Chapter 2

 

Cooper waited patiently in the lounge bar. There had been no real reason to meet with Rebecca, other than curiosity. He knew why she was here of course, and rather than have a room full of his own lawyers deal with her, he thought he would be much better off dealing with this issue directly. He had no intention of selling what was in effect his birth right, but he was interested in the sudden interest being shown by a foreign company. Coopers father had died after a long illness some years before, and his mother had died when he was a child. There were no siblings, so the property was entirely his. It was not only his birth right, but he loved it. He loved the wide open spaces, the hardness of the land, it's stark beauty. The quietness. On a cold winter night under the stars, when even the insects had been stilled, you could almost hear the earth turning. He had to admit to himself though, that he was growing a little tired of being on his own out there. So tinged with his interest in the foreign company, was the vague notion that it might be time to see what a busier world had to offer. A world with Rebecca in it perhaps? Perhaps put his university degree to some use. He had originally gone back to the property to help his father, but now he too was gone and Cooper had to admit to himself in his quieter moments that it all seemed a little directionless. He hadnt even managed a girl friend for so long now he was wondering how he would manage one now, such was his unfamiliarity with the fairer sex. Familiar people in his life had slowly drifted away with their own lives to worry about, and his life was getting quieter and quieter.

 

Rebecca entered the lounge, looking casually about for Cooper. She wanted to know what his plans were. She had her own ideas of how any business discussions should proceed, and didn't have the slightest intention of flying anywhere with anyone. Certainly not with Cooper Anders.

"Rebecca." She heard her name spoken softly. Cooper stood next to an elegant table to one side of the entrance. "Would you care to join me?" He asked. Rebecca paused and gave him a long steady look and a nod before continuing past him and approaching the small bar. She took in his strong jawline and finely chiselled nose in a face, that while given a pleasant cast by his beautiful eyes, was none the less the face of a strong character. His skin was smooth and tanned. He didn't sport the latest fashion of a few days’ stubble growth. Rebecca was pleased about this, for one she thought it an affectation, and two - he didn't need to make any statements about his masculinity. His obvious confidence in himself as a man was all he needed. A slight smile crinkled the corners of his mouth.

Rebecca had forgotten for a moment why she had gone directly to the bar. Cooper's good looks and animal magnetism, his underlying sexuality, had sent butterflies skittering through her stomach. She had never been so strongly, so physically attracted to a man before in her life, not since her lost love, and she hardly knew this man at all. She drew a deep breath and turned to the young woman behind the bar. "Could you pass me any messages to Rebecca Boucher, please. I'm expecting word from London at any time."

"Certainly ma’am," the girl replied, and scribbled a note for the reception staff as well.

Rebecca walked slowly back to the table where Cooper sat waiting for her. She took her time, moving very slowly. She wanted to take him in visually before she started talking to him. Up to now she hadn't had much chance, having been taken by surprise at the airport, and at that time still very much disoriented from the long flight. He had risen to his feet again, the perfect gentleman.

"Cooper. You do realise that essentially we are not on the same side of this business arrangement?" Rebecca said.

"Rebecca, please. Let's not talk business right now. Come, join me. Enjoy some down time with me." Cooper pulled back a chair for Rebecca.

As much as this man electrified her, she had to remember why she was here. It struck her that he may actually be trying to disarm her. Get her to drop her guard. It was always much more difficult to drive a hard bargain with someone you loved .... liked! Liked. Not loved. Rebecca almost stamped her foot. OMG, he was gorgeous. So no, she would not kick back and relax with him. She would share a table and a drink as any civilised person would be expected to do, and then order dinner.

Rebecca sat on the opposite side of the table to Cooper.

She raised her gaze to his intense blue eyes. He was focused entirely on her. Oh, that felt nice.

"Where exactly is your - um... homestead? that is, in relationship to where we are now." She asked.

