Romancing the Girl Page 6

  “Why have we stopped?” Justine asked.

  “This is where Joey will take contender number one.”

  “Here?”

  “Yep,” Aimee said and climbed out of the car. Immediately swatting at flies that always seemed to occupy this part of the property, Aimee smiled to herself. It may not be mosquito season, but there was no shortage of flies with a penchant to bite.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Justine asked, following suit. Shielding her eyes from the glare, she looked at the stagnant pond clinging to the surface beside the yards.

  “Nope.”

  Justine put her hands on her hips, which had the effect of stretching her shirt across her chest. Aimee tried not to look, but since the altercation in the stables, her hormones were piqued. She couldn’t deny she found the woman attractive. Convinced the interest went both ways considering Justine’s bizarre behaviour earlier, it was worth her time to find out. Justine’s attention was on the pathetic excuse for a creek as Aimee approached her with a sly grin on her face.

  “You don’t approve?” Aimee asked, making Justine step back in surprise at her proximity.

  “Definitely not.”

  “Not a fan of romance, are you?” Aimee took a small amount of delight at the pause this gave Justine. The quick glance at her lips didn’t go unnoticed either.

  Justine ignored the question. “What else have you got?”

  “What’s wrong with romance?”

  Justine huffed. “It’s unrealistic. Grand gestures that may or may not win the heart of the person you’re interested in seems like a big risk to me. Why can’t people just admit their attraction and act on what they feel without wasting time?”

  Aimee smiled and moved closer, pleased to hear Justine take a sharp inhale.

  “There’s got to be somewhere else we can go?”

  Aimee raised an eyebrow.

  “That is unacceptable,” Justine said, gesturing at the old yards.

  “You’re just going to have to trust me.”

  “Trust you?” Justine snorted. “Sorry. No. I’m confident you’d do what it takes to sabotage this for your brother, so I’m not going to approve this derelict pile of wood for a suitable filming location.”

  Aimee pursed her lips. “I’m not sabotaging anything.”

  “That says otherwise,” Justine said, pointing at the old yards.

  “That is going to look amazing later, and honestly, that’s more than the woman deserves. The station isn’t a film set. It takes time, but the beauty will reveal itself. Be patient.”

  Justine scoffed. “Patient? What? Like you, you mean?”

  Aimee took a long breath through clenched teeth. In lust, she may be, but this woman was irritating. “This is it, princess. Deal with it.” Aimee strode to the driver door and climbed into the car, put it in gear and threatened to move off.

  After a glare that looked like it should have pierced her skull, Justine climbed in, slamming the door for good measure. “You’re impossible.”

  “You’re a bitch.”

  Justine made a weird exasperated sound and crossed her arms while muttering under her breath.

  ***

  As the homestead neared, Justine said, “You know what? Give me the keys. I’ll drive myself around.”

  Aimee let out a bark of laughter. “You will not.”

  “I’m perfectly capable of—”

  “Getting yourself killed. The answer is no. You’re not to go anywhere on this property without an escort, do you understand me?”

  “I’ll have you know I’m not a bloody child. Unlike yourself, I’m a responsible adult capable of navigating through life without chucking a hissy fit every five minutes.”

  “A hissy fit?” Aimee shook her head and braked harder than she really needed to as they returned to the homestead yards. Both women were tugged against their seat belts. As Aimee’s body jerked backwards, she turned the car off and yanked the keys from the ignition. “You know nothing about me, lady, and the answer is still no. I don’t care how old you are, you don’t know the place and getting hurt or lost is easier than you think, not to mention the fact the snakes are starting to warm up and move.” Aimee shoved the car door open and after securing it firmly in place, she stormed off to the stable. Gav came out of the shed at the same moment, took one look at Aimee’s dark face and turned back the way he came. Aimee gave him a scowl for good measure.

  “Hey!” Justine called, jogging after her. “I’m not done speaking with you.”

