Cherish the Land (4 page)

“You may, but come in and say hello to Seth first. He’s been keeping me company this afternoon.”

Jason froze. Seth was sitting in his mother’s kitchen instead of at Chris and Jesse’s or in the canteen or wherever else he could have been. Jason wasn’t ready for this. He took a deep breath and reminded himself Seth was his best friend. Nothing else mattered.

He detoured toward the kitchen, working up a smile, but the moment he saw Seth, his nerves disappeared. Seth looked as wonderful as always, tawny blond hair tousled like he’d had the window open while he was driving (or like someone had been running their fingers through it, but that image was too unsettling to dwell on, even if they were Seth’s fingers) and green eyes sparkling with laughter. He’d always thought Seth’s eyes were his best feature. Alight like they were now, they grabbed Jason’s attention and captivated him.

“Welcome home,” Jason said, crossing the kitchen to give Seth a hug. “How long are you home for?”

Seth rose to meet Jason’s hug so that the quick clasp turned into a full-body embrace. Jason prayed his cock wouldn’t act up.

“I’m back for good,” Seth said when he pulled away. “I got tired of Sydney.”

Jason studied Seth’s face, looking for any sign of doubt or hesitation, but he found none. Whatever had finally pushed Seth to come home, he was fully committed to it.

“Then welcome home for real. We’re glad you’re here.” He swallowed hard. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Yeah, your mum said your dad’s hands are getting arthritic. I’ll take as much off him as he’ll let me. And maybe I’ll be able to get some of Caine’s projects going too.”

That wasn’t why Jason was glad Seth was home, but he’d let Seth believe it. “Just don’t mention Dad’s hands where he can hear you. He’s still in complete denial about how bad they are.”

“I won’t,” Seth said. “I haven’t actually seen Caine and Macklin to let them know I’m here for more than a visit. I should probably do that now that everyone’s coming back in from the paddocks. I’ll see you at dinner?”

“Of course,” Jason said. “After years of cafeteria cooking at uni, Kami’s cooking tastes even better than it did growing up. You’ve been getting home-cooked meals at least.”

“Such as they were. Ilene couldn’t cook any better than I can.”

“Speaking of her….” Jason left the question unspoken.

“She chose to stay in Sydney,” Seth said. “I won’t tell you exactly what she said, but she made it perfectly clear she had no interest in moving to a sheep station.”

That was a relief. Jason would have put up with her for the pleasure of having Seth home, but not having to deal with her—not having her in Seth’s life anymore—was even better.

“I’m sorry.” It was a lie, but it was the proper thing to say.

“I’m not,” Seth admitted. “We weren’t right for each other. It just took me this long to realize it.”

He gave Jason another quick hug, then gave a longer one to Carley. “I’ll see you both at dinner.”

When Seth left, Jason slumped into the chair Seth had been sitting in. “I am so fucked.”

“Language, young man,” his mother scolded. He flinched. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“Sorry, Mum. I’m used to living in the bunkhouse.”

“That’s no excuse for bad language. So why do you think that? You were so excited about his visit.”

Jason debated how much to tell his mother, but he’d never been good at lying to her. On the other hand, if he said anything, she’d try to meddle. He loved his mother, but she’d never been good about staying out of his business. He pushed out of the chair and headed toward the door. He’d use the shower at the bunkhouse. He couldn’t face his mother and her questions right now. “It’s nothing. I’m going to get cleaned up for dinner. I’ll talk to you later.”

Carley caught his elbow as he passed. “I won’t pry, but if you decide you need to talk, I’m here.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

J
EREMY
STOOD
in the corridor outside the ICU in Canberra. The doctors there had done everything they could to stabilize Devlin, but the nurse hadn’t sounded optimistic about his prognosis. She’d promised to send a doctor to explain everything to him as soon as one was available.

“Mr. Taylor?”

“Yes, I’m Taylor,” Jeremy said, turning to face the doctor. His worn, tired face did nothing to encourage Jeremy. “How’s my brother?”

“Not good,” the doctor said. “I’m not going to lie. The fall caused bleeding in the brain. We’ve drained some to try to take the pressure off and avoid brain damage, but given the amount of time between when he was injured and when we began treatment, some damage is almost inevitable. We’re going to keep him here overnight to make sure he’s stable enough to move, but we would recommend transporting him to Sydney to a level 1 trauma center. If nothing else, they’ll have more resources to help him adapt to his new situation.”

