Page 128 of Stockman's Showdown

‘I know, Bree,’ he said, taking her hands. ‘I was there when you sang lullabies to the herd after midnight, while protecting them from a pack of wild dogs. You grew up playing games as a child at stock school, always looking out for the stock, and I’ve seen how you’ve helped my brothers and what you did for their houses.’

‘They needed somewhere.’

‘To make it feel like home, like it is for you.’ He lifted her chin making her stare into his deep brown eyes. ‘Don’t you get it, Bree? YouareElsie Creek Station. You are the heart and soul of this place and if you leave, I leave too. Because I love you. You are everything to me.’

He stepped back, the frown returning enough to stop her from saying anything.

‘And this stupid, crusty, worthless blanket,’ he said through gritted teeth, squeezing it in his fist. ‘You know why I gave you this. I told you not to give it back, especially after I told you the story! Only you would see its true worth!’

‘It’s why I wrapped the branding iron in it. I know what it means to you.’ She couldn’t keep it. And she didn’t want this confrontation either. Sneaking out to go drink on some beach to not feel, to not remember, had always been part of her plan. Not this.

‘When I first gave this to you, it was to show you how much I cared about you, but also to tell you that you are my home,you are my everything. It’s the same way I can see how much this place is your home. And that’s why I’ve made the caretaker’s caveat a permanent fixture as part of Elsie Creek Station not only for you, but for your children or whoever you see fit to stay with you.’

She swallowed. The words he spoke weren’t real. It couldn’t be true. ‘What do you get out of it?’ What was the catch?

Fifty-two

‘I just want to see you happy, Bree.’ With the back of his fingers, Ryder captured the small tear trickling down her cheek. She’d been crying too easily ever since Charlie had passed. It broke his heart seeing her like this—but she was going to break his soul if she left him.

‘Maybe I don’t want to be happy right now. Maybe I just want to find some corner of the universe to scream my lungs out at the injustices it keeps dishing up to me.’

‘Fine. I’ll go with you.’

‘It won’t be pretty. And it won’t be perfect.’

‘But it will be real. And being real is so much better than being perfect.’ He exhaled as heavily as she did, as if they were both reining in their tempers.

‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Bree: you do not scare me. I can handle your cranky moods and your temper. Your sass has always amused me, even putting up with that stupid pet name.’

There was a slight twitch in the corners of her lips. It gave him hope he was getting through to her.

‘I love you, Bree.’ He cupped the side of her face, his thumb brushing over her cheek. ‘I love how you have this special smile that reaches your eyes when you finish a job in the shed, thatself-satisfaction you have as the steam curls over the water that you use to cool off your latest creation. I loved watching you ride during a muster, that didn’t involve stampedes or landslides. How your hair blows in the wind when you’re driving the Razorback. And how you’re never scared of anything.’

‘I am scared.’

‘Of what?’

She dropped her head.

He lifted her chin. ‘Tell me.’

‘Of being alone.’ Her voice was so soft, so frail.

‘You’re not alone, baby, I’m right here.’ He gathered up her soft hand and held it against his heart. ‘And if you’ll have me, I’ll marry you in a heartbeat.’

She blinked as if her eyes were full of grit, but the spark was there as if waking up to the world. ‘Is that a proposal?’

‘Sure. Why not? This would be the best place to do it.’ He pointed at the intricately handcrafted metal sign that readElsie Creek Station, hand-forged by Bree’s grandfather and great-grandfather, that towered over the main entrance. Its long shadow reflected across the red dirt that made up the driveway that doubled as an airstrip. ‘Unless you want something fancier?’

‘I want nothing.’

‘Yes, you do, Bree. You want a family. I know you do.’

She shook her head ‘I lost them. All of them.’

‘No, not all,’ he said, stepping in closer. ‘I’m right here, and there’s my brothers and their families. We’re all part of the package. Don’t you see that?’

Again, she shook her head.

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