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‘As long as he can dig and follow instructions.’

The silence was companionable, and Tarni stayed awake the whole way home.

They both frowned when they passed the site of the yesterday’s accident. The vehicles must have been towed away, and all that remained was police tape and white markings on the road.

‘So sad,’ Tarni said.

‘I guess we’ll hear more about it through the week,’ Cy commented. They were both lost in their thoughts for a while.

‘I think whatever bug I had has finally gone, thank goodness,’ Tarni said as they turned into the farm gate.

‘That’s good. I’m pleased you came along. I wouldn’t have left you at home by yourself, and Ryan needed a hand. Did you enjoy the cattle side of things?’

‘Um, I did.’ Tarni hesitated. ‘But it was different.’

‘In what way?’

‘I’m going to sound like a city slicker now, but it was smelly and dirty at the yards. And noisy. I nearly died when Angus and Wyatt were playing in that wet dirt and there was cow manure all around them. Don’t get me wrong, though. Dee’s a great mum, and I did enjoy watching you and Ryan drench the cattle. Puts a whole different take on buying meat in plastic trays at the supermarket.’

Cy chuckled as he parked the ute in the driveway. ‘Wait there. I’ll help you out.’ Tarni had nursed Ellie’s Pyrex dish on her lap all the way home; she’d been worried about it getting broken in the back of the ute. He walked around the front and opened her door. Holding his hand out, he took the dish she passed to him and carefully placed it on the tray of the ute. He turned and held out his hand to Tarni. She grasped his fingers and jumped down.

Cy could have moved back to give her more room, but when her feet landed on the paved drive, she was chest-to-chest with him. He let go of her hand and put his arms around her.

Tarni’s eyes were wide as she looked up at him, but she didn’t move away.

‘Before we say goodnight, I just wanted to thank you for a fabulous weekend,’ he said quietly.

‘It was great,’ she said. ‘I feel better, and you look less stressed. Thank you for taking me.’ Before Cy could make a move, Tarni reached up, her lips touched his and stayed there.

Cy deepened the kiss and a pleasant shiver ran down his spine as Tarni’s mouth opened beneath his. The tentative kiss lingered, and held promise. When Tarni pulled back, Cy’s heart was beating hard, and the blood thrummed though his body. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and happiness settled as he held her close.

Chapter 34

McLaren Mango Farm - Sunday afternoon

Tarni

Tarni finally lifted her head from Cy’s shoulder. It felt so good, she could have stayed there for longer. His hands were pressed gently across her lower back, and being held close made her feel secure.

‘I guess we need to get unpacked,’ she said moving away.

‘We should.’ His smile sent a ripple of pleasure through her. ‘And I want to go down and see if Jerry finished what I paid him to do. Do you want to come down to the dam with me?’

‘How about I get a meal going for us? Just something light? Dee fed us well.’

‘Sounds good. A toasted sandwich would do me.’

‘Shame there’s no KFC close by.’ She couldn’t help teasing him.

Cy grinned back. ‘Don’t laugh. I did think about driving via Darwin on the way home to pick some up.’

Tarni nudged him with her shoulder. ‘If we’re going to hang around together, I’m going to teach you some good eating habits.’

Cy nodded and held her gaze. ‘I like the sound of that.’

‘Good eating habits?’ she teased some more.

‘No, the hanging around together bit. Sounds very good to me.’