Twenty
‘Well, hello there. Who might you be?’ The blond, wavy-haired cowboy stood at the kitchen table pushing back the brim of his big white cowboy hat. His bright blue eyes highlighted his deep tan that went with the smile, making him the most handsomest cowboy Mia had ever seen. Dayum. Dayum. Dayummmm.
Lying on the couch, she held her bedsheets up to her chin. ‘Who are you?’
‘Craig. Do you like pastries?’ He held up a white cardboard bakery box full of baked goods. She could smell them. ‘They were fresh out of the oven when I collected them.’ The microwave beeped, and he pulled out a tray of takeaway coffee cups, making himself right at home.
‘Who? How? Where?’ She looked around for Willow.
The back door opened, and Charlie stepped inside. ‘Morning, Mia. Have you met Craig?’
‘I, um…’ Hiding under the blankets, she slid into her overalls, and tried to tidy up her hair. She was in desperate need of a toothbrush, face wash, or a shower.
Craig didn’t seem real—he was way too handsome, with a set of strong straight shoulders and a waist that trimmed down into a dusty pair of jeans that rolled over his strong thighs, and an astonishingly beautiful butt. He even wore a rodeo-style belt buckle, just like the many Charlie had crowding his bookshelf.
Mia rubbed the sleep from her eyes, anything to stop watching the blond cowboy who should be on the cover of some cowboy calendar—and of all the days for this guy to show up, it had to be when she looked like a dog’s dinner gone bad!
‘Here, I got you a decaf, old man.’ Craig held out a takeaway coffee cup. ‘Freshly heated from the microwave.’
Charlie frowned as he sniffed at his cup. ‘You could’ve said it was normal and I wouldn’t have known.’
‘Bree’s orders. You’ve got a tricky ticker to look after. And I’m guessing the extra cup Bree ordered is for you, Mia.’ Craig put the cup on the table.
‘Where is Bree?’
‘Coming. She’s just finishin’ a job.’ Charlie reached for a pastry and sniffed at it. ‘And before you ask, girlie, Willow’s outside. She needed to do her business.’
Mia looked at the grandfather clock. It was nearly nine. ‘I slept in.’
‘Me too. Been a busy couple of days.’ Charlie dragged out a chair at the table. ‘Come have some mornin’ smoko, girlie. Just don’t touch the cupcakes, they’re Bree’s favourite. Lord knows that girl could do with a sweet treat. Swear she was gonna rip off that Policeman Porter’s head at one stage.’
‘Why were the cops out here?’ Craig removed his hat and dropped it on the spare chair, on its crown, to then brush fingers through his soft curls. Without the hat, but with that deep tan and blond curls, Craig looked like a stunningly hot surfer.
Charlie shrugged. ‘It was just Porter. He did a vehicle inspection for me. Brought out some big guardian dogs for Cap, to watch over the calves. I’ve never seen it on beef cattle, you know.’
‘I’d heard of that being done in the north-west. You’ll have to let me know how it goes. I know a few cattlemen who’d be keen to try it on their stations to protect their calves.’
‘Mia can mention that to Cap. Come on, girlie, take a seat. Craig don’t bite.’
Mia gingerly sat and sipped on her coffee. The caffeine flavour was rich and creamy, coating her tongue. ‘This is excellent coffee.’ She hadn’t had a coffee all week, as Bree didn’t keep coffee in the house because of Charlie.
‘The Station Hand’s daughter makes a fine coffee.’
‘Who?’
‘Lucy. She runs the food van at the train station in town that she’s branded it as The Station Hand’s Daughter. ’ Craig pushed the box of pastries towards her, then he stopped to lean closer and wince. Sitting back, his brow ruffled. ‘Are you okay?’ He glanced at Charlie.
‘I’m okay.’ Brushing her hair to hide the bruising on her face, Mia turned away from the stunning male specimen.
‘Mia’s doing good, aren’t you, girlie?’
Mia nodded.
‘Take a pastry, go on. Bree calls it comfort food. Don’t worry, girlie, we burn off plenty of calories out here from the hard yakka, you don’t need to worry about the weight.’
‘Thanks.’ She gave a meek smile and plucked up a croissant.
‘Before you ask, Craig, Cap and I found Mia stowed away in the back of Cap’s old Tojo with all his dogs. And they liked Mia. So does Cap. So, no flirtin’ with the girl or you’ll have Cap on your case.’ Charlie wagged his thick finger at the younger cowboy. ‘About time Cap found himself a nice lady.’
