He glanced in the direction of Rory’s shop and his attention was drawn by the sight of Mackenna, struggling with two sheep on the back of her ute. He pulled his four-wheel drive in beside her.
“I wouldn’t have thought these two would give you any trouble,” he chuckled.
Mackenna let the rope she’d been holding drop and laughed with him.
“You wouldn’t think so would you, but a bronze cut-out is heavier than it looks.”
“Is this what Rory was making for the Gatehouse?”
“Yes, they’re going out the front of the old house amongst the tea-trees with the tasting room sign.”
“Very clever.” Hugh nodded at the rope. “Can I help?”
“Thanks,” Mackenna said. “Rory helped me lift them on but he had to get to the bank before it closed. I didn’t realise tying them down would give me such trouble.”
They worked together and soon had the two sheep firmly secured in the back of the tray-top.
“Are you heading home?” Mackenna asked.
Hugh nodded.
“I owe you a drink,” she said. “Fancy one now?”
He hesitated.
“It’s only a drink,” she said quickly. “My place isn’t far out of your way.”
Hugh should go home but he wasn’t leaving till morning. Besides, he wanted to let Mackenna know what was happening. “Sure,” he said.
They stepped apart and ahead of them a truck slowed and crossed the intersection. Hugh noticed the frown on Mackenna’s face as she continued to stare after it.
“Isn’t that your truck?” he asked. He’d noticed a few bags on the back of the otherwise empty tray as the truck disappeared from sight.
“Yes. I didn’t think we needed it for any jobs at the moment,” she said. “Cam drives it more than he does his ute some weeks.”
“Where does he stay when he’s in town?”
“I don’t know,” Mackenna said. “Well at least I don’t know exactly. At a mate’s place. Anyway,” she grinned at Hugh, “see you at the Gatehouse.”
Hugh followed Mackenna out of town and as they reached the dirt road he recalled the day the Birches’ truck had passed him a long way from home. Perhaps he should mention it, but it seemed liked telling tales. He hadn’t seen who was driving it but he remembered thinking it was Cam. Hugh wasn’t as taken with him as the Birches seemed to be, but if they were happy with their working man then it wasn’t his place to rock the boat, especially while Lyle wasn’t operating at full strength.
Just before the Birches’ driveway Mackenna turned right instead of left. She stopped at a paddock gate and he pulled in beside her. She jumped out of the ute and leaned in the passenger window as he lowered it. A frown creased her brow.
“What’s up?” he said.
“Looks like the internal gate’s been left open,” she said. “Instead of two mobs of sheep I’ve got one. Sorry, but I need to separate them.”
“I’ll give you a hand.” Hugh opened the gate and closed it again behind Mackenna’s ute then joined her in the cab.
“Bloody Patrick,” she muttered. “He came over here this morning to check the water. He mustn’t have closed the gate properly.”
Hugh felt a bit sorry for Patrick. As the youngest he could empathise with being an easy target when things went wrong.
“Are you sure it was Patrick?” he asked.
“Well it wasn’t me and Dad wouldn’t be so careless. Who else?”
“Cam.”
Mackenna glanced at him as they pulled up at the internal gate.
“It could be, except he was doing other jobs on the main property today. Why are you defending Patrick all of a sudden? It had to be him.”
“No reason.” Hugh gave her a grin. He didn’t want to argue. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
“Can you push them up to the gate and I’ll draft them through?”
“Sure thing,” he said. “I’ll be the dog.”
She raised an eyebrow at him before she jumped out, and he slid across into the driver’s seat.
They worked together well. Hugh found himself imagining himself and Mackenna doing this permanently, working as a team, sharing their lives. What would life be like if he stayed here? He could easily talk his father out of the property he had his eye on for something more suitable. His parents would be happy but doubt gnawed at him. He’d misread the difference between friends and lovers once in his life. He didn’t want to make that mistake again.
Finally the last sheep was through and Mackenna shut the gate. As he pulled up beside her she burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” he asked as she jumped into the passenger seat.
“Those sheep.” She jerked her finger over her shoulder.
He looked back to the two bronze sculptures.
“It looked bizarre. This ute rounding up sheep, whizzing around with two statues on the back.”
He chuckled. Life with Mackenna was never dull. He got back into his own car at the road and she already had the tops off two beers by the time he walked into her kitchen. She handed him one and they sat either side of the old laminex table.
“This will be my last chance to sit down for a while,” Mackenna said as they touched glasses. “With Mum and Dad away it will be full-on. Add to the mix the busload of tourists I’m feeding on Saturday night with another possible group the following Saturday. I don’t know when I’ll be able to start the weekend tasting room idea. The dinners are taking over at the moment.”
“I might be able to help once I get back.”
“Patrick is coming back at some stage and Cam will be around.” Mackenna took another swig from her beer. “Where are you off to?” she asked.
“Only to Adelaide,” Hugh said. “I’ll be back Monday afternoon.”
“Everyone’s deserting me.”
Hugh thought about the amount of work she was taking on. It was a big responsibility. He admired her courage.
