Alex walked across the yards at Wigul. He sighed and tapped at a gate. It creaked as it swung open. This place was falling apart.
"Alex!"
He looked towards the house and waved at Luke. Luke hurried across the yard and joined Alex at the yards.
"These are a bit of a mess," he said.
Alex just nodded and continued with his tour of the place. He hadn't been out to Wilgul since Kane and Stevie left. And Nick hadn't found anyone to run it for over a year now.
"So, do think between you and Rose you can start getting this place sorted?" Alex wiggled a fence post.
Luke shrugged and knelt to test the tension on the bottom strand of wire. "I think we can. Are we running sheep?"
Alex nodded. "Wilgul can only handle sheep. Not big enough for cattle."
"How long before you want sheep on here?" Luke asked standing and dusting his hands off.
"Three weeks, a month at the latest." Alex turned to study the young man standing beside him.
Luke was tough, but he loved deeply. He had a ready smile and when he worked he put his back into it. Alex watched as Luke followed the fence line, kicking fence posts and checking the wire. The boy knew what he was doing. He would be alright.
Picking up his pace, Alex caught up with Luke. "So, when you were at Camelot, how much work did you actually do?"
Luke shrugged. "The first year Kane helped out and so did Stevie. But after Kaleb was born, it was harder for Stevie for the first few months and then Kane left. It was good until Kane came back. Then Stevie had Kana and things went sour from there. Stevie never got back in the saddle after Kana. And then you came."
Alex frowned. "So Stevie hasn't worked since Kana was born? That's almost ten months ago."
Luke nodded.
"That's not like Stevie. He must have hurt her bad."
"Did she tell you how Kana was conceived?"
"I'm assuming the normal way," Alex grinned. "How else do babies come about? The stork brings them?"
Alex expected Luke to laugh but he didn't. Instead he scuffed the ground with one foot and then looked into the distance.
"Luke?" Alex said. A horrible feeling began to grow in his stomach. What had happened?
Luke bit his lip. "Maybe you should talk to Stevie."
"Is this story going to make me hate Kane even more?" Alex asked.
"Yes, without a doubt. I hate him. I didn't before. I didn't like him much, but he was my brother. Then after that night, well, any affection I held for the man fled out the door along with any hope I had that he had changed."
"Luke, did he ever hurt you?" Alex laid a hand on Luke's arm.
Luke shrugged him off. "Not as bad as he hurt Stevie. He rarely hit me. But emotionally, he made me feel like a loser. Like I couldn't hold up my end of the bargain. The thing was I did more work than he ever did on the place."
Alex pulled Luke in and hugged him. "Luke, you did nothing wrong. Do you hear me? Nothing. You saved Rose and Stevie and for that, I'll be ever grateful. Now, I'm letting you run Wilgul, but you tell me if you need help or just someone to talk to. I'll be there for you."
"You mean Stevie, don't you?" Luke said, wiping a tear from his eye.
Alex smiled. "For her, for Rose, for you. You're part of her family now and that makes you part of mine."
"Are you going to marry her?" Luke crouched down to pet Hardy and Dagger.
The two dogs wagged their tails and then bounded off to sniff out something under a pile of wood.
Alex shrugged. "Right now, she can barely stand me touching her. Marriage is a long time in the future."
Luke nodded and calling the dogs wandered off towards the sheds. Alex leaned against the fence and tore a stalk of grass out of the ground. Systematically shredding it, he stared into the distance. He loved Stevie, he knew that now. But like he told Luke, she wasn't ready for a marriage. Even kissing her sent her into shivers. He hated seeing the fear in her eyes. And until that fear was gone he was not even going to broach the subject of marriage.
"Alex!"
He turned and smiled. Stevie stood on the porch, Kana in one arm, the phone in the other hand.
"Alex, it's your dad," Stevie said.
Alex sighed and trudged to the porch. He took the phone from Stevie and then leaned down to kiss her cheek. Stevie pulled away so he turned to Kana's. The little girl grinned at him and grabbed his face.
"Alex," Stevie hissed. "He didn't sound too happy."
Alex laughed. "Since when has he ever sounded happy?"
Stevie shrugged. "Talk to him before it gets worse."
"Yeah, yeah." Alex ushered her inside and into the kitchen.
Rose was setting the table with Kaleb's help.
"Morning, all," Alex said, kissing Rose's cheek and mussing Kaleb's hair.
"Alex, the phone," Stevie said, pushing him through the room. "Get it over with so we can get on with the day."
Alex rolled his eyes and headed to the living room. He dropped onto a couch and stared at the phone.
"Hello, Harry."
