Outback Sisters (7 page)

Logan didn't even roll his eyes; he'd be suspicious if Angus
wasn't
in his usual grump. ‘What's on the agenda today?'

Angus sighed as he grabbed a mug from the overhead cupboards. ‘I noticed a tree down over a fence yesterday. Need to fix that.'

‘Must have been that storm we had the other night.'

Angus grunted. ‘Pity all that wind didn't bring much rain. Also need to check water levels and start servicing the header. Harvesting will be upon us before we know it. Nice of you to turn up, though. I could use a hand.'

Logan nodded, trying not to feel annoyed. Harvest was still a couple of months away but it was as if every opportunity Angus got, he tried to make Logan feel guilty about leaving him with all this work. But the fact of the matter was, the farm could not support both of them full time and, even before their dad's death, the plan had always been for Angus to take over. ‘I've gotta have a shower and eat something, but then I'm all yours. Use and abuse me.'

Whereas most people might laugh at that, Angus merely raised one of his permanently knitted brows. ‘You up to it after your shenanigans last night? I'm guessing this girl you've met online turned out to be just as hot in person?'

‘Simone was lovely, but nothing happened, if that's what you're insinuating. I'm serious about getting serious and I'm not about to ruin something that could be great by rushing into things. If you must know, I had a few beers over dinner so I stayed at the pub,' Logan finished, unable to meet Angus's gaze.

‘Fair enough.' The kettle began to whistle and Logan continued on to the bathroom, leaving Angus to make his coffee.

He stripped quickly and stepped into the steaming shower. At first the heat almost burned his freezing skin, but as he stood there, the hot water slowly warmed him from the outside in. He thought about his date with Simone and smiled; if only he could work out a way to get Angus out there and meeting people as well. It wasn't healthy to be alone so much and now that Olivia was away at uni in Perth, she wouldn't be coming back as often as she had when she was at boarding school.

And their baby sister seemed to be the only person who ever made Angus smile. This weighed heavily on Logan's mind but he'd never mentioned it to her, not wanting her to put her life on hold out of guilt. Instead he'd vowed to return to the farm and check in on Angus as much as he could and to be a practical support as long as possible. Working on the farm today would be good—it'd help him keep his mind off his own woes and hopefully they'd get the chance to have a rational talk about the wind-farming thing. The energy company that was sniffing around the area had a meeting at the end of next month for farmers interested in leasing their land and he wanted Angus to be there. His mission over the next few weeks was to convince him how an opportunity like this could be good for all of them.

With that thought, Logan turned off the shower and stepped out to start the day. Immediately the aroma of bacon and eggs drifted under the door and his stomach groaned.

For all Angus could be a grumpy bastard, deep down he was a great bloke and that was why Logan spent so much damn time worrying about him. It broke his heart to see his big brother's life just going to waste. He hurried to pull on his old jeans and a work shirt, his mouth salivating in anticipation of breakfast with the works.

‘Man, that smells good,' Logan said, grinning at Angus as he re-entered the kitchen.

Angus merely laid two plates on the table and indicated for Logan to sit. He did, happy to see he had cooked for himself as well. Logan suspected that often when he was away, his brother lived on Vegemite toast and Weetbix, and not just for breakfast. When he was home, he took it upon himself to ensure the cupboards were well stocked and dinner was something nutritious. He loved cooking and it wasn't always easy to do in motel rooms, so coming home and spending time in the kitchen wasn't a hardship.

They ate and then dumped their dishes in the sink to return to later. Angus filled a couple of flasks with hot coffee and Logan almost made a quip about how domesticated he was, but swallowed it at the last minute, not wanting to piss him off and start the day strained.

Once they were in the ute, bumping across the paddocks, Angus surprised him by initiating conversation. ‘What's she like then?'

Logan was surprised to find that the first person who came into his head was Frankie, but he pushed the image aside and smiled. He didn't know Frankie like he'd gotten to know Simone these last few weeks and it wasn't like Simone wasn't also a knockout. ‘She's great. Really warm and bubbly. Lots of fun. An artist. You'd like her.'

