Outback Master

by Lexxie Couper

  Andrew swallowed heavily and Amy suspected this was where the story would get tougher. She gave him an encouraging smile.

  “I guess you said no.”

  He nodded.

  “You were young with fun plans. I don’t think there’s an older brother on the planet who would have given those up willingly just so he could babysit his kid sister. Where was your dad?”

  “He was out of town on a business trip. I should have gone to get her right then. I could hear in her voice she was scared. She said her mom was out for the night and she didn’t like to be alone with Ross. I told her to just go to her room and watch TV.”

  He closed his eyes, but not before she caught the flash of pain there.

  “I went out, hit a couple of clubs, but I couldn’t shake the idea that something was wrong. Really wrong. I ditched my friends, grabbed a cab and headed over to check on Harper. No one answered the door when I got there, but I could see Ross’ car in the driveway. Then I heard Harper call out.”

  Amy tried not to cry. Her tears wouldn’t help Andrew, but his story was tearing her apart. “What did you do?”

  “I kicked the door down.”

  Jesus. She’d seen snatches of his incredible strength over the past few days, but she could only imagine the force he’d produced to break down a door.

  “I ran down the hall to Harper’s room just as Ross was rushing out. The son of a bitch was zipping up his pants.”

  “Bloody hell,” Amy whispered. “Did he…had he…?”

  “No. I got there before he could…” Andrew took a deep breath, steadying himself before he was able to say, “Rape her.”

  Amy closed her eyes. “Thank God.”

  “I punched the motherfucker hard enough to knock him out. Then I grabbed a suitcase and started shoving a bunch of shit in it. I picked Harper up and I carried her out of there.”

  Amy couldn’t stand the distance between them any longer or the pain etched on every line in his face. She left her chair and knelt before him. “You saved her, Andrew. Where’s the shame in that?”

  “I should have gone when she called. Should have taken her away from there before it got that far. I let her down, Amy. I didn’t protect her.”

  Andrew was a strong, proud man. Those attributes had likely been there since birth. She couldn’t imagine how many nights he’d suffered, thinking of how he’d failed his sister. The pain he carried for so many years must have been unbearable.

  “You’re a good man, Andrew. You took your sister out of hell. You brought her here and provided a safe, loving home. Even when your dad passed away, you stuck around and raised her. You’re amazing. Loving. Wonderful.”

  He started to shake his head, but she refused to let him deny the truth. “Bloody hell, Shaw. Stop beating yourself up over this. It’s time to let the past go. You and Harper are both alive, healthy, together. Start facing forward, looking toward your future. The past can’t hurt either of you anymore. Besides, Harper clearly doesn’t blame you.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know because she misses you. She may have called me this morning, but I guarantee it was your voice she really needed to hear.”

  He gestured to his cell. “Yeah. I can tell. She ran off to Australia without telling me and she’s been ringing my phone off the hook since then.”

  “She’s in class right now.”

  He frowned. “Class?”

  Amy nodded. “She’s teaching my students at Farpoint Creek Cattle Station. It’s just outside Cobar.”

  Andrew’s eyes softened, though the sadness still lingered. “You really are a cowgirl, living on a ranch.”

  She laughed. “No. I live on a station and there’s no cowgirl about it.”

  “Come to bed with me?” His request was hesitant, uncertain. Spoken by a broken man.

  She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “There’s nowhere on earth I’d rather be.”

  They held hands as they climbed the stairs together. Kissing, they took turns slowly undressing each other. Neither of them seemed inclined to stop touching, to break the connection.

  He lifted her, placing her gently on the mattress before crawling over her body. She loved being sheltered beneath his large, strong form. Andrew continued to kiss her as he pressed his cock inside, the path a familiar one to him now. He understood where to press, appreciated how fast, how hard she liked it. He knew her body.

  He knew her.

  And now, she felt like she knew him. It made the moment so much more precious. And painful.

  She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him to her tightly as they rocked together. Time stood still as they clung to each other. For so many years, she’d felt lost, just a little out of step with everyone else around her.

