Outback Secrets by Rachael Johns

Chapter Seven

Henri drove back to the farm on autopilot, barely noticing her surrounds at all.

What the F had she just done? There was clearly something seriously wrong with her!

No way would she have come up with such a preposterous plan—never mind begged a near stranger to be her partner in crime—if she were in the right frame of mind.

She’d all but decided to deliver the stuff home and then turn around and head back into The Palace to let Liam know he was off the hook, but even before she’d parked Cecil out the front of the homestead, her mother was flying down the verandah steps towards her, and the utes parked nearby indicated they had company.

Sure enough, as she climbed out of the van her brothers appeared—Andrew carrying a mug, Callum holding his two-year-old, Joe, who was munching on a piece of coconut slice. It must be smoko time.

‘There you are!’ her mother exclaimed, puffing a little as she met Henri halfway.

‘What took you so long, little sis?’ Callum said with a knowing grin.

She hadn’t been gone that long, had she?

‘Hey, little buddy.’ Ignoring her brother, she reached out and ruffled her nephew’s white-blond curls. ‘Is Hannah here?’

‘Nope, she’s volunteering at school this arvo—they’re making Christmas decorations or something. So Joe’s with me on the farm.’

‘Never mind about Hannah.’ Her mum grabbed Henri firmly by the elbow. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you and Liam Castle were an item?’

Ah right.That accounted for the weird welcome.

‘Um … I …’ Henri looked to her brothers for help, but they just grinned and shrugged, clearly finding this highly amusing. ‘How’d you find out?’

‘So, it’s true!’

‘Let me guess? Eileen Brady?’ She hadn’t thought the old busybody would be that fast and assumed she’d have time to tell her mother first.

Really? Have you actually thoughtany of this through?

‘Yes, Eileen,’ her mum replied, ‘and didn’t she gloat when she called to deliver the news? You have some explaining to do, young lady! The least you could have done was tell me yourself.’

Max and Muriel finally looked up from where they’d been dozing under the jacaranda tree, purple blossoms gently raining down on them. No doubt they thought they were in trouble because Fiona was using her loud, angry voice. The voice that had Henri running away and hiding in the dirt under the shearing shed many a time when she was little. It was tempting to turn and run in that direction now.

‘Calm down, Mum,’ she said instead. ‘I didn’t want to get your hopes up, so we were going to keep things on the down-low while we got to know each other a bit better, but—’

‘She was seen,’ said Andrew with a smirk.

Henri looked daggers at him.

‘So, it’s true? You and Liam Castle are going out?’ She hit Henri with her don’t-even-think-about-lying-to-me look.

Henri nodded, trying to ignore the lump that had swelled in her throat. ‘Let’s go inside and I’ll explain.’

‘Fine.’ Still gripping Henri’s arm, her mother all but started dragging her towards the house.

Henri halted in her tracks when Callum and Andrew followed. ‘You two can go back to work, you know.’

They exchanged a look, then Andrew said, ‘Are you kidding? How long’s it been since you’ve had a boyfriend? We wouldn’t miss this for the world.’

A sigh had barely escaped Henri’s lips when they all turned back at the sound of Tilley’s four-wheel drive tearing over the gravel.

Oh Lord, just what she needed.

‘What are you doing here?’ she called as Tilley climbed out. The passenger door opened at the same time and Macy emerged as well.

‘Mace isn’t feeling well, so I had to pick her up from school. But we’re crazy busy in the shop this arvo, so I hoped you wouldn’t mind if she hangs out with you, Mum?’

‘Course not.’ She let go of Henri’s arm and went forward to take Macy’s, pulling the girl into her side. ‘Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you into the house and settled on the sofa. But don’t think this lets you off the hook, Henrietta.’

‘What’s going on?’ Tilley asked, looking between them all.

‘Haven’t you heard?’ Callum snorted. ‘Henri’s shacked up with the publican!’

She glared at him. ‘I have not shacked up with anyone.’ And they wondered why she usually only came home for a few days at a time.

‘Oh my God,’ Tilley exclaimed. ‘So that’s where you stayed on Saturday night?’

‘She didn’t stay with you?’ their mum asked.

Tilley shook her head, grinning widely. ‘But I should have guessed.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ Henri frowned.

‘Well, the two of you were getting along very well at the pub Saturday night. I could have fried an egg on the heat zapping back and forth between you. In hindsight it’s obvious that’s why you didn’t want to leave when the rest of us did.’

