LITMIR.BIZ

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punched him on the arm. “Show a little more respect, mate.”

      Cade grinned. “I’m showing as little as I can.”

      Heather gave Judy a slightly bemused glance. “Do your brothers always carry on like this?”

      “Ryan isn’t my brother. When we were kids he spent some time with our family, probably where he picked up so many bad habits,” she heard herself state. Why was she denying their relationship to others, while trying to act like a sister to him herself?

      She ignored Cade’s startled look but was well aware of Ryan’s satisfied expression. All she’d done was state a fact, one he’d reminded her forcibly about earlier in the evening. It didn’t mean she was interested in any other kind of relationship between them.

      “Will you be all right?” she asked Heather.

      The other woman pushed her hair back from her face. “I’ll be fine.”

      “You have my cell phone number if you need anything,” Ryan reminded her.

      “And an open invitation to Diamond Downs anytime,” Judy added. Strange how easy it was to be hospitable now she knew there was nothing between Heather and Ryan. She still had trouble understanding how Heather could give up a glamorous career in television—or any other career—to be an outback wife, but the liking was strong and, Judy suspected, mutual.

      Heather gave her a tired smile. “I appreciate the offer. Don’t be surprised if we accept your hospitality while we’re here. I presume Tracey’s whole group is included?”

      Judy inclined her head. “Of course. The more, the merrier.”

      She and Cade walked out together leaving Judy alone with Ryan. For a normally busy facility, the hospital had gone strangely quiet. “I’m glad Des is okay,” he said into the lull.

      “You told me he would be.”

      “And I’ve never lied to you. Maybe not told you everything, but never deliberately lied.”

      “I know.”

      Feeling awkward now she had acknowledged the basic truth that they weren’t brother and sister and never had been, she found herself at a loss to deal with what they were. She took refuge in practicalities. “I’ll ask if it’s okay for me to see Dad now. Do you want to come?”

      “I’ll see him tomorrow. You go ahead. I’ll wait for you at the car.”

      She hurried to the nurses’ station, wondering what she was hurrying away from. Not the kindness she’d seen in Ryan’s gaze. No, not kindness. A deeper connection she was far from ready to deal with, she admitted inwardly.

      As she’d been promised, she found her father sleeping peacefully surrounded by a tangle of monitoring equipment. She took his hand and stood looking at him for a long time, willing him to improve. There wasn’t much chance unless he received a heart transplant, she knew, but she could still hope.

      His eyes fluttered open for a second. “Hello, Jude,” he murmured. “I’m a silly old bugger, worrying you over nothing.”

      “Never mind about us, you rest now,” she reproved gently. “We’ll be back to see you in the morning. Don’t give the nurses a hard time.”

      “Spoilsport,” he said but his voice faded on the word and soon he was asleep again, the monitors bleeping with reassuring regularity.

      She felt her vision blur. “You may be a silly old bugger, but I love you, Dad.” Bending, she kissed him lightly, careful not to disturb him, then tiptoed out.

      Ryan was leaning against the car, the shadows from the street lights giving his angular features an austere look. “Everything all right?” he asked straightening.

      “For now. He stirred long enough to call himself a silly old bugger.”

      “Then he’s definitely improving.”

      She shook her head. “He won’t until a transplant becomes available.” And we can persuade him to go to Perth to have the operation, she added to herself. That wasn’t likely to happen until they’d resolved her father’s concerns about Diamond Downs’s future.

      Too much pressure on too many fronts, she thought, feeling tiredness sweep over her. She was glad now she hadn’t piloted the Cessna to Halls Creek, and could look forward to closing her eyes on the way home if she wanted to.

      “This has been rough on you, hasn’t it?” Ryan observed.

      “Rougher on Dad. He’s used to being independent and strong.”

      “Nobody can be strong all the time.”

      Not even you. She heard what he didn’t say. For a fleeting moment she was tempted to lean against him and let his arms come around her. He would find her mouth with his and his fingers would thread through her hair, pressing her closer to deepen the kiss until she shivered with pleasure. With him, she would have no need of strength. He had more than enough for them both.

      But there would be a price. He would insist on more, and she already knew he wasn’t a man to take no for an answer. Before she knew it, she would want a ring on her finger and the course of her life would be set. A course she was determined to avoid.

      She shook herself like a blue heeler cattle dog shedding water and stiffened her spine. “Time we were heading back.”

      “Would you like to go for a drink first?”

      At the hotel they were likely to run into dozens of people she knew. She’d have to talk about her father’s problem endlessly, meet their friends’ concern with reassurances she barely believed herself. “I’d rather go home.”

      “There’s still that bottle of wine in the fridge at the cottage.”

      She gave up trying to make sense of her feelings, knowing only that his suggestion was the best one she’d heard all evening. “Sounds good to me.”

      About to get into the car, she was waylaid by a man hurrying up to them. Tall and tanned, he appeared fit enough until you looked closely and saw the signs of too much good living. Unlike most bosses in the Kimberley, Max Horvath preferred to let his men do the hard work around the cattle station he’d inherited from his father. So where he might have been muscular, there was a hint of flab that was set to get worse as he got older. His charcoal hair was streaked with premature gray and his brown eyes were dulled by too many late-night drinking sessions.

      “Judy, sweetie, I called at the homestead and they told me the news. Is your dad all right?” Max asked.

      As he approached, her heart sank. “It was a false alarm brought on by stress, Max,” she said, thinking how much of that stress could be laid squarely at their neighbor’s feet.

      He went on, seemingly unawares. “You should have called me. I’d have brought you to the hospital and stayed with you.”

      Precisely why the thought hadn’t crossed her mind. “It all happened too quickly. Luckily Ryan was available to drive me to town.”

      Max had barely given Ryan a second glance. Now he looked at the other man with more interest. “You’re new here. Do you work for Des Logan?”

      “Ryan is…”

      “Ryan Smith. I’m looking for work around here.” He cut across her smoothly. “Judy was interviewing me for a job when Mr. Logan collapsed, and I offered to give her a ride.”

      “Late hour for an interview,” Max said stuffily. “Still, you probably have your hands full with everything that’s been going on. I didn’t know you were looking to hire more people, Judy.”

      He didn’t know she could afford to hire more people, she translated. “We’re not really hiring,” she said, taking her cue from Ryan. “Ryan was recommended to us by a friend, so the interview was a courtesy. Under the circumstances, we can’t afford to take on anyone

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