Chapter 13
CHAPTER
Anna pulled up amid the familiar buildings and yards of The Gums, Bree Johnson’s alpaca stud. She was barely out of the car before a short bundle of joyful energy ran over to greet her.
‘We’re having a photo shoot today,’ Vicki said. ‘Isn’t it exciting?’
Vicki was the daughter of Bree’s husband, Matt. Her mother had died some years ago, but she had very much settled into her new family, which included Bree’s alpacas.
‘I know all about the photos,’ Anna said.
‘Anna’s here to officially make sure nothing happens to our girls during the shoot.’ Bree appeared from the direction of the yards.
‘The RFS wants to make sure there are no animal welfare issues,’ Anna told the little girl. ‘Not that there will be, with you and Bree here, but it’s just a precaution. And,’ she added, ‘they’re paying me to be here. It’s the easiest call-out I’ve had for weeks.’
‘Grandma Rose is making tea and biscuits for everyone,’ Vicki said. ‘I helped make the biscuits. Do you want some?’
‘When they’re ready, I would love some.’
‘Why don’t you go and see how Grandma Rose is getting on? She might need more help.’
‘All right.’ Vicki scampered off.
‘Have the others arrived yet?’ Anna asked.
‘The firefighters are here. They’re over by the yards, meeting the alpacas. And I’m guessing that must be the photographer.’ Bree’s nod indicated a car approaching down her driveway. ‘Why don’t you go talk to the firefighters and I’ll bring the photographer over.’
That idea suited Anna just fine. Her heart had done a little back flip when she’d caught a glimpse of an RFS uniform near the stables. Not that there was any reason for it, of course. There was nothing between her and Justin, but it would be nice to see him again.
He had his back turned as she approached. ‘Hey, you,’ she said. The words came out in an unexpectedly flirtatious way. Unexpected, but not entirely unwarranted.
He turned around, his eyes lighting up when he saw her. ‘Well, hello to you, too.’ Then he saw the scar and his face changed, as everyone’s always did. Everyone’s except Justin’s, until now. Unless …
‘You must be Justin’s brother. Sorry. I thought you were him. I’m Anna Prentiss. Vet.’
To his credit, he recovered well. ‘I’m Ben. I gather you know my brother.’
‘We’ve met a couple of times.’ Anna felt herself starting to blush.
‘Well, he hasn’t mentioned you to me. I shall have to speak to him about that.
’ The words were kind and flirtatious, but Anna had a feeling Ben flirted with pretty much every woman he met.
He had the same handsome face Justin had.
The same winning smile and easy manner. But she wasn’t drawn to him as she was to Justin.
That might, in part, be because she could see his eyes flicking as he glanced at her face, then looked away.
He would hold her eyes for a few seconds, but always he would glance sideways, as if fascinated and horrified at the same time by her scar.
It was a reaction she knew only too well.
She thought she’d become accustomed to it, but it still hurt. It always would.
‘I guess you two have met.’ Justin appeared from inside the stables and Anna wondered how on earth she could ever have thought Ben was him, even for a second.
They were identical twins, faces like two peas in a pod.
They were the same height and both had well-toned bodies after years of physical training and fighting fires.
But while Ben was handsome, Justin stopped her breath.
He carried himself a bit differently, although in what way, she couldn’t say.
He held his head at just the right angle.
His smile was different, a kind of quirkiness at the corners that sent butterflies flitting through her stomach.
And when he looked at her, he saw her. Not the scar. He had done from the moment they’d met. There were very few people she could say that about.
Ben chuckled. ‘She thought I was you.’
Anna opened her mouth to protest, but what could she say?
He was right, up to a point. She could hardly tell Justin that when she saw Ben’s face, she knew exactly who he was, because he didn’t make her feel like Justin made her feel.
He didn’t make her long for something she had learned the hard way she could never have.
Any further conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Anna and a woman wearing a photographer’s vest and carrying a large camera bag.
‘Everyone, this is Jo, the photographer.’
After introductions, the five of them walked over to the fence to see the twin alpacas.
Anna smiled as she saw them. They were a long way from fully grown, but they were special.
