‘No?’

‘The nearest place with those sort of facilities is Adelaide,’ he said flatly. ‘That’s several hours’ flight in my small plane. It’d take me a day to get you there and get back here, and I don’t have a day free. I’m sorry to be disobliging, but I’m on a deadline.’

‘A deadline?’ She stared around in incredulity. ‘What sort of deadline can you have in a place like this?’

Riley’s expression became absolutely still. ‘Careful,’ he said softly. ‘Not so much of the disdain, if you please. This is my farm we’re talking of.’

‘But…’ Jenna closed her eyes for a fraction of a moment, to give herself space. She’d never felt so foreign or alone or out of control in her life-and she’d been alone for ever.

‘I’m sorry,’ she managed, and she fought for the courage to open her eyes again and face him. ‘I guess… Look, I don’t understand Australian farms. This is the first one I’ve been on. For all I know-’ she searched desperately for a smile ‘-this could be luxury accommodation.’

‘It isn’t,’ he said flatly. ‘But I have a roof over my head and a refrigerator full of beer. What more could I want?’

Anything, she thought. Anything.

‘The other people at the siding,’ she asked. ‘I don’t suppose…if they’re on farms, would one of them be able to fly us out?’

‘Those other farms are half a day’s drive to get to,’ he told her. ‘My nearest neighbour is over a hundred miles north over rough, unmade tracks. They came to the siding to get supplies from the train and they probably won’t be back at the siding for another couple of weeks. Today was the main supply run.’

Dear God.

‘We’re stuck here,’ she whispered.

‘Unless I kick you out, yes.’

Karli looked up at Riley then, with what, for the child, was an almost superhuman amount of courage. ‘Will you make us go back and sit on the train platform by ourselves until the next train comes?’ she whispered.

Jenna opened her mouth, and then thought better of it. Shut up, she told herself. Just shut up. She couldn’t ask that question any better than Karli just had.