Page 55 of Clear Skies (Stormcloud Station)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

DAISY SAT ON the lowest step of the wooden platform, staring at the billabong. A mug of strong tea was cooling in her hands as she contemplated the evening vista before her. She would’ve preferred a glass of one of Dale’s delicious red wines, but the tea would have to do. The sun was setting over the escarpment, streaking the sky with mauves and pinks, and the billabong reflected these colors back at her. A flock of little, white corellas skimmed across the surface of the water, and alighted in a large river gum near the water’s edge. The parrots chatted noisily to each other, carrying out their nighttime ritual, completely unaffected by everything that’d happened on the station today.

Daisy had to smile at their antics. It was an excellent lesson in perspective. She suddenly realized her human problems were merely that. Human problems and human dramas. But the rest of this vast country around her would go on, no matter what happened.

Daisy had escaped from the lodge. The Williams family and the rest of their staff were having another kitchen meeting. Wazza had arrived during the middle of dinner service, causing quite a stir. He was filling the rest of them in on all the details he’d been given upon his release from jail. But Daisy couldn’t face any more talk at the moment. She was all talked out. The guests had been fed, and Alek had set up an outdoor cinema on the grass off to the side of the billabong, where they could watch a movie beneath the stars. Daisy could see a corner of the large screen if she turned her head to the left, and she could hear the soundtrack, as well. But it was a minor distraction, easily tuned out. Normal activities would start again tomorrow, and life would return to normal on the station.

It was over. Whatever would be, would be. There was nothing more she could do to protect River now.

River was going to live. He’d been rushed into surgery at Cairns Hospital. Daisy had been in direct contact with his doctors, getting updated information every half an hour. Her mother and father were flying over from Perth to Cairns on the first available flight to be with River. Which was going to be interesting, because there was a cop stationed outside the door to River’s hospital room. Ready to take him into custody as soon as he was recovered enough to be moved. River wouldn’t be getting away this time. Her mother wouldn’t appreciate that one bit, and Daisy was sure Evana would make her protestations known far and wide throughout the hospital. But River needed to stand up and account for himself. If he was truly innocent, as he claimed, then he would face the music, go through due process and come out a free man on the other side, like any other normal human being. And if he wasn’t innocent… They’d all have to face the consequences then.

And they’d all have to face the consequences of River’s gangland association. But they would do it together, because Daisy was going to make sure everyone was on the same page from now on. She wasn’t going to do this on her own anymore. Her brain couldn’t even comprehend what might happen next where The Black Kings were concerned. She’d sort that dangerous puzzle out later. River was safe from them, at least for the next few days, and that was all she cared about right now.

The times when she hadn’t been on the phone to the doctor, she’d been on the phone to her mother, who’d remained fairly calm, considering the circumstances. Dale had arranged for a helicopter to fly her to Cairns in the morning, so she could be with her family.

She was leaving the station.

Her whole subterfuge with River was out in the open now. Everyone at Stormcloud knew that she’d been hiding out with her brother to escape the law. Some people were more accepting than others. Steve, Skylar, and Julie had listened to her explanation with thoughtful expressions. None of them said much, which put Daisy on edge; she’d rather know what they were thinking. Daniella, on the other hand, was more vocal, voicing her concerns to Dale that he needed to pay more attention to the types of people he invited to the station. Which angered Dale more than Daisy would’ve expected. He got right up into his mother’s face and told her to back off, because no one was perfect.

But at least everyone knew. Afterwards, Skylar had come up and hugged her, saying, “I understand why you did it. Even though my boofhead brother drives me insane most of the time, I’d probably have done the same thing if I was in your shoes.” Daisy was forever grateful for Skylar’s acceptance. And Steve had given her a quick, reassuring pat on the shoulder in passing, on his way out to secure the chickens for the night. He hadn’t said anything, but there was forgiveness in his touch. In a strange twist of fate, if it hadn’t been for her and River, they may not have caught Sally in all her subterfuge.

Daisy had been avoiding Wazza all evening, avoiding the conversation she didn’t want to have. Eventually, he’d find out that River was the other man Karri had been seeing; the one she’d left him for. Daisy felt sorry for Wazza, he was probably struggling to come to terms with the fact that he’d not only lost Karri, but the baby as well.

