on a cloth and wiped his face to keep him cool, then unbuckled him and gave him a bottle of juice. She stood under the tree and watched Kirk fix the fence, Josh on her hip.
“How’s he doing?” Kirk asked after a few minutes.
“He’s okay.”
“I’m almost done here. We’ll soon have him cool.”
His genuine interest in her son’s well-being took her by surprise again, but not for the first time since Mike’s death she wondered about Josh not having a father. As a child she’d taught herself not to miss having a dad, but would her son? Her childhood had been difficult at times when so many of the other kids seemed to have a father. Would Josh feel cheated because he didn’t have a man to show him all the things that fathers should? Or because he didn’t have a father who could come to the school play or a church picnic?A father to complete the family?
Her thoughts too painful, she pushed her sadness away.
Just then Kirk reached forward to pick up one of the tools from the box, and her gaze lowered to the open neck of his khaki shirt where she could see a light sprinkling of chest hair. All at once her hands itched to slide through the wisps of dark hair and curl her fingers into him. Quickly she looked away.
“Finished,” he said after a few more minutes, then dropped the tools back in the box and came toward her. “Ready for the rest of the tour?”
She nodded. She was more than ready to move on.
Soon they were on their way again, heading back the way they’d come—at least she thought they were—then taking a detour. She had to open and close a couple of gates but soon they seemed to be coming back toward civilization.
“That paddock over there is a cropping paddock,” he pointed out as they drove.
“There’s nothing in it. Is that because of the drought?”
“No. It’s just been sprayed, that’s all. That way it can be ready to plant crops in a few months’ time.”
“What sort of crops?”
“Cereals. Things like wheat, which we sell, and barley and oats for cattle feed.”
Then he went on to show her all the different types of paddocks from calf paddocks to weaner paddocks, breeding cow paddocks to bull paddocks. There were so many paddocks her head spun. And they weren’t tiny little parcels of land, either. They stretched for miles and miles.
“Naturally I keep my best stud cows in a separate paddock closer to the yards.”
“Of course.” She understood these animals cost thousands of dollars. He’d have them where his men could keep a close eye on them.
Finally they drove up to the cattle yards. Beyond were huge sheds that Kirk said stored feed and fertilizer and machinery, and farther beyond were the manager’s residence and the workmen’s cottages.
One of the men rushed to open the gate for them and Vanessa smiled to herself. She never thought someone opening a gate would be such a big thing, yet she felt like a queen.
She was soon introduced to some of the staff. She could imagine her presence as housekeeper was making the rounds of gossip, but they were all very polite and pleasant and some of the men even seemed shy.
Then she was introduced to the farm manager, but not before she heard Kirk ask him about Brady’s whereabouts and learned that Tom had fired the man over a dispute earlier. Brady apparently had already cleared out.
“Good,” Kirk said, looking grimly satisfied.
Before long the farm manager’s wife, Fay, hurried over to introduce herself. She was a pleasant woman in her forties who insisted they come to the house for lunch.
“Thanks, Fay,” Kirk said, “but one of the trucks has arrived early to pick up a load of stock for sale. Tom and I have to help.” He looked at Vanessa. “I’m sure Vanessa would be happy to keep you company.”
“I’d love to,” Vanessa said.
She and Josh ended up staying a couple of hours, and she learned that Fay was Kirk’s office manager and helped out a lot with the bookwork.
“I can do a lot from here,” Fay said, showing Vanessa her office, complete with the latest computer equipment. “And twice a week I pop up to the main house to do things like filing or collecting the letters for the post that I’ve e-mailed Kirk and he’s signed.” Fay smiled. “But I always made time for coffee and a chat with Martha.”
“Well, I hope you’ll make time for the same with me.”
Fay’s smiled widened. “That would be lovely.”
After that, Kirk drove Vanessa and Josh back to the homestead. “What do you think of Fay?” he asked, once he’d parked the Range Rover near the front steps. “You seemed to get on well together.”
Her face relaxed. “She’s really nice.”
He nodded, then, “And what do you think of Deverill Downs?”
She had the feeling he cared what she thought. “It has a certain charm,” she said, and meant it, then recognized that this really wasn’t about her. This was about the pride he had for his cattle station.
He looked pleased and that was that.
The next morning, Vanessa had put Josh down for his morning nap when she heard Suzi barking out in the barn. She didn’t want to think about snakes, though it definitely crossed her mind as she made her way outside.
She found Suzi over in the corner, barking at something beneath a large wooden bench. Heart thumping, Vanessa took a quick look back at the knee-high partition erected around the pups. She counted them and realized one was missing, then saw a small hole at one corner of the wood where it must have escaped.
Grabbing the flashlight hanging near the door, she shone it under the bench. And there was a sleeping puppy. Suzi hadn’t been able to get to her offspring because a roll of wire partially blocked it.
She turned to Suzi. “So you think we should get him out, huh?”
Suzi sat looking at her expectantly.
“Okay, little mother. Give me a moment.”
Trying not to think about spiders and snakes and every other poisonous animal that seemed to inhabit this country, Vanessa reached under the bench and drew the puppy toward her.
“Here we go,” she said, placing it in front of Suzi, who barked then picked it up in her teeth and trotted back to the others.
Smiling, Vanessa pushed herself to her feet. But as she went to stand, she heard a ripping noise and felt a pain at the back of her left shoulder blade. She gasped. Had she just been bitten by a snake? She glanced behind her and went weak with relief when she saw a nail sticking out of the bench.
Reaching over her shoulder, she managed to touch the gash. Her fingers came away with blood on them. Great. That was all she needed. Stitches.
Looking
