Free The Socialite and the Cattle King by Lindsay Armstrong

the huddle of roofs Holly had seen from the air.
    A girl and a dog came through the gate in the airstrip fence to meet them.
    ‘Holly,’ Brett said, ‘This is Sarah. And this—’ he bent down to pat the red cattle-dog who accepted his ministrations with every sign of ecstasy ‘—is Bella.’
    ‘Welcome to Haywire, Holly,’ Sarah said in a very English accent.
    Holly blinked in surprise, and Brett and Sarah exchanged grins. ‘Sarah is backpacking her way around the world,’ Brett said. ‘How long have you been with us now?’ he asked the English girl.
    ‘Three months. I can’t seem to tear myself away!’ Sarah said ruefully. ‘Brett, since you’re here, I’m a bit worried about one of the mares in the holding paddock—she’s lame. Would you mind having a look at her? I could show Holly around a bit in the meantime.’
    ‘Sure. I’ll leave you to it.’
    Haywire homestead was a revelation to Holly in as much as it wasn’t a homestead at all in the accepted sense of the word. All the accommodation was in separate cabins set out on green lawns and inside a fence designed to keep wallabies, emus and other wildlife out, according to Sarah.
    All the other facilities were under one huge roof: lounge area, dining area, a small library-cum-games room et cetera. But the unique thing was, there were no outside walls.
    The floor was slate; there was a central stone-fireplace, and at intervals there were tubs of potted plants and artistically arranged pieces of dead wood, often draped with ferns.
    There was a long refectory table, comfortable caneloungers and steamer chairs; beyond the fence and lawn, looking away from the rest of the compound, there was a lake alive with birds, reeds and water lilies.
    The whole area reminded Holly of a safari lodge, and she was most impressed.
    ‘Just one thing, what do you do when it rains or blows a gale?’ she asked Sarah ruefully.
    ‘Hasn’t happened to me yet,’ Sarah replied. ‘But there are roll-down blinds.’ She pointed them out. ‘And I believe they put up shutters if they get a cyclone. Otherwise it lets the air flow through when it’s really hot. Here’s the kitchen.’
    The kitchen was not visible from the rest of the area; it was also open on one side, yet had all mod cons. There were, Holly learnt, several sources of power on Haywire: a generator for electricity and gas for the hot-water system. There were still some old-fashioned combustion stoves for heating water in case other means failed. And there was a satellite phone as well as a VHF radio for communications.
    There was an above-ground swimming pool surrounded by emerald lawn and shaded by trees.
    Sarah explained that she was actually a nurse, but she enjoyed cooking, she loved the outback and she loved horses, so a stint as a housekeeper at Haywire suited her down to the ground.
    ‘Mind you, most often there’s only me, Bella, the horses and a few stockmen here. We don’t get to see the family that often. Actually, I’m surprised to see Brett. I thought he’d be down at Palm Cove with the rest of them.’
    ‘We were—he was,’ Holly said, and intercepted a curious little glance from Sarah. She found herself thinking, I knew this would happen! Probably no passable woman is safe in Brett Wyndham’s company without being thought of as his lover. ‘I’m actually working with him,’ she added.
    ‘So she is,’ the man in question agreed as he strolled up to them.
    They both turned.
    ‘The mare has a stone bruise in her off-fore. I’ve relieved the pressure, but keep an eye on her or get Kane to,’ he added to Sarah. ‘Are they coming in tonight? Kane,’ he said for Holly’s benefit, ‘Is station foreman, and he has two offsiders.’
    Sarah shook her head. ‘They’ve got a problem with a fence on the northern boundary. That’s miles away, so they decided to camp out overnight.’
    ‘OK, then it’s just us. I’m going to take Holly for a drive; we’ll be back before dark.