Patchwork Family in the Outback

* * *

Harrison was starting to realize he hadn’t planned this at all. They had no napkins, no plates and an old pair of tongs was his only usable utensil. His one saving grace was that the ketchup was in a squeeze bottle.

He looked up to see his children running toward him. It was still light, but that was fading, the day finally cooling off. He usually loved this time, when he came in for the day and settled down with his kids. And he was thinking that tonight they should have just stuck to their routine.

Poppy appeared then, walking behind his children.

“They couldn’t wait,” she called out. “Their stomachs were rumbling like they’d never been fed!”

He grinned, then tried to stop himself. What was it about this woman? She had him smiling away as if he was the happiest guy in the world, her grin so infectious he couldn’t seem not to return it.

“Dad, is it ready yet?” Alex was looking up at him as if he were beyond starving.

“We have a few technical issues, but so long as you’re okay with no plates and wiping your fingers on the grass—” he nodded toward the overgrown lawn “—then we’ll be fine.”

Poppy came closer and took out the loaf of bread, passing a piece to each child. “Sounds fine to me,” she said. “Sauce first or on the sausage?”

“Both,” Katie replied.

“Well, okay then. Sauce overload it is.”

Harrison tried not to look at her, but it was impossible. Even his children were acting as if they’d known her their entire lives.

He knew he should be happy. A teacher who could make his children light up like that should be commended. But there was something about her that worried him.

Because there was no going back from this. If she left, then...it wasn’t even worth thinking about.

All he could do was get to know her and make sure he did everything within his power to convince her to stay.

He cleared his throat and passed her the first sausage, which she covered with lashings of ketchup.

If only he could stop staring at the way her mouth had a permanent uptilt, the way her eyes lit up every time she spoke or listened to his children or the way her ponytail fell over her shoulder and brushed so close to her breasts that he was struggling to avert his eyes. Because none of those things were going to help him.

Just because he hadn’t been around a beautiful woman for longer than he could remember didn’t give him any excuse to look at her that way. Besides, he was sworn off women...for life.

“So what do I need to know about Bellaroo?”

Harrison blinked and looked at Poppy, her head tipped slightly to the side as she looked up at him.

“What do you want to know?”

* * *

Poppy wrapped Alex’s sausage in bread before doing her own and joining them on the grass. It was parched and yellowed and in definite need of some TLC, but she didn’t mind sitting on it. Besides, it was either that or the concrete, so she didn’t really have a choice.

“So what’s happened to this place? I mean, is it just that too many families moved away from here, or is there something else going on that I don’t know about?” she asked Harrison.

He was chewing, and she watched the way his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, the strong, chiseled angle of his jaw as he swallowed.

She needed to stop staring. For a girl who’d moved here to get away from men, she sure wasn’t behaving like it.

“Are you asking me if the town is haunted? Or if some gruesome crime happened here and made all the residents flee?”

Harrison’s tone was serious, but there was a playful glint to his eyes that made her glare at him mockingly.

“Well, I can tell you right now that I searched the place online for hours but couldn’t come up with anything juicy,” she teased in return. “So if it’s been hidden that well, I guess I can’t expect you to spill your guts straight off the bat.”

Now it was Harrison laughing, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him. His face changed when he was happy—became less brooding and more open. He was handsome, she couldn’t deny, but when he grinned he was...pretty darn gorgeous. Even if she did hate to admit that about a man right now.

“Honest truth?”

Poppy nodded, following his gaze and watching his children as they whispered to each other, leaning over and looking at something in the long grass.

Harrison drew his knees up higher and fixed his gaze in the distance. “It’s hard to bring fresh blood into rural towns these days, and most of the young people that leave here don’t come back. Same with all small towns.” He glanced at her, plucking at a blade of grass. “I’ve stayed because I don’t want to walk away from the land that’s been in my family for generations. It means something to know the history of a place, to walk the same path as your father and your grandfather before him. This town means a lot to me, and it means a lot to every other family living here, too.”

