About the Author

NIKKI LOGAN lives next to a string of protected wetlands in Western Australia, with her long-suffering partner and a menagerie of furred, feathered and scaly mates. She studied film and theatre at university, and worked for years in advertising and film distribution before finally settling down in the wildlife industry. Her romance with nature goes way back, and she considers her life charmed, given she works with wildlife by day and writes fiction by nightâthe perfect way to combine her two loves. Nikki believes that the passion and risk of falling in love are perfectly mirrored in the danger and beauty of wild places. Every romance she writes contains an element of nature, and if readers catch a waft of rich earth or the spray of wild ocean between the pages she knows her job is done.

SevenâDay Love Story
Nikki Logan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, itâs yours. If it doesnâtâ¦

I was excited and honoured to be chosen as one of the New Voices for Mills & Boon, and I knew I wanted to write something special. A year ago Iâd had the idea of a heroine-turned-hermit recovering from emotional trauma, but I wanted Jayne and Toddâs romance to bloom over a very short time-frameâfeeding Toddâs fears that their feelings couldnât be genuine and luring Jayne out of her emotional cocoon much more quickly than sheâs comfortable with.

A novella is the perfect medium to tell a Seven-Day Love Story.

I hope you enjoy the wonderful, fictional community of Banjoâs Ridge and all the characters in it (human and otherwise). We should all have a psychological Banjoâs Ridge to retreat to when the going gets tough. And a hero like Todd to come and find us there.

To anyone who has beaten fearâor is still fighting itâI dedicate this story to you.

Nikki Logan

Acknowledgement

Special acknowledgement to Western Australians, Dr Kingsley Dixon and Gavin Flematti, who spent years untangling the thousands of chemicals in bush-smoke to discover which one triggered seed germination. Their ground-breaking work is fictionally referenced in this story.

CHAPTER ONE

Friday

âEASY now, big fella â¦â

It couldnât have been simple, keeping his voice level when four sets of fangs were flashing and glinting at head height, but the uniformed man standing at the bottom of Jayne Morrowâs front steps did manage to keep the waver from his voice.

Just.

She stared at him, anticipating the numbness that would take over right about nowâwhen strangers were around. Sheâd become used to its intrusion, even welcomed it; numbness was far better than the knee-crumbling anxiety she would have felt two years ago, back in New York.

The dogs twitched and trembled at her feet. Not one of them was a natural leader; if they were, theyâd still be roaming the wilds of the Queensland hinterlands, scavenging an existence. But all four of them rewarded her for taking them in by stepping up now, in response to the presence of the stranger.

His eyes stayed glued on the largest of the dogs, Oliver. Jayne whispered her quell command and waited for four canine bottoms to lower to the floor. It took an age, but they eventually complied, sliding their lips back down over their teeth. One by one they relaxed, Oliver last.

âThank you.â Down below her, the strangerâs body sagged slightly and he stepped forward onto the first tread of the house steps. Oliver leapt straight back to guard position, issuing a guttural rumbling.

âOllie, no,â she whispered to the brave dog.

The man slid his hands into plain view, left and right of his tense body. âHow about we just talk from here?â

Good idea. âWho are you?â Her voice was steady, thank goodness.

âTodd Blackwood. I was hoping the Shire would have rung ahead to tell you I was coming.â His Australian voice was rougher than the rocky path leading to Jayneâs doorway.

âNo.â

âAh. Then Iâve surprised you.â His eyes dropped to the hand wrapped around the largest dogâs collar as if it were a lifeline. âAnd frightened you. Iâm sorry.â

She tossed her head back and loosened her fingers slightly to let blood leach into the whitened knuckles. âIâm not frightenedââ such a liar! ââjust curious. I donât get many visitors.â

He glanced again at the mass of warm bodies at her feet. âNo doubt.â

âTheyâre just doing their job.â

A gentle smile transformed his face. âMe too. Iâm here to discuss them with you. Iâm the Shire Ranger.â

A ranger was as good as the police out in these parts. His face looked entirely non-threatening, his body as casual as a man being stared down by four wired dogs could be. Even so, something in her itched to run inside and lock the door. She forced herself to resist the impulse.

