For me and Josie, though, it was anything but.
Sue and Moni went off to bed a short while later, leaving Josie and me on the veranda. The others moved around for a bit, and then there was once again only the silence of an outback night.
“Bed?” I stood and held out a hand to Josie.
She stared at it, then up at my face. “Am I sleeping with you?”
I paused. I’d been assuming she was—after all, we’d slept together the past few nights during our time away. We were lovers. But now, back at Jayboro, Josie was obviously unsure enough about my feelings to ask.
“If you want to,” I said.
She remained seated. “But what do you want, Felix?”
I knew what I wanted: Josie. Certainly for tonight. Past that, well, I was conflicted. But it seemed silly to ask her to sleep on the couch—Sue and Moni were in my only spare room, and her tent was in Worrindi.
“Sleep with me, Josie. I’d like that, if you would.”
It was hardly a romantic declaration, but it must have been enough for her, as she rose and placed her hand in mine, and I led her to my bed.
CHAPTER 25
We were getting ready to ride the next morning when Tess and Ripper both pricked up their ears and raced off. A vehicle was coming up the driveway.
“Probably someone for the campground. If one of you could get Ben ready for me, I’ll see to them.”
“I’ll do it.” Moni popped her head over the partition. “After all, there isn’t much of Budgie to groom.”
“But there’s a lot of Ben.” Sue, who’d won the toss to ride Patch, called from the piebald’s stall.
It wasn’t a camper. It was Alain, the vet. Guiltily, I remembered I still had his microchip reader. I met him in the driveway. “Alain, I’m sorry, I was going to return your reader today.”
He waved aside my apology. “That’s not why I’m here. The Federal Police asked me to do a veterinary inspection on Flame.”
“Oh.” I gathered my thoughts. Really, this wasn’t unexpected. We’d alleged that the horse couldn’t be an active racehorse due to a chronic condition. Of course the police wouldn’t take our word. “Sure. She’s in the barn. Actually, we were just about to go for a ride, and Josie was going to ride her. Just a very slow walk, nothing faster.”
“That’s fine. I can watch her being ridden, if you don’t mind riding in the paddock for a bit.”
I got into the passenger seat of his vehicle for the short ride to the barn.
“Flame, she’s the horse you asked me about before, with the possible heart disease?” asked Alain. I nodded, and he continued, “And that’s why you wanted the microchip reader?”
I nodded again.
“This could be a short inspection in that case. I trust your judgement, Felix. You know horses. But I still have to do this. The feds want an official report.”
Flame was already bridled, and Josie was helping Moni with Ben.
I explained why Alain was here.
Sue came up beside me. “Do you mind if I observe? I’m the legal representative for Felix and Josie. I doubt it’s necessary, but that way I can be satisfied everything is done correctly.”
“Of course not.” Alain looked uncomfortable, but his manner was brisk and competent.
He dragged a couple of heavy cases from his car. “I’m going to take an ECG, blood samples and swabs.”
We watched in silence as he set up his equipment and checked Flame over physically. Josie held her as he slid the needle into the vein. Good horse that she was, she didn’t even flinch.
Moni moved around as he placed the ECG leads, so that she could see the screen, but made no comment.
Alain frowned. “Can one of you mount and ride her around in a circle?” He removed the ECG leads but left the pads in place.
Josie stepped forwards, and I gave her a leg up onto Flame’s back. Flame’s ears flickered back and forth as Josie settled. For a moment, Josie simply sat, speaking softly, letting Flame become accustomed to her. Then she shortened her reins and squeezed her calves, urging the horse to walk forward.
For a few moments, Alain watched Flame circle around him. “Can you go faster?” he asked.
In answer, Josie urged Flame faster. She sprang willingly into a bouncy trot, and they circled Alain. Flame’s ears pricked, and Josie had to work hard to keep her contained.
