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'I was only going to scare it away from you,' he explained. 'It's been taking cattle along that stretch of the river. When I saw it coming close to you, I didn't want you becoming the next victim.'

'You're sure it's the same animal?' she queried.

He glanced at her then back to the road. 'Don't you think so?'

'There are two big crocs in that waterhole—a male and a female. I've seen the male once from a distance and he has a deformed jaw, which would explain why he's taking cattle. The one I was photographing today is a female. I think she's nesting along that stretch of bank, although I haven't found a nest yet.'

'If you're right, the female will only be aggressive until her young hatch. But the injured male ought to be shifted to new territory before somebody gets hurt.'

'Moving him won't help,' she explained. 'The instinct to home in on one particular pool will bring him right back here in time. Only recently, we had a crocodile which travelled overland more than forty miles to get back to its old territory.'

The warmth in her voice caught his attention. 'You really enjoy your job, don't you? You even care for these prehistoric monsters.'

'I suppose I do,' she admitted. 'Ever since Nugget taught me to love the wild and all its creatures, I've wanted to make it my career. I was lucky that it worked out so well.'

The vehicle took flight aver a series of bumps and Ben wrestled it back under control again then asked, 'What would you have done if you couldn't become a ranger?'

She was tempted to jest that she would have
married a rich grazier, but since that was already what he expected from her, she decided not to joke about it. 'Probably joined the Aerial Medical Service like Mum and Dad, if I could hack it.'

'How are your parents?' he asked her.

'They're fine. They live in North Queensland now so they can be close to Louise.'

He took his eyes off the road momentarily. 'She's your sister, I remember. Isn't she autistic?'

'Yes. She attends a special boarding school in Queensland. Soon she'll be getting a job in a sheltered workshop. Then she'll move into a group home where she'll learn to live as normal a life as possible.'

He slipped the car into four-wheel drive as they approached a shallow creek-crossing. At the end of the dry season, there was little water to soften the corrugated mud bottom as they jolted across it. 'I suppose that's why you're so good with Robyn, because of your sister,' he guessed.

'I'm good with Robyn because she's a terrific person,' she said irritably. 'Look, I know you think I'm a gold-digger, but Robyn is my friend, not some good cause I've taken on.'

'If I thought otherwise, I wouldn't let you within coo-ee of her,' he said grimly, man-handling the vehicle up the steep bank of the creek. 'I realise you do have
some
redeeming qualities.'

'Let's be thankful for small mercies,' she muttered under her breath, then turned her head away and pretended rapt interest in the scenery.

They didn't speak again until they reached the cluster of buildings which made up Kinga Downs
homestead. More like a small town than a single dwelling, it was home to the station manager, jackeroos, carpenters, plumber, stockmen and bookkeepers who helped to run Champion Holdings.

In the centre of the cluster was the main homestead, a handsome turn-of-the-century timber structure screened with lattice panels which ensured privacy while admitting every scrap of breeze. The verandas which surrounded the house were floored with spotted gum weathered to an attractive silver- grey, in contrast to the cool green paint on the walls. Behind the house, was a pool area paved with ochre- coloured stones which echoed the colour of the Champion land itself.

There were no steps leading to the main house, only ramps which provided access for Robyn's wheelchair. Now, Keri saw that similar access had been provided to nearly all the buildings around the homestead.

As soon as they pulled up in the shade of a giant Poinsettia tree, a flyscreen door flew open and Robyn appeared in her wheelchair, her face alight with excitement. Keri dropped her things and ran to her friend, crouching down to give her a warm hug. 'It's so good to see you again,' she whispered in Robyn's ear. In truth, she was shocked at how thin Robyn had become. Her wrists and ankles were mostly bone and her sparkling eyes looked huge in her pale face.

Keri was careful not to let her distress show. The last thing Robyn ever wanted was pity. She made her smile broader. 'Let's go inside. Ben Says he'll get someone to take care of my luggage.'

At the mention of luggage, Robyn's head bobbed up and down vigorously and she tugged questioningly at Keri's shirt sleeve.

'Yes, Ben talked me into staying here,' she said in answer to Robyn's unspoken question. She decided to let Ben break the rest of their news to his sister. She had never lied to Robyn before and she didn't know how to start now.