  With Andrew, she was the true Amy. It was a precious gift he offered.

  When they came, it was together. Bittersweet and beautiful as the clock continued to count down.

  Tomorrow he’d say goodbye. Fly away on other adventures, traveling off the beaten paths, while she returned to one that was way too familiar in Australia.

  Funny how Farpoint didn’t feel like home anymore.

  She wondered if it ever would again.

  Chapter 7

  Amy looked at the blue mountains in the distance and knew she’d come home. After a tearful farewell to Andrew in Chicago two days earlier, it had taken her all of five minutes to decide she wanted to return to Farpoint. America held no fascination for her without him in it.

  She sniffed the light scent of eucalyptus from the gum trees and remembered Andrew’s complaint about the way her country smelled like medicine. Now she wasn’t sure she could ever inhale the faint odor without thinking of him.

  She was home. Back in the land of brown eggs covered in feathers and poo, spiders on the loo, no tipping and super-short showers that turned cold too quickly.

  As much as she’d wanted to escape Chicago and its memories of Andrew, Farpoint didn’t seem very welcoming either. Bloody hell. What had she done? Lived a lifetime in ignorant bliss, moving from moment to moment without a care in the world. In one week, Andrew had made her care too much. About him.

  Surely this feeling would fade with time.

  Wouldn’t it?

  She hoped so. Right now, her heart ached and she felt like a teenage girl suffering her first lost love. She was considering holing herself up in her cottage with Harper for a week, eating ice cream from the carton and belting out one sad song after another. She was the cliché of a broken-hearted woman. Marc and Keith would have a field day with this, but she didn’t give a shit.

  She’d thought coming home would help. Wandering around an empty house in Chicago for a week felt too unbearable so she’d decided to come home to be with the people she loved. She also consoled herself over cutting her vacation short with the thought that, this way, she’d have a chance to hang out with Harper.

  Of course, that was going to have to start after she crawled out of bed approximately three days from now. She’d never felt so exhausted. One week of sleep-deprived, sex-filled nights followed by two days on nonstop travel had zapped every ounce of energy left in her body. She suspected she could close her eyes and not open them again for days, maybe years.

  Even then, she still wouldn’t want to wake up. Her dreams of Andrew would have to sustain her from now on and she could only have those while asleep.

  She stepped out of the ute she’d rented at the Cobar airport and was promptly greeted by Jett, Keith’s black Kelpie. The dog wasn’t too far ahead of his master and soon she found herself wrapped up in hugs and greetings and questions of “What the hell are you doing home already?” from her two best mates.

  Only after Keith, then Marc released her, did Amy spy Harper. Her friend’s familiar features and crystal blue eyes reminded her too much of the man she’d just lost. Amy took two steps and fell into Harper’s embrace, tears escaping despite her best efforts to hold them at bay.

  “Hey,”
Harper said consolingly. “Please tell me you didn’t come home early because of me and that stupid phone call.”

  Amy shook her head. “No. Andrew…” It was all she could say before her throat seized up again.

  “Oh my God. What the hell did he do? I’ll kill him.”

  Amy laughed through her tears. “He didn’t do anything.”

  Harper looked perplexed. “Then why are you crying?”

  “Because I fell in love with the stupid man. And now he’s back at work and I’m here and, God, I’m such an idiot.”

  If Amy hadn’t been so upset, she would have laughed at Harper’s slack-jawed expression. “You fell in love? With my brother?”

  Amy nodded.

  Harper’s shoulders drooped. “I’m so sorry, Amy. I should have warned you. It’s just… I mean my brother may be a bit of a player, but he’s never led a woman on or toyed with her emotions. I had no idea he would use you and then—”

  “He didn’t use me,” Amy interrupted. “I think he might have fallen in love with me too.” Neither of them had said the words, both cursed with too much self-preservation. She couldn’t tell him how she felt knowing she had to leave and that nothing could come of her feelings. And besides, who the bloody hell fell in love with someone after only a week?

