that he was recovering from a car crash that had forced him out of the army and almost taken his life.
Snagging a stalk of pale Mitchell grass, he rolled it between his fingers, stepped closer again and tickled her nose with it. ‘What’s this about looking for a husband? You’re not old enough to get married.’
‘Rubbish. I’m twenty-three.’
He looked startled. ‘Are you really?’
‘Sure am.’
Seconds ticked by while he frowned at a nearby brigalow bush, as if he needed to digest this news. She wondered why he seemed so surprised. He’d been six years old when she was born. And he was quite good at arithmetic.
‘Why the rush?’ he asked at last.
‘Marriage is my only solution, Gabe.’
‘Solution to what?’ He sounded understandably puzzled.
‘Last night—Grandad told me—’ Her voice broke as the tears she’d been battling over the past twenty-four hours rushed to fill her eyes and throat. She’d been trying to hold back this news, but it was only fair that she explain. ‘The doctors have told him that another heart attack will almost certainly be one—one too many.’
The immense sadness she’d been shouldering all day sent her lurching towards him. And good old Gabe tossed the grass stalk aside and held out his arms to her.
It seemed perfectly natural to hurl herself into the open arms of her oldest friend—absolutely right for him to draw her head onto his big, bulky shoulder. He was wearing an old woollen jumper that made him feel soft and huge and comforting, just what she needed right now.
‘Are they saying they’ve done all they can?’ he asked gently.
She nodded against his shoulder. ‘He’s had three operations in the last five years, and test after test…’
Gabe sighed. ‘I’m surprised they put it to him so bluntly.’
‘You know what Grandad’s like. He would have forced them to give him the truth with no frills attached.’
‘And I guess he wants to prepare you now. You know how much he loves you.’
‘I know,’ she sobbed. ‘And he doesn’t want me to worry about him or make a fuss.’ Her nose emitted a loud, unladylike snort as she fought off another onslaught of tears. She lifted her head. ‘But the other bad news is that he doesn’t think I can manage Windaroo on my own. He’s planning to sell this place.’
Again Gabe took ages to speak. ‘I guess Michael would worry if he left you trying to carry on here by yourself.’
‘But I can’t believe he wants to sell this property! It’s bad enough knowing that I’m going to lose him, but I can’t bear the thought of losing Windaroo as well.’ She drew a shuddering breath. ‘I’ve worked so hard to keep this place going and I love it.’
And that was the understatement of the century. She’d always felt that she shared Windaroo’s life blood.
Through tear-blurred eyes she looked over Gabe’s shoulder to the fat white moon and the wide, star-stippled outback sky. She was trusting her old friend to understand how devastated she felt, but maybe she was asking too much of him. After all, he’d been away in the army for ten long years, and he’d had his own problems during twelve months in and out of hospital.
He loosened his hold on her and leaned back so that he could read her face. ‘So you think that if you find a bloke to marry you Michael will change his mind about selling Windaroo?’
She sighed and stepped away from him. If she wanted Gabe’s help she needed to explain this very clearly. ‘It’s the only solution I can think of. Men of Grandad’s generation can’t come to terms with the idea of leaving a girl in charge of a cattle station. A husband would make all the difference.’
‘I guess you’re right.’ He looked at her sharply again. ‘I suppose marriage could be a solution. But it’s a mighty big step.’
‘I know. That’s why I could do with some help.’
‘But Piper, for Pete’s sake—’ Gabe shook his head. ‘Why the blue blazes would you need my help to catch a man?’
She gulped and looked away. Time to swallow her pride and make a painful confession. ‘’Cause the guys around here don’t seem to have noticed I’m female.’
He had the bad grace to chuckle. Loudly—and for far longer than was necessary.
Piper slapped his arm. ‘I’m serious. Your brother Jonno and the rest of them—they just don’t think of me as a woman.’
‘Oh, Piper,’ Gabe wheezed between chuckles. ‘You can’t be serious.’
‘Why would I make up something like that? Honestly, the fellows around here just see me as one of them, and I’m sick of it.’
‘But no one could think you were a bloke. You’re so—so—little. Besides, we all know you’re a girl.’ Thumbs loosely hooked in the belt loops at his hips, he stared at her. ‘You’re not joking, are you?’
She almost stamped her foot. ‘Of course not!’
‘Well, I think you’re wrong.’
‘How would you know, Gabe? When was the last time you came to a party out this way? You wouldn’t have a clue. The problem is that because I can muster with the men, and I can leg-rope a bullock or turn a baby bull into a steer, they forget I’m a girl. They don’t even try to crack on to me. I have buddy status and that’s all. I’m just good mates with them—the way I am with you.’
Gabe’s smirk faded and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘Well…you have to remember that blokes like to be able to impress a woman. Maybe your problem is that you can do everything they can—and you do it too damn well.’
‘I hope you’re not suggesting I become weak and useless.’
His gaze ran over her and he grinned. ‘Heaven forbid.’ Then he turned and cast a long, searching look over his shoulder at the surrounding paddocks before glancing at his watch.
Piper sighed. They’d been out here for four hours and there’d been no hint of cattle duffers. Gabe was probably thinking that her request for help to stake them out had simply been a ruse to get him on his own so she could regale him with her problems about the opposite sex.
‘I can’t promise the duffers will show up tonight,’ she said. ‘But they usually strike at full moon, when it’s easier for them to work.’
On the last full moon Windaroo cattle had been taken from a holding yard near a bore on the southern boundary, and a similar thing had happened to a block in the east the previous month.
The duffers had been following a familiar pattern—moving into a remote area and doing a quick muster, then trucking the beasts out of the valley along back roads.
Tonight Piper and Gabe were watching a paddock on the western boundary. She’d seen the tracks of
