been given topics by Andrea to talk about with her. They implied that there was a future between the two of us. She was happy about that.' He stopped and rubbed a hand along his jaw, then shook his head. ‘I'm sorry, but this is so ridiculous. So completely beyond normal that it sounds stupid coming out of my mouth. She asked if she could kiss me.'

Emily's head snapped up, her forehead creased. ‘She asked you?'

He nodded. ‘While I was thinking of a way to turn her down while still respecting the directors' needs, she kissed me. I braced myself and let her because I thought I had to.' He groaned. ‘I know how that sounds, but my mind was all over the place. As soon as she went to take it further than a simple peck, I turned my head away. Nothing else happened.'

He shifted on his chair, turning his legs to her. ‘I get it if you see that as a betrayal. I do. I understand. Because I'd be pissed. I know it. But, in my mind, it was too late to back out without giving the game away. I can get sued if the directors don't get what they want. Now, I know that doesn't mean I have to pimp myself. But I promise you, Emily, from now on, no one will be getting close enough to me to even allow that to happen again, directors be damned.'

Emily peered at him with a deep frown on her face. ‘Last night, when I heard you had k-kissed …' She could barely say the word, stumbled over it. ‘I wanted to punch you so hard. And scream at you.'

Will winced but nodded. ‘That's understandable.'

Emily sighed and turned to face him. Her features softened. ‘But I wasn't so angry when I woke up this morning once the shock and betrayal had time to wane. Last night, knowing how much it affected me to hear that you had kissed someone else, terrified me.'

He opened his mouth to ask why, but he stopped when dread roiled in his guts because the answer she might give may not be the one he wanted to hear.

Emily sighed. ‘It terrified me, because as much as I tried to put the barriers up, my emotions broke through. And that means my feelings for you are … deep.'

Wil shook his head. This was better than he had expected to hear. He only hoped there wasn't a
but
that would negate everything that came before it.

‘And I know this a stupid dating show. And here I am expecting you to stay away from the other contestants when I know you can't do that. I know that, yet my jealous streak came out with a vengeance to hear it. I want you all to myself, Wil Parker, and I know that's not possible.'

He reached for her hand and gripped it. It felt like sweet relief to feel her flesh again. Her warmth nestled in his palm. ‘It's not entirely possible
now
. And in no reality, other than this bizarre one we find ourselves in now, would I ever even say something like that. But after, I promise you that. Until then, I need to make it clear that my desire is for you and you alone. The entire time I was on that date, I was thinking about you. I was getting hard, daydreaming about you. And when Becky kissed me, you were in my thoughts. You occupy my mind every damn second of the day. I want you so bad, I'm willing to end this game show right now and consequences be damned. That's how much I believe in what we've started. I can see a future and you're in it.'

She breathed in deeply. ‘I'm not worth the consequences—the financial burden ending this show would place on you. We need to see it out to the end. And, I promise, I'll try not to be such a jealous monster from here on out.'

He shook his head. ‘But you have every right to be. I'm obliged to talk the talk with the other ladies. There's no getting around that. But anything else, I'll do what I can to avoid it.'

Emily nodded. ‘Okay.'

‘You're fine with
us
again?'

Again she nodded.

He sighed with relief. ‘Good. Thank God.'

She smiled. ‘Can I kiss you?' She was being facetious, but he sure as hell wasn't going to miss this chance.

‘You can do whatever you like to me, Em.'

She leant into him and pressed her lips against his. Just a light brush. Perhaps her way of claiming his lips again, of wiping his memory of Becky. But little did she know, he never stored a memory of that moment anyway. The only lips on his mind were Emily's.

Locking eyes with him, she whispered, ‘There's more where that came from.'

Wil grinned as he released his hand from hers and held her face. He moved in closer and kissed her, properly, with tongue and heat and passion. Becky paled in comparison to this woman right here with him.

After a long moment, he tilted his head back. ‘Have you had breakfast?'

‘No.'

‘Come on. You can meet Mum and my sister in the process.'

