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Daisy took a step away from her bother. Not only had he lied and deceived her, but he’d let her give up her life in Perth to see him safe. She couldn’t believe he’d do this to her.
“So, you made up the story about Ralphie because…?” She waited for him to finish her sentence, but he merely stared at her, hazel eyes glazed and anxious. So she finished it for him. “As and added incentive to get me to help you get out of Perth. Because you knew if it were just the police after you, that I wouldn’t help. Is that correct?”
“Daisy, I—” He reached out a hand toward her and she slapped it away.
“Don’t you dare.” She backed away and then turned and fled out the door. He’d come clean with her only because he knew it’d all come out soon once the Perth cops got hold of him. Her faith in him was shattered beyond belief. River had always been selfish and needy, but never in a million years would she have believed him capable of this.
River had a minimum of a year to serve on his sentence, and even then, he’d only get out early on good behavior. The judge had decided not to take River’s involvement in capturing Johnny and Sally into account to make his sentence more lenient because he’d said there was no relevance to the case River had to answer to in Perth. River had recovered from his gunshot wound, but the process had been a slow one, and now all he had to look forward to was a stay in prison.
She had refused to talk to him for many long months, but after the judge had handed down his sentence, she’d finally relented and gone to see him in jail. River had wept when he saw her, knowing without a word being spoken that she’d finally forgiven him. Forgiven, but not forgotten. The very idea that he could have been complicit in the act of beating someone to death sickened Daisy. This was no longer the brother she thought she knew. Daisy’s heart ached as she thought of River locked away in jail, but he was getting what he deserved.
Suddenly, Daisy no longer wanted to be standing in this homestead alone. She needed people around her. One person, in particular.
It took less than five minutes to unpack the car and stow away the perishables. The rest of the unpacking could wait. She should take the time to have a shower, change her clothes and fix her hair, as she’d been driving all day. It’d taken her five days this time, to drive from Perth to Cairns on her own, unlike her mad dash with River, where they’d shared the driving through the night and made it in a little over two-and-a-half days. But the urgent need to see Dale was overwhelming, and she ditched the idea of a shower.
Daisy hopped into her Subaru 4WD. This vehicle was such a pleasure to drive compared to the old Corolla. The gravel roads out here were a breeze to navigate in this car. No more getting stuck in flooding creeks for her. Angel Gold had also provided her with this lease car to make it easier for her to work in the area.
The drive from here to the lodge was around twenty minutes, and she tapped her fingers impatiently on the wheel all the way. With some trepidation, she tried to imagine the look on Dale’s face when he first saw her. Would he be happy? Confused? Annoyed because she hadn’t told him she was coming?
Daisy parked her vehicle right next to Dale’s in the rear parking lot behind the lodge. Her heart went pitter-patter at the sight of his truck. Hopefully, it meant he was nearby somewhere. Not wanting to announce herself at the front door, in case the guests were already collecting in the dining room for dinner, she went through the rear, hoping Skylar would be in the kitchen.
Which she was. As soon as she caught sight of Daisy, she dropped what she was doing and ran around the large kitchen island bench. “You made it,” she squealed, pulling Daisy into a bear hug. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“You too,” Daisy agreed.
Skylar and her penchant for cooking with bush foods was one of the reasons Daisy had returned. It was part of her new vocation, to help more people understand bush foods and to even grow their own staples. Unbeknownst to Dale, Daisy had stayed in contact with Skylar, and they’d talked many times over the phone in the past few months. Daniella also knew about Daisy’s plans to return, as she and Skylar needed Daniella’s permission for the things they wanted to do on the station.
Dale would probably be more than angry that his mother and sister had kept that information from him. But Daisy hadn’t wanted to raise his hopes. And she was uncertain how he was going to receive her. Because, while she and Skylar had talked most weeks on the phone, Dale had been glaringly absent. After his few hesitant conversations when she first returned to Perth, he’d stopped returning her calls. Skylar assured her that Dale missed her terribly, and this was just his perverted way of defending his own heart. But Daisy wasn’t so sure. She hoped she hadn’t misjudged his feelings for her, and yet… Dale had talked about how unhappy he was here when she first met him, about possibly leaving the station. She had this niggling doubt that perhaps he was planning on moving away. Maybe he’d kept his plans a secret, even from his sister. Please let her not have made a huge mistake by dropping everything and coming here.
