Mariette And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 2) (88 page)

“
No, I was on time. Yo
u’
re late
,”
she said stubbornly. he laughed and crossed his arms. He shook his head at her and Kate felt very small.

“
Sorry darli
n’
, you were supposed to meet me over at the store so we could get extra supplies
.”
Kate frowned at him and shook her head in confusion.

“
What? No, I was told you meet you here at precisely eight AM, and tha
t’
s exactly what I did. I received no alternate instructions
,”
she said. Lucas gave her a deadpanned look but when she did
n’
t falter from his gaze and held her ground, his gaze shifted to the little old woman standing behind her. Kate glanced back at the little old lady who had a flush to her cheeks and was looking around at anything but either of them.

“
Mrs. Peterman
?”
Lucas chided. The little old lady glanced at him and guiltily looked away.

“I’
m sorry! I thought I called her back but obviously I forgot.
I’
m so sorry dears, this old mind of mine does
n’
t work like it used to
,”
she said apologetically. Lucas chuckled and waved her off.

“
Well, no harm don
e—
other than being twenty minutes behind schedule. Le
t’
s get going City Girl
,”
he said, turning and leaving the store. Kate frowned at the nickname he had bestowed upon her. She gave Mrs. Peterman a polite smile and followed Lucas out the door.

“
Good luck, dear! Remember his bark is just as bad as his bite
!”
The little old lady shouted after her. Kate glanced back over her shoulder but the little old lady had already disappeared into the back room. She strode over to where Lucas was leaning up against his Land Rover with his arms crossed over his muscular chest watching her.

“
Come on, City Girl. Hurry it up
,”
he chastised. Kate glared at him and jogged over to his car after she made a quick stop at hers to grab her backpack. She climbed into his car and sat quietly in the passenger seat while he got the engine started. She pulled out a notebook and pen from her backpack and began to look over it.

“
Alright, so I have a few specific spots
I’
d like to check out. Will it be possible to get over to Elcho Island
?”
She asked, looking over at him. Lucas chuckled and shook his head.

“
We can try but I would
n’
t recommend it. What places do you want to see
?”
He asked, snatching up her list and pinning it to the steering wheel so he could read it as he drove. Kate gripped the handle above her door as he swerved around a slower car in front of them and sped up while still reading her list. After a moment, he handed it back to her and looked at her curiously.

“
Why do you want to go to those places? The
y’
re all pretty beat up after the cyclones and wo
n’
t be very pretty to photograph or whatever it is yo
u’
re doing
,”
he said snidely. Kate shoved her notebook back into her backpack and glared out the windshield.
I can see why she was so hesitant to put me with him. No wonder he has a few complaints
she thought to herself.

“
I do
n’
t
want
to go to these places, I have to.
I’
m a journalist and it is part of my assignment to report on the status of damage and repair in these areas that were hit particularly hard by the cyclone
,”
she explained. Lucas snorted and shook his head.

“
A reporter, I should have known
,”
he scoffed. Kate twisted in her seat and pinned him with a fierce glare. She had been nothing but polite to him from the moment they met and h
e’
d been nothing but a jerk for no reason.

“
What the hell is your problem
?”
She asked harshly. Luca
s’
s brows shot up in surprise and he glanced over at her.

“
My
problem?
I’
m not the one yelling
.”
He replied, maintaining the same flat, derisive tone that h
e’
d used all morning. Kate huffed and shook her head.

“
No, yo
u’
re not, but yo
u’
ve been a jerk since the first moment you opened your mouth so, clearly, you have a problem with me. So what is it? I do
n’
t have time for passive aggressive bullshit
,”
she said, leaning back in her chair. The car was silent for a moment and Kate began to worry whether or not sh
e’
d pushed too far. She was always told to assert herself when faced with someone who expressed doubt in her or her capabilities. It was a technique that particularly came in handy when she first started at the magazine. She was new to the profession and was surrounded by professionals with attitude problems and ego complexes. Well, if she could work her way up through the Daily Press without letting those people stop her, she certainly was
n’
t about to let Mr. Johnston get the best of her. Just when the moment had stretched on long enough that fear started to fill the pit in her stomach a soft rumble started in his chest and erupted into laughter.

Kate was so thrown off by the abruptness of the sound she did
n’
t know what to say. He was laughing? She was glad that she had
n’
t offended him to the point of compromising her safety or her assignment, but laughter? He laughed long and hard until it was difficult for him to breathe. Kate just watched him, her eyes continuously glancing at the road.

“
What is so funny
?”
She asked, her tone still harsh yet newly confused. Lucas shook his head and kept his eyes on the road.

