Page 12 of Clear Skies (Stormcloud Station)

CHAPTER FIVE

DALE WATCHED DAISY over the rim of his glass. What did she think of all this? She was seated across the table from him, keeping her eyes directed at her plate, and her interactions with others to a minimum. At Stormcloud, the staff and family members ate with the guests, randomly scattered amongst the two long tables that practically filled the dining room.

He took a sip and rolled the liquid around in his mouth. The red wine Daniella had chosen to go with Skylar’s meal of aged beef strips with wild mushroom jus and charred leeks was superb—Skylar had stretched the steaks by serving them in thick slices instead of whole, and then supplemented the meal with a larger serving of the entrée, local banana prawns in a rich, garlic sauce. The wine was smooth, heavy on the plummy flavors, just the way he liked it. This was something he’d missed while he’d been in Montana. The taste of a big, bold, Australian wine.

Daisy had changed into some of Paula’s old clothes, and damn, they’d never looked half as good on Paula. A pair of faded denim shorts hugged her hips like they’d been made especially for her, and the pale-yellow, button-up shirt, rolled up to the elbows, brought out the soft honey gleam of her skin. She wore her hair loose tonight, and it fell in waves of dark-golden silk. Dale’s gaze caught on her lips as she pouted down at something on her plate. Her mouth was full, with plump, pink lips that drew his gaze, as he watched, fascinated, while her tongue came out to lick a morsel of mushroom.

His mind jerked to the moment Daisy had handed him his phone this evening when he’d collected her for dinner. Their fingers had touched as he took the cell, and it’d been as if she’d shocked him with a hundred volts of electricity. He’d tried to hide his reaction by nonchalantly tucking his phone into his back pocket, but his hand buzzed for some minutes afterwards.

She fascinated him in a way few other women did. Even though he’d been madly attracted to Violet, it’d been more of a physical lust kind of thing. Violet was pretty and vivacious, the life of the party; it was hard not to be attracted to her. It was different with Daisy; she was serious and pensive, but there was something so…alluring about her. Something dark and mystical, but also familiar. Like something inside her was calling to him on a spiritual level.

He lurched back in surprise. God, never let Skylar hear him say those words, she’d think her shy, retiring, sensible brother had gone stark, raving bonkers. And she’d probably be right. What was he thinking? He’d only known the woman for a few hours, they’d shared a drive to the station and some pumpkin scones together, and that was it.

Daisy lifted her gaze and caught Dale’s eye. She looked out of her element here, and he took pity on her, because he knew how she felt. He was very good at putting on a bold face when he had to, but give him a quiet corner in the kitchen where he could eat and drink in peace any day. Daisy didn’t strike him as the shy introvert he was, however. She gave him another, long, cool look, before the man next to her—an IT consultant from Sydney with a double chin who’d brought his wife to Stormcloud to experience the outback which made Dale laugh—nudged her elbow and pointed out the window to the sky. Dale heard him say something like, “Thank God that blasted rain has stopped. It was ruining our holiday.” Dale tuned out the rest of the florid man’s words as he considered the weather. The rain had indeed finally stopped. Which was a good thing, but not merely for their guests. Any more rain and they may well have been cut off from Dimbulah, if the Jimbu River also flooded. As it was, the roads were going to be a nightmare to drive in the coming weeks, with huge puddles and large potholes opening up unexpectedly. He wasn’t going to tell Daisy until he absolutely had to, but Corella Creek would be impassable for at least another day, probably two.

Steve came up behind Dale and lay a hand on his shoulder, breaking his train of thought. “I want to have a quick chat with everyone,” Steve said quietly into Dale’s ear. “In the kitchen in five. Okay?”

Dale nodded his understanding. It must be something work related, if Steve didn’t want to talk in front of the guests. He watched as Steve went over and spoke quietly to his mother. She frowned, but also nodded in agreement. Daniella was the ultimate host. She’d hate to leave her guests unattended. Which was one more reason she was in charge of the accommodation and resort side of the station, while Steve looked after the working side. She had a knack for keeping the place running smoothly. Dale wondered if she even noticed that it often came at the expense of her family, who always seemed to come a distant second, nowadays.

Dale stood up and considered Daisy for a moment. He didn’t want to leave her out here, at the mercies of Double-Chin Man, so he caught her eye and tilted his head in the direction of the kitchen. She nodded as she got his meaning and apologized to the IT specialist, who was now droning on about the advantages of driving a Mercedes over an Audi. Dickhead.

Dale picked up his empty plate and excused himself from the well-dressed lady sitting next to him. Patricia had brought her daughter on a mother-daughter holiday to try to reconnect with her. Going by the fact that the daughter, Brianna, was sitting clear across at the other table, Dale thought that might not be going so well.

Daisy took up her plate—which was still half-full—and followed him into the kitchen. “What are we doing?” she whispered as she watched the other family and staff pile their plates on the sink and then stand around, most of them leaning up against countertops.

“Steve wants a chat, that’s all,” he said quietly. “I thought you’d rather be with us, than stuck out there with the guests.”

“You guessed correctly,” she replied with a tight smile, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning her backside on the countertop next to him.

Skylar was already there, of course, and looked mildly surprised when everyone filed in but didn’t stop scrubbing down the stovetop. So was Bindi, the assistant cook, who paused from stacking dishes in the dishwasher to stare at them all.

