KATE KNEW SOMETHING was wrong as soon as she saw Noah the next afternoon. He strode into the camp, head down, mouth set, and without a word to her or to Liv he went straight to the truck and took out the maps of the stock routes. Crouching in the shade of a mulga bush, he studied them carefully.
Finally, he looked up and his face was a picture of gloom as he shook his head.
‘Is there a problem?’ Kate asked.
He stood, and tossed the maps back into the glove box. ‘The bore’s dry. Looks like the pump’s rusted out, so I can’t even try to fix it.’
A dry bore meant no water for the cattle.
‘I was depending on getting water here.’ He took his hat off and wiped his perspiring forehead with his shirt sleeve. ‘I can’t see any hope of finding water until we get to Gidgee Creek, and that’s two days away.’
‘The cattle can last for three days without water, can’t they?’ Steve had told her that.
‘At a pinch. But there’s always a danger they’ll rush when they finally catch scent of the water. And, with only the two of us, it’s going to be hard to hold them.’
Kate didn’t hesitate. ‘Can I help?’ A few days ago she’d finally convinced Noah that she could take over the lunch-time watch. While the cattle and men had rested, she’d mounted Missy and circled the mob, making sure that none escaped. She’d been thrilled to be allowed to make this small contribution, like a proper member of the droving team. It had become part of her daily routine.
Now, however, Noah shook his head. ‘Don’t even think about it, Kate. I don’t want you anywhere near cattle if there’s any chance of a rush. We’re talking about a serious stampede. Your job will be to keep the truck and horse-float well out of the way. And keep Liv safe, too.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Kate looked down at Liv, smiled and ruffled her hair. ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.’
When Kate reached Gidgee Creek two days later, she followed Noah’s instructions and set up the camp well off the main track. She was reading aloud to Liv, when she heard the roll of thunder in the distance.
Her first reaction was to search the sky. It was blue and clear apart from a few fluffy white clouds on the horizon, but she didn’t know much about thunderstorms in the Outback. Could they arrive without clouds or rain?
Liv jumped to her feet and stood with her head tilted, listening.
‘What do you think that is, Liv?’
The little girl shook her head. ‘Maybe the cattle are coming too fast.’
A rush? Kate jumped to her feet and looked again in the direction of the sound. Already a cloud of dust foamed on the horizon.
‘Quick,’ she told Liv, remembering Noah’s instructions. ‘We need to get into the truck.’
Already, the thundering hooves were pounding closer. Leaning from the truck, Kate saw a roaring tide of beasts galloping down the track.
Horrified, she watched helplessly. It was like watching a tsunami, a huge wall of water coming closer, and knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it.
The noise was terrible. The ground shook. Slipping her arm around Liv, she couldn’t think of one comforting thing to say to the child. She had never imagined a stampede could be so terrifying. She was horrified to think that Noah and Steve were out there somewhere in that terrible fury.
Then suddenly Liv screamed, ‘Daddy!’
Kate heard the shotgun crack of a stockwhip and she saw the blur of a figure on horseback flying down the wings of the mob.
‘I think that’s Steve,’ she shouted to Liv. The rider was wirier than Noah.
He was trying to turn the mob, and some of the beasts did appear to veer off as he confronted them, but it was like trying to turn back the ocean.
Be careful, Steve. Please be careful.
Almost obscured by the cloud of dust, Steve galloped on ahead of the tide of cattle. At high speed, he turned bravely, facing the herd with his long stockwhip snaking and cracking. Then, to Kate’s horror, his horse stumbled and Steve pitched heavily into the dust.
She and Liv screamed in unison, but a split second later Kate shoved the truck door open and leapt out. The panicking herd would trample Steve where he lay, and she had to help.
But what could she do out there?
She stood, frozen by her horrifying dilemma, and then she saw another flashing shape appear out of the dust cloud.
Noah.
He flew down the flanks of the cattle.
Pressing her fist to her mouth to hold back another scream, she watched Noah’s horse thunder up to Steve.
Recklessly, Noah threw himself sideways. In one seamless, astonishing motion he reached down to grab Steve’s outstretched arm. The boy, clearly understanding the plan, struggled to his feet and managed to jump just in time for Noah to haul him up like a sack of potatoes.
