Page 3 of Rough Stock

‘He passed away. His heart…’ Craig turned away, feeling the intolerable weight of heartache just from looking at her, and from missing the old stockman, Charlie.

Izzy’s heels clicked on the floor as she circled the bed and sank into the chair, bringing her eye level with him. ‘I’m sorry.’

She seemed sorry, too.

No. Not again. He did not want to feel again. And certainly not for her.

Yet the look she gave him wasn’t one of pity, but something else, he was helpless to look away.

Only Izzy did that, effortlessly capturing his attention as he took in the details. Like the way her slender throat shifted as she swallowed, the smooth line of her jaw to her dainty chin, and the softness of her cheeks. He remembered the feel of her warm, soft skin, like he’d once remembered her kisses and her smile.

In the past few years, he’d never seen her smile in her pictures on social media or the news. Not for a very long time. But he’d mastered the skill of faking his own smile so that no one knew his pain.

‘Why are you here, Izzy?’

‘You need someone to look after you.’

He almost choked at her words, only to wince at the pain in his ribs. ‘Bulldust I do.’

‘You need someone to babysit your butt for the next four to six weeks.’

‘Yeah, right. And you’re going to volunteer?’

‘Would you prefer I fetch one of your many admirers to help?’ Again, she tortured him with that hip-swinging strut to cross the room, where she waved at the vast assortment of flowers to read out the names on the cards. And there were a lot of them. ‘Get well soon, from Ginny… Need any nursing, from Katie… Cuddles and kisses, from Karen… And Christine says she wants to crush you in ways that should never be written on a Hallmark card.’ Izzy glanced over her shoulder at him with an arched eyebrow.

She then returned her attention to the cards attached to the various bunches of flowers. ‘Oh look, Linda sends her love… Julie has offered to play nurse… Amanda—’

‘Are you jealous?’Again, Craig collapsed back onto his bed, it was the only way to appease the throbbing combination of pains.

‘As if.’ Izzy rolled her eyes. ‘Honey, with this many offers, I should auction your arse off to the highest bidder, and then we can get you a professional babysitter.’

‘No, thank you.’ Dammit, he couldn’t even cross his arms over his chest without a stab of agony radiating through his ribs in waves. Of all the times to see Izzy again, for a chance to show off how big and tough he was—stuck in hospital while wearing a tacky hospital gown was not the look he was after. It was pathetic. ‘How about you tell me the real reason why you’re here?’

‘To sell my share of Dustfire.’ She didn’t even freaking blink. Not once.

‘NO.’ He scowled so darkly he was pretty sure his eyebrows were blending with his eyes.

‘By the looks of all these women’s names,’ she said, nodding at the large collection of flowers, ‘you don’t go home much.’

‘I do.’Not really.‘When I’m not working away on the musters.’

‘You’ve always been a cattleman through and through.’

‘I’m going to repeat the question…’ He gritted his teeth, with his hands in fists to try and control his rising temper. ‘What is the real reason you’re here?’ The woman was cunning enough to have an ulterior motive. She could always spot patterns and easily predict people’s next moves—so what was her game plan?

‘I just thought, while you’re recovering, I can spruce the place up and put it on the market. Or do you have enough money tucked away in some buried cowboy boot to buy me out?’

He paused.The less said the better, so said a certain cunning and cold criminal lawyer he once knew—who used to be the hottest babe in his bedsheets.

‘Probably not if you're busy bumming around the outback rodeo circuit, riding for chump change, to spend it on a buckle bunny or three.’ Again, she nodded at those flowers.

Was Izzy jealous?

Nope. Not even a twinge of emotion sparked in those cold, dark eyes of hers. Nothing.

Deep down, he knew there was more to her being here. But if he wanted out of this hospital, he’d have to play nice with the last person anyone expected—his long-lost wife.

Three

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