CHAPTER 1
Grace White drew in a deep breath as she paced the homestead kitchen. Her fists clenched and she exhaled slowly, focusing on her pranayama technique to calm her nerves.
It didn’t work.
‘Matt Clark might be wealthy and handsome, Dad. But I’m not going to marry him.’
Her father crossed his thick arms over his barrel chest and glared at her. His reaction wasn’t unexpected. Edward had never cared about what she wanted and why she still longed for his respect she didn’t know.
‘Why not?’
Grace rolled her eyes. Why? Because they weren’t dating? She didn’t love him? Matt had never asked? Because it was the twenty-first century when arranged marriages were a thing of the past and she lived in a country where, as a daughter, she wasn’t a commodity to trade?
Her father could take his pick.
‘Because I have no interest in being used as a pawn in your manipulative schemes,’ she said instead. ‘Do you even know Matt? Do you know if he’s the kind of man I’d want to be with? No. All you see are the acres he’s set to inherit, his family’s Brahman stud, and the profit you can make out of it all!’
Not to mention the last thing Grace would do was marry a cattleman. She had escaped the cattle station she’d grown up on—the dirt, the isolation, the smell—and she didn’t want to live on another one. She belonged in town where she had friends and her job as a nurse at the local medical centre.
‘I want what’s best for you, Grace!’ Edward’s arms dropped to his sides and her gaze fell to his clenched fists. Her father had never hit her, but Grace wouldn’t put it past him.
‘No, you don’t. You want what’s best for yourself. Marrying someone I don’t love will never be best for me.’
‘But you have no problem screwing him. Fucking hell, girl, you’ll give the bloke the wrong idea!’
Grace resisted a wince as the bitter taste of regret rose in her throat. She hated how her father spoke to her. And while it had been fun, her steamy night with Matt Clark at the Mareeba Rodeo was one mistake Grace wished she could take back. Part of her had known better. She’d been attending the rodeo with her friends when the gorgeous man she’d flirted with a few times in Elizadale had approached her in jeans, boots, and a rodeo buckle he sported with pride. Matt wasn’t Grace’s usual type, but she rarely had any fun and truth was, she’d liked him.
But after an early morning dash back to her room the following day, her father had reintroduced them. Only then had she learned Matt was of the Clark family who owned Redback Station, the property that shared the northern border with their own. White Peaks was small in comparison and on the outskirts of their township of Elizadale, so Grace’s family had rarely interacted with those on Redback. Not that the Clarks lived there. They were cattle barons who lived on the range in Toowoomba and employed people to do the hard work. Matt had all the charm of a rich landowner and packed quite a punch in
the looks department too, with a grin designed to weaken a woman’s knees. She’d been a fool and fallen for it. And ended up in his bed.
After the events that night, when Matt had scored the best time in the bareback bronc ride, he’d had another woman hanging off his arm and Grace had realised the true depth of her stupidity. Matt Clark was a known playboy with no intentions of giving any woman a second date, let alone settling down. She might not have invested her heart in their fling, but it had still hurt.
Her father seemed to have other ideas though and while Matt had been back and forth from town this past year, he would soon move to Redback to take over as manager. The invitation to spend Christmas with him had come out of the blue, but since her father had known about it, Grace smelled manipulation. And found great satisfaction in telling him she wasn’t going.
She had plans for the upcoming year and they didn’t involve Matt Clark or marriage.
‘What I do, Dad, is my business. And apart from that, you can’t “sell” me off for your own personal gain like you did Aunt Cynthia. You want me to marry for land? To gain you more contacts in the cattle industry? Well, too bad. I don’t want to live on a farm, especially a cattle one.’
‘Here we go,’ he grumbled, his eyes flaring. ‘The fluffy animal debate again.’
Grace clenched her teeth. ‘It’s not a fluffy animal debate! There are current guidelines to cattle farming that are less cru ...’ She trailed off. There were some things she’d rile her father up about, but others she knew to steer clear of. ‘You could treat the cows better,’ she muttered.
‘It’s what’s done, Grace. We raise them, fatten them up, then send them to slaughter so that we can eat!’
