"Kate should be in soon, so yes there is."
He looked up as the door slammed.
"Whose is that damned truck in the shed?" She glanced quickly at Cade and then away again, the blush rushing up her cheeks.
"It's mine, actually." He leaned on the counter and watched her take a mug from Essie.
"What happened to the yellow chick machine?" She stood watching him with a frown on her face.
"I traded it in. Won't be needing it anymore. Doctor gave me a final report today." He took a deep breath, determined not to let his voice waver. "No more rugby, so I've decided to honour the promise I made my mother. I'm going to be working on the farm from now on."
Kate looked stunned, her mouth dropped open and Cade resisted the urge to go and lift it closed with his hand cupping her cheeks while his mouth explored hers.
"About time too. Your mother waited for this day, Cade. I'm only sorry she never got to see you working where you belong, but better late than never." Essie wiped her eyes with the corner of her apron.
"How come I didn't know about this?" Kate shut her mouth and poured herself a coffee.
"It was a promise I made to her when she gave me her blessing to go and play rugby. She knew how much I loved the farm but the game pulled at me more at that stage. I'm home to stay."
"Um…that's…well, great actually." Kate stammered over the words and her cheeks flushed even more.
Cade smiled to himself. He loved how flustered she was by the news. It meant she wasn't totally immune to him. With any luck, he’d be able to prove to her he was serious about a relationship. The Cade she knew was fantasy played out by the media and management for promotional purposes. Not many people knew the real Cade Williams, and he liked it that way.
Sure, he’d loved the drinking and girls when he first got into the sport, but that had worn thin pretty quick. You couldn't party that hard and turn up to practice day after day, and he’d learnt that early on. Cade had been relatively sober until his injury. Now he could see the writing on the wall.
"You got rid of the Ferrari so you could work here?" Kate approached him and placed her mug on the bench.
"Yeah, figured a four wheel drive would be more practical on the farm. You need help, Kate. Why employ someone else when I can do the job for you?"
She glanced pointedly at the cast on his leg, her eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, well, that won't take long to heal. I'll always have a bit of a limp but hell, I doubt the cows will care about that. Did you see the four wheel bike in the back of the ute?" He winked at Essie, smiling benevolently behind Kate's head. "That will get me around easier for a while."
"You're serious? You want to work here with me or are you thinking of taking over from me?" A panicked-look raced over her face.
"With you, Kate. I promise I don't want your job. You might need to give me an office job or something every other day until this comes right, but you need help, I'm it."
"I'm kind of gobsmacked. The Cade I knew would be prancing around like the arsehole we were used to seeing on the news, not taking in stray dogs and wanting to work here."
"That's the problem, Kate. The media hype it up so much you don't really get to know the real me. How about you let go of those pre-conceived ideas and give me a chance to prove I'm not the jerk you thought you knew?"
She gave a wobbly smile and gripped the coffee in her hands.
Yes!
Chapter 29
Rooney walked the elderly couple to the door, carrying their empty cat cage for them. She would operate later in the day to relieve the abscess under the animal’s back tooth and they could collect it the following morning.
"The raid went well yesterday, according to Dennis," Rhian said when they walked out. She pushed her chair back and rubbed her belly protectively. "Mr Stubbs got bail, slimy thing. He has to appear in court next month but I doubt he’ll avoid a jail term."
"I should hope not. He is cruel and a blight on society. I don't know how anyone can treat an animal the way he does." Rooney lifted her hands above her head and stretched. "At least the customers are starting to come in. With luck you might get a pay packet this week."
"You know I don't care about that. I'm just glad to get out of the house."
The skid of wheels screeching to a halt in the car park made them both look up.
"What the…" Rooney raced to the window and looked out. "Shit, it's Stubbs. Rhian, go now. Out the back and don't come back. Call the police." She pushed her assistant out through the back way and turned in time to see Mr Stubbs walking in the front door. A chill went down her back and her stomach threatened to give her breakfast back when she saw the knife in his hand.
"Mr Stubbs. Do you think you should be here with that weapon?" She stood her ground, doing her best to stay the shaking legs.
"You bitch. Couldn't mind your own business, could you?"
He approached, waving the knife in his hand, and the smell of alcohol washed over her face. "You weren't satisfied with getting a good deal on a dog for your kid, you had to go and open your mouth to the cops."
Sweat built up on Rooney's top lip and she resisted the urge to wipe it away in fear any sudden moves would make him
