Outback Sisters

by Rachael Johns

  But she couldn’t help thinking of Angus and how, briefly, she’d thought she might have found him.

  Chapter Nineteen

  A week after the wedding, Angus was still beating himself up with guilt. Logan had been working from home, researching and writing articles at night and helping on the farm during the day, but he wasn’t his usual sunny-natured self. On the journey home from Kalbarri, he’d admitted that he and Simone had called it a day and while he’d made out like this had been a mutual decision, Angus had insider knowledge he couldn’t reveal to his brother—the fact that it had been Simone who’d instigated the break-up. Logan’s mood indicated he was pretty bummed about it.

  He couldn’t blame him—he’d also found himself distracted by thoughts of Simone whenever he should have been concentrating on something else. He’d tried to change the oil in his ute and ended up with the wrong container. Luckily he realised his mistake before it was too late; his ute wouldn’t have thanked him if he’d filled the sump with hydraulic oil. Then he’d tried to measure up some steel to cut and kept forgetting the numbers. Three times he’d had to walk back to the seeder bar to re-measure it.

  If he could turn back time and change that night, he would, but as that wasn’t possible, he felt the need to do something else to make it up to Logan.

  He was in the shower, scrubbing off the dirt from a day’s work servicing the harvesting machinery for the upcoming season, when the answer came to him. The wind-farming bizzo. His motives for resisting Logan’s ideas about renewable energy on the farm had been unreasonable he knew, and who was he to hold Logan back? If leasing some of their land for wind-farming meant Logan didn’t have to be as tied to the place, then they should do it. He preferred working with his brother over farm contractors, but he didn’t want Logan to feel obliged and come to hate working on the farm, to eventually come to resent him.

  Feeling lighter already and happy to have thought about something in the shower other than Simone—that was progress indeed—he turned off the water, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself. As he opened the door to walk down the hallway to his bedroom, he caught a whiff of something alluring coming from the kitchen. One of the many good things about having Logan home was that they ate well. He was as good as any wife, whipping up cakes, slices and the like for smoko, and he always cooked a full-on meal for dinner. Angus told him he didn’t have to but Logan reckoned he enjoyed it and Angus wasn’t going to argue with that.

  He went into his bedroom, dressed quickly and then grabbed the literature from the renewable energy company that Logan had given him to read months ago. Shamefully, he hadn’t even opened the brochure, but Logan had told him enough and it was time to trust his brother. Logan might not be as active on the farm as Angus, but they owned equal shares, along with Olivia, who was studying to be a teacher and happy to be a completely silent partner.

  ‘We’ll do it,’ Angus said as he entered the kitchen a few moments later.

  Logan turned around from where he was tossing something in the wok. ‘Do what?’ he asked, frowning.

  Angus held up the wind-farming booklet and Logan raised his eyebrows.

  ‘What’s brought this on?’

  Angus swallowed, hoping guilt wasn’t scrawled across his face. He wasn’t about to admit the truth—that sleeping with Logan’s girlfriend had filled him with such a heavy weight he had to do something to try to ease it. ‘I’ve just been thinking,’ he said, heading for the fridge and grabbing two bottles of Carlton Dry. He handed one to Logan, cracked the lid off his, sat down at the table and took a swig.

  Logan simply stared at him, waiting for some kind of explanation.

  ‘Well,’ Angus began, taking a deep breath, ‘the truth is I’ve realised my reasons for objecting are neither sensible or logical.’

  ‘What exactly are your reasons? Until now, you’ve shut me down every time I’ve tried to talk about this. What’s changed?’

  ‘This is going to sound stupid, but wind-farming just sounds like something Sarah would be excited about. You know what she was like, how environmentally aware she was. However unreasonable it is, when she walked out, I developed an aversion to stuff like that.’

  Logan frowned. ‘Seriously? That’s why you didn’t want to consider my suggestion?’

  ‘See? Stupid.’ Angus took another slug of his beer.

  ‘You really need to get over her, brother. She’s been gone, what? Ten years?’