Henri bit down on the impulse to tell her that she’d been annoyed because of the way she’d felt almost bullied about her love-life by her and their friends, but instead she said, ‘To be honest, I wasn’t sure anything was going to happen then. I was just enjoying our conversation … but, well …’ She felt her cheeks heat with the lie she was about to tell. ‘Some things are just hard to fight.’

She expected her siblings to burst out laughing and call her bluff, and her mother to accuse her of telling porkies and threaten to wash her mouth out with soap, but miraculously they all beamed.

Fiona pressed her free hand against her heart. It looked as if she was close to tears. Oh God. Henri swallowed the pinprick of guilt—she’d started something now, so she may as well follow through. At least this would take her mind off the mess inside her head.

‘I felt exactly the same way when I met your father,’ her mum said. ‘All he had to say was four little words and I was a goner. I’d have married him right there on the spot.’

‘What were the four little words, Granny?’ asked Macy.

‘You can’t swim there,’ she replied, smiling tenderly at her granddaughter. ‘Granddad was a lifesaver for the summer on the beach, you see, and—’

While her mother began a story they’d all heard a zillion times before, Henri took the chance to escape into the house. She went straight into the kitchen and started to make herself a sandwich—stress made her hungry. The last six weeks her appetite had gone bonkers.

‘Hey, good for you, little sis,’ Andrew said, pulling Henri into his side in a rare show of affection. ‘I’ve always thought Liam was a good bloke.’

‘Yeah,’ Callum agreed as he deposited Joe in the highchair and gave him another piece of slice that Henri was almost certain his mother wouldn’t approve of. Hannah was a nutritionist and kept a very careful eye on how much sugar her kids ate.

‘Yeah, he is.’ Henri took a bite of her sandwich so she didn’t have to elaborate. Probably the less she said, the better.

‘So,’ her mother began as she arrived in the kitchen with Tilley and Macy, who didn’t look too sick to Henri. ‘Is this thing between you and Liam serious, then? What does he think about you being away so much for work?’

It was clear where she was going with that and although this was what Henri had intended when she’d come up with this harebrained plan, she didn’t want to lead her family on any more than was strictly necessary to make it through the next couple of weeks. ‘We’ve only just hooked up, Mum. It’s not like we’ve had much of a chance to talk about the future yet.’

‘So, Hens, I want all the details. What’s Liam like …’ Tilley wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. ‘You know?’

Henri glared at her sister. Had she totally forgotten the presence of little ears? Not to mention their brothers and their mother. Faking a relationship was one thing, pretending to share Liam’s bed was part of that, but talking about their non-existent carnal adventures was simply not going to happen.

‘I thought you were busy at the shop this afternoon,’ she said pointedly. ‘And Macy is looking pale. Maybe we should get her settled on the couch in front of a movie?’

Tilley sighed and glanced at her watch. ‘Yes, no rest for the wicked. Will you be okay, Mace? I’ll come get you later. Try to get some rest and drink lots of fluids.’ Then she thrust her index finger at Henri. ‘Don’t think this conversation is over. It’s my right as big sister to all the juicy details.’

‘Goodbye,’ Henri replied as Tilley walked out the back door.

‘I’ve always liked Liam,’ her mother announced. ‘Some say he’s a bit of an odd body, but he’s never been anything but pleasant to me. And he cleaned up the pub in a way I could never have imagined possible when Arthur owned it. You could do a lot worse, darling.’

Henri didn’t trust herself to do anything but smile.

‘We’ll have to have him round for dinner. Or maybe we can have a barbecue one night? James and Tilley can come out, and we can have it at your place, Andrew—you have that newfangled barbecue.’

‘Liam works nights.’ Henri rushed to nip the idea in the bud. Being seen at the pub or around town was one thing, but actually having to pretend in front of her family for hours sounded like hell, not to mention unfair on the poor guy.

‘Oh, I’m sure he can get one night off. Or we could have him round for Sunday lunch?’

‘The pub’s open for lunch on Sundays too,’ Henri pointed out.

Her mother frowned as if trying to work out a suitable time.

‘Mum, maybe you should take a chill pill,’ Andrew said. ‘Henri told you it’s early days. It’s not like they’re engaged. You don’t wanna scare the guy off, and they probably just want to spend some time alone.’

Henri gave her eldest brother a grateful smile.

Her mum sighed. ‘I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m just … I’m happy for you, Henrietta.’ She grabbed Macy’s hand again. ‘Come on, you, let’s go find a movie to watch.’

Then she left the room, beaming like she’d just been given the elixir of eternal life.