Robert Chalmers
The Innamincka Affair
Copyright
Robert Chalmers All rights reserved
The Innamincka Affair
R.A. Chalmers
Publishing.
Wentworth Drive. Felixstowe. IP119LD
United Kingdom.
Published by R.A. Chalmers. 2015
First published in the UK by R.A. Chalmers
Copyright © Robert Chalmers 2015
as Robert Chalmers
ISBN-13: 978-0980798593 (RA Chalmers)
ISBN-10: 0980798590
Printed in eBook format in Great Britain
Set in Helvetica
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which is is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
DEDICATION
… to all that has gone before
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 1
Rebecca had cleared passport control, picked up her luggage from the carousel, placed it on a trolley, and was now in the customs queue in the Brisbane airport terminal building. Patience was something she had in abundance, and there was nothing else for it but to wait for her turn.
Nothing to declare and light luggage should have seen her through in no time. Like everyone, she was now inching along in the queue.
Since receiving the message in her London office from her client, that Cooper Anders would only deal with a representative of the client company face to face, she had been on the move. Cooper Anders was the owner of a vast tract of land in Australia that her client was particularly interested in, and nothing less than her presence in Australia as representative would do. The Australian had indicated that he did not want to sell, but he was none the less willing to talk. Maybe Rebecca would be the key.
The queue was going nowhere, as the customs officers seemed intent on scrutinising every single item that some Hawaiian shirt wearing hippie had stuffed into his bags. All of the customs counters were jammed with people, and it was just a waiting game.
Rebecca was vaguely aware of the admiring glances from the men about her, and she was the picture of cool unruffled elegance. She was tall and slim, with regular workouts in the gym giving her skin a healthy glow that no skin cream could enhance. She was not a lean muscle machine, just a healthy young woman in her prime. Her Armani shades were pushed up on her hair line, above a smooth high forehead. Intelligent green eyes shone beneath sweeping natural eyebrows, and long dark lashes. Her dark hair was brushed back for comfort, and fell almost to her shoulders in a silken swirl. Her light jacket and pale trousers were immaculate and un-creased. The trousers were of a thin material that didn’t exactly cling to her, but rather followed every curve of her perfect body from her slim waist, down over her trim little bottom, then falling in a straight line from just above the knee. Just enough movement there to keep the men in the queue behind her transfixed. No one would have thought she had just stepped off a long haul flight from London. Travelling first class had helped of course. She usually flew first class, it was worth the extra, and to those observing her, she looked first class.
Rebecca was heading toward thirty, and while she was active socially, enjoying the company of her colleagues, there was no one man in that life. There just didn't seem to have been time since she had started with Willet, Barber, Links & Boucher - Attorneys at Law, London and New York. That’s what she told herself, and any friends who occasionally suggested the company of one or another of the eligible men in their circle.
She was Boucher, the youngest partner the company had ever had. And she was very good at what she did. She had a reputation for being able to see through the cloud of little problems surrounding any case, and fixing right on the core of a matter. She was known as a calm, polite, but implacable opponent in the courts. To date, she had never lost a case. This trip was something of a proving ground for her. If she was successful with this mission, her place in the company was assured, and she might finally move up from junior partner.
There had been a young man once. Strong, handsome and honest, who had confessed undying love for her and she for him, before he had shipped out to fight for his country. They had vowed on that last night to wait, to hold a rein on their passions until they could be married. They had shared a dinner the night he left. They had shared a funeral when he was brought home, the victim of a roadside bomb in that far away country. Rebecca drew a deep breath and sighed for lost days. She hadn’t been close to a man since. The wound and hurt of that loss had left her feeling so alone and helpless that she had never let anyone get that close to her ever again. She had locked her heart inside a cage, and vowed never to let herself be open to such pain ever again.
Her mobile phone beeped with an incoming message from her office. “Cooper Anders waiting for you in the Arrivals Area” was all it said, but she sighed. She had been looking forward to getting to her hotel and finding out what she could about this mysterious Cooper Anders before actually meeting with him. She didn’t have a photograph, and there were no other details other than the details of his ownership of this land of interest to her client, and some sketchy personal details. Well, she would meet him soon enough it seemed. He was probably some checked shirt wearing cowboy with a big hat, so he shouldn’t be hard to spot in the crowd outside.
The queue inched forward. Finally, the hippie type had been moved on, his tatty canvas hold-all repacked. Within minutes Rebecca was approaching the desk, her small carry-on and laptop hung from her shoulders, and her single suitcase balanced on the unwieldy luggage trolley. The Customs officer waved her through the aisle beside the desk, more intent on those behind her, and she was through and out into the Arrivals area. She was focused on the crowd behind the barriers. Placards raised, hands waving, children crying. Somewhere in that throng there should be a man called Cooper Anders waiting for her. He had better be!
