They spent the next morning on a ride, and in the afternoon Grace gave him a demonstration of the muster dogs in action with the station’s training herd—a herd established especially for that purpose. He found it fascinating. He found her fascinating.
The following day she took him to the station’s home farm to milk a cow. Afterwards they gathered fresh eggs along with fresh herbs and vegetables, and she made him the best omelette he’d ever eaten. They went for a ride in the late afternoon and watched the sun paint the sky orange as it set.
Today she took him fishing on the river. Majestic red gums rose up around them in the clearing, and more weight lifted from his shoulders. Tom had been right; this was exactly what he’d needed—a break from the grinding routine he’d fallen into. In removing himself from the treadmill, he’d started to see that there was more to life than work. He didn’t have to be a workaholic. He could find a better balance for his life, couldn’t he?
In front of them, the river flowed, parrots screeched in the red gum to the left, and a mob of red kangaroos bounced into view to graze on the other side of the river. His jaw dropped. He glanced at Grace who laughed at whatever she saw in his face. ‘The Kimberley is really turning it on for you today. It’s pretty special at this time of the year, isn’t it?’
All he could do was nod. She was pretty special herself. If only—
He cut the thought dead.
They sat on camp chairs with a cooler of drinks and snacks resting between them and fished with nothing but the sounds of the river, birdsong and cicadas on the air. He caught a fish! Grace grinned so hard when he reeled it in, her delight so contagious, it was all he could do not to reach across and kiss her.
They cooked their fish over a campfire and he couldn’t remember anything tasting so good. ‘This has been great, Grace.’
She reached across and plucked a grape from the lunchbox resting between them. ‘It’s been a treat for me too.’
She blinked as if the admission surprised her. And that too had more of his clenched-fist tension melting away. ‘Which is why you’ll be brilliant at this job.’
She blinked. Her shoulders went back. ‘Thank you.’
‘This—’ he gestured around ‘—is exactly what the doctor ordered.’
‘With everything you’ve had going on back home, that’s hardly a surprise. You probably needed this.’
He raised an eyebrow. She hesitated. ‘I mean everything with the divorce. It must’ve been tough. I’m sorry you had to go through that.’
The wheels in his mind started turning. If he wanted his curiosity about her satisfied then maybe he needed to share more about his life. He might not want to open up to the media, but he found himself wanting to open up to Grace. He didn’t know if that should worry him or not. But she hadn’t told him yet why she was here at Kings Reach and he wanted to know.
‘Dana and I should never have married. She married me for my money while I…’
‘While you?’
She leaned towards him, and he knew he had her full attention. ‘While I married her for her family.'
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