âPerhaps if â¦â He glanced up at the dogs again and lowered his considerable height to a squat. The dogsâ demeanour changed immediately, and three out of four bottoms started to wiggle. Jazmine, Fergus and Dougal had no problems, moving instantly from quivering tension to comfortable acceptance. Not Oliver. He was still rigid with suspicion.

The show of trust from the stranger brought Jayne a hint of confidence. If he was here for no good he wouldnât be putting himself at risk. She wrapped her hand more firmly around Ollieâs collar and then spoke softly to the others.

âGo.â

It only took one word and the three smaller dogs broke rank and leapt down the steps in an explosion of investigatory licking. The Ranger kept his chin high, away from the errant tongues, and let them rifle into his jacket and at his trouser legs with their noses. It was like the canine version of a full body frisk.

âOkay.â He chuckled, patting them individually on the shoulder, pushing back to his feet and taking all the fun a good five feet away from them. âNow theyâre more like a group of kids on too much sugar.â

Jayne fought a smile. The image was very apt for the three excited dogs, but not for the little black thundercloud at her feet that hadnât had a whole lot of joy in his life. She gave Oliverâs silky ears a rub. He whined his gratitude. One sharp whistle from her and all three loose dogs returned to heel and she was able to wrestle them inside. Still within reach if she needed them, but not tripping her underfoot. It gave the man at the base of her stairs some breathing space.

He looked like a ranger, but he was put together like a lumberjack. Out here maybe there wasnât much difference? âYou said you were on official business?â

He frowned at the way she still hovered, glued to her veranda. âItâs about the dogsâ¦â

Her grip on Ollieâs collar doubled. âWhat about them?â

âYou have four. Shire regulations only allow three per property.â

Her every instinct was to run. To protect. But sheâd learned to fight that. She took a deep breath. âI have registered them all. Iâm not trying to hide them.â

âIt was the registration that alerted us to theâ¦anomaly.â He frowned up at her. âCould we perhaps â¦? Could I come up?â

Sheâd come a long way, but the thought of having him in her house overwhelmed her, despite the uniform. âIâll meet you round the back.â

He frowned, but nodded. Jayne pushed the eager dogs back from the front door and closed it securely behind her, then hurried through the house to the back. Fergus, Dougal and Jazmine perked up again as soon as they realised her intention. Ollie found his favourite chair and curled up on it, looking miserable.

Three would suffice.

They burst from the back door like shot from a rifle and bounded over to where the stranger stood, examining a pile of materials and an old, rickety aviary. He ignored them in exactly the way someone who knew dogs would, and that gave them the confidence to busy themselves scavenging around his feet.

Jayne cleared her throat. âIs there some kind of paperwork I can fill out to get the fourth dog approved?â

Todd shook his head. âState limits. Why do you have so many?â

Jayne called Jaz close to her and petted her head. âTheyâre all abandoned. They have no one else. And theyâreâ¦security for me. I live here alone.â

Nice one, genius! Why not tell him where you keep the spare key while youâre at it? She monitored the dogs closely. She trusted them to let her know if his mood changed. If at any stage this became more than bureaucracy.

New habits died hard.

He nodded, and a thick, dark lock fell down over his reassuringly square brow. Stupid that a forehead should make her feel more comfortable, but it did. Maybe because the smooth, tanned flesh accentuated the deepest blue eyes sheâd seen outside of a magazine advertisement. Somewhere deep inside she was sure anyone up to no good would be less â¦ remarkable.

The eyes in question watched the hovering dogs. âTheyâre good protection. I can see that,â he said.

âAnd theyâre a pack now. Splitting them up is not an option.â

âYou may not have a choice, Ms Morrow.â

A double shot of alarm surged through her. Of course he knew her nameâhe was from the Shire, and sheâd included her details on the registrations. But the thought that he might be leaving here today with one of her four-legged kids chained up in his vehicle â¦ Her chest rose and fell with tight, sudden pain.

âPlease donât take them.â It galled her to beg, but the alternative was unthinkable.

