Grant spoke through the headphones, a deep frown of concern between his eyes.
“Aye, aye, skipper!” She lifted her right hand in a parody of a smart salute. Did he really think she was going to go to pieces like the ladies of old? Have the vapours? She had pioneering blood in her veins as well. Her maternal ancestor had been Ewan Kinross, a legendary cattle king. The fact that she had been reared in the ordered calm of the beautiful English countryside and her exclusive boarding school didn’t mean she hadn’t inherited the capacity to face a far more dangerous way of life. Besides it was as she’d told him. She had a cast iron stomach and she was too excited for nerves. She wanted to learn this way of life. She wanted to learn all about Grant Cameron’s life.
They searched until it got to the point when they had to turn back. When they landed Brod was waiting for them in the brief mauve dusk that in moments would turn to a darkness that was literally pitch black.
“No luck?” Brod asked as Grant jumped out onto the grass turning to catch Francesca by the waist and swing her down like the featherweight she was.
“If Curly doesn’t turn up on Bunnerong first thing in the morning we’re looking at another search. Bob report in?”
“No news. Nothing.” Brod shook his head. “You’ll stay the night.” It wasn’t a question but a statement of fact. “Better you’re here anyway. We’re closer to Bunnerong if there’s any need of a search. I expect your man is boiling the billy now moaning his radio is out of order.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Grant responded to Brod’s good spirits. “It’s Francesca here who’s the real surprise.”
“How so?” Brod turned to smile down on his English cousin, as dark with his raven hair and tanned skin as Grant was tawny gold.
“I think he thought I was going to go into a panic when we hit some thermals,” Francesca explained lightly, striking Grant’s arm in reproach.
“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did,” he answered with a faintly teasing smile, enjoying fending her off. “I’ve always said you’re much more than a pretty face.” A ravishingly pretty face.
“It would take a lot to put Fran in a tizzy,” Brod said with affection. “We’ve learnt over the years this little piece of English china has plenty of spunk.”
Up at the homestead Rebecca smilingly allotted him a guest room overlooking the rear of the house. The meandering creek that ran near and encircled the home compound revealed itself in a silver line as the moon turned on its radiance. Brod walked in a few minutes later with a pile of clean, soap-smelling clothes from his own wardrobe.
“Here, these should fit,” he announced, placing the clothes neatly on the bed, a blue-and-white striped cotton shirt on top, cotton beige trousers and underwear that hadn’t even come out of its packet by the look of it. Both men were much the same height a few inches over six feet with the lean, powerful physique of the super active.
“Am I glad of them. Thanks a lot,” Grant answered, turning away from his own speculation of the night to smile at his brother’s best friend. With Rafe and Brod those few years older he’d always been the one trying to catch up, trying to catch them, trying to emulate their achievements, academically and on the sports field. All in all he hadn’t done too badly.
“No problem.” There was an answering smile in Brod’s eyes. “You’ve saved me dozens of times. I’m for a long, hot shower. I expect you are, too. It’s been a thoroughly tiring day.” He started to move off then stopped briefly at the door. “By the way I don’t think I thanked you properly for doing such a great job,” he said with evident approval. “It’s not just the way you handle the chopper, which is brilliant, you’re a cattleman as well. The combination makes you extraordinarily good.”
“Thanks, mate.” Grant grinned. “I aim to offer the very best service. And it doesn’t come cheap as you’re due to find out. What time are we off in the morning always supposing Curly gets a message through he’s okay?”
Brod frowned, answering a little vaguely for him. “Not as early as today, that’s for sure. The men have their orders. They’ll have plenty to do. We’ll wait and see what the morning brings. I know bush logic tells us Curly has landed safely, but I’d like to stick around until we’re sure.”
“I appreciate that, Brod.” Grant accepted his friend’s support. “A land search in such a huge area would be out of the question. It will take aircraft to find him if he’s in any kind of trouble.”
“Not that it’s odd having problems with the radio,” Brod echoed Grant’s own previous words, obviously trying to offer reassurance mixed in with the voice of long experience. Brod’s expression brightened. “Now, what about a barbeque? I feel like eating outdoors tonight and it gives me the opportunity to show off. I cook a great steak if I say so myself. We can throw in a few roast potatoes. The girls can whip up a salad. What more could a man want?”
Grant smiled broadly. “Go for it! I’m hungry enough to eat the best steak Kimbara can offer.”
“You’re going to get it,” Brod assured him.
A long, hot shower was a wonderful luxury after the heat and uproar of the day. The bellowing of the cattle as they were herded into doing what they clearly didn’t want to do; leave the familiar surroundings of the scrub was still in his ears. More of the same tomorrow. And the day after. But he planned on getting right out of fieldwork. He wanted to concentrate on expanding the business. He’d go on building up the fleet and the team but his mind was firmly on extending the range of services.
With time on his hands and glad of the company of such good friends, he used some of the shampoo he found in the cupboard beneath the basin. Kinross sure knew how to look after its guests, he thought with wry admiration. There was an impressive array of stuff to make a guest feel good. Fancy soaps, bath gels, shower gels, body lotion, talc, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair dryer, electric shaver. Lots of good, big absorbent towels. Man-size. Brilliant!
He stepped out of the shower and wrapped one around himself, feeling the exhaustions of the day slip away. His hair needed cutting as usual. Barbers weren’t all that easy to come by in the desert. He shook his wet, darkened hair like a seal deciding he’d better use the dryer if he wanted to look presentable.
Which he did. He was intensely aware of his attraction to Francesca, her marvellous drawing power though he knew how ill advised it was. The Camerons and the Kinrosses had always lived like desert lords but their world was beyond “civilisation” as Lady Francesca de Lyle knew it. No question the call of the outback had reached her. After all she had an Australian mother born in this very house but Francesca was on holiday, taking the rose-coloured holiday view. It was impossible for her to realise the day-to-day isolation, the terrible battles that were fought against drought, flood and heat, accident, tragic deaths. Men could bear the loneliness, the struggles and frustrations, the crushing workload. He knew in his heart an English rose like Francesca would find it all unbearable no matter how adaptable she claimed she was. She simply had no experience of the bush and the hazards it presented.
Grant threw down the hair dryer, thinking he shouldn’t have used it. It made his hair look positively wild. He turned to dressing, pulling out the belt of his uniform to thread it through the cotton trousers. No difficulty with sizing. The fit was perfect. If only he were certain Curly was safe and sound he could really look forward to enjoying this evening.
It had been lonely at home with Rafe away on honeymoon. He was looking forward to a letter from them or maybe another phone call. Ally had been so full of their stay in New York. She adored it. The excitement she felt as she “hit the sidewalk” the “thrum” of the place more electric than any other city on earth. “And we’ve got you some wonderful presents,” she’d added. “Really special!” That was Ally and she had the money.
The Camerons had never kept pace with the Kinrosses in the generation of great wealth, though Opal was an industry leader and Rafe was dead set on expansion, building up a chain, just as he, himself, was