Page 35 of Rough Stock

‘Did he?’

‘No. And you would’ve been proud of him, too, and Lydia, because she refused to let them get near that kid.’

‘They didn’t hurt Lydia, did they?’ Lydia seemed so genuinely nice. With Izzy coming from a corporate world of cutthroat lawyers, it made for a nice change.

Craig scowled, peering back towards Lydia’s office. ‘They threatened Lydia, slashed her tyres, threw bricks through her windows when they knew Red was working on the road. Mongrel move that.’

‘What did you do?’

‘Crashed on Lydia’s couch until Red came home. By then, everyone in the stockyards had gotten involved. Everyone adores Lydia and knows she only did it for Brodie—but the thing is Lydia would do it for any of us. She’s like a mother to many of us here in the stockyards.’

‘I can see why… Did they get his parents?’

Craig nodded. ‘They got jail time for assault, property damage, child abuse, and I know Marcus, the town’s top cop, told them to never come back. And since then, the town’s stockmen have kind of adopted Brodie. We all watch out for him.’

‘He doesn’t want to leave?’ Like she did to get away from her own past, to forget they ever existed.

‘Brodie wants to be a stockman, to get into muster choppers, but he has issues.’

‘Like what?’ She narrowed her eyes at him.

‘Reading and writing, mostly. Don’t say anything, Brodie gets embarrassed by it.’

‘I won’t.’ Yet, she was already trying to figure out how to help the poor guy. ‘Is it because he’s neurodivergent?’

‘Lydia thinks so, not that Brodie has been tested, but also that his parents never bothered to put the kid on the school bus. But Lydia’s got Brodie working in the stockyards, and with the help of the railway station manager, Brodie’s got somewhere to live in the back, and Lydia’s been helping him with his reading and writing. I said Brodie could stay at home, but he doesn’t have a driver’s licence or a vehicle to get around. He’s happy here, and I know Lydia checks on him every day.’

‘Poor guy.’

Craig turned to face her, hooking his thumbs in his jeans pockets. ‘Brodie doesn’t see it that way. Trust me, he’s never been happier. Brodie is a good kid with lots of people who watch out for him.’

‘Are you talking about the town?’

Craig nodded.

Through the stockyards, and over the train line, she peered beyond the thick red dust that seemed to layer this sleepy outback town. Craig had chosen Elsie Creek to be his home town, always speaking highly of this place.

‘They will be good to you here, Izzy.’ Craig’s deep voice was as soft as his hand that covered hers. ‘They won’t treat you differently. In fact, you’ll be surprised at how quickly the locals will accept you.’

‘Because of you.’ After all, Craig was a local hero, while she was the girl meant to be in hiding. Why get comfortable when she’d have to leave again. But first she needed to make sure Craig was safe. ‘I think we should go find Finn.’

Eleven

‘Didn’t you take your sweet time to show up?’ In dusty jeans and crocodile leather boots, Stone swaggered out from behind the counter of the Elsie Creek Police Station, to open the security door and hold out his hand. ‘And you must bethe wife. I’m Stone Kipp. Full-time sweetheart, and part-time crocodile wrangler.’

‘Hi, I’m—’

‘Isobel Callahan.’ Stone clasped Izzy’s fingers to lean down and kiss the back of her hand.

‘Oi.’ Craig scowled at Stone.

Crocodile wranglers were a whole other level of crazy, and Stone was as reckless as the rest of them. ‘What do you care, you two-bit hussy? We all know you’re a man-whore, and that this lady is too good for you.’

Nope, Craig wasn’t even going to dignify that smart-arse remark with a response.

‘I like your braces,MissCallahan. Don’t mind them myself.’ Stone grinned at Izzy as he rocked on his fancy boot heels. ‘Had Lydia at the train station’s stockyard make me some with a radio holster. Perfect for egg collecting.’

‘Chicken eggs?’

---