"Ah." Ned cleared his throat as he climbed out of bed. "Looks like Ryan's a bit unsettled. I'll get him a drink and sleep with him in his bed."
Jemmy nodded, and it was hard to read the expression on her face.
Disappointment? Embarrassment?
He turned the light off and closed the door as he led Ryan to the kitchen.
Chapter Fourteen
In the next two weeks, a routine developed in the McCormack household. Ned went to bed at midnight each night, waiting until Jemima was asleep before he climbed in on the other side of the pillow wall. Since the night Ryan had woken them up, Ned slept on the far side of the bed and noticed that Jemima did the same on her side. The pillow wall was quickly thrown to the floor each morning when there was a tap on the door and Gwennie led Ryan in for a morning cuddle, so his terror-of-a-son didn't get to the kitchen first and try to get his own breakfast.
As soon as the kids arrived, Jemmy would scooter into the bathroom and leave them to tickles and cuddles. Then when she came out dressed and ready for the day and took Ryan to the kitchen, Ned would get out of bed.
All very civilised, but what Jemmy didn't know was that he'd lie there listening to her soft breathing until he drifted off to sleep. Sleeping in the same bed as her every night was killing him. She was a beautiful woman, and Ned was discovering more every day that her beauty was way more than skin deep. She was patient with the kids; she was a hard worker-the house was spotless, and the washing and ironing was always up to date, and yesterday he'd noticed that the gardens inside the house fence had been weeded and watered.
As they cooked dinner together-as they had done since the steak and potato disaster-he looked out into the back garden. There were piles of weeds at regular intervals along the back fence.
"I don't expect you to look after the yard, too, Jemmy."
"I enjoy that. That's the best part of the day." Her smile was wide as she stood beside him, peeling the potatoes.
Ned shook his head and moved to stand behind her. He put his arm on either side of her and took the potato peeler from her hand. "Watch this. If you do it this way, it's much quicker."
Her hair tickled his nose, and he could feel the warmth of her skin through his work shirt. He stepped back. "Now you try."
That wasn't a wise move. He'd have to try and forget how good she smelled before he went to bed tonight.
"Mrs. McGillicuddy rang today." Jemima's words held a lilt of amusement. "Apparently, one of your children told them the steak and potato story at school. Mrs. M was there doing volunteer reading."
"Let me guess. Gwennie's class?" he said with a groan.
"Yes. Anyway, she asked me if I want to go to cooking lessons on Friday at the CWA Hall, and I think it's a good idea." Her smile was cheeky now. "It would save you some time."
"Only if you want to. We're coping fine now that you've fessed up about your kitchen skills." He bumped her with his hip. "You know, I still would have hired you if you'd told me you didn't cook, although it's hard to believe that a Spring Downs girl never learned-"
"Hired me? Is that what you call it?" Her chuckle was deep and husky, and unwanted desire slammed through Ned. "I'll bottle some picked onions next week just to prove you wrong."
Whoa, boy.
"You didn't hire her, Daddy. You're silly. You married her!" Gwennie was indignant, and Ned and Jemima shared a look of alarm. Desire fled out the window.
"Don't you dare go repeating any more conversations at school, young lady. Or there will be trouble. What is discussed at home stays at home. Is that clear?" Ned kneeled down in front of Gwennie.
"Yes, Daddy." The tone was meek.
"Don't forget, okay?"
"I won't."
Ned lifted Gwennie and swung her high. "Who's the best daddy in the whole world?"
"Um, I don't know." She giggled as she put her arms around his neck.
Ned pouted. They'd played this game since she was a little girl.
"You are, Daddy!"
"Now give me a kiss, bub."
"One for me, and then one for Jemmy," she said with a funny look on her face.
A ripple of alarm ran through Ned. Was Gwennie picking up that their marriage was not the real thing?
He kissed Gwennie's cheek and put her down. Before he could turn to Jemima, she was at his side and holding her face up.
"My turn."
