Climbing Fear

by Leisl Leighton

  Nat chuckled. ‘Sounds good to me.’

  Barb took Nat’s arm in hers as they walked across the pine-needle cushioned car park and up the path towards the cafe. ‘So, everything went fine at the hospital?’

  ‘The scan was clear, as I knew it would be.’

  ‘And your head?’

  ‘A little ginger where I hit it, but the headache is gone and I’m feeling one hundred per cent better today.’

  ‘Good. So, you’ll be good to help with the kids on the ride this afternoon?’

  ‘I wouldn’t miss it. And I’m getting lots of ideas for how to promo this place. I’m going to start by taking photos out on the ride of the kids. You did get their parents to sign the waver forms for the photos I asked you to do, didn’t you?’

  ‘I sure did.’

  Tilly came running out of the cafe, a young girl with a halo of curly red hair around her head, right behind her. ‘Mum. You’re here. You can help me and Andrea with the scones. Reid’s friend Steve has been helping but he’s useless.’

  ‘Tilly. That’s rude.’

  ‘It’s true though,’ the man said who came out of the cafe door behind them, his accent undeniably Scottish, a smear of cream up the side of his face, his sandy-blond hair suspiciously wet looking where it flopped over his brow. ‘I was useless.’

  Reid, came out the door behind him and slapped his shoulder. ‘Some people just aren’t cut out for jamming and creaming scones, Tilly.’

  ‘It’s not that hard,’ Tilly snorted, rolling her eyes at her friend who rolled her eyes right back. ‘And he’s English. Shouldn’t he know how to do it?’

  ‘I’m Scottish, young lassie. Scones were never my thing. Although I do make a fine blood sausage from my mam’s recipe.’

  ‘Blood sausage.’ Both girls screwed up their faces and went, ‘Ew.’

  Just then, Bos came padding around the corner. ‘Bos!’ Tilly called. The dog came ambling over and leaned against her side. She slung her arm around him. ‘Did you just get up, you lazy thing?’ She kissed him on the head. ‘He followed us into the bunkhouse last night, Mum, and he wouldn’t leave, even when Barb called him, so she said he could stay and play guard dog.’ She rubbed his head. ‘And you were a good guard dog, weren’t you?’

  Andrea hugged him too. ‘He sure was.’

  As the two girls crooned over Bos, Reid gestured to his friend. ‘Nat, this is Steve, my production manager slash producer slash friend.’

  Steve wiped his hands on the apron tied around his waist and held out his hand.

  Nat reached out to take his hand when Bos ran between them, growling.

  ‘Bos! That’s not friendly,’ Barb said, grabbing Bos back. The dog was bristling and growling at Steve, trying to push forward again between ‘his girls’ and the new man. ‘I’m so sorry. He doesn’t like strange men. It takes a while for him to warm up to anyone new.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ Steve said, taking a step back. ‘I never was a dog person. He can probably sense that on me too.’

  Bos’ growl got louder at the sound of Steve’s voice. ‘Bos. Behave!’ He pulled against Barb’s hold, almost breaking free.

  Reid lunged forward and grabbed him just in time. ‘Bos. Sit!’ Bos sat, but kept up a low growl as he eyed Steve balefully. ‘Sorry about this, Steve. He’ll get used to you, it will just take a little time.’

  ‘I’ll take him back to the office.’ Barb turned to call back into the cafe. ‘Lisa, can you help me with Bos please?’

  Lisa came running out and together, she and Barb took him from Reid and managed to pull the still growling dog away.

  ‘I hope he’s feeling okay,’ Tilly said, her voice full of worry.

  Reid bent down before her and rubbed her arm. ‘He’s okay. We’ve been through this with him before. We think maybe he was abused by a man or a group of men before we found him. We usually lock him away when groups come in because of it, but Barb mustn’t have thought of it when Steve arrived, especially from the sounds of it, Bos was asleep in the bunkhouse.’

  ‘Can I go and see how he is?’

  ‘Barb is probably just going to take him to the office and give him a treat and he’ll have Connie and Maureen and the kitchen staff fawning all over him before long. He’ll be fine, I promise. Besides, don’t you have morning tea to get ready? Lisa will be back soon and will be really impressed if you’ve got all those scones finished.’

