and Dad have already eaten, but I’ve packed a picnic lunch for us to take up the river.’
‘A picnic?’ He looked surprised—but pleasantly so.
‘Are you hungry?’
‘Ravenous.’
‘I’m afraid it will be a little while before we get there.’
He grinned. ‘Cancel the ravenous remark. I can easily wait.’
‘Good.’ She drew a hasty breath. ‘Everything’s ready.’
She was rather proud of the way she handled her father’s old utility truck through the difficult terrain of Anvil Gully and Retreat Creek. If Reid was impressed by her driving he didn’t say so, but he seemed relaxed.
About half an hour later they emerged on top of a high bank on the edge of the Burdekin River.
She felt a little nervous again as they got out and Reid stood beside her. Would he wonder why she’d brought him so far?
Tall, broad-shouldered, strong limbed, Reid seemed part of the rugged wild beauty of the outback. He stood with his thumbs hooked loosely through his belt, looking out at the view of the wide full river and the tall limestone cliffs that guarded it.
From up here it was like looking out from a castle keep. ‘What do you think, Reid?’
‘It’s fantastic. I’ve never seen this stretch of the river before.’
Satisfied, she turned to get the picnic things from the back of the ute, but he reached out with one hand and caught her waist, pulling her in to him. Her heart thundered wildly as he kissed her. Then he released her and smiled.
‘I’ve missed you, Sarah.’
‘Yeah, me too.’
An exquisite shiver trembled through her as he lifted a hand to touch her face, and his eyes feasted on every detail of her features. His thumb brushed her brow, her cheek, her chin.
And then she heard a soft throaty growl and his arms were around her again, hauling her closer, kissing her hungrily now. Backing up against the side of the ute, he pulled her against him so that her feet left the ground and the hard evidence of his desire jutted into her. Electrified, she wound her arms around his neck, returning his kisses as she crushed her eager body against his. A tight coil of longing wound low inside her and her breasts grew tight as heat pooled between her thighs.
Would this be the long awaited day? The day Reid stopped thinking of her as a talented girl and saw that she was a passionate woman, desperately in love?
When he let her go her face was flushed and he smiled self-consciously. ‘Hmm, I must have been hungrier than I thought. Perhaps you’d better show me this lunch of yours.’
They were both sizzling with the heady bliss of being alone together for the first time in ages. Sarah could feel the chemistry arcing between them as they spread her tartan rug in the shade of leafy green quinine trees and Burdekin plums.
She felt excited and breathlessly on edge as she unpacked thick sandwiches filled with marinated roast beef and then a macadamia pie, mandarins and grapes. A bottle of wine and two glasses.
‘This is a feast,’ Reid declared. ‘You’ve gone to a lot of trouble.’
‘Yes.’ She smiled. ‘I’m all out to impress you.’ Then, to cover her embarrassment at being so obvious, she thrust the wine bottle and a corkscrew at him. ‘Here, make yourself useful.’
While they picnicked they talked about safe topics like the cattle muster that Reid, his brother Kane and their father had just finished on Southern Cross, about beef prices and the lasting effects of the wet season.
Alone in their remote haven of wilderness, they lay, resting back on their elbows and watching rafts of black ducks, teal and pelicans drift down the river. The water was so clear that even from this high bank they were able to see the darting shadows of black bream swimming.
‘You’re lucky to have a spot as beautiful as this on your property,’ Reid told her.
‘I imagine you must have some pretty views on Southern Cross, especially from the ranges looking back across the valley.’
‘They’re not bad. You should come out to our Cathedral Cave. The view from there is stunning.’
‘I’d like that.’
When they’d eaten as much as they could, Sarah began to pack the picnic things away, but before she finished she paused and said somewhat obliquely, ‘I like Mirrabrook.’
Surprised, he stared at her.
‘I’m thinking of applying for the teaching post there next year.’ She knew Reid had been expecting her to go off to teach in one of the big city schools to the south.
He quickly swallowed a last mouthful of pie. ‘Are you sure you want to hide yourself away in a little one teacher school in the outback?’
‘I’m an outback girl, why shouldn’t I want to give something back? Too many young people are leaving the bush for the city.’
‘Yes, but—you—you’d have to deal with all those different year levels and there’d be no other teacher to help you find your feet.’
Biting her lip, she looked down at the inch of wine in her glass. Was he trying to put her off? ‘It’ll be a challenge, but I think I could handle it. I’m going to be a good teacher.’
‘I’ll just bet you are.’
She downed the wine quickly, set the glass back in the picnic basket, then looked up and saw the dark colour in Reid’s face. The strong emotion in his eyes stole her breath.
‘What are your chances of getting that post if you requested it?’ he asked.
‘Nothing’s guaranteed, but my good grades should help. Even if they don’t, I can’t imagine many people will be breaking their necks to teach in Mirrabrook.’
‘I don’t suppose so.’
Bravely she added, ‘But I am.’
‘Breaking your neck to be in Mirrabrook?’
She nodded shyly.
‘Sarah, it would be wonderful to have you close by.’
Her heart leapt in a quicksilver of joy. ‘Well…a girl can hope.’
‘And so can a guy,’ he said softly.
The look in his eyes made her skin feel too tight for her body. ‘Would you—um—like something else to eat?’
‘I’d like another taste of that delicious mouth of yours.’
‘Come and get it,’ she said softly.
A cloud of heat rose through her, making her body flame with outrageous longing. Slowly, Reid leaned towards her,
