The Round Yard

by Alissa Callen

  Cressy stroked Jazz’s grey neck. ‘She’ll be more than happy poking around. The easy exercise will do her good.’

  Neve walked alongside Jazz as Cressy led the mare over to a gate behind the round yard. A cow mooed. Hewitt and Fliss’s breeding herd grazed down on the alluvial flats kept green and lush by irrigation pivots. Jazz would be living in the undulating hills that overlooked the river.

  Cressy nodded at the mass of golden mini-tumbleweeds caught against the fence. ‘It’s going to be a bad year for hairy panic grass. It took me an hour yesterday to clear the stable path.’

  ‘Tell me about it. I don’t know how, but they ended up filling the girls’ play tent.’

  A cow mooed for a second time. Cressy stopped Jazz to look across the paddock. Black cows were clustered beneath trees and it was impossible to determine where the noise had come from.

  When there was no further sound, Cressy walked Jazz into her new home. Neve rested her arms on the steel gate. She couldn’t stop smiling. This beautiful grey mare would be hers to ride whenever she wanted. Cressy unclipped the lead rope and after gazing around, Jazz lowered her head to graze.

  ‘See, she’s happy already,’ Cressy said, heading back through the gate.

  When another loud moo disturbed the silence, Cressy took her phone out of her jeans pocket. ‘Something’s up. I’ve got to meet the horse chiropractor, Denham and Hewitt are out of town, Fliss is at the hospital, but I know Tanner’s not far away at Bethany’s.’

  Neve kept her expression from changing. She had no right to feel anything at the news that Tanner was helping Bethany on his weekend off from working with Dell and Bassie.

  Cressy briefly spoke to Tanner. After the call ended she looked out over the distant cattle with a frown. ‘It might be nothing, but other farmers have been having problems with wild dogs attacking their calves. Tanner will check everything’s okay.’ Cressy’s hazel gaze met hers. ‘He has Arrow so suggested we saddle Jazz and that you might like to ride around with him?’

  Neve took her time to reply. At the adventure playground she hadn’t imagined Tanner’s attention focus on her mouth or her instant response. To her relief, at Fliss’s barbeque it was as though they’d made the unspoken decision that no further moments could happen between them. Neither had looked at each other for very long. But the trip in her pulse at possibly seeing him again was a giveaway that she’d be asking for trouble being alone with him.

  She bit the inside of her cheek. Going for a ride on Jazz was so tempting, and having Tanner with her when she did take her first ride was also the only sensible thing to do.

  She nodded slowly. ‘That sounds a good idea. I’m right to saddle Jazz, though.’ She reached for the lead rope Cressy held. ‘You get going so you aren’t late for the horse chiro.’

  Cressy didn’t immediately relinquish the rope. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes. I’m a pro at saddling Bassie now, even if he does blow up like a helium balloon when I tighten the girth.’

  ‘Thanks, Hugh does always run on time. See you Friday for coffee?’

  ‘I’ll look forward to it. Graham has a day off so I won’t have the girls.’

  Neve gave the cowgirl a final wave before opening the paddock gate and walking over to the grey mare. ‘I’m sorry, Jazz. I know you just got here, but you’ll have plenty of time to eat after our ride.’

  Neve led the mare into the round yard and busied herself with brushing and saddling her. She pulled the saddle cloth high into the saddle pommel like Tanner had showed her. She also walked Jazz around in small circles to ensure that the girth wouldn’t pinch. When Jazz was ready, Neve made sure she carried the mounting block into the yard. There’d be no more up-close-and-personal contact with Tanner while he gave her a leg-up into the saddle.

  Tanner arrived and parked in his usual place under the cedar tree. He gave her a wave, which she returned, and soon joined her with a saddled Arrow and an energetic Patch.

  ‘Rosewood seems to be the place where it all happens,’ he said, stopping in front of her. He smiled, his dimple appearing briefly.

  Neve took his lead to keep things friendly but impersonal between them. ‘I know. If it isn’t Bassie getting stuck, it’s a cow who doesn’t sound happy.’

  As if on cue, the cow mooed. Both he and Arrow looked out over the paddock and she sensed their mood shift from casualness into a need for action.

  Tanner glanced back at her. ‘How about you get to know Jazz before we head into the paddock?’

