Dear Reader,
It is with much pleasure that I welcome you to my four-book miniseries, MEN OF THE OUTBACK. The setting moves from my usual stamping ground, my own state of Queensland, to the Northern Territory, which is arguably the most colorful and exciting part of the continent. It comprises what we call the Top End and the Red Centerâtwo extreme climatic and geographical divisions. This is what makes the Territory so fascinating. The tropical, World Heritageâlisted Kakadu National Park, with crocodiles and water buffalo to the Top, and in the Center the desertâthe âdead heartâ thatâs not actually dead at allâonly lying dormant until the rains transform it into the greatest garden on earth.
The pervading theme of the series is family. Family offers endless opportunities for its members to hurt and be hurt, to love and support, or bitterly condemn. What sort of family we grew up in reverberates for the rest of our lives. One thing is certain: at the end of the day, blood binds.
I invite you, dear reader, to explore the lives of my families. My warmest best wishes to you all.
MEN OF THE OUTBACK launched with The Cattleman, Superromance #1328
Look for
Her Outback Protector, Harlequin Romance, #3895
âThe moment I saw youâ¦â Ross stopped dead before she prized it out of him.
âYes?â Samantha caught her breath as if on the brink of a revelation.
There was a recklessness in his blood he knew was getting the better of him. She had insinuated herself into his dreams.
He looked at her through the mask he affected. âI knew then Iâd have need of protective armor.â He turned away, knowing he was leaving her baffled.
âIâd love to know what you were really going to say.â
âThe fact I even said that makes me wonder.â
âIt would be really something to see. You losing control. You are such an enigma, Ross Sunderland.â
âAnd youâre desperate to solve the mystery.â
The seductive note in his voice roused her so much he might have suddenly begun to trail a hand over her body.
The Cattle Baronâs Bride
Margaret Way
Margaret Way takes great pleasure in her work and works hard at her pleasure. She enjoys tearing off to the beach with her family on weekends, loves haunting galleries and auctions, and is completely given over to French champagne âfor every possible joyous occasion.â She was born and educated in the river city of Brisbane, Australia, and now lives within sight and sound of beautiful Moreton Bay.
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
BY THE light of the stars alone in a situation fraught with difficulties and dangers Sunderland and his tracker Joe Goolatta led a traumatised jackeroo missing since late afternoon the previous day back through dense tropical jungle to the safety of the savannah. The forest floor was alive with activity. All sorts of nocturnal creatures, some with malevolent eyes, pounced on prey or scuttled under foot hunting for food. Forest debris crashed to the ground as the countless legions of possums with their thick pelts ripped up leaves and twigs or made their prodigious leaps from tree to tree sending down a hailstorm of edible berries and nuts. Huge bats hung upside down assuming the appearance of vampires. Other dark forms flapped over head. Monstrous amethyst pythons growing to twenty feet long wrapped themselves around branches close over head, while the brown snakes and their brothers the deadly black snakes moved slowly, sinuously through the trees guided not by sight but smell as they stalked sleeping birds. Now and again a night bird shrieked an alarm at their presence as they trekked through the forest galleries. Giant epiphytes clung to the buttresses of the rain forest trees, staghorns and elkhorns; all kinds of climbing orchids glimmered in the starlight. Now and again Sunderland slashed at something. Probably the Stinging Tree. Brushing up against the leaves could inflict extreme pain. Sunderland and the tracker scarcely made a sound. They might have spent their whole lives living in this overwhelming stronghold of Nature among the community of rain forest animals. Ben Rankin, the jackeroo, seventeen years old moaned and groaned, his every movement jerky and slow as he stumbled over thick woody prop roots and fallen branches, vines that grew in wild tangles, letting out high pitched nervous cries to rival the shrieks of the night bird.
âGet a hold there, Rankin,â Sunderland clipped off, not impressed by the ladâs behaviour. He grasped the boyâs arm for perhaps the hundredth time giving him a helping hand. âWeâre nearly there.â
How could he possibly know? Ben marvelled. The Bossâs night vision was awesome.
Finally they emerged into a clearing having walked unerringly to the very spot where a station jeep was parked. Who would believe it?
âMade it!â The old aboriginal stockman spoke with satisfaction. âMust be four, thereabouts,â he growled, looking up at the lightening sky. âNot far off sunrise.â