âI can see that you have them well trained,â he said. âThatâs a positive in your favour. And you have been very honest in declaring them.â That broad brow crinkled as his dark eyebrows lowered in concentration. He slid his glance to the materials lying piled a few feet away. âWhatâs all this for?â

Panic bubbled up further and disguised itself as frustration. âIs that in breach of something, too?â

He smiled, utterly bemused. âNo. Iâm just thinking â¦â He wandered over to the old aviary in the shade of an ancient gum tree. A giant corrella blinked at him from the high perch and a possum peered suspiciously out of a nest-box in the corner. On the ground, a bandicoot picked off the correllaâs cast-off food scraps. âYou have quite a little zoo going here.â

Jayne stared at him, wondering what to say. âMore of a halfway house. The plan is for most of these guys to go back to the bush when theyâre rehabilitated.â

He turned back to her. âYou have a carerâs licence?â

Her heart sank. âI wasnât aware I needed one.â

That smile dissolved rapidly into a thin line. He stared at her hard, his mind ticking over visibly in his expressive blue eyes. âIf youâre dabbling in wildlife rehab, yes, youâll definitely need one. But it will also solve your dog dilemma. A licence provides for more than three dogs, provided at least one of them is being rehabbed.â

The first genuine glimpse of hope burst into life deep inside her. âOh! But they all are. How do I apply?â

âYou just fill out a form at the Shire office and pay the licence fee.â

The flicker extinguished in a gush of sudden dread. âIs it not available online?â

His deep chuckle worked its way under her skin. âWelcome to Banjoâs Ridge. Hard copy and carbon-copy triplicateâthe old-fashioned way.â

She didnât have a hope of stopping the fingers of her right hand compulsively touching her thumb. They did it of their own accord, over and over in order, bringing their odd, cell-deep comfort. The best she could do was tuck her whole hand out of view.

Those extraordinary eyes followed the brief move.

âTell you what,â he said, his tone changing instantly to the overly loud one sheâd used at her book signings when particularly frail fans queued up for her signature. âIâll bring the form back out to you on my rounds tomorrow. Weâll get you all signed up.â

It meant him coming back, but it saved her the agony of a trip into town. Even if town consisted of only one hundred and thirty-two people. And only a third of them around at any one time. Thoughts of gift horses flitted through her mind.

âThat would be kind. Thank you.â She took a breath. âWhat time?â

She turned to walk towards the house. He took the not so subtle hint and followed her. âI couldnât say. Iâm rostered first thing, so it will be in the morning some timeâwhenever Iâm out this way. Thatâs the best I can do.â

Oh, lovely. A surprise visit. Nothing she liked more. Her finger-counting started over. âYes, that will be good. Thank you. Iâll see you tomorrow.â She turned from him stiffly and retreated to the house, calling the yipping dogs with her.

Todd lifted his eyebrows as he watched her go. Not the friendliest of locals. But then she wasnât local. Sheâd only been in the Queensland hinterland a short time, judging by that accent. A pretty young American woman living alone had a way of standing out, but for all the townsfolk had to say about her no one seemed to know much other than her cracking impersonation of Greta Garbo. I want to be alone.

Yep. He got that loud and clear.

âSo â¦ guess Iâll be going!â he called pointlessly at the cottage door which had closed quietly in his face, then shook his head and turned to walk around to the front of the house.

Possibly the touchiest woman heâd ever met, and certainly the most unwelcoming. It would never fly on this mountain. Neighbours needed each other. If she was being that cool to himâpractically the law out hereâhe could bet there wasnât a single family this side of the ridge that would drop in to see if she needed anything in an emergency. Gorgeous or not.

And she most definitely was.

That ghost of an almost-smile stuck in his mind. Hair like spun gold. And the most unusual grey eyes, with a bit of every other colour in them. Fine pointed chin, smooth, pale skin. Soft, small lips. Everything about her seemed â¦ refined. There was no one like her on this ridge.

Todd climbed into his truck and buckled up. He saw the tiniest shimmy in curtains that told him she was still watching. Waiting for him to go.

Nope, absolutely no one like her.

Never mind; he had bigger fish to fry than a recalcitrant licence-breacher. Old Tom Hardy had reported seeing that black panther in his far paddock againâclaimed to have a footprint this time.

The fact heâd swung by Miss Pricklyâs refuge first said a lot about his belief in a mythical wildcat down on the Hardy farm. Still, it kept him busy. And in a town where there was barely enough cause to have even a part-time ranger, busy was a rarity. When heâd settled in Banjoâs Ridge heâd been looking for a fresh start. A slow-motion kind of existence. Anything as long as it was different from his life in the city.