Poppy nodded. “Everyone I’ve met so far seems so passionate about Bellaroo,” she told him earnestly. “And I really do believe that if you fight hard enough, then this town will still be here by the time you’re a grandfather.”

He shrugged. “I wish I was as positive as you are, but honestly?” Harrison sighed. “I never should have spoken to you the way I did earlier, because if you don’t stick around, then there’s no chance we’ll be able to keep our school open. And that’ll mean the end of our town, period.” He blew out a big breath. “Being sole-charge teacher to a bunch of five-to eleven-year-olds isn’t for the fainthearted, but if you do stay? There won’t be a person in Bellaroo who won’t love you.”

Now it was Poppy sighing. Because she didn’t need all this pressure, the feeling that everything was weighing on her shoulders.

Before she’d moved here, she’d taken responsibility for everything, had tried to fix things that were beyond being repaired. And now here she was all over again, in a make-or-break situation, when all she wanted to do was settle in to a gentler pace of life and try to figure out what her own future held.

“Sorry, I’ve probably said way too much.”

Poppy smiled at Harrison’s apology. “It’s okay. I appreciate you being honest with me.”

The kids ran over and interrupted. “Can we go back and finish the room?”

“Of course.” Poppy stood up and offered Harrison a hand, clasping his palm within her fingers. She hardly had to take any of his weight, because he was more than capable of pushing up to his feet without assistance. But the touch of his skin against hers, the brightness of his gaze when he locked eyes with her, made her feel weak, started shivers shaking down her spine.

“How about I join you in the classroom after I’ve tidied up here?”

Poppy retrieved her hand and looked away, not liking how he was watching her or how she was feeling. “Sure thing. Come on, kids.”

She placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder and walked with them the short distance to her new classroom.

Their dad was gruff and charming at the same time, and it wasn’t something she wanted to be thinking about. Not at all.

She was here to teach and to find herself. To forget her past as best she could and create a new life for herself. Alone.

Which meant not thinking about the handsome rancher about to join her in her classroom.

* * *

“Wow.”

Poppy looked down, paper stars between her teeth as she stood on a chair and stuck the last of them to the wall. There was already a row strung from the ceiling, but she was determined to cover some old stains on the wall to complete the effect she was trying to create.

“Your children are like little worker bees,” she mumbled, trying to talk without losing one of the stars.

“Little worker bees who’ve started to fade,” he replied.

Poppy glanced back in his direction and saw that he’d scooped Alex up into his arms. The young boy wasn’t even pretending he was too big to be cuddled, and had his head happily pressed to his father’s chest as he watched her.

“It’s getting pretty late. Why don’t you head home? I’ll be fine here.” She wobbled on the chair, but righted herself before it tipped.

“How about we give you a lift home?”

Poppy shook her head. “It’s only a short walk. I’ll be fine, honestly.”

Harrison didn’t look convinced. “What else do you need to do here?”

Hmm. “I want the kids to walk in tomorrow and not be able to stop smiling,” she told him. “So I need to put the glue glitter over the hearts in the middle, and the same with the border over there—” she pointed “—because that’s where I’m going to write all their names in the morning when they arrive, in their favorite colors.”

She heard Harrison sigh. Which made it even crazier when, from the corner of her eye, she saw him put his son down on his feet and pick up a gold glitter pen.

“Is this what you use for the fancy border thing?” he asked.

Poppy took the remaining paper stars from between her teeth and bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from smiling. She nodded, watching as Harrison walked to the wall and started to help.

“Like this? Kind of big, so it’s obvious?”

“Yep, just like that,” she said, still trying to suppress laughter.

From what she’d seen of him so far, she had a feeling he’d just storm out and leave her if she made fun of him for using the glitter, and she didn’t mind the help. Not at all. Even if a masculine rancher wouldn’t have been her first choice in the artistic department.

She stepped down and pushed her chair back behind her desk before finding the silver glitter and covering some shapes at the other end of the wall from Harrison.

“Daddy, we didn’t eat the cake,” called out a sleepy-sounding Katie.

