Stockman’s Stormcloud (Stockmen #3)

Thirty-one

Sophie sipped on her coffee, leaning against the dividing bench in Dex’s kitchen. She didn’t mind the sleepovers here, and the cat loved it, taking ownership of the couch, where Dex had left the TV on just for the cat. Spoiled much.

Most of all, Dex had given her the task of finding a picture to replace Bree’s yellow Kombi, plastered all over Dex’s wall.

He’d even pay her, as a real photographer. Her.

That sent her taking photo after photo. But nothing worked. She needed something that captured who Dex was, with his amazing raw strength, and his fight for survival with that element of danger that was so sexy about him.

Dex had fully recovered. And for the last five days he was running in the mornings, then working out in his carport gym, getting all hot and sweaty. It was worth the watch when she’d come visit after working the night shift.

She licked her lips, remembering the feel of his skin that was like smooth warm marble under her palms, and the way his body fit perfectly with hers. He was a heartbreaker who was somehow coaxing out the bad side of her she didn’t know she had—especially in the bedroom.

Brushing the curtains aside, she took in the view of the sheds where Dex worked. With a few hours before she’d leave for work, she grabbed her camera.

‘Please, don’t get up, Mr Purrington.’ The cat just glanced at her, while stretched out across the couch he’d claimed, only to return his attention back on the TV. He’d really made himself at home.

Admittedly, she wanted to stay and explore every inch of Elsie Creek Station while taking photos and hanging out with Dex. But she had her own job, her own place, and her own responsibilities. She’d also vowed to never get caught out like she’d done with her ex.

Inside the large workshed, music played in the background, barely disguising some male voices. It was Dex in another room with Ryder at the far end.

‘Don’t do it, Dex. Your health is worth far more than cattle,’ said Ryder, examining the walls of a large empty rectangular room.

‘I have to,’ snapped back Dex, with his back to her.

‘No, you don’t.’

‘Bree’s doing it.’

‘She shouldn’t, either. I wish that woman had talked to us before planning this out with Finn. What sort of husband puts his wife at risk like that?’

‘You don’t trust Finn?’

‘No.’ Ryder’s voice was so deep. ‘I only trust my family.’

‘Do you trust Bree?’

‘You do. I can see it.’ Ryder pointed at Dex. ‘Something happened between you two. I know it.’

‘We’re just friends.’

Yet it still made Sophie frown to hear Dex say that. She shouldn’t be jealous of Bree, who was married. But it made her tiptoe closer to the open doorway to listen in on the brothers.

‘You and Bree are like twins sometimes,’ complained Ryder. ‘And Bree has so many secrets, while going off and doing her own thing all the time, when she should talk to us. To me.’

‘Why should she, when you accused Bree of—’

‘I know what I said,’ snapped back Ryder. ‘And I’ve been kicking myself ever since. But I have questions. And I’m pretty sure it’s to do with this room.’

Dex crossed his arms over his chest. ‘I can’t tell you. ’

‘You know that’s spying, right?’ Bree had snuck up on Sophie.

Sophie squealed, and both Dex and Ryder turned around to frown at Sophie. ‘I just got here.’

‘Yeah, right.’ Bree’s chuckle was positively evil as she brushed past Sophie and entered the large room. ‘So, what are we doing at the crime scene? Oh, wait. You want to see if it’s worth doing a makeover in the murder room?’

‘You said you wanted to.’ Dex approached Sophie. ‘How long were you standing there?’

‘Not long.’ Technically, she wasn’t lying.

‘Pfft, and I’m a blonde too.’ Bree tossed her thick red plait over her shoulder, before leaning against the wall.

‘There’s something wrong with this room.’ Ryder began pacing the floor as if taking measurements of sorts.

‘Of course there is. A man got murdered in here.’ Bree shrugged.

Sophie gasped.

‘It was sixty years ago,’ said Dex.

‘No, there’s something else.’ Ryder walked outside, then back inside. ‘This room should be wider.’

‘I’ve got to hand it to your older brother, he’s a thousand times quicker than you and the cop were,’ said Bree with that sly know-it-all grin.

‘I was under the influence of opiates,’ replied Dex. ‘And I was in pain.’

‘And you want to risk putting yourself through all of that again?’

‘What’s going on?’ Sophie pulled on Dex’s arm, forcing him to face her. ‘What does she mean about risking yourself? For what?’

They all remained quiet.

‘I am so sick of the secrets in this place.’ Sophie stamped her foot on the ground. ‘I don’t like being kept in the dark.’

‘Says the woman working the night shift.’

‘Bree, play nice,’ warned Dex before he spoke to Sophie. ‘I just didn’t want to worry you, because nothing has been decided.’

