She dismounted and let her horse graze under the trees bordering on edge of the dam. For awhile she stood with her hands jammed into her jeans pockets and absorbed the hustle of the workers. When Kate had her emotions under control, she walked over toward the large truck. Several men were guiding a huge pump as Magnus operated the hoist lifting it toward the ground.
"Pull it over to the left a little bit more. That's right," he bellowed over the noise of the machinery. Flicking a quick glance her way, he yelled louder, "Stay back, Kate."
Her brow furrowed at his tone. What does he think I am, an immature kid? I know how to stay out of the way of heavy equipment. Any adult does. Now he's made me look like a bimbo in front of his men. Her temper spiked, she took a few paces back and watched as they guided the big pump to the stand already in place on the bank of the dam. He's wasted no time in getting what he had paid for. She watched them all run to do his bidding.
The anger was simmering in her as he took over her farm. Suddenly another feeling took over, and she experienced a loss that cut deep into her heart as if he had taken more than the water, more than her virginity. It now felt as if he had taken her morals and her very being. She felt like her heart had been ripped out and thrown away to shrivel up in the early morning sun.
A small, strangled sob rose in her throat before she could suppress it. Clapping her hand over her mouth, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
"Kate." Magnus snapped his hands like steel vises on her arms.
"Um, sorry." She hiccupped and wrenched out of his arms, turning away from him. Kate rubbed her hands over her face, trying to brush away the tears that hadn't yet spilled over her lashes. Plastering a bright if very fake smile on her face, she turned back to him.
"What was that all about?" Magnus asked her, peering just a little too closely into her face for her liking.
She stepped back and gazed up into his eyes shaded by his wide brimmed battered Akubra hat. "It's nothing, really. I just got a bit of a jolt seeing you here with all this." She spread her arms out to encompass the men and machinery fitting the new pump.
"Kate, you signed the water rights agreement weeks ago," Magnus ground out, his face closing over and his eyes going dark. "Did you expect me to phone and ask your permission to do what we had already agreed on?"
"No, you don't understand…" She was embarrassed in case he thought she was sulking and being manipulative. "It's just a bit of a shock to see all this happening and…"
"And what, you thought I was going to carry it by hand over to my paddocks? Get real, Kate. I have a big operation that needs a large amount of water, and there is only one way to get it. Regretting the deal already?" Magnus looked down at her. "For a short time, I thought you might have been different.. It would seem that I was mistaken."
"No, you have it wrong," she protested as he watched her, the ice starting to form over his freshly thawing heart. "I don't regret anything, none of it. I just wasn't expecting to see this when I came over the hill."
"You have a bad grip on reality then. I suggest you get on with what you were doing and leave me to my job."
Magnus ignored the look of shock on her face, and spinning on his heel he walked away before he said something he would regret later. Snapping out orders to the men to cover the disappointment he felt with her attitude, he gave his attention to the job at hand. He did his best to ignore the needle-like darts he knew were hitting him in the back.
When Magnus saw her riding the boundary fence a short time later, he felt he had judged her correctly. It was all about money with Kate. The sex was just a bonus for him, and from the way she acted when he took her, it was not one-sided either.
* * *
He stood under the hot water, the jets pummel his sore shoulders. Eyes closed, he turned to face the shower and let the water run over his face. The heat helped to release the tension knotting his muscles.
The pump had gone in with more trouble than he would have expected. When he had watched Kate ride off in a huff, things had started to go wrong. He tried to put it down to circumstance, but he knew it was because he was in a foul mood and was taking it out on the machinery and his men. When he had finally acknowledged this and stepped back, things had gone smoother, and they were nearly ready to start it up. Tomorrow should see the water flow into his irrigation system, flooding the drying grasses and filling the water troughs in the paddocks.
He turned the water to cold, gritting his teeth as the freezing jets of water stung his skin until his body adjusted to the chill. Flicking the water off, he pushed open the shower door. Shivering he reached for a towel to wrap around his waist. The sound of work boots tapped a
