Secret Confessions: Down & Dusty — Casey

Secret Confessions: Down & Dusty — Casey

Rachael Johns

www.escapepublishing.com.au

Secret Confessions: Down & Dusty — Casey
Rachael Johns

They say that no one has secrets in a small town—these women prove them wrong.

Eight brand-new stories from some of Australia’s hottest writers in Australia’s hottest genre. From the bar stools of the local pub to the wide open plains of the biggest stations in the world, these tales travel the dusty roads to the heart of Australia and the women who understand how to work hard—and play even harder.

In the latest in the wildly successful Secret Confessions series from Escape Publishing, the women of Down & Dusty invite you into their lives—and their bedrooms.

Casey Cooper left her husband and the small town of Milpinyani Springs in her dust a year ago, vowing never to return. But a favour to a friend finds her back in town—and back in her husband’s garage, where he offers her a proposition too sexy to refuse. A naked Joel has always been the one thing Casey can’t resist—but can her heart handle the heat?

Secret Confessions: Down & Dusty

Reading order

About the Author

Rachael Johns is an English teacher by trade, a mum 24/7, a chronic arachnophobe, and a writer the rest of the time. She rarely sleeps and never irons. A lover of romance and women’s fiction, Rachael loves nothing more than sitting in bed with her laptop and electric blanket and imagining her own stories.

Rachael lives in the Perth hills with her hyperactive husband, three mostly-gorgeous heroes-in-training, two fat cats, a cantankerous bird and a very badly behaved dog.

Rachael loves to hear from readers and can be contacted via her website—
www.rachaeljohns.com
. She is also on
Facebook
and
Twitter
.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Kate Cuthbert at Escape for giving me the opportunity to write something a little bit different to what I usually do. I had SUCH fun writing Casey and Joel’s story. A shout out to Tracey O’Hara who kept track of the town, the characters AND the writers in this fun series. Also a big thanks to all the other gals who worked on these books. It was fun working with you all.

To all my rural romance readers who like their stories a little hot!

Contents

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Episode 1—Casey

Bestselling Titles by Escape Publishing…

Episode 1—Casey

THE TOWN OF MILPINYANI SPRINGS WELCOMES YOU! POPULATION 356

Hah, what a joke. Casey Cooper shook her head as she drove her dirt-encrusted, but near-new, red FJ Cruiser past the dilapidated sign on the outskirts of town. The town she’d been born, bred and married in. Soon, she’d add divorced to that list as well. She doubted there were many people in these parts who’d welcome her return and that suited her just fine as she didn’t plan on hanging around for very long.

There was nothing left for her here—no family, few friends and certainly not husbands. Once she’d had so much love for the tiny central west Queensland town of Milpinyani Springs and its people, but life had soured her feelings for it and now she wanted nothing more than to move on. If it weren’t for Lucky needing her, she wouldn’t be here, but while she was, she may as well deal with that other pesky issue.

Joel.

Despite everything, she couldn’t simply send him the divorce papers via Australia Post. She’d once loved him with everything she had and before she finally turned her back on their marriage and on Milpinyani, she needed to see him one last time.

Tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, she glanced on either side of the road, reacquainting herself with the lay of the land. She had to concede that despite its dry and dusty terrain, it was beautiful: all deep red earth, clear blue skies and massive eucalypt trees that looked like they were older than time. Her love for this region was why she hadn’t been able to run as far as she’d wanted, and now lived a mere eight-hour drive away on a cattle station in Julia Creek.

The closer she got to the town centre, the more her heart began to pound with the thought of seeing Joel again. What if he’d shacked up with someone else? In one way, that would make her mission easier, but how could she bear seeing him with another woman? These thoughts whirling through her head, she took a few seconds to realise her car wasn’t driving as smoothly as usual. Granted the gravel roads were full of potholes, but that didn’t account for why it was swinging to the right. Or for that ‘calumph, calumph, calumph’ sound. She tried without success to correct the vehicle and then it dawned.

‘No!’ This could not be happening. ‘Shit, shit, shit!’ She slowly pulled the shuddering Cruiser over to the side of the road, unclicked her seatbelt and flung open the door before climbing out. She narrowed her eyes at the culprit as if the back tyre on the driver’s side had purposefully punctured itself to aggravate her. ‘Dammit.’

Thankfully, growing up on a farm, she’d learned to drive early and her wanker of a stepdad had ensured she knew how to look after the maintenance of any vehicle she sat behind the wheel of. Dating and then marrying a mechanic also hadn’t hurt. How many times had she sat on a crate, watching Joel as he tinkered under the bonnet of a car? This meant she knew how to change a tyre better than a lot of blokes.

With a sigh that flicked her brown hair up out of her eyes, Casey marched around to the back and uncovered the spare tyre. She frowned as she laid her hands on either side to remove it and then cursed again. Samuel hadn’t replaced the spare from the flat he’d gotten a couple of months ago when he borrowed the Cruiser to go into Townsville. He’d promised.

‘Damn the man!’ How the hell did anyone let something like this slip their mind when they lived in the middle of the outback? Storming back to her open door, she snatched her mobile off the dashboard, unsure whether she was going to call Samuel to abuse him or call someone for help. Of course when she went to dial a number—any number—she noticed she had no reception and remembered that phone coverage out here was shit.

