The Cattleman, The Baby and Me

by Michelle Douglas

Twenty-one months ago Lucas had still been able to walk, ride…and presumably make love. Not that Liam had kept track of his trysts. But…

  She’d said Rottnest Island, and—

  His hands clenched. Anyone who knew his family, anyone who’d known Lucas, could spin a story like this.

  But when he stared at the child it didn’t feel like a story.

  She backed up a step and a shudder rocked through her. ‘What kind of man are you?’ she whispered.

  He barely heard her. Lucas had gone to Perth for the ag show. He’d stayed at Rottnest Island—Liam had the postcard to prove it. This child…could he be Lucas’s son?

  A lump tried to lodge in his throat, but he forced it back, refused to allow it to fully form.

  Sapphire Thomas speared him with those amazing green eyes. ‘Look, let’s get one thing clear. I am not letting you abandon Harry—got it?’ She lifted her chin. ‘We can deal with this like adults or we can leave it to the lawyers. It’s your call.’

  He shifted his gaze from the child to her. She didn’t look like a liar or a cheat, but then neither had his ex-wife.

  It would be better to let the lawyers deal with it.

  Under his continued scrutiny she turned a shade paler, and then she reached up and fastened the top button on her oversized and decidedly rumpled shirt.

  He blinked.

  ‘And you can stop looking at me like that,’ she said, in a voice so acid it would dissolve the rust from weathered corrugated iron. ‘I haven’t slept in two days. I’ve been stuck in that shoebox of a plane for over six hours. I’ve been weed on, vomited on, it’s as hot as blazes, and the dust is driving me mad! If I look like a bag lady, then—’

  ‘You don’t look like a bag lady.’ He didn’t know what had possessed him to say that. Only she didn’t look like a bag lady. And if she was feeling the heat, why wasn’t she undoing a few buttons or taking that long-sleeved shirt off instead? Even with the baby cradled in her arms he could make out the lines of the T-shirt she wore beneath it.

  She continued to stare at him. Her chin didn’t drop. As a ploy to force him to confront her claim, it worked. Her sister and his brother? He tried to weigh it, assess it.

  Why hadn’t she said Lucas was the father, then?

  His gut clenched. The day darkened. Given all he’d found out about Lucas after the accident, it made an uncanny kind of sense. It could all still be a pack of lies, of course, and Sapphire Thomas might still be a liar and a cheat. Or her sister might have taken advantage of her and spun her a whole pack of lies. Those things were just as possible.

  Something hard and heavy settled in his gut. He averted his eyes from the child. Regardless of how much he wanted to, he could not dismiss this woman’s claims. They warranted investigation. He owed Lucas that much.

  And much, much more.

  One thing was clear, though. He had to disabuse this woman of the misapprehension she was currently labouring under. ‘Ms Thomas, I know when I said this before that you didn’t believe me, but I am not that child’s father.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘I have never met your sister, and I have never been to Rottnest Island. I certainly haven’t taken a holiday—not there, not anywhere—in the last five years.’

  Her green eyes darkened in confusion. ‘But—’

  ‘He ain’t either,’ Sid piped in. ‘It’s become a bit of a joke in these parts.’

  Liam had no reason to lie. If he had a son, he would never turn his back on him. His hands clenched. Never!

  All the blood drained from Sapphire’s face. Liam pushed his more sombre thoughts aside and braced himself to move forward and steady her if she started to sway. From somewhere, though, she found the strength to stiffen her spine and lift her chin. The lines of exhaustion that fanned out from her eyes tugged at him.

  ‘But Emmy named you. She… She said…’ She swallowed, obviously trying to come to terms with his revelation. Bruised eyes met his. She recoiled from him as if he’d threatened to strike her…or worse. ‘You’d deny your own son?’

  ‘No!’ The word broke from him, harsher than he’d meant it to. ‘I wish—’

  He couldn’t finish that sentence. ‘I’m not his father.’ He dragged in a breath. ‘But I think I know who might be.’

  Her jaw dropped. He took advantage of her momentary silence to cast a sidelong glance at Sid, and hoped that she’d interpret it correctly—he didn’t want to discuss this any further in front of the other man.

  Her eyes narrowed. ‘Do you? Or is this just a way of putting me off?’

