Griff made another turn. One more run and he’d be ready to dump another load into the bin. They were making great time so far. This paddock was all but done, and tomorrow they’d be moving over to the next one. He liked working at night. There was a certain comfort in being swallowed by the utter darkness that blanketed the endless plains out here. There was no moonlight tonight to shine on the distant ranges. The headlights of the other header and the chaser bin bounced along across the adjoining paddock, and bugs swarmed and dive-bombed in his headlight beams.
He usually couldn’t wait till harvest was done—the long hours behind the wheel, the bloodshot eyes and endless coffee definitely got old pretty quickly—but this year he was looking forward to it finishing more than usual. This year he had Liv waiting for him at the end of a shift, but exhaustion was playing havoc with their sex life when both of them were dead tired after a long day or night harvesting. At same time he realised that the sooner they reached the end of the busy time, the sooner Liv would have to go back to the city. They hadn’t talked about it much. Every time he had tried to bring it up, she had shut down on him, so he had decided it was best to keep quiet and enjoy the ride until they had time to work out the details.
If there are any details to work out, a small voice warned. There had to be. These last few weeks had been perfect, if you didn’t count the bleary eyes and the fact they spent more time in bed sleeping than doing anything else. But even that was great. He loved waking up and finding her snuggled beside him. He loved bringing her coffee in the morning or sharing a shower before they both headed off in opposite directions for the day, or night, depending on what shift they were doing. He could get used to it. Too bloody easily. And that was the problem. What happened if she decided to go back to the city and it all ended? Liv was right, she would be the one giving up everything to make a future together. It was a lot to expect from a person. He knew he wouldn’t be able to do it. Even for Olivia? a little voice asked. If she refused to give up her life in Sydney, would he consider giving up Stringybark to move closer to her?
It wasn’t really the same thing, he rationalised. For starters, Olivia had already been thinking about a change because she wasn’t happy in her job. And she wouldn’t be moving somewhere unfamiliar and unknown. This had been her home. Her family was right here. If he moved to Sydney he’d be giving up the only thing he knew how to do. He’d be moving to a city—a completely alien environment for someone used to wide-open spaces. He felt his stomach drop sickeningly at the thought and sighed inwardly. He didn’t envy Liv having to make a decision. He just didn’t know how to persuade her to make the one he really wanted her to make.
His phone rang and he reached for it, giving the screen a brief glance before he answered.
‘Hi, darling. How’re things going?’ His mother sounded chirpy for this late at night.
‘Good. We should get this paddock done tonight.’
‘Lovely. I have good news. I’ve just got off the phone with your brother. He’s managed to get some time off work and he’s coming home to help out with harvesting.’
‘Linc? Why?’
‘He heard about Bill’s accident and the fire trouble, and figured an extra pair of hands might come in handy.’
Linc was coming home. The news threw him for a minute. While he knew Linc had been getting help, and he’d put the fight into some kind of perspective, there was still the slightest hesitation whenever he heard his brother’s name. Last year Griff had been at a pretty low point in his life. He’d always loved farming, but stress had taken its toll. There had been a lot of pressure on him. A bad harvest the year before had meant they couldn’t afford anything to go wrong, and he’d spent more than a few sleepless nights worrying. He wasn’t proud of the fact he’d allowed himself to become so bitter. He’d known he was acting like a jerk after Cash had rejected him, but somehow he hadn’t been able to do anything about it. He regretted it deeply now, and perhaps it was partly his sense of shame that made him flinch ever so slightly when he thought of Linc.
His mother said goodbye before informing him she’d put dinner in his fridge, then hung up.
He put his phone down and reached for the radio handset, calling the chaser bin to get ready for him, but his mind was still on his mother’s call. He couldn’t wait until last Christmas was put firmly behind them—the whole ugly mess. He wanted to be able to look forward to seeing his brother, without what happened between them overshadowing everything. Maybe this would be the turning point, he thought.
Olivia listened to their breathing slow and ran her hand lightly through the hair on Griff’s chest.
‘Did Ollie mention we’ll be finishing up here sooner than we thought?’ he asked eventually.
‘Yeah, he did.’
‘We’ll be able to get over to help out on Moorbrook sooner than we expected.’
‘The help will be great. But how come? I didn’t think you were that far ahead.’
‘We’ve got an extra pair of hands coming out,’ he said, and something about his tone alerted Olivia to his unease.
‘Really?’ she asked, resting on one arm as she looked down at him curiously. ‘How’d you manage that?’
‘Linc’s coming home.’
‘He is?’ she asked slowly.
‘Yeah. He wanted to come and help out after he heard about your dad’s accident, but he had to finish up a job or something. He wants to get out here and lend a hand with the harvest, wherever he’s needed.’
‘That’s nice of him. I know Ollie will appreciate whatever help he can get,’ she said, before tilting her head to look at him carefully. ‘How do you feel about him coming home?’
‘Fine,’ he said quickly.
A little bit too quickly, Olivia thought, watching him closely. ‘Are you really?’
He picked up her hand and began playing lightly with her fingers. ‘I mean, we’re good … we’ve sorted out all the crap we were dealing with.’
‘But?’ she asked quietly.
‘I don’t know, I guess there’s still that bit of … I don’t know. He’s my brother, it shouldn’t be a big deal.’
