“Well, thanks for your advice, Gabe. I think you’ve covered everything.”

But now he seemed reluctant to drop the subject. His deep voice penetrated the night. “Piper, you’re not afraid of intimacy, are you?”

Without warning, her blood began to pound through her veins, making her ears hum and her heart beat wildly. “I—I don’t think so.” But she couldn’t be sure.

She sensed him moving toward her, and the next moment his fingertips were touching her cheek ever so gently. She heard the rasp of his breathing and felt his thumb travel slowly down her cheek, over her chin and back again. She was amazed how good it felt. Hardly believing her daring, she dipped her head slightly and pressed her lips to his thumb.

Gabe’s husky voice sounded close to her ear. “I think you know a lot more about touching than you’re letting on….”

Barbara Hannay was born in Sydney, educated in Brisbane and has spent most of her adult life living in tropical north Queensland, where she and her husband have raised four children. While she has enjoyed many happy times camping and canoeing in the bush, she also delights in an urban lifestyle—chamber music, contemporary dance, movies and dining out. An English teacher, she has always loved writing, and now, by having her stories published, she is living her most cherished fantasy.

You can find out more about Barbara at her Web site, www.barbarahannay.com

Books by Barbara Hannay

HARLEQUIN ROMANCE®

3718—THEIR DOORSTEP BABY

3770—A PARISIAN PROPOSITION

3786—A BRIDE AT BIRRALEE

A Wedding at Windaroo
Barbara Hannay

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

THREE weeks past her twelfth birthday, Piper O’Malley spent almost an entire afternoon huddled behind the tractor shed crying. And the stupid thing was she hated crying! Crying was for girls and today she didn’t want to be a girl.

By the time Gabe Rivers found her she’d reduced her sobs to the occasional sniffle, but she knew her eyes were still red and swollen.

‘Hey, cheer up, tree frog,’ he said, crouching beside her and throwing a strong, comforting arm around her skinny shoulders. ‘Nothing’s ever as bad as it seems.’

She swiped her eyes with her shirt-tail. ‘It is today. This is the worst day of my life.’

He looked so surprised she made a hasty amendment. After all, Gabe was eighteen—and like all adults he had a way of knowing when you weren’t telling the exact truth. ‘I suppose the very worst day of my life must have been when Mum and Dad died, but I was too little to remember.’

‘But this is the second worst day?’ he asked. ‘Sounds bad. What’s the problem?’

She burrowed her face against his big shoulder. ‘I can’t tell you. It’s too awful.’

‘Course you can. I’m unshockable.’

Peeping up at him she found his green eyes regarding her so tenderly she felt her heart swell. ‘Periods,’ she whispered.

‘I see,’ he said after a beat. ‘Well…yeah…that’s tough, I guess.’

She half expected Gabe to leap away from her, to tell her that now he’d finished helping her grandfather with branding and ear-tagging calves he needed to hurry home to Edenvale. But he stayed right beside her. They sat for ages with their backs against the corrugated iron wall of the tractor shed, chewing fresh, sweet stalks of grass and watching the daylight soften as the afternoon slipped away.

‘You’ll get used to the idea after a while,’ he told her.

‘I won’t, Gabe. I know I won’t ever. Why do I have to be a girl? I wish I was a boy. I want to be like you.’

He grinned. ‘And what’s so good about being like me?’

‘Everything,’ she cried with the wholehearted sincerity of a true hero-worshipper. ‘You’re bigger and stronger than Grandad, and he never tries to stop you from doing anything. And you can be whatever you want to be. When I grow up I’m going to have to have babies and wash some man’s smelly old socks and underpants.’

Gabe laughed. ‘Wait till you go to boarding school next term. Your teachers will tell you that girls have the same chance to be anything they want to these days.’

‘But I want to be a cattleman. Bet you never heard anyone talk about a cattlewoman, have you?’

He chuckled playfully and pulled her akubra down over her eyes. When she knocked the broad-brimmed hat back into place she was surprised to see the laughter in his eyes die. Suddenly he was looking sad and serious.

‘What’s the matter?’

He shook his head. ‘Nothing you need worry about, mouse.’

‘Come on, Gabe. I told you my horrible secret and I haven’t even told Miriam, my best girlfriend. If you tell me, I won’t tell anyone else.’

He smiled at her—as if he was seeing right inside her and really liked what he found. ‘Well,’ he said slowly, ‘guys can have their own problems, you know.’

‘Like having to shave?’

He grinned. ‘That’s one of them. But it gets worse.’

‘Going bald?’

‘I’m not talking about that kind of stuff. I mean it’s not always that easy for us blokes to do just whatever we want. My dad expects me to stay on Edenvale for ever.’

‘Of course.’ She frowned at him. ‘What’s wrong with that?’

He grimaced. ‘This will probably shock you, but I don’t want to be a cattleman.’

‘You’re kidding.’ She was shocked. Shocked to the soles of her riding boots. Her belly, which was already feeling sore, bunched into a nervous knot. How could anyone reject the wonderful life of a cattleman? If Gabe didn’t want to run cattle, what on earth could he want? And where did he want to go? The possibility that he might not stay right next door on Edenvale for ever scared her.

‘What do you want to do?’

‘That!’ he said, pointing to a giant wedgetail eagle circling high above them. Piper watched it with him and admired the strength of its dark V-shaped wings as it climbed higher and higher into the fading blue of the afternoon sky. Eventually, the slow, steady wings stopped moving altogether as the bird worked the thermals, gliding free. Then it was still in the air, hovering in one place.

Gabe’s face was alight with excitement. ‘Isn’t that fantastic? I’d give anything to learn to fly like that, to soar or hover with that much freedom. That much power and control. I’m sick of being tied to the ground with a mob of dusty, dumb cattle.’

It was a side to Gabe that she’d never seen before, never guessed. ‘Where could you learn to fly?’

‘An army recruitment fellow was in Mullinjim last week.’ His glowing face was still fixed on the eagle, watching it grow smaller and smaller as it climbed away again. ‘They’ll sign me up and train me to fly helicopters—Black Hawks.’

He stared after the bird with such an intense longing that even at her tender age Piper could see the finality of his choice. She knew instinctively that although it was the kind of dream that would take him away, probably for ever, it was the kind of dream Gabe had to follow.

The knot of fear in the pit of her stomach tightened. She wished she was older and less afraid, and hoped he couldn’t see that she was falling apart at the thought of his going away.

‘So what’s the problem?’ she asked in a shaky, not-quite-brave voice. ‘Won’t your family let you leave?’

His face twisted into a grimace of pain. ‘They’re not at all happy about the idea, but I’m going, Piper. I’m quite settled in my mind about that.’

She did her very best to smile.

CHAPTER ONE

Eleven years later…

IT SHOULD have been a perfect night.

Piper loved to be out in the bush after dark, when the hard sun retreated, the clean, sharp scent of eucalyptus lingered on the cooling air and the slender gum trees stretched silver-white limbs up to the moon.

And tonight Gabe was back.

