Page 55 of Stockman's Showdown

Ryder didn’t say anything, but he was watching her through the rear-view mirror.

She wasn’t used to this much attention while in such a small space, he was too close. Especially when she had no exit and was truly exceeding her ten-minute limit of breathing the same air as Ryder. ‘What’s the plan?’

‘You show us where you found the pipe.’

‘Where are you hiding this beast? Now that you’ve cleared that space along the fence line?’

‘Among the trees by the overflow creek.’

‘Then what?’

The brothers hesitated.

‘You’d better not ask me to stay by the car, like a child stuck out front of a supermarket with the promise of an ice cream. I found the irrigation pipe. I know the direction it’s going—’

‘Okay, Bree.’ Ryder grabbed her waggling finger and held it.

She pulled away, not expecting the warm tenderness of his touch to send tingles up her spine to creep over her scalp, then down the front to her chest. Her chest!

She grabbed her water bottle and took a deep gulp, washing down the desire that had surfaced so hard and fast, all from the simple touch of his hand.

‘Is the AC on?’ She fanned her face.

‘Yeah, there’s a vent back there.’ He reached back.

‘Stop looking, I found it.’ Again, their hands met. Only this time she pulled back as if he’d burned her, with her eyes flicking to meet his in the mirror.

There was no way a mere male should have that much power over her, making her body hot and super aware of his touch.

Come on, she’d held Dex’s hand at the hospital and that never bothered her. Cap was a serial hugger, especially when she’d delivered her homemade dog stew to feed his many muster dogs. And Ash, he’d grabbed her hands plenty of times when she’d given him lessons on how to change his son’s night nappies, or when she helped him put on the baby carrier for those days he took his son in the saddle. None of them made her react like this.

Had she always been unconsciously aware to steer clear of Ryder, to not get within his personal space, or let him in hers, and most of all, to never touch him? But it was hard to miss the man, built like a machine, sitting behind the steering wheel, giving her the perfect view of his broad shoulders and muscles that went for days.

Honestly, Ryder was so wrong for her, just as she was so wrong for him. It was simple girl-maths really, especially when she was using all her ancestral strengths to live life like a country music song that skipped the happily ever after to a condensed playlist of over 600 songs all about being unlucky in love.

She was quite prepared to end up as a cat lady seeking all her emotional support from her pile of unread romance books shoved to the back of her cupboard.

But this was different.

Trapped in his car, all she could see, smell, feel was Ryder.

But she wanted to be here. She was curious to see where that hidden water pipe was going to lead them. And if it was as bad as Dex and Ryder were speculating, she needed to plan for Charlie’s sake.

Maybe she should have taken the quad for her own sanity and put up with the bugs, because this drive was like some B-grade movie marathon—where the opening credits took too long and you just wanted to get to the action—as they drove down the dirt track under the cover of midnight, to go peek at their nasty neighbour’s property. And Leo never played by the rules. Good thing was, she never did either.

Twenty-two

In the distance, Cattleman’s Keep loomed like a black monolith, its jagged cliffs swallowing the faint starlight, casting a heavy shadow over the still waters of Starvation Dam. The outback’s silence seemed heavy as Ryder parked his ute behind a thick cluster of trees that sat on the higher side of the dam’s overflow creek bed. It was the perfect cover for tonight’s recon of the neighbour’s property.

At the ute’s back tray, he handed his spare Kevlar vest to Dex, slipping on his own, before handing Dex a handgun. ‘Take this, brother. In case things go sideways.’

‘I always did like your toys.’ Dex checked the magazine of the nine-millimetre pistol. ‘Got any spare clips?’

‘Always.’ He handed over four extra magazine clips then slid some into his own Kevlar vest. He checked their torches, passing one to Dex, then fitted his night-vision goggles over his cap. Topping the ensemble, he slipped the strap for his favourite toy over his shoulder, a lethal M16 that delivered over 700 rounds per minute, nicknamedThe Woodcutter.Now he was ready to play!

‘Do I get one of those?’ Dex’s white teeth flashed in the dark.

‘No.’ Ryder frowned. He didn’t have to share everything with his brothers. ‘Here, put this war paint on.’

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