Poppy had forgotten all about the cake. She moved back to look at the wall, pleased with the progress they’d made. The children could help her decorate it more in the morning, but for now it looked good.

“How about we finish up and reward ourselves with a piece? What do you say?” she asked.

Harrison passed her the pen as his kids nodded. “Only problem is we don’t have a knife.”

She gave him a wink. “But I have a pocketknife. That’ll do, right?”

He stared at her, long and hard. “Yeah, that’ll do.”

Poppy pulled it out and passed it to him, careful not to let their skin connect this time. “Well, let’s each have a big piece, huh? I think we all deserve it.”

And hopefully, it would distract her, too. Because she might be done with men, but she sure wasn’t done with chocolate.

CHAPTER THREE

“THANKS FOR THE ride.” Poppy swung her door shut and waved to the children in the back. She didn’t expect to hear another one open and close.

“I’ll walk you to the door.”

What? She hadn’t ever had a man walk her to the door just to be chivalrous.

“Thanks, but I’m fine. It’s not like we’re in the city and I’m at risk of being mugged,” she joked.

The look on his face was anything but joking. “I’m not going to drive you home and not walk you to the door. It wasn’t how I was raised, and if I want my daughter to grow up expecting manners, and my son to have them, then I want to make sure I set a damn good example.”

“Well, when you put it like that...” She smiled at Harrison, shaking her head as she did so.

“I know I’m old-fashioned, but then so is this place. You’ll realize that pretty soon, Ms. Carter.”

“There’s nothing wrong with old-fashioned,” she said. And there wasn’t; she just wasn’t used to it. “Except, of course, when it comes to plumbing.”

His eyebrows pulled together as he frowned. “You having problems with this place?”

She waved her hand toward the door as they reached it. “The shower produces just a pathetic drizzle of water, and the hot doesn’t last for long. But for the price I’m paying I wasn’t exactly expecting a palace.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he told her.

“Honestly, I shouldn’t have said anything. Everything’s fine.”

Harrison stood a few steps away, cowboy hat firmly planted on his head, feet spread apart and a stern look on his face. “I’ll take a look myself, check it out. Maybe later in the week.”

“If you’re certain?” She didn’t want him going out of his way, but if he could work his magic on the shower she’d be more than grateful.

“I’m certain,” he replied. “You take good care of my kids at school and I’ll make sure your house doesn’t fall down around you. Deal?”

“Deal.” This guy was really something. “You better get those children home. Thanks for all your help tonight. I’m glad you came back.”

“So we could start off on the right foot second time around?” he asked, one side of his mouth tilting into a smile.

“Yeah, something like that. And thanks for the lift.”

Harrison tipped his hat and walked backward, waiting until she’d gone inside before he turned away. Poppy leaned on the doorjamb and watched him get into the car and drive slowly off, trying hard not to think about how nice he was.

Considering she’d wanted to make a voodoo doll of him and stab it after his comments earlier in the afternoon, she’d actually enjoyed his company. Or maybe it was just that his children were really sweet.

She shut and locked the door.

Who was she kidding? The guy was handsome and charming, or at least he had been this evening, and she was terrified of how quickly she’d gone from hating the entire male population to thinking how sexy the rancher dad was.

And she couldn’t help but wonder why the children had never mentioned their mom and why he’d never spoken about the wife that was surely waiting at home for them.

Poppy walked down the hall and opened the fridge, reaching in for the milk and pouring some into a pot to heat. There was no microwave, so it was old-fashioned hot chocolate.

A scratching made her stop. Another noise made a shiver lick her spine.

Poppy reached for another pot and crept slowly toward the back door. She was sure she’d locked it, but... She jumped. Another scratching sound.

She slowly pulled the blind back and looked outside, flicking the light on with her other hand. If someone was out there, who was she going to call for help?

Meow.

It was a cat. Poppy put the pot down and unlocked the door, standing back and peering out into the pool of light in the backyard.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, knowing it was stupid to ask the cat a question but not caring.

