Grace.â
âNot worried they might cramp your style?â
âNo. Plenty of people manage to have relationships with children in the equation. In fact, Iâm really looking forward to meeting them.â
âTheyâll probably hate you,â Angus said, slowing the ute as they approached the fallen tree.
Logan ran a hand through his hair, losing patience. He glared at Angus. âDo you always have to be so damn negative about everything?â
âIâm not negative.â Angus shrugged as he stopped the ute. âIâm simply a realist. Face it, Logan. Your track record with relationships isnât great, and those women didnât have the added baggage of a ready-made family to complicate things. Teenage girls arenât the easiest of people to get along with.â
Logan took a deep breath as he opened the passenger door. There was so much he wanted to say about all that. So heâd been a bit of a player following the break-up of his marriage, but he wasnât the one whoâd broken his vows. Had Angus forgotten that? His only mistake was falling for a woman who didnât love him as much as heâd loved her. When a husband cheated on a wife, everyone fell over themselves with sympathy for the woman, but when the roles were reversed, people made excuses. So many people heâd considered friends had assumed Logan must have been a bad husband for Loretta to leave him, and it cut deep that his brother seemed to subscribe to this theory as well.
Still, he was ready to move on from the past. He wanted more out of life than one-night stands. He wanted emotional connectionâfriendship and companionship as well as sexâsomething Angus had clearly switched himself off from.
âYouâre not the only one who has experience raising teenage girls,â he reminded his brother as they both climbed out and slammed their doors. âI might not have been at home with Olivia as much as you were but I visited her at boarding school and Iâve been there for her just as much in other ways.â
âYes, Iâm sorry. Youâre right.â Without another word, Angus opened the uteâs tailgate to let the dogs out and then leaned in to grab gloves. He tossed a pair to Logan and then turned to walk towards the fallen tree. With a heavy heart, Logan followed.
He wanted more than anything to fix his brotherâs pain but he just didnât know how.
Chapter Five
The house phone rang just as Angus Knight sat down to his early lunchâbaked beans on toast and a glass of orange juice to wash it all down. Heâd been up since the crack of dawn servicing the header and all heâd had was coffee. He looked at the handset and considered ignoring it. Phone calls to the house were few and far between; Logan and Olivia mostly sent messages or called his mobile. Predicting it would be a telemarketer, he took a swig of his juice and then picked up his knife and fork.
Finally the ringing stopped and he grinned in satisfaction as he shoved the first forkful into his mouth. He was a man of simple pleasures but heâd barely swallowed when the damn phone started up again. Glaring at the offender hanging on the kitchen wall, he pushed back his seat and marched across to it, then snatched up the receiver.
âHello,â he barked.
âAngus?â came a womanâs voice.
âYes. Whoâs this?â
âItâs ⦠Loretta.â
He frowned. What the hell was Loganâs cheating ex-wife doing calling?
âBrad just radioed in to say heâs seen some sheep on the road. He thinks theyâre yours.â
Loretta didnât have to say which roadâthere was only one that both properties used and he had a flock down there because the dam in that paddock was the most full.
âAngus? Are you there?â
âYes, sorry. Um â¦â He raked a hand through his hair. âThanks for letting me know. Iâll
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