“Canter if you want.” Alain didn’t take his eyes from Flame, turning in smaller circles to track her larger ones. Josie changed the rein and went in the opposite direction, pushing Flame into a canter. She started with a light-hearted buck that tipped Josie forwards, but with a push back from Flame’s neck, she regained her seat and urged her faster. For a few moments, woman and horse flowed as one across the ground. Dirt and dust puffed from Flame’s hooves until they were moving in the haze of a red cloud. For a few moments, they were beautiful.
And then they weren’t.
In the space of a minute, Flame went from a horse that could win the Melbourne Cup to a broken-down old nag. Her neck dropped. Her sides laboured. She stumbled. Josie pulled her up without waiting for Alain’s command. She slid to the ground, speaking gently to her, waiting as Flame laboured to draw breath. Sweat foamed on her neck.
Alain approached, dragging his portable ECG machine, and reconnected the pads.
“I’ve seen enough. This horse could no more have won the Jackson Plate than I could have qualified for the Olympics in the one hundred metres.” He pressed a button and a ribbon of paper spooled out. “When she’s able, walk her back slowly.”
Josie nodded, took the reins over Flame’s head, and led her back to the barn. The rest of us followed.
“Can you tell us what’s wrong?” I asked Alain, as he packed away his equipment.
“Not officially. It’s to go in my report for the police. But unofficially, your best guess was a good one.” He looked uncomfortable. “I have to get back to Worrindi, Felix. I’d like to stay and chat, but I can’t. Look after yourself.”
“No worries. Send my love to Narelle.” I remembered the microchip reader. “Wait a moment.”
By the time I returned with the reader, Alain had driven around to the front of the house. He gave me a slight smile and drove away.
I walked back to the barn to find the others leaning over Flame’s stall. Flame had recovered, enough to pick at the hay someone had given her.
“I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t feel like a ride now.” Moni’s eyes remained fixed on Flame. “Which is a pity as I just wore my arms out brushing that tank called Ben.”
“Ben thanks you for it.” I too gazed at Flame. “I wonder what will happen to this beauty now? She’s not a racehorse, not now, anyway. She’s not microchipped in any meaningful way. I doubt anyone will come rushing to claim her—she’s pretty much useless as a riding horse.”
“Broodmare?” Sue’s gaze rested on Flame. “You said she was young.”
“She would breed such pretty foals. I’d love a youngster from her to bring along.” I sighed. “Like I have the land for that, the time, or the money to pay stud fees.”
Sue turned around. “I hate to break up the party, but Moni and I should leave. If we go now, we can go via Worrindi—Moni wants to pick up something from the GP there—and still be back at Mungabilly Creek before dark.”
We walked back to the house, the dogs following in our wake in a mini-dust cloud. Sue and Moni went off to throw their things in the car. Josie went out on to the veranda.
The others came back up to say goodbye. Sue hugged me and then Josie. “Don’t forget. If the police want to take you in for an official interview, questioning, or to give a statement, you call me first. Don’t go in alone. It’s probably unnecessary but far easier to have me there in the start than to try and untangle the mess later. Pro Bono. You got that, both of you? No arguments.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
Josie nodded too. “That’s really good of you, Sue. After all, you do
n’t know me that well.”
“Don’t think anything of it.” Sue’s voice was gruff as if the words made her uncomfortable. “I worked pro bono to get Mrs T’s sister’s stepson’s uncle’s niece’s best friend out of the lockup. Because there’s nothing closer than family. Believe me, after that, my friend’s girlfriend is a cinch.”
I wondered if her word choice was deliberate.
Moni hugged both of us. “Thanks for everything. We had a great time. If you want to get away again for a short break, call us first. We’re toilet cleaners, horse groomers, firewood collectors, spider removers, laundresses extraordinaire. And we’re cheap.” She winked. “Seriously, we enjoyed it.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Both of you. For everything.”
The conversation was starting to sound like a wake.
Sue called Ripper, only to find he was already in the passenger seat. Tess sat on the ground by the open door looking disconsolate.
Moni shooed Rip into the back. “Don’t worry, darling,” she said to Tess. “You’ll see Ripper again soon.”
