by Camryn Eyde
“For shoving her off the tower.”
“I didn’t shove her, she volunteered.”
Joey scoffed. Giving him a glare, Aimee looked at Sally. “I accidentally overheard Justine talking to her significant other. Is he coming out here?”
“Oh, she told you about Aaron?” Sally said. “I was surprised, too. Should have guessed, though.”
Aimee wished that didn’t feel like a knife to the heart. She wished so hard she thought she might crack another rib.
Joey answered her previous question. “He’s heading out here on Saturday, so please play nice.”
“Whatever,” Aimee muttered, grabbing some leftovers from the fridge and wishing she had thought to stock up her own pantry earlier.
“I’m not appreciating the attitude.”
“And I’m not appreciating picking up your slack.”
Joey stood so abruptly, Aimee’s neck cracked when she looked up at her brother. “It’s under control.”
“What is?” Sally said, moving closer. “What is Aimee talking about?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Aimee let out a bark of dry laughter. “Bullshit. Why don’t you tell Sally about the bills that haven’t been paid, or the fuel and equipment that wasn’t ordered, or maybe about the lack of maintenance along the boundary fences. Last I checked, you and Danny had dibs on the dozers around here, but apparently neither of you could be bothered to use them.”
“What?” Sally said.
“Look!” Joey yelled. “It’s been busy, okay?” Joey ran a hand through his hair, and looked ready to continue defending himself when the three contestants entered the kitchen.
“There you are, handsome,” Brittany said, hooking her arm in his. “Come for a swim?”
Aimee held back a look of displeasure as Tiffany took up a post on the other side of Joey and gave him a smile that rang false from miles away. She glanced at Amber to find the woman greeting Sally with a smile and a nod. Amber did the same to her, forcing Aimee to smile and nod back.
“How’s the ribs?” Amber asked.
Aimee tensed. “What?”
Amber gestured to Aimee’s chest. “I can have a look if you like?”
“Uh…”
“What’s wrong with your ribs?” Sally asked, moving around the bench to Aimee as Joey distracted himself with the other two women.
“Nothing. They’re fine,” Aimee said, stepping back and covering the throb she could feel with a hand. Confused about why Amber was asking after her health, Aimee decided it was time to vacate the scene. Besides, hiding from the world was exactly what the doctor ordered, and after saying goodnight and shutting herself in her loft, she wondered if anyone would miss her if she stayed there for the rest of the week.
“There you are,” Justine said, catching Aimee as she tried to flee to her loft.
“And here I go,” Aimee said, moving past the woman and hating how her throat closed up.
“Hey! You okay?” Justine jogged to catch her. “I heard raised voices.”
Aimee paused and clenched her teeth, shutting her eyes in the process and wishing this moment of her life was over. Turning around with a little more composure, she said, “Joey.”
“You argued again?”
Aimee nodded in short, sharp movements. “Yeah.”
“I told him that I jumped with you earlier. You didn’t force me off the water tower.”
“I know.”
Justine frowned at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m beat. Goodnight.” Aimee didn’t enjoy the way Justine’s face fell at being so callously dismissed, but at least it had been effective. Left in peace, she reached her sanctuary and let herself fall apart.
Chapter Eleven
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Huh? What?” Aimee rolled over and dislodged the book on her chest before wincing. “Ow. Ow. Ow.”
Someone knocked at her door again.
Aimee rubbed at her eyes and looked around, completely disorientated. The sun was streaming through the window, lighting up the loft and her position on the couch. She carefully rose and padded to the door, opening it to discover Justine on the other side.
Aimee’s heart sank a little. “Oh. Hi.”
Justine looked confused at the lacklustre tone in Aimee’s voice. “Hi. Everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just dandy.” She turned and walked to her kitchen. What time was it? Picking up her heavy duty watch, she gasped. Eight! She overslept. She never overslept. “Ugh,” she muttered as she splashed water on her face. Apparently having your ribs squashed coinciding with a little too much ale and pain killers wasn’t great for early rising, thought Aimee.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m awesome. What do you want?”
Justine stared at her, not convinced by the vague answer and clearly suspecting something was up. “Joey is having a date with Amber at the billabong. He said you’d be able to show me out there this morning if I asked.”
“Are you asking?”
“Yes.”
Aimee sighed. The billabong. That was Tracey and Joey’s special place. The idea of him taking a contestant there was bizarre. She shook her head.
Justine frowned. “Aimee, what’s going on?” Justine reached out to find Aimee move away from her touch.
“I can show you the billabong.”
“Then why did you shake your head?”
Aimee ignored the question. “Are you ready to go now?”
Justine studied her for a moment. “If you are, yes.”
“Fine. I’ll meet you downstairs. Be there in a minute.”
“Umm…sure.”
Aimee changed out of yesterday’s clothes and made a quick cup of coffee. Downing the strong black beverage as she brushed Kite, she felt the caffeine rid her body of the alcohol and painkillers from the night before. Her mind was clear, but apparently her ribs were still sore. Withholding most of her grunts of protest, saddling Kite was excruciating. Mounting her even more so.