Wazza, their other full-time ranch hand, strolled in, hands buried deep in his pockets and Akubra tucked under one arm. That guy never went anywhere without his hat. Daniella didn’t like hats being worn inside, and especially not at the dinner table, but Wazza lived in his every spare second of the day. He gave Daisy a rakish grin as he brushed past them both to take up a spot at the countertop right next to her. They’d all been introduced before dinner, so everyone knew the short version of why Daisy was here. Wazza leaned in and whispered something in Daisy’s ear, and she gave him a smile in return. A flash of anger so sharp and so completely unexpected raced through Dale, surprising him with its ferocity. He had to consciously unclench his balled fists. Whoa. That’d never happened before. Dale liked Wazza, got on well with the man. But Wazza and he had very different tastes in women. Until this evening, it seemed.

Alek strolled in, staring at the clipboard in his hands, and Dale used his appearance to distract himself from Wazza, who was still leaning in way too close to Daisy for his liking. Poor Alek was probably still trying to come up with something to keep the guests entertained tonight. Often, they’d take the guests out stargazing, or spotlighting to show off the many nocturnal animals around the station. Or they’d light an enormous bonfire and sit around it, roasting marshmallows and making damper. This much rain meant they’d be stuck inside, and Dale had overheard Daniella say that she specifically didn’t want something boring and old hat, such as Charades or Pictionary. Alek smoothed a hand abstractedly over his hair. He kept it long, shoulder length, but always stylishly sleek, either tied up in a ponytail, or tucked behind his ears. Alek thought it made him look more sophisticated and urban, but Dale couldn’t imagine trying to work in the scorching sun all day with that long hair. The guy was good looking, with his high cheekbones and long, straight nose.

Sally Tsun, their petite receptionist, slash waitress, slash sometimes cleaner, came in carrying an armful of dishes, which she handed over to Bindi. Sally was one of those ever-ready women who never stopped moving, almost as if she had no off button. She immediately grabbed a cloth and began wiping down the middle countertop, transferring dirty saucepans and utensils to the sink where they could also be loaded into the dishwasher. Sally’s straight, black hair was pulled up, as always, into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and she flicked Dale a glance, curiosity in her dark eyes. He gave a light shrug.

Sally turned to Skylar and said, “Another one of those disgusting creatures was hopping around my feet again today.”

Skylar looked up from her scrubbing, slightly confused. Then her furrowed brow cleared. “Oh, you mean a cane toad.” She gave a light laugh and returned to washing her pot. It was no secret that Sally hated the toads with a vengeance.

“I had to get Alek to come and get it for me,” Sally continued indignantly. “But he only shooed it out the door. I don’t get why you don’t kill them.” Sally gave Alek a look that spoke daggers.

Dale knew it would’ve been a fruitless effort to kill the toad. There were far too many of the pests; killing one or two of them wouldn’t even make a dent in their numbers. Besides, you had to be careful how you handled them because of the poison glands on the top of their heads. They were a particularly vile animal, especially as they weren’t even native; some do-gooder had introduced them to kill insects in sugar cane and their populations had exploded to plague proportions. Everyone else had learned to ignore the animals. It was par for the course that the amphibians sometimes found their way inside, especially when they were frisky with all the rain. Sally just couldn’t seem to come to terms with them.

“Do you know what this meeting is about?” Sally continued, her gaze darting to the door and back to Skylar. “I’m busy. Got lots to do. I don’t have time—”

Skylar cut her off with a wave of her hand. “I have less information than you,” she retorted. Sally had a way of rubbing Skylar up the wrong way sometimes, and Skylar didn’t suffer fools easily. Sally glared at her, but said nothing more, going back to her wiping with more force than was necessary. Dale considered Sally for a second, watching the woman’s angry moments. She’d seemed a little more stressed than usual. Over the past few weeks, she’d been snapping at everyone. And now Skylar was finally snapping back. He counted backward mentally in his head. It’d been a while since Sally had any time off. Perhaps he should mention that to his mother quietly later on. By the murderous look she shot in Skylar’s direction, a break from the station—and the way they all worked in such close-quarters together—might be exactly what she needed.

Daniella came in, halting any further conversation. Steve followed closely her; almost as if he were herding her like a recalcitrant heifer into the kitchen. Dale could tell she was feeling harried by the tiny frown lines between her blue eyes, but not many other people would’ve picked up on her tension. Steve would have, and perhaps Skylar, but everyone else would see the stylish, completely in-charge woman that Daniella wanted them to see.

“Do we really need to do this now?” Daniella asked Steve over her shoulder. “I need to talk to Alek about the games for tonight. And then I need to get back to my office. I’ve got paperwork coming out of my ears. I’ve got about a dozen overdue bills that need to be paid. Those images for those new brochures we’re having done need to be finalized.” His mother gave a theatrical wave of her hand. “I’ve just had a previous guest on the phone saying we charged them double the fee for their accommodation, when they stayed with us last month. Which is ridiculous.” Daniella snorted. “But now I have to go and pull out all their documents and go over them again.”

Sally’s head shot up. “Do you need a hand with that? I can find the invoices, if you like.” As the resort’s receptionist, Sally handled a large bulk of the payments and invoicing, while Daniella looked after the purchasing of supplies and day to day running of the resort, so it made sense that Sally would be able to find what Daniella wanted quickly.

Daniella stared at Sally for a long second, before letting out a tired sigh. “Yes, please, that’d be helpful.”

Dale suddenly felt a stab of compassion for his mother. She had a strong work ethic, and she worked exceptionally hard to keep this place running, and most of the time he took what she did for granted. It wasn’t often she let her fatigue show, so she must be really under the pump to agree to let Sally help her.

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