Australia was not a place to be stranded in. Oh, it was safe enough in terms of personal safety, but public transport was abysmal. Taxies were as scarce as hen’s teeth, and cost an arm and a leg if you did manage to get one. You didn’t want to take one from the airport into the city. It was a vast country, and city planners had built the cities as though they had the entire country to spread out in. So they had.
Rebecca scanned the crowds looking for a placard with her name on it perhaps. Or at least the company name. Or even a country type in a big hat. This was Brisbane Airport, on the Australian east coast, with a subtropical climate. She had been here before on business, and once on a holiday that had taken her to the Great Barrier Reef in the far north. But this time was no holiday, she was here on business. Her company specialized in corporate law. Big corporations often had big problems, and she was very good at smoothing those problems out. ‘This one should be easy’ she thought. Just a cattle station owner resist
ing a take-over offer from a US based holding. Her people called it a cattle ranch, but the Australians called it a cattle station. She knew it was big. She had done her homework, and the place in question was in fact larger than a couple of UK counties put together. In Australia such properties were measured in terms of square miles, not acres. Rebecca wondered again about three questions she had as yet unanswered. Why did the US Corporation want this property so badly, and why was the Australian owner resisting all offers, friendly and otherwise, to sell? The biggest question she had personally was why had the owner insisted on speaking face to face with a representative, or not at all? Did he want to sell or not? So she had come all the way out here to find the answers.
She cleared all control gates, and as she moved into the main terminal area, travellers gradually dispersed and the crowds thinned.
There was still no sign of anyone looking particularly like a ranch hand, or anyone with a placard with her name on it. Just a tall, good looking and rather well dressed man approaching her with a smile as open as a new sunny day. His eyes were a dark blue, he had thick dark hair cut fashionably short and his facial lines would make a sculptor cry for their perfection. He was tall - Rebecca realized he was very tall. Easy six foot, and with a few inches on top of that. Broad shoulders and strong brown arms showing from the short sleeved shirt he wore. She recognized a well dressed man when she saw one. Very classy. This man knew how to dress and how to carry himself. He was now right in front of her. Towering over her in fact. She suddenly felt a prickle of reaction wash over her, as though someone had nibbled on her ear lobe. Her knees almost gave way. ‘Oh My God’ she thought, ‘what’s wrong with me?’ Involuntarily she placed her right hand on the man’s chest to steady herself, he was that close.
“Are you ok miss?” He said. His rich toned voice washed over her senses. She stepped back in alarm.
“Forgive me. Oh, I’m so sorry. It’s been a longer flight than I realized. Please….” Rebecca stopped. Her heart was thumping in her chest, as though trying to escape from that steel cage she had it locked in.
She gathered herself together and took a breath. Her normally cool detached self fought to regain control of her senses. He was still smiling at her, and had stepped back a pace to give her some room. ‘Oh my.’ She thought. ‘He is one gorgeous man… and here I am babbling like a school girl.’ Her skin was still prickling, and she could feel herself responding to him. Rebecca was trying to find something to say that wouldn’t sound like babbling again.
He saved her the trouble.
“No worries miss. It’s Rebecca isn’t it? Your name, I mean. Rebecca Boucher?”
All she could do was stare at him. All of her years of training in some of the best courtrooms in the world, suddenly flown out the window. Her heart was still hammering away in her chest. She was sure her voice quivered when she replied.
“Yes, I’m Rebecca Boucher. Do I know you? Ah, of course you must be Cooper Anders.” Rebecca fought to regain control of her senses, and set a noncommittal courtroom smile on her face.
“Do you mind if I call you Rebecca?” He said. “I’m Cooper. I believe you are here to meet me; I’ve been looking out for you.”
She was stunned, and Rebecca was not a person easily stunned. Well, this was not going at all the way she had expected, or wanted. It was time to get things back on track.
“Cooper. A pleasure to meet you. I wasn’t expecting you I must admit. Forgive me for being so… ill prepared, a moment ago. However, I’m sure there will be a hotel driver here somewhere looking for me.” Rebecca tried looking past him, but he was too big. Was it just her, or did he really block everything else out of her vision? She took a further step back and looked around.