"Well, basically due west, and a little bit south of west. We straddle the borders of the states of South Australia, The Northern Territory, and Queensland. Probably a bit of New South Wales as well. You might say the place is in a good position. The homestead is in the South Australian part."

Rebecca couldn't help but look a little puzzled. It sounded like he was describing a small country out there somewhere. Cooper flicked over a coaster and did a quick sketch with his pen. "Do you know the size of the place we are talking about?" He asked.

"Well no, not really. The paperwork seemed a little vague about that. I assume it's an error in transcription. Because the size mentioned is thirteen thousand five hundred and fifty two square kilometres. That's at least six times the size of the largest ranch in the US."

"Yep," replied Cooper. "That'd be about right. It's pretty big, but mostly marginal country. You know, desert, sand dunes, that sort of thing. Of course, I'm not there alone."

Rebecca's heart sank. Here it comes. 'not alone'. He was married, and it had not made it into her paperwork. She didn't know why, but she felt disappointed.

"Oh, well of course not." Rebecca said. She struggled to keep her voice neutral. "I mean, a man needs company, just as a woman does. Which leads me to ask, why didn't you bring her with you?"

'That stopped him', thought Rebecca. Cooper was looking at her with a strange look on his face.

"Her?" He asked. "Who her? Bring who with me? " He was now looking confused. 'Was this woman slightly off her trolley? What, or actually who, was she talking about?' He didn't have any female staff out there.

"I don't have any female staff on the station," he said. "And as for female company, well there is no shortage of very attractive young ladies scattered across the outback. Just none working for me or living near me, and none resident... at the moment." He added after a pause. For the first time since he had met Rebecca, Cooper began to see Rebecca in an entirely new light. Why had she suddenly gone all spiky at the mention of other people - other women in fact, in his life. He gave her an appraising look from under his long eyelashes. There was no doubt she was a stunner. Very slim, long straight legs that seemed to go on forever and the cutest bottom he had ever seen. Small waist and well proportioned breasts. Beautiful clear green eyes that were watching him watching her, with a lively intelligence behind them. Not over long hair, now swept back in a functional rather than a fashionable style. He was not a man given to day dreaming, but looking at this woman had started his blood racing, and he crossed his legs by the table to hide any sign he felt would give him away in an instant if she noticed. He coloured faintly around the collar of his shirt.

What had he been doing. He hadn't found himself responding so strongly to a woman in a long time. A woman he hardly knew, other than what he had been told. Was she expecting him to have a wife? Surely his file would indicate the lack of one. Perhaps it was not detailed enough to include girl friends, but that hardly counted. He didn't think he was ready for a wife yet. He thought he had his life planned out ahead of him, for himself and the cattle station. There was no where in the plan for a wife. The distraction of a wife. Children, pets, relations, there was too much work to do.

"No Rebecca, there is no little wife waiting back on the station. No girlfriend either. I doubt there ever will be, living way out there where I do. There's nothing. The nearest shops are a few hours by plane away. No hospitals, no schools, no neighbours. No little white picket fences." Cooper sounded almost apologetic, and not a little sharpness had crept into his tone. But that was life. That's where he lived, and to date the one or two women who had seen where he lived couldn't get off the place quick enough. He had no doubt this one would certainly prove to be the same. He realized for the first time that this was a mistake. Meeting this woman, indeed any representative of the foreign company was a mistake, and one he would now have to put right.

 

Rebecca simply looked at him. She had noted the rise in colour under his collar, and the hastily crossed legs and thought she knew the reason. His slow appraisal of her had also been noticed. She was not a little girl any more and knew pretty much how things worked. The idea that she had caused his arousal pleased her. It also caused those butterflies in her lower stomach to start fluttering again. It was not going to influence her now though. She had a job to do.

