Page 25 of Stockman's Stowaway

‘Cap is just being kind. Offering me a room so I stop taking up space on Bree’s couch.’ She wanted to get her independence back, to get her mind on her job and bury her past. Plus, this would make Cap her boss, and workplace romances rarely lasted.

‘Oh, good, you’re here, Harper.’ Bree jumped out of the demountable, her boots landing squarely in the dirt. ‘Have you two swapped recipes yet?’

‘Getting there.’ Harper giggled. ‘I’m putting Mia on the cooking roster.’

‘Brilliant. You won’t need lessons from me then.’

‘But…’ Harper pouted as if to start fake crying.

‘Oh, right. Sorry. Silly me.’ Bree playfully rolled her eyes. ‘Cooking lessonsis code for a girls’ get-together to drink wine and gin while I try to teach you the ways to perve on men who play ice hockey. Not necessarily in that order. You’re included, precious.’

‘I’ve never done that,’ replied Mia.

‘What? Perved on ice hockey players?’

‘I meant the girls thing. Not since school. On mine sites its mostly men. We’d get a few women on differing shifts, but not enough to plan things.’

‘I can relate.’ Harper shared a timid shrug. ‘I worked in politics, always drinking cold coffee, too busy to eat a meal and savour it, until I came here. Bree’s like my first female friend.’

‘Really?’ Mia didn’t believe it.

‘So, I’d better warn you, I suck at small talk and generally scare people away when I start talking about politics.’

‘Pfft. You’re doing fine. Both of you are.’ Bree put her arms around the two younger women. ‘Right, so now we have our little coven happening, I have a plan. Cap?’

He sauntered over, with Mason sitting on his shoulders. ‘Please tell me you have some ideas?’

‘Why? Don’t you like this retro 50s horror movie theme you’ve got happening here?’

Cap angled his head at her, his Stockman’s hat shading his sexy eyes. ‘Mia, Harper, please help?’

Bree grinned, removing a tape measure, a notebook, and a pencil from the deep side pockets of her workman’s trousers. ‘My first suggestion is you ditch the rickety steps and build a wide walkway along this side of the demountable, with a roof to cover the doorways. I’d suggest you make that roof long enough so you can park your vehicles under it for the wet season. As for that spot, where you like to sit and enjoy the view, I’m suggesting you build an enormous outdoor deck.’

Pressing her back to the wall of the demountable Bree took long lunging steps and stopped about ten metres away. ‘You can make it a long viewing deck—who doesn’t love a long deck. It’d be a brilliant spot to put a Mexican heater in the corner for winter that you can use to boil your billy.’

Cap raised an eyebrow, intently listening, especially about the cuppa bit.

‘And in the wet,’ continued Bree, ‘you can use shade sails to pull across, allowing you to watch the rain and still enjoy the sunrise and sunsets from this space. If it was me, I’d use this section to create an outdoor kitchen and put in a double sliding door in this wall.’

Bree walked and talked, leading them to the back. ‘And, if you really want to dream big, tiger—which I’d totally approve of—you can turn your room into the lounge area, make Mia’s room an office or extend your bathroom, then pick up a few shipping containers and whack them together like Lego bricks—’

‘To build extra rooms.’ Cap’s eyes shone like delicious dark diamonds.

‘So you can see it?’ Bree smiled at him with hands on her hips. ‘The potential is there to make this into your family home, but one that would suit your ethical standards by using recyclable materials.’

Carrying the toddler on his shoulders, Cap took long steps, counting out the meterage. Then he turned and smiled. ‘Bree, you’re bloody brilliant. I can see it now.’

‘You might want to ask Dex to do some grading first. He likes to play with the grader, so I can’t see him saying no.’ Bree pointed towards the kennels that stood further along, from where the house stood on the rise. ‘This place cops the main run-off in the wet season. It’s what Pop callsKennel River. So, I suggest you ask Dex to channel the run-off away from the demountable and the dog kennels before you start building that—’ She pointed to the empty metal structure with a torn shade cloth. ‘What have you decided to call it?’

‘Mia’s native plant nursery.’ Cap nodded at her and the rush of warm gooey goodness had her toes curling in her boots. Mia had to look away and face the dirt. Cap had given her permission to design it however she wanted, using whatever materials theproperty had available to her. And Bree said there was plenty of gear to use.

‘Hey, we could build a pond for the run-off.’ Mia blurted out, tapping into Cap’s excitement.

‘Is that a good idea? It’d be a breeding ground for mozzies.’ Bree shrugged.

‘I get what Mia is saying.’ Cap stood beside Mia to face the dirt patch beyond the rundown kennels. ‘We can re-use the run-off from the house and the kennels for the nursery.’

‘Not wasting a precious drop.’ Mia mirrored Cap’s smile. For a hot second, her mind pictured the whole scenario, her plant nursery, sharing lazy sunsets on the deck beside Cap as they both watched over his dogs. She couldn’t deny how much she liked the idea.

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