Cooper turned slightly so he was not openly confronting her. He exuded self confidence and health, and more than one admiring glance came his way in the crowded hall. He never noticed though. He was totally unaware of his presence. He was watching Rebecca walk away from him along the concourse. He slid his hands into the pockets of his well-cut trousers, thumbs hooked on the outside and casually followed, stepping around some children who had decided that they had done enough walking, and were sitting down right there in the middle of the concourse. Cooper continued to appraise this new woman in his life as he followed her. She was… stunning! He’d never seen anyone like her. He wasn’t staring - well not much anyway, he thought with a grin. That cute little behind was something to behold. Just at that moment Rebecca turned around. Her eyes glinting as what she thought she saw. Just another man with lust in his eyes. She did a double take. He wasn’t staring or ogling she realized. Simply looking at her. Up and down, with a faint smile of open appreciation on his lips, a smile she noticed that lit up his eyes as well. Now that was a smile. Now that was a man. Rebecca went all prickly again. She spun around and started frantically trying to balance her bag on the trolley. What was it about that man? Suddenly she stopped in her tracks. What had she been thinking? Where was she trying to go? She realized with a start that she had been trying to escape…
She turned to face him again. “I’ll be with you in a moment.” Rebecca said this as a statement. She had to admit, he was drop dead gorgeous standing there with his thumbs hooked out of his pockets. His waist was the trimmest she had seen on a man, well, forever, and that tight mole skin trouser covered butt was just begging to have her hands clasping him to her. Nice shoes too she noticed as an after thought. She allowed her gaze to travel up the length of him, taking in his muscular body, the solidness of his abdomen evident beneath the light shirt he wore to the broad shoulders of a man used to hard work. She didn't think for a moment he worked out. He was used to working hard and his tanned skin gave his eyes a depth that pierced her to the core. His hair was brushed back and parted on the side and was a lovely auburn-brown colour. The cut looked a little old fashioned actually, but on him it suited. Rebecca smiled. 'A bit like Superman actually,' she thought, without the glasses of Clark Kent. 'Would he be able to perform super human feats in bed?' She shook her head slightly to clear it. ‘Get a grip woman’ she admonished herself.
Cooper seemed not to notice, for which Rebecca was thankful. She didn't want to start off with the wrong reputation.
She turned suddenly and her suitcase slid from the rattling luggage trolley. Cooper leaned past her, his bare arm almost entwined with hers as he took hold of the suitcase. Rebecca went weak at the knees again. 'What is wrong with me?' She thought in frustration. 'Stop being so stupid.' She suddenly felt very vulnerable and not at all sure that she could carry this negotiation through calmly. All her training had not prepared her for this. A man like this walking into her life.
Rebecca looked at Cooper, and let him have the suitcase.
"Thank you Cooper. Very kind of you." She said. She was sure that the bars of the cage she had welded shut around her heart years before were already beginning to bend.
"It's nothing," he replied. "Would you care to go to your hotel first?" He asked. "I took the liberty of sending your driver away. So I know the hotel. The Sofitel. Very nice. My car is in Valet parking."
"First?" Rebecca almost squeaked. Rebecca didn't do squeaking. She coughed politely behind her hand. “What exactly do you mean by ‘first’?” She asked politely.
"Well, I wouldn’t want you to waste your time coming all this way for nothing, because as I have already told your client, Innamincka Station is ninety-nine percent not for sale. So I thought perhaps I’d show the place to you first hand. We have a long flight ahead of us in my own small plane if you agree, either today or tomorrow. So I thought you might like to take some time to get over the flight. Have a relaxing meal, and a good nights sleep in a comfortable hotel. The Sofitel is 5 star by the way.?" Cooper ended his little speech with an upward inflection, creating a question of it. Was 5 star good enough?
Rebecca smiled. She liked a man to take charge. Especially when he looked like Cooper, whose smile travelled to his eyes as well as softening the lines
of his face. Rebecca found herself gazing wistfully at his lips. Her own lips parted slightly as she licked them with the tiniest tip of her tongue. Amazing how the aircraft air-conditioning dried the skin. She rummaged in her grip for some lip balm, to cover her involuntary actions.
"Yes, that would be nice. I don't mean you to take all this trouble though." Rebecca smiled to take any sting out of the words. She was not sure of this man, and she discovered that she didn't want to do a thing to give him offence. 'Oh well,’ she thought. 'A nice dinner and a good sleep will prepare me for whatever is to come.'
She realised suddenly that he too was probably at the same hotel in that case.
"Are you booked into the same hotel?" Rebecca asked. Well, this was business after all, and it would be nice to have some company over dinner.
"Yes, I am," Cooper replied. "I've had some business in town, and I've been here a week or more now. However, business is finished for now. It's Friday, and no one works past Friday lunch time in this state. So we may as well relax." They were walking toward the exit doors, and Cooper had signalled the Valet Parking desk to have his car brought over from the valet holding. It should be waiting outside for them when they got there.
Cooper held open the passenger door for her and then put her bags in the trunk. He stepped around to the other side and eased his long frame into the door and sat beside her. The hire car was spacious, quiet and smooth. Especially after the hours of the enveloping roar of the jet, and the noise of the terminal.
Rebecca was taking in the sight of Cooper, sitting there beside her. She was discovering that he was a hard man to take her eyes from. She couldn't keep watching him. He'd surely notice and probably take offence. He certainly didn't say much. A lot of men babbled on, the sound of their own voices filling their ears. Not Cooper. Apparently he spoke when spoken to, or had something of importance to impart. Otherwise, nothing.
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