Twin alpacas were extraordinarily rare. Bringing live twins into the world had been the highlight of her career.
So far, at least, although she doubted anything would ever top that.
‘They’re growing well,’ she told Bree.
Bree beamed.
‘They’re even more photogenic than you guys,’ Jo told Justin and Ben. ‘Now, where are we going to do this?’ She set off, taking Bree with her, to explore the surrounding buildings and paddocks.
Ben stepped away to look at something on his mobile, leaving Anna with Justin.
‘So, you thought Ben was me.’
‘No. I didn’t.’
‘It’s all right. I’m teasing. People have been doing it all our lives. It doesn’t matter.’
‘I would never mistake the two of you.’ The words were out before she could stop them.
‘Really?’ His shining eyes teased. ‘What makes you so sure of that?’
Anna reached for something to say. Something other than, You’re the sexy one. Or, He doesn’t make me want to kiss him. Or … ‘You’re really quite different.’
‘That’s something we don’t hear very often. Or ever.’
‘People should look more closely.’
They stood looking at each other and Anna felt drawn to him like iron to a magnet.
His eyes held hers and she could no more have looked away than she could have flown to the moon.
Although, if he moved any closer, she might do that.
No one had looked at her like this in a very long time.
Not since that day, when an injured animal had destroyed her face and, with it, all her hopes for the future.
She could still feel the tightness of the skin on her cheek: the memory of the pain.
And not just the physical pain. But today, it seemed a little less than it had been.
‘So you’re here to protect the alpacas from us.’
Ben’s voice interrupted Anna’s thoughts and she jumped.
‘Yep. It’s only a formality, really. Protection for the RFS and Bree if anything goes wrong.’
‘With two handsome firemen here, what could possibly go wrong?’ Ben grinned. ‘Unless …’ He looked meaningfully from Anna to Justin and back again.
Anna’s face started to colour, but she was spared having to answer as Bree and Jo returned.
‘The stables,’ Jo said. ‘Then that small paddock with lots of green grass. How much can we handle the animals?’
‘The twins, Lilly and Sophie, have had so much medical handling that they’re not too bad,’ Anna said. ‘But slowly and gently. Alpacas generally like to set their own pace when it comes to getting up close and personal.’
Justin nodded. ‘We’ll be gentle. You don’t have to worry.’
Anna looked at his hands. Such big strong hands looked like they could break a tree branch in a second. But everything about Justin told her the man could be gentle. Would be gentle. Her thoughts strayed away from the alpacas to another place and she almost shivered.
Anna had seen a couple of professional photographers at work before, most recently when she and Bree had been interviewed for a vet magazine about the birth of the rare twins, but she hadn’t seen anything like this before.
The photographer had an assistant, who suddenly materialised from the back of their car carrying lights and tripods and other strange things that Anna couldn’t identify.
At Jo’s directions, he set lights, moved bits of scenery and generally made himself useful.
The session started with Jo taking a few snaps of the brothers, alone and together. She seemed to be testing angles and lighting. Then she turned her focus to the other twins. Lilly and Sophie found the attention interesting and even went so far as to sniff the camera and snort.
‘Okay,’ said Jo, handing the camera to her assistant. ‘We’ll get the alpaca snot cleaned off my lens and we can make a proper start. Gentlemen, shirts off, please.’
‘Yes, ma’am!’ Ben grinned as he unbuttoned his shirt.
Anna couldn’t help herself. She had to watch Justin take his shirt off.
He seemed not at all self-conscious. He simply undid the buttons and slipped the fabric off his shoulders, as if every move he made didn’t cause her pulse to skip a beat.
His body was well muscled, but not overdone.
He’d obviously been in the sun, or swimming or something, because his skin glowed with a healthy golden sheen.
There was a light dusting of hair on his chest, just enough to run a girl’s fingers through.
Stop it!
Anna forced her eyes away from Justin to the young alpacas, but they seemed as interested in Justin’s bare torso as she was, pushing him with their noses. They must have tickled, because Justin started to laugh. It was a low, rumbling sound that was almost musical.
Oh, you have got it bad, she told herself. Stop it now. She turned away and went in search of a bottle of water.
***