In a flash, the horse was off again, racing out of the path of the charging front line, while Steve clung to Noah’s back, one leg hanging limply.
Swinging around in a wide arc, Noah galloped up to Kate.
‘Take him,’ he yelled.
She was already there, helping poor Steve to stumble from the horse with a shriek of pain. She had often wondered how she would cope in a crisis. Being bogged in a creek was nothing compared with this potentially life-and-death moment.
While Noah took off again, disappearing into the dust as he chased after the roaring mob, she was surprised to realise that her initial panic had frozen. No doubt later her fear would return, but for now her major focus was Steve. The poor fellow was slumping onto the ground, white-faced.
She knelt beside him and took his hand. ‘Where do you hurt most?’
‘I think I’ve busted my leg.’ He spoke through clenched teeth, and he pointed to his right leg where his foot stuck out at a sickening angle.
‘What about your back, your neck?’
‘Shoulder hurts, but I think it’s just bruises.’ Bravely, he cracked a crooked grin. ‘Reckon I was lucky.’
‘I reckon you were, Steve. Now, let’s get your boots off.’
That was easier said than done. Steve’s right foot and ankle had already started to swell, and Kate had to run for a knife to cut the elastic sides of his fine-leathered boot. ‘Sorry,’ she murmured as she eased it off, knowing it was agony for him.
As she worked, her mind raced ahead. She would need to splint Steve’s leg and treat him for shock, so she had to get the first-aid kit and blankets. ‘Now, don’t move, while I see what I can find to make you more comfortable.’
She hurried to the truck and she saw Liv staring wide-eyed from the cabin. ‘Is Steve going to die, Kate?
‘Of course not, darling. He’ll be fine.’
Kate hoped this was true. She knew Steve was in terrible pain. He could have internal injuries, too, but she didn’t know how to check for them.
When she got back, he was still trying to apologise. ‘I’ve let the boss down, and you too, Kate. Stupid to get hurt.’
‘Please, don’t worry about a thing. Just take it easy.’
The boy groaned and covered his eyes with a grimy hand.
‘You mightn’t believe it, but that was my first buster in years. My horse stepped in a pothole and went down in the forequarters. Flipped me straight out of the saddle.’
‘There, there… It’s not your fault.’ Kate tried to sound reassuring. She could see beads of sweat on the boy’s brow and he looked paler than ever. He was agitated, talking faster than normal.
And, true to form, he wasn’t nearly as concerned about his injuries as he was about the embarrassment of his fall and the disruption it might cause.
She glanced back over her shoulder to the rushing mob and the crisis Noah was facing. How could he possibly handle the mob single-handed?
What if he were hurt too?
I mustn’t panic.
For now, she had to concentrate on Steve.
Noah’s heart pounded and he gulped sharp breaths of dusty air as he chased the head of the mob. He thanked God that he’d chosen his best stock-horse today. He needed every last ounce of the animal’s sure-footed, cattle-wise courage.
When he reached the leaders, he turned his fearless mount straight into the pressing, maddened mob. Stockwhip cracking, he cut out a section of about a hundred beasts and headed them west. He needed to spread the herd along the creek, so they wouldn’t pile up and get hurt, or trample each other in their scramble to the water.
As he turned back again to cut out another section, his attention was caught by the sound of a motor. He peered through the pall of dust and saw a trail-bike rider working the mob about a hundred metres away.
Someone had come to help. Probably the owner of the property they were travelling through, attracted by all the noise and dust. Noah sent up quick thanks.
Together, without wasting a single word or signal in greeting, horseman and bike rider worked the mob. The trail bike whined and revved, its rider negotiating fallen logs and banks as skilfully as Noah on his horse, and they went back and forth, turning the cattle and spreading them along the watercourse.
Finally the cattle were dispersed, all of them finding a place to drink.
Finally, they should settle down.
Only when he was confident that at last the worst was over, Noah rode up to his saviour—a sturdy, balding fellow of around forty with a grin as bright and wide as the moon. Noah dismounted and held out his hand. ‘Thanks so much, mate. I don’t know how this might have ended if you hadn’t turned up.’
