Loe raamatut: «Claiming the Cattleman's Heart»

CHAPTER ONE

DANIEL RENTON dived into the cool, glassy water of the Star River. His naked body slid down, down through the dark green silence till he reached the feathery grasses on the sandy river-bottom. Then with a short, swift kick he arced up again and saw, high above, the cloudless blue of the sky and the tapering trail of smoky green gum leaves.

He broke the surface and struck out for the opposite bank, revelling in the cool, clean water rushing over his skin, between his bare thighs, between his fingers and toes, washing every inch of him. Cleansing.

Cleansing.

If only…

Daniel swam powerfully, almost savagely, as he had every day since he’d returned a fortnight ago to Ironbark, his Outback Queensland cattle property. But he always demanded more from the sleepy river than it could possibly give him.

Oh, the water rid him of the sweat and the dust and grime he’d acquired during a hot morning’s work repairing fences, but it couldn’t rid him of the rottenness that lived inside him. He doubted anything could free him from that.

He might be out of jail at last, but the emotional taint of his shameful months of captivity clung to him with a tenacity that no amount of bathing could banish.

Flipping onto his back, Daniel floated. The river was slow and he hardly drifted at all. It was always so wonderfully quiet here.

The birds had retreated into midday silence and the treetops stood perfectly still. The river was as peaceful and silent as an empty church, and Daniel tried to relax, deliberately blanking out the heartbreak and anger and pain that hunkered deep inside him. If only the darkness could float away.

He loosened the muscles in his shoulders, in his arms and legs. He closed his eyes.

‘Hello! Excuse me!’

The voice, coming out of the silence, startled him. Splashing upright, Daniel trod water and looked back to the far bank. Against a backdrop of green and golden wattle, a figure in a floppy straw sunhat waved arms wildly, trying to catch his attention.

‘I’m sorry to bother you,’ a female voice called.

Daniel groaned. And glared at her. Who on earth could she be? Hardly anyone in the district knew he’d come home.

Still treading water, he shaded his eyes. The young woman was standing at the very edge of the water, leaning as far out as she dared and peering at him. Beneath her big floppy sunhat she wore a sleeveless white T-shirt that left her midriff bare and blue floral shorts and sandals. A woven straw bag hung from her shoulder.

A tourist. Not a local.

He didn’t welcome any intrusion, but at least a stranger would be easier to deal with than someone who knew him. A local would be suspicious or curious, and Daniel wasn’t ready to deal with either reaction.

‘What are you doing on my property?’ he growled.

‘Car trouble, I’m afraid.’

Great. A city chick with car trouble. He released a deep, weary sigh.

A million years ago he might have considered a young woman with a broken-down vehicle a pleasant diversion. But his days of trying to impress women were long gone. These days he just wanted—no, he needed—to be left alone.

A year and a half on a prison farm tended to do that to a man. It robbed him of do-good urges. It had almost robbed Daniel of the will to get out of bed in the morning. What was the point in trying?

‘I’m sorry, but can you help me?’

She was leaning so far out over the water she looked as if she was about to dive in and swim to him.

‘Hang on!’ It was a bark rather than a reply. This was a cattle property, not a bloody service station. But he struck out, swimming towards her in an easy freestyle. When he neared the shallows he stopped and stood in hip-deep water, his feet sinking into the weedy bottom.

The stranger on the riverbank was well disguised by her huge straw hat, but he caught a glimpse of light-coloured hair tied back or tucked up somehow. Apart from the snug fit of her blue floral shorts, she had a schoolmarmish air about her. Serious and anxious.

And yet…He could feel her studying him with frank interest. Her mouth flowered into an open pink O as she took in details of his bare torso.

‘What’s the problem?’ he asked.

She gulped, and said a little breathlessly, ‘I—I’m afraid I’ve r-run out of fuel.’

Immediately a bright blush flooded her neck and cheeks.

