Amelia's Outback Christmas (12 Naughty Days of Christmas) Read online

  “Oh shit. Sorry.” Trevor was worried, she could be anywhere. “I didn’t mean to swear.”

  “Don’t apologize.” The man’s voice cracked with emotion. “It about sums it up. Trev, I have someone looking for her but there’s one thing you should know.”

  “What’s that?”

  “She printed your details from my computer. Thankfully she didn't clear the history. I did some checking after I found that out and realized she’d bought airline tickets in person. I’m pretty sure she’s on the way to you.”

  Trevor sat straight up. “Here? She’s coming here?”

  “I think so. Please son, if you hear from her or if she actually makes it all the way there. Please let me know.”

  “Of course, don’t worry Buck, I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “I hope so.”

  ***

  Trev got up and made coffee. He took his laptop with him and sat at the well-worn kitchen table. He looked up flights and tried to figure out when he might expect her, if in fact she was going to arrive at all. She wouldn’t have been able to get a visa that fast would she? He dialed Buck’s number.

  “Is she there already?” Buck asked.

  “Sorry, no. I was just wondering, wouldn’t she have to have a visa? She couldn’t get that in a couple of days.”

  “She has a visa. We were coming to Australia for a vacation last year and I had to cancel at the last minute because Millie was sick.”

  “It wouldn’t be expired?”

  “No, I got one for twelve months.”

  “Okay. Well at least we know they aren’t going to hold her up in customs. I’ll call you if and when I know anything.”

  “Thanks son.”

  Trevor poured himself a strong cup of coffee and flopped back into the chair. His heart was racing and he had no idea what to do or how to feel. Part of him was more than a little excited at the thought of having Millie here in his family home for Christmas. He was also worried sick; he wanted to whip the tail off her for being so reckless, with her own safety, with her dad’s sanity and with people’s feelings in general. If she really wanted to come to Australia she only had to go about that the right way. He would have gladly had she and her father for Christmas.

  The door clicked behind him and he realized he wasn’t alone. “What are you up to?” his mum asked. “You do realize it’s the middle of the night. We all have to be up in a couple of hours.”

  “I know Mum, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to bed. I just got a phone call from the States, now I’m fully awake.”

  “Oh? Bad news?”

  “I don’t know. I hope not.”

  “Wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain someone called Amelia, would it?”

  “What makes you say that?” Trevor asked.

  “Oh I don’t know. The name seems to filter into a lot of conversations since you got home. She made an impression on you.”

  “Not always a good one.” A lot of times when he mentioned her, Trevor was talking about how annoying she could be.

  “Mum, this has to do with Millie.”

  “Millie now?”

  “She told her dad she was going to go back to school and instead he thinks she’s gotten on a plane and is on her way here,” Trevor said.

  “School? How old is this girl?” Mindy sounded worried.

  “She’s eighteen Mum, nearly nineteen. When I say school I mean university.”

  “Oh thank goodness.”

  “But she is only eighteen. She has a major crush on me.” It was embarrassing for him to admit that but if he didn’t talk to someone he was going to explode.

  “I see. How exactly do you feel about her?”

  “Exactly? No idea,” he admitted. “I thought she was like an annoying little sister but since I’ve been back—”

  “You’ve missed her.”

  “I have,” Trevor said.

  “And how do you feel about the prospect of her turning up here?”

  “So many things that I don’t know how to process them all.”

  “I see.” His mum nodded with a knowing smile. “I wonder what she’s going to think of one of our hot Christmases.”

  “What if she doesn’t turn up at all?”

  “Then maybe you’ll have to go and find her. I have to admit I’m excited to meet her. I will also be giving her a few stern words once we get acquainted. That is a terrible thing she did to her dad at Christmas.”

  “I know. She’s about all he’s got, except for his ranch.”

  “Do you have his number, Trev?”

  “Yeah, but Ma you can’t get involved in this.”

  “I wasn’t going to. I just thought the man could do with someone to talk to, that’s all.”

  Reluctantly, Trev jotted down the number and passed it to her.

  “Sounds like that young girl needs someone to look after her,” his mum said.

  “Yes it does.”

  ***

  It was morning by the time Amelia arrived in Adelaide. Which morning she wasn’t too sure. Neither did she care. She had slept some on the plane and at this stage all she wanted to do was get where she was going. After asking several people, she found her way to a counter where small private airlines offered flights to remote areas. Thank goodness she had her platinum credit card.

  This flight was amazing, unlike her flight from Texas, there wasn’t water below her. A lot of what she saw was red dirt or sand with patches of green. None of this was foreign to her; this was farming land. What was odd was that it was Christmas. No snow, not even a bit of chill on the windows. Still it would be different and she was looking forward to it, kind of. In the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of reaction she was going to get when she got there. What if he packed her up and sent her back home? She’d end up spending Christmas in the air by herself.

  ***

  There was nothing Trevor could do. He’d given up trying to reach Amelia and decided instead to try and get on with the work around the farm. It was when he was way out in one of the back pastures moving cattle that he heard the plane. It wasn’t a usual thing to see a small plane so low, it was obviously coming in to land. When he’d gotten the cattle to a fresh grazing area he made his way back to the house. The plane was just a dot in the sky.