"Well, took you bloody long enough to answer," Harry grumbled.
"Busy," Alex replied. "What do want?"
"Are you coming over to Killarny today? We need some work done."
"I'll be over this avro. I've got to get Wilgul sorted."
"That's not good enough," Harry snapped. "I need you here now."
Alex clenched his jaw and willed himself not to get angry. "Dad, listen, Matt knows what needs doing. Nat can help him and I'll be at home after lunch."
He hung up the phone and tossed it on the table. Closing his eyes he counted to ten before getting up and lumbering back into the kitchen.
"So, what's for breaky?" He grabbed Kaleb and tossed the small boy into the air. "Rose, are you good to help Luke with the fences today?"
"Sure," Rose replied. "And we're having eggs and sausage."
Alex put Kaleb in his chair and sat down beside him. "Alright, young man, let's eat."
He reached for a sausage and Kaleb copied him.
"Wait for Mum." Rose smacked Alex's hand first and then Kaleb's.
Alex rolled his eyes at Kaleb and the little boy laughed.
"Mum! Are you coming?" Rose went onto the porch. "Luke, breaky!"
Within minutes the kitchen was filled as they gathered around the table. Turbo, who hadn't left Stevie's side since they had arrived, tucked himself under Stevie's chair. Hardy and Dagger padded around the table picking up crumbs and begging for food.
"Hey, Steves, do you want to go for a ride?" Alex asked as he stacked the plates.
Stevie shrugged. "Maybe."
Alex frowned "Come on, Stevie. Banjo is aching for a ride."
"How do you know?" Stevie lifted Kana from her chair and propped the girl on her hip.
"He told me," Alex laughed. "Come on, it'll be good for you."
"Go on, Mum," Rose said, taking Kana. "Luke and I will watch the kids. Go out for a ride."
Stevie bit her lip and then nodded. She took Alex's outstretched hand and he squeezed it gently. Her lips trembled but curved up into a smile. He kissed her knuckles and led her out to the barn.
"So who do think I should ride?" Alex asked as they walked across the yard.
Stevie tipped her head and frowned. "I don't know. Maybe Piston. He's a pretty big guy."
"Which one is that?"
Stevie stopped at the horse yards and whistled. Three of the four horses they had brought lifted their heads and trotted to the fence. Pushing and shoving they all reached for Stevie, who's face creased into a genuine smile. She stroked each eager head and murmured to them.
She rested a hand on the neck of a chestnut with a small stripe on its nose. "This is Piston. The chestnut without the stripe is Peanut and the black mare back there is DeeDee."
"DeeDee? What a name." Alex stroked Piston's neck, noting the muscles in the animal. It was a good looking horse. But then Stevie always knew her horseflesh.
"It's a nickname. We rarely call her by her real name," Stevie smirked. "It shocks people."
"What is this shocking name?" Alex reached for a halter and headed for the gate.
Stevie followed him with another halter. The black horse watched them suspiciously from her spot by the stalls. Alex could see the fire in her eyes. She pawed the ground as if daring him to touch her.
"DeeDee's registered as Devil's Daughter."
Alex laughed. Stevie smiled and opened the gate. "Luke's the only one who can handle her. She's a bit of a wild thing. We found her on the property when we moved in. It took Luke a week to even get close to her. I think it was about six months later that he actually managed to sit on her. But she won't tolerate anyone else on her back."
"A real knight in shining armor," Alex muttered. "He's good."
DeeDee was attacking the ground in earnest now. She flung her head up and down, showing her teeth. Peanut, the smaller chestnut broke off from the group and ran to the mare. Peanut began to nuzzle DeeDee's neck and gradually the black mare calmed down.
"Wow," Alex said softly. "That's amazing."
Stevie nodded. "Peanut is the only horse that DeeDee will tolerate. I guess that's because Peanut is Rose's horse and they ride together a lot."
Alex slipped the halter over Piston's head and buckling it, led the horse to the gate. Stevie followed and they tied the horses outside the gate and went to gather their tack, DeeDee's eyes following them the whole time.
Alex shuddered. It wasn't unusually to have a horse follow your every move, but the black mare scared him.
Half an hour later they pulled up close to Drover's border fence. Stevie dropped her reins and stretched. Alex patted Piston's neck. The gelding was a good horse, very responsive but he still had spirit, which Alex liked.
"I've missed this place," Stevie said staring across Drovers' paddocks. "They call to you, don't they?"
"Home always calls," Alex agreed.
Stevie laughed. "When did you get all philosophical?"
Alex shrugged. "It's what I feel when you're with me."
She turned with a look half of fear and half of awe. He smiled, trying to remove the fear.
