“Fine. He’s not that far behind me, so don’t go all maternal over him.” Josh scowled at her.
“He has no family except for Tom. Doesn’t that make you feel bad?” Libby kept her hand on his arm while she spoke. “Look how hard it is for you and Holly with no father. He must feel so much worse. You guys get on okay, and there’s no way I’d send him away from here. It’s his home. I just want you to help him a little. Is that so hard?”
“No, I guess not.” Josh threw his bag on the floor and brushing her arm away, grabbed a glass from the cupboard. He leaned over the sink, gulped down a big drink of water while looking out the open window at the backyard.
“He knows some of the other kids there at least, which is more than I do.” Josh sounded peeved.
“When I turned up, you seemed to have met quite a few, especially of the female variety.” Libby smiled and brushed a lock of his hair from his face.
His growl couldn’t quite cover up the smile tugging at the corners of his own mouth.
“Just treat him as you would want to be treated, Josh. That’s all I ask.”
The week progressed slowly. As soon as the kids caught the bus in the mornings, Libby and Tom got to work on the farm. They fixed fences, and Libby learned to gas up and prime the water pump in the far paddocks. She chased cattle that pushed through the fences too close to Nathan’s breeding cows and even though she was squeamish to begin with, pulled an early calf from an exhausted mother.
She managed to get into her garden after dinner on most nights and was slowly learning the difference between the weeds and the plants. Flowerpots now lined the veranda and stairs, throwing color onto the otherwise dull house. It would look beautiful freshly painted, but that wasn’t in the budget or timeframe for now, no matter how much Libby could see it in her mind.
The furniture had arrived and most of it had been relegated to the shed for sorting later. The kids had unpacked clothes and books, and that was about it. Libby and Tom had dragged the barbecue and her outdoor setting to the front deck. Most of her kitchen stuff was newer than that of her grandmother, and she managed to add enough to make it feel like her kitchen without cluttering it too much and disposing of the nostalgia, which had swamped her when she first arrived and fallen in love with the house.
One night, she broached the subject of the empty rooms in the huge house.
“Tom, I want you and Winton to move into the house.” Libby held her hand up as he started to protest. “Come on. This place is huge, and I really don’t like you living in the damned shed. There’s no need.”
“It’s where we’re comfortable.”
“But why? You don’t have an inside toilet or shower, your room is so poky, it’s not funny. Besides, the draft running through the place makes you freeze in winter, and you only have a couple of nails on the back of the door to hang your clothes. This house is enormous, rooms full of furniture that will never get used, and I’d rather you were here with us.”
“Just drop it, Libby. We like the living arrangements the way they are. It’s time I took this old body to bed, catch you in the morning. Up early to start bringing in the sheep, okay?”
Libby watched him walk away, determined to get her own way sooner or later.
“Winton, Josh, ride ahead and start bringing the sheep in from the far paddock. We need to turn them all in and get the young rams out and sort the out of season lambs. Libby, you take the truck into the dam paddock and wait for us to herd them to you. If you could man the gate and keep an eye out for any stray lambs, we should be able to get this all done today if we all get stuck in and work together. If we do, we can all have tomorrow off. Right, let’s go.” Tom led the way.
Libby eyed the fat, woolly sheep on the other side of the fence as she drove to the paddock Tom wanted to bring their sheep into. Everything about Nathan’s farm screamed perfect. Hers cried out poverty, and she brushed aside the quick feeling of despair that crept in. Sure, he had it all, and his place was clean and tidy, and the grass was greener than hers. His stock looked like it was well loved while hers was exactly what he called them: mongrels. But he had more money than her, more staff, and he’d been working at for a lot longer than she had.
Libby parked the truck under a tree and grabbed her hat before walking over to the gate to wait for the sheep to be herded her way. Straightening her back, she cast her gaze over the rough, patchy grass on her side of the newly fixed fence line. She’d done it and was proud of herself for learning a new skill, doubly proud she had actually fixed it. They’d make a go of this place and a nice profit at the end of the two-year time frame in order to keep it for her family. Nathan could give up his dream of sending her packing. He wasn’t getting her farm without a fight.
Why did Uncle Thaddius leave the farm to her after promising it to Nathan? No wonder he was pissed at her. Her skin heated with the memory of his touch. Damn it. Lack of sex made it hard for her not to notice him, even if he were being a bastard. The guy had a serious dose of sex appeal, and she was having trouble ignoring it.
Dust clouded the horizon and then the boys came