So everything would have been perfect if she hadn’t been stressed to the eyeballs. But tension had been building inside her all evening and now the strain was unbearable.

She’d been practising in her head what she needed to ask Gabe, and no matter which words she chose they all sounded pathetic. But she had to get them out, had to speak now before she chickened out again.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, then released it in a rush. ‘Gabe, I need your help. I need to find a husband.’

Oh, blast! Her request sounded even more ridiculous out loud than it had when she’d been practising. But it was too late to take the words back. All she could do now was wait for his response.

Wait…

And wait some more…while she crouched beside him in the dark and watched the surrounding paddocks for the first signs of cattle thieves.

If only she could see his face! But the moonlight couldn’t reach their hiding place behind a huge granite boulder.

‘Gabe?’ she whispered.

Maybe he thought her question was just too silly to warrant an answer. She should drop the whole crazy subject now. After all, he had only come home a few days ago and already she’d asked him to help her catch cattle duffers. She could hardly blame the man if he balked at solving her personal dilemmas as well.

His riding boots crunched small stones as he shifted his weight slightly, and then his voice came rumbling through the dark. ‘Since when have you had an urge to find a husband?’

She winced when she heard the mocking edge to his tone. If only she could check out his hard, handsome face. Was he laughing at her?

‘Just—recently.’ As recently as last night—after her grandfather had told her his shocking news.

Again Gabe didn’t answer. Instead he stood up and stretched cramped limbs. He walked a few paces away, moving into the bright light cast by the full moon, and she saw his grimace as he flexed his right knee.

Anyone who didn’t know about his accident would see a ruggedly athletic man—tall, lean-hipped and strong shouldered, with short, military-style black hair and a hard jaw shadowed by overnight stubble.

The stiffness in his right leg was the only sign that his tough and rugged exterior had taken a battering. It was easy to forget that he was recovering from a car crash that had forced him out of the army and almost taken his life.

Snagging a stalk of pale Mitchell grass, he rolled it between his fingers, stepped closer again and tickled her nose with it. ‘What’s this about looking for a husband? You’re not old enough to get married.’

‘Rubbish. I’m twenty-three.’

He looked startled. ‘Are you really?’

‘Sure am.’

Seconds ticked by while he frowned at a nearby brigalow bush, as if he needed to digest this news. She wondered why he seemed so surprised. He’d been six years old when she was born. And he was quite good at arithmetic.

‘Why the rush?’ he asked at last.

‘Marriage is my only solution, Gabe.’

‘Solution to what?’ He sounded understandably puzzled.

‘Last night—Grandad told me—’ Her voice broke as the tears she’d been battling over the past twenty-four hours rushed to fill her eyes and throat. She’d been trying to hold back this news, but it was only fair that she explain. ‘The doctors have told him that another heart attack will almost certainly be one—one too many.’

The immense sadness she’d been shouldering all day sent her lurching towards him. And good old Gabe tossed the grass stalk aside and held out his arms to her.

It seemed perfectly natural to hurl herself into the open arms of her oldest friend—absolutely right for him to draw her head onto his big, bulky shoulder. He was wearing an old woollen jumper that made him feel soft and huge and comforting, just what she needed right now.

‘Are they saying they’ve done all they can?’ he asked gently.

She nodded against his shoulder. ‘He’s had three operations in the last five years, and test after test…’

Gabe sighed. ‘I’m surprised they put it to him so bluntly.’

‘You know what Grandad’s like. He would have forced them to give him the truth with no frills attached.’

‘And I guess he wants to prepare you now. You know how much he loves you.’

‘I know,’ she sobbed. ‘And he doesn’t want me to worry about him or make a fuss.’ Her nose emitted a loud, unladylike snort as she fought off another onslaught of tears. She lifted her head. ‘But the other bad news is that he doesn’t think I can manage Windaroo on my own. He’s planning to sell this place.’

Again Gabe took ages to speak. ‘I guess Michael would worry if he left you trying to carry on here by yourself.’

‘But I can’t believe he wants to sell this property! It’s bad enough knowing that I’m going to lose him, but I can’t bear the thought of losing Windaroo as well.’ She drew a shuddering breath. ‘I’ve worked so hard to keep this place going and I love it.’

And that was the understatement of the century. She’d always felt that she shared Windaroo’s life blood.

Through tear-blurred eyes she looked over Gabe’s shoulder to the fat white moon and the wide, star-stippled outback sky. She was trusting her old friend to understand how devastated she felt, but maybe she was asking too much of him. After all, he’d been away in the army for ten long years, and he’d had his own problems during twelve months in and out of hospital.

He loosened his hold on her and leaned back so that he could read her face. ‘So you think that if you find a bloke to marry you Michael will change his mind about selling Windaroo?’

She sighed and stepped away from him. If she wanted Gabe’s help she needed to explain this very clearly. ‘It’s the only solution I can think of. Men of Grandad’s generation can’t come to terms with the idea of leaving a girl in charge of a cattle station. A husband would make all the difference.’

‘I guess you’re right.’ He looked at her sharply again. ‘I suppose marriage could be a solution. But it’s a mighty big step.’

‘I know. That’s why I could do with some help.’

‘But Piper, for Pete’s sake—’ Gabe shook his head. ‘Why the blue blazes would you need my help to catch a man?’

She gulped and looked away. Time to swallow her pride and make a painful confession. ‘’Cause the guys around here don’t seem to have noticed I’m female.’

He had the bad grace to chuckle. Loudly—and for far longer than was necessary.

Piper slapped his arm. ‘I’m serious. Your brother Jonno and the rest of them—they just don’t think of me as a woman.’

‘Oh, Piper,’ Gabe wheezed between chuckles. ‘You can’t be serious.’

‘Why would I make up something like that? Honestly, the fellows around here just see me as one of them, and I’m sick of it.’

‘But no one could think you were a bloke. You’re so—so—little. Besides, we all know you’re a girl.’ Thumbs loosely hooked in the belt loops at his hips, he stared at her. ‘You’re not joking, are you?’

She almost stamped her foot. ‘Of course not!’

‘Well, I think you’re wrong.’

‘How would you know, Gabe? When was the last time you came to a party out this way? You wouldn’t have a clue. The problem is that because I can muster with the men, and I can leg-rope a bullock or turn a baby bull into a steer, they forget I’m a girl. They don’t even try to crack on to me. I have buddy status and that’s all. I’m just good mates with them—the way I am with you.’

Gabe’s smirk faded and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘Well…you have to remember that blokes like to be able to impress a woman. Maybe your problem is that you can do everything they can—and you do it too damn well.’

‘I hope you’re not suggesting I become weak and useless.’

His gaze ran over her and he grinned. ‘Heaven forbid.’ Then he turned and cast a long, searching look over his shoulder at the surrounding paddocks before glancing at his watch.

Piper sighed. They’d been out here for four hours and there’d been no hint of cattle duffers. Gabe was probably thinking that her request for help to stake them out had simply been a ruse to get him on his own so she could regale him with her problems about the opposite sex.

‘I can’t promise the duffers will show up tonight,’ she said. ‘But they usually strike at full moon, when it’s easier for them to work.’