“I’m sure you’ll manage,” he said. He looked into her eyes and then down at his beer. “I’m wavering over my Canadian trip.”
“Why?”
Hugh fiddled with the label on the bottle. Why was the million dollar question. “I never imagined I’d settle back here,” he said, “but it hasn’t been as bad as I thought.”
“Oh, Hugh.” Mackenna leant forward and placed a hand over his. “It would be fantastic if you stayed . . .”
His heart gave an extra thud and he relished the comforting touch of her hand.
She studied him closely. “What’s changed?”
“Changed?”
“You were so excited about this opportunity in Canada. What happened to that?”
Hugh sighed. Canada had been the beacon that had got him through the first few weeks here. It was something he still wanted to do but was it also just running away again? Could Mackenna be more than a friend?
“I still want to go,” he said. “It’s the kind of research that has the potential to improve the way we do things here.”
“Then what’s stopping you? Has your father put the hard word on you again about joining the family business?”
“No,” Hugh said. He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. He saw her puzzled expression change to realisation and she gripped his hand tighter.
“Don’t you change your plans for me, Hugh,” she said. “We’re friends, good mates and that’s never going to go away. Mates don’t stop each other from following their dreams. They support them. I don’t know how I would have got through the last few weeks here without you.” She reached across with her other hand and gave both his hands a firm shake. “I’m following my dream, you must follow yours. Otherwise, what’s the point of anything?”
Hugh sat back. He withdrew his hand and lifted the beer in the air. “Here’s to dreams,” he said.
“To dreams,” she echoed and they tapped bottles.
Hugh stood up. “I’ll help you unload those sheep before I go.”
&nbs
p; Mackenna frowned at him then she laughed. “Oh yes. I wondered what you were talking about for a moment. That would be great. I’ll need help to get them into position.”
Mackenna threw her arm around Hugh’s shoulders and gave him a squeeze. “Thanks for your help,” she said. They were both puffing from their exertions but at last the sheep were exactly where she wanted them.
“They look good,” he said. “You have an eye for putting things in the right spot.”
“Thanks.” Mackenna dropped her arm.
“I’ll be off.” He kissed her on the cheek.
She remained where she was and lifted a hand to wave as he drove away. She had the sense there would have been more to that kiss if she’d responded.
“Well, well, love is in the air.”
Mackenna spun at the sound of her brother’s voice. She was already confused about her feelings without Patrick muddying the waters.
“What are you sneaking around here for?” Her voice had a hard edge and she watched the smile slip from his face.
“Mum wants you to come for dinner tonight,” he said. “We’re leaving early in the morning.”
“She could have phoned.”
“She tried but you didn’t answer.”
Mackenna patted her pocket. There was no phone. She must have left it in the car.
“I didn’t realise you were going early.”
“I have to touch base at work.” Patrick put his hands on his hips. “It hasn’t been easy staying here so long, you know. I’ve had to juggle my job.”
“What about the crutching next week?” She hadn’t thought much about Patrick’s real job but if he wasn’t able to be here she’d have to get help from somewhere else.
“I’ll be back. That’s if you think I can be useful,” he growled.
“For goodness sake, Patrick, I’ve already wasted time this afternoon fixing up one of your mistakes.” Mackenna hadn’t intended to say anything but the words were out before she could stop them.
“Oh really?” he spat. “What have I supposedly done this time?”
“You didn’t shut the gate properly over at the new paddocks.”
“I didn’t – ”
She cut him off. “I had to sort sheep on my way home.”
“Well poor you.”
“Take some responsibility, Patrick. I haven’t got time to do everything.”
He took a step towards her. “I’m sick of your patronising, Mackenna. I’m not an idiot.”
“I never said you were,” she snapped.
“Really?” he sneered. “I heard you and Hugh that day checking the rams and laughing about me not knowing one sheep from another. ‘Totally useless’, Hugh said.”
Mackenna had a vague recollection of Hugh’s first visit and Patrick appearing all hot and flustered from the shed.
“You’re such a Miss High and Mighty I never got a look in. You and Dad would pat me on the head and send me off to do other things. The only time I’m useful is to be the lackey, shifting sheep, checking water, then you want me to help. Well this is my place too, you know. I’ve as much right to work this property as you have. Mum wants me to stay and get more involved. She said I should have a share of it all and maybe I will.”
Mackenna opened her mouth but nothing came out.
“Nothing to say now?You usually have an answer for everything.” He shook his head at her. “Will I tell Mum you’re on your way, or will you be too busy to join us?”
“Of course I’ll be there. I just have to wash up.” Mackenna turned away quickly and walked back inside on wobbly legs. Her stomach felt weak as if she’d been punched. She splashed water on her face. Patrick had obviously been nursing hurt feelings. And what had he meant by ‘staying on and having a share’? She hadn’t thought his visit anything more than that – a visit to help out.
Her dad had never mentioned including Patrick in the running of the property. In fact, there’d never been any discussion about who did what. She’d worked alongside her dad for a long time. They had plans for the future but what if his heart attack had killed him? Mackenna slid onto the old kitchen chair. What happened to Woolly Swamp if something happened to her dad? She’d never thought about it, but older people made wills. She assumed her parents had. It was something she should talk over with her dad, just the two of them.