Jeremy shook his head in automatic rejection. “He runs a sheep station. He has men depending on him.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Taylor, but the realities of his life don’t change the realities of his current medical condition. We’ll do everything we can for him, but it’s going to be a long time before he’ll be in any shape to run the station again. If he lives.”

“Thank you for your time,” Jeremy said automatically. He could feel his world crumbling around him. He and Devlin hadn’t been on good terms for years, but Devlin was still his brother, still a fixture in his life. He couldn’t…. Life without Devlin would be…. If he died, Jeremy would lose all chance of reconciliation with his brother.

“Jeremy?”

Jeremy turned toward Sam’s voice. Sam took Jeremy’s hand and led him away from the window of Devlin’s room. They found—Sam found, Jeremy was just following where Sam led—a quiet waiting room. The plastic chairs were hardly comfortable, but it was better than standing.

“Did you talk to the doctor?”

Jeremy nodded, still trying to put some order to his thoughts.

“It doesn’t look—” His voice broke before he could finish the sentence. He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat and forced back his tears. Devlin wouldn’t cry if their situations were reversed. He’d probably be glad of one less pillow biter in the world. “It doesn’t look good. He’s alive, but they aren’t sure he’ll stay that way. And even if he does, he won’t be able to run the station again for a while. I don’t even know who’s in charge to let them know what’s going on.”

“So we’ll call the house and see who answers,” Sam said. “And if no one does, we’ll call Lang Downs and ask Caine to send someone over with the message to call us. We’ll figure out a way to get through this. One step at a time, right?”

Jeremy nodded again, grateful for Sam’s steady presence. He could do anything as long as he had Sam in his corner. He just had to remember that.

“Do you want me to call?”

Jeremy shrugged, incapable of making a decision. All of his mental energy was centered on Devlin’s room, where his brother was fighting for his life. Oh, God….

“Easy,” Sam said, rubbing his back as he doubled over. “Just breathe. I’ll take care of everything else. You just concentrate on making your lungs work. In and out, nice and easy.”

Jeremy timed his breaths to the movement of Sam’s hand across his back. Inhale every time Sam stroked to the right, exhale as he stroked to the left. Inhale, exhale, slow and steady, like Sam’s movements. Strong and comforting like Sam’s hand. He grabbed Sam’s other hand where it rested on his knee and clung to it like a lifeline. The panic faded bit by bit until he could sit up, but he didn’t relinquish his grip on Sam’s hand. He wasn’t sure he could keep it together if he did.

Sam transferred Jeremy’s grip to his other hand. “Keep breathing. I’m going to call Taylor Peak.”

Jeremy tuned out the conversation and focused on Sam’s hand in his. When he felt steady enough, he rose and headed back toward Devlin’s room. He wouldn’t be allowed inside, but he’d be able to watch the rise and fall of Devlin’s chest and console himself with the knowledge that Devlin was still alive. As long as he kept breathing, they could deal with the rest.

Sam joined him a few minutes later, but Jeremy didn’t ask whether he’d reached anyone. Sam was nothing if not efficient. If he hadn’t reached anyone at Taylor Peak, he’d called Caine and someone from Lang Downs was now on his way to Taylor Peak to apprise them of the situation or to have them get in touch with Sam.

“He’ll make it,” Sam said. “He’s too bloody stubborn to die.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jeremy said. If Devlin died, Taylor Peak would pass to Jeremy, and that was the last thing Jeremy wanted. Once, maybe, but Lang Downs was home now.

S
AM
HELD
vigil with Jeremy, offering silent support with his presence. He wished he could do more, but they were playing a waiting game now. Wait for Devlin to wake up. Wait for the doctors to perform more tests. Wait to see what the long-term prognosis would be. His heart went out to Jeremy. He couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if Neil was the one in that hospital room, unconscious. The mere thought of it was enough to make him panicky.

His phone rang, the buzz loud in the silent hall. Sam glanced down at the screen. “It’s Taylor Peak. Do you want to talk to them?” Jeremy shook his head. Sam hadn’t expected any other answer, but he still had to ask. “Would you rather I go elsewhere to talk to them?”