  “Paddy!” he called. “Paddy!”

  The young boy came bolting from the house. “You gotta visitor,” he said.

  “I thought I might have, can you take Jo and look after him for me please, Pad?”

  “‘Course I will. Your visitor is a girl.”

  “Really.”

  “Yep, is it your girlfriend?”

  “No she’s not my girlfriend.” Not yet, he thought. The way his heart was thumping in his chest, he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to keep pushing her away.

  ***

  Amelia knew that Trev was home. She chewed her lip nervously as she waited for him to show himself. Her tummy fluttered.

  “Sit yourself down,” Mindy said, “I’ll put the kettle on. I thought we might be getting a visitor, so I’m prepared. She produced a sponge cake with fresh jam and cream and placed it in the middle of the table.

  “Tea or coffee, Amelia?”

  “I’d love a cup of coffee please, Mrs. Harding.”

  “Call me Mindy. Coming right up. Do you have sponge in Texas?”

  “Yes we have sponge cake. Not often. We have a lot of men on our ranch, so cook tends to make more solid things. They like pound cake or pie for dessert.”

  “Oh I know how men like to eat but I love a good sponge myself.”

  “So do I,” Trevor said from the doorway. “You little Miss Millie have a lot of explaining to do.”

  “Trev!” If she was scared to face him it wasn’t apparent as she ran across the room and threw herself into his arms.

  “You scared the bejesus out of all of us. Your dad is beside himself. I was beside myself. Why didn’t you call or something so we kn
ew you were okay?”

  “I thought it would be better to talk to you in person. I told Daddy that I was going back to school. I thought he’d think I was safe.”

  “He rang the school to see if you were okay.”

  “I’m just going to go and feed the chickens, give you young ones some time.”

  “Thanks Mum,” Trevor said.

  Amelia watched Mindy go and take her safety net with her. Now she was about to see how Trev really felt about her being there. “I’m sorry I worried everyone.”

  “Ring your dad now. I don’t think he’s slept at all since you left.”

  Amelia nodded. “Is he angry?”

  “No I think he’s just sad.” He took out his phone and dialed Buck’s number. “Buck. I have someone who would like to talk to you.”

  Amelia felt like a heel. She took the phone and almost whispered into it. “Hi Daddy, I’m sorry I worried you.”

  “I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said, obvious relief seeping through the phone.

  “You’re going to have Christmas alone now, because of me.”

  “I’ll be fine,” he said. “A lot of the boys are hanging around for Christmas.”

  “I love you, Daddy, “ Amelia said, brushing a tear from her eye. It was only at that moment that it dawned on her that she was going to have Christmas away from her father for the very first time in her life.

  “Now that’s dealt with, we need to talk,” Trevor said.

  “I’m guessing that by talking you don’t mean to use many words,” Amelia said.

  “Some. I still have some words for you, Millie but I’m a multitasker.” He took her hand and tugged her into the lounge room, which luckily for her at this time of the day, was empty.

  He sat on one of the overstuffed couches and pulled her between his knees. “I’ve missed you Millie,” he said. “I still think you have some growing up to do. This was an incredibly immature and selfish stunt and I’m not going to let you get away with it without punishment.”

  “Okay,” she whispered. Here it comes, another spanking. Was he going to bare her or just spank her over her clothes.

  With that he tipped her over his knee and brought his hand down sharply on the back of her jeans. “I will not have my girlfriend acting like a spoiled brat, stomping all over other people’s feelings and throwing tantrums when things don’t go her way. Things are never going to go your way all the time, never. You need to learn that that’s a great thing because when things go right it makes them all the sweeter.” He punctuated each word with a slap, pelting her jean-clad bottom with his heavy hand.

  Millie tried to process the sting. Even through her jeans it stung. Nothing like the night he’d spanked her naked bottom but this hurt all the same. Then her mind had a jolt. What had he said? Had he called her his girlfriend? He had. All of a sudden the spanking didn’t matter. Trev wanted her for a girlfriend and that was all there was to worry about. She didn’t realize that the smacks had actually stopped until she was hauled to her feet. “Did you call me your girlfriend?”

  “Yes, I believe I did.” His lips found hers and her whole body sighed. It was like the ultimate relief. Trev had been right. It was all the sweeter when things went your way.

  Trev finally pulled away. “I do want you to be my girl but I don’t know how we’re going to make that work logistically, but we’ll make it work somehow. Now, I want you to bend over the sofa so I can finish your punishment.

  “Why you already spanked me.”

  “Through your jeans, and I’m pretty sure you didn’t get the full impact of the smacks or the lecture. Hear this though, this is just a taste of what will happen to you if you lie or sneak away without telling anyone where you are.”

  Amelia wasn’t too sure what she was setting herself up for here but she knew one thing as soon as she saw him again, she loved Trev and if he thought this was best then she trusted him. She did want to do better. Maybe this was the way.

