Home On the Station/Noah & Kate/Daniel & Lily/Luke & Erin

by Barbara Hannay

  Her head was whirling. She was still stunned by her uncle’s will, still feeling Noah’s shock. She glanced back to the solicitor’s office. What was going on in there? What had they decided?

  ‘Can’t you hear him?’ Olivia cried, giving Kate’s hand a tug.

  ‘Of course I can.’ Kate smiled. ‘And I can see him.’ A distinctly piggy snout and a dirty pink trotter appeared over the ute’s tray back.

  ‘He’s so cute! Lift me up! I want to see him properly.’

  The little girl’s reticence was a thing of the past, and she held her arms up to Kate as if they’d been best friends for ever.

  Kate couldn’t help suspecting that Liane would object to her daughter being lifted up to admire a pig, but she was charmed by the child’s eagerness—so different from the worry in her eyes a few moments earlier. She hoisted Olivia onto her hip and together they peered at the small pink pig that looked up at them with pale, expectant eyes.

  ‘Isn’t he gorgeous?’

  ‘He is rather cute,’ Kate admitted.

  Olivia’s face was a picture of enraptured adoration. With one skinny arm around Kate’s neck, she reached out with the other to pat the top of the little pig’s head. ‘Daddy says that pigs are terribly clever. They’re much cleverer than cows, and they’re even cleverer than dogs.’

  ‘I didn’t know that. But I’ve heard they make great pets.’

  Olivia beamed at her joyously. ‘This one’s so handsome; I want to call him Baby Prince Charming.’

  Kate laughed. ‘Why not? I couldn’t imagine a better name for him.’

  The pig squealed and snuffled, and Olivia made oinking noises back at him. But eventually she grew heavy, and Kate set her back on the footpath.

  She half-expected the child to protest, but Olivia took her hand in a gesture of such innocent trust that Kate felt a lump in her throat. ‘Are—are pigs your favourite animal?’ she asked.

  ‘Probably.’ A wistful expression came over her little face. ‘When I lived with Daddy, we had lots and lots of animals—piglets and chickens and ducklings and calves.’

  ‘And puppies?’

  ‘Lots of puppies.’ Her bottom lip drooped. ‘I can’t have pets any more.’

  ‘Because you live in the city?’

  She nodded. ‘Mummy said we’re not allowed to have any pets in our apartment. Not even a goldfish.’

  Kate understood Olivia’s disappointment. Her own mother had never been fond of animals, and she felt a rush of sympathy for the child. After the rustic casualness of life in an Outback homestead, where sticky fingers posed no threat and a puppy on the couch were the norm, it would be very hard to get used to a slick and shiny city apartment.

  ‘But you must have all kinds of exciting things to do in the city,’ she suggested diplomatically.

  ‘Not really. Sydney’s boring.’

  Before Kate could respond, Liane’s voice sounded shrilly behind them. She turned to see the child’s mother and James Calloway charging down the footpath.

  Completely ignoring Kate, Liane thrust her hand towards her daughter. ‘Come along now,’ she ordered with an imperious tilt of her chin.

  A fleeting expression that might have been fear flickered over the little girl’s face, but it was gone so quickly Kate decided that she must have imagined it.

  ‘We’ve found a pig,’ Olivia told her mother.

  ‘Good God.’ Liane’s lips curled in an expression of distaste. She gave another impatient shake of her outstretched hand. ‘Now, come on, Olivia. We’ve got to get back to the motel. We have a lot of important phone calls to make.’

  The little girl hesitated and chewed her lip. ‘Can I stay tonight with Daddy?’

  ‘No, of course you can’t.’ Her mother rolled her eyes. ‘First thing in the morning we’re getting out of this dump and back home to Sydney.’ She grabbed the little girl’s hand. ‘Come on, now. No nonsense.’

  Rising quickly onto tiptoes, Olivia whispered to Kate, ‘Can you say goodbye to Baby Prince Charming for me?’

  ‘Of course,’ Kate whispered back. ‘I promise.’

  Her smile faltered as she watched the trio—mother, daughter and sharp Sydney lawyer—hurry away down the dusty footpath. As they rounded a corner, Olivia looked back, just once, over her shoulder, and lifted her hand to send Kate a quick wave. ‘Say goodbye to Daddy too,’ she called.