‘I could see you were in a spot of bother.’ The stranger shook Noah’s hand. ‘Brad Jameson.’
‘Ah, yes. This is your land we’re passing through. Pleased to meet you. Noah Carmody. I’m bringing this mob through from Radnor station.’
‘Radnor? I heard that old Angus Harrington passed away.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Sorry to hear that. He was a good mate of my father’s.’
Noah nodded, then cast an anxious glance back in the direction of Kate’s campsite. ‘The young fellow with me came off his horse. I’m a bit worried about him. If you don’t mind, I need to get back to see how he’s fairing.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ said Brad. ‘The homestead’s close by. You might need the Flying Doc.’
Noah’s concern for Steve mounted as he raced back to the camp. The rush had been bad enough, but for Steve to be thrown in the front of the stampeding mob was unthinkable. Noah had never seen anything like it in all his years working cattle.
He’d had no time to think.
And now, as everything that had happened began to sink in, he realised that he could practice high speed pick-ups from horseback for another six months and never repeat today’s lucky fluke.
Poor Steve.
He wouldn’t be able to ride now. Noah had known, when he’d dropped the white-faced boy into Kate’s waiting arms, that the kid hadn’t a hope in hell of mounting up in a day’s time. And there was no way Noah could drive a thousand head of cattle into the Roma sale yards on his own. Which meant this could be it…
A disastrous end to their mission.
Fervently praying she was doing the right thing, Kate padded Steve’s broken leg with a thin blanket and then splinted it to his good leg. After that, she covered him with another blanket to help prevent shock.
To her relief, Noah pronounced her efforts ‘perfect’.
‘Steve couldn’t have been in better hands,’ he told her, with a surprisingly cheerful wink.
Then he put through a phone call to the Flying Doctors, and he and Brad cleared out space in the back of the truck and carefully lifted Steve in.
In keeping with the Outback’s reputation for hospitality, Brad insisted that Noah, Kate and Liv spend the night as his family’s guests.
‘It’s no trouble,’ he insisted. ‘I’ve already rung Annie, my wife. She has a roast on, so she’s popping a few extra spuds in the oven.’ He gave them another of his enormous grins. ‘And there’s an empty cottage you’re welcome to use.’
When they turned the final bend in the track, and Kate saw the appealing white-timber homestead surrounded by pretty gardens, she felt as if they were arriving in something like paradise. Tonight, for the first time in what seemed like weeks, they would sleep in proper beds with decent mattresses. They would shower with more than a bucket of warm water and they would sit on chairs and eat at a table.
Steve would be safely in Roma Hospital, and the Radnor cattle would be safely herded into one of Brad Jameson’s spare paddocks.
Bliss.
The Jamesons’ young daughters, Polly and Meg, were ecstatic when Liv turned up on their doorstep. After the first shy introductions, the three girls quickly thawed.
Polly was very impressed that Liv had been allowed to accompany her father on a cattle drive. Meg wanted to show Liv their new puppies. The little girls disappeared, only to race back minutes later, giggling excitedly and demanding that Liv must sleep in their room.
‘I can make up the stretcher bed in the girls’ room just as easily as in the cottage,’ Annie Jameson said.
The shining delight in Liv’s eyes was answer enough.
Kate could hardly wait to indulge in a hot shower. As soon as she’d bidden stoic Steve a teary farewell at the Jamesons’ airstrip, she went straight to the truck to collect her gear.
Noah was already there, dragging his swag out of the back.
Kate frowned at him. ‘What are you doing? Surely you’re not going to sleep in that swag tonight?’
His eyes glittered with a strange light. ‘I don’t have much option.’ Without another word, he hefted the heavy swag onto his shoulder and marched to the cottage.
‘Wait, Noah. What are you talking about?’
‘Come and see for yourself.’
Puzzled, she followed him into the small timber cottage nestled within a grove of bottlebrush trees. The interior was neat, functional and homely, with old fashioned cream linoleum flooring and pretty floral curtains at the window.
A double bed with a white waffle-weave spread dominated the large room. A small kitchenette took up the far corner and a door led off to the bathroom. Kate looked for another door. ‘Is this all there is?’