She left the door open and walked back for the milk, taking a saucer and tipping some in. Poppy placed the dish inside the back door and waited. It didn’t take long for the black cat to sniff the air and decide it was worth coming in, placing one white paw on the timber floor, looking around and then walking to the saucer.

Poppy shut the door and relocked it. The cat was skinny, and she wasn’t going to turn him out if he had nowhere to go.

“Want to sleep on my bed?”

The cat looked up at her as he lapped the milk and she went back to stirring her own, adding some chocolate to melt in the pot with it.

“I think we’ll get on just fine, you and I,” she said. “Unless you go shack up with someone better looking or younger than me down the road. Then I’ll know my life’s actually over. Okay?”

The cat stayed silent.

Black cats were supposed to be bad luck. Heaven help her if there was any more of that coming her way. Because she’d had enough bad luck lately to last her a lifetime and then some.

“Come on, kitty,” she said, pouring her hot chocolate into a large mug. “Let’s go to bed.”

* * *

Harrison pulled onto the dirt road that led to Black Station and glanced in the rearview mirror. Katie and Alex were both asleep in the back, oblivious to everything going on around them, and he didn’t mind one bit. All he wanted was for them to be happy, because if they were happy, he was happy.

And they had had a pretty nice evening.

He pushed all thoughts of their new teacher from his mind, but struggled to keep her out of it. She’d been kind, sweet, polite—not to mention the fact that she was the prettiest woman he’d seen in years—but there was still something about her niggling away at him. Something that meant he didn’t believe she’d be able to stay. Or maybe it was just that he didn’t believe anyone could stick it out here unless they’d been born and bred in a rural town.

His wife sure hadn’t. And part of him believed that if a mother couldn’t even stay to care for her own children, then Poppy Carter wouldn’t stay for other people’s children. Maybe he’d expected someone older, someone less attractive. Not a woman in her late twenties with long, straight hair falling down her back and bright blue eyes that seemed to smile every time she looked at his children. Not a beautiful, modern woman who looked as if she should be lunching with friends or shopping in her spare time.

But then, maybe he was being unfair. Just because she liked to look pretty and wear nice clothes didn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to make a life here for herself. For all he knew she could have her own personal demons that had sent her scurrying away from her former life.

Harrison pulled up outside the house and went to open the door before going back to the truck to carry his children one at a time into their bedrooms. They might be five and seven years old now, but they were still his babies. He’d raised them himself and he was determined to fight to keep their school open. Because he wouldn’t ever let them feel as if they’d been abandoned, and that meant boarding school wasn’t an option he was willing to consider, not until they were ready for high school.

Their mom had walked out on them, and he didn’t ever want them to think he’d do the same. They were his children, his flesh and blood, and he would do anything in his power to protect them. No matter what.

But if he could fix up the teacher’s house and make life a little easier for her here in Bellaroo Creek, then he would do it. Because instead of pushing her away, he was going to do everything within his power to convince her to stay.

He’d like to think that his reasons were based purely on keeping his children happy. He had a feeling that part of him, some deep, dark part that was hidden away under lock and key, liked the look of Poppy. A lot. Even if he wouldn’t ever be ready to admit it.

Old Mrs. Jones had been right. Poppy arriving in their town was like a beaming ray of sunshine descending upon the place, and they were long overdue for someone like her to be their lucky charm. It wasn’t just his children at stake here, it was the future of their entire town.

Poppy Carter was going to keep Bellaroo Creek alive, or she was going to be the final straw that closed the area for good. He just had to believe that she was going to be their falling star—the once-in-a-lifetime teacher that they had only ever dreamed of.

Harrison shook his head and flicked the television on, falling onto the sofa. Maybe he’d been reading too many fairy tales to Katie. Because he was actually starting to believe that maybe Poppy was that person, after all.

* * *

Poppy’s stomach had a permanent flutter in it. She’d barely been able to eat any breakfast, she was so nervous, and now she was sitting in her chair, thrumming her fingers across the timber surface of her desk.

