Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
F reya spent the night tossing and turning. Her head churned with thoughts of deceit and betrayal. But the more she thought about it, the more she came to see Justin’s point of view.
As much as she didn't want another housing development taking over the precious farmland still had left in town, she could see that the responsibility of owning a farm was not something Justin wanted. And leasing it out certainly wouldn’t make the same amount of money as a sale.
Freya was nothing if not determined though, so she spent the cold, early hours of the morning staring up at the ceiling, formulating a plan.
If Justin was going to sell, she was going to make him see exactly what he would be giving up, and how it would affect the town she loved.
After the morning milking, she ran to her car, threw her things into the back, and drove as fast as she could over to Justin's farm. If he had already left, then there would be no chance for her plan to work.
She let out a loud sigh as she drove over the rise and saw his car parked in front of the house. She pulled up beside it and climbed out of her car.
Leaves and grass, still wet from the early morning fog, glistened in the sparse sunlight. A huge cobweb adorning a bush sparkled, as if made from silver thread, and a kookaburra burst into his signature laugh from a tree close by.
Finding the door open, she let herself in, calling out a hello when she didn't see him.
"Freya?" Justin appeared from the hallway door wearing only a towel haphazardly wrapped around his hips. His chest and abdomen gleamed with water, and his hair was still damp.
Heat rose through her body as she drank him in—his dark silky hair, the line of his jaw with a five o'clock shadow, and the natural curve of his sensual lips. Lips that had loved her only yesterday.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have barged in." She half turned, unsure what to do.
He moved towards her and touched her arm. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?"
She met his eyes. "I'm sorry about yesterday, I was so rude." She swallowed. "I get it now. Farming doesn't mean the same to you as it does to me, and that's okay."
His lips curled in a smile as he stepped closer. She became acutely aware of his closeness, his size, his smell, and most of all, his understanding.
"I was so scared. I thought I'd lost you." He reached out and stroked her hair.
She let her eyes close briefly at his touch. "I don't want you to go." Opening her eyes, she let herself get swallowed up in the depths of his eyes. "I'd like to show you why your farm is so important to the community, and to me. Then if you still want to sell, that's your decision."
His hand stilled, and his body tensed. "Then what? If I decide to sell, that's it for us?"
She put her hands on his bare chest. "No, it doesn't have to be. I mean, I'll respect whatever decision you make."
"I have to go back to Brisbane. I have work and an apartment." He raked a hand through his damp hair.
“Please, can you just stay for a week? That's all I ask."
He took her hands in his, meeting her eyes with a look that was so full of hope and determination, it took her breath away. "It's a good thing I own my own business. I'll need to check in with work, but I'll give you a week. At least some of that time needs to be spent working though."
Her voice brightened, and she knew she would have accommodated anything he asked. "We can find time to work. All we need are our laptops and Wi-Fi."
She ran her hands up and around his neck, revelling in the feeling. Then she kissed him. It was a soft, gentle kiss. It started slowly and built with heat and desire. She felt his hands move across her back and down her spine, until they were cupping her bottom. The towel between them dropped and his uncovered manhood pressed against her.
He pulled back and gave her a smouldering look that was so intense, she practically melted right there and then.
“Bloody hell.” His voice was thick with lust. “You should come with a warning.”
Freya felt a glow of pride.
After working up a sweat in the bedroom, Justin and Freya showered, dressed, and set up their laptops at the dining room table. Freya had had the foresight to pack hers before coming over. This was just another sign of how well she already knew him.
Justin watched her over the screen of his laptop. He loved looking at Freya, with her smooth, sun-kissed skin and thick blonde hair. He felt so lucky that she had chosen him to spend her time with. He didn't know what he had done to deserve it, but he was oh, so thankful.
She smiled, her eyes soft and lovely.
His heart flipped over. Shit . He needed to pull himself together. The sooner he finished his work, the sooner he could taste those sweet lips again.
For hours they banged away on their computers, every now and then sharing something of interest—a Facebook comment, or picture on Instagram. Finally, he leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms. The sun was shining, covering the pastures with its golden warmth.
"I think we deserve a break." Freya closed her laptop. "How about lunch and some sightseeing?"
He shot her a cheeky grin. "I'm all yours."
She pushed her chair back and came around to wrap her arms around him from behind. Her arms draped around his chest, her cheek against his. She smelt so good, felt so good, and with a single touch, she made him turn to mush.
It wasn’t fair that a woman could have this much pull on a man.
He pulled her onto his lap and kissed his way across her cheek to her ear where he nibbled at her lobe, before leaving it to kiss a trail down her neck. She felt too good in his arms, her curves moulding against him as she pressed closer and moaned against his mouth. That sound was his undoing.
