Chapter 27 Hamish
Hamish
Waiting for Jemma to arrive, Hamish couldn’t recall when, in his adult life, he’d felt this excited—actually, even dialling right back to when he was a teenager, he’d never experienced this stomach-churning enthusiasm.
Which meant he was being bloody ridiculous; Jemma would have returned to Settlers Bridge irrespective of whether he was there.
He couldn’t pretend to himself that she was coming solely to see him.
But, hey, he was willing to take what he could get.
If that kiss a couple of days back had left either of them in any doubt about their attraction, the hours of flirtation on the phone since clinched it; now it was simply a matter of working out what they could do with that information, because he was sure as hell there’d never been such a mismatched couple on the face of the earth.
Ethan had crashed overnight, but there was no sign of him in the house now.
Which was good—except, Hamish realised, as he raked his fingers through his hair and tugged the doorhandle, he hadn’t given any thought as to how to greet Jemma.
They’d parted with passionate kisses and spent hours since talking about everything under the sun.
Did they act as acquaintances? Friends? Something more?
‘Hey, there.’ Jemma smiled and stepped through the doorway, theatrically dropping her bag and then pressing the full length of her supple body against him.
Her directness didn’t entirely solve his problems, though, because his body instantly responded to her presence, forcing the awareness that his bedroom was only metres away—and he just happened to have made his bed this morning, rooting through cupboards to find decent sheets.
He had to get a grip. He’d kept it together the other night, even pretended to sleep well in the same bed—but every time he saw Jemma, the emotions hit a little harder.
A restless urgency built within his chest, urging him to action, threatening his restraint.
Yet he wasn’t about to allow his usual impulsiveness to screw up any chance he had here.
Instinct took over and his arms went around Jemma.
She fitted so perfectly, the feel of her somehow reflective of her personality: substantial, assertive; one hundred per cent present and authentic.
Her lips, her seeking hands, matched his—but there was no surprise there; she’d never been anything but outspokenly forthright.
‘You taste good,’ she murmured.
He snorted with laughter. ‘Not old handbag leather, then?’
‘I might have to update my requirements.’
He cocked an eyebrow. Was that the tiniest shift in the right direction? ‘Good. Because I’m not too keen on being seen as an accessory.’
Jemma pushed her palms against his chest to create a little distance between them. A crease appeared between her dark eyes. ‘Let’s stop dancing around the subject. What exactly do we have going on here?’
‘Really not into allowing organic progression, are you?’
‘Life’s short. You were the one who said that, remember?’
‘No. But I’m stoked that you do.’
‘Then I’m thrilled that I thrill you,’ she said, stretching up for another kiss. She threaded a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him closer.
If anyone had asked him a few months back, he would have said that he didn’t care for over-assertive women.
But he couldn’t have been more wrong. Everything Jemma did, everything she said—even when it meant she was arguing with him—was challenging, stimulating, life-affirming.
‘What we have going on here is an adventure,’ he blurted.
Jemma’s eyes narrowed and she licked her lips as though savouring the taste of him. ‘You’re right. That’s exactly what this is. Huh.’ She tilted her head to one side. ‘You know what? I don’t think I’ve ever been on an adventure before.’
It was suddenly hard to breathe, despite the crisp breeze winding through the open door. ‘Looks like it’s something new we get to experience together, then,’ he managed.
She stepped back, waggling a finger at him. ‘See, from what I’ve heard around town, I wouldn’t have expected you to admit to being inexperienced.’
He met her gaze levelly. ‘Okay, fair shot. Yep, there are parts of me that are very experienced, and hopefully that’ll be to our advantage. But I meant more the adult relationship aspect.’
‘I know exactly what you mean.’ Jemma’s tone was serious, but she chased the words with a wicked grin. ‘But I’ll be the judge of whether your other experience can be considered advantageous.’
‘Never had any complaints,’ he forced himself to say.
After all, he had to keep some semblance of normality, counter the wild surges of adrenaline at the realisation that this adventure was something he could never have conceived of in his wildest fantasies.
