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Des groaned at his leg, giving it a bit of a rub. “All good. They’re all in, safe and sound.”
“Good, good. Thank you.”
“Been busy, I see?” Robert asked, nodding to the kangaroo.
“Thought I’d leave it for you to butcher, actually,” Albie said to him. “Might get you to teach me how it’s done.”
Robert seemed pleased by this. “Sure thing.”
“But Albie,” Des said. “Gotta tell ya what we saw.” Robert nodded, and Albie was immediately intrigued.
“What was it?”
“Mob of wild horses. Down through the valley toward the creek.”
“The creek?” That was a fair distance... then he realised what that likely meant. “Is there a fence down?”
“Not that we could see,” Des answered. “Lord knows where though. Lotta land to cover, lotta fences, Albie. Maybe a tree fell down and took out a run of fencing, I dunno.”
“And in the far bottom lot, you said?” Percy asked.
Des gave a nod.
“Shoot.” The wind picked up, cold and damp, cutting through them, and Albie shivered with the bite to it. And Des and Robert had been out in it all day. “Come on, this kangaroo can wait. Let’s get you both a cup of tea by the fire.”
Chapter Twelve
The news of the brumbies was talk around the dinner table. Apparently wild brumbies weren’t uncommon in the high country. Over the years, horses got turned out or escaped, and they now ran free in sizeable herds through the mountains.
Albie said his father had spoken of them often, of the damage they did to crops and fences, and how they disrupted cattle and sheep, and other horses, of course.
Not all of Albie’s land was fenced. It was too big, too many cliffs, mountains, and rocky outcrops to bother. So where the horses were seen was on the bottom flats, all open, and for now, Albie wasn’t concerned.
“The mob will move on,” he’d said. “They probably drink at the river, but it’s not likely they’re coming up the sheer mountainside anytime soon.”
“I remember you mentioning the river before,” Percy mused.
Albie nodded. “Echo Creek. This property was named after it. But it’s more a river now though it dries up a bit without rain. They must have named it in a dry spell,” he said with a wry smile. “It runs through the southwestern part of the property. There are sheer mountain cliffs that cut this place in half. Not much good for farming and probably the reason my father got it for the price he paid. McAllister’s land flattens out some, so he can get better crops down, farm more cattle. We’ve got cliffs with a sheer three-hundred-yard drop, and the access to the flats down below is rugged.”
Percy had nodded, not thinking much more of it.
He helped Albie with reading after dinner was cleared away, and they waited until Elsie had bid them goodnight before they turned in.
Percy wasn’t so nervous this night. Nerves still tingled along his bones but there was a good dose of anticipation and excitement too.
He had a better idea of what to expect, and he knew now how good it could feel.
And how sleeping in Albie’s bed, in his arms, was his favourite part.
Well, almost his favourite.
What Albie did to him was clearly his favourite everything in all the world, ever. He’d made good on his promise to do it better this time, to save them soiling their underwear.
Albie had Percy on his back, kissing him slowly and touching his chest, his stomach, before slipping his hand inside his pants and gripping him.
Percy thought he might die right then.
But then Albie began to stroke him, and he made the shortest work of unravelling Percy. Percy’s climax hit him hard and fast. He almost made too much noise, but Albie kissed him, drinking in the sound.