On the last full moon Windaroo cattle had been taken from a holding yard near a bore on the southern boundary, and a similar thing had happened to a block in the east the previous month.

The duffers had been following a familiar pattern—moving into a remote area and doing a quick muster, then trucking the beasts out of the valley along back roads.

Tonight Piper and Gabe were watching a paddock on the western boundary. She’d seen the tracks of trail bikes there a few days ago, and suspected that someone was casing the area.

‘At least we can make ourselves more comfortable,’ she said, thinking of his bad leg, which was probably much more painful than he let on. ‘We can spread our swags out here and I can bribe you with soup.’

Together they found flat ground, flicked stones away and unrolled their canvas swags and bedding. Piper rummaged in her backpack, extracted a Thermos and filled two mugs with hot, fragrant, homemade tomato soup.

‘Sorry to dump my hassles on you,’ she said, after she’d taken her first warming sip.

‘No need to apologise.’ Gabe grinned. ‘I’m used to it.’

And wasn’t that the truth? Just sitting here with Gabe, having him home again, made her remember all the times she’d come to him with her problems. And how desperately lonely she’d felt when he left. She’d never really understood Gabe’s urge to get away, but she knew that somehow it had reinforced in her an even stronger desire to stay on Windaroo—as if she’d needed to prove to him and to herself that life out here was worthwhile, worth fighting for.

‘That’s a long face,’ he said, pulling her sharply back from her thoughts.

She smiled and shrugged. ‘I’ve got a lot to think about.’

He set his soup mug on the ground and his gaze held hers. He wasn’t in shadow any more, and in the moonlight his eyes were dark and brooding rather than the lively green she knew them to be. ‘You don’t need to worry about finding a husband, Piper.’

She groaned. ‘Don’t tell me you think I should give in and let Grandad sell Windaroo?’

‘Under certain circumstances it could be a good idea.’

‘What kind of circumstances?’

‘What if…what if I were to buy Windaroo? Michael would sell it to me.’

Surprise sent such a savage jolt through her that she almost dropped her mug. She had a blinding, instantaneous vision of herself and Gabe living for ever on Windaroo, running the property—working partners and steadfast friends way into their old age. Now that was a dream she could live with! ‘Would you really want to do that?’ she asked in a hushed, awe-filled whisper.

‘Well, it’s a possibility. I know Jonno’s interested in buying out my shares in the Edenvale property, and I’ve a substantial payout from the army. I’m looking for an investment. I could buy Windaroo and hire some extra hands, appoint you as manager, and you could go on living here and running the place for as long as you want to.’

She frowned. ‘But what about you? What would you do?’

He shrugged and she saw a shadowy bitterness tighten his features. ‘I’m not sure. I haven’t decided what I want to do with the rest of my life yet. I can’t fly Black Hawks any more, but I could train helicopter pilots for cattle mustering, or I could set up my own chopper mustering business. Or there’s always the city. I still have quite a few options up my sleeve.’

Cradling her cooling mug in both hands, she drew circles in the dust with the heel of her riding boot and tried to shake off a crazy sense of disappointment. Of course Gabe didn’t want to settle down and live here. He’d left the bush because he craved adventure.

Why would he want to live on this rundown property with her when there was an enticing world beyond the Mullinjim Valley? A world of excitement, adventure and sophisticated, sexy women.

How could she have let herself forget that Gabriel Rivers was a cool, tough Black Hawk hero and a knock-em-dead lady-killer?

She swallowed the lump of pain in her throat. ‘Your offer is very generous, Gabe, but I don’t really like the idea. I—I don’t want to be a tenant on my family’s land. It would feel all wrong. Can you see that?’

‘But I thought you wanted to stay here no matter what.’

‘I do, but it would be best if I could find a husband. Then Grandad wouldn’t need to sell the property and it would still be mine. Well…mine and the husband’s, I guess, but at least it would still be in the family.’

He stared at something way off in the distance. ‘It was just a thought.’

‘That’s why I was hoping you could give me some sure-fire hints about how to catch a guy.’

Slowly his gaze swung back to her, and now he stared at her for ages. For far too long. ‘I’m the wrong man for that job, Piper.’

She let out a disbelieving little laugh. ‘Oh, come on, Gabe. You’re an expert. I’m expecting a master class from you. Everyone out here knows what a hit you made with the women in the big smoke. We got sick of hearing about your big city reputation as a babe magnet.’

‘A babe magnet?’ With a toss of his head he released a wry sound that she guessed was a laugh.

‘The stories were flying thick and fast about how those city girls took one look at your country boy swagger and were panting all over you.’

‘You shouldn’t listen to gossip.’

‘I didn’t need to. I saw with my own eyes what happened every time you came home on leave. Remember the “babe pack”? That gang of city girls who followed you out here just to take a look at you doing your cowboy act?’

With a sigh of irritation at the distasteful memory, she picked up the empty mugs and stacked them next to her backpack.

As Gabe watched he asked, ‘You haven’t seen any girls following me this time, have you?’

‘No,’ she admitted softly, and she bit her lip, wondering if she’d touched a sore point. Whenever she and her grandfather had travelled to the city to visit Gabe in hospital she’d never seen any of the trendy city girlfriends. As far as she could tell, not one of Gabe’s ‘babe pack’ had shown the staying power necessary to see him through the long, painful months of recovery and rehabilitation after the accident.

‘You know,’ she said, searching for a change of subject, ‘Grandad reckons it’s his fault I’ve turned into a tomboy. He says he never got around to putting the right finishing touches on me.’

‘What kind of finishing touches does he want?’

‘He thinks he should have sent me off to the city when I left school instead to letting me come straight back here to start work as a jillaroo. Says I should have gone to university, or overseas on one of those exchanges—some place where I could mix with other young people. He thinks I should have broadened my horizons—the way you have.’

Gabe nodded. ‘Maybe it’s not too late. You could do it now. If you’re determined to find a husband there are millions of blokes to choose from in cities all along the coast.’

She sighed. ‘But what use would a city guy be to me? I need a cattleman for a husband not a geeky banker or a computer nerd.’ She kicked at a stone and sent it scudding into the dark. ‘Choice isn’t my problem. There’s no shortage of eligible blokes in the bush. My problem is that I don’t know how to start husband-hunting. I’ve never been into proper girly stuff. Even at boarding school fashion and make-up never interested me. And I’ve never worked out how to—to—’

‘Flirt?’ Gabe inserted with a slow smile.

‘Yes.’ Her eyes widened as comprehension dawned. ‘You’re so right. Flirting! That’s exactly what I can’t do. Gosh, I don’t have a clue how to start. But that’s what a girl has to do, isn’t it—if she wants to let a guy know she’s interested?’

Just then a cloud drifted across the moon and they were plunged into darkness. Piper wished she could see Gabe’s face. Was he annoyed with her for bringing up such a personal subject? His voice sounded strangely rough and gravelly when he answered. ‘I don’t think I’m the right person to give you advice. You might learn all the wrong things.’

