“You know,” Del suggested quietly, “we could each just take a turn stating how we feel and why. Then we can discuss a compromise.”
Not having a better idea, he agreed.
“You first,” Del said.
He looked at her. “You just might get mad anyway.”
Her smile touched her eyes. “I’ll kick your arse, that’ll give you the hint to stop.”
Man, he could kiss her right then and there, but time enough for that later. They had to sort this out first.
“Fine,” Moz said evenly. “I worry about you. There’ve been men and dogs on your property. These men are dangerous, whether you believe it or not. I know you believe you have to stand on your own feet, and that means you’ve done things that basically, well, hell, gives me heartburn just thinking about it.”
Del grinned.
“Don’t laugh, woman. I’m not finished yet.”
She gave a ‘go on’ gesture.
“I’ve always looked out for Elissa. We came mostly from cities, travelled a lot, met some low lives on the way. In the city you lock your doors and windows, you don’t go out alone at night unless you’re careless. Even some towns are like that. I know Gully’s Fall isn’t like that, but you have to admit that there are some men here who are undesirables, for want of a better word. They’ve been hanging around on the property opposite you. And one of those men, Del, has had assault charges brought up against him by both men and women.”
He could see she was dying to say something, but she didn’t interrupt, just nodded. Okay, she understood where he was coming from. Good.
“I respect that you stick up for your friends, Del, I really do. I know you’ll stand beside them, and that makes you a woman with the kind of moral fibre I admire.” Now here came the bit he didn’t really want to admit, but this was the time for honesty so he kept going. “I understand, because I would do the same. When I first heard, I was furious. But now, looking back, I can honestly say I understand. But hell, I can’t say I’m happy. I don’t want you to go out unprotected again, I don’t want you facing off with those men, or any men. I don’t want you risking yourself.”
When he waited, she asked softly, “What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to tell me your version. As you said, if we’re going to reach a compromise we need to see each other’s point of view.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ve lived my life in Gully’s Fall. I and my friends have always had each other’s backs, always have done, always will do. We’re a family out here, a close community. One is down, we all gather to pick them up. If that means standing against the low lives, we will. It’s who I am.”
And he loved her for it, no doubt about that. Loved her, damn it, and feared for her.
In such a short time it had happened, but he wasn’t surprised. That he’d scrutinise later, but it was an undeniable fact and definitely not to be brought out into the open right now. That’d be sucky timing, she’d probably just think he was trying to blackmail her into agreeing with him by declaring love. Nope, definitely not the right time to bring feelings up.
He forced himself to refocus on the subject at hand.
She didn’t notice his sudden stillness. “I’m not stupid, I know bad things happen. But Moz, if Elissa was in danger you’d be there, I’d be there, Molly and Dee would be there, Kirk and Scott, Ian, my family, we’d all be there. Because that’s who we are.” She touched his shoulder gently. “I admit I act first without thinking. It’s one of my faults.” Partially turning on the step, she squeezed his shoulder slightly. “I won’t go out in the dark alone. I was stupid to unlock my window and open it further. I know I need to think first, it’s a big mistake I made and I was lucky nothing happened both times.”
Okay, he hadn’t expected that admission. Moz studied her, some of his inner tension easing.
“I will be more careful. But I won’t lock myself in during the day, I won’t go around fearing life. I’ll be more careful with what’s happening, I promise. But I won’t back away from helping friends in trouble, no matter what that trouble is. Even if it means you getting mad at me and threatening dire consequences. Heck, even if it means suffering those consequences, I’ll still do it. If I don’t help, then I’m not being me.” She looked searchingly at him. “Do you understand?”
“Yeah.”
“So how are we going to work this out?”
Good question. Moz looked at her. Pretty blonde Del, owner of the clothes shop, staunch supporter of friends, strong family ties, honest as the day was long, forthright and truthful, kind beneath her sometimes brusque demeanour. Funny, a little uncouth, a passionate bundle of loyalty and sweetness, and plain old country girl values.
God, he loved her just the way she was, he really did, he just wanted her safe, wanted to wrap her in his arms and protect her from every nasty thing in the world. Just surround her with love and strength.
He didn’t think she was quite ready for that declaration.
With effort, he pushed his feelings aside. “I want you to phone for back-up before you do anything. I want you to carry your mobile with you at all times. I want you to assess any situation before walking into it. I want you to call the cops, call me, call any of your male friends for help if the situation looks like it will get dangerous.”
“Uh huh.”
“If you do something stupid and I lose my shit over it, know that regardless I will still-” love you “-be there for you no matter what.”
She studied him for a good ten seconds, mulling over what he’d said.
“Good grief,” he said, “it isn’t that hard, is it?”
“Don’t rush me.”
He wasn’t sure if she was serious or not, but then he realised that she really was serious. Well, bugger me. Unbelievable. Well, no, not really. It was Del.
“Okay, here’s the thing. I can promise all those, I will promise all those, they make sense. But I’m telling you also, Moz, that if a friend is in danger and it can’t wait, I am there.”
Oh shit. He could feel the heartburn welling up.