  ‘What are you doing?’

  Reid slapped a hat on Steve’s head. ‘Well seeing we can’t go near the office if Bos is there until he’s more used to Steve, I think we’ll go down and work with the horses.’

  ‘Is that wise?’ Tilly asked.

  ‘Tilly!’ Nat slapped her hand over Tilly’s mouth before she could say anything else, although they all heard the muffled, ‘well if he was useless helping with scones and doesn’t like dogs, how’s he going to be with the horses?’

  The adults all laughed. ‘I grew up with horses in Scotland, young Tilly, so I will actually be a help, not a hindrance.’

  ‘Shall we go before you’re insulted further?’ Reid asked.

  Steve nodded, tipped his hat at Nat and flashed a smile at the two girls. ‘It was a pleasure, ladies.’

  Nat couldn’t take her eyes off Reid as he strode away, talking animatedly with his friend. She was glad for Reid that Steve had come, although she couldn’t help wondering why? Steve was his production manager and producer. Perhaps he’d come to talk Reid into going back to try to make a go of it. To talk him out of putting an end to the TV show for good by closing everything down. She frowned, uncertain if she wanted him to succeed or fail. What would be best for Reid and how would that affect them?

  ‘Mum! Come on. We need help. We’ve still got a bunch of scones to get ready and the cordial to make.’

  She let Tilly pull her inside to the cafe to get morning tea ready for twenty hungry youngsters, happy to have something to do other than think about Reid and the confusion that was sweeping through her again.

  Chapter 17

  They never got their date because Lisa’s horse got spooked by a decapitated possum that afternoon on the ride and she fell off, dislocating her shoulder. When Barb came back from taking her to the hospital, she was alone.

  ‘What happened? Is Lisa okay?’ Ben asked, worry all over his face.

  ‘She’s fine. She has a slight concussion and her shoulder is pretty sore, but it’s nothing that a few days rest won’t cure according to the doc at the hospital.’ Barb sighed and touched her hair as she turned to Nat. ‘I’m sorry to ask, but would you mind helping me at night in the bunkhouse for the next few nights until Lisa gets back? She wanted to come back here, but I took her home to force her to rest. I knew if I brought her back she’d somehow end up working when she shouldn’t and it was the only way I could make sure she took care of herself. I swear, whoever is leaving those animal remains out there near our trails needs to be shot.’

  ‘I haven’t heard any more gun shots, but I’ve reported it again to the police,’ Reid said, rubbing Barb’s back.

  Barb sighed and reached up to pat his face. ‘I know you have. Not that it will do much good. Constable Bruce has enough on his hands at the moment. Aside from our break-in at Nat’s cottage, I found out from Selena Maguire at the hospital that there was a break-in at her parents’ place about a week ago and a rifle and handgun were stolen. Some detectives from Traf came up about it, but so far there’s been no leads. They think it might just be a group of young boys being stupid getting some thrills. She said Sean thinks it’s them who you heard shooting in the bush last week, although, if that’s true, they should know better than to leave their kills on or near the riding paths.’

  ‘I bet it’s the Peterson kids,’ Mac grumbled. ‘Those boys are almost too stupid to live.’

  ‘Mac!’ Barb said. ‘That’s not nice. They can’t help it that their dad’s a drunk and their mum has to hold down three jobs to make ends meet.’

  ‘Maybe they
can’t help that but it’s no excuse for the malicious pranks they’re always pulling.’ He rubbed his thumb across his cheek, the bristles making a scraping sound. ‘You know I caught the eldest one the other day cutting the fence over by the river. Don’t know what the hell he was up to, but I frightened him so bad, he fell into the river and got a dunking. Now they’re stealing rifles and shooting up rabbits and possums and leaving the carcasses to scare our horses, hurting our poor Lisa. If I get my hands on those idiot boys, they’ll do more than get a dunking this time.’

  ‘Perhaps someone needs to do something to help them,’ Nat said. ‘Just because they’re behaving badly doesn’t mean they’re bad kids. They just need someone to show them that they’re not bad and useless, that there is a better future for them.’

  ‘Luke always used to say that if it wasn’t for Barb getting him away from his parents and giving him work here, he would never have left and made something of himself,’ Reid said. ‘Maybe there’s something in that.’