Ned smiled and forgot all about Gwennie standing there as he took Jemima into his arms. The kiss she returned was more than a peck on the cheek. He remembered that Gwennie was standing there before he lost control. But when Jemima's lips opened beneath his, he groaned softly and pulled her closer.
Finally, he pulled back and held Jemima's eyes with his. They were half-closed, and the sexy smile on her face sent his blood pressure skyrocketing.
Gwennie patted his arm. "I like it when you kiss Jemmy, Daddy."
Ned swallowed and watched as Jemima returned to peeling the vegetables.
"Um, I'll just switch the local news on." His voice even sounded shaky to him. He followed Gwennie into the living room and tried to focus on the television.
Dinner was quiet, and Ned retreated to his office when the phone rang.
The situation was working out much better than he'd hoped. Jemima had slotted into the household with ease. And she knew the kids so well; she'd been quick picking up on Gwennie's doubts and had stepped in for that kiss.
The kiss that was going to necessitate another cold shower. He stifled a groan. At this rate, he wasn't going to get any sleep ever. Lying in bed next to Jemima every night with that bloody pillow wall between them was so hard.
The phone rang again, jerking him out of his thoughts.
"Ned, it's Liam. I was wondering if you'd heard about the alliance since you've come home?"
"I've read a little bit about it." Ned stood, crossed to the window, and pulled the blinds down. The outside light had flicked on, and Jemima was at the clothes line hanging the tea towels out.
Jeez, mate. He caught himself staring, and it hadn't even been a full minute since he'd vowed to chop that awareness in the bud.
"We'd love you to join us. If we let them go and do what they're planning, our groundwater will be contaminated right across the Pilliga, and it affects us all."
"Sounds good to me. How can I help?"
"I'll let you know when the next meeting's on. We're making progress. Christos, the company behind it, has just copped a hefty fine for heavy metal contamination of groundwater not far from here." Liam went on to explain more of the technical details, and before he wound up the call, he warned Ned, "Keep an eye out. They've been pretty brazen about coming onto farms and doing test drilling. I think Jemmy knows, but just remind her to keep an eye out when you're out on the farm."
"I will. Thanks, mate." Ned hung the phone up and went back to the window and put the blind up.
All dark outside now.
…
Ned wandered out to the kitchen as Jemima turned the dishwasher on.
"Kids in bed already?" he asked.
"Ryan is. The girls are just brushing their teeth." Jemima folded the dishcloth and placed it on the sink.
"You're doing a great job, Jemmy. I don't think you realise how much you're helping, getting things back to normal, and I'm spending so much more time with the kids. It's been a long time for us."
A rush of affection for this man ran through her. "It's not all my doing"-she put one hand up-"don't you dare say thank you."
"I'll go and tuck the kids in. Can you come to the office in a while? I want to have a bit of a chat."
"A chat?"
"Nothing bad. I just want to streamline some of the points of our agreement."
"Oh, okay. I'll put the kettle on, and we can have our cuppa in there. Is that okay?"
Ned nodded and disappeared down the hall, and Jemima put her hand to her chest, worrying that she'd done something to upset Ned.
A few minutes later, she carried a tray with a pot of coffee and a plate of homemade biscuits that she'd made at the CWA last Friday. She was quite proud of them. Ned came in and closed the door.
Jemima poured the coffee and passed him the plate. "A Melting Moment? Homemade." She beamed.
Ned took a bite and nodded. "Pretty good."
Jemima sat back in the chair and sipped her coffee. "So what's wrong? Have I stuffed up somewhere?"
"No, not at all. I think things are going really well. Brilliantly, in fact. The farm is going so much better than I thought it would this early on. Meeting up with Liam and Garth has been the best thing for the farm-I've got a business plan in place since the bank loan came through, plus the line of credit at the produce store makes it easy to do the accounts. And Billy, he's the farmhand that everyone would love to have."
"So?"
Ned leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands. "Some things are going too well."