Riding the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page B

‘Because that’s what families do, Val. I need closure as well as to pay my respects. I know we had our differences but Peter was still my brother.’
    Val heard this with narrowed eyes, still unconvinced. ‘But why would you waste time driving all that way instead of going by air? I can’t see the round trip taking less than two weeks. And time is money, isn’t it? So you always say.’
    ‘Because I’m taking a horsebox, that’s why. I want to get hold of Hunter’s Moon before that boy panics and sells him.’
    ‘Well, if it troubles you that much – why not fly up? You’ll be there that much sooner and you can hire a car and a horsebox on the spot.’ Val was teasing – not quite believing he was serious in his intent.
    ‘Don’t be stupid. They could give me anything. A box that hasn’t been properly cleaned – full of germs and God knows what tropical diseases. A hire car that breaks down as soon as I’m out on the open road—’
    ‘Oh, I get it. This journey has nothing to do with paying your last respects to your brother. It’s always about money and horses with you, isn’t it? You can’t bear to let even one get away from you. If you wanted this horse so badly, why didn’t you outbid Peter at the auction and save yourself time and trouble? It isn’t as if you’re short of money, is it?’
    Robert scowled. ‘The trouble with you, Val, is that you try to make everything seem so logical. As it happens, I was short of money that day. The horse that we brought to Sydney had failed and the owners wanted to sell it on the spot. On top of that, they’d given me a hefty deposit to buy them another horse at the sales but of course, having lost faith in me, they wanted their money back. And that left me with a cash-flow problem just at the time I needed more money to buy Hunter’s Moon.’
    ‘I see.’
    ‘But fate has delivered the perfect opportunity for me to get him back. D’you think that boy has any idea how to care for a champion, let alone train him? I don’t like to see a promising horse go to waste.’
    ‘I still think it’s unfeeling. We don’t know what their plans are – or if they have any. They’ll still be in shock. If you’re determined to go, we should fly up together to give Joanne our support. She’ll be glad of another woman’s company at such a time. You should leave your concerns about horses till later.’
    ‘And then they’ll have sold Hunter’s Moon to somebody else.’ Robert’s temper rose along with his voice, making her blink. ‘What makes you think Joanne would welcome you, anyway?’
    ‘Why shouldn’t she? You were the one who upset her, not me.’
    ‘Well, we don’t need to go into that now. And there’s no point in discussing it further because I’m going alone. Haven’t you enough on your plate with Chrissie’s wedding?’
    ‘Yes, but we still need to talk this through—’
    Then Valerie stopped and sighed as she realized she was talking to herself. Robert had left the room.
     
    Halfway through the boring and arduous journey north on roads that seemed to go on forever, he was beginning to wish he’d let Val come with him, after all. At least she could have shared the driving. Faced with travelling up the inland highways to Brisbane and beyond, through cane fields, miles of open countryside and subtropical scrub, he found himself missing her endless chatter about lists of wedding guests and whether more people could be invited if they had a buffet rather than a ‘sit down’ meal. At one point, he caught himself nodding off and almost drove into a tree at the side of the road. That gave him such a jolt of adrenaline that he was wide awake for the next few hours.
    He knew his brother’s funeral was being delayed to accommodate him but he realized he needed to take more breaks to drink coffee and stretch his legs. Better to arrive in one piece rather than not at all.
     
    Ryan felt a deep resentment against his uncle for the unnecessary