‘This is it.’
‘But—’ She watched as Noah set his swag on the floor and her pulse went haywire. ‘Do the Jamesons think we’re married?’
‘They obviously assume we’re a couple.’
‘I—I didn’t think to explain to Annie.’
‘It’s not exactly something you rush to point out when you first meet people, is it? “How do you and, oh, by the way, I’m not sleeping with this woman”.’ His tone was dry as dust, but his eyes betrayed amusement.
‘I suppose the Jamesons saw a man and a woman and a little girl and—’
‘Assumed we were a family.’
‘Yes.’ Thinking aloud, she said, ‘But they would be horrified if they knew you were sleeping on the floor, Noah.’
He gave a brief shrug. ‘They would, but I won’t impose on them further by asking for a separate room.’
‘No, we couldn’t do that. They’ve been terribly kind as it is.’ Kate set her pack on the floor beside Noah’s swag. ‘If anyone sleeps on the floor, I should. I haven’t been chasing after a stampeding herd.’
‘You know I couldn’t possibly allow that.’
‘But I’m sure you were looking forward to a comfortable night in a proper bed.’
‘I’ll survive.’
She gave a dramatic sweep of her arm and pointed to the bed. ‘Honestly, I don’t see why we couldn’t share. This is a big bed—queen-size at least.’ She knew this proposal would have been a lot simpler if she hadn’t recently kissed Noah and then cried all over him. ‘We—we could make a barricade of pillows down the centre.’
‘Forget it, Kate. I am not getting in there with you.’
Did he have to be quite so cutting? ‘I’ll sleep so far over on my side of the bed, I’ll put a dent in the wall.’
‘Now you’re being childish.’
‘Right.’ The word emerged as a tight, angry squeak, which completely destroyed Kate’s attempts to hide her agitation. Frantically, she rummaged in her pack, searching for her shampoo and clean clothes.
‘Kate?’
Her head snapped up. Noah was slouching elegantly against the kitchen counter, arms folded casually, long legs stretched in front of him. No man had the right to look so divine when covered from head to toe in dust.
He smiled slowly. ‘Aren’t you forgetting something?’
‘What?’
‘Isn’t there a very important reason why we shouldn’t even consider sharing that bed?’
She blushed profusely. ‘I—I’m not sure. Is there?’
With an exaggerated version of a sincere, furrow-browed look, Noah shook his head at her. ‘Dear me. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the minor matter of your boyfriend?’
Oh, help. What must Noah think? How could she have forgotten about Derek—again?
Beneath the pressure of Noah’s slow, burning gaze, she felt her cheeks grow hotter and hotter. Hadn’t he guessed when she’d kissed him the other night that her feelings for Derek had waned to the point of extinction?
On the other hand, she didn’t want Noah to think she was cheap and fickle. If he thought she could two-time Derek, he might also think she’d thrown herself at him simply because he’d been the nearest male on hand. In reality, her secrecy had bothered her ever since that night by the billabong. It had lain uneasily in her chest, like an indigestion pain.
Keeping quiet about Derek might have been justified on the night of the fateful phone call to Munich. But afterwards she’d found it all too convenient to throw up the white lie as a shield to protect herself from embarrassment.
Now, however, she’d run out of excuses. It was time to set the record straight.
Hugging her shampoo and her change of clothes, she cleared her throat. ‘Actually—’
‘Actually…?’ Noah’s eyebrows lifted expectantly.
‘I—I’ve broken up with Derek.’
His eyes widened.
‘I’ve been meaning to tell you. I’ve wanted to tell you for some time. It happened before—’ Kate’s brave confession was interrupted by a jaunty rat-a-tat-tat on the door.
A flash of annoyance crossed Noah’s face, but he opened the door to reveal Brad, grinning broadly.
‘Just wanted to make sure you’re comfortable and to see if there’s anything you need?’
‘Everything’s wonderful,’ Noah told their host politely. ‘The cottage is perfect. Very comfortable, thanks.’
Kate prayed that Brad wouldn’t come right into the cottage and see Noah’s swag in the corner. She felt suddenly exhausted and she didn’t think she could cope with their host’s confusion, or the necessary embarrassing explanations.
