“So,” Mitch said, reaching for another dinner roll. “I think it’s time for a good news round-table. Who wants to start?”
“Me!” Charlie said, fast enough that Mitch shot her a sideways grin. Mitch’s arm was slung over the back of her chair like usual. The two of them fit together as if they’d always been built that way.
“The feedback from the Dinosaur and Gourmet glamping trips is incredible,” Charlie said, nodding at Bella. “We’re booked solid through to Christmas. I’ve had to turn people away. And ...” She paused dramatically. “I’ve had confirmation that the massive skull we found is going to Queensland Museum. They’re displaying it with my name on it—Dr. Charlie Macintyre.”
“‘Bout bloody time. You go, girl!” Cassidy said.
“Well done, Charlie. You deserve that.” I raised my beer.
“Tell them the best bit,” Mitch urged.
She frowned. “I thought that was the best bit.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, well, tell them the other bit.”
“Oh, right. Well, I hate to speak ill of Doug, but he was wrong, and I was right. That dinosaur isn’t an Australovenator Wintonensis or the same species as Banjo. This is a whole new species, and it’s yet to be identified.”
“Does that mean they’ll name it after you?” Declan asked.
Charlie laughed. “That would be cool, but no, I don’t think so.”
Mitch raised his beer. “A toast to my brilliant paleontologist!”
We raised our drinks. “Cheers.”
As Charlie’s face flushed pink, Mitch watched her like she’d wrangled a prized bull. I knew that pride well. It was exactly how I felt about Sapphire.
“While we’re talking about Doug,” Sapphire said. “Aria’s hacker friend, Cole Tanner, has been able to track down who Doug owed money to. The men have been arrested for illegal gambling, so that means Doug’s daughter is no longer in danger.”
“Oh, that’s great news,” Charlie said. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. That was Aria’s doing.”
“Anyone else have news?” Mitch asked.
“I’ll go next.” Declan leaned forward, grinning. Bella was beside him, and I caught her reaching for her water glass with hands still red and scarred from those burn blisters. She was using them like nothing had happened, though. Tough as nails, that one. The two mafia bastards who tried to kill her and Declan found that out the hard way. Their bodies are forever entombed in that tunnel in the diamond mine. Nobody goes into that old section, and if they did, they’d have no hope of finding those bodies under the tons of equipment and rubble on top of them.
A few weeks ago we’d told Sapphire about those two mafia assholes and what they did to Bella. Sapphire just smiled and said she wasn’t a cop anymore. And with that we all agreed that we’d never talk about them again. I’d already reduced their car to dozens of parts, so it’s never going to be found either.
“I got the all clear from the insurance company this week,” Declan said. “And I’ve secured two mining teams, experienced professionals, eager to work. The diamond mine is officially operational again.” He glanced at Xavier. “Thanks to your generous donations, we have the main lift running again, and we’re already pulling stones from the original seam. Good quality, too. The miners are thrilled. Some of them worked the mine before Frank fucked everything up. They never thought they’d get those jobs back.”
“That’s bloody good work, Dec. Well done,” Mitch said. “‘Bout time Koolaroo started paying its way.”
“Hell, yeah.” Declan nodded. “It’s so good not to have to juggle the books all day to pay the debts. Finally, this place is running the way it should’ve been run all along.”
Declan’s face lit up. Just like he did every time he looked at Bella.
“Speaking of Koolaroo running better …” I set down my fork. “Cassidy and I have ordered a thousand head of weaners. They arrive next week. It’s the biggest shipment of cattle Koolaroo has seen in a decade.”
Sapphire squeezed my thigh under the table.
Cassidy leaned forward, and Xavier whispered something in her ear that made her scowl and smile at the same time. She elbowed him in the ribs without looking. “We’ve hired six new stockmen, and they’re not green for a change, so thank God, I won’t have to waste time training them.”
“That’s because we can finally pay a decent wage,” I said.
“Yeah. Gus was damn happy with his pay rise,” Cassidy added, “and the nice bonus we paid him after that cattle run last week.” She turned to Xavier, barely containing a smile. “He deserved it after having to rescue your ass after being bucked off so many times.”
Xavier’s jaw dropped. “Hey, it was only twice.”
