Second Chance At The Ranch

Pete pulled himself up. ‘God, I’m sorry, Juliet. I didn’t—’

‘It’s all right.’ Juliet touched his arm and then let her hand rest there. Pete covered it gently with his own. ‘We weren’t close. It was a few years ago now. My parents did everything together, went everywhere together. My mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away nine weeks later. It was all a bit sudden. Six months later we buried Dad. He just sort of faded away.’

Pete put his arm around Juliet as they sat watching the stars glisten in the clear sky. She snuggled into his warmth. ‘My father was a diplomat, and they travelled a lot. I was a novelty, and Hero was … I don’t know. They took so little interest in her, I couldn’t help but wonder why they had her at all sometimes.

‘It was heartbreaking to watch her try to please them … but she never seemed to be able to. It made me so mad. I’d look at her sometimes and there was such confusion written on her face. I know it certainly affected her confidence.’

‘But being a model must make her pretty confident?’

Juliet raised an eyebrow. ‘Looks can be deceiving. But yes, she’s better these days. She has a couple of very good friends. And she has me.’

‘So, there’s just the two of you?’

‘Yes.’

‘What did you say her name was?’

‘Hero.’

Pete paused. ‘Your parents really liked Shakespeare, didn’t they?’

Juliet laughed. ‘Yes.’

‘So she made it through school with that name?’

‘We went to quite a posh school. Unusual names were par for the course.’

Pete nodded.

Juliet continued, ‘Actually, it’s been useful with her chosen career.’

‘Easy to remember.’

‘Hard to forget a Hero!’ Juliet laughed.

‘So why Australia, apart from the fact it was somewhere sunny? Or was that our sole attraction?’

‘My father was Australian. Hero and I both have dual citizenship. We were born here but left young to be educated in England whilst my parents had various postings all over the world. I’ve not been back so I thought it was about time I spent some time out here myself.’

Pete sat up. Juliet followed and touched his arm.

‘Pete? Are you all right?’

‘Would you consider spending some more time out here?’

‘I don’t really know. I’d planned on staying about a year and then seeing—’

‘I mean out here.’ Pete waved an arm to take in the Websters’ land. ‘I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, being a bit remote like this but …’

Juliet shifted position on the rug. ‘What exactly are you saying?’

‘Juliet, will you marry me?’ He paused, and then made to push away. ‘What was I thinking? I should have done all this properly. You’re not just some—’

‘Yes!’

‘What?’

‘Yes!’ Juliet laughed, catching his hand, and holding it up to her face. ‘I will marry you.’

Pete felt his legs give way and flopped back onto the rug from the kneeling position he’d been in. He landed on his backside, and Juliet grinned, moving across the rug and plopping herself down on his lap.

‘You seem surprised.’

‘I am a bit.’

‘At me saying yes, or the fact that you asked me?’

‘Both. I think.’

Her face clouded a little. ‘Do you want to take it back?’

‘No!’ he said, reaching for her, and pulling her close. ‘God, no!’

‘Then what’s the problem?’

‘I just – you deserve a better proposal than in the middle of a paddock on a lumpy old rug.’

Juliet smiled and raised her eyebrows. ‘Actually, I think it’s pretty much perfect.’

Pete recognised the smile and pulled her closer still.

‘Is that so?’

‘Very much so.’

Pete dipped his head, brushing the warm, soft lips of his fiancée as her fingers began working quickly at the buttons on his shirt.

***

‘Here we are,’ Pete announced as they pulled into the long driveway. A sign told them that they had reached ‘Hill Station’.

Hero peered through the dusty windows of the vehicle and looked around. ‘Where’s the hill?’

‘Sorry?’

‘The sign said “Hill Station”, but there’s no … hill.’ She tailed off, suddenly feeling stupid for voicing the question.

Pete smiled at her in the mirror. ‘You’d be amazed at how many people don’t even notice that.’

‘Really?’ Hero asked.

Pete’s eyes flicked back up to the mirror and in that second, he saw everything he needed to. Under that apparently confident exterior was the girl his fiancée adored. For a split second, he saw through the mask, heard the hint of real pleasure in her voice at his compliment. Pete glanced back again but the childlike glint of delight had gone.

‘The name’s kind of a joke. My parents are Jack and Gillian. When they took over the station, it didn’t have a great reputation so they wanted to change the name, do away with the stigma. One night in the pub, some bright spark said something about Jack and Jill going up the hill, and it kind of stuck.’