Brad said, ‘Annie asked me to tell you that dinner’s only ten minutes away.’
‘Right. Thanks.’ Noah spoke over his shoulder to Kate. ‘You’d better get cracking in the shower, sweetheart.’
Sweetheart? So Noah was going along with this charade? Kate hoped Brad couldn’t see her blush.
‘I’m heading for the shower now.’ Grabbing the folded towel from the end of the bed, she hurried into the bathroom.
Inside, she sank against the door. She could hear the sound of the cottage’s front door closing, and then the reassuring silence that meant Brad Jameson had left.
At least that hurdle was over. And she’d cleared another hurdle by telling Noah about Derek.
The last hurdle was still ahead of them—an awkward night alone together.
The thought made her body flash with hot and cold shivers. Her heart pounded.
Calm down, Kate. Calm down.
She didn’t really think Noah was going to fall in love with her just because Derek was out of the way. How pathetic.
She’d given her boyfriend the boot.
Noah couldn’t believe how happy that news made him. His veins were bubbling with joy. He felt like giving three cheers and doing cartwheels—for about five seconds—before cold, cruel common-sense returned.
Truth was, Derek’s departure meant one thing and one thing only: Kate was free. Kate, not Noah. This news didn’t change a single detail of his own situation.
He was still a battle-scarred divorcé. He was still a single father with a vulnerable daughter who needed stability and certainty in her life. And he was still a cash-strapped cattleman with a drought-stricken property, living a world away from Kate’s home.
As his jubilation settled, he heard the sounds from the next room of the shower turning on. Heaven help him; he could picture the soft roundness of Kate’s breasts and butt, her lovely pale skin glistening with water, her bright hair turning dark beneath the shower’s spray.
Hell. He’d been fighting off images like that ever since he’d left Radnor. Now, without her boyfriend as a barrier, spending this night alone with Kate was going to be harder than ever.
Perhaps he should give up any pretence at gallantry. Perhaps he should just crawl into bed right alongside her tonight, and…
And completely stuff up her life.
Oh, sure, that would be really smart.
Shoving his hands deep in his pockets, Noah crossed the room to the window and looked out without really seeing the view, while he thought about the kiss beside the billabong.
The memory of it made his body ache. He wanted Kate. So much. But twice now—not once but twice, for crying out loud—he had kissed Kate and everything had been beyond fabulous. Until he’d called a halt. And Kate had ended up in tears.
How could he have been so stupid—twice? What kind of monster toyed with the emotions of a lovely girl like Kate? He knew she wasn’t the type to cry at the drop of a hat. He was really messing her around.
His own emotions weren’t too stable either.
Hell. He only had to touch Kate’s hand and he was a lost man. How could he try to pretend that sex with her could ever be just sex without strings?
In the bathroom, the shower stopped. Kate would be drying herself with the towel.
Erase that thought right now, man.
Noah gritted his teeth to cut off a sigh. He knew very well that many people would see Kate’s lack of a boyfriend and his lack of a wife as a green light for a raging affair.
So why was he holding back?
The answer, he unwillingly conceded, was fear.
His fear of another failed relationship. His fear of being distracted from his important role as Liv’s father, and his fear of messing with Liv’s emotions. Again. The poor kid loved Kate. She’d be devastated if he started something with Kate that ended in failure.
He couldn’t risk it, couldn’t do that to Liv.
And his fears extended to Kate, too. How could he possibly be the right man for her? She deserved a man who wasn’t weighed down by his past, a man could commit without fear. She deserved a family of her own, and the whole happily-ever-after package.
Slowly, unhappily, these truths settled in Noah’s head as if they were engraved on tablets of stone. He turned from the window, collected his things, ready for his turn in the shower, grateful that he’d thought the situation through and had it sorted finally.
Now, at least, he knew how to handle the night ahead. He just had to keep everything straight and fixed in his head. Sex with Kate was out of the question. Anything approaching sex with Kate was out of the question. Thinking about sex with Kate was out of the question.
Bottom line, he had a whole bunch of other problems that demanded his attention—a thousand four-footed problems, to be exact.