Page 28 of Crystal Skies (Stormcloud Station)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

AN AIR OF expectation hung over the station. Aaron had forgotten what this felt like. The anticipation of the start of a muster was suspended in the air; he could almost see it in the dust rising like a cloud above the stables.

Aaron undid the button on his sleeve, and rolled it up to his elbow, then did the same with the other one. He figured he may as well blend in with the rest of the crew. His black trousers, shiny shoes and expensive sports jacket would’ve screamed townie, and he didn’t want to appear out of place to the ringers right from the get-go. His borrowed blue shirt with the Stormcloud logo on the top pocket—a gift from Wazza, as he was the closest in size to Aaron—was well-worn, the fabric soft and pliable. Aaron was surprised at how easily he’d slipped back into the uniform of jeans, boots, and hat. It hadn’t been hard to find him a pair of boots; there were always plenty of pairs left hanging around on a station. Previous staff left them behind, or they’d been outgrown and replaced by one of the family members. Julie had dug around in a corner of the tack shed, beneath all the saddles stacked along a long wooden rail, and come up with a pair that fit him almost perfectly. Julie had also found an old Akubra for him in the back of Steve’s closet. Aaron still owned an Akubra, as long as his mother hadn’t thrown it away. The gray felt hat had been his pride and joy. But there was no way he was going to get in touch with his mother to ask her to send it to him. Because then she’d inquire why he needed it. And he wasn’t going down that path. He kept his contact with Donna to a bare minimum. There was no need for him to talk to her anymore. She had her life, and he had his. Besides, she would never change. No matter how much he’d tried to get her to love him as a kid, she’d always remained detached and aloof, and it was only getting worse as she got older. Aaron was happy to keep his estranged mother at arm’s length.

It’d been two days since the drawing taped to the window incident. Since he’d agreed to let Julie go on the muster. There’d been no letters, phone calls, or texts in that time. Almost as if the stalker was indeed playing a game with them, and had decided it was their move.

He and Julie stood next to the Land Cruiser, waiting for Steve to finish his last-minute preparations so they could hit the road. The rest of the crew also bustled around, tying down loose ropes, and checking their loads. The sky was starting to turn lilac on the horizon, but the sun was yet to peek over the hills behind them, and he smothered a yawn. They’d been up since four am. Aaron had forgotten about the early starts during muster. A battered, old caravan was hitched to the back of their Land Cruiser. Aaron had helped Julie kit it out with all the cooking utensils, mounds of non-perishable food, and other supplies she’d need to cook meals for upwards of fifteen people for the next week. The caravan was also crammed full of camping equipment, including tents, pots and pans, and a large metal grille and other steel appliances for cooking over the fire. They were taking everything, including the kitchen sink, it seemed.

He glanced down at the petite woman standing next to him. The look on Julie’s face was priceless, almost worth the cost of admitting he should have agreed to let her go on the muster right from the start. It was as if she’d come alive again; she was almost the same Julie he remembered from before, bubbly, and jovial, laughter lighting up her face.

“You look…good,” Julie said quietly from her position beside him. She’d been studying him from beneath lowered eyelashes for the last few minutes, banging her hat thoughtfully against her jean-clad thigh.

“What?” Where was she going with this?

“Less serious and businesslike. More like the old Aaron I used to know.” Her compliment pulled him up short. Was that a good thing? Maybe it was in her eyes. But not so much for him. He certainly felt more at ease in jeans and a shirt. But he needed to keep reminding himself he was on the job; this wasn’t a holiday, it was serious.

“Well, we can’t have that,” he replied gruffly. Then, on a spur-of-the-moment impulse, he ruffled Julie’s hair like he used to do, and grinned down at her, while stepping away so she couldn’t whack him with her hat.

“Hey.” She pouted up at him, lips all plump and luscious, blue eyes flashing. Aaron felt a stab of an emotion he hadn’t felt in a long time drive deep into his guts. He turned away to hide his surprise.

After the picture in the window, Aaron had insisted he sleep in Julie’s bedroom. He’d dragged the mattress from the lounge area into her room and placed it at the foot of the bed. It was the only solution he could see, because he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight again. Not until they’d caught this guy.

But he hadn’t been prepared for the excruciating form of invisible torture he’d had to endure over the past two nights. Aaron had lain awake most of the night, listening to Julie breathe. Soft and deep. Every now and then, she would snuffle and turn over. She seemed to sleep the deep, dreamless sleep of the innocent. Whereas he was the exact opposite. He found himself wondering what she would do if he gave up on the near irresistible urge to crawl into bed with her. Would she reach for him like she’d used to? Drag his mouth down to hers, entreating him for more as she had the other day when they’d kissed?