Emily's eyes widened. ‘Is that moving a bit too quick?'

Wil laughed and stood, held his hands out for her. ‘You've already met Dad. So two more members of the family can't hurt.'

She smiled, gripped his hands and allowed him to help her from the seat.

‘Might I say you look mouth-watering today?' he whispered in her ear.

She arched a brow. ‘Good enough to eat, you could say?'

Will wiped the corner of his mouth. He found it hard to compose himself after the images that statement created. ‘Very much so.'

They made their way into the house and through to the kitchen. The others were already eating breakfast. Mum stood when they walked in, wiping her hands on her apron.

‘Mum, this is Emily. Emily, this is Genene Parker,' Wil said, holding his hand on the small of Emily's back and gesturing towards his mother with the other.

Emily smiled. She took Mum's hand and kissed her cheek. ‘Lovely to meet you.'

‘You too,' said Mum.

Emily stepped back to Wil's side.

‘And this is Cheree, my sister.'

Cheree went to stand, but Emily shook her head. ‘Oh, please, no need to stand.'

Cheree relaxed back in her seat. ‘Good to meet you, Emily.'

Emily smiled. ‘You too.'

‘And this is my niece, Rochelle, and nephew, Jai.'

‘Lovely to meet you two,' she said in a higher pitched voice.

The kids grinned wide. ‘Good to meet you,' they chorused. In the face of cerebral palsy, Rochelle had made leaps and bounds with her language. And Wil was so proud to see her confidence shining through.

‘Take a seat,' said Wil.

Emily sat down and Wil assumed the chair beside her. Mum returned to her seat and it was all seven of them at the table. Wil could imagine this becoming an ordinary occurrence in the future, all of them together.

‘Where's Mark, Cheree?' asked Wil, only now realising her husband wasn't here.

‘A neighbouring farm needed his help with a sickly calf.'

Wil nodded and looked to Emily. ‘Cheree's husband is a vet. Very handy addition to the family.'

‘And what do you do ordinarily, Emily?' asked Cheree.

‘Real Estate agent. Not quite so handy a skill to have on a farm.'

Cheree laughed. ‘No, I guess not. But I did hear you have a knack for dealing with pigs.'

Emily's cheeks flushed and Wil chuckled. ‘Hardly,' she said.

‘Please, dig in,' said Dad. ‘Just serve yourself at this table. Don't be shy, plenty to go around.'

Emily reached for some bacon and placed some rashers on her plate.

‘How are you finding the country so far, Emily?' asked Mum.

‘It has spellbound me. I was saying to Wil that it feels cathartic out here.'

Cheree nodded. ‘Especially after all the changes we've made over the last few years. It's certainly that way for us too.'

‘Can you see yourself living out here, Emily?'

Emily nodded. ‘Yes, I can.'

Wil reached under the table and gripped her hand in his. He squeezed it gently.

And so they ate and chatted like it was any other time Wil would bring a partner home to meet his family. There were no questions about the game, only about Emily, her life and general conversation about the farm.

Dad stood when his plate was clear. ‘I hate to be rude and leave, but I've got to get back to work.'

‘You've got Paddy here helping today?' asked Wil.

Dad nodded. ‘He'll be meeting me at ten. He had to help his dad with something first.'

‘Okay. Good. Well, I'm free most of the day, so I'll head out and meet you soon.'

‘All right.'

‘It was lovely to see you again, Emily. I hope to see more of you here,' said Dad.

Emily smiled. ‘Thank you.'

Cheree looked across the table at her children. ‘How about the both of you head on outside to play.' The kids climbed from their seats and happily left the table.

‘I'm sure Wil hasn't told you, but my Rochelle was born with cerebral palsy. Not as severe as some of the cases I've seen, but enough to slow her development and affect her motor skills. She's mentally intact, which is great, but having a body that doesn't do what you want it to do can be taxing.'

‘I'm sure,' said Emily.

‘She's why we are doing all this, Emily. She's the reason we pulled this farm back to bare bones and started again.'