  ‘Okay.’ Neve checked her helmet was securely in place before she entered the round yard.

  With the mounting block in position and her stirrup leathers measured, hoping she didn’t look as ungainly as she felt, she climbed into Jazz’s saddle.

  Tanner gave her a thumbs-up sign. She headed Jazz to the edge of the round yard and hadn’t completed two circuits before Tanner opened the gate wide. Jazz’s grey ears flickered in happiness as Neve rode her out of the yard. Neve patted her neck. She already enjoyed riding the responsive, soft-mouthed mare.

  Tanner swung into Arrow’s saddle, and with Patch running alongside the horses, they rode into the cattle paddock. She didn’t miss the way Tanner looked across at her every so often to make sure she was going okay. Today he wore a faded blue work shirt and stubble blurred the firm line of his jaw. She curled her fingers tighter around her reins. She had the insane urge to lean over to feel the rasp of his whiskers against her fingertips.

  Tanner initiated the small talk. ‘How are the girls?’

  ‘Going well. Graham’s taken them to the movies in Dubbo.’

  ‘They’d like that. They were talking about some snowman from some movie?’

  ‘This is the movie sequel to the snowman one.’ She paused. There was only one thing that they talked about more than their favourite movie character. ‘Their rides on Bassie are the highlight of their day. Thanks for all that you’ve done for them … they can be a little overwhelming at times.’

  Tanner rubbed at his chin. ‘They can, but … they’ve grown on me.’

  Neve smiled. Since the working bee, if Tanner wasn’t carrying Kait he was swinging Maya around, making her laugh her uncontrollable belly-chuckles. Every day his confidence grew. ‘Considering they love hanging off you, that’s a good thing.’

  Tanner returned her smile and she wished his sunglasses didn’t shade his eyes. ‘I was worried about dropping them, but they have a grip any bull rider would be proud of.’

  ‘I bet they do.’

  ‘Any luck discovering anything about your grandmother’s wedding photo?’

  ‘Not yet. I’ll do some more online research to see if I can find out about the ball.’

  ‘There didn’t seem to be anything on the man’s uniform to say what he did during the war.’

  ‘There wasn’t.’

  Tanner didn’t immediately reply. ‘If you like I could send the photo to my father. He might know something.’

  The wave of warmth that rushed through her had nothing to do with the sun on her skin. Tanner was willing to reach out to the father he barely spoke to in order to help her. ‘Thanks, but only if you’re sure.’

  The corner of his mouth quirked. ‘I’m sure.’ A drawn-out moo sounded to their left. ‘Cressy was right. Someone isn’t happy.’

  Tanner changed course to head Arrow along a gully. Neve followed in single file as the ground became uneven and rocky.

  Tanner stopped Arrow as a lone black cow lifted her head and gave a loud, plaintive moo. ‘She’s calling for her calf.’

  Neve halted Jazz beside the palomino. Tanner’s stillness confirmed he was listening as he scanned the paddock to his left. Then she heard it too, a faint and thin moo.

  She frowned. ‘The calf almost sounds like it’s … underground.’

  ‘It most likely is, in a wombat burrow.’

  They rode closer. The distressed cow retreated a few paces then swung around to watch them.

  Tanner dipped his h
ead towards a series of large cavernous openings burrowed into the bank of an old creek bed. ‘The calf will be in one of these.’

  He dismounted, small puffs of dust rising from where his boots hit the dry ground. Patch ran to his side. Tanner tickled behind his ears. ‘You stay here with Neve and the horses.’ He glanced across at her. ‘I’ll take a look.’

  She rubbed Jazz’s neck to distract herself from noticing the masculine grace with which he walked. There was no swagger, no arrogance or ego, just an inbuilt confidence that conveyed that whatever trouble the calf had got itself into Tanner would handle.

  He looked in the first two holes and then drew back from the third. He turned to nod at her, expression grave. He’d found the calf.

  Tanner took a closer look at the small black bundle wedged deep into the wombat burrow. The calf gazed at him with big, anxious eyes.

  ‘I have no idea how you got yourself in there, buddy,’ he said softly, ‘but it’s going to be a job getting you out.’

  Footsteps sounded behind him before Neve came to his side. ‘The poor thing. He’s well and truly stuck.’

  ‘He?’