‘I know it was stupid of me, and I’m so sorry to trouble you, but I don’t know what to do.’ Her hands flapped in a gesture of helplessness. ‘I tried to ring the only person I know around here, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone home, even though they were expecting me. I managed to coast down the side of the mountain, but then my car conked out at the bottom. I saw your gate and your mail box and so I turned in here, and your ute was on the track back there, and I—’

‘Whoa,’ cried Daniel. ‘I get the picture. You want enough fuel to get you into town.’

Her face broke into an amazing smile. ‘Yes.’ She beamed at him as if he’d offered to fly her straight to Sydney in a Lear jet. ‘If you could spare some fuel that would be wonderful.’ Her warm smile lingered as she stood there. ‘You’re—you’re—very—kind.’

Kind? A jaded half-laugh broke from him. It had been too long since anyone had called Daniel Renton kind—especially a young woman—and it had been even longer since a woman had stared at him with such obvious interest.

She continued to stand there, looking at him.

‘We’ll both be embarrassed if you don’t turn your back while I get out of the water,’ he said dryly.

‘Turn my back? Oh. Oh…You’re naked. Sorry.’

However, she didn’t sound especially sorry, and she took her time turning, holding the brim of her hat close to her head with both hands.

‘You’re safe enough now,’ she called, and her voice was warm with the hint of yet another smile. ‘My hat makes great blinkers, and I promise I won’t look till you say so.’

Mildly surprised that she’d stood her ground rather than make a nervous dash for the nearest patch of thick scrub, Daniel left the water quickly and hauled on his jeans without any attempt to dry himself.

‘All clear,’ he said gruffly.

She let go of the hat-brim and turned back to him, pink and smiling again—or perhaps still pink and smiling—and she watched with continued interest as he shook his head from side to side and flicked water droplets from his thick dark hair.

‘I’m sorry. I’m being a nuisance.’

He shrugged. ‘I was just taking a break. But I don’t have a lot of time.’

Reaching down for his blue cotton shirt, he retrieved his watch from the front pocket and checked the time before slipping the watch onto his wrist. It was lunchtime and his stomach was rumbling.

‘Where’s your car?’

‘Out on the road.’

‘Not in the middle of the road?’

‘No. I’m silly, but not totally brainless. I managed to push it well off the road. It’s under a tree. I guess it’s about five-hundred metres from your front gate.’

‘What sort of vehicle?’

‘A Corolla.’

‘So you need petrol?’ He bit off a curse.

‘Well…yes. I told you I’ve run out.’

Daniel grimaced.

‘Is that a problem?’

‘I only use diesel.’

‘Oh.’ Two neat white teeth worried her lower lip.

‘I guess I’ll have to give you a lift into Gidgee Springs.’ He knew he should have said this more graciously, but a trip into the nearest township would mean exposing himself to the questioning glances of prying locals.

‘I don’t want to put you to that much bother,’ she said, obviously sensing his reluctance. ‘If you have a telephone book I could ring a service station in Gidgee Springs. They should be able to send a can of petrol out here.’

‘On a Sunday? You’ve got to be joking.’ Daniel let out a hoot of laughter. ‘I’ll give you a lift, but you’ll have to wait. I’m going to grab a bite to eat first.’

‘By all means. Yes, you must have your lunch.’

After pulling on elastic-sided riding boots and shrugging into his shirt, he began to make his way through the scrub to the track where he’d left the ute, doing up shirt buttons as he went. The woman, ducking branches heavy with golden wattle, hurried to keep up.

‘By the way, my name’s Lily,’ she said to his back. ‘Lily Halliday.’

‘Daniel,’ he offered grouchily over his shoulder.

‘Daniel Renton?’

‘Yes.’ He stopped, suddenly wary, and sent her a swift, searching frown. ‘How did you know my name?’

Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. ‘It’s painted on your letterbox. “D Renton. Ironbark Station”.’

Of course.

He sighed as he continued walking. He might have been released from prison, but he was still constantly on edge and alert. Always defensive. He’d forgotten how to relax, how to trust. Simple details of freedom could catch him out. His name painted on his letterbox. A trip into town for groceries. A stranger’s friendly smile. He wondered if he would ever again accept such ordinary, everyday normality as his right.