Angus snorted. ‘Doesn't she have kids?'

It wasn't like Angus to want to talk about women or anything personal, so Logan ignored the irritation that flared within him at Angus's sceptical tone and went with it. ‘Yes, two teenage girls. Harriet and Grace.'

‘Not worried they might cramp your style?'

‘No. Plenty of people manage to have relationships with children in the equation. In fact, I'm really looking forward to meeting them.'

‘They'll probably hate you,' Angus said, slowing the ute as they approached the fallen tree.

Logan ran a hand through his hair, losing patience. He glared at Angus. ‘Do you always have to be so damn negative about everything?'

‘I'm not negative.' Angus shrugged as he stopped the ute. ‘I'm simply a realist. Face it, Logan. Your track record with relationships isn't great, and those women didn't have the added baggage of a ready-made family to complicate things. Teenage girls aren't the easiest of people to get along with.'

Logan took a deep breath as he opened the passenger door. There was so much he wanted to say about all that. So he'd been a bit of a player following the break-up of his marriage, but he wasn't the one who'd broken his vows. Had Angus forgotten that? His only mistake was falling for a woman who didn't love him as much as he'd loved her. When a husband cheated on a wife, everyone fell over themselves with sympathy for the woman, but when the roles were reversed, people made excuses. So many people he'd considered friends had assumed Logan must have been a bad husband for Loretta to leave him, and it cut deep that his brother seemed to subscribe to this theory as well.

Still, he was ready to move on from the past. He wanted more out of life than one-night stands. He wanted emotional connection—friendship and companionship as well as sex—something Angus had clearly switched himself off from.

‘You're not the only one who has experience raising teenage girls,' he reminded his brother as they both climbed out and slammed their doors. ‘I might not have been at home with Olivia as much as you were but I visited her at boarding school and I've been there for her just as much in other ways.'

‘Yes, I'm sorry. You're right.' Without another word, Angus opened the ute's tailgate to let the dogs out and then leaned in to grab gloves. He tossed a pair to Logan and then turned to walk towards the fallen tree. With a heavy heart, Logan followed.

He wanted more than anything to fix his brother's pain but he just didn't know how.

The house phone rang just as Angus Knight sat down to his early lunch—baked beans on toast and a glass of orange juice to wash it all down. He'd been up since the crack of dawn servicing the header and all he'd had was coffee. He looked at the handset and considered ignoring it. Phone calls to the house were few and far between; Logan and Olivia mostly sent messages or called his mobile. Predicting it would be a telemarketer, he took a swig of his juice and then picked up his knife and fork.

Finally the ringing stopped and he grinned in satisfaction as he shoved the first forkful into his mouth. He was a man of simple pleasures but he'd barely swallowed when the damn phone started up again. Glaring at the offender hanging on the kitchen wall, he pushed back his seat and marched across to it, then snatched up the receiver.

‘Hello,' he barked.

‘Angus?' came a woman's voice.

‘Yes. Who's this?'

‘It's … Loretta.'

He frowned. What the hell was Logan's cheating ex-wife doing calling?

‘Brad just radioed in to say he's seen some sheep on the road. He thinks they're yours.'

Loretta didn't have to say which road—there was only one that both properties used and he had a flock down there because the dam in that paddock was the most full.

‘Angus? Are you there?'

‘Yes, sorry. Um …' He raked a hand through his hair. ‘Thanks for letting me know. I'll head there now.'

‘No worries. Brad's trying to get them back in but he thinks you might need to fix the fence. Looks like that's how they got out. See ya.' Loretta disconnected, as eager to be done with the conversation as Angus was.

He couldn't blame Logan for preferring a life of travel to hanging around on the farm—not when the woman who broke his heart was happily shacked up on the property next door—but he missed his little brother when he was away at work. It got lonely, running a farm by himself. A fact he'd never admit to Logan—that would only give him more ammunition in his quest to get Angus to date again, find a hobby, go on a holiday. He admired his brother—liked how he always tried to see the good in people, was always optimistic about the future—but that didn't mean he could pretend to be like that when he wasn't. Nope, Angus was quite happy with the status quo, which was why he didn't want wind-farm developers coming onto his property and changing everything.

