Page 54 of Road to Rosalee

She didn’t need a damn test to know Matthew Walsh was her father, and the fact that he hadn’t even suggested such a thing to her when she’d told him he was her father spoke volumes about the man Matt was. Besides, put the two of them side by side and anyone could see the father-daughter resemblance from a mile away.

‘Cat got your tongue, Melody?’ Hasselhoof had the nerve to ask.

‘What in the bloody hell, arsehole, haven’t you got better things to do than pick on a harmless woman.’ Zai’s fury was unmistakable. He rose and closed the distance with determined strides, stopping short to tower over where Hasselhoof was sitting on a stump. ‘Leave her the hell alone.’

‘Shut your trap, Wellstone, before I—’

Zai’s body tensed and his free hand clenched. ‘Before you what?’ It was snarled through gritted teeth.

Hasselhoof unravelled from his stump and put his fists up. ‘Come on then, big gun. Let’s see what you got.’

Melody finally found her voice. ‘Both of you, stop it. This isn’t worth fighting over.’

‘Yeah, you two, enough of that.’ Slim stepped into the makeshift boxing ring beside the campfire and made a barricade between the two men. ‘No need for fists to fly. Let’s be honest, we all know what’s going to happen if they do.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Hasselhoof dropped his fists to his side and turned his glare to Slim. ‘What’s that?’

‘Come on, Hasselhoof.’ Slim was stifling a grin now. ‘You’ll be flat on your back with a broken nose, if you’re lucky. Zai might hurt his pinkie.’

If looks could kill, Hasselhoof would have murdered Slim in that very second. Turning on his heel, he stomped off towards the horses. ‘Bugger the lot of you,’ he bellowed once he was at a safe distance. ‘You can all go to bloody hell.’

After sharing a couple of disgusted looks, the men looked to Melody, asking if she was okay. Although still hurt by Hasselhoof’s lack of tact, and suggestion her mum could have been lying, she nodded and tried to brush it off. She didn’t want to make matters worse. She’d known Zai would have had a fiercely protective side but seeing it in person was impressive. And to know it was all because he was defending her and her mum … She’d never had any man do that for her before, not ever. How in the hell was she meant continue to resist a man who made her feel more loved than anyone, other than her mum, ever had? Taking a deep breath, she tried to rein in her myriad emotions – anger, shock, hurt – all overpowered by deep undeniable love.

Zai came to her side and gently tipped her face to his. ‘Are you okay, beautiful?’

He just called me beautiful …

‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ She gave him her best smile but could feel it trembling at the edges. ‘I’ve dealt with way worse than the likes of him. It just shocked me, and kinda put me on the spot.’

‘Of course it bloody well did, the heartless bastard.’ Zai’s jaw clenched again as he shook his head. ‘He’s lucky I didn’t biff him one.’

‘I’m glad you didn’t. It wasn’t worth coming to blows over.’

‘You’re worth protecting.’ His eyes filled with stormy intensity. ‘I’ll always have your back, no matter what.’

All Melody could do was stare at him, her admiration for him growing by the second.

His hand came to her arm and rested there, protectively, reassuring. ‘I’ll catch you back at home, okay?’

She gave him a swift nod, feigning a resilience she was far from feeling. ‘Okay. Have a good day. And thank you for looking out for me.’

‘Always.’

Melody cleared what she wanted to say from her throat. If only she could fall into his arms and tell him how much she wanted to stay within his embrace because she felt so safe, so home, so loved when he held her close.

‘Drive safely back to the homestead. No fishtailing, Miss Daisy Duke.’ His baby blues lingered. They both took a breath before he turned and strode away from her, taking one last look over his shoulder while he adjusted the brim of his hat.

Packing the camp up just as the sun began to rise from the thin red horizon, spilling a painter’s pot of blue, pink, purple, gold and red, she watched the guys huddle around the map Slim had spread out on the bonnet of the LandCruiser. Hasselhoof wasn’t part of the team meeting, instead sulking over at the holding yards, a cigarette hanging from his lips. She half listened to the stockmen discussing the paddocks and plan for the day’s muster – it was way more intricate than she’d imagined and made her admire Zai even more. Twenty minutes later, and they were all mounting their horses. Zai gave her one last arresting nod before galloping out of sight.

Melody hollered to Harold and he hobbled over from the shade of the trees. Without needing an invitation, he got himself settled in the passenger seat. With her travel companion safe and sound in his usual spot, Melody jumped behind the wheel. As much as she’d enjoyed the night spent beneath the canopy of stars, wrapped up in the arms of a very handsome man, Hasselhoof had soured the experience with his thoughtless interrogation. She was hoping, after a long hot shower, she could shake his negative comments off. She had planned to talk to her dad sometime today and was undecided as to whether she would tell him about what the old grump had said.

Gripping the steering wheel, she turned in the direction of the homestead, glancing in her rear-vision mirror to watch the trail of dust spiralling behind her.

* * *

Three days passed before Hasselhoof even had the decency to speak a word to her again, and even then, it was only three: ‘Dinner was okay.’

No appreciation for her going above and beyond with her meal choices, no apology for being a dick. It irked her that he treated her like it was she who had caused the rift in the first place. Some people were honestly so ignorant to the feelings of others. The vibe of the men was far from light when Hasselhoof was around – the whole equilibrium thrown off centre because Slim, Showbags, Tumbles and Zai all agreed what the man had done was unacceptable. It had been the final straw to them putting up with his constant bellyaching. She’d chosen not to tell her dad, not wanting to stir up any more dust – she’d rather it settled.