“I’ll take the consequences of what happens, it’s my decision and on my shoulders.”
He looked levelly at her. “And will you take the consequences of what I’ll do?”
“Depends if you take the time to think about what I did.”
Un-freakin’ believable. “Fine. I promise, whatever happens, I will take time to stew about it first.” At her pursed lips, he amended, “Think about it. I will take a few minutes to think about it.”
“Thirty.”
“Five.”
“I don’t think so, sunshine. You’ll take at least twenty minutes.”
“Fifteen, and I won’t spank you as hard.”
She jerked back. “What?”
“That’s the consequences. You going to take it?”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Do I look like I’m kidding?”
“What? Every time?”
“Depends what you do, what you did beforehand, what precautions you took, and if there was another way that didn’t endanger you.” At her appalled expression, he laughed.
“You arse.” She thumped him on the arm.
“No, baby, it’ll be your arse.”
“I’ll just knee you right in the nuts.”
“That’s taking a huge risk.”
“Not as big as the one you’d be taking. You get near my arse with your hand and I will take you down, boy.”
“Who said I’ll use my hand? What about a wooden spoon?”
“It’ll be hard for you to walk with it jammed up where the sun don’t shine.”
Laughing, he hugged her. “Don’t you ever change, Del.”
She hugged him back. “Remember you said it.”
“I feel the heartburn coming.”
They smiled at each other. But there was still one more thing to do, to say, before they could continue.
Sobering, he took her hand, linking th
eir fingers together. “Del, I’m going to tell you something and you have to promise not to breathe a word to anyone.”
“Is this about the dogs?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it.” But she didn’t crow, her expression as sober as his.
“There’s been an on-going investigation with the police, the rangers and the RSPCA into what we know is a dog fighting ring.” At her flinch, he squeezed her fingers gently. “It’s wide spread, never held in one place for long. It stretches from Ellor’s Loop to Marcor Downs, in what we think is about a three hundred km radius.”
Her face paled. “You think it’s here? In Gully’s Fall?”
“Not here, no, but we believe some of the dogs pass through here at times.” He waited to see if she’d make the connection.
It didn’t take long, her eyes widening. “Cutter. Pierce and Brand, the dogs I’ve been hearing, the trucks. You think they’re going through Pierce’s property?”
“Very likely, but we can’t get a hit on them. We don’t know when the dogs come through, how many there are, how many people are involved. Our inside source doesn’t know much, can’t pin point more than a couple of people, but unless we can find evidence it’s hard going.”
“Oh my God, those poor dogs.”
“Cutter is dangerous, Del. Brand and Pierce are mixing with a group who know no mercy. This is why you need to be so careful.” Moz swore, clenched his teeth. “I should have told you earlier. I should have warned you.”
“It was an investigation, Moz. You can’t tell.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He shook his head angrily. “Bugger it, I should have come out here sooner.”
Shifting closer, she hugged his arm to her. “Seriously? You’re going to shoulder the blame? For what? Doing your job, keeping confidences? Who else should you have told? Bassinger? Neighbours around here? Maybe the pub owner because he locks up late at night? You tell a secret, Moz, and it’s no longer a secret. You’re doing your job.”
Yeah, he was doing his job. Didn’t make him feel any better right then.
“Cripes,” she said. “Get a grip, Baylon. You tell one, you tell all, and those pricks in the ring will go under ground and you’ll never save those poor dogs or put those bastards who run the fights in gaol. Is that what you want?”
“Hell, no-”
“So stop the pity party and get a grip. Geez, I can’t believe I’m going to have to spank your arse for being such a whiny baby.”
Amused, he looked at her. “Don’t stop now, tell me how you really feel.”
“There.” She nodded in satisfaction. “Feel better?”
He started to laugh.
“Come on, you.” Standing abruptly, she held out her hand.
He looked at the small palm. “You want my body again?”
“Later. Right now, you have to go to the boarding house and pack your gear while I get your room ready.”
Separate bedrooms. Huh. But same house. He’d consider that progress. Plus they’d already bonked their brains out, so she’d have something to think about while he was lying in the other room…thinking of her lying in her bed, all soft and warm. Jesus. He had to think of something else or he’d get a boner.
Grabbing her hand, Moz pushed to his feet without her taking any of his weight at all. Using her hand, he tugged her to him, leaned down and kissed her gently. “Be back home soon, baby.”
“Don’t forget your apron.”
“Putting me to work already?”
She flashed him a smile. “Consider it part of the boarding agreement.”
“What about sex rights?”
She blushed and poked him in the chest. “We’ll negotiate at a later date.”
He winked. “Worth a try.”
Her sudden smile took him by surprise. “Just keep trying.”
Watching her go back into the house, he grinned. Yep, definitely progress. In more ways than one. Now he’d be able to watch her, help keep her safe and slide himself into her life a lot more.
Oh, and hey, he was back with his cat.
Damn, but life was suddenly looking a whole lot brighter.
Chapter 10
Perched up on the roof, Moz powered up the cordless drill, placed the bit to the screw and started screwing the new iron sheets down.
