Elsa's Stand by Cathryn Hein

Author:Cathryn Hein
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781949068115
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Published: 2018-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Yep, no two ways about it, Jack was in love.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Elsa, the way she looked under the streetlight, hands slid into her back pockets. How it made her breasts thrust against the thin fabric of her shirt and show the ridges of her lacy bra. The huskiness of her voice, the lowering of her eyes. The way she’d moved to join him when he’d lowered himself towards her, wanting the kiss as much as he did.

She made him smile with her teases. Made him feel warm and wanted with her interest. And she made him hot. Hot, hard and messy brained, and a little bit hopeful that he might have a future at Wirralong after all.

Monday seemed forever away. Jack killed time with farm chores and prospecting. He dug mini mountains of overburden. Sieved and washed rivers of gravel. Rose at dawn and stayed out until sunset, then collapsed into bed with his bones aching from work, only to dream of her.

Restlessness had him rising even earlier on Monday morning. He showered and ate breakfast sitting on the back step with Daisy by his side, watching the sun paint the hills and listening to the air fill with birdsong. Wondering if Elsa was awake or still dreaming. If she dreamed of him the way he dreamed about her.

He took his bowl and mug inside and checked the time: ten past six. Still too early.

Jack brushed his teeth twice. Applied an extra layer of deodorant. Swapped his pale blue polo for a striped long-sleeved shirt, observed himself in the mirror, decided it was too try-hard and changed back to the first. He headed outside, stalked to the sheds, startling a few rabbits who immediately disappeared. Hands on his hips, he frowned at the holes. Rabbits, and plenty of them. Another chore, but not one for today.

He wandered to a nearby paddock, leaned on the gate and watched his grazing cattle. A few regarded him with interest before lowering their heads again. The beasts looked contented, swishing tails at early morning flies as they grazed. If it weren’t for the bit about ending up on someone’s plate, Jack could almost envy them.

He looked down at Daisy. ‘What do you reckon, Daise? Get reincarnated as a cow?’

Daisy licked her chops.

‘Yeah, you’re right. We wouldn’t make good vegetarians.’ He patted the rail, stared a bit more. At the cattle, at the sky, at his house and his dog. At a morning that was moving too slowly.

With a loud ‘stuff it,’ Jack strode back to the house for his keys.

It was seven-forty when he finally parked in front of the salon. He’d cruised past twice earlier, both times seeing no sign of Elsa. With nothing else to do, Jack had driven to the cemetery and killed half an hour talking to Kate’s grave. Asking again where the hell she’d buried the sapphires before giving that up to tell her about Elsa and her family. It was easier than talking about Jesse.

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