She sat and stared at the wall they’d decorated the night before, smiling as she thought of big, gruff Harrison using her fairy glitter so they could finish up and head home. She’d met lots of great dads in her time as a teacher, but even she hadn’t expected him to volunteer with glitter.

The slam of a car door made her snap to attention. It was happening. Her first day as sole teacher of Bellaroo Creek School had officially begun.

Poppy stood and crossed the room, pinning the door back to welcome the first of her pupils. A smiling mom was headed her way, three children running ahead of her, straight toward Poppy.

“Slow down!”

She grinned as their mom yelled at them. They skidded to a halt in front of her just before they reached the door.

“Hi, kids. I’m Ms. Carter, your new teacher.”

The three boys looked up at her, not saying a word, but she could tell straight away from their cheeky expressions that they were going to be a handful.

“Hi.”

Poppy held out her hand. “You must be pleased school’s starting,” she said, touching the mother’s shoulder before stepping back. “I know how exhausting three boys can be.”

“I just hope they don’t send you running for the hills. Twenty kids each day would drive me crazy.”

Poppy shook her head. “I do this because I love it, so don’t worry about a few rowdy children scaring me away.” She looked across the yard and saw a familiar truck pulling in close to the curb. “Besides, I’m told the lovely Mrs. Leigh volunteers one day a week as teacher aide.” Poppy waved a hand. “Here are the Black children, nice and early.”

The other woman followed her gaze. “You’ve met the Black family already?”

Poppy couldn’t look away if she tried. She could see Harrison turn in the driver’s seat, talking to his children, before he pushed open his door and went around to help them out.

“I haven’t met Mrs. Black yet, but the children seem lovely.” She couldn’t drag her gaze from Harrison as he strode toward them, schoolbags slung over his shoulder, eyes locked on hers. Katie skipped along ahead of him, little Alex at his side.

“Honey, there is no Mrs. Black,” the other woman teased. “Harrison is dad of the year in Bellaroo. His wife left him with the kids when Alex was a baby, so he’s kind of a legend around here. We call him Mr. Sexy and Single.”

Poppy gulped. He was single?

She looked away and concentrated her energies on the mom she was talking to. “I never caught your name?”

“Pat. And my boys are Scott, John and Sam.” She smiled and took a few steps backward. “It was great meeting you. I’ll see you this afternoon at pickup.”

Poppy waved goodbye and turned to face the next parent...who just happened to be Harrison. Katie gave her a wave and ran straight through the door, but Alex stayed close to his dad.

“Morning,” Poppy said brightly. “How are you, Alex?”

He looked a little shy, but managed a smile.

“He had only one term in school last year, so it’s all a bit daunting.”

Poppy knelt down, pleased to be closer to his son than the man towering over them. “Sweetheart,” she said, tucking her fingers gently under his chin to tilt it up. “I’ll look after you all day, so you don’t need to worry. You can even come and sit with me if you’re scared, okay?”

He nodded.

“Why don’t you run in and play with the other kids?” Poppy asked him.

Alex threw his arms around his dad’s leg before doing as she’d suggested.

“Thanks,” Harrison said, his voice gruff.

“No problem. It’s what I do.”

They stood awkwardly, and she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he’d raised both his children on his own. It wasn’t often she heard of a dad being in that position. No wonder he’d been in no rush to get home last night—it wasn’t as if he’d had a wife waiting for him.

Another vehicle pulled up and a few kids climbed out.

“I’d better get in there,” Poppy said, nodding toward the classroom.

Harrison touched a few fingers to the rim of his hat.

“And thanks again for last night. I really appreciated your help,” she added.

He walked a couple of steps away before turning around and looking straight into her eyes. “I’ll fix up that plumbing for you after school when I come to collect the kids.”

Poppy swallowed. Hard. Maybe it was because she knew he was available, that he wasn’t some other woman’s husband.

Because if he were, she’d never let herself think about him the way she was right now...not ever. She knew how it felt to be the other woman, so even thinking about married men inappropriately was forbidden as far as she was concerned.