KATE HOFFMANN has been writing for mills & Boon for fifteen years and has published nearly sixty books, including mills & Boon® Blaze® books, novellas and even the occasional historical. When she isnt writing, she is involved in various musical and theatrical activities in her small Wisconsin community. She enjoys sleeping late, drinking coffee and eating bonbons. She lives with her two cats, Tally and Chloe, and her computer, which shall remain nameless.
Australian Quinns
The Mighty Quinns:
Brody
The Mighty Quinns:
Teague
The Mighty Quinns:
Allum
Kate Hoffmann
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Table of Contents
Cover
About the Author
Title Page
The Mighty Quinns: Brody
Dedication
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
The Mighty Quinns: Teague
Dedication
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
The Mighty Quinns: Allum
Dedication
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Epilogue
Copyright
The Mighty Quinns: BrodyFor Sarah Mayberry, fellow author and gentle reader, who took the time to make sure this book had no worries.
Prologue
Queensland, AustraliaJanuary, 1994
HOW CAN A ROCK be magic? Callum asked, standing at the base of the huge boulder. Its just a bloody big rock.
Look around you, dipstick, Teague shouted from the top of the rock. Do you see any other rocks like this around here? Gramps said its here because it is magic. You stand on top of this rock and make a wish and it comes true. Aborigines brought it here and they know a lot of magic.
I think Gramps had a few kangaroos loose in the paddock. Callum chuckled. I wouldnt believe everything he said.
Brody stepped up to the rock. He did not. And Im telling Dad you said that. Its not nice to speak ill of the dead.
He told us there was treasure buried out here, too, Callum said. He even told me he dug for it when he was a boy. Who would bury treasure out here?
Brody punched Callum in the shoulder. Give me a leg up, he said.
No, we have to get back. Mum will have supper ready.
I want to climb it, Brody insisted. It was hard enough always being last in line, but he hated it when Callum tried to be the boss. At least Teague liked to explore and have adventures. He treated Brody as if they were the very same age, not eighteen months apart. Callum was always the careful one, warning them off when things got too dangerous. Three years older than Brody and he might have well been forty, Brody thought.
Youll fall and crack your noggin open, Callum warned. And Ill get the blame, just like I always get the blame for every bad thing you morons do.
Cal, help him up, Teague said. Its not that high. And Ill hang on to him.
You dont have to hang on to me, Brody said. Im not a baby.
Reluctantly, Callum wove his fingers together and bent down. Brody put his foot into his older brothers hands and a few moments later, Teague had dragged him to the top of the rock. Wow, Brody said. This is high. I bet I can see all of Queensland from here.
Youve climbed to the top of the windmills. Theyre much higher, Callum said as he scrambled up behind him. And you cant see Brisbane from them. And Brisbane is in Queensland.
Make a wish, Teague said. Well see if it works.
I have to think, Brody said. He wanted so many things. A computer, video games, a dirt bike. But there was something he wanted more than anything. Hed never told his brothers because he knew theyd laugh. After all, there wasnt much chance hed ever get off the station.
Come on, Teague said. Say it. It wont come true unless you shout it out loud.
I want to be a footballer, Brody yelled. I want to go to a real school and play on a real team. I want to be famous and everyone will know my name. And I want to be on the telly. To Brodys surprise, his brothers didnt laugh. In fact, they seemed to think his wish was a good one.
Thats a big wish, Callum said soberly.
My turn, Teague said. I know exactly what I want. I want an airplane. Or a helicopter. I want to learn how to fly. Then I can go anywhere I want, just like that. I could even fly over the ocean and see America or Africa or the South Pole.
You could take me to my football games, Brody said.
Teague reached out and ruffled Brodys hair. I could. But only if you give me free tickets. He stared over at Callum. What about you?
I know what I want, Callum said.
You have to say it.
Callum sat down, draping his arms over his knees as he took in the view. How do you think this rock really got here?
I think its a meteor, Brody said, sitting down beside him. It dropped out of the sky.
Callum ran his hand over the smooth surface of the rock. Maybe the Aborigines did move it here. Maybe it was like Stonehenge. You know, that place in England with all the rocks.
And I think a giant prehistoric bird took a crap and it fossilized, Teague teased as he joined them. They all laughed, lying back on the rock and staring up at the cloudless sky.
Brody wrinkled his nose. How can bird poop be magic, Teague?
Maybe it came from a magic bird. His brother gave him a sideways glance. All right. Its a meteor. Or an asteroid. From another universe. Come on, Cal, you have to make your wish now.
Callum drew a deep breath. I wish that someday I could have a place like this.
You want a rock? Brody asked.
No, dickhead. A station. As big as Kerry Creek. Bigger, even. And Id raise the best cattle in all of Queensland.
Why would you want to live on a station? Brody asked.
Cause I like it here, Callum replied.