  Kate was surprised by how flat she felt as she went back inside. The door to Alan Davidson’s office was open, and she could see both men in there, still busy talking and looking extremely solemn.

  When she knocked, Noah turned, and her heart seemed to slip a little; he looked incredibly handsome in spite of the bleakness of his expression.

  ‘Am I intruding?’ she asked.

  ‘No, of course not. You have a stake in this. Come on in.’ Noah stood, and with a gentlemanly gesture she couldn’t ever remember her boyfriend using he drew out a chair for her.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘How’s Olivia?’ Noah’s eyes gleamed with a bright warmth that sent a tremor through Kate as she sat.

  ‘She’s fine. She was very excited because there’s a pig in the street outside. In the back of a ute.’

  ‘A pig?’ Noah’s smile lit up his face.

  ‘A baby pig. Very cute.’

  He laughed briefly. ‘She’d love that.’

  Kate watched the way his eyes sparkled, then almost immediately turned misty. Clearly, joy and pain were part and parcel of his relationship with his daughter. She wondered how often he saw Olivia, how much time they had together. Somehow, she couldn’t imagine Liane going out of her way to make access easy.

  Rubbing a hand over his face, as if to clear his thoughts, Noah sobered and returned to business. ‘I was just telling Alan I had no idea this inheritance could be so complicated,’ he said. ‘I’m afraid I’m still trying to get my head around it.’

  ‘So nothing’s settled?’

  Alan Davidson took his spectacles off and offered Kate a teeth-gritted version of a smile. ‘I’ve explained to Noah that, with a firm like Calloway and Brandon behind her, Liane has a very good chance of pushing her claim for a half-share through the courts.’

  ‘But I thought—?’ Kate wasn’t quite sure how to put her question. ‘I assumed everything about the divorce had been finalised.’

  Alan nodded. ‘That’s right. But Liane has twelve months after the decree absolute to file for property settlement. She can mount a case about her involvement at Radnor during her marriage, citing her contribution during the five-and-a-half years that she lived there, and her input into the running of the place.’

  Kate could see why the courts would allow this. She knew nothing about the reasons for Noah and Liane’s divorce, but it made sense that a woman might need protection in certain circumstances.

  She frowned. ‘But if Liane claims her half of Noah’s share, or half of his half-share, does that mean that Noah will end up with only a quarter of the estate?’

  The solicitor nodded grimly. ‘A quarter of a drought-stricken estate at that.’

  What a shock for Noah! Kate knew he’d expected to inherit Radnor intact, and now even his half-share would be whittled away. After he’d worked so hard on Radnor all his life, it seemed terribly unfair.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ she said, unable to keep a lid on her thoughts. ‘Why on earth has Uncle Angus given half of Radnor to me? It just doesn’t make any kind of sense.’

  The men seemed unwilling or unable to answer her and, in the silence, the ceiling fan creaked as it circled slowly.

  At last, Alan said, ‘Perhaps your uncle was being canny. It’s no secret that he never got on with Liane, and he may have anticipated that she could put in her claim for a half-share. He might have done this to frustrate her.’

  Kate gave a helpless shake of her head. ‘You mean Angus didn’t want Liane to inherit half his property? But couldn’t Noah have bought her out?’

  The two men exchanged a silent glan
ce.

  Noah said, ‘Given the drought, the banks aren’t very generous with their loans. I might have been forced to sell up the lot to meet Liane’s claims.’

  ‘Oh.’

  He shrugged. ‘Now, with this new will, whatever happens half of Radnor stays in the family.’ His cool, faintly amused glance flickered over Kate.

  To her dismay, her cheeks grew hot. Irrationally, she found herself remembering how very, very different Noah’s smile had been all those years ago, when she was seventeen… Just before he kissed her.

  But it was feeble to remember that now.

  Angry at her weakness, she spoke too loudly. ‘I’m sorry, but I know nothing about cattle, or running Outback properties in Australia. I’m quite prepared to say that I’m not entitled to a half-share in Radnor. It’s your home, Noah. Not mine.’

  ‘That’s not how it works,’ he said quietly.