“No, stay here. They might need me to….” He waved his hand helplessly.

Sam grabbed Jeremy’s hand and held tight as he answered the phone. He couldn’t do much else, but he could remind Jeremy he wasn’t alone.

“Hello?”

“Is this Sam Emery?”

“It is.”

“This is Tim Perkins from Taylor Peak. I got a message to call you about the boss.”

“Thank you for calling me back, Tim. Mr. Taylor is still unconscious, and the doctors say he has bleeding in the brain. They don’t know when or if he’ll recover. Are you the foreman?”

“Ain’t no foreman on Taylor Peak. Hasn’t been since Williams retired a couple years ago. Taylor runs everything himself.”

Sam frowned. He knew how much work running a station was. Caine, Macklin, and Neil divided just the outdoor work between them and the other crew bosses, and Sam still worked full-time in the office taking care of the books. If Devlin had tried to do all that himself, it was no wonder he had an accident. “Who’s the senior crew boss, then? Taylor isn’t in any position to give orders right now, and until he is, someone will have to keep things running.”

“Taylor Peak doesn’t work that way, mate. Everything’s in the boss’s head. The rest of us just do as we’re told.”

Sam wanted to beat his head against a wall, but doing that wouldn’t help Jeremy or Taylor Peak. He had no idea if Jeremy cared about the station, but for now, Sam would take care of it as best he could. “Who’s been there the longest? I know he didn’t hire an entirely new crew this spring.”

“Probably Charlie White. I don’t know how long he’s been here, but he was already here when I got here.”

“Then let me talk to him,” Sam snapped. Someone on the station had to have enough sense to keep things going for a day or two until they had a better idea of what would happen and could get more specific orders from Devlin. He glanced at Jeremy to see how he was taking the conversation, but Jeremy didn’t appear to be paying attention to him at all. He still clung to Sam’s hand, but his attention was focused entirely on Devlin.

Sam could hear grumbling as Perkins went in search of the other jackaroo, then “Hello?”

“Do you have enough experience on Taylor Peak and the way Taylor runs things to take charge for a couple of days until we know more about his condition?” he asked bluntly.

“For a few days,” White said. “I’m not going to start rotating the mobs between paddocks or anything big like that, but I can make sure chores are done and the animals cared for.”

“Good enough,” Sam said. “You’re in charge until we hear more. If you need decisions made that you can’t make by yourself, call me back. I’ll talk to Taylor’s brother, but I don’t want to hear about day-to-day stuff. Just big decisions.”

“For a few days,” White repeated. “Much beyond a week and it’s decisions I can’t make.”

Sam rolled his eyes and thanked any listening deity that he’d ended up on Lang Downs where Caine and Macklin respected and nurtured their crew bosses’ intelligence and independence. “Hopefully by then Taylor will be giving orders again, even if it’s from his hospital bed.”

White hung up, and Sam resisted the urge to throw his phone down the hall. It wouldn’t change anything about the situation on Taylor Peak, but it might make him feel better. It wouldn’t help Jeremy, though, so Sam refrained, slipping his phone back into the case on his belt.

“How bad is it?” Jeremy asked after a moment.

“Your brother apparently hasn’t allowed his employees any input in how or when things are done,” Sam said as diplomatically as he could. “The first person I talked to shut down the minute I suggested he should take charge of things for a few days. The second person was willing to take care of day-to-day stuff but nothing more than basic chores and the like. Nothing that would require a decision. You wouldn’t think twice on Lang Downs about rotating a mob between paddocks if they needed it, would you?”

“I’d run it by Macklin first,” Jeremy said, “but if he was unavailable for some reason, I’d do what needed to be done. Devlin was always tight with control, though. He listened to Williams because he’d been on the station since we were kids, but he never really listened to anyone else. It’s not that much of a stretch to think he wouldn’t hire a new foreman after Williams retired.”

Sam remembered Williams vaguely from the grassfires four years ago that had brought Thorne to them, but it didn’t go much beyond the impression of a weathered man with a shock of white hair. Sam wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a crowd now. “Is Williams still on the station? Or somewhere nearby? Could we get him to come back and run things until Devlin’s well enough to appoint a new foreman or give the orders himself again?”

“I don’t know where he went after he retired,” Jeremy said. “We could try to find out, but I don’t know if he’d come back.”