Mythical black panthers and enigmatic mystery women certainly qualified.

CHAPTER TWO

Saturday

JAYNEâS heart hammered hard enough to break a rib, but she couldnât break free of the jumbled mess of images. They no longer played out like grim movies in her mind, but the disturbing montage had a way of leaking, unwanted, into her dreams.

They saturated her with old feelings: suspicion, self-doubt, the dark, clawing fear sheâd lived with for two years. No matter how hard she worked during the day to keep them at bay, they simply waited for nightâand her eyelidsâto fall.

The cold, wet nose of reality helped draw her back. She cracked one eye open and stared into deep black gems. Her hand slid out and curled around silken ears.

âOllie â¦â

Satisfied his work was done, Oliver padded back out of Jayneâs bedroom on a gentle click-clack of claws, leaving her to rise unassisted. His job was pulling her out of a nightmare. Her job was pulling herself out of bed. The place she could easily spend the entire day if she hadnât promised herself she wouldnât do that any more.

She showered and dressed in super-quick time, not prepared to take any chances. If there was going to be a stranger hanging around the place she wanted to be as prepared as possible. Her eyes flicked habitually to the small sports bag behind the front door. Spare keys, passport, cash, clean underwear. It sat gathering dust except for those bleak times she scrabbled through the contents obsessively, to make sure everything was still there for when she needed it.

If she needed it.

âBreakfast!â Four dogs came running as she clanked their bowls together loudly. It was the one time of the day Ollie showed he had more to his personality than cautious regard. Then she set to chopping fresh fruit and veg for her rehab critters.

Her own breakfast was a more leisurely affair. A treat to herself out on the back veranda, served on real china with tea from a teapot, amid the sweet perfume of native jasmine with the mid-morning sun to warm her. She used the ritual to force herself to slow down, to remember where she was, how anonymous she now was. How safe.

âGood morning.â

Ollie went berserk inside, but Dougal, Jaz and Fergus came galloping around the house and careened with enthusiasm into the man whoâd appeared silently at the side of the veranda. Jayneâs pulse leapt painfully in her throat and she lifted a shaky hand to it, clattering her teacup noisily into its saucer. She used the brief moment as he rough-housed with the dogs to recover.

Then he straightened and met her eyes. âIâve startled you again. My apologies.â

Her voice failed her the first time. She cleared her throat quietly, then tried again. âNo. Itâs fine. I was a thousand miles away. I didnât hear your car.â

She stared at all six feet plus of him, standing spread-footed on her land like a giant eucalypt rooting itself into the earth. Her fluttering heart took its time settling in her breast, and she forced her voice to fill the silent void. âWould you like a cup of coffee? Tea?â

He smiled and rummaged in his jacket pockets while the smaller dogs darted around his feet like skimper-fish on a reef. âI should get these forms back to town as soon as possible. Thank you, though.â

Jayne frowned. He wasnât supposed to say no. Not that she wanted to have coffee with him particularly, but sheâd asked â¦ and asking had taken some doing on her part. âExcuse me just a moment, then.â She gathered together her dishes and then took them inside to soak in the sink. When she returned he had the forms out and ready at the base of her back porch steps. It took just a few minutes for her to detail them and sign. Male eyes rounded when she produced a roll of cash from which to peel off the modest application fee.

âDo you always carry that much cash on you this early in the morning?â he asked.

Yes, always. âI wasnât sure how much the fee would be.â

He took just two notes, then bundled the paperwork up with it and shoved both into an inside pocket in his Rangerâs jacket. Then he looked out at the piles of materials lying scattered around the enormous fenced yard behind the house. âAre you going to be okay building those enclosures by yourself?â

âHow didâ?â

âMesh. Timber. Wildlife. Doesnât take a genius. Can you build?â He looked as if he already knew the answer to that.

She straightened her back. âIâll work it out.â

âYou have to submit drawings with your application. So the Shire knows the animals will be adequately housed.â

Jayne groaned. Why was everything so hard? She was trying, wasnât she?

