AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We visited Ireland twice after we were married, and Chloe went back once on her own. Then she got pregnant, and she became…” How did Finn explain this? “She really started to miss her home.” It hurt that she still called Ireland home. “She never really accepted Australia. And after Kayleigh was born, all she wanted was her mother to help her out with the baby.” Finn believed Chloe had undiagnosed post-natal depression, but she put it down to homesickness, and maybe the two things were interwoven.
“Wait a second.” Indy kicked Gypsy into a trot and rode a wide arc out to the right, to head off two heifers who had wandered too far from the main group. Barbie and Digger were still quietly doing the jobs they’d been bred to do at the rear of the mob, tongues hanging out, their faces bright with happiness. A few minutes later, she was back by his side and he picked up where he’d left off.
“Chloe’s mother came to Sydney after Kayleigh’s birth, and she stayed for over four months. But she couldn’t stay forever, and eventually, she had to go back to Ireland.” Finn remembered the months after Chloe’s mother had left. Chloe had slowly withdrawn into herself. She cared for Kayleigh, but it seemed their daughter was the only thing keeping her anchored to this world. Their relationship deteriorated. Finn tried hard to understand how she was feeling. But he also spent long hours at work, building up a fledgling career, heading toward becoming a detective.
“It sounds like your wife wasn’t coping too well.” Indy gave him a sympathetic glance.
“No, she wasn’t,” he agreed. “She begged me to let her go back to Ireland for six months, just while Kayleigh was still young, so she could have her family’s support.” Finn remembered the night he’d finally given into Chloe’s request. She’d been hysterical, screaming that she was a bad mother and a bad wife, and the world would be better off without her. It was at that moment he’d finally understood the depth of her depression. He’d had no choice. Chloe was on an airplane two days later, with their nine-month-old daughter bundled in front of her.
“I let her go. We both thought it would be for a few months, no more.” But Chloe never came home. The excuses kept coming, until she ran out of excuses and begged him to move to Ireland, instead.
“I’m guessing she stayed.” Indy’s voice was so quiet, Finn hardly heard her over the bawling cattle.
“Yes. I flew over two years ago, so we could try to work it out. But…” He shrugged. He loved his daughter like nothing else, but his life was in Australia. And for Chloe and his daughter, it seemed like their life was in Ireland. It was a twisted mess, one that Finn couldn’t see a clear path out of.
“I haven’t been back since.”
Indy gasped. “You mean you haven’t seen your daughter for two years?” she asked, dismay etched into her dark eyes.
“No,” he didn’t try and keep the sadness out of his voice. “I talk to her over the phone, and over Skype. And Chloe sends me pictures, of course.”
“Oh, Finn, I’m so sorry.” Indy looked like she might lean down from her saddle to touch his shoulder, but the crackle of the two-way radio broke their preoccupation.
“Hey, you two, stop jawboning and get those cattle over there.” It was Mack, calling them on the UHF from his position up at point.
“Shit,” Indy hissed, and she and Gypsy were off like a rocket after a group of four young bulls, trying to make a break for it.
“Shit.” Finn echoed her sentiment, because he hadn’t got to tell her the most important part. That Chloe had filed for divorce three months ago. The papers were still sitting on his desk at home, waiting to be signed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
INDY STARED AT her phone, willing the messages from Patrick to disappear. No such luck. They stared back at her, his words swirling together to form a tangle of black and white on her screen. She hadn’t replied to any of them. The other night, up on the hill, she’d been too distraught, and other complications, such as the nighttime police search, had kept her preoccupied for the past few days. She sighed and glanced over at the main camp, where people were beginning to assemble, ready to relax after their long day in the saddle. Dinner was probably still an hour away, but Bindi had some cheese and crackers out for a snack. Indy had walked over to stand beside the little van Bindi used to cook in so she could examine her phone and think about what she wanted to say to Patrick.
What she should do, was ride back up that hill right now and fire off a message to Patrick to tell him it was well and truly over, and to leave her the hell alone. That she didn’t care if Sheila had left him, and he deserved to be alone and lonely. But it all felt too hard. She knew she would never go back to him. But…
She needed to think about something else for a while, before she let that prick overwhelm her thoughts.
The second thing top of her mind right now was Finn’s revelations about his wife and daughter, and that was just as much of a convoluted mess as her own life seemed to be.
He had a child. A little daughter. And she was so cute. When he’d showed her that picture, the knowledge had hit like a punch to the solar plexus. Why were all men so full of treachery?Not only was he married, but he had a kid. A responsibility. It complicated things even more. At least Patrick didn’t have any children. All Indy had wanted to do when she’d seen that photo was to ride away from Finn and never look at him again. Not let the pain of his betrayal show on her face.
But then Finn had opened up about his marriage to Chloe. How they’d lived separate lives for nearly three years. It didn’t sound like Chloe was coming back to Australia. And Finn had said his life was here. So where exactly did that leave their marriage? She didn’t think Finn knew the answer to that. She was glad she’d listened, and glad she knew the truth now. But it didn’t help disentangle her feelings for him. In fact, it just made them worse. She liked Finn. She had to admit she was deeply attracted to him. But neither of those reasons was good enough to get involved with a man and his complicated life. If she even wanted to get involved with another man. After her ordeal with Patrick, she needed something simple and carefree. The exact opposite to Finn Stevenson. Or should she call him Griff Carmody? Even knowing what to call him was confusing.
A couple of crows landed in the branches above her, cawing loudly, as if having an argument. Indy sighed and tried to ignore them. Even though Dale was vigilant about keeping this camp’s garbage well sealed, the black birds had seemed to grow in numbers over the past few days.
She turned her phone over in her hands and tried to decide if right now was a good time to ride up the hill and end this thing with Patrick. She had the time before dinner. She should just do it. Get it over with.
The cawing from the group above her became louder and so annoying she looked up. Some sort of crow dispute was going on up there. She could see half a dozen of them now, as she squinted into the tree, hopping from branch to branch. They all seemed tobe chasing one particular crow, who had something in its beak. And they all wanted a part of whatever the first crow had.
Anger and frustration got the better of her. All she wanted was a few peaceful minutes to mull over her problems, and these birds wouldn’t leave her alone. Indy bent down and picked up a small stone.
Throwing it high into the branches, she yelled, “Scram!”
The birds flew up in a cacophony of angry cries. But as they went, something dropped to the ground at Indy’s feet.
She took a step backward. “Ew.” What was that? Bending down to get a closer look, she recoiled in shock. Oh, shit. Was that really what she thought it was?
“Finn, Dale, get over here. Now!” she called. Not letting her gaze leave the thing lying in the dust, she called out again. “Finn. Anybody? Come and look at this.” Her voice rose to a tremulous squeak.