  ‘I’m not trying to brush you off, Ms Thomas. You’re right—we do have a lot to discuss.’ He glanced at the sky. The afternoon was lengthening. ‘Where are you staying?’ It wouldn’t do to let this sit. He wanted to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.

  ‘Oh, I…’ She blinked, as if she hadn’t expected him to be so reasonable. ‘I’m staying at the Beach View Motel in Broome.’

  ‘Not tonight, you ain’t,’ Sid said unceremoniously, shuffling forward. ‘I’m having a lay-over in Kununurra. You didn’t say this was a return trip. You just said you wanted a ride to Newarra,’ he added, when Sapphie’s jaw dropped.

  ‘But—’

  ‘I’m not heading back to Broome for another two days.’ Sid glanced at Liam, grimaced. ‘And the yearling sales are on.’

  Which meant every available room in Kununurra would be booked out. Liam bit back something rude and succinct. He didn’t want a woman at Newarra. He didn’t want a child there either—reminding him, taunting him, plaguing him with all that he’d lost. Not even for two days.

  ‘There’s nothing for it.’ Sid clapped Liam on the back. ‘You’re going to have to put Ms Thomas and her baby up.’

  If the woman hadn’t been standing within hearing distance he’d have let fly, told Sid exactly what he thought of that plan. His lip curled. Sid was trying to protect his bachelor pad in Kununurra, that was what. A makeshift bachelor pad in an airplane hangar, Liam reminded himself. It was no place for a woman or a child. And he could hardly blame Sid for that when it was exactly what he was doing too. Trying to do.

  He reminded himself of all he owed Lucas.

  ‘What’s he talking about?’ the Thomas woman snapped.

  Liam planted his hands on his hips. ‘You’re going to have to stay here tonight.’

  She stiffened. ‘I don’t think so. I’ll book into a motel or a B&B in Kununurra.’

  ‘Ms Thomas, with the yearling sales on you won’t get a room in Kununurra.’ He swept out an arm to indicate the emptiness of the landscape. ‘It’s not like we’re exactly teaming with other options out here, you know?’ Kununurra was nearly four hundred kilometres away. Broome was closer to six hundred. Newarra’s nearest neighbour was a three-hundred-and-fifty kilometre drive. He bit back his impatience. ‘You don’t have any other choice.’

  She backed up a step. ‘A woman always has a choice.’

  Her words came out low and vehement. She reminded him of a spooked heifer. He pursed his lips, adjusted his hat. He worked at keeping his voice low and easy. ‘I guess you could camp out if you wanted. I could lend you some gear.’ He lifted a deliberately casual shoulder. ‘But my housekeeper would have my hide if I let you do any such thing.’

  There was no chance he was letting her camp out on his land. Who knew what trouble she’d get herself into? But long practice told him it would be better for Sapphire Thomas to come to the conclusion about the best course of action in her own time. Women were like that—contrary. High-maintenance. Trouble.

  ‘Beattie’s cookin’ is a real treat too,’ Sid added.

  As Liam had hoped, her shoulders relaxed at the mention of his housekeeper. He forced himself to glance at the child nestled in her arms. ‘And there is the child to consider.’

  She blinked. Her tongue snaked out to moisten her lips—a gesture that betrayed her nervousness. Then her chin shot up and Liam had to own she hid those nerves pretty well. Against hi
s will, something akin to admiration warmed his veins.

  ‘Harry,’ she shot back like a challenge. ‘His name is Harry.’

  The warmth fled. His throat went dry as sawdust. ‘Harry,’ he forced himself to say, ‘might prefer a cot to a tent.’

  She chewed her bottom lip.

  ‘Of course there’s also the added bonus of hot water and electricity up at the homestead.’

  He could see her almost salivate at the mention of hot water. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other. ‘I’ll need to make a couple of phone calls.’

  ‘We have a satellite phone. You’re welcome to use it.’

  Finally, she lifted one shoulder. ‘I suppose if there’s no chance of getting a room in Kununurra…’

  ‘No chance at all,’ Sid said cheerfully. He touched her arm, then tried unsuccessfully to chuck Harry under the chin. ‘Liam’s a good man. You’ll be okay here.’