She stared at the long road ahead. It would take her a good hour or so to walk into town from here. Not enthused by that option, she toed off her boots and then climbed right up onto the roof of the car to search for any sort of reception. Her hand, holding the mobile, was stretched out above her in a most undignified manner when another vehicle appeared over the horizon.

The four-wheel drive with a Flying Doctors logo on the side slowed alongside her as she slithered down off the bonnet. Casey immediately recognised the driver as Grant Wilkins, Milpinyani’s town doctor for as long as she could remember.

‘Hi, Doc,’ she said with a sheepish smile.

‘Casey?’ He frowned as he peered out the driver’s side window. ‘You in a little trouble?’

She shrugged. ‘Flat tyre, times two.’ Only she could have such shitty luck. ‘D’ya reckon you could give me a lift into town?’

‘To the garage?’ he asked, his words slow and full of meaning.

Her stomach flipped. ‘Yep,’ she said with resignation; she’d planned on facing Joel once she’d settled into her room at the pub, maybe had a drink with Lucky to give herself a little Dutch courage, but just like true love, it looked like the road to divorce wasn’t a smooth one either.

At least she’d have the short drive into town to prepare herself.

***

‘Thanks for the lift.’ Casey forced a smile at Dr Wilkins as they pulled up outside the front of the Milpinyani Springs Service Station, which sat on the main street directly opposite the pub. The wide street also housed the general store, an old-fashioned hardware store, the school and a tiny church that was only used now for weddings, christenings and funerals. If you drove down the main street and blinked, you’d miss the little town altogether.

‘Are you all right?’

The doctor’s words jolted Casey’s thoughts and she realised she’d been dithering. ‘Fine,’ she said, taking a quick breath and opening the passenger door. ‘Thanks again. See you later.’

Her handbag hitched over her shoulder, she headed towards the old building, hoping against hope that Joel had called in sick today and she’d get to deal with his uncle. The shop where you paid for your petrol was deserted. She followed the familiar smells of engine oil, old exhaust fumes and degreasers, and the loud clanking sounds into the actual workshop.

‘I’ll be with you in a moment,’ called a deep sexy voice—one she knew almost as well as she knew her own.

Her insides contracted and she thought she might actually vomit as she gazed down at two dirty, brown boots sticking out from under a ute. The boots were attached to grease-stained denim-clad legs and her eyes trailed upwards to the bulge in those jeans, just visible before a six-pack disappeared under the vehicle. Red-hot memories of all the times she and Joel had fucked like rabbits in this very place assaulted her senses. The illicit nature of the location and the knowledge his uncle could return at any moment had only enhanced the experience.

In a desperate attempt to bring moisture back into her mouth, she swallowed and fought the impulse to turn and run. Because, let’s face it, leaving town without her wheels was gonna be a problem. Nope, she’d just have to be a grown-up, fight any dangerous, lusty feelings she had for Joel and get straight down to business.

‘No worries,’ she replied, trying to sound light and carefree.

‘Holy shit.’ Joel slid out from under the vehicle, lying on his back, his legs apart as he gazed up at her. She couldn’t resist the pull of her eyes to the impressive bulge in his grubby jeans. Oh hell!

As her body temperature shot to dangerous levels, he slowly stood, wiping the grease on his hands off on his jeans as he did so.

‘Hi, Joel,’ she managed, trying to ignore the heat that flooded through her body as she came face to face with all the masculinity and sex appeal she’d spent a year trying to forget. His navy blue work singlet clung to his chest, highlighting every single muscle she knew intimately. And his dirty-blond hair was still a tad too long; of course on him scruffy was irritatingly sexy. She fought the urge to close the distance between them, reach out and stroke it back out of his eyes. Her fingers twitched at the recollection of how they felt to be tangled in his hair.

‘Long time no see,’ she added, mentally telling her libido to calm the hell down.

She expected him to snap something like ‘And whose fault is that?’ but instead he hit her with his lethal smile and uttered, ‘I missed you, Case.’

No! No, no, no, no, no, he was not going to sweet talk her with his bullshit. A new tyre and a divorce. That was all she was here for.

‘I got a flat coming into town and …’ She could barely bring herself to admit her stupidity. ‘The spare hadn’t been replaced from the last time. Could you go out, tow me in and source me a new one?’

He stepped towards her and her heart leapt into her throat. ‘How are you? You’re looking good.’ He raked his gaze over her, lingering on her mouth and then slowly moving down her body.

Her traitorous nipples hardened and she cursed the Queensland heat, which meant she only wore a thin t-shirt up top. But it wasn’t merely her nipples playing unfairly. Desire unfurled low in her belly and her pussy throbbed, hot and wet. It had always been this way between them.

Their chemistry had been blatantly obvious to them and everyone else the moment he’d walked into their one-teacher school. She’d been all of twelve years old and hadn’t had so much as a crush on a boy before then, but she’d fallen hard and fast for Joel Cooper. His parents had been killed in a car accident and he’d come to live with his uncle, Len McLean, owner of the garage. But he hadn’t looked like a boy broken. Taller than most their age, his face already boasting a hint of stubble, he’d walked into the class with a confident swagger that made Casey and every other young girl in Milpinyani quiver in their seats.