  ‘I am over her,’ Angus said, perhaps a bit more forcefully than necessary. It was the truth. Any love he’d had for her was long gone. It wasn’t Sarah who had stopped him pursuing another relationship.

  It was the fact he’d lost too many people in his life and each loss had taken a chunk out of him. He couldn’t risk losing someone else.

  ‘When was the last time you were with a woman?’ Logan asked, as he took the wok off the heat and retrieved two bowls from the overhead cupboard.

  Angus was thankful his brother didn’t see his reaction to that question. ‘Not that it’s any of your business,’ he replied, trying to sound casual, ‘but you don’t need to worry about my sex life. I find satisfaction when I need it.’

  ‘Being acquainted with your right hand doesn’t mean you have a sex life, and besides, I’m not just talking about sex. I’m talking about companionship.’

  An image of Simone landed in Angus’s head. He’d had such a good time with her the night before the wedding, and not only when they were roughing up the sheets. They’d talked, they’d laughed, and having dinner with her friends and family had reminded him what it was like to be in a couple. As much as he hated to admit it, he’d liked it and he kept thinking about what it would be like to see her again.

  ‘How did me agreeing to your wind-farming proposal turn into a conversation about sex?’ Angus asked.

  Logan grinned and set two bowls down on the table. ‘We’re blokes. Isn’t everything about sex?’

  Angus rolled his eyes but at least Logan was smiling again. ‘Maybe. Speaking of which, are you going to try your luck again on that Rural Matchmakers site?’

  ‘Nah.’ Logan shook his head as he sat down and picked up his fork. ‘You were right. You can’t properly gauge whether you have a connection with someone online. Guess Miss Right will come along when she comes along.’ He held up his beer. ‘You sure about pursuing a deal with the renewable energy guys?’

  ‘Yep. It’s not fair of me to be keeping you back from advancing your career. As you say, if we have some extra income, then I’ll be able to pay people to do some of the stuff you currently have to come home to help with.’ He’d miss Logan if he wasn’t around so much, but that wasn’t a reason not to do this.

  ‘That’s not what this is about,’ Logan said. ‘The extra income will give us a bit of a buffer for the not-so-good farming seasons and insure against a market downturn. I’ve probably already said this, but one farmer I interviewed referred to the land he leased to wind farmers as his vertical crop. That sounds good to me. If we’re lucky, we might even save a bit. You could take some time off, go on a holiday.’

  Angus snorted. ‘Where the hell would I go? Relaxing by the beach isn’t really my thing.’

  ‘Whatever. I just meant you wouldn’t have to feel so tied to the farm. You could go visit Liv a bit more.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Angus shrugged.

  ‘If we do set up a partnership with the renewable energy company—and there’s no guarantee they’ll even choose us for their purposes—but if they do, it doesn’t mean I’ll be taking a back seat here. You’re not going to get rid of me that easily. I might not live and breathe the farm like you do, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love it here. Farming’s in my blood too, remember? And I don’t want to give it up any more than I want to give up journalism. I think this will be a smart move, going forward. More wind turbines are going to be installed in this region regardless, so we may as well get some benefit from them. Yes?’

  ‘I already agreed. No need to g
o on about it.’

  Logan laughed. ‘In that case, let’s drink to it instead.’ And he lifted his bottle and took another slug.

  * * *

  As the beer slid down Logan’s throat, he realised this was his perfect opportunity to tell Angus why he was so keen on inviting renewable energy developers onto their property. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to work on the farm anymore; the truth was he just wasn’t sure how many years he had left where that would be possible. He was thinking ahead, forward planning before his medical situation became dire, but he wasn’t ready yet to say why. Once Angus knew, he’d have to tell Olivia and they’d both pity him in a way he couldn’t bear.

  ‘What’s the next step then?’ Angus asked, jolting Logan from his thoughts.

  ‘I’ll register our interest with my contact and we’ll attend the information session in Geraldton. We’ll be able to ask questions and hear more about the whole process. You up for that?’

