Page 30 of Stockman's Sandstorm

She pushed open the kitchen screen door that led to the side verandah, which faced the sheds. Ruby wagged her tail as she sat on the verandah where Mason was happily pushing over another box of empty beer cans that spilled everywhere.

‘Ash?’ The first words she’d spoken to him in days.

‘Yeah …’ Not even a few metres away, Ash stood on the dead grass wearing thick goggles, holding the controls for his drone that was nowhere in sight.

‘You need childproof locks for the doors in the house. And can you please find somewhere else to leave the garbage? I’m not cleaning that mess up.’

‘But—’

‘I’m not a housekeeper. It’s your beer. Your problem.’

He didn’t even bother looking at her, his eyes hidden behind those oversized goggles.

‘You can help yourself if you want one, then it’ll be your beer, too.’ He shared a grin while focused on something else.

‘I don’t like beer.’

‘Maybe you should. It’d get rid of that stick up your—’

‘What did you say?’ She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot on the verandah’s floorboards.

Finally, he peered over the goggles. But only for a moment, to pin her with a look that was full of annoyance. ‘Leave me a note for whatever it is you said.’

‘Childproof locks. Mason is getting into the fridge—’

‘Okay, okay.’ He ripped off his goggles. ‘You don’t need to harp on it, Harper.’

‘Finally, someone said it.’ The evil chuckle came from Dex, pulling out a beer from the nearby beer fridge. ‘I’d shout you a beer, Harper, but then you don’t like beer. And we don’t do wine for whiners.’

‘I’ve had enough of you!’ She pointed at Dex, sick of his constant snide remarks, and the way he kept betting against her. She’d made it through the first week—barely—and now he’d extended the bet to the end of the month.

‘Just who do you think you are?’ She snarled at the bully.

Dex leaned against the fridge, wearing that smirk she wanted to slap off his face. ‘Why don’t you tell me? I’m all ears.’

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa … Easy, Harper.’ Ash rushed to put himself in between her and Dex.

‘Are you defending him?’ She stabbed at the air over Ash’s shoulder, aiming at public enemy number one.

‘No. I was just trying to protect you from Dex.’

That made her blink.

Dex just chuckled as he walked away.

Arsehole.

Ryder kept pacing back and forth. His constant heavy boot steps were driving her insane as he remained oblivious to, or uncaring of, Dex’s smugness and her anger.

‘Harper?’ Ash lowered his voice, as his callused palm gripped her arm to drag her further away from the brothers. ‘Dex is doing that to tick you off on purpose.’

She pulled herself free from his grip. ‘So he can win the freaking bet?’

Ash’s brow ruffled, keeping one eye on the drone’s handheld monitor. ‘I told him it was wrong.’

‘Did anyone else make a bet about me?’

He shrugged. ‘They’re not discussing it in front of me.’

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