Brody shook his head. His older brother had no imagination. Station life was horribly dull, the same thing day after day. There was never anything interesting to do. All the good stuff happened in cities like Brisbane and Sydney. Callum could have the station and Teague could have his plane. Brody knew his dream was the best.
Dad told me he brought Mum out here when he asked her to marry him, Callum said, sitting up to scan the horizon.
Teague and Brody glanced at each other, then looked away silently. Brody wasnt sure why Callum had brought the subject up. Their parents hadnt been getting along for nearly a year now. When they werent arguing, they were avoiding each other. Dinner was usually a shouting match or an endless meal marked by dead silence.
I want to change my wish, Brody murmured, sitting up beside Callum. I wish that Mum and Dad wouldnt fight anymore. I wish theyd be like they used to be. He drew a deep breath, fighting back the tears that pressed at the corners of his eyes. Remember when they used to kiss? When Dad would hug her so hard, shed laugh? And theyd turn on the radio and dance around the kitchen?
Yeah. Teague braced his elbows behind him. I remember that.
The first ten years of Brodys life had been spent in what hed believed was a happy family. But then he began to be more aware of his mothers unhappiness and of his fathers frustration. She hated life on the station and his father didnt know any other life but the station.
Callum grabbed Brodys hand and then Teagues and pressed all their hands together. Wish it, he said, dragging them closer. Close your eyes and wish it really hard and it will happen.
I thought you didnt believe in the rock, Teague said.
Do it! Callum said. Now.
They all closed their eyes and focused on the one wish. But somehow, Brody knew this wish didnt depend on the rock or the combined powers of the three Quinn brothers. It was up to their parents to make it come true.
When he opened his eyes, he found his brothers staring at him. Brody forced a smile, but it did nothing to relieve his fears. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel it.
He rolled over onto his stomach and slid down the side of the rock, dropping to the dusty ground with a soft thud. His horse was tethered nearby and he grabbed the reins and swung up into the saddle. As he watched his brothers jump down, Brody couldnt help but wonder whether the rock had heard them. It was just a rock. And though it didnt belong where it was, there probably wasnt anything special about it.
Pulling hard on the reins, he kicked his horse in the flanks and took off at a gallop. If his mother left the station, then he was going with her. Shed need someone to take care of her, and Brody had always been able to make her smile. Shed once whispered to him that he was her favorite. If that was true, then it was his duty to leave the station. He felt the tears tumbling from his eyes and drying on his cheeks as the wind rushed by.
The breeze caught the brim of his stockmans hat and it flew off, the string catching around his neck. Brody closed his eyes and gave the horse control over their destination. Maybe the horse wouldnt go home. Maybe it would just keep galloping, running to a place where life wasnt quite so confusing.
1
Queensland, AustraliaJune, 2009
HIS BODY ACHED, from the throbbing in his head to the deep, dull pain in his knee. The various twinges in betweenhis back, his right elbow, the fingers of his left handfelt worse than usual. Brody Quinn wondered if hed always wake up with a reminder of the motorcycle accident that had ruined his future or, if someday, all the pain would magically be gone.
Hell, hed just turned twenty-six and he felt like an old man. Reaching up, he rubbed his forehead, certain of only one thinghed spent the previous night sitting on his arse at the Spotted Dog getting himself drunk.
The sound of an Elvis Presley tune drifted through the air and Brody knew exactly where hed slept it offthe Bilbarra jail. The towns police chief, Angus Embley, was a huge fan of Presley, willing to debate the Kings singular place in the world of music with any bloke who dared to argue the point. Right now, Elvis was only exacerbating Brodys headache.
Angus! he shouted. Can you turn down the music?
Since hed returned home to his familys cattle station in Queensland, hed grown rather fond of the ac-commodations at the local jail. Though he usually ended up behind bars for some silly reason, it saved him the long drive home or sleeping it off in his SUV. Angus!
Hes not here. He went out to get some breakfast.
Brody rolled over to look into the adjoining cell, startled to hear a female voice. As he rubbed his bleary eyes, he focused on a slender woman standing just a few feet away, dressed in a pretty, flowered blouse and blue jeans. Her delicate fingers were wrapped around the bars that separated them, her dark eyes intently fixed on his.
Christ, he muttered, flopping back onto the bed. Now hed really hit bottom, Brody mused, throwing his arm over his eyes. Getting royally pissed was one thing, but hallucinating a female prisoner was another. He was still drunk.
He closed his eyes, but the image of her swirled in his brain. Odd that hed conjured up this particular apparition. She didnt really fit his standard of beauty. He usually preferred blue-eyed blondes with large breasts and shapely backsides and long, long legs.
This woman was slim, with deep mahogany hair that fell in a riot of curls around her face and shoulders. By his calculations, she might come up to his chin at best. And her features wereodd. Her lips were almost too lush and her cheekbones too high. And her skin was so pale and perfect that he had to wonder if she ever spent a day in the sun.