‘I shouldn’t be too hard on Kevin, though, should I, Tip.’ Denham walked towards the open shed door and stared at the drive into Glenmore. ‘After all, he’s just warning us Cressy will be home soon.’

  A faint trail of dust grew steadily darker and he rolled his tight shoulders.

  ‘This could go one of two ways, Tip. Cressy will be okay about me being here or that Knight honour of hers will send me packing.’

  Sunlight glinted on silver as her ute came into view. Denham looked away and left the shed to head to his own ute. He didn’t want to remember the times he’d watched her drive into Claremont, his heart pounding. He’d loved her for so long. For a perfect two years he hadn’t had to silence his words or mask his emotions. Being with Cressy was everything that he ever dreamed, and more. Then life and the reality associated with being a Rigby had intervened.

  Kevin screeched and Tippy barked as Cressy drew near. Dust scented the breeze. Denham leaned against his ute, rolled his shirtsleeves up another fold and crossed his arms. He made sure his expression remained casual even if his hands were fisted.

  Cressy reached the fork in the road and instead of continuing towards the homestead she veered towards the double-gates he’d left open for her. She drove through before pulling up alongside him. Her expression remained guarded as she climbed out of the driver’s seat. Her shapeless orange SES uniform hung off her slender limbs but she still took his breath away.

  Tippy raced to her side and she ruffled the kelpie’s neck. ‘Great guard dog you are.’ She glanced at the open shed and then at Denham. ‘You’ll let any riffraff in.’

  Denham unfolded his arms. Cressy’s easy tone told him she was okay about him being there and messing around in the shed.

  ‘She makes a great chook-pen guard.’

  ‘Let me guess, she was stuck in there when you arrived?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Oh Tippy.’ Cressy bent to cradle the kelpie’s face in her hands. ‘What am I going to do with you? I made sure I shut the gate. Ella will put you on a diet if you keep stealing the eggs. You’ve already had one warning and you know she sent Sue’s golden Labrador to doggy boot camp.’

  Tippy grinned and wriggled closer.

  Cressy shook her head, gave her a last pat and straightened. She glanced at Denham’s hands covered in telltale traces of grease. ‘I thought you were in Queensland looking at rodeo cattle?’

  ‘I was but now I’m in your shed playing maintenance man. I left you a message about coming over.’

  ‘Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to check my phone.’ Caution tensed her face. ‘Is this part of our Reggie deal?’

  ‘Yes. I know you were expecting Phil but you were right to be worried about his bad back.’ Denham paused as concern darkened her eyes. ‘He’s okay. As it turns out Meredith’s bags weren’t a problem but reaching for a chain in the shed was.’

  ‘Poor Phil. Does he need anything?’

  ‘He’s fine. He just needs rest. Meredith has insisted he move from the cottage into the homestead so she can look after him.’

  ‘What did Phil say?’

  ‘Nothing. He’s a wise man and knows better than to argue with Meredith.’

  Cressy’s lips curved. ‘He’s a very wise man who will now be a very well-fed man. There’s no rush on the week of help. How about we leave it until after he’s back on his feet?’

  Denham shook his head. ‘You need an extra set of hands now and it’s also a good time to make myself scarce. Phil already feels bad enough and will only feel guilty if he sees me covering for him.’

  For a second, Denham thought Cressy would argue, then she nodded. ‘Okay. This week it is. Maybe we should put together a quick list of jobs? Have you had lunch?’

  Denham hesitated. He was already living dangerously by spending the next seven days at Glenmore, let alone spending one-on-one time with Cressy. But he couldn’t ruin the fragile connection that grew between them. A list would also give him a road map to follow so he wouldn’t have to constantly check in with her about what needed to be done.

  ‘No, I haven’t. Have you?’ He reached into the trayback of his white Land Cruiser ute and hefted out a large esky. He thought Cressy stared at his shoulders as his shirt pulled tight before he set the heavy cooler on the ground. ‘Meredith packed an esky and from the weight of it, there has to be enough lunch for two.’

  He opened the lid. The esky was filled with chicken wraps, a fruit platter and containers filled with chocolate brownies. Purple star-shaped Post-it notes labelled with Cressy’s name were attached to half of the food.