They reached his rusty old ute, parked in the shade of an ancient camphor laurel tree. He stepped towards the passenger door, intending to open it for Lily, but she clearly didn’t expect anything so gentlemanly from him, and rushed forward.

‘No need to wait on me.’ Without further ceremony, she yanked the door open and jumped into the passenger seat.

By the time Daniel ambled round to the driver’s door, Lily had removed her hat. And, as he settled behind the wheel, she slipped off the blue elastic band that tied back her hair and shook it free.

Her hair was heavy and silky, the pale colour of new hemp rope. It tumbled in waves over her shoulders like rippling water, and with a complete lack of self-consciousness she began to sift strands of it through her fingers. Finally, she lifted the full weight of it from the back of her neck, exposing damp little curls stuck to her warm pink skin. Then she re-twisted her hair into a loose knot and slipped the band back into place.

During the entire process Daniel watched, transfixed.

Eventually, Lily glanced sideways and realised he was staring at her. Their gazes met. And froze. They both held their breaths.

Something happened.

Something in Lily’s misty blue-grey eyes reached deep into the darkness inside Daniel and tugged. He felt an almost shocking sense of connection. It was completely unexpected.

Damn.

Lily gulped.

Oh, man.

Oh…man…It was crazy, actually, the way she was reacting to Daniel Renton. She’d made quite a fool of herself on the riverbank by gaping at his bare shoulders and chest. Such a silly reaction from a girl who’d grown up in the Sugar Bay hippie community, where skinny-dipping was an almost everyday occurrence.

Then again, how could she not be impressed? The tapering line from Daniel’s broad shoulders to his flat stomach and lean hips would have made Michelangelo’s David look like a mere boy.

And now, within the confines of his truck’s cabin, mere inches from his face—from his blue eyes, deep-set and wary beneath strong dark brows, his jaw made extra rugged by a day or two’s growth of beard—she felt distinctly breathless. She’d never met a man who was quite so devastatingly, so uncompromisingly…

Male.

Daniel Renton was masculinity distilled. And, to be honest, he was just a little dangerous-looking. So tense and guarded. Suspicious, almost. Fine shivers scampered down Lily’s spine. Why would he look at her that way—as if she was a threat to him, as if he had something to hide?

Good grief, was she crazy to be jumping into a vehicle with a stranger? She’d been so desperate to get fuel she’d grabbed the chance, but had she been a tad reckless? Perhaps she should leap out of this truck right now and take her chances back out on the road.

Or was she overreacting? Perhaps Daniel’s wariness was the natural reserve of a man who lived in the remote Outback.

She wrapped her arms over her bare midriff, but it wasn’t her exposed middle he was looking at. He seemed preoccupied with her face, but she couldn’t think why. Hers was a very ordinary face—a little too round, inclined to freckle, with eyes a nondescript shade. Seconds earlier he’d been looking at her hair—almost as if he’d never seen long, wavy hair before. Again, there was nothing remarkable about her hair. A very ordinary colour. Sandy—neither blonde nor brown.

Daniel lifted his hand and Lily jumped. For one breathless moment she thought he was actually going to touch her hair, and she felt a flash of fear. And then she felt something else that startled her, deep in the pit of her stomach—a shiver of shameless interest. What would it be like to be touched by this man?

But then he seemed to come to his senses, and his hand slammed back onto the steering wheel.

Lily let out her breath, and the muscles in Daniel’s throat moved as if he was having difficulty swallowing.

Frowning fiercely, he jerked his gaze to the front. He seemed suddenly unhappy, and Lily felt unhappy too. None of this would have happened if she’d stopped for petrol in that last little town she’d so gaily flashed through a couple of hours ago. At the time she’d been singing ‘Hit the Road, Jack’ at the top of her voice. Now she cringed to think she’d been so naive, so foolishly confident that there would be more little towns, more places to fill up with petrol long before she reached Gidgee Springs.