Inside, the double drawing-room was cool and welcoming. A pair of kumquat trees in heavy cane baskets flanked a window and potted plants were in abundance. Sofas and chairs slip-covered in floral linen made conversational groups around the huge room and an old drum acted as a drinks table. On a tripod table, Robyn's collection of Georgian and Victorian silver gleamed from its owner's frequent polishing.

Keri made a small pirouette in the centre of the room. 'This room is still as beautiful as ever,' she exclaimed.

Robyn wheeled herself over to a window. Beneath it was a side table on which sat a computer complete with screen and printer. It looked startlingly modern alongside the antique silverware. 'Is this yours?' Keri asked, bending over it.

Close-up, she saw that the keyboard had been modified to accommodate Robyn's exaggerated movements. The woman settled herself in front of it and with a few keystrokes brought the screen to life. 'My new alphabet board,' she typed and the words flashed on to the screen.

'How marvellous! It's so much faster,' Keri enthused.

'That's not all,' came the typed response. 'Look.'

Before Keri's astonished eyes, Robyn worked a separate keypad and made lights flash on and off around the room. At another touch, shutters lowered over the windows then lifted again, and a wooden-bladed fan began to whir overhead.

Keri hugged her friend. 'I'm impressed.'

'Computer in the kitchen works appliances,' Robyn typed on her screen. 'Keypad in my room works bedroom and bathroom.'

Ben had done his sister proud, Keri thought with a choked feeling. No expense had been spared to ensure that she could enjoy as independent a life as possible. But there was another surprise in store for her.

'Robyn achieved most of this by herself.'

Keri straightened to find Ben lounging in the doorway, watching them. He saw the surprise flicker across her face. 'You remember those outback paintings she used to do?'

She nodded. 'They were excellent.

'Quite a few people agree, enough to provide Rob with a good income.'

The insistent tapping of the keyboard drew Keri's attention. 'Most buyers don't know the painter is handicapped,' Robyn typed.

Keri dropped to her knees beside the wheelchair and gripped her friend's arm. 'That's because they think like me. How can you be handicapped when you give the world so much?'

Tears glistened in Robyn's eyes and she enveloped Keri's hands in both of hers. The wordless welcome couldn't have been plainer.

Ben came into the room and placed both hands on his sister's shoulders. 'There's more good news to come. Have you told her yet?'

Robyn's questioning glance flew to Keri and she shook her head. 'I was waiting for you.'

'How thoughtful of you,' he said drily. 'Well, we mustn't keep Rob in suspense. Keri has agreed to become my wife.'

With an indrawn gasp, Robyn swivelled to her keyboard and typed in capital letters, 'Yippee!!' with a string of exclamation points which went off the edge of the screen. Then she wrapped her arms around Keri in a hug which drove the breath out of her.

Ben's eyebrows arched upwards. 'Somehow, I think she likes the idea.'

Releasing Keri, Robyn typed on her keyboard. 'How? When? Where?'

'Steady on, all in good time,' Ben said good- humouredly, and dropped into a chair so that he was at his sister's level. Then he told her the story he had concocted, about seeing Keri in Darwin on his business trips there.

'You dark horses,' Robyn typed, adding, 'but I'm thrilled.'

Which made one of them, Keri thought darkly as she excused herself to go to her room and unpack. Robyn's reaction had made her feel ten times as bad about the deception. It was all very well for Ben to dream up a fake engagement to keep Rick's eyes from wandering, but Robyn would be hurt when she found out the truth. Couldn't Ben see the damage his scheme could do to his sister?

Despairingly, she looked around the bedroom, but there was no solace there. Ben had given her the white bedroom, a romantic confection of lace-edged pillows and embroidered cotton and lace swathing the bed. A cane sofa was massed with white- embossed cotton cushions. Curtains in the same material added to the romantic effect. It was the sort of room a bride-to-be would feel at home in, and it made Keri feel even more of a fraud. She thrust her few clothes into the nearest drawers and went out on to the veranda through a door opening off her room.

Gripping the hardwood railing, she stared unseeingly at the garden which separated the main house from the other buildings. She knew that Ben had joined her when her senses began to quiver, and she turned to him, her eyes dark with concern. 'I can't go through with it, Ben. Can't you see?'

