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“I’ll get there eventually,” he replied. “The plastic surgeon said I’ll need to give it four or five months, and then he’ll have a go at reducing the scarring, and hopefully I’ll get almost full use of my hand back within a year.”
“Wow,” Wazza said with a sympathetic nod. “That’s good news, I guess.”
“Yeah.” Mack shrugged. He was philosophical about his fate. Whatever would be, would be. As long as he had Bindi, he could endure just about anything.
“What about the villain? Bindi mentioned it was some old girlfriend of yours back in The States who had it in for you. Sent some local thugs after you. I heard one of them died, and you caught the other one, but have they got the woman yet?” Wazza asked.
Mack gave a smug grimace as his mind went back to the mine site two days ago. He’d been pretty much out of it by the time Nash and his constable turned up. A medivac helicopter was on the way to collect him and Bindi, and people were crowding the area, while he lay on the ground with his head in Bindi’s lap. But Nash had taken the time to come over and make sure they were both all right. And while not altogether happy with the dead body at the bottom of the shaft, he quietly congratulated them on their escape and capture of the accomplice.
Of course, there’d been many long interviews and statements given while he’d been laid up in hospital, but Nash had dug up the dirt on Whip and Fat Man—whose name turned out to be Neil. Neil had sung like the proverbial canary, confirming that Whip had indeed loosened the lug nuts on Mack’s truck. Neil had also given Nash the name of a farmer who lived on the other side of town, who’d given Whip the info on Madonna and Melody. It seemed this farmer had asked if he could buy Melody when she was old enough to be weaned, as he wanted to add an Australian Stock Horse to his raft of other horses, and had even called at Stormcloud to talk to Steve. But Steve had turned him down, as he considered the man slapdash with his training and there were rumors he was violent toward his horses, something Steve would never condone. At least they knew where Whip had found his local information now, but the farmer probably wouldn’t be charged, which was a shame. The locals had their own way of dealing with people like him, however, and he was already being shunned by the community any time he dared to show his face in town.
Nash also had the financial team tracing payments made to Whip’s account to see if they could track them back to Clarissa, using their police counterparts in America to help. It seemed that after Mack’s phone call with Clarissa, where he’d told her she’d have to kill him to stop him, she’d sent Whip after Mack again, this time with more deadly intent. If only he’d managed to record that conversation.
“Not exactly,” Mack replied. “Clarissa Melman is a slippery one. But Dean assures me the police in the US are working up a case on her as we speak. It’s only a matter of time before they prove she ordered Whip to kill me and Bindi. Now the IRS is involved, because of the rumors of fraud and misuse of sponsor’s money. She’s not under arrest yet, but they’ve seized her passport, as they believe she’s a flight risk.”
“That sounds promising,” Wazza said with a positive nod.
“Sure does.” Mack took a swig of lemonade, and considered his last conversation with Nash earlier this morning, after he’d arrived at Stormcloud. He’d told him that Clarissa was supposedly trying to bluff her way out of the accusations, and when that hadn’t worked, she’d called in Daddy and his big-gun lawyers.
Nash had confirmed that the Beffdorff company was on the brink of collapse, and had indeed lost millions of dollars due to Clarissa’s mismanagement. It seemed she’d recruited other bull riders to her corrupt plan to cheat on her own gambling app, and they were now coming forward to tell their stories. The pro circuit was in disarray as more allegations came to light of the betting scandal. Nash surmised perhaps Clarissa thought if she could silence Mack once and for all, she’d be able to keep her subterfuge quiet. He also seemed to think that Clarissa would be kept far too busy from now on to try any more attacks on Mack or Bindi. She was being closely monitored. Mack enjoyed a quick few seconds imagining Clarissa in an orange jumpsuit, being dragged through the halls of some large prison, the other women catcalling to her through the bars of their prison cells. He really hoped she got her comeuppance. Especially because Clarissa had dared to hurt Bindi. It was one thing to have a go at him, but how dare she try and touch his woman?
“I hear Steve has hired a new stock hand,” Wazza added, conversationally.