Wrong things? What wrong things? She thought of the babe pack again, and her cheeks flamed so hotly that she was suddenly grateful for the dark.

But next moment silvery moonlight filtered down, and she could see Gabe eyeing her thoughtfully as he leaned back with his weight supported by his hands while his long legs stretched out in front of him. ‘So you want to know how to flirt and how to please a man?’ he asked.

She gulped. She hadn’t expected that hearing him speak about this would make her feel quite so shivery and nervous.

Perhaps she should tell him to forget she’d ever raised the subject. She didn’t need his advice. Inexperienced as she was, she’d read enough books, seen enough television and listened to enough campfire boasting from ringers to know the anatomical details of sex.

In theory.

But then she remembered the last party she’d been to, when Gabe’s brother Jonno had sidled up to her and asked her to put in a good word about him to Suzanne Heath. It had hit her then that the guys were always doing things like that. They saw her simply as a buddy—a good sport—a fast ticket to an introduction to a girl—but never as the object of their desire.

Her eyes met Gabe’s.

‘I’m sure you don’t need flirting lessons,’ he said softly. He nodded towards the cattle to their left. ‘We’d be better off refining our strategies for dealing with these duffers when they turn up.’

‘No,’ she responded, a little too quickly. ‘I’m sure the duffers are cowards and will be easy to frighten. But what you were saying just now—about how to flirt—and how to—to please a man. That’s exactly what I need to know.’

He scowled. ‘I wasn’t serious.’

‘But I am.’

Releasing his breath in a slow hiss, he shook his head. His laugh, when it came, was soft and almost sad. ‘Are you calling my bluff, Piper O’Malley?’

‘I sure am.’

Oh, man. It was easy enough to sound as if she meant that, but her heart had begun to pound strangely.

CHAPTER TWO

GABE cleared his throat. ‘How to catch a man? Well…let’s see.’

A tawny owl winged its way overhead and he stared after it as it disappeared into the night. ‘To be honest, I’ve never really analysed what goes on when a man gets interested in a woman. It seems instinctive.’ He scratched the side of his neck thoughtfully. ‘But I guess something’s actually happening to our senses. They start reacting long before our brain realises what’s going on.’

‘Your senses? You mean sight, sound—that sort of thing?’ She was impressed. This sounded like useful, practical information.

‘I think so. I’d say sight would have to be number one for most blokes.’

‘Well, there you go. Men don’t even notice I’m female, so I don’t stand a chance.’

His eyes crinkled at the edges as his gaze slid over her. ‘It’s a bit hard for guys to see what’s available if a girl is always hiding under a wide-brimmed hat, jeans, baggy shirts and high-sided riding boots.’

She wriggled uncomfortably. ‘You mean I should be wearing clothes like Suzanne Heath? Dresses that are at least two sizes too small?’

‘Who’s Suzanne Heath?’

‘The chick Jonno was latching onto at a party last month.’

He stiffened like an animal on full alert. ‘So you’ve got your sights set on my little brother?’

‘No, not particularly.’ She shrugged. ‘He’s just an example. Just about any guy will do. Remember, I’m desperate.’

Lunging forward quickly, he surprised her by grasping her shoulders. ‘Piper,’ he said almost savagely, his eyes burning into hers, ‘promise me one thing.’

‘Yes?’ she whispered, forcing the single word past the sudden scary tightness in her throat. What was the matter with Gabe? He looked so fierce.

His hands gripped her hard. ‘You’re not desperate. Don’t sell yourself short. You mustn’t marry a man you don’t love.’

Startled by the ferocity in his eyes and his voice, she dropped her gaze and stared at her hands clenched in her lap as she said, ‘Maybe I’ll be easy to please.’

‘Don’t be. Just remember you deserve a good man. A man who’ll cherish you.’

Her head shot up. ‘Cherish me?’

‘Yep. That’s what you deserve.’ He smiled a shaky, crooked smile and released her shoulders quickly, as if he was surprised to find he’d been gripping her so hard.

‘I’ll remember that when the time comes,’ she said, trying not to sound as shaken as she felt. ‘But first I have to get at least one fellow to notice me. The problem is I don’t like the clothes men seem to like on women. I hate tight dresses with short skirts and low necklines.’

‘Why?’

She felt caught out by his question. ‘I—I don’t know. They look so uncomfortable.’

‘Have you ever worn one?’

‘No.’

Gabe’s smile looked more secure now. ‘It wouldn’t hurt to give it a go some time.’

‘But girls who wear them have plenty of curves.’

He grinned. ‘You go in and out in all the right places.’

She was surprised he’d noticed. But then maybe he was just saying that to make her feel better. ‘My ins and outs are very tiny. Do you think it would help if I stuffed my—my chest?’

‘Your husband-to-be might not be too happy when he discovers socks shoved down your bra.’

Her mouth tightened into a self-righteous pout. ‘By the time he finds out it won’t matter. It’ll be too late, won’t it?’

Gabe shook his head slowly. ‘My dear girl, you’ve got a lot to learn.’

She looked away. There was every chance she’d never find a man she wanted to share such intimate secrets with.

He reached over and flicked her ponytail. ‘Take that elastic thing out of your hair.’

‘Now?’

‘Yeah.’

Uncertainly, she hooked her finger under the elasticised band and slid it down, then shook her shoulder length hair free. Yellow hair, Grandad called it. Her driver’s licence said it was fair. A teacher at school had called it strawberry blonde. The biggest problem was that it came with very fair skin that she had to keep covered and out of the sun.

‘You should do that more often, Piper. You have very pretty hair. If you let a fellow see all that, especially in the moonlight, you’ll…make a big impression.’

‘I suppose…’

‘No supposing. I mean it—absolutely.’

‘So you reckon I need to let my hair down and buy a skimpy dress?’

‘It certainly can’t hurt to fem things up a bit.’

‘OK, assuming I get the looks sorted out, what comes next? What are the other senses? Sound? I don’t know if I could manage a low and husky voice for very long.’

He grinned. ‘Tell a guy what a great bloke he is and it won’t matter much how you sound. Flattery and flirtation go hand in hand. Anyway, you’ve never been one to screech or cackle. You sound fine.’

‘That’s a relief. So that brings us to smell. What impresses a guy when it comes to smell?’

‘Clean hair, clean skin.’

‘Perfume?’

‘If it’s delicate. Something that enhances your femininity but doesn’t get in the way of it.’

‘My femininity?’ What did that smell like?

An unsettling vision floated before her. She saw Gabe with a woman in his arms. A very beautiful woman with long silky hair and superior curves. Someone who smelled feminine. She could picture his sensuous lips caressing her exposed creamy throat, drinking in the smell of her.

An unexpected sound sent the image scattering. A kind of groan. Shoot! Had she made that noise? What was wrong with her?

What was wrong with Gabe? He was looking as embarrassed as she felt. Time to move this conversation along. ‘I’ll remember to make sure my perfume is delicate.’ So what senses were left? Sight, sound and smell were covered, so that left touch. Heck, no! She’d have to skip that one. But that only left taste, and no way did she want to know how she was supposed to taste!

