Outlast the Night by Ariel Tachna Read Free Book Online

manager?” Macklin asked Caine as they got ready for bed that evening.
    “We do,” Caine said. “By counting room and board as part of his salary, we don’t have to pay him as much in cash, and having someone who’s actually familiar with Aussie laws will almost certainly save us money in the long run. And we had a good season, even being shorthanded. We sold a record number of lambs and had minimal attrition among the breeding ewes. We’ll have all the wool in the spring plus the new lambs. We’ll be fine.”
    “And hopefully next season we’ll have a better group of hands,” Macklin agreed.
    “Even if the same ones come back, they’ll know more when they start than they did this spring,” Caine said. “And with Jesse familiar with the station now, he’ll be able to step up as a crew boss instead of just another jackaroo.”
    “Jeremy has the experience as well,” Macklin said, “although he may not be quite as familiar with the precise lay of the land.”
    “It won’t take him long to learn that,” Caine said. “If we make a point of sending him out with whatever crews go out over the winter, he’ll know the station well enough by spring.”
    “We’re going to have to keep an eye on Neil,” Macklin warned. “He’s a hothead and Jeremy is from Taylor Peak.”
    “I thought the tension was between Devlin and Uncle Michael,” Caine said. “And then between Devlin and us.”
    “It is,” Macklin replied, “but Neil sees the name Taylor and won’t look any farther. You know how he is.”
    Caine did indeed know. He’d had the same problem with Neil seeing only the label “gay” and not the rest of Caine’s merits when he first found out about Caine. “I’d like to hope it won’t come to Jeremy having to save Neil’s life to get him to reconsider his position.”
    “We’ll hope not, although Jeremy being gay won’t help any.”
    “I wasn’t planning on telling Neil that part,” Caine said with a grin.
    “I wasn’t either, but I don’t know how long Jeremy will want to keep it a secret,” Macklin said. “I overheard conversations between some of the seasonal jackaroos about hooking up on their nights off. Now that they aren’t afraid of losing their jobs for being gay, they’re more open about it than they ever would have been before—here or anywhere else. Jeremy’s unattached and attractive, and who knows how long it’s been since he last made a trip to town? He might decide to take advantage of the opportunity while he can, and really, why shouldn’t he as long as he gets his work done?”
    That was news to Caine, but then he tried to stay out of the bunkhouse as much as possible. He wanted the jackaroos to feel like they had their own space where they could relax without the boss hanging over their shoulders constantly.
    “As long as the work’s done, what they do on their own time is up to them,” Caine agreed. “I was thinking we should take a trip for a few days this winter.”
    “Did you have somewhere in mind?” Macklin asked, seemingly unfazed by the sudden change of subject.
    “Well, I’ve already been to Sydney, so not there,” Caine said. “Where’s your favorite place in Australia?”
    “We’re sitting in it.”
    The words warmed Caine all the way through, but they didn’t help. “Your favorite place outside of Lang Downs.”
    “I don’t know,” Macklin said. “I haven’t really traveled all that much. I ended up here at sixteen and haven’t really left except for my yearly trip to Sydney.”
    “Well, where did you live before you came here?” Caine said, giving up on being discreet. “It could be fun to visit your hometown.”
    “There is nothing in Tumut that I have any desire to revisit,” Macklin said in a flat voice. Caine nodded but inside, he was jumping with delight. He had the name of Macklin’s hometown now. He might not get Macklin to go back there, but it gave him a place to start his search. Macklin had lived there until