Her thoughts flew to Fern, her mother. I’m sorry, Mum. I’ve stuffed up.

She grimaced when she remembered the pain in Fern’s eyes as she’d waved her off this morning, smiling bravely. She would do anything to keep her mother out of a wheelchair, which was why she was on this journey. Her plan was to meet Audrey Halliday, her father’s widow—the woman Marcus Halliday had married after he’d abandoned Fern—and to shamelessly beg Audrey for money for the operation Fern needed.

But now Lily’s mission of mercy was in jeopardy. Totally. Unless this strange and taciturn man was prepared to help her.

While she was lost in her anxious thoughts, Daniel started the ute suddenly, and it lurched down the rough bush track at such a reckless speed that Lily had no time to fasten her seatbelt.

Toppling sideways, she fell against his hard shoulder. She tried to support herself, and her hand landed on his thigh, her splayed fingers gripping the denim of his jeans.

Beneath the thin and faded fabric, still damp from his recent swim, iron-hard muscles bunched at her touch.

‘Sorry,’ she squeaked, snatching her hand away.

He growled something incomprehensible and Lily didn’t respond. Her heart was pounding unmercifully and, with more dignity than was necessary, she eased herself back into her seat and pulled the seatbelt across her and into place. Daniel drove more slowly, keeping his eyes on the narrow track. And Lily decided she had no choice but to trust him.

Their journey was rough going. Long grass grew between the wheel ruts, scraping the underbelly of the ute, and she recognised overgrown weeds—lantana bushes and Chinee apple—running wild along the edges, almost taking over the track in places.

As Daniel swerved to dodge another huge clump of lantana, she said, ‘This property is wonderfully wild.’

‘It hasn’t always been like this.’ He muttered this defensively. ‘I—I’ve been away.’

‘Travelling?’

He shrugged and continued to stare straight ahead through the windscreen. ‘Not really. Just—just working somewhere else.’

‘So have I,’ she said brightly. ‘I’ve been working in Sri Lanka.’

He sent a quick sideways glance her way.

‘It was an amazing experience,’ she said. ‘I loved it. I spent twelve months doing voluntary work in a village on the coast.’

She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to comment, or to tell her what he’d been doing, but he kept staring morosely ahead.

‘When I came back,’ she went on, needing to fill the uncomfortable silence, ‘I couldn’t settle into my old life in Sydney. The party-party-party scene just didn’t cut it for me any more, so I went back to Sugar Bay to stay with my mother.’

‘Sugar Bay? That’s where all the hippies squatted years ago, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ she said, but she sensed an underlying cynicism in Daniel’s question, so she didn’t elaborate. She certainly didn’t want to tell him what had happened when she’d gone home—her devastating discovery that her mother was almost completely crippled and in dire need of surgery.

Fern had kept silent for too long. She hadn’t wanted to tell Lily how badly her condition had deteriorated, had worried that Lily would come hurrying back from Sri Lanka too soon. Dear, silly woman.

The worst of it was that Fern had no health insurance and no money for the necessary operation, and the public hospital waiting list was up to two years long. Lily, unfortunately, had no money either, because she’d poured almost all her savings into the Sri Lankan village.

Fern had no choice but to wait in the long queue for the public health system, but by then she would be bedridden. She needed the operation now, which was why Lily felt compelled to face up to the woman who’d inherited every cent of her father’s considerable wealth.

Lily sighed again. She could never think of Marcus Halliday without feeling the sharp, painful stab of his personal rejection. She’d carried the scar since she was five years old. Too long.

Daniel drove on in silence, and Lily realised the track was curving back towards the mountain range, which meant he was taking her further and further away from the road and into the wilderness. She felt uneasy again. Where was he taking her? Where was his house?

She had no idea if he lived with a family or alone. Good grief. Her imagination kicked in, throwing up dreadful possibilities. How on earth could she escape if Daniel was dangerous? If only there had been someone at home when she’d tried to telephone Audrey. Where was Audrey? She should have been expecting her call.

On the edge of full fledged panic, Lily squeaked, ‘How far are we going?’

