Page 52 of Rough Stock

‘Except you uncovered something they didn’t want anyone to know.’

‘And now you know, too.’ Her eyes flew open with pure unbridled panic, as she stood. ‘We should go. Leave. Now.’

‘And go where?’ He struggled to his feet but held her arm to stop her in case she ran.

‘My name is on the trust as co-director for this land. My bank records would show I’ve been regularly paying my share of the trust’s mortgage. If they were to look for me—’

‘They would have been here by now. I know you would have done something to get them off your trail.’

She paused her panic to share a coy grin, as if proud of what she’d done. He loved watching that spark of mischievousness flaring in her eyes.

‘What did you do?’ His wife was clever enough to play the housemate from hell in her devilish tricks against him, so nothing would surprise him.

‘I made fake bookings to various places with my company card.’

‘Like what?’

‘A boat cruise to New Zealand to join an ice cave expedition. There was a paddleboarding session in the Whitsundays, where I also booked a villa at a five-star resort. Perth, it was for a meditation retreat for a week. Tasmania for a hiking retreat over a long weekend. Hmm…’ She tapped her chin thoughtfully. ‘Maybe on some unconscious level I didn’t trust my boss, to use my corporate credit card like that.’ She huffed, burying her face in her hands. ‘I feel so stupid. How could I not see this sooner.’

He pulled her fingers away, to expose her face, giving her hand a tender squeeze. ‘No, sweetheart, you’re the smartest woman I know. But with you being so obsessed with helping that farmer, you didn’t take the time to see the bigger picture. I think your boss knew you’d be like that.’

‘And I thought he liked me.’

‘If he didn’t, I don’t think he would have suggested you go off to Europe.’

She sighed heavily, the silence just as heavy.

‘Did you book some fake trips here, in the Northern Territory?’

‘A week’s stay at a resort in Kakadu National Park.’

‘That’s my clever girl.’ He kissed her temple. ‘So really, they have no clue where you are.’

‘All they need to do is run a title search and they’ll find this place.’

‘But you set up our trust in a way to protect us and Dustfire.’ They’d created it as a business from the beginning, for the tax breaks, planning it from the start the smart way.

‘My name is on that trust, Craig, right next to yours. Even if it’s buried, they don’t need to dig very deep to find it.’

‘That’s why you wanted to sell Dustfire.’ Like hell he’d let that happen, not now, when they’d bought this place together to share as their home. But then he realised the main reason why. ‘You were selling Dustfire to protect me.’

She barely nodded.

But it spoke volumes of how much she cared. She was doing this for him.

His wife was trying to protect him.

‘Oh, sweetheart.’ He cupped her cheek, making her look at him.

‘I’d hate for anyone to hurt you.’

‘That’s why you came here. It wasn’t to hide. You were genuinely worried about me.’ Didn’t that make him grin, as his chest filled with warmth.

She dropped her head and said nothing for the longest time. ‘Will you hold it against me?’

With one fingertip, he tilted her chin up to stare into her beautiful eyes. ‘Baby, I’m just glad you finally showed up.’ He gently pressed his lips against hers to kiss her softly, just a quick kiss so he didn’t scare her off, when he’d been wanting to kiss her all day. Aw hell, if he was honest with himself, he’d been wanting to kiss her from the moment he woke up in the hospital—before he got mad at her.

‘You kissed me.’ She brushed her fingertips over her perfectly kissable lips. ‘But I thought you hated me?’

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