Meant To Be

  Meant To Be

  Fiona

  McCallum

  www.harlequinbooks.com.au

  Also by Fiona McCallum

  Paycheque

  Nowhere Else

  Wattle Creek

  The Button Jar Series:

  Saving Grace

  Time Will Tell

  About the Author

  Fiona McCallum lives in Adelaide, South Australia, and is a full-time novelist. She is the author of five Australian bestsellers: Paycheque, Nowhere Else, Wattle Creek, Saving Grace, and Time Will Tell. Meant To Be is her sixth novel and the third (and most likely final) in The Button Jar series.

  More information about Fiona and her books can be found on her website, www.fionamccallum.com. Fiona can also be followed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Fiona McCallum-author.

  In loving memory of my nanna, Nancy Price – much treasured, long gone, but never forgotten.

  Acknowledgements

  Many thanks to Sue, Cristina, Michelle, and everyone at Harlequin Australia for turning my manuscripts into beautiful books, for all the wonderful support, and for continuing to make my dreams come true. Thanks also to editor Lachlan for his hard work and patience to make my writing the best it can be.

  Thank you to Jane and the team at Morey Media for putting the word out, and to the media outlets, bloggers, reviewers, librarians, booksellers, and readers for all the amazing support. It really does mean so much to me to hear of people enjoying my stories.

  Finally, huge thanks to friends Carole and Ken Wetherby, Mel Sabeeney, Arlene Somerville, NEL, and WTC for continuing to provide so much love and encouragement, and for being the best friends a person could ever hope to have. I am truly blessed.

  ‘True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare. False friends are like autumn leaves, found everywhere.’ (Origin unknown.)

  Contents

  Also by Fiona McCallum

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Emily lay in bed with Jake spooning against her. As the first rays of daylight slowly lit the room, she was wide awake. But he slept on, his strong arms around her and his deep breathing stroking her back in long warm whispers. She felt like leaping up and greeting the day, but couldn’t bear to break the spell. Instead she lay there with a warm glow in her belly, thinking that she could quite possibly be the luckiest girl in the world.

  She had a kind, gentle man who loved her and whom she loved in return, and she was so grateful to Simone for bringing about their reunion. The trip to Melbourne had changed everything. She was so glad she’d been there for Jake when he’d needed her. If only the circumstances had been different.

  Death had been such a theme in her life recently – her gran’s passing, John’s fatal accident, and now the incident on Jake’s work site – hopefully that was all behind her. She’d been through so much and survived, and she now knew she could get through anything else that came her way, especially with Jake by her side.

  After all the financial stress, she no longer had to search for a job – at least for a while. Thanks to her inheritance from John and the annual lease payments from Barbara and David on the land, and the income from the sheep, she was fine for the time being – and for life if she was careful.

  Emily still felt a little guilty about how it had all come about, but at least she had the blessing of John’s parents. She just hoped the Wattle Creek locals would be as understanding. A townie, a woman, inheriting a decent slice of prime land and everything with it was one thing, but how would they feel when they heard she’d moved a new man in just days after John’s funeral?

  Speaking of which. She felt him stirring behind her.

  ‘Good morning sleepyhead,’ Jake said, kissing the back of her neck. She rolled over to face him, kissed him deeply in reply, and wrapped her arms around him.

  ‘Hmm,’ she groaned as he pulled her towards him.

  Later they lay entwined, just like they had last night before going to sleep. Emily could feel her breathing matching Jake’s, their chests rising and falling together.

  ‘God, you smell good,’ he said breathily.

  ‘I was just thinking the same thing,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘How are you feeling? Did you sleep okay?’

  After the flights from Melbourne, the long drive from Whyalla, and then David and Barbara staying on for dinner, they had both been exhausted. They had spent the next two days taking it easy, going on gentle strolls, and making a huge fuss of Grace, who Emily had missed terribly whilst she’d been away. The little border collie was such an important part of her life – they’d been through so much together in such a short amount of time.

  ‘I slept okay. But I’m still pretty tired. I can’t seem to shake it.’

  Emily knew how debilitating grief could be.

  *

  ‘I’ve got to go into town to run some errands. Do you want to come along?’ Emily asked.

  After lingering over a big breakfast, they were standing side by side doing the dishes – her hands in pink rubber gloves beneath a thick layer of suds, his tea-towel-covered hand stuffed into a mug.

  ‘If you don’t mind, I’d rather stay here. If that’s okay?’

  Once upon a time she’d have been hurt. ‘Of course it’s okay, Jake. We’ve both lived alone long enough to not need another person to entertain us all the time. Although don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy your company,’ Emily added, starting to get a bit flustered. Isn’t that what love was? Wanting to be with someone all the time?

  Jake let out a sigh. ‘It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you. I do. But I’m just not used to having someone else around all the time.’