‘Touch and taste aren’t really part of flirting. They don’t count, do they?’

‘If you’re looking for a husband they count for a great deal.’

Something about the way Gabe said that made her feel tight in the chest. ‘Well, yes. I suppose they matter when you get past flirting and around to kissing.’ She was definitely having trouble breathing. ‘Well, thanks for your advice, Gabe. I think you’ve covered everything.’

But now, darn it, he seemed reluctant to drop the subject. His deep voice penetrated the night. ‘Piper, you’re not frightened of intimacy, are you?’

Without warning, her blood began to pound through her veins, making her ears hum and her heart thump wildly. ‘I—I don’t think so.’

But she couldn’t be sure. Her limited experiences of kissing and necking ranged from mildly pleasant to downright mortifying. She should remember that this was Gabe, and if there was anyone in the world she could talk to about such embarrassing stuff it was him. Staring at her hands, still clenched tightly in her lap, she added softly, ‘I don’t know. I might be.’

She sensed him leaning towards her, and next moment his fingertips were touching her cheek ever so gently—so very gently—she could hardly feel them—and she found herself wanting to feel them, needing to feel them, found she was leaning her cheek into the curve of his hand. His big warm hand.

She knew exactly what it looked like. She could picture the strong, square shape of his palm, the light brown hairs on the back of his hand, the long, strong fingers. Eyes closed, she rubbed her cheek against his cupped hand.

She heard the rasp of his breathing and felt his thumb travel slowly down her cheek, over her chin and back again. She was amazed by how good it felt. Exciting, but sweet.

His fingertips circled slowly, ever so slowly over her cheek, her chin, her lips. Beneath his touch her skin felt different, highly sensitised, alive in a whole new way.

When his thumb moved again it reached her mouth and began to trace the outline of her lower lip. It strolled back and forth, back and forth. Then stopped.

No! She didn’t want it to stop. Hardly believing her daring, she dipped her head slightly and pressed her lips to his thumb.

Gabe’s husky voice sounded close to her ear. ‘I think you know a lot more about touching than you’re letting on, moonbeam.’

‘No,’ she whispered. ‘But I want to learn, Gabe.’ She pressed parted lips to his thumb again. The tip of her tongue touched his skin and she felt her skin flushing all over with a wild kind of excitement.

She was sure she was burning. Her face was hot. All over her body her skin felt aquiver with heat. Gabe’s face was so close, and she wanted to feel the midnight roughness of his beard against her cheek.

She suddenly knew that she needed his lips to roam her face the way his fingers had. Oh, yes, she wanted him to taste her. ‘Do you think you could kiss me?’ she whispered. ‘Just for practice?’

Somehow the gap between them seemed to be closing. Gabe was cupping her face with two hands now. He was so close. So wonderfully close. Was he going to kiss her?

She closed her eyes.

‘I mustn’t kiss you.’

Her eyes flashed open to see him pulling away.

‘What was I thinking?’ he cried, jumping to his feet.

One glance at the distress in his startled eyes and she felt exceedingly foolish. Embarrassed.

What was wrong with her? What had she been thinking? She’d been enjoying his touches so much she’d virtually thrown herself at him. How had she let herself be so carried away? With Gabe?

His hands rose to his head in a gesture of helplessness, then they dropped to his side as he let out an angry sound that was half-sigh, half-groan. ‘Piper, you have no idea how to protect yourself from men!’

Was he right? Her cheeks flamed as she watched him pace away from her, his boots crunching in the dirt. How on earth had this happened? When had their conversation taken such a dangerous turn? Had it been as Gabe described? Had her senses taken over before her brain could catch up?

He stopped pacing and turned abruptly, and she saw that his face was twisted with fierce emotion. ‘For heaven’s sake, Piper, if you go around offering yourself like that you’ll end up with the wrong man.’

Puzzled, contrite, she stared at him, while she forced her mind back over what had just happened. Minutes ago he’d been gently teasing her, then he’d been touching her with breathtaking tenderness and looking as if he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to be kissed. And now he looked more angry and disturbed than she’d ever seen him.

But, hang it all, what did he have to get so fired up about? He’d been the one telling her how pretty her hair looked in the moonlight. He’d raised the subject of intimacy…

Heck! Gabe didn’t have a monopoly on anger. She was getting pretty mad, too. She’d been following his lead, trusting him completely while she let her senses take over.

Folding her arms very deliberately across her chest, she glared at him. ‘Heaven forbid that I should end up with the wrong man. I wouldn’t want a man like you, Gabriel Rivers.’

He didn’t reply at first. Just stood there with his hands shoved deeply in his pockets and his jaw set. For ages they stood facing each other without speaking, sizing each other up like gladiators in a ring.

Then Gabe gave a casual shrug of his shoulders and a fleeting grin twisted his mouth. Crossing back towards her, he settled onto the swag again. ‘Glad we got that sorted out,’ he said.

CHAPTER THREE

‘DID you catch the mongrels?’

Michael Delaney was waiting on the verandah when Gabe and Piper climbed wearily out of the ute shortly after dawn.

‘Didn’t see hide nor hair of them,’ Gabe grumbled.

Piper hurried across the verandah to kiss her grandfather. ‘How are you, darling?’ She studied him anxiously as she stood holding his frail hand in both of hers. ‘Did Roy spend the night here?’ she asked.

Roy was an ancient stockman, who was as old and frail as Michael. He’d passed his use-by date as a cattleman years ago, but, unable to face the thought of a retirement home, he’d stayed on in a small cottage on Windaroo and did odd jobs about the place.

‘He only slipped back to his cottage a minute ago when he heard your ute coming back,’ said Michael.

‘How did you sleep?’ Piper asked.

‘Well enough.’

‘And you remembered to take all your tablets?’

Her grandfather sighed. ‘Every blinking one of them. I’m so full of pills I’m rattling. Now, forget about me. I want to hear all about your night.’

Gabe caught the sudden tension in Piper as she flicked an annoying strand of hair out of her eyes. This morning she’d been furious when they hadn’t been able to find her elastic band. He knew Michael’s brain would be computing madly as his shrewd old eyes took in the uncharacteristic wildness of her loose, tousled locks.

In fact, the old man’s faded blue eyes were dancing as he swung his gaze from her to Gabe and back again. ‘It was a nice night to be out,’ he said. ‘With the full moon and all it must have been a sweet spring night.’

‘It’s still August,’ Piper huffed. ‘Won’t be spring until next week.’

Michael ignored her and, settling his frail frame more comfortably in his canvas squatter’s chair, smiled smugly.

Gabe wondered why the old fellow was looking so self-satisfied. His own night had been hellishly difficult, and although they hadn’t swapped notes, he was sure that Piper hadn’t had a wink of sleep either.

Now, for the life of him, he couldn’t look cheerful, and when Michael saw no change in Piper’s similarly dour expression his smile faltered.

‘I was so sure those cattle duffers would hit that paddock last night,’ she said. ‘I’ll be furious if I find out they struck in another spot.’ Angrily she shoved her hair behind her ears. ‘I dragged Gabe out there for nothing.’