‘It’s not happening. Simple. End of discussion.’ Ryder crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Both of you can’t do this.’

‘I’m already in, cupcake,’ said Bree. ‘You can’t talk me out of this. And all Stormcloud has to do is sit right next to me and my Kombi where I can watch him not fight.’

‘You want to what?’ Sophie glared at Dex. ‘Is that what you’re training for? Not for your health, but for another fight?’

‘He’s not doing it, Sophie. Ryder and I won’t let him.’

‘Stop that.’ Dex pointed at Ryder and Bree. ‘You two working together is so wrong.’

‘But it must be big if they are, Dex.’ Sophie knew Ryder and Bree were enemies. ‘Tell me, what is going on?’

‘I can’t.’ Dex ripped off his hat, raking fingers through his hair, giving her a pained look. He wanted to tell her, but his pride or something else was stopping him.

Bree walked up briskly. ‘I can tell you anything you want to know. Just ask.’

‘Fine!’ Sophie spun around with her eyes narrowed at the bossy redhead. ‘Are you sleeping with Dex?’

Bree’s evil laugh was unexpected. But it was loud, echoing in the room.

‘I told you, Sophie.’ Dex hung his head, rubbing his hands roughly over his face, while Ryder rolled his eyes at Sophie like she was a moron. ‘Bree and I are purely platonic.’

‘I’d rather let hell freeze over and kiss a cane toad than Dex. Next question.’

‘I have one.’ Ryder stepped forward. ‘What was it you two were doing in here the night the cattle were stolen?’

Dex looked at Bree and shrugged. ‘Your secret.’

‘Well, if you insist on being a part of the inner circle, that doesn’t exist anymore, this is where I kept my still.’ Bree tossed her thumb at one wall.

‘A what?’ Sophie stammered out.

‘An illegal distillery to make my gin.’

‘In here? Where?’ Sophie couldn’t picture it, screwing her nose up. ‘It’s filthy. This room looks like it hasn’t been opened in—’

‘As if I’d leave something like that out in the open.’ This time it was Bree rolling her eyes.

‘The room is smaller. It’s that wall, right?’ Ryder walked to the wall and tapped at it. ‘It’s hollow.’

‘The lever is here.’ Bree pulled on a lever, something rattled and clicked, and the entire section of the wall shifted open to expose a room as sterile as an operating theatre, and just as bright with its row of fluorescent white lights flickering on.

‘I thought this room would be good as your personal walk-in arsenal,’ Bree explained to Ryder. ‘Speaking of guns, when do I get my shotgun back, cupcake?’

Bree had guns. Now that was a dangerous combination.

‘I’m not done with it yet. Why are you worried about one gun, when you have how many shotguns stashed on this property?’

‘You’re not keeping that shotgun with the rest of your arsenal in a farmhouse where a small boy lives, are you? It’d make his mother sleep better knowing they weren’t there.’

‘Did Harper mention that to you?’ Ryder’s boots echoed as he inspected the hidden room.

Ryder and Bree kept dodging each other’s questions, replying with a question, that Sophie struggled to keep up. Who are these people? Secrets, and secret rooms, stashed shotguns, and illegal stills with no one giving her answers.

‘How big was the still?’ Ryder asked his brother, obviously sick of the merry-go-round of question for question with the redhead.

‘Five hundred litres,’ replied Dex. ‘It was beautiful. Copper bell-shaped pot, like something out of a steampunk movie.’

‘I thought so, too. It was pretty, right? My best work.’ Bree gazed into the empty room as if picturing it still standing there.

‘No way.’ Ryder spun around on his boots to face Bree. ‘ That’s got to be jail time if you got caught with that.’

‘About two years in prison, and a hundred thousand in fines and court fees, so Finn tells me.’

Sophie’s eyes widened like saucers. How could Bree be so calm about this? And Dex too?

‘Where is it?’ Ryder asked Bree.

‘Dismantled. And no longer on this property.’

‘Do you swear to that?’

‘Are you going to call me a liar too, cupcake?’

Ryder rubbed an eyebrow as if about to fight a migraine. ‘I wish you’d just sit down and talk to me about what you’re doing.’

‘At the moment, I’m trying to talk your brother out of doing something stupid, while catching his new girlfriend spying on you guys, plus trying to find your cattle. I’m a busy girl.’

‘You forgot the part about calling your husband in for help. Where has he been?’

‘I can’t tell you that. You’ll have to ask Finn.’ Bree angled her head at Sophie.

‘Why can’t I know?’

‘If I tell you, I’ll have to shoot you.’

‘brEE!’ Dex slid his arm protectively around Sophie’s shoulders.

‘Aww, look at that.’ Bree even got all gushy. ‘It’s so sweet.’

