Page 15 of Outback Skies


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Suddenly, Digger jumped on them both, licking and whining, as if he wanted to be involved in the fun. Indy spluttered and pushed the wriggling dog away.

“Digger, get down, boy,” she said with a laugh. Smiling, she looked up at Finn and licked her lips, leaning in to continue where they’d left off. All of a sudden, the smile fled from her face.

“Oh, shit.” She withdrew sharply. “I just remembered you’re married. Fuck, I just kissed another married man.” Indy got to her feet in a flurry of dust, the dogs bounding around her legs. “I can’t believe I was that stupid.”

“Wait.” Finn was on his feet now, too. Oh, crap, why hadn’t he seen this coming? “It’s not what you think.”

“You told me before that you were married,” Indy said, bending down to pick up her hat and placing it forcibly on her head. “Is that true?” Her cheeks were still flushed pink from their kiss, her eyes still puffy from crying.

“That was part of my undercover persona,” he told her, a tad desperately.

“So, you’re not married, then?” Indy’s face was a mask of confusion.

Finn’s chest grew tight, and he dragged in a deep breath to try and ease the tension. “It’s…complicated.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means…it’s complicated.” He wished now they’d had this conversation before he’d been stupid enough to kiss her. Of course, he should’ve expected this kind of reaction from her.After she’d been fucked over by another married man. This was the worst thing he could’ve done to her.

“Are you married, or not? And I mean in real life. Not in your stupid make-believe life.” She was breathing hard, and her dark hair had come loose to fall about her face. Eyes flashing with anger, she was perhaps even more beautiful now.

He raised his head to look her straight in the eye. She deserved the truth. “Yes. I’m married.”

CHAPTER SIX

MARRIED. THE BASTARD was married. And she’d let him kiss her. Had enjoyed him kissing her. Had wanted to do more than kiss him. She was still seething, even though she should be concentrating on moving the cattle. Reining Gypsy around to the right, she heeled her into a fast jog, sending Digger out in a wide arc, just to make sure there were no cattle hiding in the acacia thicket over to the left. It was good to be back at work. At least, it gave her wayward mind something else to concentrate on. Thankfully, Nash had said there was no reason they couldn’t continue with the muster. They’d impounded Wombat’s truck and searched the site where it was parked, and the perimeter of the campsite thoroughly. Now, it seemed they were leaving it up to the forensics guys. Which was a little surprising, but Indy knew nothing of police procedure, so she assumed they’d come back to them if they had any more questions.

Aaron had arrived in the little helicopter just as the sun touched the sky this morning, his brow still pinched with worry over the ongoing investigation. But when he’d seen that everything had pretty much gone back to normal, he’d relaxed a little. He’d done a good job of leading the muster crew to the mob to be gathered up today, then circling and harrying the bush cattle into a large group, and now they were just collecting up the stragglers before they took them all back to camp. But her mind kept going back to her conversation with Finn at the top of the hill yesterday evening, working over the memories as if they were a sore tooth.

Finn had tried to talk to her twice after their…argument, if she could call it that, on the hill. Once last night, he’d caught her elbow as she made her way from the fire to her tent for the night and asked if he could explain. She’d shaken him off with an angry yank of her arm, telling him she had all the facts she needed to know, thank you very much. Her growled exclamation that she would call for help if he didn’t leave her alone was enough to send him away with a grimace. Then again, this morning, he’d cornered her in the saddling yard, pleading for her to hear him out. Luckily, Rosie had walked in carrying her saddle, and Indy had been saved from giving an answer.

He clearly had more to say on the subject, but Indy was too angry to hear his pathetic excuses. Even when he turned those bright-blue eyes flecked with green, that reminded her of the aqua-colored water of a tropical island, in her direction. So blue, she almost forgot what she was thinking as she tried to decide where the green flecks ended and the electric blue started.

After he’d admitted that he was married in real life, Indy had jumped onto Gypsy’s back and ridden down the hill at speed, letting him follow as he liked. All she could think was how stupid could one woman be to get involved withanothermarried man. She thought she’d learned her lesson after Patrick. Shehadlearned her lesson. Which was why she was steering well clear of Finn Stevenson, or whatever his bloody name was.

Indy couldn’t believe she’d told Finn all her problems with Patrick. It was like he’d had the key that unlocked a set of floodgates holding it all back. At least she still had one secret that not even he knew. She’d managed to keep that little gem under wraps. Thank God. What would Finn think of her, if he knew she’d been pregnant with Patrick’s child? Indy’s hand came up unconsciously to cover her belly.