“Yeah.” Mack nodded. Steve had already passed on the good news. “With me out of commission for a while and Dale heading out on his honeymoon, they’re certainly short-staffed right now.” In truth, Stormcloud had been running on fewer staff than it should for a while now, as Steve had never replaced Karri after she died. It’d be good to have the extra help, and it was a great time for the new stock hand to start, while the station was resting over the wet season. They could learn the ropes and be ready to hit the ground running once the guests returned in February.
“Do you know much about them?” Wazza asked, gaze flicking to where Kee was now talking to Julie, waving her arms around animatedly.
“Only that her name is Indy, and she comes highly recommended. She’s been working on another cattle station up the top end of Western Australia. Bringing two horses and two dogs, and she’s supposedly arriving right after Christmas.”
“Another woman joining the team, huh? I hope she makes it down here before the rains start,” Wazza added. “I’m sure Steve has done his homework on this lady. Here’s hoping she fits in with the team as well as you have.” Wazza raised his lemonade and Mack touched the rim of his glass to Wazza’s, surprised at the other man’s praise.
Mack had never really thought about it before, but now that he did, he could see he had slotted into the Stormcloud crew easily. It wasn’t something that would’ve bothered him before, because he’d only ever thought this would be a temporary stay. The crew had made him more than welcome, but he could see now his skills were also valuable. He picked up where Wazza had left off, where the horse and cattle side of things were concerned. Of course, Dale, as the leading hand was technically his boss, and technically he handled the decisions about how the stock should be run, but now Mack was here, he could take a lot of that day-to-day responsibility from Dale’s shoulders. He still had a lot to learn, but now that he was thinking of staying on indefinitely, that knowledge would become second nature soon enough. And, of course, there was Bindi. Admittedly, she hadn’t always made him feel welcome. At the beginning, she’d been downright antagonistic. And when he thought about it, she’d had every right, because he’d acted like a total ass. But now, she was the one who made him feel most welcome. Who made him want to stay. Forever, if that was believable.
Thinking about Bindi seemed to conjure her. As if by magic, she appeared by his side, looking slightly frazzled and bearing a tray of hors d’oeuvres. Her nose stud sparkled in the sun, as did her eyes, and he thought he’d never seen a more beautiful woman in that particular moment.
“Hi. I see you two have met,” Bindi said, a little out of breath.
“Yes,” Wazza replied. “I needed to check out this guy who’s stolen your heart,” he added candidly, winking at Bindi. “I hope you’re going to look after my girl?” His gaze strayed to Mack.
Mack was a little taken aback at his direct question, but he wasn’t going to shy away from his answer.
“Hey,” Bindi started to protest, slapping Wazza lightly on the shoulder. “That’s enough—”
But Mack jumped in to answer the question. “Yes, sir, I most definitely am,” he replied, sliding a possessive arm around Bindi’s waist, and she leaned into him slightly.
“Good. Because Bindi’s special. I’d hate to see her get hurt.” Wazza slitted his eyes at Mack and Mack met his gaze with his own level stare.
Wazza may well have heard about Mack’s philandering ways, he wouldn’t be surprised if his reputation had preceded him when he first moved to Queensland. Bindi and Wazza had worked closely together and Wazza was looking out for a mate, and Mack understood that. Hell, he was already feeling the same about the crew here at Stormcloud, he’d jump in and defend every single one of them after only a few weeks, and Bindi and Wazza had worked side by side for over three years. But Mack had changed, and it was all because of one woman, and he wanted her to know that. He was no longer scared of commitment, and he meant to show it.
“I promise, I won’t hurt her,” Mack replied levelly. It was the truth. Bindi meant more to him than… Hell, she meant more to him than bull-riding, more than regaining his reputation as the golden boy of the circuit. She meant everything. They still had a lot to work out, but he knew now he’d be sticking around for as long as she’d have him.
“That’s good enough for me.” Wazza clinked his glass against Mack’s once more, giving Mack his stamp of approval, and they both drank.
“Hey, I’m right here,” Bindi complained, bumping her hip against Mack’s shoulder, while both men smirked at her. She might not understand exactly what’d just transpired, but Mack did. And so did Wazza. Now he just needed to convince Bindi.
