Outlast the Night

Readers Love

Ariel Tachna’s Lang Downs

Inherit the Sky

“…a well crafted, beautiful book that I would recommend to anyone looking for a love story that takes courage.”

—Guilty Indulgence Book Club

“This story is beautifully, realistically handled. The obstacles and fears here are ones that many face. If I come out, what will happen? How will my coworkers see me? Can I find the courage to reach for something better or will fear hold me back? How do I make a relationship work? This can and does make for a wonderfully rich story that moves with the same pace as the men asking those questions, slow, a little unsteady, and yet so very satisfying.”

—Joyfully Jay

Chase the Stars

“I enjoyed the way that Chris and Jesse’s lives almost mirrored those of Caine and Macklin. Much like RJ Scott with her Texas series, Ms. Tachna has the talent to take everyday life and weave it into something special that leaves the reader sitting back just feeling good and wanting more.”

—Hearts on Fire Reviews

“I liked both Jesse and Chris, and the slow build-up of their relationship from friends to lovers to romantic partners.”

—Reviews by Jessewave

NOVELS BY ARIEL TACHNA

Château d’Eternité

Fallout

Her Two Dads

Inherit the Sky • Chase the Stars • Outlast the Night

The Inventor’s Companion

The Matelot

Once in a Lifetime

Overdrive

Out of the Fire

Seducing C.C.

Stolen Moments

A Summer Place

T
HE
P
ARTNERSHIP
IN
B
LOOD
N
OVELS

Alliance in Blood • Covenant in Blood • Conflict in Blood • Reparation in Blood

Perilous Partnership

Reluctant Partnerships

Lycan Partnership

WITH
N
ICKI
B
ENNETT

Checkmate • All For One

Hot Cargo

Under the Skin

WITH
M
ADELEINE
U
RBAN

Sutcliffe Cove

NOVELLAS BY ARIEL TACHNA

Healing in His Wings

Rediscovery

Rose Among the Ruins

Why Nileas Loved the Sea

WITH
N
ICKI
B
ENNETT

Something About Harry

Tying the Knot

T
HE
E
XPLORING
L
IMITS
S
ERIES

A
VAILABLE
AT
D
REAMSPINNER
P
RESS

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Copyright

Published by

Dreamspinner Press

5032 Capital Circle SW
Ste 2, PMB# 279
Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886

USA

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Outlast the Night

Copyright © 2013 by Ariel Tachna

Cover Art by Anne Cain   

[email protected]

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Ste 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

ISBN: 978-1-62380-708-5

Digital ISBN: 978-1-62380-709-2

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition

May 2013

Dedication

To Izzy, for keeping my boys from sounding too American, and to Nessa, Jaime, and Nicki, for indulging my obsessions as always.

Chapter 1

C
AINE
N
EIHEISEL
looked up from the tax forms that were currently driving him batty when he heard a knock at the office door. It wouldn’t be Macklin because his lover and the foreman of Lang Downs wouldn’t bother knocking.

“Come in.”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, boss,” Neil Emery said, sticking his head in. “Do you have a minute?”

“Of course,” Caine said, setting aside the forms. “What can I do for you?”

“I need a favor. My brother Sam called. His wife kicked him out, and he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. He lost his job a year and a half ago, and I know it’s a lot to ask, but could he come here for a month or two? Just until he gets back on his feet?”

“The last time I checked, you and Molly had an extra room in your house. You don’t need my permission to have someone stay there.”

“I’ll have to go down to Yass to get him,” Neil said. “I can send him a bus ticket to get that far, but it’ll still mean taking at least a day off.”

“Just let us know when you’ll be gone so we can get someone to cover your chores.”

“I’ll leave Max with Chris. Chris has learned enough about dogs that he can use Max to help move the sheep down into the valley. I know it’s a bad time to be gone, but I can’t afford to pay for a hotel for him for long—”

“Neil,” Caine interrupted, “I’m not upset. He’s your brother. Of course you’re going to help him out. I don’t know how much luck he’ll have doing a job search from here, but even if all he does is recover from leaving his wife before figuring out how to go back to town, he’s still welcome. We can afford to feed one more.”

