Nine #3
Rowena hesitated. ‘I’m not exactly an expert on marmalade.’ This seemed important to the older woman—she didn’t want to screw it up.
‘Not necessary. You just have to know what you like.’
‘Okay.’ Rowena nodded. ‘Sure.’
Dutifully, she tasted the three samples in front of her.
They were all exquisitely zesty—just the way she liked it.
But there was a definite Christmassy flavour to them as well.
Rowena wouldn’t have said her palate was that sophisticated but she thought she could taste cloves. And cinnamon? Maybe some kind of booze.
‘These are all amazing—they’re so wonderfully tart.’
Reggie nodded enthusiastically. ‘That’s the finger limes, darl. Albie suggested it and it gives a really Aussie twist, I reckon.’
Rowena agreed. ‘I definitely like the last one best, though. Do you have whiskey or brandy or something in it?’
Another enthusiastic nod from Reggie. ‘Sherry.’
‘Ooh. Nice.’
‘I think it needs something else, though. I’m kind of after Christmas cake and mulled wine.’
‘I don’t know …’ Rowena sank her teeth into her bottom lip. She usually had mulled wine this time of year when a group of friends headed to the Blue Mountains for the annual Yulefest. ‘Maybe some cardamom or star anise?’
Reggie really beamed then and Rowena felt like she’d aced the test this time. ‘Yes! It has a pinch of cardamom already but star anise! That’s what I thought.’
Glancing at her grandson, she asked, ‘You did pick me up some of that, yes?’
Lachlan feigned affront. ‘You asked me to, didn’t you?’ He pulled the packet out of his pocket, where he’d stashed it after he’d paid at the checkout.
His grandmother covered the distance between them, squished his cheeks together like he was a little kid and gave each one a kiss. ‘Good boy.’
Rowena laughed. She couldn’t help herself. Lachlan McCabe was the kind of capable that set female (and, she supposed, male) hearts aflutter. She was sure he could probably string a fence, ride a horse, fix a tractor and shear a paddock full of sheep, all before breakfast.
But the fact that his grandmother looked at him like he hung the freaking moon because he’d walked his ass into a shop and bought a packet of star freaking anise—probably the least dangerous thing he’d ever done—was so damn cute.
The fact he would do anything for this little old lady he clearly loved, and who so clearly loved him, ramped up his degree of sexy a thousandfold.
Reggie brandished it in the air. ‘Here’s to the secret weapon. Watch out, Madge, you wily old bird, I’m coming for you this year!’
Rowena wasn’t sure who Madge was exactly, but it was clear Reggie perceived her as the main competition.
‘Now, how about you take some jars of marmalade back with you for your toast in the morning?’
‘Thank you, that’s so nice of you.’
Reggie grabbed three from the bench but Rowena shook her head. ‘Oh, just the one will be oodles. I have enough food donations from the town to be transporting to the hospital accommodation as it is.’
‘You’re moving into one of those dreadful hospital dongas?’ Reggie asked with a frown.
Having seen inside one of them now, Rowena had to agree with Reggie’s summation. ‘Uh huh.’ She nodded, unenthused. ‘Just had to wait for one to become available. I move in next week.’
Reggie regarded her for long moments as she placed the jars on the table, her brow furrowed. ‘Or … you could move into the bunkhouse here?’
Blinking at what seemed an exceptionally impulsive offer, Rowena slid a look at Lachlan, who had narrowed his eyes a little at his grandmother.
‘I mean, you could also stay in the house, we have two spare rooms, but I imagine you’d want your own space, especially after coming from the city.
’ Reggie gave a little shudder as if she couldn’t think of anything worse than living in a city.
If she hadn’t just blindsided Rowena, she’d have probably laughed.
‘Which is why the bunkhouse is perfect,’ Reggie continued.
‘It’s not far away and it’s fully self-contained.
Kitchen, shower, toilet. Even a tele. You can come and go as you please.
And Blairgowrie is only a fifteen-minute trip into town.
I bet you drive longer than that to go to work in Sydney.
Hell, you probably drive longer than that to go to the shops. ’
Rowena did indeed drive longer to both locations.
‘No charge,’ Reggie added quickly. And then, before Rowena had a chance to formulate a response, she said, ‘Lachy, darl, go show Ro the accommodation.’
Reggie made a shooing motion at them both and Rowena shrugged her consent at Lachy, who’d raised his eyebrows in question.
A bunkhouse sounded about as basic and draughty as a donga or those dreadful dorms she and her classmates had stayed in during grade seven camp.
Not to mention how many spiders she’d be bunking down with, shimmying their ugly butts through the slightest of cracks.
But, the least she could do after that meal was to indulge the formidable Reggie before she politely declined. So somehow, despite her better judgement, Rowena found herself following Lachlan outside.