Mia nearly choked on her coffee.
‘Which one is Cap?’
‘Haven’t you met them?’ Charlie asked. ‘Aren’t you mates with the younger one, Jonathan?’
‘Sure. I know Dex and Ash. I know of Cap through my mate Ryan, the town vet. But not Ryder, the oldest. He’d been gone ten years.’
‘Well, Ryder’s the one runnin’ the show. They call him the bank. But they’re good lads, all of them. Elsie Creek Station is in good hands.’
Charlie chuckled, as he pointed to the wall where three metal branding irons hung like swords over a mantelpiece. ‘But they’re ticked at me for taking back the Station’s brand after the drafting.’
‘How was the drafting?’ Craig asked.
‘Good. The brothers are going all high tech with drones, and data whatnot with their fancy cattle tags, apps, and now the dogs. Anyhoodle, what do I owe you for bringing this lot out?’
‘Nothing. Bree asked me to come.’
‘That I did.’ Bree slipped off her welder’s boots at the back door, sliding off her skullcap and gloves to leave them on the side shelf as a beagle trotted inside with Willow.
‘Morning, Willow.’ Mia eagerly patted her furry friend with her wagging tail.
‘There’s my favourite redhead.’ Craig gave Bree a hug and a kiss on the cheek. ‘What’s with the dogs? That’s a nice-looking kelpie. Don’t see many this far north.’
‘I was going to ask if you knew of anyone who uses kelpies on their stations.’
Craig shook his head. ‘Just heelers, the odd border collie or two, some bull Arabs as pig dogs, and the usual Territory Special camp dogs. What are you doing with a beagle? I’ve never seen one out here.’ It sniffed all around Craig’s boots, then the hat, nose down, tail wagging.
‘That’s Scout. She was one of Caps dogs, a retired police dog, but now she’s Harper’s pampered house dog. Aren’t you, girl.’ Bree tickled the beagle’s ears as it plonked itself down, lapping up the attention.
‘Why is Scout here?’ Charlie asked. ‘Are we running a doggy day care or something, kid?’
‘I thought Scout could come along for a drive when we check the boundary fence.’
‘Besides getting me out here for my good looks and charm, is this your way of asking me to help you do some fencing?’ Craig slid on his hat, standing tall, to tuck his shirt into his thigh-hugging jeans. If Mia had been standing, she would have fainted in a female swoon!
Dayum!
‘Don’t worry, my friend, I have a job for you, too. Ooh, cupcakes. I love a good cupcake.’ Bree plucked a tiny cupcake with cream frosting and inhaled deeply, as if savouring its aroma. ‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these mixed groups of sugars in the holy art of cupcake heaven. May our cholesterol and blood pressure remain steady for another day.’ Bree bit into her frosty cupcake, her eyes rolling with pleasure. The men chuckled as she ate her cupcake, then arched an eyebrow at them. ‘Well, what are we waiting for? I’m hoping we’ll be done early enough to enjoy a long liquid lunch.’
‘Want me to come with, kid?’
‘Always, Pop.’
‘Quick, let’s go get the Razorback before the granddaughter changes her mind.’ Charlie shuffled out the back door with the cowboy following. Mia couldn’t take her eyes off that denim-clad butt.
Bree cleared her throat, wearing a cheesy grin.
Busted! The heat rushed to Mia’s face.
‘Do you want to come with us, Mia?’
‘I don’t know. My bum was sore from those metal seats the other night.’
‘Because Pop didn’t put in the cushions I had made. Come on, I could use your professional opinion today, too.’
‘Really?’ Didn’t that make her liven up. A job.
Bree nodded. ‘Did you just wake up?’
‘I did.’
‘Well hurry up, get ready.’ Bree grabbed a small cooler from the wide shelf that held their boots and assorted hats by the back door.
Mia scooted over to the couch and folded up the sheets and blanket. ‘Should we tell the brothers what we’re doing? It is their station.’
‘We’re just doing a boundary run.’
Mia dashed to the bathroom, took care of business and then loaded up her toothbrush. Glancing up at the mirror she grimaced at her reflection. The bruising was now a garish greeny-yellow with tinges of brown. At least the swelling was gone, and her lips were back to normal.