Aaron still couldn’t banish that kiss from his mind. Memories of it would sneak up on him when he’d least expect it, often at the most inappropriate times. Once, he’d been chatting with Daniella about a new batch of guests arriving the following day, and he’d glanced up to see Julie staring at him intently from the other side of the room. She’d licked her lips, an unconscious move, and turned away, but in that instant, he’d seen the heat behind her eyes, and his cock had sprung to attention. A highly unsuitable situation to be in, with his cock straining against the zipper of his trousers and Daniella staring at him, waiting for an answer. He’d kept his libido on a tighter leash after that, but there’d been other times when he’d caught himself thinking about her.

During the night, Aaron had taken to counting sheep to try and distract himself. And in a desperate attempt to stop thinking about how soft her skin would feel against his, he’d even considered rehashing the events of the night he’d left Dalgety. The way his mother’s gaze had bored into him, spewing her venomous words in order to hurt him. Make him feel a little of the pain that she’d been feeling all those years. That’d worked. He’d stopped thinking about Julie for a while after that.

Earlier this morning, while Julie had been packing the last of her things into her duffle bag, ready for the muster, Aaron had approached and handed her a small canister of pepper spray.

“What am I going to do with that?” she’d asked after examining it for a few seconds.

“It’s for self-defense. You hold it up and spray it in an attacker’s face.” He took her hand in his, directing her thumb, showing her how to flick up the safety cover on the top, then pointed it away from them and mimed pressing the trigger with her thumb. “Short, sharp bursts are better than longer sprays.”

“I know what it is,” she said haughtily, recoiling from his touch. “And I’ve seen how they’re used.” She held the canister in front of her, pretending to examine it more closely. But Aaron caught the way she surreptitiously rubbed the back of her hand where his palm had covered hers.

“Where am I going to keep this?” she added, shooting him a confused look. “I won’t be carrying a bag most of the time out there.”

“I know. Just try and keep it close by.” Aaron realized that muster wasn’t your normal everyday situation. This wasn’t like Julie would be going for a leisurely stroll down a city street with a handbag slung over her shoulder. She’d be constantly on the move. Flitting from the cooking tent to the cattle yards. There were a million things to do out on muster, and he knew he’d be doing his best just to keep up with her. “You can clip it on your jeans.” He turned the canister over and showed her how it was attached to a keyring on one end, with a fastener that would clip onto a belt loop on her jeans. “It’s even small enough to put in your pocket. Have you got a small backpack you can take? If you don’t, I’ll see if I can get you one.” Aaron knew it’d be too much to ask her to wear a backpack all the time, but if she ever left camp for any reason—she’d mentioned riding out and helping the ringers muster the cattle if she had any spare time, although she wouldn’t be doing that if he had any say in the matter—then she could carry it in that.

“I’ve got one,” she replied, still staring at the small can. “You realize pepper spray is illegal in Queensland. Only cops are allowed to use it.”

“Yeah, I know. Which is why it might be better to keep it out of sight.” Aaron understood the rules around pepper spray; it was considered an offensive weapon in Queensland, unless you had a permit, which Aaron was entitled to because of his work with Shield. He had other, larger canisters of the spray in his go bag. They often came in handy in a situation when brute force was required to subdue a criminal, but the circumstances didn’t require a lethal weapon. Shield Security protection agents were always told to use their common sense during any violent altercation, but a gun should always be a last resort, in Aaron’s mind.

“I’d feel safer knowing you had it on you,” he continued. He didn’t add that the penalty for being caught carrying pepper spray could possibly include a jail sentence, because that would just freak her out and there was no need to be worried, in his eyes. As a first offense, it was highly unlikely that Julie would go to jail. “But perhaps don’t let Nash know I gave it to you,” he added.

Julie had scowled at him, but carefully tucked the spray into a corner of her duffle bag.

“I’ve got something else for you.” Aaron hesitated, unsure how she’d receive this next gift. He held up a small, black box in the palm of his hand. Lifting the lid, he took out a slim, silver ankle bracelet with a tiny charm hanging from one end.

Julie drew back in horror. “Why on earth would you want to give me jewelry?”

“Oh. No. Wait…this isn’t what you think.” Uh-oh, he’d done this all wrong; hadn’t even considered this sort of reaction from her. But now he could see he was an idiot not to have anticipated her feelings. “It’s a highly technical piece of equipment,” he added, trying not to sound overly pompous. Hell, he wasn’t handling this well at all.

She eyed him suspiciously, not moving.

“It contains a tiny GPS tracker,” he explained. “So, if you ever go missing…”

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