Chapter 25
25
S am dug her heels into the mare’s sides, urging the horse to follow the distant streak across the horizon in any pace faster than a slow trot.
She’d ridden Speedy last time, soon recognising the plodding mare had been named in the typical Australian way of labelling opposite characteristics: Bluey for redheads, Shorty for anyone over six feet tall, and Mouse for the powerful stallion Dylan now rode like a man possessed.
True to form, Speedy could barely raise a canter as she followed her stable-mate, and Sam resigned herself to eventually catching up with Dylan and his mount—sometime tomorrow.
She’d seen Dylan tear out of the stable, riding his horse like a madman with a million demons on his tail. She’d wanted to take a ride this afternoon in the hope it might clear her head and it seemed Dylan had the same idea. Though she’d hardly call his hair-raising gallop a leisurely ride.
So she followed him, not wanting to lose her way on the vast plains of Budgeree and hoping she’d know what to say when she caught up with him.
Though the tears she shed earlier had been cathartic, she still had no idea how she could bear to leave Dylan next week. She had an inkling he might ask her to stay on as his personal assistant, but what would that achieve apart from prolonging the agony?
Besides, her parents wouldn’t wait much longer to meet her ‘betrothed’ and she didn’t want her elaborate lie falling down around her ears, with Dylan witnessing it. She’d had enough close calls and couldn’t believe her luck had held out this long.
Which only left her with one option. Leave next week as planned and return to her family in the hope they would accept the undeniable proof she could make it on her own without the support of any man as her husband and chief protector.
And hopefully, Dylan would be none the wiser of his involvement in her plan or that she’d lost her heart to him.
As if on cue, his vision rose before her, man and stallion standing still on a ridge, silhouetted against the vibrant ochre setting sun. Sam swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat, wishing she could imprint this moment on her mind forever, a cherished memory she could resurrect at will during the lonely months ahead.
As if sensing her presence, Dylan turned and guided Mouse down the hill toward her. She waited, overcome by a powerful desire that this could be a life she could get used to; riding out to meet the man of her dreams at the end of a day and accompanying him home, to their home, where they could stay wrapped in each other’s arms all night and face whatever the next day would bring, together.
Sam resisted the urge to shake her head and dislodge the ludicrous fantasy. There would be no shared life at Budgeree, no welcoming homecomings, no man of her dreams.
Instead, she would be left with nothing… apart from the chance to make the most of every second she had left with the man she loved.
Once the idea insinuated its way into her head, she couldn’t ignore it. What harm could it do, to make the most of their remaining time together? Treasured memories would be the only thing left to sustain her in the months ahead, when the full force of what she’d lost would hit her.
Squaring her shoulders as he stopped beside her, she smiled. “I thought you might get lost out here on your own.”
His perpetual frown softened as he reached toward her and ran an index finger lightly down her cheek. “You have a smudge of dirt right there.”
He straightened quickly, depriving her of the chance to lean against his hand. “You shouldn’t have followed me out here. I don’t have time to send out a search party if you get lost.”
Sam noted his rigid posture and the frown that hadn’t disappeared. If she planned to make him want her tonight, she had her work cut out for her.
“I had no choice. When Speedy wants her man, she’ll stop at nothing. I sat along for the ride.”
His eyes darkened imperceptibly in the waning light and she resisted the urge to squirm in the saddle. Silence stretched between them as she struggled to find something bright and witty to say. Thankfully, Mouse pawed the ground as if keen to get moving, breaking their deadlocked stare.
“Let’s head back. I’m starving.” He wheeled around, not sending her a backward look.
So am I.
Though Sam knew her hunger had nothing to do with food and everything to do with the man sitting on his horse, surveying his land.
She’d made a lightning-fast decision several minutes ago and she hoped she had the guts to go through with it.
If this was her last week with Dylan, she would make the most of it, no tears, no regrets.
She wanted him, more than she’d ever wanted any man, and for tonight, she would cast aside her inhibitions, her common sense, and every self-preservation mechanism that screamed she might be doing the wrong thing, and go after him. No holds barred.
She smiled as the homestead came into sight, knowing Dylan wouldn’t know what hit him when she pulled out all stops tonight.
And prayed she’d have the strength to walk away when it ended.