‘Almost there,’ Daniel muttered, and the track forked suddenly. He took a turn to the right, the track broke out of the scrub and two long, sun-drenched paddocks stretched before them. At the far end of the paddocks, against a majestic backdrop of heavily forested green mountains, a white homestead with a faded red ripple-iron roof and deep verandas sprawled in the sunshine like a sleepy dog.

Lily was buoyed on a wave of instant relief.

Tall, ancient palm trees surrounded the homestead, making it look cool, despite the shimmering noonday heat. To the right of the house, tumbledown machinery sheds were shaded by an enormous spreading cassia tree covered in massive, romantic pink blossoms.

‘Is that your house?’

He grunted yes.

‘It’s lovely.’

She meant it. Daniel’s house might not be grand or manicured, but there was something very appealing about it. She loved the way its long red roof reached protectively over the deep, shady verandas, and the way the green mountains stood on guard behind it. The circle of palms and the lovely pink cassia tree added a touch of romance. Undeniable charm. It was a setting an artist might feel an urge to paint.

Again she thought of her father. Marcus Halliday had made his fame and fortune bringing scenes like this to life on canvas.

Her lips pulled into a wry smile. Was it because of Marcus or in spite of him that the sight of Daniel’s home tugged at her heartstrings? Whatever the reason, she felt charmed by the house and surprised, after her many misgivings, that she felt instantly at home.

‘You must have been very happy to come back from your travels to such a lovely place,’ she said.

Dark colour stained Daniel’s cheekbones, and he cleared his throat. ‘The house might look good from a distance, but it’s run-down like the rest of the property.’

‘So you’ve been away for quite some time?’

He didn’t reply. Obviously he had no intention of telling her anything about himself, but she wished he would. She’d feel so much more at ease if he was more outgoing. But, then again, why should he bother? It wasn’t as if they were starting a friendship. Soon he would be dropping her into Gidgee Springs and they would never see each other again.

‘The herd’s been away on agistment.’

She realised that Daniel’s focus was somewhere else entirely. He was studying the cattle in the paddock to his right.

‘I only got this lot back last week.’ Slowing the ute, he steered with one hand and leaned an elbow out of the window. He frowned as he fixed his attention on one particular cow with a noticeably swollen abdomen and udder. She was standing apart from the herd and looked rather uncomfortable, with her back arched and her tail raised. He brought the ute to a standstill, and Lily looked at the animal with sudden fascination.

‘I need to quickly check that heifer.’

‘Is she pregnant?’

‘She’s in labour. I’ve been keeping an eye on her this morning.’ His thoughtful frown deepened. ‘Usually there’s no need to intervene, but she’s young and this is her first calf.’

Without another word, he shoved the door open and strode to the fence, pushed the top strand of the barbed wire down with one hand, and swung his long legs easily over it.

Watching him, Lily let a sigh of relief drift from her lips. Surely a man who cared about a cow in labour couldn’t be dangerous? She decided she might be safe with him after all, and her mouth twitched into a smile. How nice it would be if Daniel was as trustworthy as he was hot-looking.

He returned quite quickly.

‘I think she’s OK,’ he said as he restarted the motor. ‘But it’s a bit hard to tell—the early stages are dragging on a bit.’

The truck rattled along the last part of the track leading up to the house. As Daniel turned off the motor, he said, ‘I’m afraid it’ll have to be bread and cheese for lunch.’

‘Oh, I don’t expect you to feed me.’

He frowned. ‘Why not? Have you already eaten?’

‘No.’

He gave an impatient shake of his head. ‘Then come on. I’m going to eat, and you may as well have something. It won’t be anything flash, of course.’

‘Thank you.’ Lily offered Daniel her warmest smile. But perhaps it was a mistake, because he seemed to freeze, and he stared back at her with such a fierce look that she felt her smile fade.

Three or four seconds passed, and then he said less gruffly, ‘I can’t treat you like a trespasser.’

Without warning, he smiled.

And, oh, what a difference it made.

Lily wanted to stare and stare.