Blue eyes studied her and he seemed to come to a decision. He cleared his throat. âI was wondering whether you needed any help. Iâm pretty good with my â¦ with construction.â

Turmoil ruined her tranquil morning. On one hand she did need helpâdesperatelyâespecially if drawings were required. And Ranger Blackwood wasnât a complete stranger now.

Which didnât mean she was comfortable around him. But having his help meant heâd be back. And back. And despite all her progress she still struggled with strangers.

âI can draw up enough to keep the Shire happy and then come by after I knock off work each dayâhelp out for a couple of hours. If you like?â

Jayne stared. It was the answer to one of her primary problems. Sheâd never even put together a flat-pack bookshelf. âIâd pay you â¦â

He smiled indulgently and waved his hand. âNot necessary.â

Oh, it was very necessary. She needed him to stop treating her like a senior citizen. Right now. Paying him would put it all back on a professional footing. She straightened her shoulders. âMoneyâs not a problem. Iâd feel better if I paid you.â

Even the bush crickets held their breath.

He studied her closely. âWhen I first got to Banjoâs Ridge a few of the locals really helped me get established, and I appreciated it. I just want to pass that help on. But if you feel better paying me, we can work something out.â

He patted the side of his jacket, where her forms were tucked away. âIâll come back as soon as my shift finishes. If we get lucky weâll have your preliminary approval ready to go.â

Five hours later Jayne hovered in the doorway, chewing her lip. Ollie looked up at her with soulful, trusting eyes.

She smiled at him. âOkay, Iâll ask.â She found the ranger at the back of the property, pulling piles of mesh sheets into position across a gravel clearing.

âExcuse me, Mr Blackwood â¦â

He straightened slowly, his blue eyes steady and blessedly neutral, his rolled-up sleeves revealing strong, tanned forearms. âCall me Todd. What can I do for you?â

âI â¦ If youâre going to be here a few days I canât leave Oliver locked up all that time. I was wondering if I could â¦â

He smiled, and her stomach did a clumsy somersault, but it had nothing to do with fear. His smile reached all the way to his eyesânot all smiles did that, in her experience.

Not all of them reached clear into her gut either.

âSureâbring him out,â he said. âHe and I have to come to terms some time.â

Her chest was unnecessarily tight. Between his smile and his gentle patience for her maladjusted dog, she just couldnât get a deep breath in. âThank you.â

She was back in minutes, with a surly Oliver tightly restrained by the tether in her grip. Holding him gave her an anchor. Todd saw her coming and slowly stretched up to his full height, his eyes soft. âWhat would you like me to do?â

Jayne laughed lightly. âCould you maybe shrink about a foot? â

âNot much I can do about that, Iâm afraid, but Iâll do my best to be non-threatening.â

It had been a while since sheâd not felt threatened around a stranger, but for some reason she wasnât dissolving into a trembling mess around Todd Blackwood. Although he was making her a whole different kind of nervous.

She brought Oliver closer, and Todd took a step back to give him some space. Jayne nudged the black dog between them. Ollie was as stiff as she was.

âRelax, Jayne. Heâs feeling your tension. The worst that can happen is that heâll try to bite me, and if he does he and I will have a quick man-to-man conversation to figure out whoâs boss.â

She shifted until her body was slightly between them.

Todd frowned. âI wonât hurt him, Jayne. Just like people, dogs like to know where they stand with others. He might appreciate the direct approach. Letâs just see how he goes.â

Human and dog ignored each other for a few moments, and then Todd took a step closer. Ollie looked up at him suspiciously.

âThis could take a few minutes,â he said. âIf he sees us being comfortable with each other he might relax.â

Comfortable. Right. Jayne forced her body into a parody of a relaxed pose, triggering another one of those killer smiles. Her mouth dried, just a little bit.

The smile graduated to a deep chuckle. âEven Iâm not buying that. Plan B â¦ how about just some normal conversation?â

It had been a while since sheâd had any conversation that wasnât via e-mail. Todd took a tiny step closer to Ollie. The dog stayed put. It was working. She sighed. âOkay. What would you like to talk about?â

Todd let his hand drop down to his side, close to Ollieâs head so he could sniff it, but his eyes stayed locked on her. âHow about what youâre doing out here all by yourself? Seems unusual.â

She stiffened immediately, and Ollie pushed up onto his feet.