  He shook his head. ‘Look at that … Meredith doesn’t trust me to share.’

  Cressy’s quiet laughter feathered over his skin like the caress of a warm breath. ‘No, she doesn’t. She knows how much you eat.’

  She turned and headed towards the Glenmore homestead. He waited a moment for the goosebumps to subside on his forearms before picking up the esky and following. Tippy raced ahead into the house yard. Two red chickens squawked and flapped as she herded them out of the way.

  Denham sat the esky on the veranda table. Eating outside would be less personal than sitting in the cosy kitchen. ‘Is there still a sink around the back? I’ll wash up.’

  ‘There is but there’s no water. The tank’s empty.’ She headed for the kitchen door and held it open. ‘It’s fine. Come inside.’

  While he soaped his forearms and hands at the kitchen sink, Cressy collected a water bottle from the fridge. She then passed him a clean tea towel. The warm friction of her fingers on his was only brief but it was enough. Need coiled deep inside and he set his jaw to keep his expression from changing.

  ‘Water okay?’ she asked, not looking at him as she pulled open a nearby drawer. ‘I do have beer if you’d rather have one?’

  ‘Water’s great, thanks.’

  He focused on hanging the red-checked tea towel on the cupboard door and not on how close Cressy stood as she rummaged through the drawer to find a pen. She smelled of flowers and summer and with only one step his mouth would find the sweet spot below her ear.

  He grabbed the water bottle and held the door open for her as she sailed through, her hands filled with two glasses and a notebook. Lunch couldn’t end quickly enough. Being around Cressy was becoming increasingly difficult. He needed to get a grip on his emotions and his testosterone before he did, or said, something he’d regret.

  Cressy took a bite of her chicken wrap and drew a line down the middle of her notebook. By the time her wrap was finished they’d brainstormed a list of jobs. On one side of the line were jobs he could do on his own and on the other were the jobs Cressy needed to be involved in. To his relief this second list was short.

  By the time her next wrap was done, they’d discussed the cattle he’d bought up north and Sally having lessons in his mother’s car. Denham finished his own wrap and allowed himself to relax into the wicker chair. Lunch was almost over.

  But as Cressy lifted her water glass and her finger traced the wet ring left on the table, his tension returned. Cressy always fidgeted when uncertain.

  Her eyes briefly met his. ‘Denham … there’s someone I’d like you to meet.’

  ‘Okay.’ He took a swallow of water to buy time. Shaun must have made good on his plans to win Cressy back. ‘Does this … person have a name?’

  ‘Ella.’

  He masked his relief. ‘Ella?’

  ‘Yes, she’s the local vet and arrived in town after you’d left.’

  ‘And I need to meet her because …’

  ‘She’s a good friend and as much as she won’t admit it … she’s lonely.’

  He rubbed a hand over the stubble on his jaw. He didn’t know what was worse. Cressy possibly being back with Shaun or her feeling so little for him she was happy to set him up with her friend.

  She searched his face. ‘So would you be … okay about meeting her or is there someone waiting for you back in America?’

  ‘No, there’s no-one waiting for me. I went over there to be the best bull rider I could, not to socialise.’

  ‘So … it’s okay then?’

  He shook his head. ‘I’m happy to meet Ella but as your friend and nothing more. She deserves someone who has time to get to know her. Time I don’t have. I’ve rodeo bulls to breed, a farm to run and now Mum’s not here, Meredith to look out for.’

  ‘Fair enough.’ She again traced the ring of water on the table. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. You’re my oldest friend and Ella my newest one and I just want you to both be … happy.’

  Denham remained still. Tension knotted his muscles in the same way it did when he was seated on a bull waiting for the chute to open. One wrong move and he’d be a goner. Their conversation had strayed into personal territory and he couldn’t follow where it led. Cressy could never know how much it meant that after all he’d done she still considered him her oldest friend. Just like she could never know that she was the only person who’d make him happy.

