Man of the High Plains by Allyne, Kerry

of Lief as placid and docile. He had made him sound as if he was insipid and somehow lacking in character, whereas she was well aware nothing could have been further from the truth. Lief merely liked to please, that was all, and personally she considered he had displayed a great inner strength over the years in the way he had come to terms with his own mother's obvious lack of interest in him. 'That must be the place up there.' Nathan's comment abruptly returned Blythe's thoughts to the immediate and, as she realised they had reached the end of the bitumen and were now travelling on a much narrower, hard-packed dirt road, the hills bounding the valley beginning to converge, her gaze quickly encompassed both the gateway she could see a short distance ahead and the homestead that Nathan was indicating, which was1 nestled among some trees at the base of the hill on their right. 'I guess so,' she allowed with a sigh. 'I can't see another house further along, and the road's becoming narrower all the time. It looks as if it probably peters out altogether behind that ridge ahead.' Nodding his agreement, Nathan turned in over the cattle grid that gave on to the property. Following die track that led up to the homestead, he brought their vehicle to a halt outside the wire fence that surrounded the large and solidly constructed, veranda-lined building their arrival bringing forth three or four barking cattle dogs from behind a nearby shed. Alighting, Blythe patted the dogs cautiously,