At the main hat rack, she slid on her oversized shirt to protect her from the sun, that hung with her hat. This almost felt normal, getting dressed to go to work. ‘I think I heard Ryder say something about security cameras, wouldn’t that stop the need to take long drives?’ She knew Cap and Ash were keen on cutting down on fossil fuels.
‘I forgot they had those.’ Bree juggled her keys, unlocked the tall cupboard and removed her shotgun that rested among many others. ‘But it’s a long fence line to check. Who knows how many hours of footage Ryder has to troll through? If we find something, we can fix it and let them know. So, in a way, we’re helping.’
Mia paused buttoning up her shirt, to grin at the determined redhead. ‘I thought you weren’t helping them.’
Bree shrugged. ‘We’re just doing a boundary run. It’s just another job on a cattle station, checking the fences and the firebreak. It is the dry season and we’re wary of bushfires this time of the year.’
Mia attacked her woolly hair with the brush. ‘You’re going fencing with shotguns?’
‘Don’t worry, it’s just a precaution. I’d hate to come across a sick beast and not help put the poor thing out of their misery.’ Her shotguns clicked loudly as she checked the load.
‘Oh…’
‘Sadly, it’s the ugly side of the job.’ Bree slid into her riding boots, slapping on the large Akubra she wore when on a horse. Bree had many hats, some with hatbands wound in various materials, like twine, leather and wire. Some had playing cards and matches or some shiny charms in them. But she also had a large collection of colourful skullcaps. Today, it was the wide-brimmed Akubra, grey and weatherworn with lots of twine and strips of leather and lace to make up the unusual hatband.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll radio Ryder to meet us at the drafting yards later,’ Bree said, handing Mia her soft brown hat. ‘By then, they would have finished walking the bush mob out to Ash’s paddock. What are you doing later? You’re welcome to join us, to hear Charlie and Craig swap rodeo stories.’
‘I was going to help Cap with the new guardian dogs tonight.’ She was looking forward to seeing the big bears in action.
Bree grinned widely. ‘Well, well, well…’
Mia winced. ‘It’s not like that. It’s work.’
‘Riiiight.’ Bree giggled to herself. ‘At least Craig can have the couch. Take my swag and have a night under the stars.’
Mia felt like a loose end. ‘You know, I can’t wait to get into a routine again, and know what I’m supposed to do. I feel like I’m on holiday, sleeping in while everyone else is working.’
‘You needed the rest, Mia. And that couch has a habit of putting people to sleep.’
‘But I can’t live on the couch forever.’ She needed to get her independence back. ‘Do you want me to help you with Cap’s house?’
‘I finished putting in the struts for Cap’s new deck, earlier. I’m just waiting on the concrete to set before I can do any more. I even reinforced the braces on Cap’s kennels. He’d need it with those big dogs.’
‘Did you look at the nursery? The nursery tables need repair.’
‘Nice try, Mia.’ Bree gave her a sly grin. ‘I don’t work for the boys, especially when they can do that themselves.’
‘Oh, yeah, sorry.’
‘But good news. Harper is bringing out the paint today after work. We can do an undercoat of your room, before I drink too much gin.’
‘Really?’
‘It’s what you want, a room and a routine to help you get over…’ Bree gently brushed the hair from Mia’s face like a sister. ‘I know that once you have a room, and the nursery started, you’ll be so busy doing what you love, that this will all be a long distant memory to forget.’
Why couldn’t that be yesterday so that everyone looked at her normally today. ‘I really want to help the brothers.’
‘We can all see that.’
‘Why are you helping Cap with his house?’
‘Because Cap gives up a lot for his dogs. In the time he’s been here I’ve seen how he cares for them. Cap is the type of guy who’d rather feed his dog pack first and let himself go hungry, and he has done so for their vet fees. I know Cap has saved countless working dogs. He’s found good homes for those dogs, or he’d kept them, like Scout there who struggled being around people in suburbia after what happened to her.’ Bree pointed at the beagle sniffing around the room.
‘What happened to her?’ The beagle looked so happy and healthy.
‘A druggie hit her nose after she’d busted him at an airport. Scout won’t do crowds anymore. So, on behalf of the many dogs Cap has saved, this is me paying it forward for those canines who can’t. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
‘I do. Do the brothers know this?’
‘I don’t care what they think. I’m doing it for the puppies. Come on, Scout, let’s put that nose of yours to work.’