She shook her head. "Alex, I don't think I can be what you want. Kane hurt me too much. I don't know if I can ever trust a man with my heart and body again."
Alex felt his heart clench at her words. But he wasn't going to give up. "I'll wait."
"You might be waiting for the rest of your life," Stevie said, kicking Banjo into a run.
Piston reared and Alex clung to the saddle. The horse's feet hit the ground and Piston took off running. But Banjo and Stevie were too far away, they would never catch up.
Stevie disappeared over a hill and Alex urged Piston on. At the top of the hill, he slowed the horse. Stevie was nowhere in sight. Cursing his carelessness, Alex guided Piston slowly down the hill.
He followed the stream and found her on the edge of one of Drovers' drop-offs. Sliding off of Piston he let the horse amble over to Banjo, who was patiently cropping grass. Stevie sat with her legs dangling into space.
"Hey, I'm sorry." Alex sat down next to her, careful not to let any part of his body rub against hers.
Stevie turned to him and his heart lurched at the tears in her eyes.
"Oh, Steves, it's going to be okay. You'll make it through this." He ached to wrap his arms around her but he didn't want to scare her off.
"Hold me, Alex," she whispered. "Just hold me."
Sliding closer he pulled her against his chest and rested his chin on her head. She shook with sobs, clutching ever tighter to him.
He was going to kill that bastard Kane. He had been prepared to let the man live in his guilt, but seeing his strong cowgirl crying, it was enough to break anyone. Kane deserved to die for this.
Stevie shudder once, twice and then relaxed against him. He stroked her hair and whispered sweet nothings into her ear.
"Alex, did Luke or Rose say anything about Kana's conception?" Stevie asked, her voice muffled against his shirt.
"Luke said something this morning but he didn't elaborate." Alex lifted her face and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks. "You don't have to tell me."
"Yes, I do," she said. "But it's hard for me to say it. I should never have left with him."
"We all make mistakes, Stevie. I've made some doosies."
She laughed at that. "I guess you have. But I knew deep down inside of me that leaving with Kane was a bad idea. He just made it all sound to possible and you treated me like anyone else, going after Jaz and whatever other two legged girl you saw. I didn't think you loved me. And Kane said he did."
Alex swallowed, trying not to cry. "I was an idiot. I was scared to love you. What I felt for you I hadn't felt since Claire died. The only thing was what I felt for you was stronger than what I felt for Claire. That was what scared me. I couldn't lose you. And for all my fear I nearly did."
Stevie smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek. "Alright, we have that sorted. But I still need to tell you about Kana. You see, about a month before I realized I was carrying her, Henry Fain had come by to talk about me training one of his new stock horses. He had seen Rose working with Peanut and he liked what he saw."
Alex felt more admiration for Henry Fain then before. The man had an intuition when it came to people and he knew good horseflesh when he saw it.
"Sometime while I was talking to Henry, Kane must have seen us. At one point Henry must have touched me, I don't remember. I do remember him giving me a hug at one point. Kane thought I was cheating on him. Which was stupid of him."
"If he knew you well enough, he would have know that you never cheat," Alex murmured. "I think I can guess the rest. He forced himself on you that night."
Stevie nodded. "He said that wives who cheated didn't deserve respect. He hurt me so badly that night. It took me months to fully heal. I was so afraid I was going to lose the baby. Her birth was hard, much harder than Kaleb's. I was exhausted at the end. After I had her, I was sure I could never have another. But I did. The day I lost my last baby I had just realized I was pregnant. I didn't even have a chance to love the child."
"Oh, Stevie." It was Alex could say. He simple wrapped her in his arms and held her close.
She cried again and he cried with her. It was no wonder that she was scared to let a man touch her. He would have to be very careful with her if he ever expected her to trust him.
When he felt her stiffen he let go. She pushed away from him and breathed deeply.
"I think that's enough hugging for one day," she said, wiping tears from her eyes. "Sometimes I think its Kane holding me and I know it will hurt."
Alex nodded. "It's okay. The nightmare will end soon. And when it does, you find me."
"Thank you, Alex. Not just for this but for coming for me. Thank you for bringing me home."
He cupped her face and stroked her soft cheek with one thumb. "You're welcome."
"Come on, we'd better get back." Stevie slowly stood and waited for him to get to his feet. "Want to race?"
He laughed and headed for Piston. Stevie whistled and Banjo hurried to her side.
"See you at Wilgul!" With a laugh Stevie kicked Banjo and flew up the hill.
Alex flung himself in the saddle and raced after her. She wasn't going to get away that easily.