She smiled sweetly and said "Are we going to have a drink, or sit here watching each other for the evening. Something light to eat would be nice too. Even in first class the food leaves a lot to be desired." There were very few others in the room at the moment, as it was still early. Rebecca stood up and walked the length of the lounge, admiring the view outside. She need to stretch her legs a little and settle her thoughts. She noticed that Cooper had ordered drinks for both of them. 'Good'. She liked a man to take charge without being overbearing, and small gestures like that proved his capacity for being in control.

As she sat back down the drinks were delivered. A Whisky by the smell of it. Teachers perhaps. Or Glen Livet? Definitely Glen Livet. A jug of water, and a small bottle of Dry accompanied the order. Rebecca liked hers on the rocks. Within moments a selection of nuts and sweetmeats appeared beside the table on a small cart. Cooper raised an eyebrow as Rebecca smiled in appreciation. "Is there anything specifically you might like, Rebecca?" He asked.

"No thank you Cooper, this will do nicely until dinner later." She replied. She would have loved a lot more, but she wasn't about to blurt that out to Cooper in the middle of the lounge. His voice flowed over her like molten lava, melting her inside, her heart thumping against her chest. There didn't seem to be a lot to say suddenly as they sat there nursing their drinks. As she had guessed, Cooper was a man of few words, but what he had said indicated a love of his home, and if she wanted him talking then the best subject might just be that. Not only could she listen to his voice for as long as he wanted to talk, it might be good to know just how deeply he was attached to this small kingdom he owned. For it was a kingdom. Certainly larger than some European kingdoms.

Again it crossed her mind, that she had no real idea why the US Corporation that had engaged her services through her company, wanted to purchase this remote cattle property. She determined to find out this very night with a few discretely placed calls later on. There were some unanswered questions about this whole deal. For example, what happened if something happened to Cooper. What happened to this vast property? Who were the beneficiaries?

Rebecca leaned forward to rest her arms on the table.

"Tell me about your home. About where you live. I'm interested to hear what would keep a man out in such a lonely place at such cost."

"Well," he began "quite apart from the financial side of things, it is my home. Born and raised. My parents lived there. I was born there. Actually born there. A number of generations of my family have gone before me. It's a wild place. There are still nomadic aboriginals living there. Not many mind you, but we do see them from time to time, and the station workers know generally where they are at any one time and tend to avoid them if possible. Although usually it's the other way around. Most of the station workers are themselves aboriginal Australians. We have a few Europeans - white Australians if you like, in the workshops, and driving the trucks that bring the cattle in to the markets and other work." Cooper sat back and thought for a bit. Rebecca could see in his eyes he was now far away from her.

"Yes, let me see. In the workshop, two tradesmen, a mechanic/engineer and a diesel fitter. A grader driver. We have a helicopter pilot. The head stockman is Darcy, he's a local aboriginal, as are all the stockmen. It was their place in the beginning. There's Old Bill the grader driver. He's an x-stockman. Been on the place since Adam was a boy. He's too old now for stock work, but he can still climb up into the cabin of the road grader."

Cooper smiled at the memory of the old man. He had taken Cooper over most of the vast property during the course of the years as he kept service roads clear, and pushed new tracks into temporary stock yards for the trucks. Cooper had loved those days, before he had been sent away to boarding school to finish his higher education, then on to university.

His father even by then had been very ill, and was almost incapable of running the vast property any longer. He has issued his instructions from the wide shady veranda of the homestead, and his staff - most of whom were his friends as well, saw that everything moved along smoothly.

Cooper had spent every holiday at home, and often flew back home from the city of Toowoomba on weekends to be with his father. He had brought along friends of course, and now and then a young lady. But none had stayed. The girls from other cattle and sheep properties scattered across the vast country either went back to their own homes to take up running their family stations, or they shunned the bush forever. Cooper had never asked anyone to stay, and although he missed their company, he had not complained or bowed to the pressure to move into the cities. He didn't hate the cities. He just didn't feel comfortable in them. No horizons, and too many people.

