Chapter 31
Mitch
The moon hung low over Koolaroo, casting silver light across the paddocks as I guided Zeus toward the original lodge I used to call home.
Charlie's arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, her chest pressed against my back.
Every now and then, she'd lean in closer, and I'd feel her breath on my neck.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"You'll see."
At the base of Edith's Hill, named for my mother back when she’d still given a damn, I glanced toward the top. The old Branson lodge came into view, a weathered, low-set building that had stood on this land for a hundred and thirty years.
I hadn't been inside in over a decade. I couldn’t believe I was here now. I never thought I'd be back.
"Hold on," I said.
Charlie's arms tightened around me, and I clicked my tongue.
Zeus charged up the hill, as if he, too, knew he was going home.
Alongside the verandah railing, I pulled him to a stop and dismounted.
When I helped Charlie down, her hands lingered on my lower back, feeling damn fine, and I wanted to turn around and pull her against me. But I didn't. Not yet.
"This is your place?" she asked.
"Was. Will be again, I guess. As long as Frank doesn't turn up."
I lifted the pack off Zeus’s back that Cassidy had packed for me, and a wave of guilt barreled through me.
My sister was always looking out for me, and I'd left her behind. Left her and Declan and Kayden with a father I’d known was dangerous.
I shouldn't have abandoned them like that.
I made a silent promise right then that I wouldn't leave again, not until I knew my siblings were safe.
Then again, maybe it was time to call this place home again.
At the front door, I turned on the flashlight Cassidy had supplied and braced for Charlie's reaction as the door groaned open.
I panned the light into the room. Inside wasn't exactly as I'd left it.
The furniture had been covered in plastic sheets—Cassidy's doing, no doubt.
She'd always been convinced I'd come back one day.
Cobwebs strung between the beams, and the air was thick and stale. But it somehow still felt like home.
Charlie stepped inside, her eyes wide as she took it all in. "Wow, this is fabulous."
Just inside the front door, exactly where I'd left it, was the kerosene lamp I'd used whenever the electricity went dodgy. I pulled my lighter from my pocket and lit the wick.
"Ahh, the trusty lighter saves us again," Charlie said.
I grinned as the warm glow spread across the room, casting golden light that danced along the walls. She looked even more beautiful in this light, if that was even possible.
I hung the lantern on the hook in the massive timber beam that spanned the length of the house. Every time I saw that piece of timber, I wondered how the hell my ancestors had gotten it up there.
"Welcome to the first Branson lodge," I said, spreading my arms wide.
"My great-great-grandfather, Augustus Frank Branson, moved from Yorkshire, England, in 1871.
In 1889, he drove two hundred head of cattle across drought-ravaged land and finally found a constant water source here.
That's when he laid claim to Koolaroo. He married Eleanor Rose MacLeod, and they built this lodge with their own hands, had six kids, and so began the Koolaroo legacy. "
“Wow, that’s amazing.” Charlie moved deeper into the room, running her fingers along the old timber dining table that I’d made myself, tracing the grain like it was something precious. "There's so much history here."
As I watched her eyes light up, my chest tightened.
I'd expected her to hate this place. She was a city chick, probably used to modern conveniences and comfort, and I'd braced myself for complaints about the basic conditions.
Hannah had hated it out here. She'd never stopped whining about how far it was from the main homestead, how freezing the place got in winter, how there was nothing to do, and the damn spiders that liked the place as much as I did.
But Charlie wasn't Hannah. She'd proven that a dozen times over, and I needed to get that damn woman out of my head and concentrate on the amazing one standing in my lodge.
Charlie crossed to the fireplace and ran her fingers along the old stone mantle, pausing at a chipped corner where the mortar had crumbled away. Her face lit with genuine wonder. "It's amazing this place is still standing after all these years."
"Nearly wasn't. Fire destroyed the kitchen and bedrooms forty years ago. That's when they built the current homestead. This place sat abandoned until I started coming out here."
"I'm guessing there's a story in that." She turned to face me and really looked at me.
My jaw tightened, that old instinct to shut down kicking in like it always did when memories of my father surfaced. But I didn't want to do that with Charlie. I wanted her to know me, the real Mitch Branson, the one with scars that ran as deep as his backbone.
"Yeah." I pulled in a breath. "Started sneaking out here when I was sixteen after Mom left. I moved in for good at seventeen after one of Dad’s beatings."
"Shit, Mitch." Sadness washed her expression. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Moving out here gave me freedom. It made me grow up fast, though. I had to learn to cook, clean, and fix things myself. I spent years restoring this place, bit by bit. But it was mine. Dad couldn’t touch me here."
"I noticed you have a chef and a housemaid at the homestead. Lucky for some." She shot me a teasing smile.
I frowned, but there was no bite in her tone. "When Mom took off, Dad didn't give a shit about feeding us kids. He was too busy running the station, so he hired help."
"Jesus. Sorry." Her smile faded. "I sure know how to put my foot in my mouth, don't I?"
"It's okay. You didn't know." I pulled a plastic sheet off the sofa, casting dust into the air.
She stepped closer, her fingers brushing mine. "But I'd like to know, Mitch. I want to know everything about you."
I huffed. "Careful what you wish for."
She turned to face me and squeezed my hand. "I'm serious. I really do want to know everything about you."
I pressed my hand to her cheek, and she leaned into my palm. Her skin was warm and soft. "There's a lot of ugly in my past, Charlie. Things I'm not proud of."
"I have some of that, too, you know."
I chuckled. "Doubt it."
She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes at me.
"Really? What?"
"Not telling." She tried to hold back a grin, but it swept across her lips anyway.
