steadiness. He might not be as muscular as Ryan, but his tall, thin build concealed an inner strength she appreciated. “I don’t know what Dad would have done without you.”
“Running Diamond Downs is good therapy,” Cade said, making her wonder why he needed such a thing. “It doesn’t leave much time for anything else.”
Didn’t she know it. Before Cade came home, her flying business had suffered as she’d tried to hold everything together in her father’s stead. Her brain refused to deal with the possibility that he might not make it. Logic told her she would have to lose him someday, but not now. She wasn’t prepared.
“Ryan, what are you doing here?”
Hearing the feminine voice, Judy’s hackles went up instinctively. She turned to see a woman only a little younger than herself planting a kiss on Ryan’s cheek. The woman’s hair looked as if she’d combed it with her fingers and the skin beneath her eyes was smudged with violet, but she still managed to look glamorous. And familiar for some reason.
Before Judy could place her, Ryan took the woman’s hand and tugged her into their group. “Judy Logan and Cade Thatcher, this is Heather Wilton, one of my favorite women in the world.”
The woman extended her free hand and Judy shook it automatically. “Hi Judy, Cade. I’ve heard a lot about your family from Ryan,” Heather said.
Her voice was low and sexy. Beautiful in an interesting sort of way, she had fluffy blond hair, huge blue eyes beneath winged eyebrows, and indecently full, roseate lips. Judy saw a keen intelligence in Heather’s gaze and tried not to feel envious of the way she made a watermelon-colored tank and denim shorts look like high fashion.
Judy didn’t recall seeing Heather around Halls Creek or on any of her regular aerial routes. “Why do I feel as if I know you from somewhere?”
“Heather used to present the weather reports on Perth television. You might have seen her there,” Ryan said, sounding proud of the woman’s accomplishments.
“But I live at Citronne now,” Heather supplied quickly.
Judy felt her eyebrows lift. “The cattle station near the edge of Lake Argyle? That’s a long way from Perth TV.”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. Moving up there was a huge culture shock but I love it.”
“Did your work bring you to the Kimberley?” Cade asked.
Heather beamed a secretive smile at Ryan. “It was nothing less than true love.”
Judy felt ill. They were supposed to be worrying about her father, not rehashing Ryan’s love life. It didn’t seem to matter that mere moments before, she’d resolved to let him be love-struck on his own. She didn’t like to think meeting one of his old flames—current flames?—had changed anything.
“Shouldn’t we see how Dad’s doing?” she asked pointedly.
Ryan gave her an amused look that said he knew exactly what she was thinking. But all he said was, “I’ll see what I can find out.” He moved purposefully toward a nurses’ station.
“I gather your father is the patient,” Heather said. “Is he going to be all right?”
“We hope so.” Judy felt her stomach clench with nerves as she fought to stop herself imagining anything else. Briefly she explained the situation to Heather, who nodded in sympathy. “What brings you here?” Judy asked in turn.
Heather nibbled on her lower lip. “I escorted a group of children from our area to Halls Creek as a reward for doing so well at school. But my son Daniel had a bad asthma attack this morning and had to be rushed here.”
“I hope your son will be all right, too,” Judy said, ashamed of being tempted to jump to yet another conclusion. She’d already been wrong about Ryan on several counts. No need to add any more to the list.
Heather smiled wanly. “The doctor says he’s over the worst for the moment. They’re keeping him in the hospital for another day as a precaution.”
“Better to be safe than sorry,” Judy murmured. “Who’s minding the children while you’re here?”
“Luckily I’m mainly the escort. Our host is one of the former teachers from the local school, Tracey Blair. She has a house in town with plenty of spare room, so she invited the children to stay for a few days. She’s well-known to their parents, and the kids jumped at the chance to stay with her. I was happy to accompany them, and enjoy a change of scene for Daniel and myself.”
Judy’s smile broadened. “Tracey’s an old friend. You should ask her to call my foster brother, Blake. He runs a crocodile park near Halls Creek and would love to show the children around while they’re with her.”
“I’ll be sure to pass on the suggestion. The kids are used to seeing crocodiles in the waterways at home, so it would be good for them to learn more about them from an expert.”
Judy was scribbling Blake’s telephone number on a piece of paper for Heather when Ryan came back. A moment later his smile registered. “Des is fine. The heart attack was a false alarm, according to his doctor,” he assured her.
She felt her knees turn to jelly. “What about the pain and shortness of breath?”
His arm came under her elbow as if he sensed her need for support. “Brought on by stress, they tell me. The tests show it wasn’t a heart attack at all, so he won’t need to be airlifted out.”
“Thank God.” Cade’s heartfelt statement echoed her feelings. “When can he come home?”
“Not tonight. He’s sleeping. After this, they’re going to advise him to stay in town to be closer to medical help.”
Judy looked at the phone number she’d just written down. “Dad could move into Blake’s house at the crocodile park. Even if he’s called away to take care of a problem crocodile, there’s always someone at the park to keep an eye on things.”
“And Blake’s house is a lot closer to town than Diamond Downs,” Ryan agreed, adding, “Although I don’t fancy having to convince Des of the necessity.”
“Blake will pen him up with the crocs if that’s what it takes,” she said grimly. “And we’ll back him up.”
Heather smiled. “Must be nice having a large family to share responsibilities at such a time.”
Judy handed her the phone number and clasped her fingers around Heather’s in silent support. “Don’t you have family?”
“I come from Tasmania originally, so all my family is there. Not that there were many of us to begin with. Jeff doesn’t have anyone other than Daniel and me.”
Judy knew her tone reflected her confusion. “Jeff?”
“My husband. He hired Ryan to help us resolve a fraud case a couple of years ago. One of our workers claimed to have been injured at work and was suing us for a fortune, when he’d actually been drunk at the time of the injury, and was nowhere near as badly hurt as he tried to claim. The case was decided in our favor, thanks to Ryan’s evidence. We’re in his debt.”
So much for conclusions, Judy thought. Ryan was right, she would have to stop jumping to them where he was concerned.
Cade gave Ryan a curious look. “Sounds as if you get up to a lot more than jackerooing.”
He made a gesture of demurral. “I was only helping out a friend.”
Cade looked unconvinced, but accepted the explanation at face value. “Suit yourself.” He stood up. “Since there’s no point in me hanging around here any longer, I’ll head to Diamond Downs and come back to see Des in the morning. Are you okay for a ride, Jude?”
She wavered. How easy it would be to return to the homestead in Cade’s uncomplicated company. But she had to deal with what was between her