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She looked startled for a second, as if she’d been lost in thought, her world narrowed so that the mare was the center of her universe. It seemed this girl really cared about her horses. “Oh. Ah… I guess there’s no point in me heading back to town now,” she sighed. “So, yes, I’ll help you. I just need to go and change.” Mack hid his disappointment; he really appreciated her outfit. Steve had said she’d been headed into a bridal luncheon. That must be where the rest of the Stormcloud women were. Dean had mentioned something about an upcoming wedding at Stormcloud, but those sorts of things didn’t interest Mack, so he’d let most of the details wash over him.
“Would you mind showing Mack to his quarters?” Steve asked, as Bindi turned to leave. “Sorry, mate, normally I’d give you a tour of the place myself, welcome you in and see you settled. But, with Melody like this…”
“Not a problem,” Mack insisted. “The filly comes first, I fully appreciate that.” Being shown to his room was actually a good thing. He’d kill for a nice cool spot to rest his head for a few minutes. His headache was getting worse, it felt like his forehead was being squeezed in a vise.
Bindi flicked him an indecipherable glance, then said, “Sure, follow me.”
He pushed away from the wall, keeping his head steady and eyes directed forward; every move caused a sharp pain to knife through his brain. But he painted a winning smile on his face. No one needed to know. He just had to make it to his room. Half an hour lying down in a dark place often worked wonders.
“Sorry you missed out on your party,” Mack drawled, following her flirty little skirt and gently swishing hips out of the stables and down the hill, the sight helping him to forget about his headache for a second.
Bindi glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Yeah, it’s not often all the girls have a get together. It’s impossible to leave Stormcloud unattended, even for a few hours. We’ve got twenty resort cabins and we’re over half-full. The guests need to be fed and entertained. But Julie was determined that Skylar have a special day. So, she sweet-talked all the men into filling in for a few hours, so we could have our party.”
“Nice,” Mack drawled again. “And Julie is…?”
“Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting you don’t know everyone yet. Julie is Steve’s daughter. She works here, helping Daniella deal with the administration side of the resort, but she also helps with the guest activities and in the kitchen, as well. Aaron, her boyfriend, is the station chopper pilot.”
“Wow, this really is a family venture, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Bindi had led them down the hill toward the back of the lodge, but now she veered away toward a long building on the right. It, too, was made of the same wood planks and iron roof, with the same attention to detail and subtle design.
“This is the staff quarters.” She skipped up a set of stairs and held open the door for him. “We’re lucky here, everyone gets a room to themselves, and the quarters are nearly as luxurious as the main lodge. This is definitely the nicest place I’ve ever worked at.” Bindi prattled on as she led him down a long hallway with doors leading off on the left and right. It was cooler in here, which was a small mercy. He heard something about the two bathrooms at the end, with towels and linen in the cupboards next to them, but his thoughts were becoming foggy as the pain took over his brain. Would he find painkillers in the bathroom? He didn’t want to ask.
Bindi had stopped outside the last door on the right and was looking at him expectantly.
“What?” It was all he could do not to lean his head up against the cool drywall, but he managed to remain upright.
“This is your room.” She gestured to the open door. He stepped inside and pretended to look around.
“I’d better get back to the kitchen. Come inside when you’re ready, and I’ll introduce you to the others.” Bindi offered with a small frown. Could she sense something was wrong with him? “We can go and retrieve your car once lunch service is over, and things quieten down a little.”
“Thanks, will do.” Mack hoped his answer didn’t sound as stilted as it felt. “I’ll freshen up and be in soon,” he added.
Bindi finally shut the door behind her, and Mack eased himself down onto the bed, placing his aching head in his hands. Shit. He’d hoped he was over the worst of the headaches by now. They’d been getting less frequent. He hadn’t had one in nearly a month. He supposed the jet lag wasn’t helping. Nor the long, two-day drive up here. He thumped the bed with his fist, but that only made his head pound harder.
