Rose woke to the sound of pounding rain. She reached over and flicked on her bedside lamp. Luke paused, his pants midway up his legs.

"What are you doing?" Rose yawned and rubbed her eyes.

Luke pulled his pants up and sat down on the edge of the bed to pull on his socks. "The water's rising fast. We have to move some sheep."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Rose tossed the blankets aside and climbed from the bed.

Luke laughed. "Stevie said you've done enough in the last three weeks. She's coming to help Alex and me."

Rose rolled her eyes. "So now I'm reduced to babysitter? Great."

Luke leaned over and kissed her. "And coffee maker, dry clothes finder and cook. It's a grand position."

Rose laughed. "I guess. At least I won't get wet."

"That's the spirit," Luke said kissing her again. "See you in a bit."

Rose waved him off and then stumbled to her closet to find her robe. Pulling it over her tank top and trackies she opened the door and wandered down the hall.

Stevie brushed by her, pulling her oilskin coat on and arguing loudly with Alex. "I'm going and that's finally. My ribs are fine and I'm not going to catch cold. Rose needs to sleep."

"Too late for that, Mom," Rose said.

"Luke wasn't supposed to wake you." Stevie frowned at Luke who popped out of the bathroom.

He raised his hands in mock defense.

"Mom, he's a Morgan. They can't do anything without making a racket."

"Touché. Stay inside and stay dry."

"I guess there's no arguing with you," Alex muttered. "Rose, stay by the phone. I have my sat phone so if we need extra help I'll call."

"And who's going to take care of the kids?" Stevie asked heading into the kitchen.

Alex shook his head and followed her. Luke grinned and joined them. Waving them off Rose tucked herself onto the couch and pulled a blanket over her legs. It was damp and the rain was making her cold. Picking up the book she had started, she began to read. But after reading the same page three times she set the book down and stared at the cold fireplace.

The last four weeks had brought lots of changes to her life. First leaving the Northern Territories, then moving on Wilgul and cleaning it up. They had been back in Gungellen for three weeks now and it had been just two days since they had started stocking Wilgul with sheep. She had never been busier.

Luke and her had spent over a week repairing fences and gates. Alex had been spraying for weeds and checking water troughs while Stevie cleaned the house, the sheds and the shearing sheds.

At first Rose had worried that her mother would be struck with memories of Kane but after the first day Stevie seemed to have rid herself of anything horrible. And if Rose wasn't mistaken the work had been good for Stevie. She had started becoming more like her old self, bossy but funny. It had been good to see. She still cared for Kaleb and Kana for most of the day, though she had been more willing to let them out of her sight.

Kaleb had taken great delight in going around the station with Alex. Her little brother came back every night with stories about what they had done and seen. He never made it through supper and was carted off to bed with a happy smile on his tanned face.

Kana was starting to smile more and had begun to crawl, much to Stevie's distress. But Alex had come to the rescue and built a small fence around a section of the porch. Rose had found a few old blankets and lined the bottom with them and filled it with Kana's favourite toys. Now Stevie could spend time in the house or gardens and not worry about Kana getting in trouble. Sometimes Kaleb joined his sister so Alex could have a break from the little boy.

Rose sighed. She was happy here, happy to be with her mom and Luke. She loved going to Drovers and getting to know the girls there again. Moira had taken great delight in stuffing her full of goodies whenever she came over. The only down side was they still didn't know what had happened to Nick. No one was saying much and the whispers were that Nick was gone. Tess had finally accepted the fact and was trying to move on. But with the baby her emotions sometimes got the better of her.

Tess clung to Stevie the first week and often Rose had found the two crying together. But now things were better and they spent more time laughing over funny tales of their early days together.

Regan was quickly proving to be a true McLeod and Rose had spent a few days with her as they worked not only on Wigul's fences but also Drovers. Kate and Jodi joined them often as they checked water troughs and dams.

Rose was loving the female company, especially Jodi and Kate. Although they were a few years older than her, it helped to have young girls who knew the hardships of the land.

The phone rang, yanking her from her reverie. Fumbling with the handset she managed to push the correct button.

"Hello?"

"Rose?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"It's Jodi."

"Oh, hi," Rose said. "Are you okay?"