  She swallowed and nodded. She met Liam’s eyes. ‘Then thank you. That’s very kind of you.’

  ‘Not kind. Necessary,’ he shot back, disturbed by the flash of vulnerability he’d sensed in her. ‘We have a lot to discuss.’

  CHAPTER TWO

  ‘I WON’T let you down, Harry,’ Sapphie whispered against Harry’s hair, her arms tightening around him as she watched Liam and Sid unload her and Harry’s things from the plane. For the first time in two days Harry didn’t try to push away from her.

  He must be exhausted. And scared.

  She rummaged through their bags until she found Horsie—a stuffed toy from her own childhood, and the only toy she’d had in her house to give to Harry. She held him up for Harry to see. Harry didn’t smile even when she pressed the toy’s face lightly to his cheek and made loud smoochy kissing noises, but he did wrap one arm tightly about Horsie’s neck. Then he stared up at Sapphie with eyes so wide she couldn’t help it. She had to drop a kiss to his brow.

  ‘I promise you,’ she whispered again. ‘I won’t let you down.’ When Sid left, Liam would tell her who Harry’s father was, and then she could start her search anew.

  She turned. Liam had carried all their bags to his car in one go. If there was a spare ounce of flesh on the man, she couldn’t see it. He wore a long sleeved khaki workshirt tucked into his jeans, and although she could make out the breadth of his shoulders all the honed muscle beneath was hidden. She knew it would be honed.

  He was so…big! Tall…broad…strong. A woman wouldn’t stand a chance if he…

  An icy prickle crawled across her scalp. She grabbed hold of the panic before it could spiral free. There was a housekeeper at the homestead. She wouldn’t be alone with this man.

  Besides, instinct told her he wasn’t the kind of man who would take advantage of a woman’s vulnerability. She paid close attention to her instincts. He might be as unforgiving and elemental as the land he worked, and she’d be crazy to underestimate him—only a fool would cross him—but, like the land, he lacked deliberate malice. She stared at the rugged angles of his face. He had a savage grandeur that was grim and beautiful at the same time, like the amazing landscape of the Kimberley region.

  Still…a woman could never be too careful. She would ring Anna this evening.

  ‘Whenever you’re ready, Ms Thomas.’

  Sapphie blinked at the dry drawl before heat invaded her cheeks. How long had she been staring at him? Her hand flew to her top button. A sigh juddered out of her when she found it firmly done up.

  ‘Sapphie,’ she said. ‘Please call me Sapphie.’ And then, ‘Do you know the Currans of Jarndirri?’

  He swiped his brow with his forearm, then shrugged. ‘I’ve met Jared West a few times. I knew Bryce Curran.’

  Yeah, well, he was my father. She didn’t say the words out loud. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to let him know she had connections out here. ‘My mother used to work at Jarndirri as a station cook during muster. Anna and Lea Curran are my dearest friends in the world. We went to school together.’ She added a lie for good measure. ‘Anna’s expecting us for dinner this evening. That’s why I need to use your phone—to let her know where we are. So she won’t worry.’

  At first he didn’t say anything, and, while his eyes might be the most amazing blue she’d ever seen, it didn’t mean she could read them. And then, ‘You’re trying to tell me you’re not a stranger out here?’

  That was exactly what she was telling him. ‘You needn’t worry I’ll wander off and get myself lost. And I do know the difference between a King Brown and a Taipan.’ She had a healthy respect for snakes—especially those two varieties.

  ‘That’s good to know.’

  His eyes held a hint of…something. Amusement? Was he laughing at her? Not that she minded if he was—amusement was something she could deal with. Besides, a smile would soften the line of his mouth. A laugh might well transform his face entirely.

  Not that his amusement, if that was what it was, manifested itself into anything as outwardly betraying as a smile. It was becoming all too apparent that Liam Stapleton was a self-contained man. She wondered what it would take to smash through those barriers and unleash the man within.

  She shivered at the thought. It wasn’t something she was ever likely to find out.

  Not that she wanted to. She was here for Harry. That was all. She’d find out who Harry’s father was, and then she would leave again. Simple.

  Funny, but it didn’t feel simple as she lowered Harry to his capsule.