  Aimee stopped in the shade deep inside the stables and crossed her arms to watch Justine stride in to join her. Her hair was askew from the drive in the car. No air conditioning meant winding down the windows, and with the ruffled hair and the flushed angry look on her face, the woman was an imposing figure.

  “Must I continually remind you I’m here to film a show your brother is part of. It means accessing the best locations the property has to offer to meet my filming schedules.”

  Aimee looked down at the woman that had invaded her personal space. She may be imposing, but she was also short. Leaning down slightly, she said, “Hate to break it to you, lady, but the sheep don’t care what label you’re wearing or what your filming schedule is. Why don’t you go back to where you came from and leave us the hell alone?”

  “I’m here to do a job and unfortunately, I have to rely on you to get it done. You’re a rude, arrogant bitch blaming the world for your lot in life.”

  Aimee stepped closer still, enjoying the exhilarating rush the proximity gave her. “Excuse me? This coming from the uptight city chick coming out here in her ridiculous suits and demanding free reign over our lives. You’re a typical city idiot thinking you can come out bush and make it bend to your will. New flash, all it gets you is pain and misery. And for your information, I love my life.”

  “I can see that, what with all the whining and pouting.”

  Curling her lip, Aimee leaned in almost touching Justine’s nose with her own. “I hate you.”

  Justine took a few deep breaths and said with a croak in her voice, “And my dislike for you is equally as fervent.”

  Aimee shook her head and scoffed. “God, you can’t even talk like a normal person.” Her eyes fell to Justine’s lips as a sliver of tongue moved out to wet them and Aimee’s breath caught. Time slowed as her heart pounded in her ears and her heaving breath mingled with Justine’s.

  Justine’s eyes flicked across Aimee’s face, settling on her lips. “And your grunting is practically ineligible,” she whispered.

  Staring each other in the eye, neither made a move to step back. Quite prepared to strangle the woman if it came down to it, Aimee’s heart thudded wildly as she stared at those soft-looking, parted lips below her. Leaning in, and daring the woman to move, she whispered against Justine’s lips, “I really don’t like you.”

  “Will you shut up.” Justine grabbed at Aimee’s lapels and crashed their lips together.

  It was electrifying, desperate and wet. It was unexpected passion and lust. Mutually moaning as their tongues met, Aimee shoved Justine against the stall door and needy hands clutched at her clothing. The impromptu make-out session only increased in its desperation and fingers sought out skin-on-skin contact. After yanking the Justine’s shirt from her pants, Aimee cupped a bra-clad breast before Justine broke the kiss to breathe out, “Wait.”

  Aimee stepped back as though electrocuted. What the hell was she doing? “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

  “There you are,” Sally said, walking into the stables and making both women leap out of their skin. Sally stopped and frowned. “You all right?”

  “Fine,” Aimee said, doing her best to stand with trembling legs.

  “Did I interrupt something?” Sally asked Justine.

  Justine patted down her clothing and cleared her throat. “No. You were looking for me?”

  “Actually, no. I was looking for Aimee.”

  “Oh. Okay. Umm…” Justine cleared her t
hroat again, gave her a curt nod and quickly vacated the stables leaving Sally frowning after her.

  “What was that all about?” Sally asked.

  “Buggered if I know,” Aimee said, willing her pulse to slow down before it buckled her at the knees. “What do you want?”

  “I need a hand with the trailer. The hitch is stuck again.”

  “Right.” Aimee brushed past her sister and headed to the vegetable garden out the back of the homestead. Taking her frustrations out on a hitch that refused to let go of the four-wheel-drive, she managed to pop it loose. Even though victory was hers, Aimee continued to scowl at the tow hitch. Why did she kiss Justine? “Of all the stupid, God damn foolish ideas…” she muttered to herself. One minute, she was livid with the woman, the next, she wanted to participate in the sexual energy that she emanated. Face palming herself, Aimee shook her head. Why did I kiss her? Never before had a woman made her question herself. As her head continued to shake, a thought crossed her mind. Aimee’s head snapped up and her jaw dropped. Looking in the direction of the stables, a slow smile began to form on her face. Justine had been the one to pull them together. Justine had been the one to initiate the kiss. “Well, God damn.”