‘Congratulations, brother, I’m happy that you’ve found someone you’re willing to protect,’ said Ryder coldly, while watching Bree shifting around the room like a caged tiger searching for a way to escape. ‘But what I want to know is why doesn’t Charlie like Finn, when Charlie likes everyone?’

‘You’ll have to ask Charlie that one.’ Again, Bree gave one of those annoying know-it-all shrugs. Bree was so irritatingly smug all the time.

Ryder stepped in closer, his deep voice even lower, and so controlled as if to contain his anger. ‘No, I’m asking you, Bree Wilde. Because you know a helluva lot more than you’re letting on. You know exactly what is going on in this place and I’m sick of being the last to know, when I’m the one paying all the bills around here.’

‘You told me to not interfere with your business.’

‘We all agreed that you could,’ said Dex.

‘Only to use that to bring Harper back when we found out she was a liar,’ said Ryder, glowering at Bree.

But Bree just lifted her chin, stepping in closer to Ryder as if daring him to fight her. She wasn’t scared of anything. ‘I just love this level of gratitude on you, cupcake,’ she said with a sarcastic sneer. ‘Especially when we all know how well that turned out. You know, that bit about how I knew Harper could save this station. Like I’m trying to get your stolen cattle back for this station .’

‘How?’ demanded Sophie. ‘And what does this have to do with Dex?’

Bree whipped around to face Sophie.

While swallowing her gasp, Sophie gripped Dex’s hand in reflex, from having that redhead’s full attention. It was scary.

‘Your turn, Dex. You made me tell, now you can. But the nurse doesn’t need to know about Finn. That really isn’t any of her beeswax.’ Bree stepped away from Ryder, her stance relaxing, but her eyes a stern green on Sophie. ‘For the record, Sophie, I have a purely platonic relationship with Dex. We’re just friends. The only reason Dex was here, that night, was because the stubborn ass refused to walk away when the police came here after reopening the murder case.’

Sophie and Ryder went to speak.

‘Ugh!’ Bree held up her hand, cutting them off. ‘Let me finish my monologue. You wanted me to speak, so listen.’

‘You’re so bossy,’ mumbled Sophie.

‘You ain’t seen nothing yet. You should see me boss around a herd of cattle.’

Sophie swallowed, frowning at the redhead. ‘Right? Like you—’

‘Stop it, Sophie.’ Dex warned, while squeezing Sophie’s hand .

‘I agree.’ Ryder stood between Sophie and Bree. He was much bigger, but Bree looked tough enough to take on a bar full of cowboys. ‘Bree, you were saying about that night.’

It was the secret Sophie was dying to know.

‘I had to get the still out of this room, because one, I did not want to put Policeman Porter in a compromising position. He is a family friend who knows nothing about this. And two, I didn’t want the Riggs brothers to take a hit for my distillery. But, for sixty years, no one has been in this old tack room but me. I just didn’t think Porter would want to see the crime scene, because I’m no cop and I do make mistakes.’ Bree raised her eyebrows at Sophie, as if taunting her.

How could Dex be friends with this despicable, bossy woman?

‘But Porter and his entourage of trainee detectives were starting to map out this room,’ continued Bree. ‘So, I used Dex’s health and his dodgy oxygen trolley as an excuse to get Porter and my grandfather out of here. I then built Dex that new oxygen trolley to not blow my cover—’

‘I thought that was you sucking up to Dex with that trolley.’

Again, Bree laughed as Dex groaned, dropping his head.

‘Go on, Bree,’ urged Ryder. ‘Let me guess, you needed to move your still out?’

Bree nodded. ‘I went to move the still out that night, but this man child—’

‘Oi!’ Dex scowled.

‘—climbed into the Kombi’s passenger seat with his oxygen tanks and refused to leave until we’d pulled it apart.’

Sophie pulled her hand free, to face Dex. ‘You did what? You could hardly walk.’

‘Don’t worry, Dex only undid a few bolts. I wouldn’t let him do more.’

‘He shouldn’t have been in here at all, not with all this dust.’

‘There is no dust in that room, Sophie, look at it.’ Dex’s scowl remained, as he walked away from her. ‘I’m not a child.’

‘You can be,’ said Bree.

That was the first time Sophie agreed with Bree.

‘Go on, Bree. What happened after you got the still out of this room?’ Ryder asked, leaning against the wall opposite Bree.

‘I kicked Dex out of the Kombi at two in the morning, because I would not risk Dex being caught in the front seat, while I was towing a copper still and a few dozen cases of full-proof illegal gin down the highway.’ She then peered around the hidden room, where her tone softened. ‘For the record, Dex and I talked about this room becoming a space for you to use. It’d be perfect,’ she said, walking back out to the main room. ‘You could work on your guns while overseeing a wall of monitors for your surveillance cameras, and then you guys could meet here for your boardroom meetings instead of at the farmhouse.’