  Emily nodded.

  ‘You’ve probably only just got used to living alone. And I wouldn’t mind betting you’ve quite enjoyed being independent,’ he said, looking at her sympathetically. ‘So, can we make a pact? Can we agree that it’s okay to spend time apart without getting all paranoid about why? That it’s not a sign there’s something wrong between us?’

  ‘I guess,’ Emily said, not quite convinced. Where is this coming from? Maybe he’s had a clingy girlfriend before.

  ‘I don’t mean to sound pushy, but I once had a girlfriend who came to stay and insisted on spending every second of every day together. It
drove me nuts.’

  Bingo!

  ‘Sorry. The only peace I got was in the loo,’ he said with a gentle smile.

  ‘It’s fine, Jake, we all need our space,’ she said.

  ‘So it’s a pact?’

  ‘As long as we also agree that if one of us has a problem – big or small – we discuss it,’ Emily said. ‘I don’t want to end up where we were last time.’

  ‘Okay,’ Jake said.

  ‘And while we’re on ground rules…’ Emily continued.

  ‘Uh-oh, here we go,’ Jake said, smiling at her.

  Emily flicked a handful of suds at his chest.

  ‘I’m being serious,’ she said. ‘I want you to feel at home; come and go as you please. But it would be helpful to know what meals you will and won’t be here for.’

  ‘Now you’re making me sound like a boarder.’ He went behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and nuzzled at her neck. ‘I mean it when I say I love you. I’m serious about us, about this working out, even though it’s so new. I only meant I want to be free to head off for a walk on my own if I want to. I might not even want to.’

  ‘I love you too. And I mean it when I say I want you to feel at home – what’s mine is yours. Honestly, you should feel free to use the car, internet, phone; whatever you need.’

  They finished the last few dishes and then sat at the table to write up a shopping list. Jake gave her some money towards expenses, which she very reluctantly accepted, and she handed him the spare key to the sliding glass door.

  ‘Right, last chance to change your mind,’ Emily said, collecting her handbag and keys from the bench. ‘Sure you don’t want to visit the thriving metropolis?’

  ‘I’ll pass, thanks,’ Jake said, getting up and going over to her. ‘I am looking forward to getting to know the area, but I don’t think I’m ready to become the talk of the town just yet. I know what small towns can be like. I might just go for a stroll. Maybe take a few shots. I’m planning on being here for a while, so there’s no rush – for anything.’ He gave her a peck on the lips. ‘Have fun.’

  ‘You too. Gracie, you look after Jake for me while I’m gone,’ she said, bending down to ruffle the border collie’s ears.

  Jake was standing at the glass door when she backed out of the shed and drove off. She returned his wave and the kisses he blew her.

  Before driving to town, Emily drove a short way up the road to run a quick errand. David had put the sheep on the stubble in the paddock over from the cottage ruins, where she and Jake could keep an eye on them. She’d promised to check the trough each day. Under their lease agreement, David was taking care of them in exchange for a profit share, but there was no point in him driving down just to check that a trough had water in it.

  After satisfying herself that all looked well with the trough and the sheep, she did a U-turn and headed off to Wattle Creek.

  Emily collected her mail and paid a couple of bills at the post office, and visited the newsagent to get The Advertiser for Jake. Being Thursday, Wattle Creek was swarming with people – well, as busy as a district of two thousand people could get. Tuesdays and Thursdays were the main shopping days, thanks to the delivery of fresh fruit and veg. Emily had to go around the block twice to find a park halfway between the bank and the supermarket where she could just pull in – she was no good at reverse parallel parking.

  As she walked the aisles, every second person stopped her to enquire if it was true that Donald and Trevor’s cousin, Tara Wickham, had turfed her out of the house she had an arrangement with them to buy. ‘And is it true that you’ve moved back to the farm?’

  ‘Yes,’ Emily said. There was no point in being evasive. When asked how John’s parents, Thora and Gerald, were doing, she replied, As well as can be expected,’ whilst kicking herself for her forgetfulness. She’d been in touch with Gerald by phone about John’s estate, but hadn’t seen them since the funeral. And they’d been so good to her the day she’d gone out and told them the truth about her and John. She vowed to keep in touch.

  At least without Jake beside her she didn’t have to deal with, ‘Ah, so who is this? And where are you from? And how long will you be visiting with us?’ Locals – particularly the elderly – could be very nosy around newcomers. And then there would be the raised eyebrows, along with, ‘So you’re staying at the farm with Emily, are you?’

  She could see how Jake moving in mere days after John had been laid to rest could be seen as inappropriate. It was hardly surprising that tongues were wagging. It had been fine while Jake could be seen as just a friend of her cousin Liz…

  But love doesn’t work to a timetable.