The look on Patrick’s face when she’d told him that she was carrying his baby remained seared into her brain. One ofdistaste and indignation. It was gone in a flash, but she’d still seen it. Afterwards, he’d been solicitous and fawning, telling her they needed to look at all their options before they made any decisions. Although he’d never said the words, she knew he thought she’d done it on purpose to trap him. But nothing had been further from the truth. In her heart of hearts, she’d known it was time to move on from Mountvey, but then she’d missed her period and she’d been so scared, so unsure of what to do. She must’ve only been three or four weeks along, but pregnancy tests were getting more and more sensitive, and this one hadn’t lied. After seeing Patrick’s expression when she’d finally found the courage to tell him, Indy had made a vow that she’d raise her baby on her own. If Patrick didn’t want them, then she’d take her child far away, and they’d live happily together, just the two of them.

Because it would be just the two of them. Indy had no family left. Both her parents were dead. She’d been an only child, spawned in a desperate attempt by her mother to keep her marriage together. It’d worked, because her father had stuck around, but her parents never tried for any more children. Then her father had died in a mining accident at work while she was only nine, and what had been left of her mother’s love dried up and blew away with her husband’s ashes. They’d never really had much of a mother-daughter relationship, but after her father’s death it was as if Indy were a ghost in her own home, her mother barely noticed her, no matter what Indy did or said. Indy had left home at sixteen, taking a job as an apprentice jillaroo on a northern cattle station—as far away from home, and her mother, as she could possibly get—and never looked back. Two years later, Indy’s mother died from an unexpected brain aneurysm and that was that. Indy had never known a true family, and she thought maybe this pregnancy would help her fix that gaping hole in her life.

So, when she’d lost the baby two weeks later, it felt like her whole world had come crashing down. It hadn’t been much worse than a really heavy period, with severe cramps, but she knew. Even though she’d only been six weeks pregnant—some women may not have even realized they were carrying a baby at that stage—she’d felt the loss of something so precious. But at least one good thing had come from the miscarriage. She’d finally been released from her stupid fantasy that Patrick would change. That he’d learn to love her and their child. That he’d leave his wife and marry her, instead. What a delusion she’d lived under for so many months. Her gut churned at the idea she’d been so moronic.

She’d fled Mountvey with her horses and her dogs. Blackmailing Patrick into giving her a glowing reference—which she knew she deserved, but didn’t trust him to give otherwise—so she could gain the coveted job at Stormcloud.

The buzz of a motorcycle engine caught her attention, and she lifted her head to see Finn with a trail of dust rising behind him on the tail of a young heifer that was heading away from the mob and onto the open plain. She should go and help him. Gathering up her reins, she hesitated. From over to her left, Dave charged after Finn on his rangy pinto gelding, Amigo. She offered a silent thank you to the powers that be. She knew she shouldn’t let this thing between them affect her work, but she still wasn’t ready to face Finn.

Digger returned, and with a happy bark reported that there were no cattle hiding in the acacia thicket. Barbie, who’d been on Gypsy’s heels all along, hopped up onto the horse’s withers for a rest, and Digger followed suit, crouching behind the saddle on Gypsy’s hindquarters. Indy had trained her horse to put up with her dogs clambering all over her, and they had a good animal friendship going on. She hoped Skylar and Steve were taking good care of Beethoven back at the lodge. She missed herchestnut gelding, but she’d make sure to give him lots of love when she returned to the station. Steve had promised to ride him occasionally, when he took out a group of guests on a day tour. Indy trusted Steve implicitly to be gentle with her beloved horse.

She turned Gypsy back toward the flank of the large mob, helping to push them along at a slow pace, not hurrying them or stressing the animals, as some farmers might.

Scanner came up behind her on his ATV, careful not to get too close to her horse. “Dale says to tell you we’ll keep pushing this mob for home and have a late lunch once we get there. Okay?”

Indy gave him a thumbs-up, and he roared off in a cloud of dust farther up the flank, staying well clear of the meandering cattle. Scanner could have just radioed her the information, but he was a man who liked to keep mobile, and it looked like he was off to give his daughter, Maddie, the same news.

It made sense. They were so close to camp now. It’d be silly to stop for lunch and then have to get the mob moving again. But her stomach rumbled in protest; it’d been a long time since smoko. She wouldn’t be the only one eager to bring this mob in and get something to eat. Getting the mob in early would mean they’d have time to do some sorting, branding, worming and ear tagging this afternoon. Dale would normally stay behind in camp with either Mack or one of the other guys to give him a hand, while the rest of them brought in another mob. This time, they could all help out, and get the job done in half the time.

Indy’s gaze fell on Finn again as he and Dave chased the runaway bull into the back of the mob. The sad part was, she’d spilled her guts to Finn, but she hardly knew anything about him. She hadn’t given him a chance to tell her anything about his life, because she’d been too busy moaning about her own. Now that she knew he was an undercover cop, shewanted to understand more about him. Why had he chosen this profession? What was it like to work undercover? Was it dangerous? And why was his marriage so complicated?

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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