I cupped her face and crushed my lips to hers, kissing her with everything I had.
She pressed her body against mine, her curves fitting perfectly.
When we broke apart, we wrapped our arms around each other and just held on, like we'd both implode if we let go.
She felt so damn good in my arms, like finding her had somehow been my destiny, and I'd never believed in that shit before.
She pressed her hand to my chest, right above my heart. "Mitch, I've had too many men lie to me over the years. Can you promise you'll be different?"
I eased back, pressed my thumb under her chin, and raised her gaze to mine. "You have my word."
A smile swept across her face. "Good. So, tell me, do you think there are any spiders in that bed?" She nodded toward the open bedroom door.
I burst out laughing. "Absolutely."
She squealed. "Well, shit. We need to sort that out before we make love in there."
"Come on." I grabbed her hand and led her into the bedroom, holding the lantern high. The beam of light swept across the old iron bed frame. The mattress was covered in a plastic sheet, dust covered every surface, and cobwebs dangled in the corners.
Charlie put her hands on her hips and shook her head at the bed. "Oh, hell no. That's going to take some serious work."
"Good thing I'm motivated." I set the lantern down on the windowsill, pulled her back against my chest, and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Or, there's a perfectly good sofa out there once we shake the dust off."
She turned in my arms, her eyes dancing with mischief. "A sofa? How romantic."
"Best I can do on short notice." I brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Unless you'd rather head back to the homestead."
"Hell, no." She rose on her toes and kissed me, soft and sweet. "I like it here. It feels like you. The real you."
My chest tightened. Hannah had always wanted me to be someone else, more polished, less rough around the edges. But Charlie seemed to want exactly who I was.
"Come on." I pulled back with a grin. "We've got work to do if we're going to make this place habitable."
As we pulled plastic sheets off furniture, wiped down surfaces, and opened windows that hadn't seen daylight in years, we smiled at each other a lot, and slowly my house became a home again. Charlie didn't complain once, just worked alongside me as if we'd been doing this all our lives.
When we finally stepped onto the front porch for a rest, the house felt alive again. I grabbed two beers from the pack Bella had made for us and handed one to Charlie. We sank onto the old porch swing, and I pushed off with my foot, setting us into a slow, steady rhythm.
The moon was full, the air cool, and Charlie felt perfect at my side. Real. Extraordinary. Mine.
I took a long pull from my beer, then turned to her. "You really like this place?"
"Absolutely. You should see the dump I live in."
"The one that bastard Tommy wants you to move out of."
"Wow, you have a good memory."
I huffed. "That's not always a good thing."
"Oh, I know exactly what you mean." She rolled her eyes.
"You know, you don't have to live there anymore."
She curled her bottom lip into her mouth. "Be careful what you wish for, cowboy."
I grabbed her hand. "Actually, I heard a rumor that there was some big dinosaur skull found on Koolaroo Ranch. You don't happen to know a paleontologist who needs work, do you?"
She nearly choked on her beer, and she turned wide-eyed to stare at me. "What? Are you serious?"
"Well, I'm no expert, but I met this crazy woman who was up to her neck in mud, yelling about something called Banjo. Anyway, somebody needs to figure out if those bones are real dinosaur skeletons or just giant kangaroo bones."
She burst out laughing and slapped my arm. "I'm not crazy."
"Hell yes, you are. But I love it."
"Oh, you love that I'm crazy?"
I turned to face her, serious as hell. "I love everything about you, Charlie."
Her smile faded, and mischief twinkled in her eyes. She took my beer and set both bottles down on the porch floor. Then she climbed onto my lap, straddling me, her hands sliding up to my shoulders. "Do you really mean that? We barely—"
I cupped her face and brought her lips to mine. The kiss was slow, deep, and said everything I didn't have words for.
When she pulled back, her eyes were glassy. "Okay, you win. I'll stay."
I grinned. "Good. Now that we have that settled, we could make love under the stars again."
"Oh, I'm very okay with that." Her smile took my breath away. "Take me to the moon and back, cowboy."
I slid my hands down to her ass and stood, lifting her with me. She wrapped her legs around my waist.
"I hope you're ready," I said, grabbing the blanket from Cassidy's pack. "Because now I’m going to take my time with you."
Her lips were soft against my skin as she kissed my neck. "Careful, Mitch. I think I'm falling in love with you."
"Good. Because I'm already there." I kissed her forehead, then her nose, then captured her mouth again.
Thank you for reading Outback Secrets!
I hope you enjoyed Mitch and Charlie's wild ride through the outback, uncovering deadly secrets, and finding their happy ever after at Koolaroo Ranch.
But the Branson family's twisted legacy is far from over.
Declan Branson is the brother everyone underestimates. Quiet, methodical, more comfortable with spreadsheets than shotguns. He keeps his head down and his demons buried.
When two men show up, asking for soft-spoken Bella Hartley, the beautiful chef he hired a few weeks ago, all hell breaks loose.
On the run, Declan is forced to take Bella to a remote, abandoned diamond mine buried deep in the Outback. Hunted through collapsing tunnels and suffocating darkness, every choice could be their last. Bella's running from a past that refuses to stay buried. And now Declan's life is on the line too.
Find out what happens in OUTBACK ESCAPE , where a quiet hero is pushed to his breaking point, and one wrong step in the darkness could mean death for him, and the woman who surprises him at every turn.
Outback Escape is book two in the gripping Koolaroo Ranch romantic thriller series, where passion runs hot, danger lurks beneath the red dust, and every book uncovers another shocking layer of the Branson family’s twisted heritage.