‘But there are better ways ... you don’t have to ...’ Grace shook her head. She couldn’t have this argument again. She’d tried telling her father that his farming methods were old-school and barbaric, but Edward refused to listen.
Instead, Grace addressed the other subject. ‘Look, I’m not going to Toowoomba for Christmas
and that’s final. I’m not interested in Matt, nor am I interested in marriage right now.’
‘You’re twenty-four years old!’
‘Exactly! I should be working and travelling and making my dreams come true!’
Edward scoffed. ‘What dreams?’
Grace crossed her arms. Like she hadn’t already told him. ‘I’m opening a yoga studio.’
If her father rolled his eyes one more time, they’d fall out of his thick head. ‘What crap. No one around here wants to do fucking yoga.’
‘Yes, they do! The studio is popular in Mareeba, but it’s forty minutes away, and people I’ve spoken to are keen to try it.’
‘Maybe for a week before they realise it’s bullshit.’
Grace’s shoulders sagged. No matter how much she was used to it, his derision still hurt.
The back door opened and Francesca White strolled into the kitchen. Grace’s heart sank further. Her mother wouldn’t take her side on the marriage or the yoga issue. Francesca would never understand Grace’s desire to live and work in town when she’d been an acre-chaser herself.
‘What’s all this yelling?’
Edward exhaled and crossed his arms over his protruding belly. ‘The vegan hippy has ended things with Matt Clark.’
‘I’m not a hippy! Or vegan! And I was never with Matt!’
Her mother’s disappointed eyes landed on her. ‘Oh, Grace. He was a good choice for you. His family owns many properties.’
Grace stared at her parents. Did they have ears? She could see them sticking out the side of their thick heads, so why didn’t they use them? Why couldn’t they support her dreams like loving parents should?
‘He’ll set you up for life,’ Edward added. ‘And the two of you can help your brother.’
‘Yeah, because by marrying Matt, you and Charlie can exploit Redback to save White Peaks, isn’t that right?’ Grace turned on her heel. ‘Forget it. I’m out of here.’
She didn’t get far before her mother blocked her exit. ‘Don’t talk to us like that, young lady. We just want what’s best for you.’
‘No, you don’t. You want to use me, but I’m not a commodity to trade.’
Grace left the house, slamming the flyscreen door behind her. She stormed off the aging verandah, down the dusty front path, and slipped into her lime green Mazda 2, blinking back tears.
Why had she thought she could get through to him? Her father was impervious to change.
Taking a deep breath, Grace started the car and drove away from her childhood home. She’d done what she had to do. She didn’t know why Matt had invited her for Christmas, but she had every right to decline when she barely knew the man. If Edward wanted to be angry about that, then fine. She would never win. He’d been angry with her since she’d left home after high school to start an admin job at the Mareeba Hospital. She’d been thrilled at such an opportunity, but her father had wanted her in Elizadale. Then Grace had decided to study nursing and he’d ranted and raved about that too. He’d hardly supported her finishing high school, let alone university.
Shoving aside the hurt, Grace turned onto the highway. Her father might not approve, but what did Grace have if not her dreams? She’d loved the years she’d spent studying in Cairns as not only had she enjoyed nursing, but also discovering yoga had changed her life. The strength and flexibility she’d found in her body had boosted her energy and empowered her emotionally. Her confidence had grown and she’d found peace of mind, two things she’d lacked after growing up with her parents. Now Grace wanted to bring that joy to the people in Elizadale.
And she would. Hope filled her heart as she drove south towards the beautiful small town she loved to call home. White Peaks spread into the distance on her right, while the Kellys’ coffee farm occupied the thousands of acres on her left. Their two farms, along with Tropic Sun and Shadow Creek, were the four major enterprises in Elizadale, but there were many smaller farms as well with impressive turnover. Produce lay at the heart of their community and part of Grace understood
her father’s wish for her to marry into a neighbouring property, but he’d almost blown a gasket when she’d started dating Shadow Creek heir, Adam Maguire.
Grace’s heart twisted at the memories. She had just returned from university when she’d been drawn to the local bad boy, who, along with his brother, would inherit the sprawling banana farm. Their romance had been easy, fun, and they’d fallen head over heels for each other. But her father hadn’t been happy. ...
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