Hero was peering out through the dusty glass of the window as the evening sun lowered itself behind the horizon, making way for dusk to wind its way over the land.

‘Jack and Gill went up the hill,’ she said softly, smiling.

Juliet cast a glance at her sister and then at Pete. He met her eyes and smiled, with an almost imperceptible nod. She smiled back and released the breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding. The two people she adored most in this world were right here and she hadn’t realised how anxious she had been for their meeting to go well until that moment. But her fiancé’s gesture told her all she needed to know.

Nick Webster watched the visitor exit the 4x4, her movements fluid. She stood for a moment and looked about her as his brother moved to the rear of the vehicle to deal with the luggage. Nick’s grooming of the mare’s coat slowed as he studied their guest. She was certainly taller than her sister and undeniably beautiful. Pete had mentioned something about her being some hotshot in the modelling world. Nick had let the comment roll off. Fame didn’t impress Nick. People impressed him – what they did, not who they were. The brush came to a stop and Nick felt a nudge on his shoulder from the mare.

‘Yeah, yeah. All right,’ he soothed, taking up the motion again, his eyes never leaving the new arrival.

Juliet was showing Hero the land, pointing in various directions. Nick watched the weak remnants of the evening sun catch subtle highlights in the sleek, swinging sheet of hair. They were looking towards the west now, gazing at the low fire of the setting sun. Long, elegant fingers reached up and dropped sunglasses down in front of her eyes, freeing the hair they had secured. As he watched, she reached into the bag swinging off her lower arm and pulled out a mobile phone. Nick’s mouth twitched in a smile.

‘Good luck with getting a signal on that,’ he said under his breath.

Chapter 3

The two women walked towards the house. Juliet’s words carried gently on the same breeze that ruffled Nick’s shirt and hair and he smiled at the excitement in her voice. From the corner of his eye, he saw his parents emerge from the coolness of the house and step out on the verandah to meet their new guest. His mother hurried towards the two, followed at a more leisurely pace by his father. Pete had now re-joined them after retrieving the luggage from the car. Nick watched as Juliet’s sister pushed her sunglasses back up onto her head and held out her hand. His mother took it, and then swept her into a huge hug. The visitor had her back to Nick, so her reaction to his mother’s normal, effusive display of emotion couldn’t be seen by him but he saw Juliet subtly take her sister’s hand and squeeze it.

Jack was now introduced. He was a man not given to overt shows of emotion, but he shook the young woman’s hand and smiled as she said something. Nick blinked in surprise, watching as his father placed his other hand on top of their linked ones for a moment and, smiling, spoke some more to the new arrival. For Jack, that action was the equivalent of a massive hug.

‘Guess she has a way of making people think she’s something pretty special, eh girl?’

The mare bumped Nick’s shoulder and rubbed her nose up and down, causing him to stagger a little.

‘Oi. I’m not your scratching post,’ he laughed, moving away.

‘Well, that’s all of us, except Joe and Nick. Joe’s still out with his dad at the moment but Nick should be around …’ Gill’s words drifted off as she scanned the surroundings for her youngest son.

‘There he is.’ Gill spotted him. ‘Nick!’ She hollered across the yard.

Nick poked his head around the mare’s neck and saw his mum waving him in energetically. He raised a hand in acknowledgement and gave the mare a final check before leading her back towards the stable block.

Gill was just pouring out the tea as he entered the kitchen. The others were all seated at the worn pine table that made up the heart of the kitchen. Nick walked straight to the sink and began washing his hands.

‘Tea, love?’

‘Please.’

Gill topped off the final mug as she announced Nick’s arrival. ‘And this is Nick, our youngest.’

Nick turned around to find himself looking into vibrant green cat-like eyes. They were the same as Juliet’s but different. Under the blonde bobbing curls, Juliet’s sparkled with mischief, whilst her sister’s, framed by the sheet of dark glossy hair, had an intensity that made him catch his breath.

‘Nick, this is Hero, Juliet’s sister.’

‘Pleased to meet you.’ Her voice was soft, and the accent crisp.

Nick shook her hand and smiled. ‘G’day.’

Hero held his gaze for a moment. There was a flicker of a smile before she dropped her eyes. Nick cast a private glance at Pete whose brief nod in return told him everything was good.