“But I’m guessing it’s not me you’re here to see,” Skylar said, with a cheeky wink. She held up a hand as Daisy protested. “He’s up at the stables, feeding the horses and bedding them down for the night. And no, I haven’t told him you’re coming.”
“Thank you.” Daisy gave Skylar one last, quick hug, then ran out of the back door.
The horses were all lazily swishing their tails in the late-evening glow, waiting patiently for their hay bags to be hung over the fence in their yard. She could hear someone banging around in the feed store. Dale. Her gut clenched, and she almost turned around and fled back to the lodge. The thought of seeing Dale for the first time had her breaking out in a sweat, even in the already-balmy tropical evening. Shit, she should’ve taken the time to tidy herself up. Her hair was coming loose from its braid and her cotton blouse and linen shorts were rumpled from sitting in the car all day. What would he think when he saw her?
But it was too late to flee, because Dale emerged from the storeroom, a full haynet dangling in each hand. She drank in the sight of him. Shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms and strong hands carrying the hay. Jean-clad, long legs striding out, his Western riding boots clicking over the gravel. The Akubra hat hid his eyes for a second, until he looked up.
He caught sight of her, brown eyes dark against his tanned skin. She stood stunned, arrested like a startled rabbit in a set of headlights. She stared at him, and he stared back.
Then Dale smiled. A bright, full-fledged smile of joy.
Oh. There were those dimples. She missed them so much while she’d been on the other side of the continent.
Without conscious thought, her feet took her to Dale. He dropped the haynets and opened his arms wide and she landed against his chest, her arms wrapping around his neck. He kissed her. And she kissed him. Why had she ever been nervous about seeing him again? This was as natural as breathing. She’d dreamt about being held this tight against his body for the past six months, but no dreams could do this feeling justice. It was a hundred times better. A thousand times.
“What are you doing here?” he asked when their lips parted, and they finally came up for air.
“It’s a long story,” she whispered into his neck. “But I’m here to stay, if you want me to?”
He brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead as he gazed into her eyes. “Of course, I do.” And she could see he meant it. He was truly happy to see her again. “Do you mean you’re staying here, at the station?” Dale’s confused look was comical. She stroked a hand down his cheek, enjoying the rough stubble beneath her fingertips. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, but she didn’t mind.
“No. I’ve got a job, working for a gold mining company. They’ve done up the old Back Paddock Outstation for me. So, I’m not too far away.”
“Great, that’s great.” Then he shook his head, as if he couldn’t quite believe what was happening.
She laughed, and said, “I’ve got a lot to tell you. So much has happened in the past six months. I had a bit of an epiphany when I returned to Perth.” Which was an understatement. Those first few months after she’d gone home had been the lowest point in her life. She’d been miserable, missing Dale, worried about River, and unable to concentrate on her university degree. Environmental law no longer seemed to inspire her, and her grades had dropped. It was her mother who’d given her the idea to pivot. She told her to stop moaning about what was wrong with the world and find a way to make it right. To find her passion. At first, Daisy had taken that as permission to run to Dale, because he was her passion. But her mother had laid a hand on her arm and told her that a man shouldn’t be everything to a woman. A woman needed more to be truly happy. And while she wanted to disagree, a small part of her knew her mother was correct; she would never be genuinely satisfied with her life if she gave everything up for a man.
Then she thought about her chats with Skylar, how she’d wanted to incorporate more bush foods into her cooking. And she also thought about her time spent at the community on Koongarra Station. Her cover story of being a consultant to help the community become more sustainable had been based partly on the truth. Her talks with some of the elders had planted a seed. Perhaps she could help them, after all.
