“Not by a long shot. You wouldn’t let me get a word in, if you remember correctly. I seem to recall you being the only one who was allowed to have a say.” She raised her eyebrow at him, tilting her head to one side.
Hunger for her rumbled in his chest, but he needed to hear the words for himself before he let the hope fluttering in his heart have its wings. “So what more is there to say that you couldn’t tell me last week?”
Del smiled and his pulse picked up a notch. “Well, if you had let me finish what I was going to tell you, you’d know it all. I had agreed to work with a co-writer for the last season of the series, something I could do from anywhere. But…” She licked her tongue over her bottom lip and Blake realized it was trembling. “… after you hit Brad Hollows, everything changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“He wanted to press charges and Paul came to see me later on that night. He was furious when he found out what really happened. Brad’s contract was cancelled and so was the last season. I don’t have to write it anymore.” She smiled tentatively and waited for him to speak.
“So you thought…”
“I had to come and see if you still wanted me. I love you, you great goose, and standing up for me was the nicest thing anyone has ever done.” She swallowed and he watched her throat move. “I want to be here with you and the children, if you’ll have me.”
Her eyes shimmered with tears and Blake lifted a hand to wipe them before they fell over her lashes. “I can’t offer you more than you’ve already seen, Del. We’re not rich, don’t live in a fancy house like you did or mix with the crowd you’re used to.”
“I don’t care. You saw how happy I was here. I never had that in Sydney. I never had anyone to stand up for me like you did. Heroes in the city are nothing like you. They’re shallow and brittle. I’ve decided I prefer my men a little bit more down to earth. The smell of the country does more for me than you know.”
“What about the children, Del? I told you where they come with me. I can’t hurt them anymore than they’ve been hurt already. Their lives are a mess with me working all the time. The last nanny never ended up taking the job after you left. It’s been me and Bluey and the kids muddling on as best we can. We can’t go through all that kind of upheaval if you’re going to high tail it out of here again. If you stay Del, I don’t want it to be as a nanny. I think you’ve ruined that concept for them, I doubt if I’ll ever find one they like.”
“We like Del, Daddy. Please let her stay and look after us.” He looked down and Lilly gazed up at him with big brown eyes. “Please.”
“Give the girl a break, for goodness sake. Anyone crazy enough to drive all the way out here in a little city car like she did has to mean what she says.” Bluey leaned his arms on the wooden fence and winked at them. “Besides, I don’t think I can stand anymore of your damned black moods.”
“I wasn’t moody.” Blake tried to act indignant but the big grin on his face wasn’t doing him any favors.
“So, am I forgiven for not dropping at your feet when you came to see me?” She snuggled against him, making it all but impossible for Blake to think coherently.
“As if I could ever turn you away.” He leaned down and kissed her, softly at first and then with a passion he had thought he wouldn’t feel again in this lifetime.
“Um…I think we should leave them alone, kids. Let’s go and make a start on dinner and let them sort things out without us gawking at them.” Bluey grabbed Lilly’s hand and motioned for Royce to follow him.
The young boy glanced at Del and she dropped to her to her knees, ignoring the dirt on her pale pink skirt and taking his hand. “Royce, I’m sorry I left you. When you’re older you might understand but know this honey, it was never anything to do with you or your sister. I love you two like you wouldn’t believe. It was something I had to sort out for myself and I just couldn’t do that here. Okay?”
He threw himself into her arms and nodded his head. Del patted him on the back and smiled. “Good, I’m glad we understand each other. I missed you guys and everything we did together. There were lots of firsts for me here that I’ll never forget…feeding lambs, washing dogs and getting two super kids in the mix. I have to thank you for teaching me so much too.”
He grinned. “I can teach you how to do the lamb’s tails next time too. Dad let me do them when you were away.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “They pong a bit too because you have to get the ring close to their butts.” Royce stood back and took Bluey’s hand. “Glad you came back, Delilah.”
“Me too, buddy, me too.”
Left alone, Blake gazed at Del, longing to devour her where she stood. “I love you so much, Delilah. My heart was broken when I thought you were brushing me off in Sydney.” He had come back in a worse mood than when he had left. Her memory was everywhere. When he cooked dinner he could imagine the standing in front of the kitchen bench as she made a one pot dinner, the only thing she knew she could do without smoking out the kitchen. When he read to his children at bedtime, he imagined standing in the hallway and listening to