  ‘No self-respecting girl calf would get herself so stuck that she needed rescuing.’

  Tanner silenced his laughter to a quiet chuckle. ‘We’re just lucky he called for his mum and that we can see him. Denham and I had a calf in a burrow over at Claremont.’ He met Neve’s gaze with a grin. ‘Yes, he was a he. Not only was he at least a metre deep, he wasn’t even visible.’

  ‘How did you get him out?’

  ‘I held onto Denham’s legs while he pulled the calf free.’

  Neve’s eyes widened. ‘Is now a good time to tell you I don’t like confined spaces?’

  ‘It’s fine. This calf isn’t in as far.’

  ‘At least he’s in the shade; it sure is warming up.’

  Neve removed her black riding helmet. She ran her fingers through her loose hair and lifted it off her neck. The sweet scent of flowers drifted to him.

  ‘We should be able to get him out without having to go back for a shovel. But we’ll be here for a while. So …’ He took off his hat and placed it on her head. ‘This is better on you than me.’

  As she settled the oversized hat in place, her sunny smile made him forget all about why he had to keep his distance.

  He turned and stepped away. It would be so easy to dip his head and brush his mouth over hers. ‘I’ll make the hole bigger.’

  Using a sturdy stick like a crowbar, he worked at the side of the hole furthest away from the calf’s head. When he bent to scoop out the dirt he’d loosened, Neve came to help. It wasn’t his imagination that she made sure their hands didn’t touch.

  The mother cow called and the calf gave a weak response. Tanner broke away more of the creek bank. When the soil had been removed, he straightened. ‘Okay. Fingers crossed.’

  He knelt beside the calf and bent to wrap his arms around the tiny body. The enlarged burrow entrance gave him just enough room to manoeuvre his hands beneath the calf. It took two goes to lift him. As young as the calf was it still weighed enough to make his muscles protest.

  As soon as the calf’s black front hooves were free, Neve helped to lift out his back end. They carefully lowered him to the ground. As Neve had predicted it was a bull calf. He lay there, sides heaving, before he struggled to his feet. Legs wobbly, he made his way over to his mother, who’d rushed closer. As he sought her udder, his tail wriggled.

  ‘Well done.’ Neve’s voice was breathless with relief.

  ‘It was a team effort.’

  She looked at her dirt-covered hands. ‘My digging was pretty spectacular, if I do say so myself.’

  ‘It was.’

  His attention was caught by a smudge across her jaw. Against her white skin the mark looked like a bruise. ‘Did you get kicked?’

  ‘I don’t think so. It’s probably dust.’ She touched her face. ‘Here?’

  ‘No.’ He smoothed a thumb over her chin. ‘Here.’

  Her skin felt warm and petal soft. The breeze tangled in her hair and before he could lower his hand silken tendrils wound around his fingers.

  ‘Sorry.’ Neve turned her head to free his hand, but the strands only tightened. ‘My hair comes from my grandmother … hers was just better behaved.’

  He stared at the way the strawberry-blonde colour caught the sunlight. If he looked into Neve’s green eyes he’d be lost. He’d never wanted to kiss a woman as much as he did the one standing so still before him.

  He straightened his fingers and her hair unravelled, sliding over his skin in a whisper-soft caress. He took a step backwards and worked hard to keep his voice even. ‘We’d better make tracks.’

  ‘We should … Thanks for this.’ She removed his hat and passed it to him without making eye contact.

  ‘No worries.’

  Using a fallen log to give herself height, Neve didn’t need help reaching Jazz’s saddle.

  The ride home passed in silence and occasional small talk as they rode past a mob of kangaroos lounging beneath the box trees. It was only after the horses were unsaddled and Tanner walked with Neve from the tack shed that he spoke the words that had been on his mind since he’d seen the girls yesterday.

  ‘Neve … this will be my last week.’

  Her only reaction seemed to be a slowing of her steps as she walked beside him. ‘I thought it might be. Bassie’s been going so well.’

  Tanner went over to where the taffy pony poked his nose through the gaps in the fence panel and rubbed his neck. ‘I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, Mr Bassie … and you too, Miss Dell.’ Not wanting to miss out on anything, the donkey had approached. He stroked her grey-and-white forehead.

