Twenty-nine
Crickets chirped in her ear. Another insect of some sort buzzed nearby. Something crunched on the grass. A bat screamed as if it was being murdered. And a dingo howled like a werewolf. Even though she was inside a tent, it was impossible for Harper to sleep.
Meanwhile, Mason slept soundly beside her.
Frustrated, she bashed at her pillow.
‘Can’t sleep?’ Ash’s deep voice was close.
‘You know, I can sleep in some hotel beside a busy highway, or I can nap near the runway of an airport, but this …’ She waved at the darkness without a simple streetlight anywhere, but a silvery moonlight gently pushed back the darkest shadows, with their campfire on the other side casting a warm glow. ‘I never realised it’d be this noisy.’ Especially the brothers and Charlie, who were snoring heavily in their sleep. No wonder Bree was camped over on the far side.
Something cracked a twig, followed by a thump thump thump .
‘What’s that?’ Her heart hammered in her throat as she sat up, holding the sheet to her chest.
‘A wallaby.’ Ash unzipped the tent’s flynet door. ‘Move over.’
‘What are you doing?’
‘Climbing inside. Don’t worry, we’ll keep Mason in the middle.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you’re keeping me awake, jumping at every noise, when there is nothing out here.’
‘Wallabies are out there. And dingoes are out there. Oh, let’s not forget about the spiders. ’
‘Harper, we have almost a dozen well-trained cattle dogs that will do their best to protect this camp. And I’m pretty sure Bree’s not afraid to shoot at things that go bump in the night. Now, sit up so I can slide your swag over, and let’s hope the boy doesn’t wake.’
She scooted to the far side, helping Ash slide her thick mattress across the floor of the tent. Mason didn’t stir.
Ash dragged in his swag, zipped up the screen door, and lay down. ‘What are you waiting for? Don’t worry, I won’t touch you.’
‘I bet you say that to all the girls.’
‘Pfft. No. That’s the first time I’ve ever said that. And having a baby between us kind of kills any romance. Besides, we had an agreement. You didn’t want that cliché thing. You have boundaries .’
‘I did. I mean, I do. It’s tacky sleeping with the nanny. It makes the workplace messy when a boss sleeps with their employee.’ She’d seen it destroy election campaigns and promising political careers.
‘Relax. I’m only here so we can all get some sleep. Consider me the guard at the door to protect you from bunyips or drop bears.’
She could practically hear his smug smile in the dark.
Fine. She could do this. And lay down on her bed.
Admittedly, having him close was soothing. ‘So, this is camping?’
‘It is.’
‘If there was some form of indoor plumbing and hot showers, I might enjoy camping.’
Ash’s chuckle was deep, making her tummy swirl with butterflies. She couldn’t sleep now.
‘I can’t help with the indoor plumbing, as we don’t have walls or doors or pipework. But I might be able to rig up something tomorrow to give you a hot shower.’
‘Really? You’d do that?’
‘Sure. Why not?’
‘Why?’ What was his angle?
She felt his shrug, the way the bed linen shifted.
‘Go to sleep, Harper. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.’
She lay there stiff as a board as his breathing got deeper and deeper, while she stared at the stars. She was tired. Overtired. But her mind was wide awake as she watched a shooting star’s astonishing long tail blaze across the night sky. It was glorious.
Surprisingly, it was the first time her mind seemed clear, without the brain fog. Did that mean she was ready to go back to work?
‘Hey, Ash.’ She sat up, his frame so large compared to his son’s.
‘Hmm …’
‘Do you think you can get me a copy of that letter? The one you got from the mines department.’
His breathing quickened and his eyes fluttered open. ‘What for?’
She lay down on her side to face him. Maybe she could be useful. ‘So we can work out the words together.’
He ran his fingers through his thick hair. ‘I’m not dumb.’
‘I didn’t say that. Those sorts of letters are usually written by lawyers to trip people up.’
‘So, I’m not being an idiot about this?’
‘No. You’re charmingly intelligent.’ Oh, no. What did she just say? She quickly spoke to stop the fire-hydrant red blush flaring across her skin. ‘You said the letter had some threatening undertone to it.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Well, I’ll have a look at it—if you can sneak it past your brothers, because I doubt Ryder would approve of you sharing his paperwork with the staff.’
‘That’s true.’ He frowned, then wiped it away. ‘Don’t get offended by that, Harper, it’s not you. Ryder is like that with all of us. Dex reckons it’s because we used to break his stuff when we were young. We were always in Ryder’s room, he had the cool stuff and his own room, while we all shared.’
‘Did you ever get your chance to move into Ryder’s old room? I always had my own room, practically an only child.’ Even if her old childhood room didn’t exist anymore, she would’ve shared.
‘Lucky you.’ He sniffed. ‘No. I went to work. I wasn’t interested in finishing school. Our little bush school couldn’t help me anymore, and I knew what I wanted to do.’
‘What’s that?’
‘This. Working with cattle, in this industry. I knew it the second I stumbled onto that first station. I’ve always been happy just being a contractor, until Jonathan got Sandlot Station and the rest of my brothers started talking about buying a place together. I never thought it was possible.’
‘So, this is one of those impossible dreams come true for you.’ She lay facing him, with their heads resting on pillows, talking in hushed voices. Even with a small boy lying between them it was intimately cosy.
Ash nodded, rolling over to face her. ‘It’s more like one of those dare to dream kind of things. Deep down I’ve always wanted my own cattle station, but never thought it’d happen. But having my brothers as partners, they’ve made it possible.’ He exhaled heavily, rolling onto his back. ‘I would’ve freaked doing it on my own.’
‘I don’t think so. You’re a strong guy.’
He rolled over to face her again. ‘There’s a lot of responsibility running a place like this. Ryder’s doing it all.’
And Ash ran from responsibility. ‘Do you want to help Ryder manage this place?’
‘Yeah…’ He paused, blinking in the silvery moonlight where the glow of the campfire gave him the perfect silhouette. He then nodded with resolve. ‘ Yes , I want to help, but I don’t know how. All Ryder tells me to do is the troughs.’
‘And that’s where you say you’ll add it to your list.’ She gently poked his chest. ‘Have you ever looked over that list you’re always adding to?’
He frowned.
‘I’m not judging.’ She held her palm open as if in peace.
‘No. I haven’t.’
‘I bet you’ll find the answers you’re looking for there.’ She patted his chest and her hand rested on Mason’s little shoulders. ‘Good night, Ash.’
‘Good night, Harper.’
And she let her eyes close and soon fell asleep to the soothing sounds of Ash’s deep breathing, not even realising he was holding her hand.