The Cattleman's English Rose. Barbara Hannay

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СКАЧАТЬ well. Of course, he copped a bit of a ribbing from some of the boys about his toff accent, but he’s a good worker. He was good with horses.’

      ‘But where did he go from here? When did he leave?’

      ‘He took off about four or five weeks ago, but I can’t tell you where.’

      ‘Can’t or won’t?’

      Her quick question almost caught him off guard. Almost. ‘I can’t tell you,’ he said in a take-it-or-leave-it tone. ‘All I know is he’s left the district.’

      She frowned. ‘It just doesn’t seem right. Didn’t Tim tell you anything about where he was going, or what he was going to do?’

      Kane shrugged. ‘This is a free country.’

      She shook her head and dragged in a deep, dissatisfied breath through her nose.

      ‘Out here, people can come and go as they please,’ Kane said in defence. ‘It happens all the time. Isn’t that what travelling is all about? Being free to take up whatever opportunities arise?’ He shot her a deliberate, searching glance. ‘Maybe your brother wants to cut the apron strings.’

      Her response was to glare at him, but he merely smiled.

      ‘You can’t keep a young bloke like Tim on a short chain for ever.’

      She gave an impatient toss of her bright brandy hair. ‘That’s more or less what the police said, but I won’t accept that.’

      ‘So you’ve already been to the police?’

      ‘Of course. I spoke to them in Townsville. They’ve listed Tim as missing, but they were far too casual for my liking. They spun me the line that young people go missing all the time. They said that most of the youngsters are deliberately running away, but I know that Tim wouldn’t do that.’

      ‘How can you be so sure?’

      There was a warning flash of green fire in her eyes. ‘I know my brother. I’ve raised him since our mother died when he was seven years old.’

      This time Kane couldn’t hide his surprise. ‘You must have been very young to take on that kind of responsibility.’

      ‘I was fourteen.’

      ‘You’ve done a grand job.’ He switched his gaze from her earnest face to the bottom of his beer glass. ‘So what else did the police tell you?’

      She sighed. ‘Not much. They’ve checked Tim’s bank account and there haven’t been any withdrawals. They say that’s good, because his account hasn’t been stripped and that suggests that there hasn’t been foul play. But if Tim hasn’t used his money, couldn’t it mean that he’s had an accident? He might have perished somewhere and no one knows about it.’

      ‘I wouldn’t start panicking just yet,’ Kane said gently. ‘I paid him in cash, so he would have been well stocked up when he left here.’

      The clip-clip of Marsha’s heels sounded on the wooden floor. As she reached their table and handed out glasses, she eyed them both with a sweet-and-sour smile. They thanked her and took their time sampling grateful sips of their cold drinks.

      The silence was broken by the clink of ice against glass and then another sigh from Charity. ‘I know I must look like a fussy mother hen, but I can’t help worrying,’ she said. ‘Tim’s so young. He’s only just turned nineteen.’

      There was a short gasp of surprise from Marsha. Kane shot her a sharp, silencing frown.

      ‘Out here, if a boy’s nineteen, he’s old enough to vote, old enough to drink and old enough to fight and die for his country,’ he said.

      ‘That may be so, but I intend to find him. If you can’t help me, could you suggest where I should start looking?’

      He shrugged. ‘He could be anywhere.’

      Her eyes narrowed. ‘I’m sure you can do better than that.’

      Kane sighed. He should have known from the moment she walked in that this girl was a crusader who wouldn’t give in easily.

      ‘Okay, I’ll give it to you straight.’ With a forefinger, he ticked off the fingers on his left hand. ‘Your brother could have taken another mustering job on a property farther out, or he could be droving cattle up north in the Cape, which would mean spending six or eight weeks on horseback. He could be fishing for barramundi up in the Gulf, or he could be on a prawn trawler out of Karumba.’ He eyed her slowly. ‘You want some more?’

      When she didn’t answer, he gave a slight shake of his head before continuing. ‘He might be gold prospecting out the back of Croydon, or fossicking for sapphires down at Annakie, or he could be sitting on a bar-stool chatting up a Swedish backpacker on Magnetic Island.’

      As she listened to his list she chewed her lower lip—her soft, petal-pink lip—and he couldn’t help staring.

      She shook her head. ‘But if Tim was doing any of those things he could have phoned us, emailed or written a letter.’

      Kane shrugged again. ‘I’d say he’s too busy, or too remote.’

      Charity stared into her glass, swilled the ice cubes and took another thoughtful sip of her drink.

      ‘Trust me,’ Kane said quietly, keeping the expression on his face deadpan. ‘Your brother’s okay.’

      ‘But how do you know that?’

      Abruptly he drained his second beer. ‘Look, you don’t want to hang around here. This isn’t the place for you. You should head back to the coast. Why don’t you see a bit of Australia? Have a bit of a holiday while you’re out here. I have Tim’s home address. I’ll contact you if I hear something.’

      He knew she wouldn’t be happy to be dismissed so soon, but she’d asked her questions, he had answered them and now he wanted her to leave.

      To his surprise she accepted this.

      With a series of nervous gulps she finished her gin and tonic. ‘Thanks for the drink,’ she said. ‘I was hoping you could help me, Mr McKinnon, but as you can’t I’ll try to find someone else in this district who might have known Tim.’

      Then she jumped to her feet and was just a little unsteady. How much gin had Marsha put in that drink?

      Holding out her hand, she said, ‘Thanks for your time.’

      ‘Just remember my advice,’ he said. Her hand felt soft and he was conscious of her delicate bones as he clasped it. ‘Don’t hang around here. Get back to the coast and have some fun.’

      She turned to Marsha, who looked decidedly chipper all of a sudden. ‘It was nice to meet you, Marsha.’

      ‘You, too, Charity,’ she said, giving a little wave.

      Holding her head high, Charity turned and walked very carefully across the bare wooden floor to the bar’s entrance. Kane remembered the conviction in her eyes when she’d entered the bar not so long СКАЧАТЬ