Nikki Logan - A Kiss to Seal the Deal / The Army Ranger's Return - A Kiss to Seal the Deal / The Army Ranger's Return

‘No.’ Grant seemed almost surprised by the word he’d uttered. He shoved his hands into deep pockets. ‘I have room in the house. You’ll be more comfortable.’

Kate stared. ‘I can’t stay in your house. I barely know you.’

He shrugged. ‘So? It’s a working arrangement.’

‘But what will people say?’

‘Do you care?’

The glint in his eye said he already knew the answer.

‘No.’ Not when her deadline ticked maddeningly in her head.

‘Look, Kate, I put the toilet seat down and I’m kind to puppies. Despite being on different sides on this, I’m not actually trying to sabotage your work.’

So her jibe from a month ago had stung. Good. She chewed her lip. ‘It would make things go much faster here.’

His eyes narrowed again. ‘How much faster?’

Her lips twisted in a sad smile. ‘Don’t panic. Even if we worked twenty-four-seven we can’t get the buffer ratified. Not without identifying the breeding ground.’

‘That would make that much difference?’

Why did she keep trusting this man with information? He stood between her and her project. Her mouth opened without her consent. ‘I believe so, yes. The Conservation Commission would accept partial research results if we could also hand them a site of significance.’

He looked undecided. Was he about to change his mind about helping her?

‘Don’t worry; I’m no closer to knowing where it is than I have been for two years. Your plans for world domination are safe.’

He matched her smile and the sorrow reached all the way to his eyes. ‘This isn’t personal, Kate. It’s business.’

She looked at him long and hard. ‘I’m prepared to believe it’s not personal between us, but this is very personal between you and your father. Why are you selling the farm? He left it to you.’

His face shut down hard before her eyes. ‘Because I’m no farmer. That’s become abundantly apparent to me this month.’

‘You’ve kept the place running for weeks now.’

‘Barely. I know nothing about stock. Short of feeding them and keeping them watered.’

‘I’m sure there are people who can help you. Teach you.’

‘Like who?’ he said.

‘Like any of the farmers in the district. Leo was a very popular man.’

‘I’m hoping one of those farmers will be champing at the bit to get an outfit this size when it comes on the market. I don’t want to seem desperate.’

Kate realised. ‘You’re trying to build the farm up, make them think you have it all under control, so you get a good price.’ She had to give him points for controlling his environment.

‘Bingo. If they sense the vulnerability, they’ll go for the jugular.’

‘You’re trusting me not to tell them?’

His regard was steady but tainted with a hint of confusion, as if it hadn’t occurred to him until that very second what he was trusting her with. ‘You don’t strike me as someone to play games.’

‘Unlike you, you mean?’

‘Very unlike me. We couldn’t be more different, Kate.’

She shook her head. ‘Crazy world you live in.’

‘It’s human nature, Kate. If they know how much I need to sell, the price will drop.’

‘I wouldn’t have thought you needed the money.’

‘This isn’t about the money. This is my family’s farm. It’s about dignity. The Tulloquay name. Keeping the farm intact. Making sure the person that buys it values it.’

Conservation restrictions would reduce the size of the landholding and diminish the forward-investment value. Who would want a coastal farm with no usable coastal strip? Apart from her, that was. Without the valuable coastal kilometres, the remaining land would most likely get carved up for paddocks for adjoining farms.

He wanted Tulloquay to stay a farm, no matter who ran it, even if he didn’t want the property for himself. Leo McMurtrie would have approved of that part, at least.

‘Maybe I could help you? As a thank you for the lab space and room.’

His sceptical expression shouldn’t have surprised her. ‘You know about farming?’

‘My father was the town doctor but we lived on my mum’s dairy farm. I remember the seasonal rotations, the basic preventative care for the stock.’

‘You barely have time for your own work.’

‘I’m not proposing I do it all; you’re a big boy. I’ll just give you some pointers. The rest is up to you and the internet if you’re so determined on the smoke and mirrors.’

It was his turn to frown. ‘Why would you help me? You think I’m a jerk.’

Ass, actually. Kate held his gaze against the flush she could feel rising. ‘It’s in my best interests to keep you amenable. And your father gave me two years of access to the Atlas colony, which I consider priceless. I owe it to him to help you.’ She glanced around. ‘Plus, I’ve grown fond of these sheep and don’t want to see them starve.’

‘Have they starved yet?’

Her laugh was gentle. ‘No. But they’re going to need drenching soon. Have you got that one covered?’

He tipped his head back as he realised he hadn’t. ‘How do I know you won’t sabotage me?’

Oh, Grant. Is that really the world you live in?

‘You don’t,’ she sighed. ‘You’ll just have to trust me.’

Intense eyes blazed into hers as his mind worked with that concept. He had a lot to lose if she betrayed him. Kate fought the tremor that fluttered up her spine and forced her body to remember that this was the man that stood between her and her project. Possibly between the seals and their survival.

There could be no flutters. And if she had to hold her breath then it would be awaiting the outcome of his decision, not waiting to see if he trusted her.

‘Room and lab space in return for some farming advice. Confidential.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘If you think it’s necessary.’

‘It’s necessary.’ His eyes grew serious. ‘You specialise in seal vomit, I specialise in human nature.’

‘Interesting analogy.’ Kate took a deep breath. ‘But you have yourself a deal. On one condition.’ His left eye twitched and its brow lifted. Did no-one challenge him in his world? ‘The AC-DC stays below eighty decibels.’

In the split second before he remembered who he was and who he was with, Grant gifted her with the most spectacular of smiles. She saw more perfect, pearly teeth in that brief moment than she’d seen the whole time she’d known him. A throaty chuckle escaped, and his green eyes creased and reached out and whomped Kate clean in the solar plexus. She couldn’t even suck in a shallow breath, let alone a deep one.

Just when she’d wondered if he couldn’t do more than twist those serious lips.

But as quickly as the smile came it died, and Grant dropped his head so that the sparkling eyes were lost in the shadow cast by his akubra hat. Kate felt the temperature drop around them. As if to punish himself—or maybe her—for the smile, he gravely thrust out his hand toward her and barked a curt, ‘Deal.’

Goose bumps prickled all over her skin as she slid her chilled hand into his furnace-warm, Goliath one. It swallowed hers completely and Kate had a moment of unease; the image aptly represented their parts in this situation.

He might tolerate her presence, he might humour her research, he might even help her in ways that didn’t hinder him. But ultimately Grant McMurtrie held all the power here.

For now.

Her mind went to the nearly finished report for the Conservation Commission, sitting in the back seat of her ute. She straightened her spine and closed her fingers defiantly tighter on his. ‘I’ll move in tonight.’

‘YOU do realise you smell appalling?’ Grant scrunched his nose.