“He could maybe help you out in the office while he’s here,” Neil suggested. “He worked as an office manager for a small hardware store until the owners retired and closed the shop. At least he’d feel like he was contributing something instead of taking handouts.”

“We’ll see when he gets here,” Caine said, though the idea of having someone to help him figure out the logistics of Australian tax law and employee benefits regulations would be a huge help. Caine’s degree in business gave him enough background to make sense of the jargon, but the difference in laws had tripped him up more than once.

T
HREE
days later, Neil met his brother Sam at the bus station in Yass. The lines of stress and worry on his brother’s face made him frown. “You look like shit.”

“Good to see you too, arsehole,” Sam replied, hugging Neil more tightly than necessary.

“Come on,” Neil said, grabbing Sam’s sole suitcase. “Let’s get out of here. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us. Or do you want to eat something first?”

“How long?”

“Five hours or so,” Neil said, “and most of that is through the tablelands, where there’s nowhere to stop if you get hungry. I can shout you lunch, here or in Boorowa in an hour or so, if you don’t think you can wait until we get home.”

“Lunch would be good,” Sam admitted. “I… haven’t been eating well.”

Neil had noticed how gaunt Sam looked, but this confirmed it. “Kami, the station’s cook, will get you sorted in no time, but for now we can go to the Yass Hotel. It’s nothing fancy, but it’ll fill you up.”

“What about that one?” Sam asked, pointing to a small restaurant across from the bus station.

“We don’t eat there,” Neil said, his voice cold. “One of our jackaroos nearly got killed there last spring, and nobody lifted a finger to help him. His brother had to come running to the hotel for help.”

“In a town this size?”

“They didn’t take well to him being a poofter,” Neil explained.

Sam didn’t reply. Neil gritted his teeth when he saw the tense look on Sam’s face. He didn’t want to fight with his brother, especially when he was down and out, but Sam was going to have to keep his opinions to himself. Neil wouldn’t tolerate slurs against Caine and Macklin from his brother any more than he would from any of the other jackaroos on Lang Downs.

“So tell me about the station,” Sam said once they’d reached the Yass Hotel and had ordered lunch. “I mean, I know it’s kind of remote and I know you raise sheep, but that’s as far as it goes.”

“That’s about all there is to tell,” Neil said. “I told you about Molly when we got engaged. Everything else is pretty much what you’d expect from a station. Well, except Caine. He’s a Yank. He owns the station.”

“How did that happen?”

“His great-uncle founded the station. When he died, it passed to Caine’s mum in the States, but she’s not young and wasn’t going to move here to run it, so Caine came. Last year at Christmas, she gave it to him outright. You know, I bet he could use a hand figuring out all the paperwork, taxes and shit. He’s got a head for business, but he’s still a Yank. You could keep your hand in.”

“If he’ll let me help,” Sam said with a sigh.

“Why wouldn’t he?” Neil asked. “You lost your job because the owners retired. You weren’t fired or laid off or anything like that. It’s not your fault you couldn’t find a new job.”

Sam shrugged. “He sounds like a good bloke. Is he married?”

Neil choked on his beer. He’d been hoping to put off this conversation until later, but short of lying, he didn’t see a way around it. “Last time I checked, two blokes can’t get married here. Macklin’s name is on the deed, though, and he moved out of the foreman’s house and into the big house a year ago, so I figure that’s close enough.”

“You work for a gay couple?”

“Sam, you’re my brother and I love you, but if this is going to be a problem, you need to tell me now so I can get you a hotel room in Yass.”

“No, it’s not a problem,” Sam said quickly. “I’m just surprised. We didn’t exactly grow up in a tolerant house.”

Neil shrugged. “Caine saved my life and nearly died doing it. And he did it after I found out he was gay and said every nasty thing I could think of to him. He’s earned my loyalty.”

The arrival of their food forestalled Sam’s reply, and he ate with such gusto that Neil didn’t press for more of a reaction. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to all the homophobic bullshit he’d grown up with. He was a different man now, a better one, he hoped. If Sam could just give Caine and Macklin a chance, he’d see they deserved his respect.