Page 14 of Stockman's Showdown

‘But…’

She huffed. ‘Drover’s Rest was where the drovers would return first with the cattle in the early days of the station. Of course, it was hand-seeded by Granny Darcie back in the day. Ask Charlie to give you the tour.’

‘No, you can.’

‘Why me?’ She shrugged her creamy shoulders above the water line, causing ripples to spread across the surface. ‘Charlie is happy to show you guys everything.’

‘Why aren’t you?’

She glared at him. ‘What do you want from me, Ryder? I don’t work for you. Is that it? You hate that you can’t control me? Like you’re the boss of everyone else around here?’

‘Hell, no. If you were my employee, I would have sacked you on day one for your smart mouth and outlaw attitude.’

Swimming away from him, her laughter tinkled around the cave.

‘I want to know—what does Drover’s Rest mean to you?’

‘I already told you, it’s my backyard.’ She leaned back against the rock wall, allowing her tiny toes to float to the surface.

‘Go on, Bree, there has to be more to the story. There always is.’ Bree saw things from many different angles and Ryder appreciated her opinion, when she did share.

‘None of the ringers were allowed near Drover’s Rest. It was the first rule Charlie made when he became head stockman.’

‘How come?’

‘Because he had a little girl—my mother—who he wanted to protect from the men.’

Damn. He wished he hadn’t pried, stirring up thoughts of her deceased mother. But underneath he had this need to know everything about Bree, and it was rare to have one-on-one time with her like this in an open conversation.

Bree wove her slender fingers through the crisp water that rippled softly, reflecting the golden hues of the late afternoon sun, and for a moment, it seemed as though time stood still, her connection to the earth quiet and unspoken, but deep. ‘Back then, Charlie would sack anyone if they dared come near our sanctuary without permission. Drover’s Rest is where the girls got to play. I flew kites, learned to ride my pushbikes and motorbikes, made cubby houses, played chasey with the calves and the stockhorses out there. You know, kid stuff.’

‘I wouldn’t know about that kind of stuff.’ He sighed heavily before taking a deep pull of his beer, feeling the responsibilities weighing heavily across his shoulders.

‘So you were an instant adult straight out of the womb, hmm?’

‘Pretty much.’ He rubbed the bridge of his nose, the falling water the only other noise in the cave, yet it felt like the silence was deafening if he didn’t answer her. ‘As the oldest of seven, I didn’t have much of a childhood. I was busy washing bottles or babysitting, always stuck carrying a kid on my back or on my hip like some ape.’

Bree didn’t laugh as he’d expected her to. She just watched him with a look that could crack open his bones to peer deep into the marrow, to go beyond the shadows hidden within his skeleton, to the places that hid his deepest, darkest secrets. It was a place where he’d tucked away his nightmares.

‘You never played games?’

Why did that feel like there was some hidden meaning to her question? ‘Monopoly.’

‘Figures.’

‘Cards occasionally, with my father and grandfather, if I wasn’t washing the dishes or putting the younger ones to bed as chief babysitter.’

‘So you’re still babysitting your brothers. Buying this property for them, in your role as the big brother who doesn’t like to play.’She swam closer to where the water’s reflection highlighted the colours in her eyes. With her hair wet and slicked back, knowing she was just in her underwear had his mouth watering.

‘I didn’t say I don’t like to play, I just…’ He shrugged, sipping on his beer.

‘Are you saying you don’t knowhowto play? When you live on one of the biggest adult playgrounds?’

‘I know you do.’

She laughed, and it was as light as her smile that echoed around the cavern as she swam away from him like a water sprite playing games with his soul.

Finally, he was alone with her, and he wasn’t going to let this opportunity get away from him—even if it copped him another stinging slap in the face, he was prepared to take his shot.

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