Page 35 of Stockman's Stowaway

Fourteen

Cap watched Mia disappear around the back sheds with her head down and Willow trotting after her.

He held his hand to his cheek, stunned she’d kissed him. Even grinning that maybe, just maybe, she did like him.

Unexpectedly it made something change inside him.

Hope swiftly heightened his level of protectiveness, which then spun into a fury, that anything dared to threaten Mia’s safety when he’d promised to keep her safe!

His hands clenched into fists, and he stormed to the front of the house where this Leo was talking to Ryder, while Ash held back Sarge by the dog harness, with Dex coming over from the kennels.

‘What do you want?’ Cap wanted the idiot who’d dared to scare Mia gone. And now.

A little older than Ryder, but just as tall, with jet-black hair, Leo looked like any other cattleman, complete with jeans, shirt, and black hat and a three-day growth peppered across his strong jawline. So, how was he part of the mine?

Leo held out his hand. ‘Hello, we haven’t officially met. I’m Leo.’

‘I know who you are.’ Cap crossed his arms over his chest. Normally he was the peacemaker who’d greet people and hear them out. But not this time.

‘Well then, straight to business, I see. I’m here with another offer on the property.’ The man even smiled with his dark eyes all shiny as if amused.

‘Not interested.’ Cap glared at the man as Dex, the professional street fighter, came up behind him. It only gave him courage.

‘As my brother said, we’re not interested.’ Ryder held out an envelope to Leo. It was the same type of envelope Harper had delivered, containing the mine’s first offer to buy the place. Even then, it was less than what they’d paid for the place that was now their home. Was Leo playing them for fools?

‘Just look at the offer and call me and I’ll come out and transfer my funds to pay in full today. Hey, I’m right next door.’ Leo pointed east, while his grin was dark, almost menacing even.

‘No.’ Cap shook his head. He did not want the neighbour anywhere near this place. ‘If you want to talk to us, it’ll be at the pub or somewhere else in town. Not here.’ He wanted Mia safe. ‘Never come back here unannounced again, or I’ll have you arrested for trespassing.’

A growl, deep and loaded with warning, cut through the air. It came from Sarge.

Ash let go of the dog’s harness, stepping away from the fiercely protective ex-riot dog that stood beside Cap.

But there was more than one growl. Cap’s entire dog pack had stealthily snuck up behind them, with their hackles raised.

‘Easy…’ Cap wasn’t telling them off, when it was in their nature to protect their pack.

‘I’d back away slowly, if I were you,mate.’ Dex gave his signature smirk, as he rocked on his heels. ‘And you might think twice about coming back, now that the dogs have their eye on you.’

‘Hey, I’m just a businessman. We can be neighbourly, can’t we?’ Leo held out his open palms; they were callus free and on one wrist was an expensive watch.

Then he pointed to the house, where Mason was peeking through the childproof gate with his nanny dog, Ruby, at his side. ‘Is that child safe with these dogs?’

‘Oi.’ Ash frowned, pointing at Leo. ‘It was you who dropped that anonymous tip-off to the cops about me abusing my kid.’

Leo gave a lopsided grin. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. But is Bree around? I’d like to—’

‘Leave.Now.’ Ryder stood right in Leo’s face. ‘And never come back.’ And when someone like Ryder gave anyonethe death look, you knew instinctively that he was a man who had the lethal power to back up his words.

But Leo only narrowed his dark eyes at Ryder for a long beat while remaining spookily calm and collected as if sizing him up. ‘Hmph. I see we’ve skipped the civilities to slide straight into the stage where we’ll just let our lawyers do the talking. See you later, gentlemen, or do you prefer the term cowboys.’

The insult was made worse by Leo tipping the brim of his hat as he climbed back into his vehicle, even grinning at them as he drove away.

‘That’s not a miner’s vehicle. It’s got none of their ID numbers or safety lights on it.’ Cap pointed to the dust stirred by Leo’s ute tearing down the track towards the front gate. ‘Leo’s not a miner. Is he a cattleman?’ He had callus-free hands unstained by the dirt and dust that was usually a sign of a man who worked on the land.

‘Maybe Leo’s more of a mining manager, dressing up to play cowboy,’ suggested Dex.

‘Harper said Leo’s mining company was buying up cattle country,’ said Ash. ‘Wouldn’t you want a cattleman to manage your properties, or know what to look for—’

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