  Chapter Five

  Joey was smiling when they reached the old yards. The sun was low and the place lit up like a scene from a Banjo Patterson novel. Man from Snowy River, eat your heart out, he thought. He glanced at his companions to find the camera crew breaking apart the beauty around them into lighting levels, contrast angles, colour saturation and sound checks. Joey shook his head and looked at his date. Brittney was scowling at the dust on her shoes and swatting vigorously at insects swarming around her face. Should have brought the bug spray.

  About to walk over to where the crew had laid out a blanket, some hay bales, and a chilling bottle of wine, he noticed Justine. She was standing still admiring the scene with a faraway look on her face. Changing his trajectory, he walked beside her and said, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Jolting to life, Justin turned to him and said, “Y-Yes. It is.” The smile Justine flashed him looked stiff.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Certainly. Now…if you’d take your positions on the rug with Brittney, we can get the show on the road.”

  “Righto.” Giving Justine a curious glance as he walked away, Joey’s contemplation was side-tracked as Brittney launched herself at him.

  “Hi, handsome.” Brittney threw her arms around her neck and kissed his cheek. Her hands slid down his back to the seat of his jeans before she pulled back.

  Blushing at the attention, Joey managed an awkward smile at the blonde woman before escorting her to the mat laid out on the ground that would have once been ankle-deep in cow dung. His eyes took in the ruins of the old cattle yards; one of the few landmarks left of an endeavour his grandfather attempted in the early nineteen hundreds.

  “Ugly, isn’t it?” Brittney said.

  “The yards?”

  Brittney nodded. “You should burn it down or something.”

  “I…”

  Joey was saved from trying to find an appropriate response to Brittney’s inappropriate suggestion by Justine clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention.

  “Okay. Sound check.”

  The man with the microphone stick nodded after checking Brittney and Joey’s personal mics as well as his own.

  “Lighting.” Justine glanced at another crew member and received another nod. “Okay, then. Joey, Brittney, I want to you sit there for a moment and take in the scene while we roll some footage, and then you can start conversing. Have you got the conversation suggestions with you?”

  Joey gave her the thumbs up.

  “Do I really have to ask about babies and stuff? They’re so…icky.”

  Everyone stared at Brittney for a couple of heartbeats.

  “Icky?” Justine asked.

  Brittney’s grimacing face gave her the answer.

  “Fine. No. Talk about rural life instead.”

  “Rural life? What’s that?”

  “Living in the bush.”

  “Oh…like this place? How it’s in the middle of freaking nowhere. I mean, seriously, why would you want to live out here?”

  Joey and Justine gaped at her.

  “Ah…okay,” Justine said. “Let’s just stick with the notes and go from there.” Giving Joey a look somewhere between bewildered and apologetic, Justine called action and let the car crash go on permanent record.

  ***

  While Joey was off dating contestant number one, Aimee went to the main house in search of a snack to see the other two lazing by the pool through the kitchen window. It was a beautiful and balmy afternoon and the pool was heated, so Aimee didn’t blame them. She almost wished she could dive in and freshen up also, but she had predator traps to set before the sunlight completely disappeared. Foxes had begun to move in as lambing season approached. Snatching a snack from the pantry, she wandered out to the pool to play nice with the girls for a couple of minutes.

  “Hi. Enjoying yourselves?”

  “Oh, definitely. This is the life, isn’t it?” said the one without an ice pack on her backside.

  The other wiggled a little. Aimee still couldn’t figure out how she had managed to be nipped by a sheep. “Sometimes,” Aimee said, taking a bite of her snack. “We don’t get a lot of free time to enjoy it, though. Life on a station is pretty much dawn to dusk. Sometimes night,” she added, thinking of doing some spotlighting soon to hunt for feral animals.

