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 his 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