  “Amy! You’re home!”

  Amy glanced behind Harper and saw Annie emerging from the big house. The sight of her friend caught her off-guard. Annie did. Her friend had fallen in love with Hunter Sullivan after a weeklong visit to Australia. In fact, she’d fallen so deeply for the boss at Farpoint, she’d uprooted her life in New York and moved halfway around the world to be with him.

  Annie offered Amy a warm welcome-home hug. “We weren’t expecting you until next weekend.”

  Amy shrugged, hoping her tears had dried enough to go unnoticed. “I got a little homesick.” It was a lie and Annie was too shrewd to be fooled. Even so, she let it go.

  “Hazel will be thrilled to see you. She’s mentioned several times how much she’s missed your spirit around this place.”

  Amy smiled, but didn’t have a chance to respond.

  Harper was still looking at her. In fact, her gaze hadn’t moved since Amy had dropped her “love” bomb. “Andrew is in love with you?”

  Amy lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know that for sure. He never said he did. I just—”

  “Of course he fell in love with you,” Marc interjected. “I figure an American boy didn’t stand a fighting chance against our Amy.”

  She laughed, the heaviness in her chest lifting. She was home, surrounded by people who loved her. She’d been right to cut the trip short and return. She needed their support, their strength to keep her going for the next few weeks…months.

  Harper frowned. “But Andrew never—”

  “He never falls in love,” Amy finished. “Yeah. I know. Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part, but I’m okay with that. After all,” her voice cracked slightly, “I’m most likely never going to see him again. It’s just nice to believe my feelings were returned and it’s not like it’s going to hurt anyone for me to hold on to that idea.”

  Her hands trembled slightly, so she shoved them in the front pockets of her jeans.

  “I hope you’re right, Amy. I’ve always worried about my brother’s inability to let any woman into his heart. I should have known if anyone could do it, it would be you.” Harper gave Amy another quick squeeze.

  Annie reached for Amy’s hand. “Come on into the house. You’re going to have to tell Hazel and me all about this man.”

  Harper stepped over to say something to Keith and Amy wondered about Harper’s sudden blush. It looked as if Harper and Keith had made their own love connection. Then Marc stepped closer and wrapped his arm around Harper in a way that seemed a touch more than friendly. Harper and Keith and Marc?

  Harper gave her a shy shrug and Amy grinned. Her friend looked incredibly happy. Amy was relieved. She’d expected to find her friend still upset considering the sadness in Harper’s voice the last time they’d spoken.

  Annie grinned. “Those three have been inseparable since your friend arrived.”

  “Really?”

  Annie winked at her then opened the front screen door. “I think I’ll let Thomo and Blue fill you in on the details.”

  Keith took off his akubra, running his fingers through his sweat-matted hair, thanks to the hot day. It was a familiar gesture and just one more tiny insignificant thing that helped convince her she’d left heaven and landed smack-dab in the middle of reality.

  This sucked.

  “There’s my girl.” Hazel wiped her hands on her apron as she walked from the kitchen. Then she threw her arms out, capturing Amy in a tight squeeze. Hazel gave the best hugs on earth.

  The tears Amy had just managed to stem began to flow once more, harder this time. Hazel’s grip never slackened as Amy’s cries turned to sobs.

  “There, there, sweet lass. I’m sure it’s not all as bad as that.” Hazel continued to murmur soothing words while Amy cried out all the emotions she’d fought so hard to keep in for the past two days.

  She led Amy to the couch where the two of them sat down. Annie claimed a nearby chair.

  “I’m sorry.” Amy reached for a tissue from the box on an end table, wiping her eyes and nose.

  Hazel brushed Amy’s hair away from her face. “It sounds like you’ve been holding those tears in for a while. What happened in Chicago, Amy?”

  “I met a man.”

  Hazel glanced at Annie and rolled her eyes. “Dear God. What is it with you young people and these international romances?”

