It was like a thread being pulled, connecting the pieces.It wasn’t just the job title at the stockyards that Lydia had downplayed—it was a pattern.
Lydia had been making herself smaller to keep the peace with her husband.
‘Why, what’s worrying that poor young man, not that he hasn’t been through enough already?’Tanisha asked.
‘Brodie mentioned Red.’Porter rubbed the back of his neck, the strain of the double shift heavy on his shoulders.‘I’ve only met Red a few times.You?’
‘Craig would know him better.’
‘Come on, Tanisha.You know everything and everyone in this town.’
‘Do not.’
‘Do too.Go on, what’s your opinion on Red?I’ll make you a coffee.Shout you a cocktail.’
‘I’m off cocktails for a bit.’She patted her stomach with mock solemnity.‘Felix and I are on a break.’
Porter snorted.‘That’ll last until Friday.You two can’t go three days without something rimmed in sugar with enough alcohol to set on fire.’
She grinned.‘My Friday knock-off cocktails are sacred, young man.’
Porter snorted.‘Didn’t realise cocktail hour came with commandments like some religious holiday.’
Tanisha paused, her tone softening.‘But I do know Red loves Lydia.And Lydia loves Red.He’s just a big man with a woolly red beard—and she’s the woman who somehow makes him dance.And they do love each other.Red dotes on Lydia in that old-fashioned, head-over-heels, will-do-anything-she-asks kind of way.You know, the type of man who’d build a verandah just so she had somewhere to drink her tea in the shade.’
Tanisha sighed like she was mid-chapter in one of her paperback romances.‘It’s the kind of love I’d dog-ear and reread every chance I got.’
‘What, no cowboys in that fantasy?’
She winked.‘I said love story, not wish list.’
‘And there were no kids to this Lydia and Red romance?’
Again, another dramatic sigh, and another sip of her cactus mug.‘No.I know Lydia would have dearly loved some.Which is why she was so willing to take in Brodie.Not many people would’ve scooped up that kid, covered in muck and hay, hiding in the back sheds, to feed him, clothe him, and take care of him like she did.’
‘So why didn’t Lydia let Brodie live with her and Red?They had the room, and Lydia was keen to foster him.And with Red on the road all the time, wouldn’t Red be happy to have someone keeping Lydia company?’Porter knew the answer already, he just needed confirmation.
‘You’d think, eh?’Tanisha inspected her glossy nails, some with shiny diamantes, others with patterns.
‘And…’ He gently nudged her chair again.
‘Red said no.But you said Brodie’s happy in the shed.’
‘Yeah.It’s all set up nicely for him.I gave him my old camp bed, and the camp cooker to boil the billy for himself.Which reminds me to go through my jeans and see if I can find him an old pair or three.The ones he has are worn through and hanging off him.’
Tanisha patted his shoulder tenderly.‘You’re a good man, Logan Porter.’
‘Shh, stop annoying me.I’ve got work to do.’He rose from the table, refilled her cactus cup, and set it down beside Tanisha with a wink.‘Let’s see if we can’t find that Ram, huh?’
The front doors slid open, and Cowboy Craig and Stone strolled inside.
‘Did you find anything?’
‘Maybe.Is the Bossman still in?’Stone didn’t stop, with Craig behind him as they pushed open the security door and headed down the corridor, heading for the Batcave.
For Amara’s sake, he hoped they had.
Twenty-two