Gabe dropped his gaze in case Michael caught his sudden flush of guilty embarrassment. Thank God nothing had happened out there. It had been a close call. Way too close for comfort.

What a fool he’d been to get tangled up in that discussion about flirting. But how could he have known Piper would respond so sensually to his slightest touch?

And how could he have guessed it would be so damn difficult to resist her tempting little mouth? He’d been on the brink of making a huge mistake. And the result had been an uncomfortable tension that had destroyed the easy camaraderie they’d always enjoyed.

‘We’re disgustingly hungry.’ Piper said. ‘So I’m going to make breakfast straight away.’

Without looking back at either of them she hurried into the house, and Gabe knew she was itching to get away from him.

‘Rest your bones,’ Michael ordered, and he patted the flat timber arm of the chair beside him. ‘Piper likes to be left alone when she’s working in the kitchen.’

Gabe grimaced as he lowered himself slowly into the seat. This morning, after a sleepless night on hard ground, his wounds were complaining. He was aching all over and he felt almost as doddering and brittle as old Michael.

At least he could relax with the old man. They sat in companionable silence for several minutes while they gazed out across Windaroo’s pastures.

And then it happened.

Just when he was starting to unwind memories pressed in, demanding his attention, and instead of sunlit, grassy plains he was seeing shattered glass scattering over the highway, buckled metal and his own broken limbs.

If only he could put it all behind him. But more often than he liked memories of the crash still hijacked his thoughts.

He’d heard enough psychobabble to understand why. Suppressed anger was the reason they gave, and it was probably true. His injuries would have been so much easier to accept if they’d happened in the line of duty. Hell, he’d been putting himself in harm’s way ever since he joined the army.

Without question he’d gone with the Australian UN contingent straight into hot-spots like Somalia, Cambodia and Rwanda. He’d come under fire more times than he could count and had had two forced landings that might have been crashes.

But the irony was he’d come through all that unscathed and been wiped out by a speeding semi-trailer on a highway when he was on leave!

Enough!

‘The country needs rain,’ he said, wincing that he’d come up with such a lame topic. But he wanted to find something for Michael to talk about that had nothing to do with Piper.

Michael grunted his agreement, then turned to Gabe. ‘Did Piper tell you that I’d spoken to her about—the future?’

‘Yes.’ Gabe waited a beat before clasping the old man’s shoulder. ‘I’m sorry to hear such bad news, Michael.’

‘It’s Piper I’m worried about.’

‘She’s devastated, of course.’

Michael shot him a piercing glance. ‘You know my granddaughter almost as well as I do, Gabe. Do you think she’s going to be sensible about everything?’

Gabe hesitated, searching for the best way to answer, but he knew Michael wouldn’t appreciate any pussyfooting around the truth. ‘I’m sure you realise she’s pretty cut up that you want to sell Windaroo.’

‘Yeah, I know.’ Michael sighed loudly. ‘But you can understand why I have to, can’t you, boy? I couldn’t go to my grave knowing she’s been left saddled with this place. It’s been getting run down in recent years. There are debts. It would be a huge burden.’

‘Well…I should warn you that she’s planning to outfox you. She’s determined to find a way to stay here.’

To Gabe’s surprise Michael didn’t look as put out by this news as he’d expected.

‘She is, is she?’ he said slowly, and a little of the old sparkle flashed in his eyes. ‘Did she happen to tell you what she has in mind?’

Gabe wasn’t a man to betray a confidence, but Piper had been quite open about her plans. And for some reason he liked the idea of having Michael in the know. The old fellow could vet Piper’s line-up of suitors. ‘She plans to find herself a husband,’ he said.

Michael slapped his thigh gleefully. ‘Well, bully for her.’ He winked at Gabe. ‘She told you this last night, did she?’

Gabe nodded, not at all happy with the shining smile on his old friend’s whiskery face.

‘And?’ Michael prompted eagerly.

‘And what?’

‘And what did you decide to do about it?’

Gabe’s insides took a tumble-turn. ‘What did I decide?’

‘You heard me.’

‘Steady on, old mate. It’s got nothing to do with me.’

‘Hurrumph!’ Michael drooped as if he’d been physically wounded and made no effort to hide his disgust.

‘Hey,’ Gabe cried, leaning forward and shaking Michael’s arm gently. ‘You romantic old fool. You couldn’t possibly have thought I’d propose to her, could you?’

‘Stranger things have happened,’ came the sulky reply. ‘Besides, I know how you feel about her.’

The words seemed to explode in Gabe’s face. It was like the crash all over again. He couldn’t feel his limbs. He was fighting for breath.

I know how you feel about her…What the hell did that mean? The old man was deluding himself. How could Michael know what Gabe himself didn’t know? How was he supposed to feel about Piper?

She was the kid next door. She was special, sure. Gutsy, vibrant, doggedly loyal. He’d always admired her sweet, unaffected nature and her spirit of adventure. He felt a strong bond with her—a sense of responsibility towards her. No doubt about it. But beyond that?

His stomach took a plunge.

No way…The close call with that kiss last night was nothing. It had been an aberration…nothing more. Nothing.

Michael was watching him with the wary attention of a man in the dock awaiting the jury’s verdict.

What the hell did the old fellow expect? Gabe was years older than Piper. Right now he felt as old as Methuselah. He had an uncertain future to sort out. And the stark reality was that he was a damaged man. Even if he wanted to—and he couldn’t honestly say that he did—he couldn’t think twice about shackling himself to a vibrant young woman like Piper.

‘Piper has her sights set on someone much younger and fitter than I am,’ he told Michael.

For an embarrassingly long minute Michael stared at him in disbelief. Then a kind of acceptance seemed to settle in his tired old eyes. ‘Who is he?’ His smile was conspiratorial. ‘We can find out where he drinks and sort him out.’

Gabe laughed. ‘I don’t think she has an actual candidate lined up just yet.’

‘Ah!’ The tension left the old man. He relaxed back into his chair, folded his hands in his lap and smiled contentedly into the distance.

‘But she’s going to start seriously hunting for a husband,’ Gabe added as a warning.

‘Let her hunt,’ came the unexpected reply.

Gabe frowned. ‘I should warn you that she’s looking for a husband in the hope that it will stop you from selling Windaroo.’

‘She’s dead right,’ he responded brightly. ‘I wouldn’t need to sell this place if she had the right man to help her run it.’

‘So you’d be quite happy to see her throw herself on the marriage market?’

Michael eyed him shrewdly. ‘Don’t you think it’s a good idea?’

Gabe shifted uneasily beneath the faded blue gaze. ‘I wouldn’t know what’s best for her. I’m not her grandfather.’

Leaning closer, Michael touched him on the arm so that he had to turn back, and when he did the old fellow winked. ‘I reckon there’s no harm in letting her look around. It’ll help her to see the lie of the land. Right now she can’t see the wood for the trees.’ He winked at Gabe. ‘You’ll keep an eye on her, won’t you, son?’

‘Surely you don’t want me snooping around like some kind of private eye?’