  If only Jake had happened about a year into the future, she thought, as she stowed the three green eco bags of groceries in the boot. Then it would all be aboveboard. She let out a deep sigh as she shut the lid. But he hadn’t, Barbara would say; he was meant to be there now. The universe had all this stuff sorted out and everything happened when and how it was supposed to.

  Maybe so, but it still didn’t make it any easier to deal with the gossip.

  Emily had sometimes fantasised about leaving Wattle Creek. But where would she go? The truth was, she couldn’t see herself living anywhere else. And having already moved house twice in a matter of weeks, she was keen to stay put.

  Perhaps Jake would want to spend time in Melbourne down the track and gradually she’d be able to tear herself away. Could she consider living there, if that’s what he wanted?

  God, who was she kidding? Other than seeing him and meeting his sister Simone, she hadn’t enjoyed her trip to the big city at all. Dealing with all that traffic and so many people in such close proximity, practically running everywhere, was overwhelming. No, thank you very much. And the low cost of living was a major redeeming feature of life in the country.

  Just before Emily left town she remembered to pop into the bank. She wanted to consult the spinning displays for term deposit and other investment brochures, but was also hoping to see Nathan Lucas, a friend who had recently moved to Wattle Creek from Adelaide to become the Assistant Manager.

  A few weeks ago – a lifetime ago it seemed – Nathan had wanted Emily to rent him a room in the house she’d bought from the Bakers; correction, nearly bought. While she’d desperately needed the extra money, she’d turned him down. She’d needed more time on her own. Then she’d been evicted. Thankfully they had remained friends.

  Thinking of Nathan made her realise with a bit of a shock that she didn’t have many people she considered friends. She knew plenty of people to wave to in the street, say g’day to and chat about the weather. But there were very few she trusted enough to confide in – only really her dad, David and Barbara, and now Jake. But surely it hadn’t always been like this. What happened?

  Prior to getting married, when she’d worked in the insurance office, Emily had had lots of friends, and had always felt a part of a community. But she’d become withdrawn whilst being with John. They’d had a few dinner parties in the first few months together, but then stopped – they hadn’t been much fun; she’d done all the work in the kitchen and John had just got drunk and belligerent. And their friends had never reciprocated. Or perhaps John had never passed on the invitations.

  Emily paused by the wall of the bank and pretended to study her shopping list. But what she was really doing was wondering how she’d come to have so few close friends. She was easy to get along with. Wasn’t she?

  She’d had plenty of girlfriends in high school and during her twenties. But one by one they had moved away to the city in search of work and men. She’d just moved to the next small town over. And then she’d married John and he’d become her world.

  Stepping inside the bank, she spotted Nathan in his glass-walled office, tapping away at his computer keyboard. When he looked up and saw her, he grinned and waved her over.

  ‘Come in,’ he said, pecking her on the cheek. ‘Sit down, take a load off,’ he added and slumped back into his chair.<
br />
  ‘How are you settling in?’ Emily asked. ‘Have you found somewhere to live yet?’

  ‘Yep. One of the girls from the other bank, Sarah Poole, has a spare room. They provide housing for the Assistant Manager. I’m clearly with the wrong bank.’

  ‘Isn’t it a conflict of interest, or something?’

  ‘You mean sleeping with the enemy?’ He winked. ‘No idea. I’ll just have to spend more time with my non-bank friends – like you. So, how’re things?’

  ‘Great. Speaking of housemates, remember I told you about my friend Jake, in Melbourne, who came for Christmas? Well, he’s staying again. Hopefully for a few months.’ Hopefully forever.

  ‘Ooh, do I detect romance?’

  ‘You do, indeed,’ Emily said, blushing slightly.

  ‘Well, I hope you checked his horoscope before letting him move in.’

  ‘And I hope you’ve checked your compatibility with Sarah,’ she said with a laugh.

  ‘I have, actually. And you might scoff. But take it from me, you can save yourself a lot of heartache if you ask the question up front. As a Capricorn, you need a Taurus or a Virgo. But your love-life is your business. I’ve said my piece. Just being a friend and looking out for you.’

  ‘Thanks Nathan. I appreciate it,’ she said, wondering about Jake’s birthday. He knew that hers was New Year’s Eve, because he’d sent the lovely plans for the Bakers’ house to Barbara and David’s that night. But when was his?

  ‘So, did you just drop in to say hi, or was there something of a banking nature I can help you with?’

  ‘Well, I did want to say hi. But I’ve been thinking I should look at some investment options.’

  ‘How are you going with settling the estate?’

  ‘Okay, I think. It seems to be just a matter of putting information together and applying for probate – I’ve mainly let the lawyers deal with it. John’s dad was kind enough to send them a list of assets, which saved me a lot of palaver. Hopefully in two months it’ll all be rubber stamped.’

  ‘That’s good. I’ve heard these things can be a nightmare.’