“Come on, let’s go. Daylight is wasting,” Aimee said as she guided her horse out of the stables to greet Justine.
The gentle sway of Kite’s gait tugged and pulled at what Aimee was now suspecting were broken ribs. Consciously riding slightly ahead of Justine, she concealed the arm that braced her torso to hold her side. It appears zip-lining in tandem was one of her poorer ideas. Maybe I should stick with one night stands and beer drinking contests, she mused to herself. The consequences were far less painful. At least beer didn’t cheat on people. At least one night stands left in the morning taking their emotional baggage with them. Aimee sighed heavily, the effort of expelling her lungs making her wince again.
“Are you okay?” Justine asked from beside her.
“I’m fine. Here’s the billabong,” Aimee said, pointing to a stand of trees surrounded a pool of water.
Justine gave her a dubious look.
Averting her eyes, Aimee kept talking. “It’s fed by an underground stream that forms part of Roper Creek. It’s how the town got its name. There’s a chain of billabongs along this section that tap into the water table until the river comes out of the ground and flows past town.” Chancing a glance at Justine, she saw the woman looking at her with a raised eyebrow, clearly not accepting the diversion. “Just go find your perfect shot,” Aimee snapped, clicking her tongue and trotting Kite to the water.
Bad move, she thought as she slipped off the saddle. That hurt like a bitch.
“That’s it. Something’s clearly wrong with you,” Justine said, dismounting her horse and striding over to her.
Aimee simply scoffed. “Trust me, there’s a whole lot wrong with me.”
“Are you injured?”
“Injured?” Aimee frowned and shook her head. “Nope.”
“Then why are you grimacing?”
“I’m not.”
Justine poked her in the side making Aimee scream.
“Damn it! What’d you do th
at for?”
Justine hopped about looking devastated at the amount of pain she had caused. “Shit. Are you okay?”
“No!”
Clucking her tongue, Justine’s panic subsided. “Oh, stop being a big baby.” She grabbed the arm Aimee was using to brace her torso. “Show me your side.”
“No.”
Justine tugged at Aimee’s shirt to lift it.
“What are you doing?” Aimee said, holding back her progress.
“Stop being stubborn for once, and let me look.”
“I’m fine.”
Justine put her hands on her hips back and fixed her with a glare. “You know, you say that an awful lot.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Show me what’s wrong.” She made a grab for Aimee’s shirt again, untucking it from her waistline.
“Stop it.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before.”
Aimee sneered at her. “Yeah, and I won’t be making that mistake again.”
Justine gasped and looked like she’d been slapped. “What did you say?”
“I said I’m done.”
Justine’s crestfallen face scrunched into a frown. “What?” Justine grabbed for her hands, looking desperately confused.
Aimee shook off the touch.
“Aimee, Jesus, I have no idea what’s happened. Talk to me.”
“What’s the point? What could you possibly want from me?”
Justine reached for her again, finding herself successfully grabbing Aimee’s hands. “Want from you? Aimee—”
Aimee yanked her hands from Justine’s grip. “Forget it.” Turning back to her task, she was yanked forcibly around again and she gasped in pain.
“Shit. I’m sorry, are you okay?”
“Leave me alone.” Aimee turned again but Justine stilled her with a hand on her shoulder.
“No, you don’t get to dismiss me like that. You brushed me off last night, I’m not letting you do it again. I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“Well, I understand just fine. I’m a fling. A dirty little secret. I get that, but how dare you rub it in my face just how replaceable I am.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I’m not replacing anybody.”
“So, what, you’re planning to bring him to our bed?”
“What?” Justine made a disgusted noise and threw her hands up in the air. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re bloody insane.”
“I’m talking about Aaron. I overheard you talking to him on the phone and Joey specifically told me to play nice with him when he comes up tomorrow.”
“Aaron?” Justine tipped her head back in sudden understanding. The woman started to chuckle and reached out to grab Aimee by the shoulders, but Aimee shoved her roughly away just as Joey arrived on a quad bike followed by his entourage. Justine tripped on the uneven ground and her back thumped against the dirt. A spike of fear rippled through Aimee fearing she’d hurt Justine.
“Aimee! Enough!” Joey barked, skidding to a halt beside them. “Go pack your bags, missy, you’re going to Armidale…now!”
Aimee screwed her face up at him ready to thump him square in the nose. This was absolutely none of his business. He wasn’t about to get his heartbroken by some city tramp. “Piss off, Joey!”
“Hey, this is my fault. It’s just a big misunderstanding,” Justine said, dusting herself off and moving between the aggravated pair. “Aimee—”
“Misunderstanding?” Aimee scoffed. “Yeah, right, that’s what this is.” She laughed with a cruel hollow sound. “Why don’t you and your little boyfriend shack up in my bed that I’ve just been turfed out of? Hell, I certainly won’t be using it again. It’s nothing better than kindling to me now.” Aimee glared at Joey and shoved him out of her way as she stormed over to Kite, who had retreated with the argument.
“Aimee, it’s not what you think!” Justine called out to her retreating back.
Aimee paused after mounting Kite, tears blurring her vision. “Oh, I’m pretty sure it’s exactly what I think. But don’t concern your pretty little head about it. I’m just a simple country girl. Give me a beer or two and I’m over it. Have a nice life.”