  ‘What are you suggesting?’ Barb asked.

  He was silent for a moment, his face thoughtful, before he said, ‘Maybe we could start some program here for disenfranchised youth. Or young offenders or something. Working with animals has been known to help people with mental health issues and disabilities, so why couldn’t it work for kids with other issues?’

  Nat beamed at him. ‘That’s a wonderful idea. I know we won’t be able to help everyone, but maybe we can help some. Like these Peterson kids. Maybe all they need to be given is a chance to show there’s more options than playing pranks and shooting animals. There might even be some funding we can apply for to help support the program. I can look into it.’

  ‘You will?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘You two want to save the world,’ Barb said, smiling wide.

  ‘Not the world perhaps, but our little corner of it, yes.’ Reid nodded slowly. ‘If we can.’

  ‘I like it.’ Barb patted his shoulder. ‘And maybe you can teach the kids how to climb as well—that worked to help keep you and Luke out of trouble.’

  Seeing the troubled look on Reid’s face, Nat said, ‘We’ll look into all sorts of activities.’

  ‘Wonderful. I’ll leave you both to work on that then, shall I? In the meantime, without Lisa here, there’s lots more work for all of us to do, so we need to get cracking.’ And with that, she marched off to the kitchen.

  ‘Bloody idiot kids will probably kill themselves or someone else before you have a chance to blink if they’ve got that rifle and gun,’ Mac said. ‘Thank buggery it’s you and not me she’s left to deal with finding a way to help them. I’m going to go get those horses ready for shoeing. Meet you and Steve down there, Reid?’

  ‘I’ll come with you now,’ Steve said and loped alongside Mac as he trudged to the barn.

  Reid turned to Nat, a bewildered smile on his face. ‘I didn’t expect that. You don’t mind?’

  ‘No. I thought it was a wonderful idea.’

  ‘I have no idea how to go about implementing it. Luke always took care of all that stuff.’

  She looked at him for a moment. ‘I think you took care of more than you realise.’

  His expression closed off and it was like slamming into a brick wall. ‘No, he was the brains and I was the pretty looking brawn.’

  She wanted to argue the point but saw it was useless at the moment. Better to keep things light for now. ‘Well, maybe we can workshop ideas together, figure out a plan of attack, work up a proposal.’

  ‘I’m not sure how much use I’ll be with all that, but we can use my name—that at least will help to get us some pull.’

  ‘You know your name isn’t the only good thing about you, don’t you?’

  He smiled a wolfish smile as he sidled closer to her. ‘Oh, I know I’m good for other things.’

  She swatted at his hands, looking around her. ‘I wasn’t talking about that.’ But she couldn’t help smiling as his lips found her neck, his hands on her waist, pulling her close, all thought leaving her head as he licked and nibbled up to her ear before sucking her lobe into his mouth. She moaned as hot sparks shot through her. ‘Reid.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You have to stop. Someone could see us.’

  ‘Is that a problem?’

  ‘Until I’ve talked to Tilly about us, yes.’

  ‘Is there an us to talk about?’

  ‘Maybe. If we can have a night to figure it out, then probably.’

  He let her go reluctantly and sighed. ‘But that’s not going to be tonight though, is it?’

  She sighed, disappointed. ‘It doesn’t seem so. With Lisa out and Barb needing me to stay in the bunkhouse …’

  ‘Raincheck for when Lisa comes back, then?’

  ‘Definitely.’

  He kissed her, quick and hard, then swaggered off.

  Her eyes caressed him as he walked away, sweeping from his wide shoulders to his gorgeous butt that was showcased in those worn jeans. Heat rushed over her when he glanced over his shoulder, the wolfish grin back on his face—he knew she’d been staring at him.

  She turned with a hiss, putting her fingers up to her heated cheeks and rushed up the path to the main building. She had no idea how she was going to stop herself from showing to all and sundry how much she wanted Reid over the next week, but she had to find a way. Because for now, she didn’t want anyone knowing, not until she figured out exactly what they had and how far this would go. He wasn’t planning on staying here forever like she was, so this thing had an end date. She just had to figure out what that meant to her. She didn’t have it in her to deal with another partner who spent much of the year away from her or expected her to drop everything and leave her home, her base and come to him. Although, she was getting ahead of herself. They hadn’t even progressed from more than a couple of stolen kisses and despite her revelation of earlier, she still didn’t know what he really thought or wanted.