‘Why here?’ Dex asked.

‘It’s central to your place, the stockman’s shack, Cap’s dogbox, and the farmhouse. Think about it, you all end up walking down here to start your workdays—to grab a vehicle, pick up some tools, or go to the stables to saddle the horses. This would be a good office space for all of you, and especially for you.’

‘What’s the other reason, Bree?’ Ryder seemed determined to dig for answers.

Bree sighed, hooking her thumbs into the cargo pockets of her work pants. ‘In here, you’ll be able to create a separate space to create some work-life balance for yourselves. Cap has his space, Dex, too. And by having your office down here for your morning and afternoon sessions, it’ll be neutral territory that you can then close the door at night to give you that break you all need.’

Sophie arched her eyebrows at Bree. Did this mean Bree cared about the Riggs brothers?

‘Being in charge,’ continued Bree on her rant, ‘you need to unwind somehow, because running a cattle station is a job you can’t switch off from. Dex trains in the morning, and then blows off steam at his place. Cap closes the doors on their nursery, and the cage doors on the kennels with Mia at the end of their day, to share their back deck. My grandmother did that with Charlie, where we’d douse the forge’s flames in the blacksmith shed, as a signal to know the workday was over. But you, cupcake,’ Bree said pointing at Ryder who frowned at her, or the nickname, ‘walk out the back door to the front porch and will pace that verandah until late into the night.’ Bree nodded at the main room, as if picturing it a different way, like a real estate agent selling a vacant lot. ‘Here, you can use this space to think and for the others to meet. Hey, even Charlie might show up and share all his stories about Elsie Creek Station, stockman to stockman.’ She then headed for the door. ‘It’s something to think about.’

‘Would you come to those meetings, too?’ Ryder asked.

Bree caught her hand on the door jamb. ‘It’s not my business.’

‘What about doing the makeover on it, Bree? Dex said you like doing those things, and you did a great job on his place.’

‘No. Not for you.’

‘Come on, Bree, you’d love to do this. I know you would,’ said Dex.

‘I’ll pay you.’

Bree frowned. ‘I don’t work for you boys. You can’t buy me. And I don’t want you to fight, Dex, because if you get into that ring, I’ll be betting on the other guy to win.’

Dex scowled, sucking in the air as Bree left them after dropping that bomb. ‘I hate you, Bree.’

‘What is Bree talking about?’ Sophie grabbed his arm. ‘Please tell me you’re not putting your health at risk?’

Ryder closed the door to the false room with a muffled thud. ‘Before Dex does, Sophie, can we trust you not to say anything to anyone?’

‘Of course you can.’

‘I don’t know you. Bree doesn’t know you. But she spilled her biggest secret in front of you, and that’s an enormous risk. If Dex tells you, he’s taking a risk on you. And as his big brother, I hope he’s doing the right thing.’

‘Brother…’ Dex narrowed his eyes at Ryder.

‘I’ve got to, Dex. You’d do the same.’

‘Are you asking me to swear some secret oath? When I don’t know what it is you’re doing?’ Sophie was stunned. ‘Dex, what’s going on?’

‘The police want to use me as bait to attract the rustlers at the next fight, where Bree will be going to identify the thieves and our cattle. There, that’s it, all out in the open. There are no more secrets to tell. I am an illegal bare-knuckle fighter. It’s what I do.’

‘No, brother,’ said Ryder, patting Dex on the shoulder. ‘You are much more than that. And it’s Bree who recognised it first. She recognises the good in people. But you...’ Ryder narrowed his cold dark eyes at Sophie. ‘What do you have against Bree?’

‘Sophie’s jealous,’ replied Dex.

‘Of what? You and Bree?’ Ryder screwed his face up as if he’d tasted something foul.

‘This place is a freaking zoo!’ Sophie stormed out of the shed. ‘I’m going home.’

‘That isn’t a home.’ Dex grabbed her arm, only a few metres from his shack. ‘It’s a room. And I don’t like you going back there.’

‘Why not? It’s where I live.’

‘No, it’s only temporary.’

‘What do you care?’

‘I care way more than I should…’ Dex paused, removing his hat to rake fingers through his hair, before slapping it back on. ‘I don’t want you to go.’

Her heart fell at those words. ‘And I don’t want you putting yourself at risk over some cows.’ Which revealed she cared way too much.

The stubborn fool crossed his arms. ‘It’s almost a million dollars’ worth in cattle.’

She quickly regrouped, rolling her shoulders, lifting her chin. ‘Even so, your health, your life, is priceless to me. Why can’t you see your worth?’