She went back to the bathroom to finish tidying herself up. Dinner would be ready and her mother would be getting impatient. Talking to her dad alone wouldn’t be easy. Everyone would be at dinner then they had an early start in the morning. She didn’t like her chances. Besides, it probably wasn’t the time to bring up wills just as he was about to set off on his first overseas holiday.
CHAPTER
28
Mackenna zipped up and down the supermarket aisles, marking off her list as quickly as she could. Cam was tackling a problem with one of the irrigators. A part was needed and she’d come to town for it so she could grocery shop at the same time.
Patrick and Yasmine had left very early this morning taking Louise and Lyle with them. She’d heard the vehicle from her bed and felt miserable on two counts. Her argument with Patrick had come out of the blue. There’d been no chance to patch it up and no opportunity to speak with her father alone last night. She gripped the shopping trolley tightly. She had to push away thoughts of Patrick and wills and concentrate on the here and now. There were sheep succumbing to flies and now an irrigator not working. She had the tourists arriving at the Gatehouse tomorrow night and this was her only window of opportunity to shop.
She’d just loaded everything into her car when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen but no name showed.
“Hello.”
“Mackenna? It’s Simon from Sparks Restaurant.”
Mackenna rolled the name around in her head. It sounded familiar.
“I spoke to you a while back about your tasting room,” he said. “How’s that going?”
Realisation struck. This was the guy from the Melbourne restaurant who’d tried to make contact when he’d been passing through the area a month or so ago.
“I’ve just got it up and running,” she said.
“That’s great. A group of us are on our way to Adelaide tomorrow. I was thinking we might stay over somewhere and come out and try this lamb of yours.”
Mackenna’s heart gave a skip of excitement, then reality hit. “Tomorrow night? How many are in your group?”
“Five of us,” he said. “Is that a problem?”
“No.” Mackenna was doing the maths in her head. There were twelve coming in the mini bus. She’d planned to put them at small tables in the tasting room but she might need to rethink that and set everything up in the dining room. “I’ve got another party booked in but I can accommodate your group as well.”
She suggested places to stay at the nearest town and gave him directions to Woolly Swamp from there before he disconnected. Mackenna leant against her car. There was so much to do without the tasting room, and only her and Cam to do it. Tomorrow she’d need to spend a lot of time prepping in the kitchen and Cam would have to do the farm work.
She thought briefly about having Adam at her side again, or Hugh, or even Patrick, but there was no-one. It had been her idea and now she was left to carry it out. She slipped the scrunched paper from her pocket and rechecked her list. She’d have to get more of some items if she was to have extras in the tasting room. She grabbed the empty shopping bags from the back seat and hurried into the supermarket.
Back at the Gatehouse she threw everything onto the kitchen bench, shoved a bag of perishables into the fridge then hightailed it back to where Cam was waiting for the part. She was much later than she’d meant to be. As she got closer she could see no sign of a vehicle or Cam. She drove closer, the ground was wet and water glistened from all the nozzles. He must have got it working. She sighed. Keeping water up to sheep and pastures was a full-time job.
Mackenna drove on to the next paddock. The rams lifted t
heir heads to give her a quick look, dismissed her and went back to munching the pasture. She cruised quietly around them. After the worm scare they’d made a good recovery and, with care, had picked up condition. Their water trough was full.
She headed for the house yard. Maybe Cam was at the sheds. She drove up just as the truck pulled away from the diesel tank. What was he doing now? There were no jobs requiring the truck in the next few days that she knew of.
She got out of her car as the truck rumbled forward. Cam pulled up beside her and lowered the window.
“You’ve been a while,” he said before she had a chance to speak. “I’ve fiddled it up for now but I’ll still need to replace the O ring next week.”
“Next week?” She stepped closer to the truck so she could hear him better over the rumble of the idling engine.
“It should work like it is,” Cam said, “but just to be sure I’ll replace it anyway.”
“It’s getting a bit late today but surely you could do it tomorrow?”
“Won’t be here.” Cam tapped the steering wheel.
“Why not?” Cam usually had the weekends off unless there were urgent jobs to be done, but with everyone away he must have realised he was needed.
“Your dad said I could borrow the truck to help out a mate this weekend.” Cam took his sunglasses from their perch on his cap and slid them onto his face. “It’s all organised. I can’t let him down.”
She could no longer see his eyes and his mouth was straight. Mackenna had the sense he was smirking at her.
“Woolly Swamp is where your job is,” she said.
“With weekends off, boss.”
She glared up at him. He liked to call her “boss” but each time he did it was more like he was letting her know she wasn’t in charge.
“Look, Mackenna,” he leant out the window, his voice soothing. “I’ve checked the last few mobs in the back paddocks and that pivot will hold now for ages. You’ll be right till I get back.” He tapped the door with the flat of his hand and moved the truck forward. She stepped back from the fine dust that rose around it and watched as he drove away.
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