  ***

  Trev stood and waited while Millie bent over the sofa. He slipped his belt through the loops on his jeans, trying to ignore the petrified look on her face when she realized what he was about to do. It had been drilled into him since he came of age with every aspect of adult life: start the way you mean to go on. Although, he had never put it to this situation before. Trev bent the belt in two and secured the buckle within the palm of his hand. He raised it high. “Just five,” he said. He cracked the thick leather across her bottom wincing when she wailed.

  “No! That hurt!”

  “It’s meant to hurt, that’s the point.” Once again he raised the belt and flicked it across the very center of her bottom but this time he held her back with his other hand, making it easier to keep still. He didn’t raise it the next couple of times but instead used a flick of the wrist to slap each cheek separately.

  “It hurts,” she whined.

  “Last one,” he said. He did raise the belt for the final blow and he brought it down across the underside of her bottom, making sure she would at least feel it as she sat this evening. That one made her cry. He pulled her up into his arms and hugged her tight. “Shh,” he soothed. “It’s all over now.”

  “I’m sorry.” she sniffled. “I didn’t mean to lie.”

  “I know. The trick is to practice telling the truth so the lies don’t slip so easily off the tongue. Okay?”

  She nodded. “What happens now?”

  “Now we get ready for an Outback Christmas. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, there’s work to be done.”

  ***

  “This is delicious, Mindy,” Millie said as she gobbled up her second piece of cake.

  “Thank you, honey. Later we’ll start the cooking for Christmas day. You can help me if you like.”

  “I would like that very much.” This was so nice for Millie. It had been so long since she’d had a mom and Mindy was a real motherly type of mom. It would be nice to have her teach Millie some basic things to cook. Being at this place, she thought she’d like to learn to cook, especially Christmas dishes. At the ranch, they mostly just barbecued at Christmas. That’s how it had been since her mom died.

  “Can we go get the tree yet?” Paddy said from the doorway. “I waited all day.”

  “Yes we can. Dad won’t be back until later tonight so the three of us will go. Are you up to it?” he asked Millie. “Do you have jet lag?”

  “I’d like to go,” she said.

  “Can we ride?” Paddy asked.

  Trev looked at Millie, making her ride after the spanking would be cruel. “We’ll take the truck. We can’t get the tree back on horseback.”

  “We could drag in behind on a sling thing like we did last year.”

  “Not this year mate, we’ll take the truck.”

  The truck wasn’t a great deal better than a horse would have been. Millie had to smile, though, apart from the inevitable bumping on her sore bottom Paddy was hilarious and kept them entertained for the entire journey, which turned out to not be too far. There was a patch where they grew their own Cypress pines. They were pretty, lighter green than she was used to and the leaves were different but pretty never the less. She couldn’t wait to see it all decorated.

  Chapter 4

  “Right! Time to get started on the food,” Mindy said when they got back from their short trip to get the tree. “The shortbread biscuits have been baked and put in the little bags but they need to have ribbons tied around them so we can hang them on the tree. Paddy and Trev? That’s your job.”

  “Okay Mum,” Paddy said. This was his favorite job of the season. He could sneak the odd biscuit while he was tying.

  “Don’t eat too many Pad, you’ll be sick.”

  Trev grinned, slid one out of the packet and popped the buttery goodness into his mouth. “They’re a good batch, Ma,” he said.

  “That goes for you too, Trev,” she said. “There’s a ton of food here, I want your bellies empty by tomorrow and there’s still the Christmas Eve tea to get th
rough.”

  Amelia looked at the array of meat and blinked, her tummy did an unusual flip at the sight, but she didn’t want it to look like she didn’t want to help. “So what do we do first?”

  “First we stuff and prepare the turkey and we put it back in the fridge.” Mindy showed Millie step by step how to cut, sauté and mix the ingredients for the seasoning and then she left her to fill the cavity with the mixture.

  “It’s kind of gross,” Millie said with a wrinkled nose. The smell wafted under her nose and she started to feel queasy.

  “You get used to it,” Mindy said. “And the flavor makes it worth it. Without the stuffing it would be very bland.”

  “Okay,” Millie said. She persevered, swallowing often to push away the sick feeling that was creeping into her throat.

  “Next the pork,” Mindy said.

  When Mindy slapped a large leg of pork onto the counter, Millie wiped the sweat from her forehead. It was so hot in this kitchen. “I think I need to get some air,” she said. She felt the color drain from her face and she clutched at the counter.

  “Trev!” Mindy called, getting behind Millie to stop her from falling. “Millie’s sick.”

  Trev pushed his chair back and darted across the room, scooping his girl into his arms. “Can you put the air conditioner on in the lounge?”

  “Of course. Paddy, wet a cloth.”

  Millie opened her eyes and Trev was sitting right beside her. “Trev, sorry. I don’t think I’m going to be a very good cook.”

  “I won’t hold that against you. It is very hot. We’re used to it, but I should have known it would hit you, it usually does.”

  “Trev, the heat’s not helping but it’s not that,” Millie said. “That’s not the problem.”

  “What is it then? Are you sick?”

  “Not really.”

  “What is it then?”

  “Remember the last time we were together before you came home?”

  It dawned on him slowly and his jaw dropped. “You’re pregnant?”