rel="nofollow" href="#u0afed73e-4846-5dc4-b1e5-fd1bf8688898">Bellaroo Creek
CHAPTER ONE
The Cattleman’s Ready-Made Family
Michelle Douglas
“Douglas’ story is romantic, humorous and paced just right.”
—RT Book Reviews on Bella’s Impossible Boss
“Laughter, holiday charm and characters with depth make this an exceptional story.”
—RT Book Reviews on The Nanny who Saved Christmas
“Moving, heartwarming and absolutely impossible to put down, The Man Who Saw Her Beauty is another stunning Michelle Douglas romance that’s going straight onto my keeper shelf!” —CataRomance
At the age of eight, MICHELLE DOUGLAS was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She answered, ‘A writer.’ Years later she read an article about romance writing and thought, Ooh, that’ll be fun. She was right. When she’s not writing she can usually be found with her nose buried in a book. She is currently enrolled in an English Masters programme for the sole purpose of indulging her reading and writing habits further. She lives in a leafy suburb of Newcastle, on Australia’s east coast, with her own romantic hero—husband Greg, who is the inspiration behind all her happy endings.
Michelle would love you to visit her at her website: www.michelle-douglas.com
To the Valley Girls for the support, the laughter and the champagne.
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A TREE CHANGE?
Do you long for fresh air and birdsong?
Do you relish fresh-picked produce?
Do you hunger for a gentler pace of life?
RENT A FARMHOUSE FOR $1 A WEEK!
If you’re a community-minded family, why not rent a farmhouse for $1 a week in beautiful Bellaroo Creek?
We can promise you a fresh start and genuine country hospitality.
CAMERON MANNING PACED from the fence to the empty farmhouse and back again. He checked his watch. The second hand hadn’t moved much from the last time he’d looked. With a curse, he threw himself down on the bench, squatting beneath one of the Kurrajong trees that screened this farmhouse from the rest of his property, and drummed his fingers against his thigh.
Where was the woman?
The slats of the bench, badly in need of a nail or ten, bit into his back. It would’ve been more comfortable to sit on the veranda, but here the deep shade screened him. It’d give him a chance to contemplate his new tenants unobserved.
He scowled. If they ever turned up.
To be honest, he didn’t much care if they did or not. All he wanted was Tess Laing’s signature on his contract so he could hightail it out of here again. He had work to do. Serious work.
He leaned forward, steepling his hands under his chin as he glared at the farmhouse. Now that he had the cattle station on the western edges of his property sorted and in the capable hands of an under-manager, and he and station manager Fraser had dealt with all that needed overseeing for the operation of the sheep station and the planting and harvesting of the wheat crop, the only item left remaining was the canola contract.
He