Emily narrowed her eyes and shook her head. ‘I'm sorry, I don't think I understand.'

‘We're not certain,' said Wil. ‘But Cheree was exposed to some fairly heavy pesticides and fertilisers during her pregnancy and we think that it may have contributed to Rochelle's condition.'

‘We don't know for sure. And we never will,' said Mum. ‘But it was enough for us all to wake up and start doing things differently.'

Cheree smiled sadly. ‘We were already heading in that direction.'

Wil nodded. ‘True. You, for starters,' he said to Cheree.

Cheree laughed. ‘Yes. A woman farming. It goes against the grain that's for sure.'

Emily arched a brow. ‘Really?'

‘I've always wanted to be a farmer. It's in my blood for generations. I grew up here, just like my brothers. I never once believed that it was something I would ever be denied just because I'm a woman. Not until my best friend at school told me about her elder sister. She was married to a man who helped her father work their property—a big sheep station closer to Melbourne. The sister and husband got divorced and her ex-husband stayed on to work the farm.'

‘You're serious?'

Cheree nodded. ‘Many farmers are still very traditional. Still only pass properties down to their sons and expect them to take on the farming role.'

‘Didn't quite work out that way here,' said Mum.

Cheree laughed. ‘No.'

‘Cheree was the one who saved this farm. Who made us see things in a different way,' said Wil.

Mum smiled at her daughter. ‘She brought a much needed feminine touch, where we work in partnership, as much as is possible, with nature, rather than whipping Her.'

‘I just love that concept so much.'

‘Later on,' said Cheree. ‘Once this show is over. You and I will spend the day together and I'll take you around, show what we've done here.'

Emily smiled. ‘I'd love that. Thank you.'

‘Along with Wil finding someone to fall in love with, he wanted to use this show as a platform to show others what we are doing here.'

Wil nodded. ‘And production were agreeable to letting us take that angle. I do a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that showcases our pioneering methods.'

‘I didn't know that.'

‘It's hard to have a real conversation when there're cameras around.' And equally as hard not to kiss her silly when they got a rare moment in private.

She sighed. ‘It makes it tough.'

‘But you are both patient enough and intelligent enough to persist through it,' said Mum.

Wil looked at Emily and chuckled. ‘Yes. We have our road bumps, but we'll get there.'

Chapter 34

After breakfast, Emily stood with Wil on the front lawn of his parents' property. The morning was sunny and bees buzzed around the blooming flowers that adorned the garden's trees. Wil's family was wonderful—epitomised everything she hadn't had growing up. Not since she was fifteen anyway. And before her father left for good, there was obvious friction between her parents and it trickled down, affecting the family dynamic and mood. Always tension. Always stress. Always an undercurrent of fear that it would implode at any moment and life would shoot off in another trajectory. Eventually, it did.

Sitting there at the breakfast table with all of them, chatting away, Emily had felt sadness alongside her happiness. Sadness, because she ached to have that for herself. She hadn't realised. She knew she wanted a husband and inevitably children, but to have parents, sisters, nieces and nephews all seated together at a table was everything she craved. It strummed her heartstrings, producing the most beautiful melancholy melody.

It frightened her to want something so much. It scared her more to want
someone
so much. That realisation stung her on the tongue when she woke this morning and she had no choice but to swallow that bitter truth. She wanted Wil. Every which way. Anyhow.

And it seemed now, she wanted what he had as well. His family. His lifestyle. All of it. She could slot right in beside him and be happy.

But to do that, she would have to give up everything she had ever known—her life in Melbourne, her career, everything. Could she do that? Right now, looking into Wil's handsome blue eyes, she could. She was ready—biologically, emotionally, spiritually. This candid, charming, dirty talking cowboy was worth the risk. But when it actually came to the crunch, could she give it all up for him? That, she didn't have the answer for and wouldn't until, and if, that moment came.

In the meantime, she needed more experiences like this with him. Where they could be themselves. Be open and intimate.

‘Can I meet you later, Wil?' she asked.