  She cast a frantic glance over the pile of papers on Alan Davidson’s desk, at his bookcases filled with expensively bound legal tomes. Surely lawyers knew clever ways to get round this kind of problem?

  She was grateful that her boyfriend was safely tucked away on the other side of the world. As a man of finance, he would be horrified if he knew what she planned to say next. ‘I can hand my half back, can’t I? Give my share to Noah? I’m sure you know a way to devise some sensible arrangement.’

  ‘That is not going to happen.’ Noah spoke with such vehemence that Kate flinched. He scowled at her. ‘You don’t know what you’re saying, Kate.’

  ‘I know exactly what I’m saying.’

  His face was dark, his mouth tight and hard, frighteningly hard. ‘No one hands over half an inheritance like Radnor.’

  ‘I can if I wish.’

  Cursing beneath his breath, Noah leaned forward, eyes blazing. ‘Don’t be a fool. Radnor might have been blighted by drought for the better part of five years, but the property’s still valuable. All it takes is one good wet season. It’s over half a million acres.’

  She gasped. That much? The scope of it was beyond imagining.

  ‘Even if that means nothing to you, Kate, I intend to respect Angus’s wishes. He obviously wanted you to have a half-share.’

  ‘That’s what I don’t understand,’ she said softly. ‘I know I’m his niece, but he looked on you as—as his son.’

  ‘Angus’s mind was perfectly sound.’ Noah spoke now with quiet resignation. ‘He knew exactly what he was doing, and he must have thought very carefully before changing his will.’

  Perhaps it was her tiredness that made Kate angry. She wanted to stamp her feet, to yell at Noah, to urge him to stop being stubborn. How could he give up so easily? He’d worked so hard for Radnor.

  Alan coughed discreetly. ‘If you hand your share over to Noah, Kate, there will be even more for Liane to claim.’

  ‘That’s true,’ said Kate quietly. In other words, she could be of more help to Noah if she retained her share. ‘But if Noah wants to stay on Radnor he must buy Liane out, mustn’t he? That’s what she’ll want, isn’t it—money rather than land?’

  Alan pursed his lips. ‘Noah may not have a big enough share of the Radnor asset to raise the necessary money.’

  ‘Are you saying he’ll still be forced to sell up his share just to settle her claim?’

  Kate was horrified. This was ridiculous. Noah had been born at Radnor. It was his home. His life. The very thought of him wandering about the Outback, looking for another job, starting again from scratch, was ludicrous!

  Impulsively, she said, ‘We have no choice, then. Noah and I will have to form a partnership.’

  Noah stared at Kate as if she’d grown a third ear.

  To her eternal shame, she blushed again. ‘I—I m-mean a b-business partnership, of course. Then the partnership could buy Liane’s share. The banks wouldn’t turn down a proposal like that, would they?’

  ‘That’s generous,’ Noah said quietly. ‘But I won’t accept it.’

  ‘Hey!’ Alan suddenly turned on Noah. ‘Wake up, man. It’s only a business arrangement. Not marriage.’

  Marriage?

  Zap! To Kate’s horror her already hot cheeks turned fiery.

  Noah’s chair scraped on the wooden floor, and he jumped to his feet. ‘What kind of fool comment is that?’

  ‘I was joking, of course,’ Alan quickly back-pedalled. He sent Kate a quick wink. ‘That’s how it would have happened in the good old days, of course. A quick, arranged marriage and, hey presto, everyone’s problems are solved.’

  Kate was dismayed that Noah’s reaction was getting to her. Why did he have to make it so obvious that he was horrified by Alan’s light-hearted suggestion? She’d got the message nine years ago that he had no romantic interest in her.

  To cover the awkwardness, Alan made a business of tidying the papers on his desk, setting them straight inside the folder. ‘You should both take a few days to think about this.’

  Noah had moved to the door, one shoulder leaning on the jamb, his hands thrust deep in his pockets. He looked tired, as tired as Kate felt.

  ‘You’re right,’ he said quietly. ‘We need a few days. You’re jet lagged, Kate. You’re in no condition to be making rash offers. You need to get back to the house and have a good, long sleep. You’ll probably come to your senses in the morning.’

  CHAPTER THREE

  FROM HABIT NOAH woke just before dawn.