He wanted to get these four new sheets secured before the summer storm hit. The clouds were on the horizon. If he didn’t do this before he left, Del would be up here with that damned silicone gun trying to fix the rust spots, warnings or not.
The air held the scent of rain and heat combined. Lifting his head, he glanced around. He’d only shifted in the previous night and spent that in the comfortable spare bedroom. She hadn’t invited him into her bed. He didn’t push it, didn’t want her to think that he expected them to have sex just because he was living in her house.
The morning was promising. He’d been up early as usual while she’d rolled out of bed at eight looking adorably dishevelled. When he’d expressed amusement at her lateness, she’d informed him sleepily that she didn’t do early mornings but still made it to the shop in time to open.
True to her word she’d showered, dressed and rocked into the kitchen to raid the toast and bacon he’d made for her and left in the oven to keep warm. Missy was skittering across the floor playing with a ping pong ball while Mozart perched on a kitchen chair watching with big eyes.
Oh yeah, Mozart loved having Moz home. He’d slept hard up against him all night, his purring filling the room intermittently.
The conversation had pretty much run along the lines of what they had planned for the day. Moz informed her of the coming storm and his intention of inspecting the roof, she’d agreed after she’d paused and he’d given her the evil eye, then Del had rinsed her plate and mug out, brushed her teeth, kissed him on the cheek and darted out.
Okay, she’d started for his cheek but he’d finished it with a smacking kiss to her lips that had her cheeks pink, her eyes sparkling, and him with the beginnings of a boner.
No sooner had her green Commodore disappeared down the road towards town than Moz had been up on the roof, spotted trouble areas and organised four sheets of tin to be delivered immediately. Within the hour he was back up on the roof screwing down the sheets.
He was just finishing the last sheet when the work mobile rang. Laying the cordless drill down, he placed the mobile to his ear. “Inspector Baylon.”
“Sorry to disturb you,” Joe’s voice came back. “We’ve just got a report of newborn lambs being dumped on the side of the road along with a dead sheep.”
Moz’s face grew grim. “Identification tags?”
“Taken off the ears. The lambs are still alive, the couple who found them brought them to the vet here in Ellor’s Loop.”
Damn it. “Any idea at all of who they might belong to?”
“Interestingly enough, the couple reported seeing a sheep truck passing them half an hour before heading in the other direction. It was the only sheep truck they’d seen.”
“Did they happen to get a description?”
“It was a red truck with the fancy title of ‘Steam Head’ stencilled on the roof. Dumb move if he’d dumped the sheep.”
“Shouldn’t be hard to track down then. I’ll ring the sale yards and see if anyone recognises that truck for a start. Then I’ll do a little field trip.”
Well, there went his Saturday.
“Good luck.”
“The truck driver will need it more than me.” Moz looked at the sky. “I’ll head out shortly.”
“No worries. Oh, and hey, watch the weather, there’s a storm coming in.”
“You don’t say.”
With a chuckle, Joe hung up.
Within the hour Moz was travelling the two hundred kms to the nearest sale yards. The truck in question was still there. If that truck driver had been the one to dump the dead sheep and newborn lambs, Moz was going to make sure he got what was coming to him.
As lon
g as the courts did their part and fined the bloke the maximum penalty. Sometimes it was just gut-wrenching when hours of manpower and evidence was finally handed in, only to have the barest minimum of punishment given to the person or people who had committed cruelty. Sometimes Moz wondered just what side the court was on. But then sometimes the judge would hand down the maximum, or at least hit them where it hurt, and those days helped balance the frustrating ones. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to happen as often as it should. But he never gave up. As long as the animals needed him and he could stand up for them, he’d keep going.
The trucks were parked to one side at the sale yards, most of them empty, some getting ready to leave. The buyers stood near the sale yards checking out the sheep.
As luck would have it there was a big red truck with ‘Steam Head’ printed in proud, glaring letters on the top of the cab. Way to stand out in the crowd. Moz figured the bloke standing beside it was the driver. Dressed in shorts, black singlet and thongs, he was happily knocking back a coffee from a thermos mug while talking to another truckie.
They both watched Moz approach.
“G’day,” Moz said pleasantly. “You the owner of this truck?”
The truckie looked at him a little uneasily. “Yeah. Who’s asking?”
Like the uniform Moz wore and the canopied work ute with ‘RSPCA” on the side wasn’t identification enough. “Name’s Moz Baylon. I’m the RSPCA inspector.”
“You don’t say.”
“Oh, I do. Mind giving me your name?” When the truckie didn’t reply immediately, Moz added, “Unless you’ve something to hide.”
The truckie scowled. “Ken. Ken Light.”
“Who are you carting sheep for, Ken?”
“Farmer name of Ben Judding. Why?”
“You know anything about a couple of sheep and some newborn lambs dumped on the side of the road not far from Ellor’s Loop?”
“Nope.”
Couple of more truckies gathered behind Moz, but he wasn’t fazed. Standing easily, arms by his side, he studied Ken. “Mind if I have a look around the truck?”
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