He caught the rubberised squelch of light footsteps, and glanced toward the road. ‘Morning,’ he called.
‘Morning, Hamish.’
For the first time, Natasha’s greeting didn’t twist his gut with a slight sense of loss.
Jemma frowned in the other woman’s direction, but Natasha waved.
‘Hey. Jemma, isn’t it? We met at Tracey’s a few weeks back.’
‘Oh, sure, hi.’
‘How’s the water today?’ Hamish called, not moving from the doorway.
‘Colder than you can imagine,’ Natasha yelled back, wrapping her fleecy jacket tighter. ‘Hot shower is calling.’
He raised a hand in farewell as Natasha moved quickly along the silent street. ‘You don’t remember her, do you?’
Jemma chuckled, not the least chastened. ‘Honestly, I focus only on the things that really catch my interest.’ She turned back to Hamish. ‘So here I am.’
He had to kiss her again, that was a given.
‘Lucky Natasha’s not a talker,’ he said. ‘Or the whole town would be on about why there’s an attractive young woman on my doorstep this early in the morning.’
‘I’m sure it’s nothing they’ve not seen before. Though perhaps more often leaving rather than arriving.’
‘Maybe come in out of the cold?’
‘Oh, you’ve warmed me up well enough,’ she said, brushing past him. ‘But if you’re angling for a life model, I could be persuaded to sit.’ She indicated his charcoal-stained hands.
Her refreshing self-confidence was an incredible turn-on.
‘Oh, wait!’ She whirled around. ‘I wanted to show you something in your garden.’
‘Yard.’
‘I didn’t think you’d be the kind to have your masculinity threatened.
Come see. It’ll give your cute farm animals a run for their money.
’ Jemma led him to the wire mesh fence that separated his property from the path.
A couple of naked rosebushes soldiered on despite his neglect and a row of white-flowered daisy bushes saved his yard from total disrepute.
‘Look.’ Jemma lowered her voice as she dragged him to a bush. ‘Have you ever seen a bee curled up asleep in a flower? I got here ten minutes ago, but I was taking photos.’
It was wrong that he was instantly jealous of a bee, resenting the fact that Jemma hadn’t overlooked the insect in her eagerness to see him.
‘Every so often, it moves a couple of millimetres,’ Jemma murmured. ‘Or twitches its antenna, as though it’s dreaming.’
‘Ah,’ he said. ‘Mum always reckoned that the ones asleep in flowers are old worker bees. They put themselves to bed there rather than become a burden on the hive. If this one finds she has enough energy to get up and go again, she’ll take pollen back to the hive later in the day; if not, she’ll die here. ’
‘That’s horrible!’ Jemma looked stricken. ‘I was only considering country life on the basis that it’s supposed to be all about making charming animal memes, not tiny tragedies.’
Considering country life? ‘It can be more grim than you’d expect. But still, it’s a good life, you know?’ he added in a rush; being overly realistic wasn’t any way to sell the place.
Jemma stroked the edge of the daisy with one finger. ‘It’s sad,’ she said softly. ‘This bee’s worked all of her life, dedicating it to the hive, and now she dies alone.’
Hamish looped his arm around Jemma’s waist from behind, leaning his chin on her shoulder, relishing the fact that he could.
Just a few short weeks back, he couldn’t have imagined having a relationship with the driven, assertive lawyer—yet for the last two nights he’d lain awake scheming about how to keep her in his life.
‘But just think, this bee most likely had a good life. She would have been valued by her little community, spent her time cruising in fresh air and sunshine while collecting pollen from wild plants. Now, when it comes to the end, she simply goes to sleep in a flower that will close its petals to keep her warm and safe.’
Jemma leaned back into his embrace. ‘I’d like to say that was smooth dialogue, but …
’ She clicked her tongue dismissively at what he’d thought was a carefully veiled metaphor illustrating that she, like the bee, could have a fulfilling life out here.
