A Country Christmas Read online

  “Morning.” Zoe looked half asleep as she walked into the kitchen, bare feet, her pajama top was pulled tight emphasizing her growing breasts, and her baby bump. He had to admit he quite enjoyed seeing her blossoming. It made him want her more. He felt himself beginning to respond simply from seeing her approach.

  “Morning.”

  “What are you doing today?” she asked.

  “Going out to check the water.”

  “Can I go with you?” asked Zoe. She plonked herself on the chair opposite him, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  Max bit his tongue. He wanted Zoe to go with him, she had been out with him a few times, but there was also this overprotective part of him that wanted her to stay in the house. It was safe there. Out on the farm there was so many risks.

  “I’ll just sit in the ute,” said Zoe.

  Max looked at her. He couldn’t resist the puppy dog expression she put on for his benefit. “As long as you’re careful.”

  “Of course, I will be.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to you, or the baby.”

  She rolled her eyes dramatically. “It won’t. Besides… is your farm like super dangerous or something?”

  “No, it’s just a normal farm and well, things can go wrong, and accidents happen. There’s big machinery and animals after all.”

  “Then stop worrying.”

  “I don’t think I can,” he admitted.

  “I’ll go get dressed. Don’t you leave without me.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He watched her get up, unsure how she’d managed to know what he was partly considering. It was rude of him to leave her behind, but he had considered going quickly right now. He would’ve done it under the pretense of keeping her safe and sound at home.

  “Yeah, you would.” Zoe turned back to face him. She pointed her finger and the glare on her face sent a shiver of pleasure down his spine. She had no fear of standing up to him and letting him know her mind.

  He loved it.

  Secretly.

  “If I’m to live here with you, and this is our life together, and our family, don’t you go anywhere until I come back.”

  “Make sure you hurry then.”

  “Stay,” she said, her voice firm as if talking to a dog.

  “I think you’re learning a lot about farm life already.”

  She’d obviously heard him talking to his Blue Healer dog, Bluey. It amused him hearing her tone. She was adjusting well to farm life. At least he hoped so.

  “And I want to learn more by coming with you. So, wait for me.” She turned and left, not letting him have the final say, something else which he was used to doing with women. He wasn’t sure what it was about her, if it were her youth, how blunt she was or her sass, maybe all of the above, but he found it incredibly attractive.

  While he waited, he finished his breakfast, made a flask of tea to take with them, and put some food in the Esky—banana muffins his mom had made and dropped in the other day, along with some strawberries. Zoe had taken over the cooking, which he was delighted with initially, until finding out that she wasn’t at all the best cook. He didn’t have time, and he didn’t bake, so he’d been relieved when his mom had stopped by the other day with muffins. They’d been surviving on meat and three vegetables, and he often missed lunch. He had a sudden thought that he hoped Zoe wasn’t skipping meals. She was pregnant and needed to keep up her strength.

  “Ready?” Zoe asked as she came back into the kitchen. She was dressed in a skirt, top, and sandals on her feet.

  “Ummm… you’re going like that?”

  “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

  “I must say you look totally hot, but you do know that we’re going to do farm work and not heading into Burra on a social visit.”

  “I can’t fit into my jeans.”

  It took Max a moment to realize why. “Sounds like you need to go shopping for new clothes to accommodate this growing baby.” He walked up to her and put his hand on her belly. He could feel the firm bump.

  This was real.

  His life was going to change so much in a few months.

  “There’s nowhere to shop for maternity clothes in Burra.”

  Max could believe that. “I’m sure my mom and sister will take you to Adelaide for a shopping trip.”

  She sighed. “You’re not going to let me out to help you?”

  “Not wearing that?”

  “It’s just checking the water. That doesn’t sound at all dangerous.”

  “Yeah, but you know I’m wearing jeans to protect my legs. There are poisonous snakes around here.” He expected the mention of snakes to put her off. Instead, her expression darkened with determination.

  “You’ll need to come up with a better reason than that.”

  Max could feel himself getting a little hot under the collar. Couldn’t she see that he wanted to keep her and the baby safe?

  “Harrumph.” She stalked toward the door. “I’ll meet you in the ute.”

  He stared at her, partly aroused from her defiance toward him and partly in frustration that she could be so stubborn about this. He shook his head, trying to work out how to convince her to stay behind. He had to admit he thought the suggestion of going shopping would’ve side-tracked her away from wanting to go with him.

  “Maaax.” The shrill tone of Zoe’s voice set his pulse racing and he rushed to the back door.

  “What?” He pushed on the screen door and froze. Fuck.

  “Don’t move,” he suggested, not believing what he was seeing in front of him.

  “Wasn’t thinking of moving an inch.”

  Zoe stood frozen on the concrete footpath that led to the back fence which marked the boundary of the farm homestead. A five-foot-long brown snake was slithering across the path, moving from one side of the dying lawn to the other.

  “He’ll be out of your way in a minute,” he spoke softly, trying to keep calm.

