Fifty-one
Behind the steering wheel of the yellow Kombi van, Bree drove towards the main gate, while busily skipping through the songs on her playlist, searching for something loud to drown her thoughts.
‘ What the hellfire!’ She slammed her foot on the brakes as Ryder galloped up on Black Hand, the stallion rearing in front of the vehicle. ‘Are you crazy? I could’ve hurt my horse.’
‘Where are you going?’ Ryder leaped off the saddle. With the green blanket in one hand, he tied the horse’s reins to the front bull bar.
‘Town.’
‘And?’
‘I’m going through Charlie’s to-do list.’
‘No, you’re being sneaky is what you’re doing.’ Ryder tossed that green blanket over his shoulder, then ripped open her driver’s door and snatched the keys out of the ignition. ‘Get out.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I’m scared that you’re about to disappear out of my life forever and go on that holiday.’ He peeked into the back of the Kombi full of suitcases and assorted boxes. ‘That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it? You’re leaving me.’ Pain etched across his face. It was heartbreaking.
‘Listen, the caretaker’s caveat is over,’ she said, slinking out of the driver’s seat. ‘I will not take advantage of you.’
‘No, Bree. Dammit.’ He ripped off his hat to rake fingers through his hair. ‘The caretaker’s caveat is not over.’
‘It is—’
‘No!’ He grabbed her hands. ‘The reason I nominated Drover’s Rest as my paddock and the cottage as my house was to give them to you.’
‘Excuse me?’ Did she hear that right? Or was her foggy brain still stuck in the grief cycle where she chose to shut off completely. It was easier that way than to deal with what life kept throwing at her. It would have been easier if she’d never met Ryder, too.
‘It’s yours.’
‘Nooo.’ Oh, she was wide awake now.
‘I haven’t told my brothers yet, but I have gifted you that area, so that no matter who owns the station, it’s yours as part of the new caretaker’s caveat.’
‘Why?’
‘Because we were never your bosses. You never worked for us. You worked with us, always for the good of Elsie Creek Station. You were more than an overseer, more than a head stockman, Bree. You are Elsie Creek Station. And if you leave, not only would it break me, it would break all that is good and worthy about what we’ve been fighting so hard to protect in this place.’
Yet, she’d been fighting so hard to leave. This was her chance. Her responsibilities to everyone were over. ‘This is not my home. It was Charlie’s.’
‘That is simply not true! ’ His words echoed around them as he stepped in closer. ‘You’ve fought bushfires to protect the crops, you drove the herd not only along the long paddock, but to the hidden lands of Wombat Flats, and hid another herd in Scary Forest, that you’d check on regularly. You’ve ensured all the water was safe with the water filters in our houses to keep not only us but the muster dogs safe within their kennels. You captured and made us relocate a salt-water crocodile into the wild not only to preserve its life, but to protect the freshwater crocodiles in our waterways that are an endangered species. As well as orchestrated the preservation of certain wildlife corridors for the native animals who share this land.’
‘Nah. I—’
‘I know, Bree,’ he said, taking her hands. ‘I was there when you sang lullabies to the herd after midnight, while protecting them from a pack of wild dogs. You grew up playing games as a child at stock school, always looking out for the stock, and I’ve seen how you’ve helped my brothers and what you did for their houses.’
‘They needed somewhere.’
‘To make it feel like home, like it is for you.’ He lifted her chin making her stare into his deep brown eyes. ‘Don’t you get it, Bree? You are Elsie Creek Station. You are the heart and soul of this place and if you leave, I leave too. Because I love you. You are everything to me.’
He stepped back, the frown returning enough to stop her from saying anything.
‘And this stupid, crusty, worthless blanket,’ he said through gritted teeth, squeezing it in his fist. ‘You know why I gave you this. I told you not to give it back, especially after I told you the story! Only you would see its true worth!’
‘It’s why I wrapped the branding iron in it. I know what it means to you.’ She couldn’t keep it. And she didn’t want this confrontation either. Sneaking out to go drink on some beach to not feel, to not remember, had always been part of her plan. Not this.
‘When I first gave this to you, it was to show you how much I cared about you, but also to tell you that you are my home, you are my everything. It’s the same way I can see how much this place is your home. And that’s why I’ve made the caretaker’s caveat a permanent fixture as part of Elsie Creek Station not only for you, but for your children or whoever you see fit to stay with you.’
She swallowed. The words he spoke weren’t real. It couldn’t be true. ‘What do you get out of it?’ What was the catch?