When they finally left the house in search of food, Justin found himself seeing the world in a whole new light. The cows were grazing contentedly and chewing their cud, enjoying the full sun after the cool night. It was peaceful and quiet. A perfect country setting.
Freya drove them out of town. Instead of heading to the main street, like he was expecting, she turned down Mountain View Road. The street was lined with a mix of old and new houses, many architecturally designed, with neatly pruned formal gardens. The houses on the left were built on downward-sloping blocks, and behind them he saw their magnificent view of the mountains and hills below.
Freya slowed and flicked the indicator before turning, taking them past a sign welcoming them to the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. After parking the car, Freya took his hand, and they walked towards a very modern building which housed a café and other rooms.
"What is this place?" he asked, turning to take in the surrounding rainforest, playground, and wide open space where children kicked balls and cartwheeled on the soft grass.
"In the 1940s, three sisters gave this land to the council under the condition that the rainforest be preserved and never sold for residential or commercial purposes." She waved toward a sign directing them to a rainforest discovery centre. "This was redeveloped in the last few years. After we have a look, there's a beautiful trail we can walk."
He pulled her towards him with a gentle tug. "I thought we were getting lunch."
She pressed a kiss against his lips. "After our sightseeing. We have to work up an appetite."
"We already did." He ran his hands up and down her arms. "Twice."
"Trust me. You don't want to miss this." She took a step and waited for him to follow her.
They walked through the open doors of the Rainforest Discovery Centre, and Justin paused to take in the state-of-the- art interactive displays and exhibits, while Freya dropped coins into a donation box.
She showed him how cabinet drawers in the display opened, and peepholes revealed secrets of the bush. There was even an interactive movie which showed a rainforest setting in different weather conditions. As they sat watching a holograph of a wallaby grazing, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"Is this your idea of a movie and a meal?"
She smiled and kissed him. "Welcome to Maleny."
Freya held onto his hand as they strolled through the bushwalk. She pointed out birds she heard and saw, including whipbirds, parrots, and the one bright yellow and black regent bowerbird.
When they returned to the café, his stomach was grumbling, and he happily sank into a chair at an outside table with a stunning view of the Glasshouse Mountains.
“Since you’re playing tour guide, tell me about the mountains," he said, grandly waving his hand towards the hills that rose abruptly from the otherwise flat terrain.
Freya had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the town's history, locals, and nature. She smiled at him and cleared her throat. "The highest hill is Mount Beerwah, but that funny-looking one"—she pointed in the direction of a rocky hill with a long, vertical spire-shaped peak—"that’s Mount Tibrogargan. They’re not actually hills, but remnants of volcanic activity that happened millions of years ago.”
Her voice, combined with the view of these ancient rock mountains, lulled him into a strange, mystified state.
"Captain James Cook named them 'Glasshouse Mountains' in the 1700s because they reminded him of the glass furnaces in Yorkshire."
He forced his attention back to Freya, whose gaze seemed hazy, as though she too was caught up in their enchantment. She looked so lovely like that, so at one with her surroundings and the magical qualities they had. Or maybe it was Freya who was magical and projected it onto her surroundings. He was about to comment on it when a waiter came over to take their order.
Flustered, Justin grabbed the menu and quickly scoured it. There were plenty of gluten-free, paleo, vegan, and free-range options, but he settled on the good old cheeseburger with chips and an aioli dipping sauce.
"Are you sure you don't want to swap the aioli for tomato sauce?" Freya grinned at him, before ordering herself a caesar salad.
"No, I'll take a chance on the aioli." He reached for her hands and held them in his. She rubbed her thumb across his sensitive palm, and he felt his body relax.
"Tell me about your life in Brisbane. What's it like?"
He thought of his daily routine in the bustling city, crowds of people everywhere, the pollution and garbage. "It's a whole different world from this."
"I could never live somewhere I couldn't see the stars at night."
"But don't you want to go shopping, or to a nightclub sometimes?"
She grinned. “Of course, and I do. It's only a ninety-minute drive away; we're not in the middle of the outback, after all.”
“It kind of feels like it.”
“It’s great, isn't it? We're tucked away up here in our own little oasis. Sure, we have a thriving tourism industry, which"—she put her hand on her heart—"pays my bills, and I love it to pieces. But when the tourists go home and the weather cools down, it's just us locals left. We are the people who look after the land and nurture it for the next generation."
"Would you ever live anywhere else?"
She shrugged. "Maybe, but this will always be my home. My heart is here; so is my family. I want to raise my children here, on a farm with animals and wide open spaces." She looked at him wistfully, and he wished he had a fraction of her certainty about life.
"What do you want?" she asked in a lowered voice, so quiet he almost didn't hear her.
He squeezed her hand. He was only sure of one thing right now. "You."