Todd broke in quickly âOr â¦ we could talk about something else. Where did you grow up? Thatâs not a Queensland accent I hear.â

Jayne let out a big breath, and Ollieâs tail sank back towards the ground. âHardly. Iâm from Pennsylvania originally.â

âWelcome to Australia.â

âIâve been here a couple of years, but thank you.â She laughed.

Ollie looked up at her, as if surprised by the unfamiliar sound. Todd took the opportunity to slide his hand down and gently rest it on the dogâs black head. Ollie forgot to flinch. âKeep talking,â he said quietly, and then slowly closed his fingers into a rub.

Jayne drew in a breath. This was the closest Ollie had been to another person since sheâd found him skulking, half-starved, down near her back dam. âI moved here two years ago. I was looking for somewhere different to where Iâm from.â

Blue eyes met hers. âDifferent?â

Safer. Further. âSomewhere new.â

Todd was fully squatting now, and Ollie glared at him guardedly. But he was prepared to tolerate it as long as the gentle rubbing continued. It did, and Jayne found herself transfixed by the sight of those strong fingers pushing through Ollieâs black fur.

âThis must be quite different to home,â he said.

âNot so much. Jim Thorpe is a small community in the valley of a mountain forest. This all feels quite familiar. The trees are different. But still beautiful.â She smiled down at Ollie and added her gentle strokes to Toddâs.

âYou miss it?â

She lifted her eyes back to his but couldnât hold his gaze. She glanced out at the towering forest circling her sanctuary. And then it hit her. She was making conversation. And her chest wasnât imploding. âI miss parts of it. But everyone grows up, moves on.â

âYou didnât want to stay close to your family?â

Oh, how she hadâand her mother had cried and cried on hearing how far from home her only daughter was moving. But Jayne loved them too much to expose them to any further risk. Not that sheâd told them about any of it.

âWe stay close. We talk via the internet. We e-mail.â

Ollie shifted, and Jayne cupped his ridged silken skull and stroked him reassuringly. Then warm, strong fingers accidentally tangled with hers. A heat-burst surged up to her palm and she only just managed to suppress a yelp as she leaped back, sending Ollie scampering for cover.

Her eyes flew to Toddâs. His were carefully schooled.

âSorry.â The pointless apology tumbled off her lips.

Todd tipped his head to the side and stared at herâa burning, inscrutable regardâand shrugged. âItâs a start.â

Ollie. He was talking about Ollie.

âI should get back to this enclosure,â he said casually, as though the burst of static energy had been purely one-sided. Of course it had. He looked entirely unaffected.

She cleared her throat. âYes. I should get back to work, too.â

Uh-huh. As if that was going to happen while her heart was racing and while she had something so delightfully ornamental to look at through the window. Jayne ducked her head and turned back for the house.

Oliver trotted happily after her, oblivious to the awkward human moment heâd just caused.

CHAPTER THREE

Sunday

JAYNE studied Todd through a crack in the drawn curtains of the back windows, unable to tear her gaze away from his broad shoulders and his patient, methodical construction methods. Now he was perched on a drum in her yard, oblivious to her surveillance, sharing his ham sandwich with an adoring Ollie.

Even the most mistrustful dog on the planet had a melting point, it seemedâapproximately the same temperature that ham was cured at.

A man who dogs loved couldnât be all bad, right? Her four-legged friends might be easily bought, butâgiven their damaged backgroundsâthey were even more attuned to survival than she was, and all four would have kept their distance from someone with ulterior motives, she was sure.

Or was she just looking for excuses to like him?

Todd Blackwood was not like the men sheâd used to know. Every part of him screamed higher education, yet he could whack together a holding pen as if heâd been doing it all his life. His casual discussion hinted at city origins but he was hanging around a small village digging up handyman work as though he were a drifter.

It should have made her more suspicious, but it didnât. After all, people could draw all kinds of conclusions about Jayne MorrowâJ.C. Moro to her gazillions of adoring fans. A top-of-the-list novelist, living a simple life in the Australian forest; what would people make of that? She had no doubt that people back home were reading things into her absence, making up what they didnât know.

Prima donna. Marketing gimmick.