Nick wished he could be as sure as his brother. Something about Hero Scott already bothered him, although she’d only been there five minutes. The last thing his brother, or any of them, needed right now was some diva model swanning around and expecting to be waited on hand and foot. Typical that the first thing she did was check her phone for service, he thought, wondering just how many selfies she had taken in the car.

Nick stole another glance. This woman was certainly different from her sister, with none of the ease and openness that drew people to Juliet. He already thought of Juliet as a sister. But Hero? That act of cool aloofness she had going on already had him rubbed up the wrong way. He’d seen that moment of hesitation before she took his proffered hand as his mum introduced them. He guessed it was pretty unlikely she’d had many dealings with men who worked the land to make their income. More likely she surrounded herself with alphabet celebrities and wealthy hedgefunders, with the occasional titled aristocrat or two, just to mix it up a bit.

After seeing that everyone had a drink and assuring them all that dinner wouldn’t be too long, Gill soon began talking weddings again with the girls. Nick took a seat next to his dad, and kept his gaze purposely diverted from the supermodel.

***

Dawn was breaking as Hero sat in one of the rocking chairs on the large wraparound porch of the house. She’d slept well, surprisingly for her. Not being a great sleeper, she had expected to toss and turn as she usually did, but after a soothing shower and in the homely comfort of the Websters’ guestroom, she could barely remember her head touching the pillow last night. But thanks to jetlag, her body was totally out of sync so after half an hour of lying awake early this morning, thoughts racing, she’d got up, done her teeth and make-up and then pulled on an easy-to-wear maxi dress she’d been given by one of the designers – which one exactly escaped her memory – before walking quietly down the stairs and heading outside. The air was still cool at this time, and it felt fresh and clean. Hero tried to remember the last time she had smelled air like this, and failed. Streaks of orange, purple, and blue mixed in the sky as the sun tentatively poked its head above the horizon. She sat and watched, for once not thinking about the next item on her schedule. Here, she had no schedule. She repeated that thought and smiled. The patter of a dog’s toenails caused her to look up and her smile became wider as the collie, Biscuit, scooted up to her and laid his head in her lap.

‘Good morning to you too!’ she said, her voice even softer than it usually was in deference to the still sleeping household. The collie wriggled, his tail beating faster and faster at the attention.

‘Biscuit, stop bothering the guests.’

‘Oh, he’s really n…’ Hero looked up as she spoke, her hand still stroking the collie’s head as he gazed up at her with adoring, bright blue eyes. She faltered as she realised the request had come from Nick Webster. Something about this man unsettled her and had done since the moment they’d met. The smile he’d given her as they were introduced yesterday was the last she’d seen from him, at least the last in her direction anyway. Then, as now, he had a detachment about him.

Hero cleared her throat. ‘He’s not bothering me at all.’ She tried to smile but suddenly struggled with something she could usually do on cue for camera, feeling self-conscious and awkward. Nick said nothing.

‘I…’ Nervously, she cleared her throat again. ‘I always think it would be nice to have a pet. But I know it wouldn’t be fair to an animal with the amount of travelling I do.’

‘He’s not a pet. He’s a working dog.’

‘Oh. Oh yes, well, of course. I didn’t mean …’ Hero trailed off, suddenly unsure what she meant.

The dog turned and sat down, his body pushed as close to Hero as he could get it, relishing the attention. From the corner of her eye, she saw Nick give a shake of his head.

‘I guess he heard you were a celebrity too. As you can imagine, we don’t tend to get a lot of those around here.’

‘I’m not a celebrity,’ Hero replied.

Nick tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. ‘Sure you’re not. I’m making coffee. Do you want one? Biscuit, come here.’

The dog padded over quickly to his master.

‘I don’t want to put you out.’

Nick shrugged. ‘I’m making coffee anyway. One more is no big deal.’ He turned and walked off down the porch, disappearing into the kitchen.

Hero took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she’d been taught in her Pilates class. It was supposed to help you relax, but right now it wasn’t really helping anything. Nick Webster’s presence seemed far stronger than any relaxation techniques she’d learned. And she had no idea why. Yes, he was tall, and good-looking and that dark shadow of stubble on his jaw this morning did nothing to diminish that fact. In truth, it only enhanced it. But so what? It wasn’t like Hero didn’t mix with good-looking people very often. Her world was practically made up of beautiful people, and none of them had ever caused the tight, fluttery feeling in her stomach before. And certainly, none of them had made her stumble over her words like a teenager before. She took another breath and began to feel her pulse rate slow. His comment about celebrity floated in her head, as did the slight disdain she detected in his voice as he’d said it.