  “What, you’re not going to do anything?”

  “Not with you standing there.”

  “I won’t faint or anything.”

  Max had to admit, Zoe didn’t look at all frightened at the sight of the rather healthy snake slithering on the ground less than three feet away from her. He’d handled more than his fair share of snakes growing up, and living on a farm he’d killed plenty too, without incident. But with her standing so close, the last thing he wanted was to disturb the snake and it flick around and bite her.

  “Good. Don’t go fainting.” He spied an old broom by the back door and went over slowly and picked it up. This snake had made a big mistake coming into his backyard. He had his own family to protect.

  The tail of the snake finally slid over the path, and as it kept on its way over the dying grass, Max stepped confidently over to it. Lowering the broomstick, he tried to encourage the snake to wrap around it. He wasn’t sure if it was going to work. The snake was long, and heavy, but it was the best approach he had right now. He wasn’t about to kill it in front of Zoe. She didn’t need such a harsh introduction to farm life and especially not while she was pregnant.

  “You going to kill it or what?”

  He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Not while you’re here.”

  She huffed loudly. “Aren’t they territorial?”

  Max wasn’t sure how she knew so much about snakes. “True. I’ll relocate it.”

  “Don’t you need a bag or something to put it in?”

  “Shhh… let me concentrate.”

  Max inhaled slowly, trying to reduce his pulse, and keep himself calm. Zoe was obvious not rattled by this encounter. At all. He lowered the wooden broomstick a little further, coaxing the snake over it, then he lifted, moving it toward the fence. Luckily the snake didn’t protest, and with patience, he got it to slither through a small hole at the bottom of the corrugated iron fence.

  He exhaled with relief as it went on its way. If he did have a bag he’d have put it inside, but then again it was
a huge snake and he didn’t necessarily like his chances of successfully doing that. Hopefully, the snake was just passing through. Max hit the broom on the fence, making a hell of a noise, hoping to let it know that this wasn’t a peaceful place for it to decide to call home.

  “You think that will convince it to move on?”

  “How do you know so much about snakes?”

  “Year Ten project in Science.” Her voice was entirely matter-of-fact.

  He didn’t think a year ten project in science would be enough to deal with seeing a brown snake live, they were one of the most dangerous snakes in Australia.

  Max strode back to her, perplexed at how calm she was. “Are you all right?” He rested his hand on her bare arm, her skin smooth and hot, and a delight to touch. He shivered. He didn’t know what he’d do if anything happened to her or the baby.

  “Of course, I am. I only watched a snake do what’s natural. It wasn’t like it was about to attack me or anything.”

  He was speechless. Zoe might be a city girl, but she was undoubtedly behaving like a country girl.

  “Come on, don’t you have water to check?”

  “Now, hang on…” Max rushed to catch up with her. “This is why you need to stay here.”

  “Bloody hell, Max.” Zoe spun around her eyes blazing with fortitude. “You want me to stay here to avoid snakes? Well, guess what, there was a snake in the house yard, and I was just fine. I don’t see how it’s any safer for me here than going out with you to check the water.”

  Max’s eyes widened. He was about to tell her to calm down but managed to stop the words from slipping out. The last thing he wanted to do was to fuel her emotion.

  Zoe crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him.

  He knew he’d lost the argument. Too damn easily.

  “Come on then.” He stepped in front of her and opened the gate. “After you.”

  “That’s more like it.” She smiled at him as she walked past.

  He shook his head and managed to grin.

  He might just be the luckiest man to have found Zoe, and to have her in his life.

  Don’t screw it up.

  The ute bumped along the fence of the boundary line between Greenfields and the next farm owned by the McLaughlin’s. The flat land stretched out in all directions, dry and brown, yet there was a fertile vibe with the hint of green, native trees and bushes, and the cattle casually grazing, ignoring them as they rattled past. In the distance, the Flinders Ranges added a majestic landmark with their mountainous height. The sun’s rays felt hot despite it only being mid-morning. Zoe didn’t mind the heat so much, though it felt more intense, whether that was because she was further north or because she was pregnant, she didn’t know. Maybe it was a mixture of both.

  Zoe didn’t mind the rough ride in the passenger seat. She didn’t wear a seat belt, and she slid around, so she had to grab at the door handle a few times. The window was down, to let in the breeze since the air conditioning didn’t work. Zoe had never felt so alive and it beat sitting at home. She enjoyed looking at the landscape of her new home. A shudder slid down her spine. Could she call this her new home? A flutter in her belly made her think that perhaps the baby could.

  There were a few quick jobs she could’ve done—legal research she was employed to do working from home for her old firm in Adelaide—but she’d much rather go out and see the farm and spend time with Max. She could imagine that in a few months or so, a ride like this wouldn’t be at all comfortable. Besides, the legal work was hard to do with the reduced internet speed, and with the approach of Christmas, the tasks being sent to her had dwindled.

