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There was more? What more trouble could this boy possibly get into?
“It’s the reason I agreed to bring him here. His life’s in danger.” She stopped and lifted her haunted gaze to stare at him. “There’s a gang. They think he betrayed them; turned some of their members over to the police. Which he didn’t,” she added hurriedly. “I couldn’t bear the thought of those thugs coming after him. Torturing him. Perhaps even killing him. And my family was in jeopardy while he was in the city. Those thugs don’t care who they hurt in the process of exacting revenge.”
Dale could hardly believe his ears. He stared at Daisy as if were speaking some kind of foreign language. He thought he’d been getting to know her. But this was like some story he’d read in a sensationalist newspaper. This kind of thing didn’t happen to normal people.
Who was this woman sitting in front of him?
Another thought occurred to him. “Is your actual name Daisy?” He remembered the name written on the letter tonight, and the time that he’d returned Daisy after the flood and River had called her something else in his rush to make sure she was okay. For some reason, this was the worst betrayal of all. He didn’t even know her real name. If she couldn’t even tell him that, how in hell was he to believe anything else they’d shared was true? His heart beat heavy as a drum, a lead weight settling inside his chest. Was there nothing about this woman he could believe in?
“Yes. And no,” she replied.
What was that supposed to mean?
“The name my parents gave me, and the name I use, is Dinnarri. But Daisy used to be my nickname. When River was very young, and he couldn’t pronounce my name properly, I became Daisy. I haven’t used it in nearly fifteen years. I chose it because only my very close family would ever know I used it.”
Dale exhaled on a loud breath. It was her name. For some stupid reason, he felt lighter. When he’d whispered her name as they were making love, it’d felt so right. Her name was a part of her, and it spoke to him.
Daisy sat opposite him, passing her mug of tea between her hands. She looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and he finally had an inkling why. When she looked up, the dark smudges beneath her eyes were more pronounced, her pretty mouth turned down, pain and anguish pulling at the corners. She’d been suffering this whole time, and he never knew. This brother of hers had a lot to answer for.
“Come here.” He stretched his hand across the table. After a millisecond of hesitation, she took it and let him draw her up from her chair and lead her into his lap. Draping an arm around his shoulders, she settled into his chest, accepting his proffered comfort. Her tears had dried, but the misery was still simmering near the surface. He could almost feel the pain radiating from her. His body responded immediately to having her close. To how soft and pliant she was in his arms. To the way she needed him. To her sudden vulnerability. He wanted to be the rock she clung to in her stormy ocean.
“I don’t know what to do,” she mumbled into his neck. “I’m scared River will do something reckless. He’s not good on his own. I need to find him. But I don’t know where to start looking.”
He couldn’t believe he was about to say this, but he did, anyway. “Come back to Stormcloud with me.” He certainly wasn’t leaving her on her own out here. Not with a likely murderer on the loose. And not with her unstable brother gone missing.
His feelings for her were in complete turmoil. He’d been so sure they had a connection as they lay under the stars together tonight. He’d even go so far as to call it the start of something great, as if he might well be teetering on the edge of free-falling into space, where only she’d be able to catch him. Afterwards, she’d turned so cold and aloof, as if it’d all meant nothing. She’d just revealed that everything he thought he knew about her was a lie. That she was on the run from the police. And helping her brother hide from a rabid gang. He had no idea how he was supposed to feel about her now. But his emotions in turmoil aside, all he knew was that he couldn’t leave her to suffer alone in isolation. He needed to know she was safe, and the only place he could protect her was at Stormcloud.
“What?” Her head came up suddenly, and she gave him a look that reminded him of a startled fawn. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
She went to stand up from his lap, but he trapped her with an arm around her waist. This was important. He wouldn’t let her fob him off, treat him with disdain as she had earlier.
“I mean it, Daisy. You’ll be safer if you come to the station. Your safety is important to me.” He drilled his gaze into her as he said these last words, letting her see his sincerity. Letting her see his vulnerability. Letting her see his need to help her.
She stopped struggling, instead, her head tilted to one side as if considering him. If she flatly refused to come, he’d even consider staying here with her. But that was a last option. They needed him back the station; the work to keep the cattle station up and running didn’t stop because there was a murderer on the loose.
“What if River comes looking for me? I have to stay here.” She was still arguing, but the heat had gone out of her words.
“We’ll leave him a note. Where is the sat phone I gave you? We can leave that with the note, and he can call you if he needs to.”
Daisy didn’t look convinced. “I don’t want to impose on you and your family. Again.”
“It’s not an imposition, if it’s to keep you safe.” He could see her wavering. He was getting to her. He knew how stubborn Daisy could be, and so, perhaps somewhere deep down, Daisy was a little glad she had an excuse not to stay here on her own. “Why don’t you go and find that sat phone,” he said gently.
Finally, she nodded, and he released his grip on her slim hips. She stood up, and he immediately missed the weight of her on his thighs, and the warmth of her arm around his neck.
He tried to gather his thoughts as he watched Daisy do a quick search of the living area. A slight frown settled over her face and she disappeared into first one bedroom and then the other.
“I can’t find the sat phone. It’s not in the drawer where we usually leave it, and it’s not anywhere else in the house,” she finally revealed. “Maybe he took it with him.”
Of course he did, that selfish prick. He’d taken the phone as insurance and left Daisy with nothing. It was typical of a person who only thought of themselves. And the more Dale learned about this brother of hers, the more he disliked him. Instead, he said, “That’s a good thing. He’s a smart kid. Now we know he has a means of communicating. If he needs help, he’ll use the phone.”
“I guess so,” she intoned. He could see the confusion tumbling around in her head. But she clearly desperately wanted to believe Dale, that she finally nodded, and said, “I’ll pack a bag. Can you wait for me?”
He wanted to say he would wait for her forever, but that was a silly sentiment, and he wasn’t even sure where it’d come from. “Of course. Take your time. There’s no rush.”
Daisy headed into the bedroom and Dale stayed seated, waiting for her.
He needed to decide what to tell his family. He was hoping to convince her on the drive back to confide in Daniella and Steve, at the very least. He was pretty sure they would keep the secret, if he begged them to. But was it right for him to ask them to do this? To keep such a monumental secret? And if she refused to tell them, it was going to be a heavy burden for him to bear. The implications for him and for the station were mind-boggling. What if River had played a part in Karri’s death? Daisy seemed to have a blind faith when it came to her brother. But what if she was wrong?
