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a little at that but then a gust of wind caught one of the big verandah doors, sending it thudding into a chair. ‘Wind’s picked up,’ she said as she pulled the chair out of the way and let the door swing shut. The rest of the double doors could probably be closed now too. It’d only take a minute.
    ‘Let Roly do it,’ said Adam as if reading her mind. ‘You need to leave.’ His voice was hard and insistent. ‘Now.’
    What was
with
these country types? First Roly and now Adam; both of them ordering her to leave. The difference being that one of them was her employer.
    ‘Storm’s coming,’ he added.
    ‘I know.’
    ‘No,’ he said. ‘You don’t.’
    ‘You’re worrying unnecessarily.’ She spared a glance for Adam’s companion and saw curiosity in the man’s eyes and no small measure of compassion.
    Why compassion?
    ‘My brother, Simon,’ said Adam curtly.
    ‘Pleased to meet you, Simon. Is he always like this?’
    ‘Not always.’ Simon’s smile was oddly gentle. ‘But summer storms can be fierce in these parts and this one’s been building all afternoon. He does have a point.’
    ‘You’re closing ranks. I should have known.’ And before either of them could reply, ‘We’re going. See?’ She suited actions to words. ‘Walking out the door.’
    Adam watched in silence as Billie Temple and her son disappeared into the night. Simon watched too, but not in silence.
    ‘You could have warned me how beautiful she was,’ he said.
    ‘What?’
    ‘I was expecting someone harder. Older. Definitely someone bigger.’
    But Adam wasn’t listening. He was thinking of another stormy night, years ago. He looked to the door, to the rapidly worsening weather. Simon was talking again, he caught the tone of it, low and concerned, but he didn’t hear the words. ‘Sorry, what?’
    ‘I said, are you going to follow them home?’ asked Simon patiently.
    ‘Yeah.’ Adam looked to the door again. ‘Just giving them a few minutes start.’
    ‘Want some company?’
    Adam shook his head. ‘I can handle it.’
    Barely.
     
    ‘Does our car look weird to you?’ asked Cal as they walked towards the old sedan.
    Billie looked. ‘Maybe a little lower at the back.’ Lower than the cars on either side of it, at any rate.
    ‘Flat tyre,’ said Cal as he drew closer, and Billie went round the other side of the car to check her suspicion.
    ‘Make that two.’
    So it was back to the verandah and Roly who was shutting the big double doors.
    ‘I thought you were leaving,’ said Roly when he saw them.
    ‘I was. We have a flat.’
    ‘Two,’ said Cal.
    ‘
Two
flat tyres?’ asked Roly and Billie nodded.
    Roly’s lips tightened. ‘So you’re going to stay here tonight? There’s plenty of room upstairs.’
    Billie sighed. ‘I guess so.’
    ‘Or, you could get a lift home with Adam,’ said Roly.
    ‘Yes, but—
    Too late. Roly had already headed inside.
    When Roly returned, Adam and Simon were with him.
    ‘Roly says you need a lift,’ said Adam, his expression unreadable.
    Billie nodded.
    ‘Wait here, I’ll bring the ute round.’ And with a nod in Roly’s direction he headed along the verandah.
    ‘He going to be all right?’ Roly was looking at Adam.
    ‘Damned if I know,’ said Simon curtly.
    ‘Why would he not be all right?’ said Billie. ‘Why couldn’t we have walked to the ute with him, for that matter? What’s going on?’
    ‘Nothing,’ said Simon. ‘It’s old news.’
    ‘Wouldn’t hurt for her to know it, though.’ Roly looked uncomfortable. ‘I’m thinking it’d probably help.’
    ‘Know
what
?’
    ‘Adam had a wife and son once,’ said Simon finally. ‘They died in a car accident about eight years ago. In a summer storm.’
    ‘Adam was driving?’
    ‘Adam was selling cattle two states away. Caroline was driving.’
    ‘Scared of her own shadow if you ask me,’ said Roly and Simon cut the older man a cool glance.
    ‘No one did.’
    The look Simon bestowed on Billie and