Page 70 of The Flirty Vet

I smile, patting him on the shoulder. "It's the white-and-blue shed outside. Join us when you're ready."

And with that, the kids wave him goodbye, and we set off.

About ten minutes later, there's a tap on the door. "Come in," I say.

The kids are set up at their desks, headsets on, focused on the computer screens in front of them. The first lesson of the day is already underway.

Col walks up beside me. He's dressed, and judging by his damp hair, showered, too. "Hey."

"Mornin'." I slide my hand behind his back. "How'd you sleep?"

"Terribly." He paws at his chest. "It's too quiet."

How can it betooquiet? Before I can ask him that, Col points to the kids. "What's going on here?"

"Welcome to the best school in the world. School of the Air."

"Uh-huhhhh."

"It's school by correspondence since there's no easily accessible school for the kids around here."

"Right. And this is all legit?"

I laugh. "Nah. It's a ponzi scheme, mate. Of course it's legit. It's funded by the Australian Government, and it's the same curriculum as any other school. This is how I went to school."

Col side-eyes me. "You had me until that last part."

"Shut up." I bump into him, and he chuckles.

The kids notice Col standing next to me. Kolby gives him a big wave and Bridgette smiles. I mouth, "You okay?" and they both nod.

"That's our cue to leave," I say to Col, and he follows me out of the shed. "Gran will be here soon, and she keeps an eye on them."

"I see."

"Want a tour of the pla— Ah, shit. Sorry." My phone buzzes in my back pocket. I take it out to make sure it's not Gran or the clinic. When I see it's a Sydney number, my jaw clenches, and I hitIgnore, shoving it back into my pocket.

"As I was saying, want me to give you a tour of the place?"

"I'd love that. But don't you have to work?"

"You're in luck. I've got a few days rostered off. It's like the universe knew."

He smiles. "Maybe it did."

"Come on. You wouldn't have seen anything last night. I'll show ya round."

Col follows me, asking, "How big is this property?"

"Forty thousand acres."

For most people, that's a lot, but then I remember that Col works in agricultural finance so he's probably seen properties that dwarf this one. Still, forty thousand acres ain't small peanuts.

I take him away from the main house and point towards the vast row of cattle pens and two small worker's cottages.

"You mentioned this is a working farm. How do things work exactly?" he asks.

"It is. Katrina runs it when she's here, but we hire workers and farm hands, and we wrangle in some extra help during the mustering season."