He gave one final wistful glance at his unfinished lunch and then stormed down the corridor to the front door. A minute later he was in his ute, dogs on board, charging down the gravel track towards his errant sheep.

As Loretta had indicated, he found his neighbour, Brad, trying to usher the sheep back to where they were supposed to be. Angus cursed at the sight—both thankful and disappointed Logan wasn't here. Thankful because the last thing his brother needed when he was getting on with his life was to have to deal with his ex and her second husband. Disappointed because if Logan were here, they could have dealt with this mess together and he wouldn't have to accept Brad's help.

He parked his ute on the edge of the road and climbed out, nodding at the other man. ‘Afternoon, Brad.'

‘Angus.' Brad dipped his hat.

‘Thanks for calling this in,' Angus said, gesturing to the sheep on the road. He whistled for his dogs as he unlatched the tailgate on the ute. They jumped off and got straight to work.

‘No worries, mate.' Brad grinned and Angus flinched, biting down on the impulse to tell this man that they may be neighbours, he may have done him a favour, but they would never be mates. Not after what he'd done to Logan.

Instead, he turned away and helped his dogs do their stuff. Brad insisted on being neighbourly and helping as well; with the four of them working hard, it didn't take long to get the sheep back on his land.

‘Need any help with the fence?' Brad asked.

‘Nah, I'll be fine.'

‘Right. Goodo.' Brad shoved his hands in his pockets but still didn't make a move to go. ‘You know, if you ever want to come round for a drink or even a barbecue or something, you're always welcome. Must get pretty lonely with Olivia living in Perth permanently and Logan always off somewhere.'

Often Angus didn't mind the solitude—he and Liv talked on the phone every couple of days—but quiet nights gave him too much time to think. Not that he was going to tell Brad any of this.

Instead Angus found himself saying, ‘Actually, Logan has been around quite a bit lately. He's got himself a new woman and she doesn't live far.'

Brad raised his eyebrows. ‘Is that right? I'm … Well, that's great.' He looked as if a load had been lifted and Angus clenched his hands into fists at his sides.

He hadn't told Brad so he could feel less guilty about being a prick. Angus had no time for people who cheated on their partners and he certainly had no time for men who hooked up with other people's wives. If he was going to start socialising—and that was a very big if—the last people he'd be doing so with was Brad and Loretta.

He grabbed his fencing gear from the ute and stalked over to the problem. How the hell it had gotten this bad without him or Logan noticing he had no idea, but he wished Brad would just buzz off and leave him to fix it. He set to work in silence.

‘Well, then,' Brad said, finally getting the message and turning back towards his ute, ‘glad to be of assistance. Guess I'll see you round.'

Or not.
Angus forced himself to lift a hand and wave. He let out a sigh of relief when the other man climbed into his ute and disappeared in a cloud of red dirt.

By the time Angus had fixed the fence and made it back home, his paltry lunch was as cold and unappealing as a plate of wet cardboard. He picked it up, scraped the contents into the bin and then dumped the plate in the sink.

On his way out of the kitchen and back down the corridor, he glanced into the office and saw the computer sitting on the clean desk. You could always tell when Logan had been home because he liked things tidy and in their place. Angus liked things clean but he found a bit of clutter comforting. He chuckled at the knowledge that by the time Logan returned in a few days, there'd no doubt be papers spread all over the desk again.

About to continue past, something stopped Angus in his tracks. He'd been a bit hard on Logan this last weekend. His brother had been so full of excitement after his date and all Angus had given him was negativity. He hated himself for raining on Logan's parade but couldn't seem to stop it. With this thought, he went into the office, sat down at the desk, fired up the computer and then typed ‘Rural Matchmakers' into the search engine. He'd never been anywhere near one of these sites before but couldn't help being curious about the woman who had Logan so excited. His brother had used the office computer over the weekend and was still signed in, so Angus didn't have to make an account for himself in order to look through the available profiles. He wouldn't snoop at the messages between Logan and Simone, but there was no harm checking her out. Wasn't that what older brothers were supposed to do?