  All he’d ever wanted was for her to be happy too. He’d fought so hard on the rodeo circuit to be the best because the battle to have a future with her had already been lost. The only way he could guarantee her happiness was by removing himself from her life. It didn’t matter how deep family secrets were buried, they still seeped into the present and tainted whoever they touched.

  He forced himself to smile. ‘No worries.’ He pushed back his chair. ‘Our list is done so I’ll head to the shed and get back to work before you decide you got the raw end of the Reggie deal.’

  CHAPTER

  5

  ‘Are you going to tell me who your source is?’ Cressy asked, already knowing her sister’s answer. ‘It can’t be Sue as she said she hasn’t spoken to you. And I know it can’t be Edna as she’s never forgiven you for dumping her precious Rodger in high school.’

  ‘No, it isn’t Sue and definitely not Edna. I’m not saying any more as that would spoil the fun.’ Fliss’s chuckle echoed over the international phone line. ‘How else would I know that Denham’s helping you for a week? You forgot to pass on that juicy detail last phone call.’

  ‘That’s because I thought Phil was helping.’

  Fliss laughed again. ‘Yeah, yeah. Remember I’m coming to see you when I get home from London. So if there’s anything else you should be telling me … come clean now.’

  Warmth fired in Cressy’s cheeks. She wasn’t going to mention the non-neighbourly conversation she’d started the other day. ‘Nope. Nothing. Today is day three of Denham coming over and he basically keeps to himself in the shed.’

  ‘Basically …?’

  ‘Yes.’ Her sister was like a terrier with a bone. ‘I see him when he arrives and he delivers Meredith’s baking. I see him again before he leaves when he updates me on what jobs he’s crossed off the list.’

  ‘No wonder you don’t see him. I bet your list is as long as the drive into Glenmore.’

  ‘It’s not that long. I feel bad enough as it is keeping Denham away from Claremont.’

  ‘So has Tippy ditched you yet?’

  ‘Yes, she waits on the front veranda every morning and then stays with Denham all day. She’s going to be heartbroken next week when he doesn’t visit.’ Cressy’s tone firmed. ‘But she’ll be the only one. I’ll be fine.’

  To her surprise, Fliss took a moment to reply and when she did her tone sounded distracted. ‘Plus Kevin, he’ll no doubt miss Denham too. That bird has always been a member of the Denham Rigby Fan Club. Listen Cressy, I’d better go … someone’s trying to call. I’ll ring again soon.’

  ‘Okay. If it’s your source tell them Denham and I are history and there’s far more interesting things happening around town like market days and rodeo plans. Have fun and we’ll talk later.’

  Cressy ended the call and stared at the phone screen. It wasn’t like her big sister to sound flustered. Perhaps the other caller had been Anthony? Living apart for almost a month had to be putting a strain on their relationship.

  Cressy slipped the phone into her jeans pocket. She glanced through the oversized kitchen window to where Tippy lay on the veranda, her head on her paws and her eyes trained on the red dust driveway. Kevin hadn’t sounded the alarm that Denham had crossed the cattle grid yet so she still had a chance to finish her chores. For the past two days she’d completed as many of her outside jobs as early as possible. The less time she spent outdoors the less she risked seeing Denham.

  She walked down the long and cool hallway in search of the water bucket she kept in her shower to save water. What had she been thinking delving into Denham’s love life? Even if she did have his and Ella’s best interests at heart, she should have known such a topic would trigger a rush of emotion. She didn’t know whether to be relieved his answer proved he’d left to focus on his rodeo career or frustrated that personal relationships meant so little to him.

  She collected the full water bucket from her ensuite and headed through the French door to the garden. She’d tried to keep a patch of grass alive outside her bedroom window. There was something about the green of a plush lawn that reassured her everything would be okay. But in the end she’d needed to prioritise and her small oasis of green was long gone. Her mother’s orange trees had to be saved.

  Cressy walked between the four orange trees and trickled water around their bases. Kevin screeched from around the back of the house. Denham would soon be here. Tippy danced beside her feet, almost tripping her over. ‘Tippy, personal space, remember?’

  Cressy emptied the bucket around the final tree. She would let out the chooks and then spend the morning inside working on the farm budget she still hadn’t finished. Over the past few days she hadn’t achieved all that she needed to. It wasn’t proving any easier to move on by treating Denham as a neighbour than it had when there’d been an ocean between them.

