Walking the Line

by Mandy Magro

  Katherine chuckled. ‘It gets like that towards the end.’

  Kristen’s gaze travelled down the bar to a group of men waiting to be served their next round. ‘I better do some work. You ladies have a nice lunch. It was lovely to meet you, Charlize.’

  ‘You too, Kristen.’ Charlize replied.

  Drinks in hand, Katherine and Charlize seated themselves at a table in the busy dining room of the Railway pub and waited for their meals. A jangle of voices filled the room. The laughter from three men who were slumped against the bar, beers in hand, carried throughout the crowd. It was a nice relaxed ambience and one Charlize felt surprisingly comfortable in—classy bars more her thing when back home.

  Taking a sip from her icy cold glass, she licked the froth from her lips. ‘Oh my gawd, this is delish.’

  Swallowing her mouthful of beer and lemonade, Katherine smiled as she held up her own glass. ‘I can’t believe you’ve never had a shandy before.’

  ‘Yeah, well, they’re not really the in thing in Sydney. It’s more like cosmopolitans and boutique beers.’ Charlize took another big swig and then sighed. ‘But they should be. They’re quite refreshing.’

  ‘Well, I’m honoured to be the one to introduce you to them.’ Katherine sat further back in her seat. ‘And I have to say I’m looking forward to eating some of your cooking. I hadn’t even heard of some of the things you were grabbing from the deli.’

  Charlize sat up straighter. ‘You’d really be happy eating some meals without meat?’

  Katherine grinned. ‘Yes, really, but I can’t speak for Dallas and Gramps. I know they’ll be fine with the seafood dishes, but I’m not too sure about the vegetable only ones.’

  ‘Do you know what, I bet they won’t even notice.’ Charlize wriggled excitedly in her seat. ‘I can’t wait to cook some of my dishes for you. My best friend and flatmate back home, Jane, is usually my good-food sidekick, so it’ll be nice to have another woman around to share it with.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan to me. I love cooking too, but it’ll be nice to have a break from the kitchen. Mick used to do a bit of cooking, whenever he was home …’ Katherine’s brows furrowed as she tipped her head to the side. ‘So do you and your husband live together with Jane?’

  Charlize felt like slapping herself in the head. She didn’t want Katherine knowing about her marriage problems, but she wasn’t about to blatantly lie either. ‘Oh, uh, well …’ She looked down at her belt and fumbled with the metal loop. ‘My husband and I are having a mutual break.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,’ Katherine said softly, clearly noting her discomfort.

  Charlize sucked in a breath and tried to plaster a smile on her face. ‘Don’t apologise, you weren’t to know.’

  Katherine eyed her empathetically. ‘Well, I’m here if you want to get anything off your chest, okay. Sometimes it helps to talk to someone who’s out of the thick of it.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Charlize replied. It was lovely of Katherine to offer, but she’d feel unprofessional unloading her troubles onto her. Keen to change the subject, she turned her focus to work. ‘So tell me, what made Dallas want to raise money for Drought Aid, and with a nude calendar of all things?’

  ‘Well, the nude calendar idea comes from his gran’s favourite movie, Calendar Girls.’

  Charlize couldn’t help but smile. ‘Really? That’s so sweet.’

  ‘Believe it or not, Dallas does have a sentimental side beneath his I’m-so-tough masculine exterior.’

  Charlize nodded. ‘It’s appearing that way.’

  ‘And Drought Aid helped us out a few years back. If it weren’t for them we would have lost Rollingstone Ridge. Dallas wants to return the goodwill so another farmer might be able to get the help we did.’

  ‘That’s really good of him,’ Charlize replied just as the buzzer on their table chimed. Their meals were ready. ‘Geez, that was quick.’ As she stood, her mouth watered as she eyed another customer eating what she had ordered—grilled flathead, chips and a very liberal helping of salad.

  They padded towards the meal collection area, and Charlize noted how many people Katherine greeted along the way, a few of them mentioning how long it had been since they’d seen her in the pub. She was obviously a popular person in town.

  Collecting their plates, Katherine motioned towards the side of the servery. ‘Knives and forks are over near the salads.’

  Charlize eyed the glorious abundance of homemade salads—none of the prepacked stuff in sight. ‘Wow, this looks amazeballs.’

  Katherine laughed. ‘Amazeballs, huh? You kids have all the lingo these days.’ She shook her head lightheartedly as she spooned some potato salad onto her plate. ‘I can’t wait to tuck into this steak.’

  Charlize imagined the poor cow, although refrained from saying anything as to not offend Katherine, as she helped herself to coleslaw, potato salad and a gorgeous looking bowl of greens. ‘I’m super impressed,’ she said, licking a little bit of dressing from her finger.

  ‘Yvonne is a whiz in the kitchen,’ Katherine said and turned to head back to the table, bumping straight into the man Charlize had met last night at the cafe. Charlize noted he was wearing a Hiller Transport work shirt.

  ‘Oh, hi Warren,’ Katherine said with a smile.

  Charlize couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the uncanniness of running into Vivien Hiller, and now her son. Talk about small towns. She could go days without seeing someone twice in a row in Sydney—months even.

  ‘Oh, sorry Kath, didn’t see you there.’ Warren rebalanced his plate in his hands. His face flushed a bright shade of red. ‘It feels like forever, huh?’