  Harry started to cry. He held onto Horsie tight and snuffled his face against the toy’s softness. It shocked her how that action pierced straight to her womb. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. She blinked them away. ‘Shh, Harry, it’s all right.’

  Only they both knew it wasn’t. His mother was facing a three-year jail sentence, and his father was… Who was his father? Exhaustion swamped her, the sun beat down, and she could feel herself start to sway.

  Liam moved forward, touched her arm. ‘Let’s get you both up to the homestead. You can freshen up and then we can talk.’

  She nodded, then gestured to the capsule and Harry. ‘I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to sit in the back with him.’

  ‘Do whatever you need to do. We’re only a couple of kilometres from the homestead, so it’s not going to take long.’

  The big cattle and sheep stations in the Outback placed their airstrips several kilometres from their homesteads as a fire precaution. She slid onto the back seat beside Harry with a grateful sigh. She was glad they didn’t have too far to go. She wasn’t sure she was up for much more travelling today.

  Liam paused in the act of closing her door, another frown in his eyes. ‘When did you last eat?’

  Food! Sapphie’s eyes lit up and her mouth started to water. ‘Ooh, ages and ages ago. Harry and I, we’d kill for a Vegemite sandwich—wouldn’t we, Harry?’

  Harry didn’t smile, but he bobbed his head up and down in imitation of Sapphie.

  A minor victory!

  Unbelievably, Liam laughed.

  A major victory! Sapphie tried not to gape. It made him look younger—a lot younger—and milder, in the same way the cliffs and valleys in the Kimberley ranges lost all their hard edges at twilight.

  ‘I’m sure we can rustle you up a couple of Vegemite sandwiches,’ he said before closing her door.

  Sapphie did her best to catch her breath. She tried to convince herself it was the heat and dust that made it hard to breathe.

  As she’d seen from the plane, the Newarra homestead was big…grand. The coolness of the white weatherboard was welcoming. The broad grandeur of the six wide stone steps that led up to the double front door hinted at a stability she had never experienced, of a home lovingly crafted to provide more than just shelter for its occupants. The shadiness of the deep verandas with their simple wooden balustrades beckoned.

  A sigh whispered out of her. Everything about the homestead, even down to the rose garden, was designed to refresh and please the eye. The height of summer was long gone,
but Sapphie could imagine the cool promise of the homestead shimmering in the heat of a midday sun, when temperatures soared in excess of forty degrees and dark clouds gathered oppressive on the horizon.

  A square of lush green lawn surrounded it all. Bore water, Sapphie guessed, because no farmer out here would waste precious water resources on a lawn and garden.

  Unless he had a wife and it meant a great deal to her. And he loved her very much.

  Sapphie glanced at Liam. He brought the ute to a halt at the edge of the lawn. He didn’t drive around to the collection of buildings behind the homestead. She glanced back at his home. Did he have a wife?

  He’d only mentioned a housekeeper. When she turned back, she found him watching her in the rearview mirror. ‘Your home is beautiful.’

  ‘It’s been in the family for generations.’

  ‘Do you have any family living with you at the moment?’

  ‘Getting nervous?’

  It sounded like a taunt. She lifted her chin. ‘Just wondering what to expect, that’s all.’

  He pushed out of the car, turned back and leant down to say, ‘It’s a bit late for those kinds of considerations, don’t you think?’ and then closed the door.

  Sapphie unbuckled Harry’s capsule and climbed out too, met Liam’s eyes across the roof of the car. ‘It’s never too late to take other people’s feelings into consideration.’

  He stilled, but with the sun in her face, and the brim of his hat shading his, she couldn’t see his expression let alone try and decipher it.

  Before he could make any answer, an older woman—in her fifties, Sapphie guessed—came bustling out from the house. ‘Did my wools arrive?’ She pulled up short when she saw Sapphie.

  ‘Beattie, this is Sapphie Thomas and Harry.’ He glanced at Sapphie, but not at Harry. ‘They’ve come to stay…for a bit.’

  Sapphie gulped. For a bit. She hadn’t thought how long this might take. As usual she’d leapt into action without thinking it through properly. But whenever she stopped to think things through—big things—she froze. Like she was doing now with Anna and Lea. She couldn’t afford to freeze where Harry was concerned.