With a human-sounding sigh, Tess padded back to flop down between Josie and me.
It was just us again. I gripped the railing and stared out over my land. There was the campground, with the guests in the cabins packing their cars for departure. There was the amenities block that I would have to clean later. Smoke and Diesel were out in the paddock, lipping at the dirt. And in the barn, a horse neighed. It reminded me that I needed to turn out the horses that would now not be ridden today.
But I stayed by the railing. Josie stood next to me, equally quiet. She, too, would leave today, back to Worrindi and her pub job. Would I still see her now that there wasn’t Flame as a reason? But Flame was still here, and what would happen to her? Her agistment had been paid up until the end of the month. After that, I didn’t know.
I was in no hurry to dive into the chores. I turned to Josie. “Fancy a cup of coffee?”
“Sure. If you don’t mind.”
Her stilted reply gave me pause. Maybe I wasn’t the only one wondering about us and how we navigated our relationship, such as it was, from here.
I made instant coffee and brought it out to the veranda. Josie hadn’t moved. She still stood, staring out over the landscape. I set the mugs down on the table and sat. Tess pawed at my leg. I gave her the dog treat I’d brought out for her, and she leant against me. I pulled her ears and was rewarded with a lazy, wet lick on my hand.
The silence stretched. I wanted to ask Josie questions, but not about the horse, about her, Josie, the woman. How much of it was real, and how much of it was as false as her story about Flame? But I didn’t know where to start.
But I wanted to know about Josie.
I cradled my mug in both hands and took a sip to gather my thoughts.
Josie beat me to it. “I want to tell you that I never thought of you as just a convenient place to park Flame. I liked you that very first day in the pub, when I turned around and caught you checking out my arse. I came out to Jayboro because I wanted to, because of you. Because of finding somewhere to ride. Because I enjoyed living in Worrindi, and having you nearby was a bonus. Yeah, later it came together as a place for Flame, but you came first.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, Felix. You and Jayboro. I think I fell in love with Jayboro first. The silence, the land, the horses. I love what you’re building for yourself out here.”
She fell in love with Jayboro first. First. The implication rolled around my head. What was second? Flame? Me? No. If it were me she fell in love with, why would she talk about moving on? Unless she thinks I don’t want her, a little voice whispered. But that couldn’t be right.
“You’re going,” I said. “Down to Victoria.”
She shrugged, a tiny movement that conveyed nothing I could read. “Things are different now. I don’t know that I can stay around.”
“Would you?”
“I don’t know, Felix. I would have, yes. I liked it here. But Flame’s not mine, and I’m not sure I have a job anymore. Madge is pretty pissed off with me. I took off to Victoria on short notice and didn’t tell them when I’d be back. When I called yesterday, she was curt with me. Told me to come and pack up my things this afternoon and be gone by tomorrow.”
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“What difference would it make? I didn’t want to say anything in front of Sue and Moni—they’re so nice they would probably have made up a job for me. I don’t want charity.”
“They know a lot of people. And there’s a busy pub in Mungabilly Creek. They might know of something. I can call and ask—”
“No. Thank you, but no. I’ll find something myself. I always do. I don’t hang around where I’m not wanted.” Her lips twisted. “Maybe I’ll find a job at a horse place. I’d like that. Riding with you has been a special pleasure.”
“If you find you are out of a job, you can stay here for a while.”
“Charity again?”
“I’d offer a bed to any friend who needed it.” I swallowed hard. Did she now think so little of me that she wouldn’t even accept that?
She nodded, a jerky movement. “I guess that was an overreaction. Thanks, Felix. You’re a good friend.”
“With benefits.” I tried to make it sound like a joke, but the words were flat. Josie was a friend. There were benefits. So why did I feel as if I were selling her out?
We both fell silent and sipped our coffees as we looked out to the land. There was a heaviness in the air that wasn’t entirely due to our conversation. Maybe it would rain.
Josie tipped the dregs of her coffee over the rail. “I better be going. I don’t want to be late. Maybe I can still talk Madge into keeping my job. After all, it’s not that easy to get bar staff out here.”