Michael lifted his shoulders in a helpless little shrug. ‘She’s a babe in the woods. There are wolves out there.’

‘I’ll cramp her style.’

But Michael had a trump card up his sleeve. ‘I’m a dying old man. Can’t you do this for me?’

Gabe’s eyes narrowed. He’d never realised Michael Delaney was such a crafty old beggar.

‘You’ll promise me this one thing, won’t you, boy?’

Gabe sighed. ‘I don’t know how long I’m going to be in the district—but OK, it’s a deal.’ Then he shot to his feet.

‘Something smells good,’ Michael said. ‘I’m sure our breakfast’s ready.’

But the conversation had curbed Gabe’s appetite. ‘I need to get back home,’ he said. ‘Jonno’s expecting me to give him a hand with some stockyard work today.’

In the kitchen, Piper was carrying toast and butter to the table when she caught sight of her reflection in a battered old mirror that hung near the hat pegs. She gasped at the sight of herself with her hair all wild and loose around her face like a silky halo.

With hardly a thought to where she dumped the toast, she drifted closer to the mirror. How different she looked. For a moment she forgot the embarrassment of her foolish behaviour last night. She was thinking instead of the gentle, caressing way Gabe had threaded his fingers through her hair and the way he’d stroked her skin.

A tide of pink rose from her neck to her cheeks and she looked happy and rosy. Almost glowing—like a computer-enhanced picture in a glossy magazine.

Idiot!

She had nothing to make her smile. Nothing to go all vain and gooey about. How could she have been so stupid as to ask Gabe to kiss her? Gabe, who’d been kissed and seduced by squillions of sexy women.

She swung away from the mirror. Last night had merely reinforced what she already knew. She had a long way to go before she worked out the finer points of catching a man.

Hurrying into the bathroom, she grabbed her hairbrush and set about flattening her hair, then pulled it back tightly with another elasticised band.

One thing was certain. Next time she practised flirting she’d make sure Gabe Rivers was nowhere near.

CHAPTER FOUR

‘IT’S not me. I’m not this sophisticated. I feel strange.’ Piper stood in her grandfather’s bedroom and stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. What she saw was beyond anything she could have imagined.

‘You look fantastic, darlin’,’ Michael reassured her from the doorway. His smile was so bright it would have glowed in the dark. ‘You look like a princess.’

‘You don’t think I’ve gone too far? I’m showing so much bare skin.’

‘Nonsense. Anyway, your skin’s lovely. It should be seen. You’ll knock ’em dead tonight.’

She turned sideways to check her gown from a different angle and told herself it was too late to back out now; she’d taken the bull by the horns. She was going to the Mullinjim Spring Ball to start her husband-hunt. In earnest.

Knowing she desperately needed help in matters of make-up, hairstyles and ballgowns, she’d followed up an advertisement in the local paper and hired the services of a travelling beauty and grooming consultant. The whole process had been a steep learning curve!

April, the consultant, had been quite definite.

‘White,’ she said. ‘The dark vamp look is so last century. You should certainly wear white. It’s dramatic and it’s classy and you have the perfect youthful complexion for it. Not everyone can wear white successfully, you know.’

It crossed Piper’s mind that a white gown would scream virgin to the entire population, but she held her tongue.

‘And you’re slim and fit, so a tight, low-necked, low-backed gown will be best, to show off your figure and that beautiful pale skin,’ April continued with growing enthusiasm. ‘And your shoulders are so nicely defined you’ll only want the tiniest halterneck strap to hold everything up.’

‘What about…?’ With a grimace, Piper indicated her inadequacies in the chest department.

‘You wait till you see the dress I have in mind. Your curves will be shown off to their best advantage,’ April reassured her, and then she winked. ‘At least you should be grateful you have firm breasts that haven’t started heading south yet. Most women have the opposite problem.’

So the dress had been couriered out from a Cairns boutique, and this afternoon April had attended to the final details of hair and make-up.

‘You need after-dark glamour to bring out your eyes. They’re a pretty blue, but they could look a bit quiet at night, so I’ll apply shadow to define them. And then we’ll add false eyelashes.’

‘Oh, no, we won’t!’ Piper knew when enough was enough. ‘I couldn’t possibly wear false eyelashes.’

‘You wait till you see the way I do it, ducks. I’m a genius. I cut them and just apply a few extra lashes to your outer lid. It gives you a sexy, long-lash look, but I promise you won’t look like a drag queen.’

Pushing a host of doubts aside, Piper had bravely submitted to the superior knowledge of an expert. Now, as she viewed the results, she had to agree that April was indeed a genius. A very expensive genius, but she was definitely up there with fairy godmothers when it came to transforming tomboys into princesses.

The white gown was a silken dream. It seemed to give Piper’s body a sexy allure she’d never imagined possible. She’d expected to leave her hair down, the way Gabe had suggested, but April had done it in an elegant twist— ‘To show off your neck and shoulders.’

Her face looked amazing. She’d been worried that her eyes would look overly painted, but April’s artwork was subtle. She turned away from the mirror to see Michael regarding her tenderly.

‘I have one last thing that will add the finishing touch to make you look beyond perfect,’ he told her as he stood there with his hands behind his back.

‘What is it?’

With a little boy’s look-at-me-Mum smile, he brought his hands forward. ‘These were Bella’s.’

Piper’s heartbeats quickened. Michael had never before shown her anything that had belonged to her mother apart from photos. Now, sitting in the palm of his old callused hand, she saw elegant earrings—beautiful teardrop pearls suspended from tiny circles of diamonds.

‘Oh, Grandad, they’re gorgeous.’ She threw her arms around him, and the only thing that stopped her from crying was fear that her make-up would run. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘I never knew my mother had such lovely things. But I don’t suppose she was ever a rough and tumble tomboy like me.’

‘Oh, Bella was a tomboy all right,’ Michael said with a wistful smile. ‘Right up until the day Peter O’Malley arrived in our valley and swept her off her feet. Suddenly there was a flurry of buying dresses and fixing hair and you would have been pushed to recognise her. She turned from a sunburnt and dusty jillaroo into a beautiful princess overnight.’

Piper felt a twisting ache around her heart as she thought about her parents falling in love. Her glance darted to her reflection in the mirror.

‘Yes. You look just as suddenly grown-up and pretty as she did, sweetheart. I’ve always known that you’d steal hearts one day. Your sweet blue eyes are exactly like Bella’s and you have a beautiful, proud profile like my Mary’s…and your father’s yellow hair.’

He cupped his hand and tipped it from side to side so that the earrings caught the light and the diamonds sparkled. ‘Peter bought these for Bella to wear on her wedding day. They were married right here at Windaroo, under the jacaranda tree next to the front steps. It was the prettiest wedding you could ever imagine.’

‘Oh, Grandad, don’t make me cry.’

‘Sorry, Piper. I guess seeing you looking so lovely made me nostalgic.’ As he handed her the earrings he grinned. ‘I should warn you that I have a hankering to see another wedding on Windaroo some time soon.’

‘Don’t get your hopes up, old feller,’ she said, shooting him a warning glance.