  Neve’s lips curved, but he couldn’t quite see if her smile reached her eyes. ‘They’re going to miss you, and so are the girls. Tanner … maybe when you’re not busy … you could still give them a lesson every now and then?’

  ‘I was thinking the same thing. I might even know of another pony I could bring out so we could all go for a ride.’

  ‘That sounds wonderful. I wasn’t looking forward to telling the girls that they wouldn’t see you again.’ There was no mistaking the warmth and thanks in her words. ‘Saving calves is thirsty work. Arrow also seems happy in the shade. Would you like a cool drink or a coffee? I promise I won’t make you eat anything blue.’

  ‘A cold drink sounds good, and while I’m there I’ll take a photo of your grandmother’s wedding picture.’

  He took a last long look at Dell as she walked away before falling into step beside Neve. From somewhere in the garden Patch barked. Tanner stopped to study a perfect donkey hoof print in a soft section of the gravel driveway.

  Neve sighed. ‘Yes, the unbroken record of Bassie and Dell staying in their paddock ended yesterday afternoon. After Maya and Kait took them their dinner the gate somehow wasn’t shut properly. But instead of raiding the garden, Dell and Bassie made themselves at home on the veranda. I swear when Kait held the screen door open to show me they were there, they would have walked inside if they’d had the chance.’

  Tanner chuckled. ‘How did you go putting them back?’

  ‘Dell was a sweetheart and Bassie … well, he gave me that look. So Maya marched up to him and told him you said he had to behave. And guess what? He was an angel.’Knowing that anxious Maya was more confident thanks to something he’d worked on with her made him feel humble and honoured. ‘Bassie knows he’s met his match.’

  Neve didn’t reply; she veered towards where Patch sat on the lawn near the bird bath, staring at a football-sized mound of red earth.

  ‘That’s strange, that pile of dirt wasn’t there earlier.’

  ‘I’m sure it wasn’t.’

  Neve’s brow creased. ‘Is it something I should be worried about?’

  ‘Only if you’re an ant or a termite.’

  Neve’s expression cleared. Tanner didn’t look back at the cream spikes attached to a dark b
ody visible at the edge of the hole beneath the dirt. He could never get tired of watching the green hue of Neve’s eyes change as they reflected her emotions.

  ‘Ah, it’s an echidna. The girls said they saw one the other day.’

  ‘Patch must have given him a fright so he’s dug himself in.’ Tanner whistled for the border collie to follow. ‘We’ll leave him alone and tonight he’ll continue on his way.’

  ‘Inside or outside?’ Neve asked when they reached the bottom veranda step.

  ‘Outside. We can make sure Patch won’t try to play with his new friend. Do you need a hand with anything?’ At her smile and head shake he headed for the outdoor table that would give them a good view of the garden.

  It wasn’t long until Neve returned with a water jug filled with ice and slices of lemon. On a plate sat a pile of white chocolate-chip cookies. Neve disappeared again to return with glasses, plates and a water bowl for Patch.

  She offered Tanner a biscuit. ‘They’re not blue … but I must confess the girls have discovered where I put the food colouring so there’s a very blue cake in the freezer for when you visit on Monday.’

  He filled the water glasses. ‘Just remind me next shirt order to get some different colours.’

  Neve returned inside and this time came out with an envelope and the metal box Hewitt had dug out of Bundara’s garden. Her expression sobered as she sat and passed him the wedding photograph. ‘What do you see? Honestly.’

  ‘I’m no body-language expert, but from the way your grandmother and this man look at each other and are holding hands so tightly, they are happy being together.’

  Neve’s fingertips touched the photo. ‘I think so too, but that’s all it tells us. There’re no clues about when or where this was taken. Grandma’s dress is simple and her bouquet small, which suggests it was a whirlwind wedding.’

  ‘Which fits in with it being wartime. Theirs wouldn’t have been the only marriage to have taken place in haste.’

  Neve took out a photo from the envelope and laid it beside the first photo. ‘What do you see in this one?’

  Tanner chose his words carefully. The second photo also captured the wedding day of a bride and groom. The woman was the same, but that was the only similarity. Her wedding dress was intricate and the bouquet she held large. Instead of gazing into each other’s eyes, the bride and groom stood in a church doorway looking at the camera. The woman’s hand was clasped in the crook of the man’s elbow and her body held slightly away. But it was the expressions that were the most telling.