Page 72 of Stockman's Sandstorm

Ash dragged in his swag, zipped up the screen door, and lay down. ‘What are you waiting for? Don’t worry, I won’t touch you.’

‘I bet you say that to all the girls.’

‘Pfft. No. That’s the first time I’ve ever said that. And having a baby between us kind of kills any romance. Besides, we had an agreement. You didn’t want that cliché thing. You have boundaries.’

‘I did. I mean, I do. It’s tacky sleeping with the nanny. It makes the workplace messy when a boss sleeps with their employee.’ She’d seen it destroy election campaigns and promising political careers.

‘Relax. I’m only here so we can all get some sleep. Consider me the guard at the door to protect you from bunyips or drop bears.’

She could practically hear his smug smile in the dark.

Fine. She could do this. And lay down on her bed.

Admittedly, having him close was soothing. ‘So, this is camping?’

‘It is.’

‘If there was some form of indoor plumbing and hot showers, I might enjoy camping.’

Ash’s chuckle was deep, making her tummy swirl with butterflies. She couldn’t sleep now.

‘I can’t help with the indoor plumbing, as we don’t have walls or doors or pipework. But I might be able to rig up something tomorrow to give you a hot shower.’

‘Really? You’d do that?’

‘Sure. Why not?’

‘Why?’ What was his angle?

She felt his shrug, the way the bed linen shifted.

‘Go to sleep, Harper. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.’

She lay there stiff as a board as his breathing got deeper and deeper, while she stared at the stars. She was tired. Overtired. But her mind was wide awake as she watched a shooting star’s astonishing long tail blaze across the night sky. It was glorious.

Surprisingly, it was the first time her mind seemed clear, without the brain fog. Did that mean she was ready to go back to work?

‘Hey, Ash.’ She sat up, his frame so large compared to his son’s.

‘Hmm …’

‘Do you think you can get me a copy of that letter? The one you got from the mines department.’

His breathing quickened and his eyes fluttered open. ‘What for?’

She lay down on her side to face him. Maybe she could be useful. ‘So we can work out the words together.’

He ran his fingers through his thick hair. ‘I’m not dumb.’

‘I didn’t say that. Those sorts of letters are usually written by lawyers to trip people up.’

‘So, I’m not being an idiot about this?’

‘No. You’re charmingly intelligent.’ Oh, no. What did she just say? She quickly spoke to stop the fire-hydrant red blush flaring across her skin. ‘You said the letter had some threatening undertone to it.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Well, I’ll have a look at it—if you can sneak it past your brothers, because I doubt Ryder would approve of you sharing his paperwork with the staff.’

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