Page 67 of The Science of Attraction

Lose profit. Station can’t afford it!!!

I shook my head at the exclamation marks, bemoaning the fact that my father had always been somewhat ambidextrous and able to switch his writing hand without too much bother. We’d been arguing a lot in this odd fashion with him using a pen and paper to make his numerous points with adamant punctuation. I looked up and shook my head. I was so damn tired of it all.

“The stationcanafford it,” I countered calmly. “Ten and I have done the numbers.”

My father grunted angrily, while Marty looked positively scandalised.

My father shot a sharp look Ten’s way. “Not your job.”

Oh, hell no.“Iasked him.” My voice rose. “And as long as I’m managing the place, it is very definitelyhisjob andmine. We have to talk about this, Dad. The land is slipping in places and it’s not bouncing back like it used to. The problem isn’t going to just magically disappear.”

Stuart and Brent were busy cleaning up and keeping their mouths shut, their rosy cheeks pointing to a desperate desire to be anywhere else. My mother, on the other hand, looked two seconds away from losing her shit completely at Dad, and I didn’t envy him one bit when she finally got him alone. I personally loved this new side of her, whereas my father seemed completely flummoxed, unable to navigate the new dynamic between them without royally putting his foot in it.

Ten’s fingers drummed frustratedly on the table beside me, and there was a glint of anger in his eyes that I rarely saw. We’d talked the idea into the ground for weeks before I finally brought it to my father. There was no way around the only solution.

I doubled down. “If we want to fight the erosion happening on the southern hills, wehaveto give the land more grazing relief. It’s theonlysolution to improve the vegetation coverage. You can say what you like, but it won’t change the reality, especially taking into account climate change.”

My father’s harrumph summed up everything he thought about climate change.

I ignored him, knowing in his heart he accepted the reality of it, even if he didn’t want to make the hard choices needed to adjust to the impact. Those decisions, like reducing stock numbers, went against everything he’d spent his entire life doing—angling how to get the station to supportmorestock, not less. More was always better in Dad’s world, but not this time.

“And it doesn’t have to hit us in the pocket,” I pressed on, in for a penny and all that. “Better grazing will eventually mean better quality wool and a reduction in bought-in feed costs. It willsavemoneyandkeep the station profitable. We can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing and just hoping for the best. And we wouldn’t be the first. Other stations are doing it. Holden’s found it a positive?—”

“No.” My father’s eyes flared at the mention of our neighbours like it was the last straw. His cheeks raged and he banged on the table. “Themmm... nooooot... us!” The words were almost spat in fury.

Liam’s foot nudged mine under the table and he tapped my father’s trembling hand. “Hey, come on, Paddy. How about we take a break? You can talk again once everyone’s cooled down a little. This isn’t good for your?—”

“Shut... up-p-p.” My father turned on him. “Don’t be-beloooong... here.”

Like fuck.I was halfway out of my chair and ready to launch myself across the table when a hand grabbed my wrist and Ten yanked me back onto the seat. I struggled to pull free, but when his grip bordered on painful, I glanced up and realised Liam didn’t need my help.

His gaze sat cool on my father’s, almost icy, his eyes glittering with anger, something I’d never seen with him before. In response, my father fell strangely quiet, his jaw working. He undoubtedly realised he’d overstepped, and I was once again struck by the respect he carried for Liam, queerness aside. “I’m... sssorry,” he muttered.

You could’ve heard a pin drop in the kitchen, closely followed by the sound of Marty’s jaw hitting the floor.

My father rarely apologised. Read: never.

“And so you jolly well should be,” my mother barked, causing my father’s head to snap right in disbelief. She looked ready to let fly at him with a whole lot more when Liam’s hand landed on her arm.

“It’s okay, Norma,” he soothed. “I’ve got this.”

My mother stared at him for a moment like she didn’t agree, but then snapped her mouth shut and settled for glaring at her husband.

Liam looked around the table, then back to my mother. “I’m not sure this is the right time?—”

“Ten, Stuart, Brent, I think this is a conversation better had in private.” My mother barely turned her head, but the kitchen cleared in seconds, all except for Marty, who hadn’t been named.

After briefly wondering why, I recognised the cunning in her plan. MumwantedMarty to hear what was going to be said. She wanted him to know that things had changed.

Holy smokes.Who was this woman?

“Right.” She patted Liam’s hand as my father watched on, seemingly incredulous at what had just happened. “Now go ahead and say what you need to, son.”

My heart squeezed at that sound of the wordsonon her lips, and Liam’s expression instantly softened.

“Thank you, Norma.” He offered her a quick smile, then turned slowly back around until he faced my father again.

Silence fell, and the world inside those four walls came to a stop.

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