  Having him around might be good for getting the machinery jobs done but it was fatal for her concentration. If she wasn’t sneaking glances towards the shed, she listened for the tread of his boots on the veranda floorboards. It had to stop. She was sticking to her plan to get over him.

  ‘Sorry I’m late, Flappy,’ she apologised as she manoeuvred open the wire door of the chook pen.

  The black hen shot out at a run, heading for the garden shed where she laid her eggs. Soon her loud clucks would let Cressy know a warm brown egg lay in the broken flower pot. It would then be a race between Cressy and Tippy as to who reached the egg first.

  The red rooster and four other hens strolled out of the chook pen and scratched at the dirt beneath a nearby hardy shrub.

  ‘No, you don’t,’ Cressy said as Tippy slunk away after Flappy. ‘No more eggs for you. Ella’s orders.’

  The kelpie returned to Cressy’s side. Expression innocent, she angled her body so she still had the garden shed in full view. Cressy entered the chook pen to collect the two eggs already resting in the nesting boxes.

  Tippy dashed away but as the kelpie headed in the opposite direction to the garden shed, Cressy didn’t whistle her back. From behind the tin of the chook shed truck tyres sounded on the gravel. Denham had arrived. Metal rattled and squeaked. He also had to be towing something.

  She placed the eggs into the bucket and double-checked the pen door was shut. Tippy wouldn’t hesitate to help herself to the chook pellets.

  Cressy walked past the chook pen shed and saw a large white horse float behind Denham’s ute. Bandit and Flame stood inside. Denham parked near the shed and then appeared from around the back of the horse float. Dressed in jeans, boots and an emerald green shirt, he looked vivid and vital against the backdrop of drought-brown.

  ‘Morning.’ He gave her a casual nod.

  ‘Morning. You brought visitors?’

  Hard hooves connected with steel as Bandit made it known he wanted out.

  ‘Yes. Needless to say only one of them hasn’t remembered their manners.’

  Cressy looked away as Denham opened the back of the horse float. Today she wasn’t going to be distracted by the corded muscles that stretched the soft cotton of his shirt and flexed in his tanned forearms.

  She sat the bucket on the ground so her hands would be free to help with the horses.

  ‘I’m watching you, Miss Tippy,’ she said as the kelpie focused on the red bucket, her black ears pricked forward.

  Hooves clattered as Bandit backed out of the float with the speed of a bullet. Denham spoke quietly to the gelding as he spun around to glare at Tippy. While Denham secured Bandit to the side of the horse float, Cressy walked up the ramp and brought Flame out. She tied the gentle mare beside the restless buckskin.

  From the corner of her eye she saw Tippy slink away, her black cheeks bulging as she carried an egg in her mouth.

  Denham chuckled and collected the second egg that had rolled out of the bucket Tippy had tipped over. ‘You do know the minute you went into the float she went for the eggs?’

  Cressy sighed and took the egg he handed her. A hairline crack marred the smooth brown shell. ‘I’m surprised she waited that long.’

  Bandit pawed at the ground, sending a puff of fine dust upwards.

  ‘I see Bandit still doesn’t like having his morning siesta interrupted,’ she said as Denham moved to smooth the gelding’s damp neck.

  ‘No, he’s gotten used to taking life easy. He’ll settle once he has the saddle on.’ Denham threw her a quick look. ‘I know checking fences wasn’t on your list but I thought maybe we could take a ride together and check them out?’

  ‘Good idea.’ Cressy glanced at Flame. The chestnut mare might stand with her back leg relaxed and her head hanging low but Cressy could see the brightness of her large eyes. She was excited about going on a road trip, even if it was just to the farm next door. Her bookwork could wait. ‘A certain round kelpie can come too and work off the egg she just ate.’

  ‘Great. I’ll saddle the horses. Meredith has cooked up her usual storm, so I’ll fill the saddlebags in case we want morning smoko.’ He opened the door and reached into the back seat of his ute to pull out a square glass dish. ‘This apparently is your dinner for tonight.’

 

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