Page 4 of Stockman's Stormcloud

‘Ya make a valid point, lad. Still, it’s in the hands of the coppers now.’

‘At the risk of putting your brother in prison?’

‘See, that’s where I reckon Bree’s wrong.’ Charlie wagged his stubby finger. ‘My brother didn’t have it in him to do that murder. And I believe in Policeman Porter and his new-fangled technology to find something to prove my brother’s innocence, so Harry can come out of hiding and come home. I’ve got to trust the coppers on this one.’

‘Talking about cops, let’s bolt before they get wind we’re here.’ As he sat in the driver’s seat, Dex grunted from the searing pain ripping through his chest. It made the simple act of drawing air a battle.

It wasn’t just the pain, it was the relentless pressure like a vice squeezing his lungs, thieving his oxygen. Every inhale was a sharp, stabbing ache, and even the shallowest breath felt like he was rolling in a field of broken glass.

When Dex strapped on his seatbelt, it put pressure on the icepack, sending a lightning bolt of heated agony to radiate throughout his side. It had him gritting his teeth.

‘Are you okay, Dex?’ Charlie adjusted his hat with its hatband made from the crocodile that had dared to bite him. His many sun-hardened crinkles blended around the eyes of a stockman who’d been around a long time. ‘Tell me straight, lad.’

‘It’s my ribs.’ They shouldn’t be hurting this much. ‘The painkillers will kick in shortly.’ They always did.

Taking short breaths, he pushed through the pain and put his prize ute into gear. He was used to living with pain, so this was nothing.

‘Want me to drive?’

‘Hell, no. No one but me drives my baby.’

They drove through the tiny sleeping town of Elsie Creek, then onto the desolate outback highway where there were no other lights except the stars above.

A few kilometres past a whole load of nothing, they turned off the bitumen highway to start the trek on dirt roads highlighted by his bank of spotlights.

But the further they drove inland, the rougher the road got. When they hit the dip for the floodway known as Leviathan Creek, his ribs punched him with such a severe hot white pain he struggled to breathe. ‘What the flip!’

The car swerved in the dust.

‘Pull over, mate,’ Charlie urged.

Dex lifted his foot off the accelerator, to pull his ute to the side of the dirt road.

Dex struggled to get out of the driver’s seat. ‘I’ll just walk it off for a bit.’ Like he normally did. But that razorblade-burn kept stabbing into his side every time he tried to take a deep breath. ‘That prick got a rib.’

‘You reckon he broke it?’ Charlie leaned against the side of the ute watching Dex like he was a stockhorse in the sale yards. ‘You’re walking like it’s broken.’

‘No. I’ve had plenty of broken ribs before, but this…’ This pain was unlike anything he’d ever encountered. ‘I’ll just take more pills.’ Sweat leached out of him, dripping off his nose as his dark hair hung across his eyes.

Leviathan Creek was dry, with the cool air refreshing, on the only road to Elsie Creek Station. He was so close to home. ‘Next time I’m grading the driveway, I’ll be sure to fix this bit of road.’

‘Maybe you lot should see about making a bridge one year,’ said Charlie. ‘Then you’d never get flooded in during the wet season.’

‘Just add it to the board of stuff to do.’ They hadn’t done a wet season yet, having only bought the station six months ago. Now he was keen to dump the cash in his pocket with Ryder to pay for his share of the mortgage.

Dex was struggling to open the back tray to grab his painkillers, when a set of spotlights landed on him.

‘Oh no.’ What sort of hell was this?

Bree’s monstrous yellow Kombi van rattled like an old sewing machine, with her music blaring, as she pulled up beside them. He hated that van.

Bree jumped out. ‘What’s wrong, Pop?’

‘Lad’s not well.’ Charlie pointed at Dex’s ribs.

Dex tried to back away from the witch. Even if it was a shock to see her out of her blacksmith’s apron, and in a dress, he did not want the redhead near him. ‘I’m not in the mood for one of your lectures.’

‘Just show me.’

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