‘Let’s go with corny, instead,’ she continued.
‘But you’ve reminded me—I know you said on the phone that you need to run something by me, but I also want to sound you out on something. So, you know, quid pro quo.’
‘Try me.’
‘Gerard’s interested in investigating the potential of regional expansion.’
‘Wait, this is what you couldn’t tell me on the phone last night? I thought you were in the firing line?’
She swivelled to face him, staying in the circle of his arms. Her breath plumed.
‘Well, I was—still am—trying to get my own head around what it means, but the short version is that Gerard believes there could be legs in setting up a rural office. And, like I told you before, he’s a shrewd operator. ’
Hell, he hoped she couldn’t feel the increase in his heart rate through their layers of clothing.
‘The problem is,’ Jemma continued, and his heart faltered. ‘I’m sure I could push him to make me partner if we open a second office.’
‘Er, how terrible? Just what you’ve always feared …’
Jemma wrinkled her nose. ‘But I reckon he’ll probably also make Rohan partner.’
‘Isn’t that win-win?’
She stepped back a little, a frown settling on her face, although he got the impression she was wrestling with her thoughts.
‘The way Gerard was talking, I suspect I’d get the challenge of setting up the new office—but Rohan would stay in the city, where all our contacts and colleagues are.
So it’d be like being awarded equal firsts. ’
‘And that’s not good enough.’ He made it a statement, not a question.
She shook her head. ‘Even with a partnership, being sent to the country will always be interpreted as a demotion.’
Disappointment settled heavily in his gut. Jemma’s career was important to her above all else. He had to be supportive, no matter the cost. ‘By your colleagues?’
She nodded.
‘So then you fight for the better option. Force Rohan to take the rural placement.’ Bloody Rohan had better not open an office in Settlers, though. He’d probably kill the guy.
‘Maybe that’s the solution,’ Jemma said as Hamish ushered her toward the house. ‘But I feel like I’m overlooking something and it’s driving me crazy, because usually the path is so clear.’ She used her hands to mime a straight, narrow track.
Her discipline and planning were the complete opposite to his wild impulsivity. ‘As you don’t like working with Rohan, perhaps heading up a new office could be a way out,’ he risked.
‘I don’t like Rohan, but I do enjoy the challenge of working with him.’
‘Sounds like you’re a masochist.’
She stood on tiptoes, her mouth close to his ear. ‘You know, you can find that out for yourself, anytime you want.’
He responded by tugging her into his arms, his lips seeking hers. There was so much he wanted to find out about her.
‘Technically the partnerships would be equal, though?’ he suggested eventually. ‘It’s only in your mind that one position holds more weight than the other.’
Jemma lifted an imperious eyebrow. ‘Is there anywhere more important?’ As he snorted with laughter, she broke character with a quick grin before continuing.
‘I do suspect that I’d be jealous of Rohan if he took the country placement.
I mean, all that potential of starting from scratch …
’ She shrugged. ‘But I have to work out what’s best, career-wise. ’
‘You’re really not into flying by the seat of your pants, are you?’
‘Sounds like a great way to waste time.’
‘Or to live life,’ he countered. ‘We only get one go, and no one has all the answers. So maybe it makes sense to take risks and enjoy what we have.’ He tilted his head to the house as a squall directed needles of rain their way.
‘And right now what we have is a toasty warm house. Though if you’re going to hang around open doorways letting all my heat out, I’m going to have to go get another trailer load of wood off the farm this weekend. ’
‘You have an open fire?’
‘Most everyone round here does. Plenty of free mallee roots for burning.’ He directed her down the central hallway of the cottage.
‘Oh, I have plans, then …’ Jemma said.
He suspected those plans were more likely to involve sheepskin rugs in front of the fire than hanging a pot of stew over it. ‘Ethan stayed over.’ His words came out in a low-oxygen croak, and he cleared his throat. ‘So I might have to take a raincheck in case he rocks back in.’
‘Calling on backup to protect your newfound chastity?’
‘Something like that.’