The Road Home Read Online Free PDF Page A

deep tanned hand. Her gaze travelled up his arm to a Maori
ta moko
tattoo, then to his ruggedly handsome face, across the black stubble and strong jaw to his deep green eyes. He wore a black shearing singlet that exposed the dark hairs on his wide chest. He was a real specimen of a man. The kind who chops down big trees, fixes cars and rides around on a stallion rescuing princesses – well, in dreams at least.
    Eventually Jack let her hand go and smiled, which softened his whole face, giving it a sexy edge.
    ‘Noah’s sister, hey?’ he said with a slight Kiwi accent, his eyes still fixed on Lara. Sweat glistened on his arms like oil on a cover model.
    Lara glanced towards Noah, who stood just as tall as Jack but skinny in comparison. ‘Yep. She’s the other Turner.’ Noah laughed as he brushed his hand through his long, scruffy brown hair, shifting fragments of wool stuck there.
    ‘I do recall Noah mentioning you a few times, come to think of it.’
    ‘You too.’ Jack looked her up and down purposefully. The heat in his gaze sent shivers down her spine. ‘He left a few things out, though,’ he said with a cheeky smile. He was rubbing his left arm, where a wide scar ran nearly from shoulder to elbow.
    ‘Oh, come on, Jack. As if I’m gonna go around saying my sister’s hot,’ said Noah, rolling his eyes.
    ‘Hey, I’m still here.’ Lara slapped Noah’s arm. ‘Well, seeing as you’re busy, I might just head back to the house and settle in, maybe organise some dinner.’
    Noah kissed her on the forehead. ‘That sounds great, sis. I’m glad you came. I’ll try to knock off early, or you could always come back and help?’
    Lara put her finger to her mouth as she thought. ‘Umm, no.’
    Noah laughed as she waved goodbye to Jack and Ronny and headed to the doorway. She paused, glancing back into the mayhem that was beginning again. Her eyes automatically sought Jack’s dark hair and chiselled body. Fancy finding something that gorgeous in Noah’s shearing shed. It seemed a shame to leave. Jack looked up, as if sensing her eyes. She smiled, caught out, and he winked. Time to go before she blushed.
    She drove Millie back to the house which sat a few hundred metres back in a section of bush. She couldn’t help but look at the old flying fox that their dad had built for them. It went from a large gum tree, which had metal rods stuck in it for a ladder, over a heap of scrub bush and mallee trees, down to the bottom of another large gum tree fifty metres away. Her dad was so clever –
had been so clever
, she corrected herself – always building them swings and fun things to play with. They were outside kids. Now she was an inside adult, stuck in an office all day with a pen and a phone as her tools.
    Lara drove past the large wire dog pens and into the two-car shed off to the right of the house. She climbed out of the car, smiling as familiar smells tugged at her memories. The shed hadn’t changed at all. The same earth floor, corroded rabbit traps resting on the internal beams, old boxes and cupboards against the back wall. No doubt still containing bits of stuff that didn’t have a place in the house.
    She pulled out her overnight case and carried it to the cracked cement pathway so that dirt wouldn’t get in the trolley wheels. Noah had let the garden go a bit, she noticed. The only things still alive were the roses, which were just damn hardy, and the lawn and other shrubs that were on reticulation. There was a large tank near the house, which meant they had to cart water from the standpipe twenty kilometres away. She could remember times when the toilet wouldn’t flush or you couldn’t get a drink from the tap because they’d run out of water.
    As she opened the wooden gate, dog barks erupted. Lara dropped her bag when she saw the kelpie come running towards her as fast as his arthritic legs could go.
    ‘Dippa! Is that you, boy? Holy heck, you’ve gotten old.’ She bent over and rubbed the black