  She hadn’t told Max this fact though, that she wasn’t going to be getting much work for the next few weeks, and she was concerned this might even extend into the new year. Zoe didn’t know how else she’d earn an income, and Max had already made it clear that money was tight. All that aside, she did have plenty of time during the day to work at something. Designing the baby’s room she knew she could do too, but while she still could she wanted to focus on doing something that would earn money. She wanted to do her bit also for their growing family.

  “I’m trying to avoid the bumps,” said Max, as he drove the ute.

  “Could’ve fooled me.” Zoe felt herself almost lift off the seat of the ute from the impact of hitting a rock.

  “Sorry. This is why maybe you should’ve stayed home.”

  “Not this again.” She turned to look at him, but he kept his attention straight ahead.

  Zoe laughed.

  “What the hell is so funny?”

  “You. And for the record, I’m having the time of my life.”

  Zoe saw a surprised look on Max’s face as he glanced at her.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, I am. It’s certainly more exciting than sitting at a desk all day.” She missed the intellectual challenge of her job, but the adventure out there was something more. Like seeing the snake before.

  “I guess I should be happy about that.”

  “Damn right you should, now stop worrying.” There was another flutter in her belly, and she put her hand there, wanting to feel the baby again. Would it look more like her or Max? Would it have his dark eyes? Or her blonde hair? Tall like him, or shorter like herself? A bit of her time was spent wondering about what the baby would look like. She couldn’t wait to meet the precious bundle.

  “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?” she asked.

  “Ahhh… it would have to be a boy.” He slowed the ute, and turned right, following the edge of the open paddock.

  “Because…?” She arched her eyebrow at him. She supposed it would be typical for a farmer to want a boy with that inheritance thing. Surely, that didn’t matter so much these days, though?

  “To help me on the farm.”

  I was right. She adjusted her position on the passenger seat, so she was more relaxed, the slower speed more comfortable with less bumping around.

  “A girl could help you just as much,” Zoe retorted. Whenever she felt like things were going well, there was something, a comment, a niggle from Max that fueled the doubt in her mind.

  Max stopped the ute. “We’re here. First water trough to check.”

  “Don’t avoid my comment,” Zoe demanded. Now they weren’t moving, the airflow had diminished and she began to feel the heat of the day.

  Max put on the hand brake with an effort. The ute was old, and needed to be upgraded to a newer model a few years ago. “As long as you and the baby are healthy, I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl.”

  “Really?” She wasn’t at all expecting that sort of answer from him.

  “Yes, really.” He reached over and put his hand on her leg. A pulse of desire shot through her skin from his touch. The heat seeped into her, melting away the doubt and the frustration that had been building within her.

  “Do you want to find out the gender of the baby?” she asked.

  “I dunno…” he scratched his head, “… I think I want it to be a surprise.”

  “Oh…” She felt a little deflated.

  “You don’t want it to be a surprise?”

  “No, I don’t. I want to find out.” She was determined to stick to her resolve on this one. To her, it made a lot of practical sense to find out. It determined how she’d decorate the baby’s room, and it would mean they would only have to debate over the name for one gender and not two. They could do with fewer arguments.

  “I thought it was too soon to find out?”

  “I have a doctor’s appointment next week at Burra.” They had, at least, discussed the fact that closer to the due date Zoe would return to Adelaide so the baby was born in a hospital there, not at Burra where the resources were minimal.

  “And you’ll find out then?”

  “I can. I want to. And, you’re coming with me?”

  “Of course.”

  She could tell he’d forgotten about the appointment. It annoyed her. It was e
asier for him she guessed because his body wasn’t rapidly changing. Even she had moments when she forgot she was pregnant.

  He sighed heavily. “Let’s talk about this later, I need to get these water troughs checked before it gets too hot.”

  Max got out, not giving Zoe a chance to respond. She clenched her jaw. Maybe this was a conversation to have later, but she didn’t like how he avoided it now. There was so much they needed to sort out, and with the approach of Christmas adding to things, she wasn’t sure that this was going to happen. She still wasn’t sure what they were going to be doing on Christmas Day. She assumed it would be with his family, the threat of a fire meant that Max was reluctant to go far from the farm. Her chest tightened. This would be the first Christmas without her parents, and the last before she became a mom.

  Wanting to be part of the farming experience with Max, she got out of the ute. Her feet crunched on dried grass as she walked up to him. A breeze teased her summer skirt around her legs, making her feel cooler. She watched Max check over the water trough. To her, it looked like there was plenty of water. She walked up to the fence, rested her hand on the old wooden post and looked out. This land was all Max’s, and it was hard to believe that his family owned so much. Yet, they were hard done by financially. Would this be what their unborn child would inherit?

  There was so much she still needed to get her head around. The wind lifted, blowing warm air over her, tanging her blonde hair, as she let it take away her thoughts. A sense of peace washed over her. She felt a connection to the earth rise up through her feet, grounding her to the land. There was freedom, space, and life here that she’d never experienced before from living in the city.