He chuckled, and then, as if to change the subject, said, ‘Hey, that’s nice man-bait you’re wearing.’

‘Man-bait?’

‘Perfume.’

She turned away quickly and slipped the first earring in. ‘Do you think the scent is delicate enough?’

‘It smells better than bread in the oven.’

‘That’s very reassuring.’ She laughed and finished securing the second earring. Another glance in the mirror told her they were the perfect touch of elegance. ‘What do you think?’ she asked, turning back to him.

The old man’s eyes gleamed as he saw the jewellery in place. ‘You’re going to capture a whole battalion of hearts tonight, little girl.’

Arm in arm they walked out to the verandah.

Old Roy, who was keeping Michael company this evening, was there sitting in a squatter’s chair, and he jumped to his feet when he saw them. ‘Holy smoke!’ He stared at Piper.

Michael beamed at him. ‘What do you think of our princess?’

Roy ran his hand over his bald patch several times. ‘Holy smoke,’ he said again. ‘Strike me pink. Piper—geez, you look a bit of all right.’

‘Thanks, Roy,’ Piper said with a smile. What would she do without these two old darlings? They were certainly good for a girl’s ego.

She and Michael walked on to the ute, parked in the driveway. As he opened the door for her he patted the battered frame. ‘You should be heading off in a golden coach with six white horses, not this old rattletrap.’

With an exaggerated roll of her eyes she climbed behind the steering wheel and tossed her evening purse onto the passenger’s seat.

‘At any rate you should have a partner to take you to this ball,’ Michael added. ‘I’m not happy at the idea of you going by yourself. It’s not how we did things in my day.’

‘I’m safe to drive. I’ll limit myself to one glass of wine.’ She frowned at him. ‘Now, don’t you dare spend your night worrying about me.’ The doctor’s warning that his heart couldn’t take any more attacks hung over her like the sword of Damocles.

‘I’m not going to worry. Just the same, I wish you’d asked Gabe to take you to this ball.’

Piper released a weary sigh. Over the past fortnight they’d seen very little of Gabe, but he’d come into her grandfather’s conversations far too often. ‘You know jolly well that I’m trying to find a husband. Gabe would only get in the way.’

‘You reckon?’ he asked, looking crestfallen.

‘I’m sure of it.’

The old man dropped his gaze and shook his head slowly. Then his eyes sought hers again. ‘About this husband-hunt of yours…’

‘Yes?’

‘I know what’s driving you to do this, Piper, and I feel responsible, so I’d like to offer you a word of advice.’

Her heart gave a strange little jump. ‘What is it?’

‘You might think I’m just an old romantic fool,’ he said, ‘but no matter how eager you are to get yourself hitched, you should listen to your heart when you choose your husband, not your head.’

‘You are a romantic old fool,’ she told him. ‘But I love you and I’ll try to remember your advice.’

Leaning through the ute’s window, she blew him a kiss, then she accelerated down the drive. Tears threatened again as she watched him through her rear-vision mirror. He was standing at the foot of Windaroo’s steps, watching her with that dear smile of his, and the thought that one day he wouldn’t be there was unbearable.

She tried to cheer herself up by thinking of the exciting night ahead, and wondered why she didn’t feel more uplifted by the thought that Gabe wouldn’t be at the ball to see her all dolled up like this.

The Mullinjim Spring Ball was held in the Community Hall—a simple weatherboard building. Tonight its interior was decorated with potted palms, streamers, balloons and crêpe paper flowers. At one end of the hall a four-piece band was squeezed onto a tiny stage, and in the kitchen area, where the Country Women’s Association usually served tea and scones, the Social Committee had set up a makeshift bar.

In true outback style, the people of the surrounding districts overlooked the venue’s lack of sophistication and dressed as grandly as they would if they were attending the Sydney Opera House. The men wore stylish black dinner suits and the women were in long, formal gowns in a rainbow of pretty colours.

When Piper arrived she headed straight for the ringers and graziers she’d known all her life—the guys she’d always hung out with at parties until they found a girl they fancied. Tonight they were gathered around the bar.

It wasn’t till she was halfway across the hall that nerves struck. Suddenly the full impact of the task ahead hit her and almost sent her turning back and scampering off into the night. Oh, man! Tonight she had to tackle some serious flirting.

If only she’d watched more romance movies instead of cowboy flicks. Right now she would have felt more at ease sauntering into a western saloon full of mean-eyed baddies in black cowboy hats than facing this innocuous collection of cattlemen in dinner suits.

They might be husband material, but they were still blissfully unaware of their possible fate, and somehow she had to convince them to start thinking of her—tomboy Piper O’Malley—as a potential wife!

Yikes! Her knees were going on her. Get over this and start flirting! What was it Gabe had told her? Flirting and flattery go hand in hand.

OK.

Her palms were very damp as she ran them down her silk-covered thighs and she hoped they didn’t leave a snail trail. It’s like swimming in a freezing cold creek. You’ve just got to dive in.

Go!

Taking a deep breath, she flashed a bright smile and stepped closer to the bar. ‘Hi, dudes,’ she said. ‘You’re all looking very swish.’

Several heads turned her way.

Turned casually and then jerked to attention.

Mouths fell open. Eyes popped.

Jock Fleming from Jupiter Downs spilled his beer.

‘Blow me down,’ Steve Flaxton said at last. ‘Is it Piper?’

‘Of course it’s me!’ Panic exploded like a shotgun blast in her chest. ‘What’s the matter? What are you staring at?’

What had she done wrong? Left a zip undone? Was an eyelash dangling? Surely she hadn’t popped out of the top of her dress?

‘Is it my hair?’ she cried, her eyes frantically searching for a mirror. ‘What’s wrong with me?’

Jonno Rivers, Gabe’s brother, found his tongue first. ‘Sorry, Piper. It’s just we’ve never seen you looking like this.’

‘So?’ she cried. They were still staring at her as if they’d been frozen in shock mode. But her initial panic gave way to a flash of relief, quickly followed by anger. Fury. Disappointment! Surely these guys could do better than to stand there and gape like stupefied dolts?

Where were their admiring smiles? Their gallant gestures? One of these fools was supposed to sweep her off her feet and become her romantic soul mate.

Couldn’t one of them, at the very least, offer to get her a drink?

‘What’s wrong with you mob? Don’t you know how to treat a woman?’

Behind her, the band struck up a lively number and people began to move onto the dance floor. Jock, Steve, Jonno and the others looked nervously at one another. To her right, she heard some oaf mutter, ‘Since when has Piper had tits? Where’s she been hiding them?’

She whirled towards the voice. But before she could find words to make the toad squirm, she was aware of gazes shifting past her to the hall’s entrance, and she turned to see a tall, dark and commanding figure.

Gabe.

Oh, help.

He was standing in the doorway on the far side of the hall and she had the distinct impression he’d been watching them. Oh, Lord! Her insides seemed to collapse. Nosy Gabe!

He was the last person she wanted to witness this humiliation. He wasn’t supposed to be here! How could she relax enough to flirt successfully while her tutor watched from the sidelines?

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