  Angus nodded and Logan still couldn’t quite believe he’d agreed. He appeared to be becoming more easygoing in his old age. First agreeing to come to the wedding and now this—he wasn’t quite sure what had come over his brother, but he wasn’t about to complain.

  The wedding sent his thoughts right back to Frankie, which was exactly where they’d been before Angus had walked into the kitchen and delivered his surprising news. In fact, Frankie had taken up permanent residence in Logan’s head, so much so that everything he did was taking twice as long as usual, due to his daydreaming. He still couldn’t believe how fast his feelings had developed—they’d only met twice before the weekend in Kalbarri.

  It had been a week since he’d seen her and it felt like years. The yearning to talk to her was driving him crazy and if he didn’t do something about it soon, he thought he’d explode. The problem was he didn’t have any contact details for her and he was worried that if he rang the café, Simone might pick up and question why he was calling.

  ‘Earth to Logan. Are you in there?’

  ‘Huh?’ He shook his head and looked at Angus. ‘Did you say something?’

  ‘I asked you when this meeting was,’ Angus said. ‘I’m thinking of taking a trip to see Liv before harvest and just wanted to make sure I wasn’t away then.’

  ‘Next Wednesday night, in Gero.’

  ‘Okay.’ Angus nodded. ‘Where were you?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘It was like you were in another zone just then. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you had a woman on your mind. You still upset about Simone?’

  Logan forced a chuckle. ‘Nah, just thinking about an article I have to work on tonight,’ he lied. Although he did have work to get on with, he doubted he’d be able to concentrate with thoughts of Frankie filling his head.

  ‘I’ll clean up here then,’ Angus offered, as he dumped his fork in his empty bowl.

  ‘You sure?’

  ‘Yep, least I can do after you fed me. Go work. And try not to stay up too late. You’re no use to me if you’re burning the candle at both ends.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Logan finished his last mouthful, pushed back his seat, dumped his bowl in the sink and escaped into his bedroom. As he shut the door behind him, he saw the book that had arrived in yesterday’s post. It was Ruth Park’s The Harp in the South, which he’d ordered to replace the copy he’d left in his hotel room in Broome. One of his favourite books of all time, he could not be without it. And as he picked it up now and flicked through the pages an idea came to him.

  He wondered … had Frankie read it?

  Chapter Twenty

  Ten days since Frankie had last seen Logan. That’s if she was counting. Which of course she was. Although you could barely call their goodbye on the Sunday after the wedding talking to each other. It had been awkward between Simone and Logan, and Frankie and Angus had just kind of hung on the sidelines looking uncomfortable. Lifting her hand to wave farewell had physically pained her, because she’d wanted to do so much more.

  Ten days! If she didn’t see or hear from him soon, she wouldn’t be safe to work in the café. Her stomach was a constant knot of anticipation, wondering if this would be the day he’d make contact. She only half-heartedly listened to customers when they gave her their orders, for she always had one ear cocked to the phone on the wall. It was the only phone listed under her name in the White Pages. She didn’t have a home phone and she’d never seen the point of listing her mobile number—anyone she wanted to call her had her number. Until now.

  She’d even searched for him on Rural Matchmakers, but he must have taken down his profile when he’d started seeing Simone. And he didn’t appear to have a Facebook account. In this day and age! It was infuriating. If she ever did see or talk to him again she would give him what for about that.

  Two more days. If he hadn’t called or emailed or anything by the weekend, she would sneak his number off her sister’s phone. Which could be tricky considering they hadn’t seen much of each other either this last week and a bit. Frankie felt guilty every time she looked at Simone, so she’d been making excuses about being busy. She missed her though, and her nieces, so she’d have to work out some way forward with Logan and her family.

  That’s if he hadn’t changed his mind.

  Her hands froze over the carrot cake she’d been icing on autopilot. Could that be why he hadn’t made contact? Argh. That thought shouldn’t have left her so bereft when she’d barely known him a month and kissed him only twice, but it did. It made her whole body feel achy and flu-ish. Panic set her heart racing.