  He’d slept soundly, which was a surprise, as he’d been troubled by bad dreams ever since he’d found Angus slumped at his desk, ashen-faced and unconscious.

  Now, grey dawn light seeped into his bedroom. Familiar details of the room came to life: the timber-framed window, the roll-top desk in the corner, the faded photo of his parents, the old pine chest of drawers…

  Then he remembered.

  He was going to lose all of this. He was going to lose his home. Lose Radnor.

  He sat up quickly, fighting hot panic—caused not by a nightmare this time but by sickening reality.

  With a groan, he threw his bedclothes aside, strode naked to the window and looked out at the flat, treeless landscape spreading endlessly, as far as the eye could see.

  A terrible sense of loss flooded him. He was twenty-nine years old and he’d been born here. Not counting the years he’d spent at boarding school, this was the only home he’d ever known. He’d travelled, of course. He’d covered most of Australia and he’d seen prettier places—grander landscapes… richer country…

  But a soul-deep love of these sparse, flat plains flowed in his veins. This country might be subject to drought, but its strength lay in its ability to rejuvenate. The rain would come eventually, and tenacity to weather the drought was part of the strength of the people who lived here.

  Noah had that strength, that patience. And Angus had known it, damn it. But the old fox had tied up his will so that half of this property went to an English girl who’d been here once, almost a decade ago, for a brief holiday.

  Noah jerked his gaze from the view and went through to his small adjoining bathroom.

  Any normal guy would harbour resentment, he told himself as he palmed lather onto his jaw. He should be thinking about Kate Brodie with animosity and bitterness.

  Not with hot-blooded lust.

  He shouldn’t be remembering the last time she’d been here, the way he’d kissed her, and the way she’d responded. Hell, if he hadn’t had Angus’s warning ringing in his head, who knew what might have happened back then?

  Angus had started bellowing orders even before Kate had arrived. At the time, it had nearly killed Noah to ignore Kate. He’d been completely smitten by her flashing green eyes, perfect skin and all that shiny red-gold hair. And her smile.

  He’d broken down once and given into his need to taste Kate’s smiling lips, to touch her soft, warm, milk-white skin.

  One kiss, despite Angus Harrington’s warning…

  ‘Hands off her, do you hear me? If you lay so much as a finger on my sister’s da
ughter, I’ll never forgive you, son.’

  Son. For as long as Noah could remember, Angus had called him that. He’d been four at the time of his parents’ accident, and could barely remember them. His only memory was based on the photo on his dresser. His father, long-legged and dark, and no doubt smelling of dust and cigarettes, was leaning against the stock rails and grinning at his mother. She had a soft, heart-shaped face and pretty, pale-brown hair. Like Olivia’s.

  Olivia. Noah grimaced and picked up the razor. He couldn’t afford to think about Olivia now, on top of everything else. Losing her, losing Radnor. Hell, any minute he’d start bawling.

  He began to scrape with the razor, making dark tracks over his jaw through the white foam. But his thoughts winged straight back to Kate Brodie.

  She’d changed a great deal. Matured was the word to use, he supposed. She had grown quieter. More serious.

  Even more attractive and womanly.

  Last night on the way home from Jindabilla she’d slept, which should have been fine. Noah had been grateful that she hadn’t wanted to carry on about Angus’s will. But she’d been so sleepy she’d ended up with her head on his shoulder, which meant he’d driven all those miles with the fragrance of her freshly shampooed hair filling his nostrils, with the warm pressure of her soft cheek against his shoulder, and the gentle hush of her breath on his neck.

  And, when they’d reached the homestead, Kate had been so out of it that he’d had to help her inside. She’d leaned sleepily against him as they’d negotiated the stairs, with his arm about her slender waist, and he’d been super-conscious of her curves above and below.

  Once Kate had changed and was ready for bed, he’d taken her hot cocoa, just as he might have done for Olivia.

  Big mistake. Huge. How could he have been such an idiot? He’d found Kate in bed in a silky nightdress of skimpy cream silk with lace trims and thin straps, hair sleep-tumbled, eyelashes drooping. She’d blushed profusely and muttered apologies as she accepted the cocoa.

  Remembering how she’d looked made him…

  Damn. He nicked his jaw.

  It was too long since he’d been with a woman.