Page 41 of Clear Skies (Stormcloud Station)

“I know,” he agreed, patting his stomach. “Skylar’s food is so good. Like you were saying last night, even though you don’t need to watch what you eat, I might have to, or I’ll get fat.”

“I don’t think you have a problem with that,” she scoffed, flicking her gaze up his body. Remembering all of that lean muscle from last night.

“You reckon?” he asked, with a cheeky smile. Then he lifted the corner of his shirt to reveal a set of chiseled abs, and her mouth went dry. They were just as good as she remembered, and she suddenly wished they were alone.

“Where are those brownies you promised us?” Timothy called, and Dale quickly lowered his shirt, then turned to face the table. Timothy and his wife were coming up the slight rise from the direction of the cemetery. Daisy shot Dale a look. She was pretty sure the other couple hadn’t seen his flirting, but she had to hide a secret smile. Luckily she hadn’t given in to her cravings, or they would’ve definitely been sprung.

Daisy enjoyed the hour and a half, listening to Dale explain how the old gold mine used to work, and then following him a little way into a dark tunnel where he showed the guests how they used to mine with good old-fashioned dynamite, and lots of brute strength. He was an excellent tour guide, imparting enough information to keep her interested, but not bore her to death. He told them that while there was one main shaft going straight down—the one underneath the elevator shaft—a couple of other enterprising geologists had found veins of quartz heading straight into the side of the escarpment, hence there was quite a few smaller shafts leftover from the mining boom. These shafts had been boarded up as the wooden beams supporting the tunnels were collapsing, except for the one he was showing them, which’d been reinforced so tourists could take a peek.

It was much too dark in the tunnel for Daisy’s liking, and she was glad when they emerged into the sunshine. Then Dale herded them all toward the ATVs so they could return to the lodge. Skylar would have lunch ready, he told them all.

But Daisy knew Dale was more interested in hearing whether Steve had reported in regarding Wazza’s fate yet. It was midday; surely the police would’ve decided whether to charge Wazza by now?

But Daniella’s face told them all they needed to know when they arrived at the lodge. She shook her head at Dale’s inquiring look and walked away. Was it a good thing, or not, they hadn’t heard from Steve? Daisy couldn’t decide. Dale became withdrawn over lunch, which they ate in the kitchen with Skylar and Bindi. Sally was busy with a new couple who’d just arrived, showing them to their accommodation, making sure they were settled in and had everything they needed. Dale hardly said two words to anyone; he seemed to be having an internal debate over something.

Skylar was running one of her cooking lessons for the guests in the afternoon, with Bindi’s help, which was good, because it freed Dale to do other things. Given Dale’s mood at lunchtime, Daisy was surprised when he asked if she wanted to give him a hand.

“A tree came down in that storm and damaged one of our pumping sheds. We pump water from the billabong to use for the horses and cattle. Steve was gonna fix it this afternoon, but it looks as if I’ll be doing it instead,” Dale said, as they sat at the kitchen island after finishing their meal. He dragged a hand through his hair, leaving it deliciously rumpled. “I guess I’m gonna be doing a lot more, too, if Wazza…” He didn’t finish his sentence; couldn’t elaborate all the things it would mean if Wazza didn’t come back. They were now effectively down three staff members, with Paula leaving early in the season, Karri dead, and now Wazza in jail.

“I don’t mind helping.” She had nothing better to do. It was an excuse not to have to make all the decisions she was still yet to find answers for. Such as, should she stay? Or should she head home and leave River to his own devices? “I’m a fast learner, and a bit of dirt never bothered me.” Which was true, even though she was born and bred in the city and knew absolutely nothing about living on a farm, she’d never been afraid of hard work. Staying with her cousins and living on country up near Darwin had opened her eyes to lots of things. The harsh reality of eking out a living from the land chief among them.

“Right. Thank you. We might find you that same pair of waders you used the other day when we were fishing. It’s going to get pretty mucky.”

Dale wasn’t wrong. The corrugated iron shed was on the banks of the billabong, which was still gloopy with mud from the floods. The small shed was set up on a block of concrete, which kept it out of reach of even the worst floods. An old tree had toppled during the storm, clipping the corner of the building on its way down. Daisy could see half of its branches were already dead and stunted, Dale told her it was only a matter of time before it came down, and they should’ve cut it down earlier. It now lay resembling a giant stranded whale, all its limbs shattered, the few remaining reaching for the sky, is if begging for redemption.

“What a shame,” Daisy said, eyes glued to the fallen behemoth.

“We’ll put it to good use. We’ll chainsaw it up and use it for firewood. Nothing goes to waste out here.”

Daisy shrugged. That was the circle of life, she supposed.