Daisy picked through the recesses of her mind. Of her heart. Trying to dissect the emotions and sensations she was feeling. For most of the day, she’d felt numb, slightly disassociated with everything that was going on. This was the first chance she had alone to really interpret what was going on inside her.

It was as if she’d used up all her emotions regarding River this morning, in that mad moment when she’d thought he might die. She was still worried about him, wanted to be by his side, but that desperate need to protect him at all costs had subsided. Once she found out he was going to live, it was like a surge of boiling lava of emotions had gouged through her, leaving her washed clean.

It was time River took care of himself.

River had taken up a large part of Daisy’s world. Worrying about his welfare had been her constant companion over the past few months. Her brother had also filled most of the available room in her heart. And she’d been fine with that. Until she met Dale. Now her heart wanted to make room for more.

“Can I join you, or is this a private party?” Dale's deep voice sounded behind her.

“Only if you have red wine,” she replied.

“As a matter of fact…” She turned to see him hold up an open bottle and two glasses.

She smiled, and he smiled back. There were those dimples. Those irresistible dimples. Her heart did a double-tap at the sight of him. He wasn’t wearing his Akubra hat this evening, and his hair was left to curl enticingly over his ears. He handed her a glass and tipped a generous amount of ruby-red liquid into it. Taking a seat beside her, he did the same with his own glass.

“To a better day tomorrow,” he said, tipping his glass toward hers. They clinked them together and took a large sip simultaneously. She rolled the wine on her tongue for a second, enjoying the deep tannins and plummy aftertaste, before letting the wine slide down her throat and warm her stomach.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Dale said. “How come you enjoy red wine so much? Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have someone who appreciates it as much as I do, but…” he amended.

She laughed. “Not from my family, that’s for sure. We don’t have a wonderful cellar full of bottles like you do.” She took another sip and turned to gaze out over the water. “It was one of the guys from my uni classes. I thought he was a pompous ass when I met him—actually, I still think he’s a pompous ass.” She laughed again. “But he was part of a small study group we started to help us all get through the assignments. Graham began bringing a bottle of red to our get-togethers, he said it helped him concentrate.” Her mind drifted to those early days at uni, when she’d nearly been overwhelmed by everything. That study group had been the one thing that helped her get through, because she knew she wasn’t alone. “The first time I tasted it, I loved it, even though he warned us all that it could take a long while to develop a palate for red wine. It was a Margaret River Shiraz, and I was amazed by the complex flavors. I started buying my own bottles, when I could afford them. Not the wine in a box, though, that stuff is mostly terrible. The rest of my family thought I was bonkers, because it’s so much more expensive than beer or cider.” Daisy raised her glass and considered the liquid through the dying rays of the sun. “Our study group turned into a wine appreciation group as well, and we’ve kept it going over the past three years.”

“Here’s to Graham, then.” Dale raised his glass, and they clinked them again.

“Yes.” It was funny to think about her life in Perth. It was as if that was a whole other world now. As if her life belonged here. Which it didn’t. “Sorry I couldn’t stay, I needed space to think,” she said after she’d let the effect of the wine appreciate in her gut for a few seconds. “What did I miss out on? What else did Wazza have to say?”

“If I could’ve escaped, I would’ve, too,” Dale said conspiratorially, leaning his shoulder gently against hers. The buzz of connection went down her arm and made her fingers tingle. “But Wazza did tell us some more interesting things about Sally and Johnny. And Steve talked to the senior sergeant this evening and got some more details on the crimes they’ll be charged with.”

“Tell me everything,” she said, letting her gaze drift over the calm billabong.

“Like she said to us this morning, Sally and her boyfriend were definitely skimming the credit card details of some guests—not all of them, however, because she said that would be too obvious—she’d rigged the card machine so that whenever she swiped a guest’s card it stole their details. She then handed the info over to Johnny, who’d wait weeks or months, before he used the cards. That way it was much harder to trace it back to where the details were first stolen from.”

“Smart.” Daisy dipped her head in acknowledgement.

“Yeah, it seemed as if they’d be running the scam for a while. Sally worked at the Pan-Pacific Hotel in Melbourne before she came here. It’s why we hired her in first place, she came with such good references. But they think she was doing the same thing there.” Dale snorted in contempt. “There are clues pointing to Johnny also being involved in identity theft. It sounded like he was hand-picking some of the richer guests from the list of skimmed credit cards and then stealing their identity. That person would often pay a lot of money to get their ID back.”

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