Page 112 of Stockman's Stormcloud

‘Bree, always a pleasure.’ Their neighbour even tipped his hat at her. ‘Selling your gin?’

‘Not to you. I’m picky about my clientele.’

‘Aww, that hurts my feelings.’

‘Oh, honey, I didn’t realise you had any.’

Leo grinned. ‘What’s this?’ He picked up a bottle.

‘Juice from a platypus that ate my goldfish.’

Leo laughed, highly amused. ‘Are you fighting tonight, Dex?’

‘Why? Are you betting against me?’

‘Well, I was thinking—’

‘Here we go with another plethora of words. Wait, let me get a chair first to hear this.’ Bree rolled her eyes as she sat down on the edge of her Kombi van and pulled out a cocktail glass complete with pineapple and cherries, sipping casually through a straw, as if on a hippy holiday, with the fairy lights twinkling in her monstrous yellow van. ‘You may speak now, Leo.’

‘You know, I’m quite tempted to sit beside you all night, Bree.’ Leo just grinned at her, his dark sinful eyes shining with delight, enjoying the game he shared with Bree.

It took everything for Dex to not punch the prick out, when he knew there was a bigger play being made behind the scenes—one that was almost a million dollars’ worth of livestock that was part of his family’s livelihood.

‘Hey, boss,’ another man approached them. ‘I put your bet down. Here’s your chit. Thanks for the loan. Just don’t tell the missus, eh?’

‘Hello, Hank.’ Dex narrowed his eyes at the rustler. Oh, now he had to restrain himself from grabbing Hank by the throat to let his fists coax the location of his missing cattle out of the cretin

But Bree put down her cocktail glass, fake sniffing, while giving Dex a sneaky look to not blow this. She was right.

‘You wouldn’t be keeping secrets from Marla now, would you?’ Dex was surprised at how calm he sounded.

Hank was such an oily creature, with pocked crevicesacross his cheeks, wearing clothes that had seen better days, hoisting up his belt with the fake rodeo champion buckle, that everyone knew he’d won on a bet that he’d cheated at, because Hank was the type of cretin who’d sell his grandmother for a bet. ‘I heard you were in the hospital.’

‘Dex is dating a nurse, so of course he’s always hanging around the hospital,’ said Bree.

Thank you, Bree.

Dex could hear the moron thinking about Bree’s comment. Hank slowly blinked a few times, as if worried he’d taken on too much.

‘Who are you dating, Bree?’ Leo asked.

‘She’s with me.’ It was Ryder, at his shoulder.

‘Well, isn’t this a family reunion? The two brothers with the biggest shares of Elsie Creek Station.’

Had Leo just tipped off Hank, whose eyes flared as he stepped back, with fear worn all over his ugly mug for being busted.

‘Why are you here, Ryder?’ Leo asked coolly. ‘Don’t say it’s for Bree, who I know is single.’ He even grinned at Bree’s scowl.

‘To support my brother. What’s your excuse?’

‘I like the sport, and I know the organisers.’

‘How?’ Dex did not like the sound of that.

‘I used to fight down south.’ Leo slid his hand into his pocket, carefully scrutinising Dex. ‘You never did make it south, did you, Dex?’

‘I prefer the warmer weather.’

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