He cocked an eyebrow.
She recalled where they were and what they were supposed to be doing and cleared her throat, took her seat again. ‘Later,’ she murmured. ‘We’ll have our serious words later.’
But she messaged back to Frank.
If he does he dies. Text me his number.
Flynn stretched out a long leg, leaning further back in his chair, reminding her even more vividly of a King Brown. Addie pocketed her phone and kept a close eye on him.
‘So what you’re in effect telling me, Herr Gunther, is that there’s going to be a delay in probate.’
When Flynn spoke she had no trouble whatsoever paying attention. The lawyer hummed and hawed and tried to squeeze his way out of the corner Flynn had herded him into, but there was no evading Flynn. She wondered if he’d ever camp drafted. She’d bet he’d be good at it. With those shoulders...
She blinked and shifted on her seat. She didn’t care about shoulders. What she cared about was Bruce Augustus.
And getting off the farm.
She rolled her eyes. Yeah, right, as if she’d scaled the heights of PA proficiency today. She’d need to do better if she wanted this job for real.
You have a month.
‘Are you familiar with the law firm Schubert, Schuller and Schmidt?’
The lawyer nodded.
‘I’ve hired them to represent me. You’ll be hearing from them.’
‘I—’
Flynn rose and the lawyer’s words bumbled to a halt. Addie stood too and fixed the lawyer with what she hoped was a smile as pleasantly cool as Flynn’s. Thank goodness this was over.
‘Thank you for your time, Herr Gunther. It was most instructive.’
Was it? Addie ushered the lawyer towards the door with an inane, ‘Have a nice day, Herr Gunther,’ all the while impatience building inside her.
The door had barely closed before she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and punched in Howard’s number.
‘What’s he done?’ Flynn asked as she strode back towards the table.
‘Nothing you need to worry about. I’ll deal with it.’
He opened his mouth and it suddenly occurred to her what nicely shaped lips he had. It wasn’t something she generally noticed about a man, but Flynn definitely—
‘Hello?’
She snapped to attention. ‘Howard, it’s Adelaide Ramsey.’
He swore. ‘Do you know what time it is in Australia?’
‘I don’t care what time it is.’ That only made it worse. It meant Frank and Jeannie had been fretting till all hours. ‘Now listen to me very carefully. If you harm one hair on Bruce Augustus’s head, if you try to send him to the knackers, I will have your guts for garters. Do you hear me?’
‘But—’
‘No buts!’
‘Look, Addie, I understand—’
‘Have you ever owned a farm, Howard?’ She shifted, suddenly aware of how closely Flynn watched her. She swallowed and avoided eye contact.
‘No.’
‘Then you don’t understand.’
A pause followed. ‘The boss has given me the authority to make changes, Addie, and Bruce Augustus is dead wood.’
Dead wood! She could feel herself start to shake.
‘I have the boss’s ear and—’
She snorted. ‘You have his ear? Honey, I have more than his ear. I’m going to be your boss when I return home—you realise that, don’t you? You do not want to get on the wrong side of me.’
Silence sounded and this time Howard didn’t break it. ‘Goodnight, Howard.’ With that she snapped her phone shut and swung to face Flynn.
His lips twitched. ‘Sorted, huh?’
Was he laughing at her? She narrowed her gaze and pocketed her phone. ‘Absolutely.’
He lowered himself to the sofa. ‘Can you tell me exactly why Bruce Augustus is necessary to Lorna Lee’s future?’
‘Because if he goes—’ she folded her arms ‘—I go.’
He leaned forward and she found herself on the receiving end of a gaze colder than a Munich winter. ‘We have a deal. You signed a contract.’
She widened her stance. ‘You mess with my bull and the deal’s off. There’s a six-week cooling-off period to that contract, remember? You threaten my bull and I’ll pull out of the sale.’
He leaned back. She couldn’t read his expression at all. ‘You mean that,’ he eventually said.
She tried to stop her shoulders from sagging and nodded. She meant it.
‘Why is he so important to you?’
She would never be able to explain to him what a friend the bull had been to her. It was pointless even to try. ‘You said one of the reasons you wanted me to remain at Lorna Lee’s was due to the affinity I have with the animals.’
‘I believe the term I used was stock.’
‘You can use whatever term you like—you can try and distance yourself from them—but it doesn’t change what they are.’
‘Which is?’
‘Living creatures that provide us with our livelihoods. We have a culture at Lorna Lee’s of looking after our own. I consider it a duty. That’s where my so-called affinity comes from. When an animal provides us with good service we don’t repay that by getting rid of them when they’re past their use-by date. They get to live out their days in easy retirement. If that’s a culture you can’t live with, Flynn, then you’d better tell me now.’
He pursed his lips and continued to survey her. It took all of her strength not to fidget. ‘I can live with it,’ he finally said. ‘Do you want it in writing?’
Very slowly she let out a breath. ‘No. I believe you’re a man of your word.’
He blinked. She held out her hand and he rose and shook it.
For no reason at all her heart knocked against her ribs. She pulled her hand free again, but her heart didn’t stop pounding.
‘Howard?’ Flynn held his cell phone to his ear.
‘Yes, I do. Just...don’t touch the bull.’
He listened then. Obviously to the other man’s justifications. She scowled. There were no justifications for—
‘Howard wants to know if you’re okay with him dredging the dam in the western paddock of the Seymour place...’
Oh, yes, that was long overdue.
‘...extending the irrigation system on the southern boundary...’
There’d be money for that?
‘...and installing solar panels on the roofs of all the homesteads?’
She swallowed and nodded. ‘Those things all sound great. I don’t have a problem with improvements.’
Flynn spoke to Howard for a few moments more and then rang off.
She