Only her agent and a small team of investigating officers assigned to her case knew the real story. She had a genuine excuse, maybe Todd did too? She definitely got the feeling there was a story to tell. There was one way to find out. Jayneâs heart kicked up a notch. It wasnât unreasonable to ask a few questions of the man she was employing.

Right?

Nervous steps carried her out to the far end of her yard, where four dogs welcomed her with licks and welcome dances. Her heart hammered a protest. She silenced the frightened voice that urged her to go back inside.

This was the road to normal.

Todd looked up as she approached, then pushed himself politely to his feet. âBack to work time?â

Jayne frowned. âNo. Youâve earned your breaksâtake them.â She examined the beginnings of the yards that would make such a difference to her injured animals. She might not yet have a wealth of rehabilitation skills, but she could at least accommodate the animals professionally and appropriately while they healed. âItâs looking great. Thank you.â

Todd nodded and sank back onto the half-drum, leaning forward, his tanned forearms resting on his thighs and strong fingers hanging loose between relaxed legs. It was a poster image for non-threatening body language, and it immediately took the edge off Jayneâs tension levels. Todd snagged up a soda can from the ground and took a long swig.

âCan I ask you a question?â No one would believe from her hesitant tone that she made her living communicating.

Todd took another swallow. âShoot.â

âWhat are you doing in Banjoâs Ridge? I assume you donât live here?â

âWhy do you assume that?â

âYour accent is different to the localsâ. Itâs Australian but â¦ different.â

âIâm from Western Australia originally.â

Five thousand kilometres away. âWhat brings you here?â

Blue eyes blinked slowly back at her. âThe mountain lifestyle. The pace. Itâs very tranquil here.â

And very hidden. Even the tourists often missed it on their bush pilgrimages. âWhat did you do for a living?â

His brows bunched, as if he was baffled at her sudden surge of curiosity. She sure was. âI was a biologist.â

Ah-ha! âIs that why youâre so good with Ollie?â

âI specialised in flora, not canines.â He laughed. âBut I grew up with dogs. We get each other.â

Ollie showed her just how much by flopping down next to Toddâs work-worn boots.

âSo I see,â she said. âIâve never seen him more at ease.â

Todd used his boot tip to gently scratch Ollieâs belly. âI think heâs just a dog whoâs had to make too many decisions. He was desperate for someone to take the responsibility from him.â

âResponsibility for what?â

âFor survival. For leading the pack. For you. Itâs been a lot for a damaged dog to carry.â

Two years of suspicion stiffened her spine. âWhy would he feel responsible for me?â

Todd shrugged, meeting her eyes carefully. âPerhaps he thinks you need protecting?â

âI protect him. I have since he came.â The thumping in her chest had to be audible. Surely?

âYou feed him and love him. But trust me â¦ He thinks you need him to be in charge. Itâs all in his body language.â

She looked at Ollieâs enormous dark eyes, fixed adoringly on Todd. âSo now that youâre here heâs handing over responsibility for all that to you? Is that it?â

âPut simply.â

âIncluding me?â Wisely, Todd didnât answer. He simply stared through those deep blue eyes. The tug-of-war between anger and attraction tightened her chest and forced her up straighter. âHeâs going to be sorely disappointed when you disappear at the end of the week.â

Todd reached down and rubbed a big hand over Ollieâs scalp. The dog squeezed his eyes shut in bliss and Jayne understood exactly. Her skin remembered every brief moment of their fingers entangling the previous day. Gooseflesh rose in sympathy.

âA week is a long time,â he said, standing. âLetâs wait and see.â

They fell to silence. Jayne studied the shadowy angles of his face as he gathered up his tools to continue. They made a handsome combination.

Todd cleared his throat. âSo, what kind of work lets you live out here?â

âIâm an â¦â She caught herself and corrected herself. Trusting him and trusting him were two different things. âIâm having a sabbatical. Of sorts.â

He nodded. âA long one, judging by the trouble youâre going to in getting these yards all set up.â

âIâm hoping to get back to it more fully soon. And also that I can continue with the animals once I do.â

âSo, youâll work from home?â

She cleared her thick throat and hedged. âMy work goes with me wherever I do.â

Todd smiled, although this one didnât quite dilute the disappointment in his eyes. Why was she hesitating? She should just tell him. He was unlikely to put two and two together.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.