  She put down the spatula and leaned back against the counter, hoping neither of her staff had noticed her little turn. But they were both busy—Stacey at the counter with a customer and Monique waiting on a table.

  ‘I’m just going out the back for some fresh air,’ she called through to Stacey, who waved her hand in acknowledgement and kept chatting to the customer.

  Frankie pushed open the rear door of the kitchen and escaped into their little courtyard, inhaling the fresh mid-morning air in gulps. She felt like crying at the injustice of her situation but if she started, she might not be able to stop and the girls would need her when the lunch rush hit.

  The door opened behind her and she straightened quickly, not wanting to be caught in such a state.

  ‘What are you doing out here?’ said Simone, stepping out to join her. The girls must have directed her through.

  ‘I felt a little queasy,’ Frankie lied, putting a hand against her stomach to enhance the excuse. ‘Thought some fresh air might help.’

  Simone made a face and rubbed her tummy at the same time. ‘Must be something going around. I feel a little off this morning too.’

  Frankie frowned. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘And it’s nice to see you too.’ Simone held out a bunch of envelopes, most of which looked like bills, and one slightly bigger package. ‘I stopped in at the post office and thought I’d bring you your post. Feels like we’ve hardly spoken this last week.’

  ‘I’ve been busy.’ Frankie took the post, hoping her sister wouldn’t ask her exactly what had been keeping her occupied.

  ‘So you’ve said. I need you to come over and play mediator between Harriet and me.’ Simone sighed and Frankie noticed her eyes looked bloodshot, as if she’d been crying or not sleeping well. ‘All we seem to do is scream at each other lately.’

  ‘How about I bring dinner round tomorrow night. That’s if you’re not already busy?’

  Simone put her index finger against her chin as if in deep thought. ‘Let me see … because I have such an active social life … Nope. Nothing comes to mind. Dinner would be lovely.’

  Frankie smiled. ‘It’s a date.’ And then she glanced down at the envelopes in her hand. Yep, mostly bills as predicted, but she had no idea what the package was. It felt like a book but she hadn’t ordered anything recently.

  ‘What’s that?’ Simone nodded towards the package.

  ‘Not sure.’ Frankie s
lid her finger under the flap to open it. She pulled out a book—The Harp in the South by Ruth Park. There was no note.

  ‘You and your books,’ Simone said, shaking her head as Frankie flicked open the first page.

  Her heart slammed up into her throat and she snapped the book shut, hoping Simone hadn’t seen.

  ‘What is it?’ Simone asked.

  ‘Just something I ordered a while back.’ She hugged the book to her chest, warmth rushing through her at the knowledge Logan had sent it. There’d been no time to read the inscription, but she’d caught his name at the bottom. ‘Been meaning to read it for ages.’

  ‘I don’t know how you find the time to read,’ Simone said. ‘Anyway, I’m on Meals on Wheels delivery today, so gotta fly. See you tomorrow night.’ She leaned forward and kissed her sister on the cheek.

  ‘Yep,’ Frankie managed, barely able to contain her excitement as she watched Simone head back into the kitchen. She waited a good five seconds after the door had shut behind her and then peeled back the cover of the book again.

  Frankie—hope you haven’t got it yet. Can’t wait to talk about it with you. Logan x

  And then a phone number and an email address. Oh hallelujah, God! She did a little jig around the courtyard, in a much better mood than when she’d come out. Only problem was that now she had hours ahead of her before she could call him as she couldn’t risk doing so at the café where anyone might hear.

  But she could send a text message. Grinning, she slipped her phone out of her apron pocket, opened the book and copied his details into her phone, saving them as LK rather than Logan Knight. Then, she sent a message: Got the book. Thank you. Will call you tonight. Frankie x

  With a little sigh, she slid the novel back into its packaging and then went inside and tucked it into the bottom of her bag. She floated on air for the rest of the day with the knowledge that it was there.

  * * *

  Logan’s phone started ringing in his pocket as he placed the lasagne on the table. ‘Help yourself,’ he said to Angus, who had just sat down. ‘This is an important phone call. Gotta take it.’