He looked troubled, too, but shook his head. 'It's too late to back out now. Rob is already planning our engagement party.'

'Oh, no. That makes me feel even worse.'

He hooked a boot over the bottom rail of the veranda and propped his elbows on the top one. 'If it's any consolation, I feel just as bad. I should have known that Rob would go overboard once she heard the news. She's always thought of you as a sister, so this merely confirms your role.'

'I suppose we should be glad that it's doing her so much good,' she said dourly.

He sighed. 'It's an ill wind . . .'

She turned to face him, her temper flaring. 'That's all very well, but what about when the truth comes out? How will she feel then, knowing we lied to her?'

'The truth doesn't have to come out,' he said stonily.

'What do you mean?'.

'I mean we could make it a real engagement.' He turned towards the garden, seemingly thinking aloud. 'I need a wife. There should be an heir to all this. You love this country and your work is here. It could suit us both very well.'

'You make it sound so businesslike,' she observed, adding the question which was uppermost in her mind but not, it seemed, in his. 'What about love?'

At her softly voiced question, he turned the full force of his velvety gaze on her, caressing her with his look until her heart began to hammer in her chest. 'There could be love,' he said. 'I could love you as you've never been loved before.'

As she realised what kind of love he meant, she shuddered. 'I didn't mean sexual love. The kind of love I meant starts with caring, sharing and respect.'

His expression became cold. 'I'm afraid they have to be earned.'

She opened her mouth to argue but a cloud of dust along the driveway announced the arrival of another car. It screeched to a halt outside the main homestead and a man got out. Her spirits sank even lower as the man approached them. 'G'day, little brother. You should have told me we were expecting company.'

He moved closer and Keri became aware of tension radiating from Ben's lithe body. 'She isn't here to see you, Rick,' he said coldly. 'Keri is my guest.'

'Keri? My God, is that really you? You've blossomed into a beauty. How about a kiss for Rick?'

As her stomach muscles clenched in protest at the very idea, Ben stepped between them. 'I said she's here as
my
guest.' He emphasised the possessive pronoun.

Rick spread his hands apart. 'OK, I get the message. Hands off.' For now, his tone suggested. She shivered. Then feeling that she must say something, she volunteered, 'Hello, Rick.'

'Hello yourself. Since when did the skinny teenager turn into such a beauty, and in a ranger's uniform yet? I'll bet you look fantastic in a bikini.'

'It's not something you're likely to find out,' Ben ground out.

Rick's temper, which Keri remembered only too vividly, got the better of him. 'Now hang on, little brother. How about letting the lady speak for herself?'

Ben took a menacing step towards Rick. 'Call me little brother again and I'll flatten you.'

'Why? She's not your property, is she?'

'As it happens, she is. Keri and I are engaged to be married.'

Rick looked as if he had been felled by a blow. His face crumpled and he balled his hands into fists at his sides. 'This is pretty sudden, isn't it?'

'We've been seeing each other in Darwin,' Ben said, the smooth lie sounding more and more polished to Keri's outraged ears.

'Stop it, you two,' she said, stepping between them. 'As it happens, I'm nobody's property.'

'I see you've lost none of your spirit,' Rick said in a tone of grudging admiration. 'It's going to be fun having you back.'

'Aren't you forgetting something?' Ben interrupted.

Rick dragged his eyes away from Keri. 'Like what?'

'Like a fiancée of your own?'

Rick looked as if he would like to hit Ben, but was forced to nod agreement. Then he winked and added, 'But while the cat's away ...'

Which was exactly the situation Ben had feared when he found out that she was back. 'There'll be no playing,' she said coldly. How could he even think she would be interested after what had happened last time? Already, his nearness was making her flesh crawl. 'You heard Ben. I'm going to marry him.'

How plausible it sounded when she said it with such conviction.-Rick looked taken aback. Then his unshakeable self-confidence reasserted itself. 'A lot can happen between an engagement and a marriage,' he said, fixing her with an exaggerated wink. Before Ben could react, he grabbed her hand and lifted it close to his face. 'I don't even have to compete with a ring yet.'