Kate felt the familiar stab deep inside. Her voice thickened. ‘That’s the consensus.’
But some days her personal jury was still out on that one.
She’d stayed with the country-school principal for three days until Aunt Nancy had arrived from the city to collect her—her mother’s whispered-about sister. A woman she’d never met. Someone had packed all Kate’s belongings for her and shipped her up to the big smoke in a matter of days. Her family farm and everything in it was sold by solicitors and the money left over after the debts were settled had been put into trust for when she was eighteen. She’d never even been allowed to set foot on her property again. As an adult, she realised everyone had done what they thought was the best thing at the time. But losing your parents, your home and your community in one hit had been brutal on a young girl.
Although, it had taught her how to plan, how to make sure there were never any variables outside of her control. And how good it felt to be standing on land again.
‘It’s tough, being on your own so young.’
She looked at him. Really looked. ‘You sound like you’re speaking from experience.’
‘I left the farm when I was sixteen. Dad and I … It was time for me to make my own way.’
‘What did you do?’
‘Anything I could for the first couple of months. I worked part-time in a timber yard to keep a roof over my head and I put myself through the final year of high-school at a community college. An advisor there got me into a scholarship program for business and law and the rest is history.’
Self-schooled, self-housed, scholarship grades and partner by twenty-eight. This man knew something about being driven. And about being busy.
‘Look at that—something in common! Who’d have thunk it?’ Awkward silence fell and Kate blew the cobwebs away. ‘Anyway, are you happy for me to camp?’
‘No.’ Grant seemed almost surprised by the word he’d uttered. He shoved his hands into deep pockets. ‘I have room in the house. You’ll be more comfortable.’
Kate stared. ‘I can’t stay in your house. I barely know you.’
He shrugged. ‘So? It’s a working arrangement.’
‘But what will people say?’
‘Do you care?’
The glint in his eye said he already knew the answer.
‘No.’ Not when her deadline ticked maddeningly in her head.
‘Look, Kate, I put the toilet seat down and I’m kind to puppies. Despite being on different sides on this, I’m not actually trying to sabotage your work.’
So her jibe from a month ago had stung. Good. She chewed her lip. ‘It would make things go much faster here.’
His eyes narrowed again. ‘How much faster?’
Her lips twisted in a sad smile. ‘Don’t panic. Even if we worked twenty-four-seven we can’t get the buffer ratified. Not without identifying the breeding ground.’
‘That would make that much difference?’
Why did she keep trusting this man with information? He stood between her and her project. Her mouth opened without her consent. ‘I believe so, yes. The Conservation Commission would accept partial research results if we could also hand them a site of significance.’
He looked undecided. Was he about to change his mind about helping her?
‘Don’t worry; I’m no closer to knowing where it is than I have been for two years. Your plans for world domination are safe.’
He matched her smile and the sorrow reached all the way to his eyes. ‘This isn’t personal, Kate. It’s business.’
She looked at him long and hard. ‘I’m prepared to believe it’s not personal between us, but this is very personal between you and your father. Why are you selling the farm? He left it to you.’
His face shut down hard before her eyes. ‘Because I’m no farmer. That’s become abundantly apparent to me this month.’
‘You’ve kept the place running for weeks now.’
‘Barely. I know nothing about stock. Short of feeding them and keeping them watered.’
‘I’m sure there are people who can help you. Teach you.’
‘Like who?’ he said.
‘Like any of the farmers in the district. Leo was a very popular man.’
‘I’m hoping one of those farmers will be champing at the bit to get an outfit this size when it comes on the market. I don’t want to seem desperate.’
Kate realised. ‘You’re trying to build the farm up, make them think you have it all under control, so you get a good price.’ She had to give him points for controlling his environment.
‘Bingo. If they sense the vulnerability, they’ll go for the jugular.’
‘You’re trusting me not to tell them?’
His regard was steady but tainted with a hint of confusion, as if it hadn’t occurred to him until that very second what he was trusting her with. ‘You don’t strike me as someone to play games.’
‘Unlike you, you mean?’
‘Very unlike me. We couldn’t be more different, Kate.’
She shook her head. ‘Crazy world you live in.’
‘It’s human nature, Kate. If they know how much I need to sell, the price will drop.’
‘I wouldn’t have thought you needed the money.’
‘This isn’t about the money. This is my family’s farm. It’s about dignity. The Tulloquay name. Keeping the farm intact. Making sure the person that buys it values it.’
Conservation restrictions would reduce the size of the landholding and diminish the forward-investment value. Who would want a coastal farm with no usable coastal strip? Apart from her, that was. Without the valuable coastal kilometres, the remaining land would most likely get carved up for paddocks for adjoining farms.
He wanted Tulloquay to stay a farm, no matter who ran it, even if he didn’t want the property for himself. Leo McMurtrie would have approved of that part, at least.
‘Maybe I could help you? As a thank you for the lab space and room.’
His sceptical expression shouldn’t have surprised her. ‘You know about farming?’
‘My father was the town doctor but we lived on my mum’s dairy farm. I remember the seasonal rotations, the basic preventative care for the stock.’
‘You barely have time for your own work.’
‘I’m not proposing I do it all; you’re a big boy. I’ll just give you some pointers. The rest is up to you and the internet if you’re so determined on the smoke and mirrors.’
It was his turn to frown. ‘Why would you help me? You think I’m a jerk.’
Ass, actually. Kate held his gaze against the flush she could feel rising. ‘It’s in my best interests to keep you amenable. And your father gave me two years of access to the Atlas colony, which I consider priceless. I owe it to him to help you.’ She glanced around. ‘Plus, I’ve grown fond of these sheep and don’t want to see them starve.’
‘Have they starved yet?’
Her laugh was gentle. ‘No. But they’re going to need drenching soon. Have you got that one covered?’
He tipped his head back as he realised he hadn’t. ‘How