“Good luck.”
I waited on the couch while she went back inside. She returned with her battered daypack over one shoulder.
“Well, goodbye then.”
“You’ll let me know if you need a place to stay?” I stood and went over to her.
She shifted her pack to the other shoulder. “Yeah. Thanks.”
She exuded a wariness, a stand-offish manner that I’d never felt from her before. I grasped her free hand and bent to kiss her on the mouth. She tilted her head, and my kiss landed on the corner of her mouth and slid off her cheek.
I stepped back. I wasn’t sure what had changed in the last twenty-four hours, but it felt wrong. I forced a smile. “See you soon.”
“Yeah.” And then she was gone, bounding down the steps to her red car.
CHAPTER 26
I didn’t sleep well that night. I hadn’t heard from Josie as to whether she still had a job in the pub. I’d hung around the house, hoping for a call, and whenever I’d gone down to see to anything in the campground, or the horses, the first thing I’d looked for on my return was the blinking red light on the answer machine.
“What do you reckon, Tess?” I said to the dog at my heels. “Should we call the pub and ask?”
Tess wagged her tail. Since my return—and Ripper’s departure—she had barely left my side. Tess knew that the people she loved often left, and she seemed determined not to let me out of her sight.
The campground was empty. It was now well into the hottest time of year, the ground baked, and there was a definite promise of rain in the air. I checked the Bureau of Meteorology’s rain radar on the internet as I sipped my morning coffee. There was rain to the west of Jayboro, over in the Territory. I wasn’t sure if it would swing this way, but I could hope.
I stood and moved towards the kitchen to make another coffee. I’d barely gone two paces when the phone rang, and I nearly tripped over my boots racing to answer it.
“Jayboro Outstation, this is Felix.”
“Hi Felix, it’s Pen.” Her voice came clearly down the line. Coffee forgotten, I sat again, cradling the phone between my shoulder and my ear. “Pen! Nice to hear from you. We were wonder
ing when we didn’t hear anything. Any news?”
“Yes. You obviously haven’t seen the papers. Check the headlines in The Age.”
I hooked my boots on the base of the chair and rolled it back to the computer, bringing up the Melbourne paper. “Oh!”
“Oh, indeed. It’s all there. Is Josie with you?”
“No. She had to go back to Worrindi.”
“I’ll let you call her.”
“Actually, Pen, would you mind letting her know? I’m barely going to have time to read this before I have to get the horses ready for a trail ride.” I crossed my fingers against the lie. Josie hadn’t called. Despite the urgency I’d felt last night to hear her voice, suddenly I didn’t know how to deal with her.
“Sure.” If Pen thought that was odd, it didn’t show in her voice. “Felix, I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. I know you must have been wondering. But the feds told me not to contact you. I guess they wanted to rule out any possibility of collusion.”
“I didn’t call you either. But I intended to sometime today. We weren’t told not to contact you, but so far, our only contact with the feds has been fairly informal.”
“Not me.” Amusement hummed in Pen’s voice. “I was hauled in for questioning, official taped interview, then a written statement. The works. Casey too.” She paused. “I’ll let you go. I’m sure you’re dying to read the paper. I’ll call Josie. Should I call the pub or her mobile?”
“Her mobile probably at this hour.” I didn’t mention the possibility that Josie may not have a job.
“We’ll talk soon, I’m sure. Bye, Felix.”
It wasn’t hard to find Flame in the paper. It was front page news. Fiery Lights Found! blared the headline, along with a picture of Fiery Lights passing the post to win the Jackson Plate. The Age wasn’t a sensational paper, so the reporting was factual. Fiery Lights had been found, and the Federal Police had busted a complex scheme to secrete the immensely valuable horse out of the country. Details about the scheme were sketchy, and it mentioned several lookalike mares without going into much detail, and I guessed that was because the case was ongoing. The article mentioned that three people had been arrested in connection with the theft of the horse.
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