  It wasn’t until later she realised that he’d once again managed to stop her from questioning him too much about his issues. And she didn’t have a chance to bring any of it up over the next few days either. She’d forgotten how insanely busy the camps were. Nat barely got a minute to herself let alone a minute alone with Reid. Every waking minute was spent with the kids, keeping them busy and entertained and out of mischief on the twice daily horse rides and the activities back at the farm. And when she wasn’t with them, she was spending time with Tilly, or helping Barb in the kitchen or in the stables with Mac relearning the things she’d forgotten about in regards to the care of the horses and tack they used.

  Every night, after she got the kids settled down, she fell asleep in the small room at the end of the bunk room, Barb in the bed next to her snoring away, too exhausted to dream, and woke at dawn the next day ready to start it all over again. She saw Reid a lot during the day given she was helping with the camp and the horse rides, but they were never alone, always surrounded by kids, the hands and Steve.

  Steve didn’t seem to mind helping at all—he said he’d come because he needed a break too and Reid had always made it seem so restful, this said with a derisive laugh. He did occasionally spend time every day in the office at Reid’s place to keep an eye on Reid and Luke’s company and often had to disappear to take business calls, but when he was there he dug in, helping to wrangle kids, saddle and unsaddle horses, filling feed troughs and feeding out the hay in the paddocks for those that were out grazing, and he never missed a ride. She could see why Reid liked him. It must be nice to have a friend like that you could count on who fitted into your life so easily. Maybe Reid was talking to him. She hoped so. He needed someone to talk to. She just wished he’d talk to her.

  ‘Is Steve going to stay for Christmas?’ she asked Reid on the second day of camp as Steve herded up some of the kids to help wash down the horses.

  Reid blinked. ‘I don’t know. I never asked him.’

  ‘It’s just over a week away. Does he have
any family?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then you should ask him to stay. I’m sure Barb won’t mind. The more the merrier she always says.’

  ‘Yeah, I think I will.’

  ‘What does he think about the idea to help the kids in trouble?’

  Reid shrugged. ‘I haven’t really talked about it.’

  ‘Perhaps you should. Especially if you are going to use your name and face to drive the project.’

  ‘You think that might be helpful?’

  ‘Of course it would.’

  ‘Then I’ll bring him in on it too.’ He paused, brushed his finger over her cheek. ‘Although, I still want to talk with you about it. I think it’s something we can do here and I have a feeling it’s going to be better if you’re involved.’

  ‘Okay.’ She couldn’t help the smile that blossomed on her face. ‘I’d like that. Maybe we can start to talk about it when the camp’s over. It should be quiet in the days before Christmas.’

  ‘Yeah. That sounds perfect.’ He kissed her, a quick brush of lips on lips that sent wildfire sparking through her, and then he was gone. She glanced around, hoping nobody had seen. Thankfully, everyone was gone on their tasks for the afternoon. She touched her lips and smiled.

  God, how was she going to wait until the end of the week?

  ‘Mum!’

  She looked up to see Tilly waving at her from up the path having just come around the corner of the cafe, Andrea on one side and Bos, as usual, on her other. Ah, there was her answer. Her daughter alone could make her busy enough to forget nearly everything else. ‘You shrieked?’ she called back, a wide smile on her face.

  Tilly’s laughter burbled down the path towards her. ‘Barb needs you in the kitchen.’

  ‘Coming!’ She slung the blankets she was holding over the coral railing and went to join her daughter.

  Even with how busy she was, there were moments when she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Reid, their kisses, what it would be like when they came together again. She couldn’t help thinking of it as she drifted off to sleep, her dreams full of him and a passionate tangle of bodies and limbs, no nightmares in sight. It was also the first thought she had when she woke in the morning and would sneak up on her in moments when there was a sudden lull during the day. She struggled not to stare at him when they were in the same room together. She was like a dreamy teenager with a crush. An adult-sized crush that caused a tingle of electrical warmth to chase over her skin, pulsing and tightening low in her stomach as she remembered the wild excitement of his kiss and where it would lead when they were finally alone.