Page 69 of Stockman's Sandstorm

‘Where is everyone else sleeping?’

‘On our swags. We thought you could do with the privacy, and Bree said it’d be easier to contain Mason, so he didn’t run off.’ He unclipped the harness and lowered the boy to the ground. ‘Come on, mate, let’s give the horses to Charlie while Harper picks a spot to sleep.’ He held out his hand to Mason.

Her heart just melted to see Mason gripping one of Ash’s large fingers. It was happening. It was finally happening. But she didn’t want to spook Ash by noticing that the bonding had begun. ‘What do I look for?’

‘Make sure your tent lies on level ground that’s clear. You don’t want the blood rushing to your head in your sleep or having rocks sticking into your back. Go on, princess, find a spot for your palace. I’ll grab the tent.’ He winked at her as he led the two horses and Mason away.

Everyone was doing something, as Harper stumbled through the grasses brushing against her thighs, while her boots trod on dainty white and blue wildflowers releasing their fragrance. She was in awe of this valley that had scattered waterfalls tumbling from the escarpment that surrounded them. It was a world within a world, where even the air they breathed was rare.

Ryder and Dex carried an axe each and disappeared into the thick cluster of trees. Cap helped Bree drag out pots and pans to set up their campfire. Charlie and Ash set up a rope line to corral the unsaddled horses, leaving them to graze in the lush grasses. Yet, they all had that sense of peace, a sense of community, without any of the outside interference or stress and strain Harper was so used to living under.

‘What the flip!’ Dex came running out of the trees, knocking off his hat, waving his hands over his face, doing some weird kung fu dance.

Ryder ran towards him, axe ready to attack. ‘What is it? Snake?’

‘Spider. Can you see it? Is it on me?’ Dex stripped off his shirt, exposing his torso of muscle and ink, slapping and pawing at his neck and face. ‘It was the size of a dinner plate. Swear it.’

‘Look at Dex going all Bruce Lee over a spider!’ Charlie chuckled at Dex, swinging his axe at the dirt.

‘You’re not scared of spiders, are you, Dex?’ Bree stood with hands on her hips wearing a grin that said, I’m going to taunt you about this for the rest of your natural born life.

‘Bird spider.’ With a strong arm bristling with muscles, Dex pointed his axe at Bree. ‘No lip out of you, Bree. It was the size of a flipping dinner plate.’

‘Dex is making that up. Spiders don’t get that big.’ Harper pushed through the grass to find a suitable space away from the brothers, near a scattering of trees, and looked up.

‘AUGH!!!!’ It was a spider, bigger than her head. Harper turned away, only to rush straight into another web bigger than her body, with a massive spider staring at her face to face.

She screamed at the living nightmare, running somewhere, nowhere, anywhere, swatting at her face, jumping at the ground. Her screams echoed in her ears, that only made her scream more as she ran. ‘Spider! Spider!’

Oomph! She was rugby tackled to land on her back in the thick grass, with Ash on top of her.

‘Harper—’

‘It was a dinosaur-sized spider! It had red and black legs. A huge body. And eyes that stared straight at me. Face to face.’ She wriggled to get free and run.

‘Harper. Calm down.’ Ash pinned her arms to her sides as he lay on top of her in the grass.

Her heart hammered loud in her ears. ‘It was huge. No, it was bigger than big.’

‘That was just a bird spider. It’s the golden orb spider, they’re harmless to humans.’

‘How can they exist? Where’s Mason?’ Now she understood why Dex feared them.

‘With Bree. Calm down, those spiders won’t hurt you.’

‘I saw fangs! And their web is like a sticky string. How is that possible?’ She wanted a shower. She wanted to be back indoors.

‘They catch bats, birds, and even snakes in their webs, that’s how strong it is. I’ve seen their webs knock stockmen off their horses. It’s the only thing that scares Dex.’

‘I don’t blame him.’ Her pulse still pounded. She wanted to flee. ‘We have to leave this place.’

‘STOP.’ He forcefully held her wrists to the ground, effectively pinning her underneath him. ‘Harper, look at me. Hey …’ He got so close she had no choice but to stare into his dark brown eyes, while lying cushioned in the grass, under a clear blue sky, surrounded by a wall of green grass and wildflowers.

‘Take a deep breath, come on …’

She took a shallow one. Then another. Even though her heart slowed down, she was trapped by his gorgeous eyes, his care, and his heavy body weight, stirring her in ways she hadn’t thought possible.

‘Good. Welcome back to the living.’ He rolled off her, lying beside her in the grass.

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