Riley was staring at them with exasperation. ‘Your mother’s a dope,’ Riley told the little girl.
It was the wrong thing to say. Jenna flinched, and within her arms she felt Karli flinch as well.
‘My mother’s dead,’ Karli whispered. ‘She died yesterday.’
CHAPTER TWO
THERE was no way of softening the awfulness.
Riley knew Karli was speaking the truth. Jenna watched his face, knowing that he’d heard the shock and the raw pain in Karli’s voice.
He’d heard the despair of abandonment.
‘I’m sorry,’ Riley said at last. He set his beer on the table-very carefully, as if it might break. He looked from Karli to Jenna and back again. ‘I assumed you two were mother and daughter.’ He compressed his mouth and focussed on Karli. ‘Who’s this lady, then?’
‘Jenna’s my big sister,’ Karli whispered. ‘Sort of.’
‘Sort of?’
‘We’re half-sisters,’ Jenna told him. ‘Nicole, our mother-we’re the product of two of her marriages.’
‘Two-?’
‘Look, this isn’t getting anything sorted,’ Jenna said, and she was starting to sound as desperate as she felt. Karli was wilting against her. The shock and horror of the last few hours were taking their toll and it was amazing the little girl was still upright. She pulled her up to sit on her lap. ‘So you can’t take us anywhere?’
He hesitated, but then he shook his head. ‘No,’ he told her and there was even regret in his voice. ‘I’m sorry, but my labour’s not for sale. I have blocked bores and my cattle are dying because they can’t get anything to drink. If I leave before the bores are operational then I’ll lose cattle by the hundred, and their deaths won’t be pretty. I’m not being disobliging for the sake of it. I have urgent priorities.’
She bit her lip. ‘I’m sorry.’ This was getting harder by the minute. He was a man in a hurry and the last thing he needed was to be saddled with a woman and a child. ‘I was really stupid to get off the train.’