Cooper spoke softly as he recounted this patchwork of his life in the vast wilderness of the Australian 'outback'. Rebecca hadn't said a word, just sipped at her drink. She had raised a hand to the waiter and indicated fresh drinks as Cooper spoke. She could listen to him forever. She was jealous of his love for his home. If only he was able to love her as much as that. Rebecca sighed. No man could love two mistresses, no matter what they said, and his land was obviously his first love.

Well, she had a job to do. The sooner she started now, the easier it would be on her, and on him. She had no doubt that he would eventually give in to the offers of the US Corporation she was representing. New World Holdings. What they held seemed to be very eclectic in Rebecca's ideas. Everything from waste management to air freight and a lot of things in between. There was even a small nuclear power plant in Europe in the mix somewhere. Big players with deep pockets. They did have cattle ranches, both in the US, and in Argentina, and Rebecca could only surmise that this vast property held by only one man seemed like easy picking for them. Hers not to reason why.

This was going to be a tough mission. Cooper had refused to even speak with anyone but herself and only face to face. He had refused the entry of a legal team into the discussion, either his own, or hers. He would talk directly to Rebecca, as the representative of New World Holdings out of courtesy, and no one else.

"Have you heard of New World Holdings before this offer was made via our law firm?" She asked out of the blue. Cooper snapped his jaw shut and his lips became a thin line. His eyes glittered. Rebecca had never seen this before. Not like this. His eyes literally glittered, with a light like the reflection from the core of a diamond in them. She involuntarily moved back from the table a little. The man radiated danger like a heat wave. Yet he hadn't moved a muscle, other than to stop talking, and really focus his attention on her. A long silence followed. Then he relaxed a little and said.

"I prefer to not talk about this whole thing until you have seen Innamincka. We will fly out first thing in the morning if that's ok with you?" From the sound of his voice, Rebecca guessed that if she said no, then all talks were off, and her entire mission would be a failure.But in answer to your question, yes, I had heard of them.

Cooper visibly made the effort to relax. He reached for Rebecca's hand across the table. She almost drew it back in alarm. She hadn't got over the sudden change in him moments ago.

"Please. I apologise. I can see that I have upset you. That's the last thing I want to do." The feel of her small hand in his huge palm softened him to the core. No physical reaction this time to her, just overwhelming tenderness. She was so fragile. He had never felt anyone to be as - yes, fragile - as this woman. Oh sure, he had no doubt she had a good business head on her and would take no prisoners in a court of law. However, he doubted if she could even stand up to a strong wind. Perhaps the bush was no place for her after all. Was he compounding the mistake already made? Was insisting she step right out of her comfort zone and into his a mistake? He was beginning to think that perhaps it was. And all because he could feel her softness in that tiny hand. Which he hadn't let go of yet.

 

Rebecca looked from his face to her hand and back again. His eyes had softened again, and the little smile lines were back. His hand holding hers was huge. She could feel the muscles in it, tense but at rest. His long fingers were smooth and his nails short and clean. For a man who lived alone, he still knew how to care for himself. She had met ranchers in many countries, and those that still worked the land themselves seemed to delight in carrying it with them under their fingernails. Ugh! What was it about men without women in their lives?

This man was an enigma to her. He was unlike any man she had ever met. Nothing at all like the men in her office back in London, or even New York. She let out a sigh.

"Shall we call a truce then? I'm sorry I brought up business at this moment. I shall start respecting your customs as of now." Rebecca withdrew her hand slowly from his. Her skin was tingling as though a small electric current was coursing through her hand. It shook slightly as she lifted her drink to her lips, the ice tinkling against the glass.

"Customs?" He questioned.

"TGIF Cooper. Thank God It's Friday. No business after midday you said." She smiled as she watched his face.

"Ah." Was all he said.

"Is it permissible under these strange new customs to talk about personal things, between a man and a woman?" Rebecca asked with a slightly bantering tone to her voice.