‘Is it Linc you’re worried about … or Cash?’ she asked hesitantly.
‘Cash? Why would I be worried about seeing her?’
Because you were in love with her last year? ‘I don’t know. Forget it.’
‘You can’t still think there’s anything between Cash and I?’
‘Well, you’re worried about seeing your brother again … It’s not unreasonable to think maybe you’re nervous about seeing her too.’
‘There wasn’t anything between the two of us.’
‘That’s not exactly true, Griff,’ she said. ‘Maybe you weren’t in a relationship, but you had feelings for her.’
‘Yeah, and they weren’t returned. It’s always great to be reminded about making an idiot of yourself.’
‘I wasn’t trying to make you feel like an idiot. You have nothing to be ashamed of.’
‘Yeah right.’ He pulled his hand away from hers and rolled over.
‘I’m sorry I brought it up,’ she said, staring up at the ceiling. Why had she done that? Because deep down you’re not sure he really is over her. She’d never been the jealous type before, but meeting Cash Sullivan last Christmas had somehow triggered all sorts of insecurities in her. She didn’t want to feel this way, but Cash was beautiful. Cash was fun and rebellious and … interesting. And she was coming back.
‘We better get some sleep,’ he said, still facing away from her.
She lay awake long after she heard the soft sounds of his even breathing beside her. She wished she could turn her thoughts off and sleep as easily as Griff seemed to be able to. It was a long time before she was able to drift into a restless slumber.
Olivia glanced over as Ollie came through the back door later that afternoon. The new fuel tank for the header had still not arrived, so they had an unexpected night off and an invitation to dinner with the Callahans, which was a celebration of sorts to welcome home Linc.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ he said, pushing her feet off the small side table as he walked past.
Olivia sent him an irritable glance as she straightened up in her seat and tried to get comfortable again. ‘Nothing.’
‘Where’s Griff? You two have been joined at the hip for weeks.’
‘He had to drive into town to get parts.’
‘So that’s why you’re moping about here like a loser?’
‘Maybe I just wanted a bit of peace and quiet,’ she shot back pointedly.
‘After spending all day inside a truck cabin alone? Nope, I don’t think so. I may be a mere male, but I know when something’s up with you, so spill.’
God, he was annoying when he went into twin mode. ‘She’s coming back.’
‘Who’s coming back?’
‘Cash.’
‘So?’ He frowned at her, clearly having trouble making the connection to how this was a problem.
‘Griff had a thing for her … remember?’
Ollie eyed her oddly. ‘Yeah, but that was ages ago. She’s practically married to his brother now.’
‘So? They almost killed each other over her, if you care to recall.’
‘Aw, come on, Liv, that was boilin’ up long before Cash came on the scene—you know what Griff and Linc are like. It wasn’t about her,’ he said, grabbing a beer from the fridge before taking a seat at the table.
She did know that Griff and his older brother had a long history of friction and, yes, there had been a lot of other outside factors that had come into play that night, but the fact still remained that she’d seen Griff with his heart on his sleeve over the woman last Christmas—he’d had real feelings for her.
Cash, with her stunning looks and confidence. Her tattoos that should look trashy but only managed to make her even more mysterious and beautiful. Olivia had tried to dislike her—but she couldn’t. She was one of those rare people who was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. It wasn’t fair to be that blessed. Olivia’s confidence had taken blow after blow as she’d watched Griff fall deeper under Cash’s spell and realised there was no way on earth she could compete. Why would Griff look twice at her when Cash was so damn perfect?
It had made her take a long hard look at herself and her life. She was boring. She had no life—just a career that sapped every last ounce of her energy.
‘Look, from a guy’s perspective,’ Ollie said, and she heard his tone get a little gruff, ‘if you’ve got an issue or want to know something specific’—he lowered his gaze briefly—‘you have to ask him. Guys don’t pick up too well on telepathy.’
‘It’s complicated,’ she said.
‘Isn’t it always, with women?’ Ollie muttered before taking a sip of his beer.
She ignored his comment. ‘I don’t even know what I want to do with my life. I can’t stay out here. What’s the point starting something with Griff that’s not going to go anywhere?’
‘The fact you don’t even know what you want to do means you can’t rule out that it might go somewhere.’
She knew he had a vested interest in all of this; after all, he was going to be the one picking up the pieces of his best mate and his sister if it all fell apart. It would make his life so much easier if they just got together and were happy.
‘Well, you better hurry up and get ready. We’re due over there for dinner soon.’
Olivia tipped her head back and groaned. ‘I don’t think I’ll go.’
‘Fine,’ he said, drinking the last of his beer, ‘but when Lavinia asks where you are, I’m going to tell her the truth—that you’re over here sulking—and then you know she’s going to come here and drag you over to Stringybark herself.’
‘Some brother you are,’ Olivia muttered darkly.
‘Hey, you’d do exactly the same thing for me,’ he said, standing up and putting out his hand to pull her to her feet.
‘Oh, don’t you worry, I’m planning on being right here so I can refuse to cover for you when you have woman trouble,’ she warned.
‘You’ll be waiting a while,’ he said, turning away.
Something about his tone caught her attention, but he was already walking back inside before she could call him on it. She had her own problems to deal with right now, but she would get to the bottom of her brother’s lack of a love life. After all, why the hell should he escape the stress and frustration of love? She wasn’t going to let him get off that easily.