Fourteen
Ever since the government had served notice over the water rights, the tension on Elsie Creek Station hung like a thick and cloying blanket, smothering the oppressive outback air.
With a heavy boot tread, Ryder constantly paced the verandah while speaking to lawyers over the phone. Dex just wanted to kill something. Cap shook his head, full of doom and gloom while going on about the impact on the environment. And Ash tried to pretend everything was okay as he played with his drone.
If Harper didn’t dislike them so much, she might have felt sorry for them.
To be honest, they hadn’t told her anything. It was only from their arguments that Harper had been able to piece together what was going on.
It was also none of her business. After all, she was just the nanny, doing her best to avoid them all. Lately she’d even been ensuring she took a water bottle to bed, so she’d never bump into Ash alone in the dark again. She was only here for Mason.
Who was gone, again !
‘Mason?’ She peeked down the corridor of closed doors that led to the bedrooms and bathroom. The lounge room was a maze full of boxes, but the small boy was nowhere in sight. ‘Ruby?’
The labrador gave a short sharp bark, but it was coming from outside.
A tremendous crash of aluminium cans splashed across the verandah, followed by a boyish giggle.
Mason.
She pushed open the kitchen screen door that led to the side verandah, which faced the sheds. Ruby wagged her tail as she sat on the verandah where Mason was happily pushing over another box of empty beer cans that spilled everywhere.
‘Ash?’ The first words she’d spoken to him in days.
‘Yeah…’ Not even a few metres away, Ash stood on the dead grass wearing thick goggles, holding the controls for his drone that was nowhere in sight.
‘You need childproof locks for the doors in the house. And can you please find somewhere else to leave the garbage? I’m not cleaning that mess up.’
‘But—’
‘I’m not a housekeeper. It’s your beer. Your problem.’
He didn’t even bother looking at her, his eyes hidden behind those oversized goggles.
‘You can help yourself if you want one, then it’ll be your beer, too.’ He shared a grin while focused on something else.
‘I don’t like beer.’
‘Maybe you should. It’d get rid of that stick up your—’
‘What did you say?’ She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot on the verandah’s floorboards.
Finally, he peered over the goggles. But only for a moment, to pin her with a look that was full of annoyance. ‘Leave me a note for whatever it is you said.’
‘Childproof locks. Mason is getting into the fridge—’
‘Okay, okay.’ He ripped off his goggles. ‘You don’t need to harp on it, Harper.’
‘Finally, someone said it.’ The evil chuckle came from Dex, pulling out a beer from the nearby beer fridge. ‘I’d shout you a beer, Harper, but then you don’t like beer. And we don’t do wine for whiners.’
‘I’ve had enough of you!’ She pointed at Dex, sick of his constant snide remarks, and the way he kept betting against her. She’d made it through the first week—barely—and now he’d extended the bet to the end of the month.
‘Just who do you think you are?’ She snarled at the bully.
Dex leaned against the fridge, wearing that smirk she wanted to slap off his face. ‘Why don’t you tell me? I’m all ears.’
‘Whoa, whoa, whoa … Easy, Harper.’ Ash rushed to put himself in between her and Dex.
‘Are you defending him?’ She stabbed at the air over Ash’s shoulder, aiming at public enemy number one.
‘No. I was just trying to protect you from Dex.’
That made her blink.
Dex just chuckled as he walked away.
Arsehole .
Ryder kept pacing back and forth. His constant heavy boot steps were driving her insane as he remained oblivious to, or uncaring of, Dex’s smugness and her anger.
‘Harper?’ Ash lowered his voice, as his callused palm gripped her arm to drag her further away from the brothers. ‘Dex is doing that to tick you off on purpose.’
She pulled herself free from his grip. ‘So he can win the freaking bet?’
Ash’s brow ruffled, keeping one eye on the drone’s handheld monitor. ‘I told him it was wrong.’
‘Did anyone else make a bet about me?’
He shrugged. ‘They’re not discussing it in front of me.’
‘Why should you care?’ She narrowed her eyes at him.
His side glance was like a shot of heat to the heart. It made her swallow air.
‘Mason likes you. He’s happy and…’ Raking fingers through his thick hair, his eyes darted to his brothers, before returning his focus to the drone’s controls. But his voice became soft and low. ‘I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing when it comes to…’
‘Your son?’
The nod was so minimal she’d almost missed it. But his admission had her heart aching for him, and for Mason, the little boy who needed his father.
‘I don’t know what I’m doing, either.’ Especially these feelings she had for Ash, who now had his back to her. She had to admire his straight shoulders and strong back, and how it narrowed to the waist of his dusty jeans that cupped his butt beautifully.
‘You’re doing a helluva lot better than me.’ He expertly steered the drone to buzz over their heads, where it slowly descended to land on the dry lawn.
The cans clanged loudly as Mason rushed towards the drone, just out of her reach. ‘Mason?’
‘Gotcha.’ Coming from the laundry end of the house, Cap nabbed Mason by the back of his tiny jeans. ‘Look at you, making a racket out here.’ He scooped up the boy to tickle the toddler’s tummy. Mason’s laughter filled the air. ‘Watch those blades on that drone, Ash.’
‘I know.’ He picked up his drone to make sure it didn’t end up a child’s toy.
‘Come on, Mason. You can help me clean up these cans and we’ll find somewhere to store them, until I go to the recycling centre.’ Cap crouched beside the small boy and started throwing the cans like a game.
Finally, someone was doing something about the rubbish, as well as bothering to spend time with the boy.