Pushing herself up off the chair, she turned and followed the way he’d gone. As she got to the door, she hesitated. Inside she saw Nick crouched down, grinning as he ruffled the dog’s fur up and down and Biscuit thumped his tail in delight.

Not a pet, huh?

Hero gently rattled the door handle a little more than she needed to, alerting Nick to her presence. He stood quickly, picking up the dog’s empty breakfast bowl as he did, transferring it to the dishwasher.

‘Coffee’s there.’ He pointed to one of the two sunny yellow mugs now sat on the worktop. ‘I didn’t know if you took sugar or not, but it’s there on the side if you do.’

‘No. Thank you.’

‘Guessed not, but thought I’d ask anyway.’

‘Do I look like a no-sugar coffee drinker then?’ she asked a moment later, feeling the need to fill the silence.

Nick picked up the other mug and took a sip of the steaming dark liquid before answering.

‘I imagine you don’t consume any calories you don’t have to.’ His eyes met hers.

‘Well, I … there is a certain amount of being aware of that,’ she replied.

He raised his eyebrows briefly in reply as he looked away.

‘What does that mean?’ Hero asked, already knowing she was going to regret asking.

‘I didn’t say anything,’ Nick replied, puzzled.

‘Well, no. Not out loud but it’s very clear you’re thinking something.’

‘I don’t know what it’s like in your world, but out here, men are allowed to have their own thoughts.’

‘That’s the same anywhere.’

He did the expression again.

‘Clearly it can’t be a very strong opinion if you don’t want to share it. I get the impression you’re not the type to keep your views to yourself.’ Hero’s voice was low but there was no doubting the annoyance behind it. What was it with this man? Why was she allowing him to get under her skin like no one else she’d ever met?

He gave a brief smile, but Hero doubted its sincerity. ‘Well, then I guess that shows just how much you know me.’ He drained the last of his coffee and transferred that, too, to the dishwasher. His apparent domestication felt at odds with his character – as far as Hero had been able to actually make that out. ‘Come on, Biscuit. Time to work.’

Hero’s hands were still wrapped around the mug. She watched Nick take a well-worn cowboy-style hat from a coat rack holding several of them and squash it on to his head. As he got to the door he stopped and turned, watching her for a moment. A flash of something crossed his face but as Hero was still struggling to make out his character, she had no clue as to what it might be.

He nodded at her and there was the faintest hint of a smile … maybe?

‘Enjoy your coffee.’

She nodded back. ‘Thank you.’

With that he and the dog were out the door and she was left alone. Normally this wouldn’t bother her, but today it was different. It was as though Nick Webster had taken some of the air out of the room when he left. Hero shook her head, forcing the thought to fall away. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone. The message she’d typed quickly to Anya to let her know she had arrived still sat in her outbox. She’d ask Juliet later if she could connect her phone to the Wi-Fi just so that her friend wouldn’t worry. After that, she was more than happy not to get messages. Anya was already half in love with the chef she’d met at the restaurant opening and wasn’t coming up for air all that much right now. Rupert was doing some deep-sea diving off the coast of somewhere she’d never heard of and, from what he’d told her, was even further from civilisation than this place. With the only other person she ever really wanted to hear from being Juliet, being unavailable actually sounded quite wonderful. No one else needed to know that she had Wi-Fi and if anyone stressed at her when she returned that they hadn’t been able to get hold of her, she had the perfect excuse.

Hero rinsed her own mug and followed Nick’s example of putting it in the dishwasher, then wandered slowly back out to take up her position on the porch once more. It was a shame the dog had gone with Nick. Just in those couple of minutes of stroking him, she’d felt her body relax. That was until Nick Webster had appeared.

The sound of hooves caught her attention and she looked to the right to see that very man astride a horse the colour of warm caramel. Jules had mentioned the stables yesterday when they’d got there. She could have asked Nick to show her where they were, she supposed, but somehow she got the feeling that he considered her presence here disruptive enough. From Juliet’s description of him, Hero had thought she would be meeting a man of the same ilk as her soon-to-be brother-in-law. But where Pete was warm, Nick Webster was wary. From what he’d said this morning, it sounded like he had already made up his mind about her own character. The thought frustrated her more than it should. She was, after all, used to people all over the world judging her. Why should it be any different here? She scuffed the warm wood of the porch with her shoe. The answer was that it shouldn’t be any different. But it was.

