Stockman’s Stormcloud (Stockmen #3)

Twenty-three

Twenty- three

‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Ryder’s deep voice hammered hard over the dusty sunburnt soil like a gunshot blast. He stood with hands on hips, with Dex’s younger brothers, Ash and Cap gathered in the shade of the tall, railed area.

To Sophie, it looked like a rodeo ring, but Dex told her it was the drafting yards, a place where they sorted out the cattle.

Dex closed Sophie’s car door and with a determined stride, in a set of jeans that blessed that man’s body, he approached his brothers. ‘I designed that cradle and I want to see it working. Don’t worry, I brought the nurse with me.’

The way Ryder glared at her with such open hostility, Sophie meekly shrugged, hiding her camera behind her back.

With Mr Purrington happily napping on the couch back at the cottage, Dex had given her a chance to take photos of cattle. Up close. So, of course, she wouldn’t say no.

‘Sophie won’t be a bother, she’ll just be taking photos. It’s her thing.’ Dex even gave her an encouraging smile. ‘Just stay this side of the fence and you’ll be fine, Sophie.’

Even though she was keen to take photos, she hesitated because of that evil-eyed glare she’d copped from Ryder. That man was a bully, just like Bree. They’d make the perfect bossy couple, if they didn’t hate each other.

As an outsider, Sophie could see both sides of this story. Bree and Charlie had pinched a herd of cattle that they’d hidden from the old owner’s son when the property went up for sale. Twice. One herd at Wombat Flats, the other in the Scary Forest. So, they had the skills.

But she’d just heard the redhead’s side to know Bree hadn’t been home to steal the eighty head of cattle.

But to be fair to Ryder, Bree could have simply answered him and not been so annoyingly secretive as if playing some game.

But there was a secret—a big one—that Bree and Dex shared, and that’s what irritated Sophie more. Even if it shouldn’t. She wasn’t Dex’s girlfriend, she was his nurse.

‘You should be resting, bro,’ said Ash.

‘I’m staying.’ Dex scowled at Ryder. ‘And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, that BS you pulled on Bree earlier was so wrong on so many levels.’

And there he goes, defending Bree again. Sophie just didn’t understand what made Bree so special.

Yet, Sophie was better than this, she never got jealous over anyone, and she certainly didn’t think such horrid things about another woman. It was so unlike her to be like this. Bree wasn’t her enemy. Bree was nothing to Sophie, yet it felt like Bree was everything standing in the way of what she wanted, which was Dex.

It was so, so, wrong.

She wanted to slap some sense into herself over her own foolishness. Especially when everyone at the hospital had said Bree and Charlie were nice people. She could see that in Charlie, yet she struggled to see it in Bree, who’d only been mean to poor Dex, especially while he was ill.

‘Did you find out where Bree was last night?’ Ash asked.

‘Bree can give us a stack of names as an alibi. One of them is the Station Hand, who we all know, as well as the local fire chief.’ Dex crossed his arms over his chest, only to stop because of his sore rib that seemed to burr up his anger. ‘But Bree is ticked off. Big-time. I’ve never seen her like this. It’s an eerie anger, that if aimed at me, I’d be watching my back because I know how cunning that woman is.’

‘So do I. It’s why I had to ask,’ Ryder growled, his anger flaring up again. And Ryder was scarier than Dex.

‘Yeah, well, because of what you did, Bree’s got Charlie moving the Razorback—that Charlie has owned since the 80s—and she’s taking Pandora back to their shed. It wouldn’t surprise me if they move out.’

Sophie stopped herself from shrugging at that point. Bree had clearly pointed out to Charlie that they didn’t own the property, they were just tenants. And tenants moved house. Having moved herself to play tenant, she got that bit.

Ash shook his head with Cap frowning at Ryder. ‘We can’t let that happen,’ said Cap. ‘Charlie and Bree are good people. Bree’s done a lot for me and Mia. You need to apologise to Bree.’

‘Dammit.’ Ryder tore off his hat and slapped it against his thigh. ‘Where are they now?’

‘Gone off in the Razorback,’ replied Dex.

‘To where?’ Ryder asked bluntly. ‘It is still our property. We have the right to know where they are going and what they’re doing on our land.’

Sophie agreed.

‘They’ve gone to check out the crime scene that Charlie calls Drinkastubbie Downs.’

‘They won’t find anything. The police found nothing, and neither did we, other than Ash’s cattle tags.’

‘You need to make this right, Ryder. Bree and Charlie have done a lot for me. Look at what Bree has done for Cap and his kennels, and the dogbox.’

Oh, that didn’t sound like a nice place to the cat-loving Sophie. Was her cat safe back in the cottage?

‘Bree was there to help out when Mason came here,’ continued Dex. ‘In fact, Bree has helped us all out at one stage or another.’

Sheesh, was Bree a saint or something? Sophie still couldn’t see the big deal. Not when Bree was so bossy and mean to Dex.

‘We all know Bree would never have stolen the cattle. Not from us.’ Dex stabbed at his chest and didn’t even wince.

‘So where were you last night with Bree?’ Ryder asked, crossing his big arms over his chest.

Dex paused to peer over his shoulder at Sophie.

She quickly pretended to focus her camera lens on a wildflower poking out of the red rubble beside the fencing rails. But her ears were wide open, desperate to learn more.

‘You said Bree was with you,’ said Ryder. ‘Until when?’

‘Two.’

That spike of envy was like a fire lashing up her spine. What was Dex doing with Bree until two in the morning?

But it also concerned her that Dex had only had a few hours’ sleep. The silly man was meant to be recovering, it wasn’t healthy.

‘You weren’t on the couch in the cottage that whole time, were you?’ demanded Ryder.

‘No. We were hanging at the shed, where Bree spoke about doing a makeover on this old tack room for you .’ Dex poked in the direction of Ryder’s chest. ‘You need to make this right.’

Ryder scowled as another vehicle approached, creating a plume of red dust into the air. ‘Can we forget about the caretakers and get back to work? We’re paying that vet by the hour, just like I’m paying your nurse.’

Sophie slow blinked at Ryder, as if she’d been busted for stealing cookies from the kitchen and had lost her ability to speak.

‘Sophie is off the clock.’

‘So why is she here, then?’

‘She’s here because I want her here.’ Dex’s voice echoed across the railed yards. Loud and clear.

Sophie could hardly breathe from the look Dex gave her that made it seem so real. He wanted her, the same way she wanted him. When, honestly, she was just babysitting his oxygen tanks.