Page 95 of Stockman's Stowaway

‘Did you get the testing kit for the water?’ Dex pointed to the dog bowl.

‘Yes. I’ll use the strips. They’ll tell us the results straight away.’ Her fingers trembling from her confrontation with Gavin, Mia struggled to open the lid on the plastic bottle, wishing Cap was here to open the cap for her.

That’s when the first of her tears fell.

That arsehole Gavin ruined everything, reducing her to a blubbering mess. She sniffed heavily, roughly wiping away her hot stinging tears.

‘What happened to you?’ Bree’s warm hands encased hers.

‘Gavin grabbed me in the car park.’

‘What the hell!’ Bree’s eyes widened, then swapped to a furious frown. ‘Where is he?’

‘These two stockmen stepped in.’

‘Mia, pass me the kit.’ Ryder stepped inside the pen and held out his hands.

‘No. I can do this. I willnotlet Gavin beat me.’ Mia gritted her teeth and finally unscrewed the lid. She took out a swab and dropped to her knees, placing it in the dog bowl. Dex, Ryder, and Bree were watching her every move.

She pulled out the swab and watched the colours change.

‘Oh, no. It’s positive.’ Her stomach knotted in fear for Cap and his dogs as she showed them the swab’s results.

‘You and Charlie were right.’ Dex shook his head.

‘We didn’t want to be.’ Bree covered her mouth, her green eyes so dull and sad.

‘Dex, ring Cap with the results so the vet can fix it,’ ordered Ryder. ‘Mia, give us all some swabs, we’ll need to test all the water bowls in this tent.’

As streams of people walked around them, there had to be over fifty muster dogs attending today’s events. The thought nearly paralysed her.

‘Bree, you know everyone,’ continued Ryder, as Mia handed him some testing strips with trembling hands. ‘Can you tell the kennel master what’s going on? But we need to keep this quiet, guys.’

‘Why? Because of the station’s reputation?’ Mia passed some swabs to Bree and Dex.

‘We don’t want people to panic and ruin the campdraft’s reputation. There are a lot of good people involved in these events.’

‘Do we call Porter about this?’ Dex asked.

‘I vote we do, even if I have no voting rights for your family’s business,’ said Bree.

‘Agreed.’ Ryder dragged out his phone. ‘I’ll call Marcus.’

‘Who?’ Mia asked.

‘The sergeant you met earlier.’

‘I thought you were strangers.’ They’d acted like it earlier when she was fighting for Willow’s ownership.

‘We’re good mates.’ Ryder scrolled through the phone. ‘I’ll take the west side of this tent. Bree the north, Dex the south, Mia the east. We’ll meet back here to work out the next step.’

‘What do we say to the dog owners?’ Mia asked.

‘The truth,’ replied Bree. ‘We’re conducting a test on the water to ensure it’s safe. You’re in overalls, they’ll think you’re working for the campdraft. And if anyone gives you any trouble, say I sent you. And let’s hope no other dog is affected.’

Thirty-eight

‘Thanks, Dex.’ Cap ended the call with his brother, then spoke to Ryan, inside the local veterinarian surgery that Cap was far too familiar with. ‘It’s confirmed, they found concentrated lead in my dogs’ water bowls. They’re checking the rest of the water in the tent to see if any other dogs have been exposed.’ It made him sick to the stomach at the thought of all those muster dogs in danger.

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