***

The days passed and Hero spent most of the time with her sister, knowing that she would see her far less than she was used to once she left the station for her flight back to London. It had taken just a short Tube ride in the city to visit her sister back in London. Now, any visit would have to be far more planned and calculated. Planning things wasn’t an issue – Hero always had her schedule well organised. Having everything neatly arranged helped her feel in control. Besides, spontaneity wasn’t really her thing. She left that to Juliet, who did it so much better. And so much more dramatically, the upcoming wedding being a prime example. Hero had worried initially but having been here for almost a fortnight now, her fears had been well and truly allayed.

Pete Webster was a good man, and he was head over heels for her sister. Although she would miss her terribly, she was glad that it was because of someone like Pete.

‘You OK?’ Juliet asked as she stood at the stove, preparing the evening meal. Gill and Jack had gone into the city to sign some documents in connection with the apartment they had just bought there, and the two brothers were still out working.

‘Mm-hmm,’ Hero replied, concentrating on peeling the vegetables in front of her.

‘You don’t have to do that, you know.’

‘I know.’

Juliet pulled out the chair opposite her sister and sat down. ‘You are happy for me, aren’t you?’

Hero quickly looked up, distress showing on her face. ‘Of course I am!’ Juliet heard the hurt in her voice. ‘Why would you ever think that I wasn’t?’

‘It’s not that. It’s just … you know. You can be quite reserved and sometimes it’s not always easy to know what you’re thinking, even for me who probably knows you better than anyone. I couldn’t be happy here, knowing that I’d made you unhappy. We would have to work something out so that …’ Juliet stopped as Hero put down the peeler and laid her elegant, wedding-ready manicured hands over her sister’s.

‘Jules. I am happy for you, I promise. I’m thrilled, honestly. You’ve found a wonderful man who clearly worships the ground you walk on, and I couldn’t lose you to anyone less than him.’

Juliet blinked tears and Hero smiled. ‘You’re not losing me,’ Juliet said, accepting the piece of kitchen towel her sister handed her and wiping her eyes.

‘I know. But you know what I mean.’

‘I do. But you’ll always be welcome here, you know that. Gill and Jack are going to be moving to their apartment in the city as soon as we’re back from honeymoon, now that they’ve officially retired, and there will always be a room for you here. I love Pete to the moon and back, but I can’t help wishing I could somehow still be close to you.’

‘We have apps and email and Skype, Jules. You’ll probably get sick of me calling.’

Juliet pulled a hand out and laid it over the top of her sister’s. ‘Hardly. But I know the time difference will make things a bit more tricky.’

Hero gave a mirthless laugh. ‘Since when did my schedule ever stick to the 9 to 5 anyway. And you know what a bad sleeper I am. It’ll be nice to have someone to talk to next time I’m padding around at home at three in the morning.’

Juliet smiled but there was concern in her eyes. ‘How have you been sleeping here?’

Hero raised her perfect brows. ‘Surprisingly well, actually. Must be the air.’

‘Or maybe you’re more relaxed here, without so many people desperate for your attention.’

‘Desperate is a bit of an overstatement,’ she replied, glancing away.

‘I’m not sure it is.’

Hero poked at the vegetables. ‘How many more of these do you want?’ And with that, the subject was changed. Juliet frowned at the escape her sister had made but the last thing she wanted to do was start a fight with her. It already broke her heart to know she wouldn’t be physically close to her anymore, and she didn’t want her worries to come across as criticism. Her sister had an incredible work ethic, but sometimes Juliet thought it too much. She was always travelling, whether that was across the city or across the world. She didn’t eat anywhere near as much as she should, and when she did, it was often at strange times, or on the run. Hero wasn’t stupid. Jules knew her sister acknowledged the fact that her diet wasn’t the best it could be, but it wasn’t something that was easy to change. It was one of the reasons she’d brought up the subject of cutting back on the modelling jobs a few days ago. Tactfully, she’d wrapped it in the wish for Hero to be available to visit more often. Her sister had nodded and said she would definitely plan to get over when she could, but dismissed the idea of working less.