  Amy laughed. Leave it to Hazel to find a way to ease the pain. “I didn’t fall in love with him on purpose.”

  Annie leaned forward. “None of us ever do. The heart wants what the heart wants and practical things like jobs and geography rarely win out.”

  “So who is this man?” Hazel asked.

  “Harper’s brother, Andrew.” Amy’s throat squeezed when she spoke his name and she fought down a fresh round of tears. She was a mess.

  Hazel pressed back against the cushions and studied Amy’s face. “This is the man with the cable show, right? The one who lives your dream job, traveling all over the world?”

  Amy nodded. She’d often related to Hazel the stories Harper had told her about Andrew’s adventures. Many times, the two of them would pop online to look up the latest place he’d been just to see pictures and clips of the program. While Hazel had rarely left Farpoint—and never expressed the slightest bit of interest in seeing the world—Amy suspected there was a tiny kernel of wanderlust in her boss as well.

  “Well, that makes things interesting. I assume he’s out jet-setting again?”

  “He was in Chicago while I was there. We spent the week together and it was—”

  “Magical.” Annie supplied the word and Amy knew it was one she’d used to describe her first week on Farpoint with Hunter.

  “Exactly.” Amy didn’t bother to deny it. “And stupid. I should never have let things go so far. I knew how they were going to end.”

  Hazel took her hands, tugging until Amy faced her more fully. “You didn’t do a bloody thing wrong. Your willingness to open yourself up to life, to even risk heartbreak, is one of the things I admire about you, Amy. Ask yourself this. If you had it all to do over again, knowing what you know now, would you do it?”

  “Hell yeah.” Amy didn’t even need to think about the response.

  “Then it wasn’t wrong, Amelia Wesson. You’ll take some time, lick your wounds and you’ll find a way to move on because you’re smart, strong and brave.”

  A tear escaped before Amy could hold it back. She blinked rapidly, letting Hazel’s words soothe her.

  “I’m smart, strong and brave.” Amy repeated the words, hoping that by speaking them aloud, they would take root.

  “Just keep saying that.”

  “And if you want to fall apart or need a friendly
ear, we’ll be right here,” Annie offered.

  Amy smiled through her tears, grateful for her friends. No, the Sullivans had become family to her somewhere over the years. And despite that, she couldn’t shake the emptiness looming inside her.

  Smart, strong, brave. She wanted to believe that, but one word rang out louder.

  Alone.

  * * * *

  Andrew stepped out of the helicopter and took a deep breath. Yep. Australia still smelled like fucking Vicks VapoRub. Funny thing was he didn’t mind as much this time. It made him think of Amy.

  He smiled. Amy. He was so close to her now. Finally.

  He saw a dust cloud coming down the road, kicked up by a truck. Obviously his arrival hadn’t gone unnoticed. Not that he’d expected it to. Sort of hard to sneak onto a ranch by way of helicopter.

  He still couldn’t quite believe he was here. He’d gone back to work four days ago, meeting with the producers of Off the Beaten Path. As his paradise isle was still recovering from the monsoon, they’d needed to come up with an alternate location to shoot next.

  For two days, Andrew pushed hard for Australia, using every ounce of persuasion in his body. Then, just when it looked like he was going to lose, the show’s executive producer, Georgia Drake, asked to speak to him privately. She’d tilted her head and asked him what the hell was in Australia.

  Like a lovesick fool, he’d confessed. And, to his surprise, he’d discovered that his ball-busting producer was a hopeless romantic at heart. She’d gone to bat for him and now he was here—on the cable company’s dime—facing an even harder battle.

  The truck pulled up to the tarmac and two men emerged. He recognized Amy’s two best friends, Marc and Keith, as they walked toward him. She’d shown him pictures of the men one night over dinner, cracking him up with stories about their childhood pranks. He nodded when they came to a stop in front of him.

  The taller of the two men spoke first. “I’m Keith Munroe and this is Marc Thompson.”

  Andrew stuck out his hand. “I’m Andrew Shaw. Harper’s brother.”