Free The Cattleman's Special Delivery by Barbara Hannay Page A

settled into a good routine.
    To Jess’s surprise, she even liked the outback. Many mornings she hung out the washing to the accompaniment of the smile-inducing sounds of a kookaburra’s laughter. From the kitchen she had lovely views across grassy paddocks and gum trees beneath the blue, blue arch of the sky. She could enjoy the sight of kangaroos sleeping in the shade at noon, or creeping out to graze in the lengthening afternoon shadows. She loved to watch flocks of corellas dive and wheel like fluttering autumn leaves.
    It was very peaceful and restorative to be surrounded by nature, far away from the stresses and hassles of the coast. Out here, she could finally begin to forgive Alan for being such a fool with their money. And she didn’t even mind Michael’s grumpiness. They were rubbing along OK.
    All in all, she was happy.
    Her life really did seem to be taking a turn for the better. She wished she could trust that it would stay that way, but it was hard to trust the universe when you’d been brought up by a mega-wary pessimist. Jess could still hear her mum’s warnings loud and clear.
    ‘Don’t get too contented, Jess. Life won’t let you, you know. Just when you think you’re on top, the universe will pull the rug from under you.’
    Her mum’s series of temporary ‘life partners’ had certainly proved that gloomy theory. Men had arrived in her mum’s life, apparently doting and caring. And all had gone well for six months or so, but things always took a turn for the worse and they left. By the time Jess was twenty or so, she’d realised that her mum never really got to know the men she lived with. She seemed to keep them at an emotional distance, as if she was actually terrified she might fall in love.
    Jess had been determined to be different. She wanted to love wholeheartedly. When she met Alan, she was ready to give her all to their relationship. Over and over, actually.
    Each time Alan had disappointed her, she’d forgiven him and was prepared to start again. But her mother was right. The rug had constantly been pulled from beneath her. And it happened again on the night of the accident.
    Even now...when her life seemed to be turning out OK, she had to fight off that inner fear that something would go wrong.
    * * *
    In the fading light of dusk, Reece perched on the top rail of the stockyard fence, entering details of the mob he’d brought in that day. In one pen there were branded cattle he would truck to a fattening block near Rockhampton. In another were cleanskins he’d found in wild scrub in Warringa’s outer extremities.
    These beasts would need to be vaccinated and ear-tagged, a job Reece would normally leave till morning, but this evening he was contemplating tackling the task now...before darkness fell.
    At least it would give him another excuse to stay clear of Jess.
    Reece grimaced as he recognised this unattractive new trend in his thinking. He wasn’t proud of his avoidance tactics. He knew it made no sense to invite a woman here to the lonely outback and then ensure she was even lonelier by keeping his distance from her.
    Problem was, his invitation for Jess to live with him had been fine in theory. And it was dead easy to justify—he’d offered her security and a chance to be with her daughter while she helped care for his father and looked after the homestead.
    But, damn it, this beautifully simple plan was incredibly complicated when he put it into practice.
    With a soft curse, Reece swung down from his perch on the rail. By now the sun was slanting low, sending long shadows across the paddocks. A cool breeze made his short collar flap as he pondered his new problem.
    Or rather, a new twist to his old problem.
    He knew well that it was crazy to imagine a long-term future at Warringa with a girl like Jess. Eventually, she would need to leave. She would want to head back to Cairns where she and Rosie could join a playgroup and interact with other mothers and kids. Jess would