Australian Quinns: The Mighty Quinns: Brody

“You know about him?”

“Yeah, he was in Bilbarra trying to track her down. I talked to him. I thought I sent him off to Sydney to look for her.”

“Well, he’s a little bit smarter than you reckoned,” Callum said. “Payton used her credit card at David Jones in Brisbane. And Teague bought something right after her with his card. The clerk mentioned that they were together, so that’s why he’s here. Teague is feeding him some story, but I’m not sure if he’s swallowing it.”

Brody frowned. Payton had spent time in jail for dining and dashing. Why had she suddenly chosen to use a credit card? Had she wanted to be found? Was she looking for an excuse to leave? Or was she unaware that a detective had been sent to find her? “We have to get her out of here,” Brody muttered.

“What the hell has she done?” Callum asked.

“I don’t know.” Brody cursed softly. “She was supposed to get married in April. She ran out on her wedding. And I’d assume her fiancé or her husband wants her back, since he sent someone to fetch her. Bit of a problem there since I don’t want to give her back.”

“Brody, she’s an adult. She should make these decisions for herself. If she wants to stay, she can just tell the guy to get lost.”

“And what if she doesn’t?” Brody asks. “What if she decides to leave with him?”

“Then that’s her choice. You can’t keep her here if she doesn’t want to stay.”

“She may want to stay,” Brody countered. “Only she isn’t ready to admit it yet. She might need more time.”

“Did you ever think about asking her straight out?”

“I’m not going to ask her unless I’m sure she’ll give me the right answer.”

“Bloody hell, Brody, just talk to the girl.”

“I will,” Brody promised. “Soon. But right now, I have to get her off the station. I’ll go back and get her and we’ll ride to the airstrip. I need you to go to the bunkhouse and gather up her things and put them in your ute. Teague can meet us out there.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Callum asked.

The backdoor squeaked and Teague stepped outside. The moment he saw Brody, he grabbed him by the arm and pulled him around the side of the house. “What the hell is going—”

“Don’t ask,” Brody said. “I’ll explain it all later. Can you get away or is this guy going to follow you wherever you go?”

“I think I can lose him. Why?”

“I need you to fly Payton and me to Brisbane. I’m going to go and get her and we’ll meet you at the airstrip. Callum is going to put her things in his ute. Whenever you can, get away and meet us there.”

“All right,” Teague said, nodding. “I better get back in there. He thinks I’m making coffee.”

Brody jumped on his horse and turned it away from the house. “We’ll be at the airstrip in a half hour,” he said. “Don’t let him follow you.”

The ride in had taken twice as long as the ride back. He rode as hard and as fast as he’d ever ridden, as if his life depended upon it. In the end, his life did depend upon Payton. He’d grown attached to her and he couldn’t imagine losing her, especially to another man.

He found them where he’d left them, working on a broken gate that led to the east horse pasture. Davey was holding the gate off the ground while Payton twisted the turnbuckle. They both stopped what they were doing and watched as he approached.

“Get on your horse,” he told Payton. “Come on, we have to go.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you after we get to the airstrip.”

“Why are we going to the airstrip?”

“Payton, don’t ask any questions. Just get on your horse and let’s ride.”