‘Ash, you need childproof locks for the house. Please.’ Harper felt like she was nagging and hated how she sounded. Dex was right, she had become a whiner.
‘Did Bree suggest it?’ Ash put his drone on top of the outdoor beer fridge to recharge.
‘Yes.’ Bree knew everything about children. But right now, she needed to plead her case. ‘Look, Mason is crawling into everything. Even though there is nothing in the kitchen cupboards, it’s the fridge I’m worried about the most.’ She pointed to the beer fridge. ‘Mason is small enough to climb inside the fridges and hide, where we won’t be able to hear him if the door closes. He could suffocate.’
Ash and Cap stopped what they were doing. Even Ryder had stopped pacing. And for the first time she had the rare attention of all four men. They looked at her, then at the boy, then at the rattly beer fridge. She could hear them thinking.
‘Ash, there’s a small gate latch and some plywood in the shed you can use to block the kitchen door,’ said Ryder. ‘We’ll keep the front glass doors shut from here on out.’
‘I spotted some old lock hasps in the shed. I’ll pop rivet them to the fridges high enough that even if that kid climbs on a chair, he won’t open those fridges for a few years.’ Dex jumped off the porch with dust kicking up behind his boots. ‘I’ll find the drill for you, Ash.’
Ash, Ryder, and Dex had scattered, leaving her with Cap and Mason, who were still picking up empty cans. It was crisis management in a whole new way.
At least they were doing something for the safety of the boy, but it also showed how much they cared. Finally.
‘I’ll help.’ Now that Ash had gone, she felt foolish for her dummy spit. At least she got a reaction out of them.
‘How are you doing?’ Cap asked, as he dumped the empty cans back into the box.
Harper shrugged. ‘Honestly, I’m not used to living with anyone.’
‘Me neither.’
‘Didn’t you grow up with a stack of siblings?’
‘As kids, sure. Having four brothers and two sisters made for an interesting childhood. But I’ve been out of home for a long time. It’s usually just me and the dogs.’
Scout, the beagle, pushed its way through the cans to sit on Harper’s foot, leaning into her for a pat. The beagle always came up to her for a pat, just like Ruby did. Unlike the muster dogs that lay on the dirt in the shade, who kept their distance. But they were all working dogs, not pets, so she’d been told.
Still, it didn’t stop her from sneaking treats to Ruby and Scout. When home alone with Mason, she’d even use a broom to slide a bowl of goodies across the old floorboards to Sarge, where the regal-looking shepherd stayed at the corner of the house, keeping watch. But he’d wag his tail at her, even though he never left his post, like a good soldier.
‘Is it true this beagle was a police dog?’ She couldn't imagine it, especially when the beagle was so friendly.
‘Scout was a drug dog, who worked for the Federal Police and Customs. She did the airports.’
‘How did you end up with her?’
‘Scout got hit across her nose during a drug bust.’
‘Is she okay?’ Her heart squeezed for the poor thing, who only leaned into her leg for a cuddle. It was like the dog could read her moods, making her a wonderful companion for keeping the loneliness away.
‘Scout’s fine. She’s a little gun-shy, and she’s not good with crowds anymore, like crowded airports. But her sense of smell did sustain some damage. Or she’s faking it so she could quit the job.’
‘What do you think?’
‘Scout can still follow a scent. She’s helped the local police with a kidnapping case.’
‘How did it go?’
‘It was a happy ending.’ Cap patted Scout. ‘Like Scout, here. She’s living the dream, now.’
‘Are you?’ So where was her happily ever after? Why couldn’t she live the dream where her true love saved her from cooking disasters and bad hair-days, while living in a world free from fear and only filled with love?
Cap smiled at the area of dead grass with a view of the sheds. It wasn’t much, but the way he looked at the place, you’d think he was looking at paradise. ‘I am. Let’s just hope we get to keep it with the mine wanting our water.’ He stood, brushing off his jeans. ‘Come on, little fella,’ he said, scooping up Mason. ‘Let’s go pinch your dad’s ute and load up these empty cans. Where do you think we should put the cans?’
‘Can you dump them all over Dex’s bed?’
Cap chuckled as he lifted Mason to sit on his shoulders. ‘That’s a good idea. We can just blame Mason.’ He then paused. ‘Hey, Harper?’
‘Yeah?’
‘You’re doing a good job. We might not say it, but we appreciate what you do.’
She clutched her throat as her wounded soul filled with gratitude. ‘Thank you.’ Cap was such a sweetie, it was hard to believe he was from the same bloodline as Dex and Ryder.
‘I’m glad you found us some salads for tucker.’
‘I can’t burn a salad, can I?’ But she was having cooking lessons with Bree, who had escaped into town with Charlie today.
Harper wanted to go to town, too. But she didn’t know where the child’s car seat was or how to even fit one in her car. It felt like a ploy to keep her here as the ageing fairy princess, dumped by political garden elves who’d moved on to greener pastures, leaving her in this dust bowl of day-to-day drudgery. But she had to remember she came here by choice.
‘Can you tell Ash it’s his turn to cook dinner?’ Cap nodded, carrying an excited Mason over his shoulders, while the dogs followed him like he was the Pied Piper.
The brothers were all so different. But they all cared for this country and for their family. She just didn’t get the bit about the country, it looked like a barren wasteland to her—except for the view from Bree’s backyard.
Just then she spotted another vehicle coming down the long dusty driveway. With no one else around, Sarge gave out his deep warning bark. Did she dare?
‘VISITORS!’