Clicking her tongue, she urged Kite into a run to destinations unknown. Sobbing and barely able to ride, she found a sanctuary by pure instinct and crumbled completely. What was the use of love when all it got you was a broken heart and the rejection of your brother?
***
Glaring at the piece of horizon his sister disappeared over, Joey fumed. Willing to listen to reason about Aimee’s protectiveness and emotional upset at this time of year, now she had done her dash. Physically assaulting someone was unacceptable. “Damn it,” he growled.
“Don’t send her away. It’s my fault she’s so angry,” Justine said, brushing off her film crew who had surrounded her in concern.
Joey turned his brown eyes on the dusty looking woman. “It doesn’t matter now. She knows the consequences of fighting on this station.”
“But she’s just confused. She thinks Aaron is my boyfriend,” Justine said, pleading with him.
“Huh? What has that got to do with anything?”
“She…I…” Justine sighed.
“Look, Miss Cason, assaulting someone on my property is a sure-fire way to get fired or kicked off the station. Aimee knows that. The instant she shoved you to the ground, she broke her chances.”
“I tripped and fell. It’s not like she knocked me on my arse with a right jab to the nose.”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you. Need I remind you this is my property, and I run it as I see fit.”
Justine took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”
Joey narrowed his eyes at her, trying to find the hidden meaning. About to interrogate her further, Justine called out to her crew and scoped out the scene, leaving him alone with Amber.
“Everything okay?” she asked him.
Joey painted a smile on his face and looked over. “Yeah. Sure.”
Amber bit her lip. “So…ah…do you like kids?”
Joey blinked. “Yes.”
“Woah, guys. Save that conversation for the camera,” the lighting technician said as he collected gear from the bikes. “Justine will be pissed if she missed that juicy gossip.”
Joey sighed as he watched the man walk away.
“This…show, is incredibly constricting.”
Joey had nodded before realising Amber had used consecutive words with more than two syllables. “Ah…yeah, it is.”
“It’s worse than tax law,” Amber said with a smile.
“Tax law?”
“Mmm.”
Joey blinked at her. “You know about tax law?”
Amber shrugged and looked over at the set up the crew were piecing together at Justine’s direction. “It’s part of the job. Well, ex-job.” She looked at Joey and said, “I was an accountant in a past life.”
Joey was stunned. So far his picks had proved to be as shallow as their looks. Initially charmed by their buoyant outlook and attractive features, it hadn’t been until he got them on the farm that he realised their redeeming qualities only went skin deep. Tiffany was looking for a free ride through life and only seemed interested in working on the perfect tan. Brittany had done nothing but complain about the dust, dirt, lack of a city skyline and about the prevalence of wildlife. “I have a ton of accounting to do, so if you ever get bored…”
Amber smiled, and Joey’s insides squirmed. Of all the women he’d brought to the station, Amber was the one that scared him the most. She was quieter and less inclined to throw herself at him. While the other two contestants kept him busy with their constant need to touch and talk to him, he had been acutely aware of the quiet woman watching on with amusement. Shorter, dark-eyed, and with brunette hair just lower than her ears, she was nothing like the type he usually noticed. “Ah…” Smooth Joey. “So…what do you do now?”
Joey’s jaw dropped.
“Okay, guys! Let’s date!” Justine shouted out to them.
“Time to put on your TV face,” Amber said, plastering that dazzling, yet plastic, smile on her face, erasing the intelligence she had just revealed.
God, dating was horrible enough as it was without two cameras in your face and a woman checking conversation points off her script. Joey’s palms sweated and he kept smiling.
“Ask about wanting a family again,” Justine prompted.
Amber cleared her throat and picked up her wine glass. Sipping it, she looked up at him over the rim of the cup and said, “Do you like kids?”
About to answer, Justine chimed in. “Try saying ‘do you want a family?’”
Amber cleared her throat and repeated the process with the appropriately phrased question.
Joey felt like he was on a god damned soap opera. Thank God this was the last date. “Yes. I do.”
“I just need the right woman,” Justine whispered.
“I just need to find the right woman, you know? Someone that can handle the remote lifestyle. Be able to look after themselves and pitch in.”
“Does it get lonely out here?” Amber asked, off-script.
Glancing at Justine, she seemed happy with the new direction of conversation, so he answered, “No.” He put his glass down. “At least, not for me. My family is here. My sisters, their families. Life out here is what you make of it, you know? Yes, it’s hard work, and yes it’s isolated, but it’s my passion. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” Joey trailed off and thought of Aimee. “My little sister, she’s never left this place for more than three days at a time. Even then, it was only for gymkhana events or sheep sales.”
Amber frowned. “Aimee? The one you just banished.”
Joey exhaled roughly. “Yeah.” He flicked his eyes to Justine and noticed she had completely zoned out. “She’s…” he sighed, acutely aware of the cameras rolling. “She’s not banished.”
“Why Armidale?” Amber asked.
Joey fidgeted, disliking how brazen and loud he had been with his argument with Aimee. “She studies there.”
“Doing what?”