They spent a hot and sticky afternoon, sweating in the sun, as they pulled down the broken pieces of tin from the roof and one side of the shed, and replaced them with new ones. There wasn’t a lot of time for talking, and Daisy found she was all out of words, anyway. It was nice to be using her body, pushing it to its limits, tiring herself out physically, so she didn’t have to think about everything that was bothering her.

She wondered about bringing up the subject of Wazza with Dale; it was clearly on his mind. But why rehash all the old information? Until they had something new, there was no point. Daisy knew that Julie, Dale’s stepsister, would arrive at the station today, and he hoped she’d help to take up a little of the slack around the station. It was good they had family to call on in a time of crisis.

Finally, they finished the job, and piled all the broken bits of material into the tray bed of Dale’s truck. Daisy took the time to survey the surrounding landscape. It was late afternoon, and the cicadas were humming loudly in the trees. The foliage of the understory, as well as the tall, waving fronds of tussock grass, were such a vibrant green. The country was similar in a lot of ways to where she’d stayed in the Northern Territory. The earth was such a deep, ochre red up there. It was red here, too, but more subdued. Distances were vast in Northern Queensland, with large stretches of open woodland as far as the eye could see. If anything, this land was a tad drier, less-lush-rainforest and more grasslands—they called them floodplains. But she could get used to living here. There was a certain peace and tranquility you just didn’t get in the city. She could feel the stretch of the earth beneath her feet.

“You appreciate this place, don’t you?” Dale’s voice broke through her musings. “Have you ever thought about staying?”

“No,” she snorted. Then, when she saw his face fall, she amended, “I mean, yes it’s beautiful, but no, I’d never stay.” What would she do here? Her life was in Perth. She had a degree to finish. Her dream of becoming a leader in environmental law to fulfill.

They drove to the lodge in relative silence, with twilight descending around them. Daisy only had time for a quick wash before dinner. It seemed Steve still hadn’t returned from town. She offered to help Bindi and Sally serve the dinner, but Daniella asked her to come and sit at the tables with the rest of the guests.

Dale’s stepsister, Julie, had arrived sometime that afternoon, and after Daisy had been introduced, she surreptitiously checked her out as she chatted to Daniella across the table. Julie had short, cropped hair, and projected a very modern and professional look, with a hint of makeup, but not so much that it looked contrived. She had welcoming, brown eyes, and Daisy felt immediately that she’d like this woman. She was also an absolute extrovert and had the table in stitches with some of her anecdotes. Almost the complete opposite of her father. Daisy briefly wondered if she took after her mother.

The meal was delicious, as usual, and it was topped off by an amazing dessert that the guests helped to prepare during their cooking lesson—lychee and wild honey ice cream with white chocolate and grilled mango slices. Daisy sat next to Timothy and his wife and they chatted about what it was like to live in the tropical north. He talked about his grandiose plans to move his entire company up to Cairns, so he could enjoy everything on offer here. His wife rolled her eyes at Daisy behind his back, and she got the idea that while Timothy was a dreamer and a schemer, not many of his plans ever came to fruition. Of course, the topic of the police investigation came up; it was only human nature that people wanted to discuss something as juicy as a possible murder. Their curiosity was piqued. But Daisy tried not to enter into their speculation, noticing Daniella’s pained expression. Like it or not, Daniella was going to have to get used to people asking questions. She needed to get over this obsession of keeping it private, the resort’s reputation was already taking a beating; it’d do no good if people thought she was purposefully withholding information.

After dinner service was over, and all the guests had retired either to their rooms, or were sitting on the front veranda sipping a nightcap, Daniella gathered all her staff and family together in the kitchen. She shot Daisy a look of displeasure but said nothing as she settled in on a bar stool next to Dale. Julie took a seat next to Skylar; it seemed they got on well together. Bindi, Sally and Alek remained standing, huddled together at the end of the kitchen island.

“I know everyone is wondering about Warwick,” Daniella said. “But I’m as much in the dark as—” She stopped speaking when someone opened the back door. They all turned as one to stare as Steve strode in, his face grim. Daniella stood up quickly, watching him like a hawk.

“Julie, great to see you.” He swooped in and gave her a quick hug. “Thank you so much for lending a hand.” But even Daisy could see that even his pleasure at seeing his daughter couldn’t take away the strain on his face.

“I need a drink,” Steve said, ignoring Daniella’s inquiring look, and heading straight out to the bar. Daisy looked at Dale. Almost as one, everyone in the kitchen followed Steve through to the main lounge. He poured himself a large double whiskey and swallowed it in one gulp, with Daniella looking more and more impatient.

At last, he turned to face everyone. “Wazza has been remanded in custody. They’re going to charge him with Karri’s murder. They’re not allowing him bail, because of the seriousness of the crime.”

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