"We're good here," Jodi replied. "What's it like on Wilgul?"

"Wet." Rose laughed and headed to the window. "It's coming down hard."

"Are the sheep okay?" Jodi crunched something as she spoke and Rose assumed she was somewhere with Kate eating chips and chocolate.

Rose peered out the window searching for signs of movement. But all she could see was the rain, pounding the ground. "Mom, Alex and Luke went out about half an hour ago. They went to move the mob up from the river paddock, I think."

"Okay, well if you need help, just call us," Jodi said.

"I will, thanks. Are the shearer's quarters leaking?" Rose asked. "Or are you two in the cottage now?"

"Cottage," Jodi mumbled. "We've given the shearer's quarters up. It needs a new roof and where the money for that is going to come from, your guess is as good as mine."

Rose laughed. "Good luck. I'd better go in case Alex tries calling me."

"Bye." The line went dead and Rose wandered back to the couch. Now she was restless. She wanted to be outside helping with the sheep. After all she was the one that was going to be taking care of them. Stevie was scheduled to go back to overseeing Drovers next week since Tess wasn't up to riding much and Moira was still learning. This time next week she would be running Wilgul with Luke. Of course Stevie would still be living on Wigul and Alex didn't look to keen to be moving on. But she didn't mind. It was good to have someone there to lean on when things got too hard.

An hour later voices and banging doors woke her from a restless sleep. She hurried into the kitchen and turned on the stove. She had filled the kettle and readied tea and towels before. The smell of coffee filled the air and she hurried to get some cream out of the fridge. She gathered a pile of towels and headed for the back door.

Luke and Stevie stood in the back room, shaking water from hats and coats. Laughing they took towels from Rose and tried to sop up more of the water.

"Are the sheep okay?" Rose asked backing away as Luke began to vigorously dry his head.

Stevie nodded and kicked off her wet boots. "Alex's just finishing up with the horses. He'll be here in a..." She squealed when Alex reached through the opened door and pressed a cold hand against her cheek.

Rose tossed a towel at the tall man and went back to get the kettle off the stove. The high pitched squeal filled the room and she jumped when someone wrapped their arms around her waist. Flicking off the element she turned and found herself face to face with Luke.

"Hi," she said, grinning. "You're wet."

Luke nodded and pulled her close. "And cold. Will you help me warm up?"

"Sure. Go take a shower." Rose pressed her hands against his wet chest. "Luke, you're making me wet. Let go."

"Come take a shower with me," Luke whispered, leaning down to nibble her ear.

Rose laughed. "Not likely. We'll use up all the hot water and then what will Stevie say?"

Luke pouted and released her. "Fine, if you say so. I'll just go warm up by myself."

He slunk away and Rose suppressed a giggle. Running after him she grabbed his arm and reached up to whisper in his ear. "Go take a shower and if you're still cold, we can go back to bed."

Luke kissed her. "That's my girl. I love you."

"And I love you," Rose replied. "Now get, before my mother uses up all the hot water."

"Fifteen minutes, Luke!" Stevie shouted from her room. "Otherwise I'm coming in."

"Mom," Rose cried indignantly. "That's my boyfriend you're talking to."

Alex's deep laughter sounded as he wandered down the hall, bare-chested and in a pair of track pants. "You can come in with me, cowgirl."

Rose shook her head and went back to the stove.

"Not likely," Stevie said. "Just hurry up, Luke. I'm freezing."

"Going, going," Luke muttered, racing towards the bathroom.

It was nearly three by the time Rose climbed back into bed. She wasn't sure why they were even going back to sleep. They had to be up in two and a half hours anyway. But the rain was still coming down so maybe they could just sleep in and let the animals fend for themselves for an extra hour or two.

Luke was already curled beneath the blankets when she threw back the covers. He didn't look up when she dropped her robe and she sighed. He was sleeping. So much for cuddling. Turning off the bedside lamp, she laid down, careful not to jostle the bed. Tugging the blankets up to her chin she slid against his warm body and ran a hand through his hair. It was still damp and she knew it would be a mess when he finally woke up.

Pressing a kiss to his temple, she whispered, "Good night, Luke Morgan. I love you."

He murmured something and tugged her close to his chest. Smiling, Rose held his hand in hers and closed her eyes.