“I’
ll hand it to you, City, yo
u’
ve sure got a lot of spunk
,”
he said, his laughter dying down. Kate frowned and turned away from him in her seat. Spunk?
I’
ve got a lot more than spunk, buddy. Keep this up and yo
u’
ll see just how much more
she growled in her head.

They did
n’
t speak for a long while after that for which Kate was thankful. She sat quietly seething in her seat while he contentedly drove. After an hour, with the city behind them, she was starting to feel a little motion sick just staring out her window at the brush.

“
So, what do you have against reporters
?”
She asked, breaking the heavy silence. Lucas looked over at her and smirked.

“
They always think they know wha
t’
s going on and have it all figured out when they rarely do
,”
he said simply. Kate frowned and slumped in her seat.
What does that mean?
She wondered. She contemplated asking but figured he probably would
n’
t elaborate anyway, so she remained silent.

“
Did Mrs. Peterman tell you I was a photojournalist
?”
Kate ventured. Lucas chuckled and shook his head.

“
See, there you go thinking you know wha
t’
s going on
,”
he said. Kate ground her teeth together and turned back to the window.
It was a hypothesis based on the facts available, you jerk
she screamed internally. Lucas glanced over at her and could practically feel the waves of anger wafting off of her. He smiled to himself and turned back to the road. It was
n’
t that he
wanted
to make her upset, but it was just too damn easy. People really needed to learn how to lighten up.

“
Most people I take out like to take pictures, either for scrapbooks, newspapers, or just for themselves. Tha
t’
s why I asked
,”
he said, understanding why she assumed Mrs. Peterson had told him she had a different profession. He looked back over at Kate and noticed her give a little shrug in acknowledgement.

“
Mrs. Peterson did
n’
t say anything about you. All she did was scold me and tell me to b
e‘
on my best behaviour
,
’
”
he mocked. Kate glanced over her shoulder at him and lifted an eyebrow as if to sa
y“
oh yeah
?”
Luca
s’
s smirk returned and he nodded.

“
Now I understand the warning. I assume yo
u’
re planning on including a review of the Darwin Local Private Tour Guides, yes
?”
He said. Kate pressed her lips together and nodded
.“
Ah, oh well. I hope you wo
n’
t take it out on poor Mrs. Peterman, she does what she can
,”
he said. Kate gave him an incredulous look and lifted her upper lip in a near snarl.

“
Mrs. Peterman? What about you? Are you doin
g‘
what you ca
n’?”
She asked mockingly. Lucas shrugged and glanced over at her.

“
What does that mean
?”
She asked, mimicking his shrug by lifting her shoulders and letting them fall dramatically. Lucas smiled and repeated the gesture.

“
Just means I do
n’
t have it all figured out
,”
he said. The car fell silent again.

***

They pulled up to her first location and Kate climbed out of the Land Rover. She wandered around in the brush for a while, looking at the vacant landscape stretched out before them. She had wanted to start with uninhabited land first, so that she could see what it did to nature and how nature was working toward mending it. Many of the trees were still broken and there was debris along the coast that had washed up from other places the storm had ransacked. Lucas stood by the car and watched her wander around, jotting in her notebook, occasionally stopping to take a picture with her camera.

“
Do you know what this looked like before the cyclone, by any chance
?”
She asked, turning toward him. Lucas glanced around and nodded his head.

“
Yeah. It did
n’
t look like a cyclone had swept through it
,”
he said, turning back to her. Kate glared at him, unamused.

“
You know what I mean. What was different
?”
She asked. Lucas turned toward the tree line and pointed at the broken and missing limbs.

“
Those were normal. There was
n’
t any debris along the coastline, and there were more animals
,”
he said. Kate pursed her lips and almost wanted to punch him in the face when something he said made her stop.

“
More animals
?”
She clarified. Lucas nodded and shrugged.

“
Yeah. There were always insects and creatures buzzing about. It had the noise yo
u’
d expect from an open land. This
,”
He said waving his arm around to indicate what was around them
,“
this is too quiet
.”
Kate nodded and made notes in her notebook. Sh
e’
d have to do some additional research when she got back to her office (mud-free, she noted as she lifted one of her boots that was slowly sinking in the stuff) and see if other storms had had a similar effect on the wildlife and insects. If they had, then that was certainly an interesting side effect of the cyclone that nature was still trying to correct. She peeled her boots out of the mud again and began to head toward the trees for a closer inspection of them.

“
I would
n’
t do that if I were you
,”
Lucas cautioned. Kate paused and turned back, freezing in her exact spot. She turned her wide eyes toward him and Luca
s’
breath caught. Her bright blue eyes looked like the sky itself was reflected in them and her dark blonde hair fell in wisps around her heart-shaped face. She twisted and turned frantically, trying to spot an immediate danger.