  One of the women, Aimee thought was Amber, frowned. “Seriously?”

  Aimee nodded. “The animals don’t take holidays.”

  “Even weekends?” the other one, Aimee assumed was Tiffany, asked.

  “Even weekends.”

  “Ugh. That must suck,” Tiffany said.

  “Not really. You don’t really notice, to be honest, and when you do have time off, you seriously appreciate it.”

  Tiffany looked at her dubiously.

  “Anyway…I better get back to work. Enjoy your afternoon.”

  “Oh, we will,” Tiffany said with a broad smile.

  “Enjoy your work,” Amber called out to her.

  Aimee shook her head as she walked to the machinery shed. If any of these women became a permanent part of the station, she’d eat her own hat…if she could find it.

  “Aims, problem,” Gav said as she entered the shed.

  “With?”

  Gav beckoned her with his finger and led her to the big fuel tanks at the back of the shed. One for diesel, one for unleaded petrol, and several oil drums stacked beside them. “Tap them.”

  Frowning, Aimee did just that. Both tanks sounded hollow. An inspection of the drums showed most were empty. “What the hell? What happened to the order?”

  Gav shrugged. “Ask the boss. I put it in last month.”

  Aimee pursed her lips. Last month Joey went to the city to pick his girlfriends. “What else hasn’t he done?”

  Taking a deep breath, Gav rattled off a list that ignited Aimee’s fury. The station only ran efficiently when everyone did what was asked and expected of them. If one person started to slack off, then it put everyone else at risk. Fuming, and with nothing she could do about it at that very moment, she decided to see to the tasks she had to finish before tackling her brother’s jobs.

  Throwing on her backpack filled with a water bottle, a clipboard, handheld radio, and various tools, she pulled on her helmet and kick-started her motorbike. The bike roared to life and she looked to her canine companion.

  “Stay Mitsy.”

  The dog whined.

  “Be good.” Tearing across the yards, she headed south. Preferring horseback over machines, she couldn’t deny the thrill of the speed her 250CC Yamaha gave her. Especially when she was angry. Cutting across the countryside through several paddocks, she navigated a path for her front tyre as the land zipped by. Grassy for the most part, hidden in the tall, green grass of the pastur
es being rested from the grazing stock, there were hidden sandstone outcrops and stumps of old dead trees that had succumbed to fire many decades earlier. Hilly and uneven, she forged her way through paddock after paddock before reaching the southwest corner of their boundary to start the steady routine of riding the boundary fence line looking for holes while making her way to the traps. Near to the homestead, the fences had been upgraded from wooden posts and wire, to metal posts, strainers and spacers. Straight and true and only a few years old, the difference in the older paddocks was noticeable. Posts, cracked and weathered with age stood with a lean to this side or that, making the sagging barbed wire meander along a path that should have been baron in a five metre strip on both sides. The neighbouring property looked freshly cleared, but on the Yarrabee side, Aimee found nothing but firebreaks on the verge of being overgrown jungles along the entire southern flank of their property. She added it to the list of jobs Joey had failed to accomplish over the winter season, and grumbled at herself for not noticing it sooner. Grading the fire breaks took days…days that they wouldn’t have available for a month or two. “Damn you, Joey,” she muttered as she turned back toward the homestead as the sun dipped over the horizon.

  ***

  She walked into chaos.

  After a huge welcome by Mitsy, she found Brittney in the kitchen being attended to. The woman was covered in a mix of red welts and lavender-coloured dots of calamine lotion.

  “Bugs bad?” Aimee asked trying not to smile.

  Joey gave her a warning glare, seeing the humour in her expression. “Not now, Aimee.”

  “Where’s the next big date, Romeo? The veggie garden?”

  Joey scowled. The vegetable garden lovingly attended to by Sally was covered in fresh horse manure thanks to Aimee unhitching the trailer, and the thought of it had her chuckling.