  ‘Well, it kind of has been. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.’

  Warren scratched his ear. ‘Of course not.’ He shrugged. ‘Just been flat out with work, that’s all. Sorry I haven’t checked in to see how you are.’ He sucked in a breath. ‘And how are you going?’

  ‘Yeah, you know, getting there I suppose. How have you been?’

  ‘Yeah, all right. Some days are harder than others.’

  ‘That’s understandable. How’s business?’

  ‘Yeah, good, can’t complain. Nobody would listen if I did anyway.’ He laughed a little uncomfortably.

  ‘That’s good to hear.’ Katherine motioned to her right. ‘I believe you’ve already met our lovely houseguest, Charlize. She’s come to write a story about Dallas.’

  ‘Hi Warren.’ Charlize noted his face beginning to glow an even brighter shade of red. His hands were even shaking a little as he held his plate. She couldn’t help but wonder if he had the hots for Katherine, and with her journalistic instincts kicking into overdrive, she pondered whether that might have something to do with what Vivien had to tell her so badly. Now her interest was definitely piqued.

  ‘Oh, yeah, we did meet briefly. Hi again.’ He gave her an awkward wave as he began to blink faster.

  ‘Are you going to go to the Rodeo Ball this year, Warren?’ Katherine asked.

  ‘Oh, no, not after what happened last time.’

  ‘Why not? It’s always a great night.’

  ‘Mum reckons it’s the devil’s playground, with all the alcohol and partying, and to be honest I’d rather keep her happy by not going than listen to another lecture about how bad a person I am for wanting to go.’

  ‘Oh, Warren.’ Katherine didn’t seem to know what to say.

  ‘Yeah, well, I’m used to it after all these years.’ He flicked his gaze towards the salads and then back at Charlize’s plate. ‘Anyhow, better keep moving. Bills to pay and all that. I’ll let you ladies enjoy your lunch while it’s still hot.’ He nodded to Katherine. ‘You take care of yourself.’

  ‘Will do. Catch you.’

  While Warren busied himself at the salad bar, Charlize and Katherine made tracks towards their table. ‘I couldn’t help but notice he seemed a little uncomfortable,’ Charlize whispered.

  ‘Oh, Warren has always been a bit o
f a jitterbug.’ Katherine shrugged it off. ‘And with a stepmother like Vivien, who could blame him?’

  Charlize chuckled in agreement before tucking into her lunch.

  CHAPTER

  16

  The radio played softly in the background, the seventies song following the nine o’clock news on the ABC. Dallas hummed to himself as he wandered towards the back door to grab his boots. Charlize found her gaze following him as he passed her, his leathery aftershave making her want to bury her head in his big strong chest so she could get a better lungful.

  ‘Thanks for smoko, Charlize. I never thought I’d enjoy a spinach, mushroom and feta omelette so much. If I wasn’t so full I would have tried to cram another one in. It almost topped your dinner from last night.’

  ‘Glad you liked it,’ Charlize said with a smile. It felt good to give back to the people that were making her feel so very welcome, even if it was only through her cooking.

  ‘So what are you two going to get up to while Gramps and I are at the doctor’s?’ Katherine groaned and rolled her eyes. ‘We’ll probably be gone for a good part of the morning, seeing as they’re always running hours late.’ Leaning against the kitchen bench, she took a sip from her cuppa.

  ‘Tell me about it, Mum. Last time I went in there the doc was running two and a half hours late, and they didn’t even bother to ring and tell me. I could have gotten more jobs done around here instead of sitting there twiddling my thumbs.’

  ‘God I hate that,’ Charlize chimed in from the sink.

  Dallas nodded. ‘Yeah it sucks. We really need another doctor here. You’ve got to make a booking before you’re even sick.’ He finished tugging on his boots and then grabbed his weathered Akubra from the hat rack. ‘Anyways, that’s my whine for the day.’ He chuckled to himself. ‘And back to what you asked, Mum, I thought I might start by teaching Charlize how to ride a bull.’ He wriggled his eyebrows, his dimples deepening with his wayward smile. ‘That is, if she’s game.’

  Ride a bull? Washing the last of the breakfast plates, Charlize spun to face him, her eyes and mouth wide. ‘Pardon?’

  Dallas grinned cheekily. ‘I thought I might as well throw you in the deep end.’ He shrugged. ‘You know, give you a taste of what it’s like out in the arena so you can really sink your teeth into it for your story.’

  Charlize felt her face drain of colour.

  Katherine grabbed the tea towel and hurled it at Dallas, chuckling. ‘Stop teasing her, you cheeky bugger.’ She turned to Charlize and placed her hand on her shoulder. ‘Don’t worry love, he means he’s going to give you a ride on Robo Bull.’ She motioned to Dallas with a tip of her head. ‘He may be crazy when it comes to bull riding, but he’s very safety conscious too, so there’s no need to be concerned. He wouldn’t deliberately put you in any danger.’

  Charlize’s legs were shaking. ‘Is Robo Bull old or something?’

  Katherine chuckled, as did Dallas. ‘Oh no sweetheart, Robo Bull isn’t real. It’s like a mechanical bull but it has wheels so it moves around, giving you more of a feel for what bull riding is like. Dallas uses him for practice.’

  Exhaling as though she’d been holding her breath for an eternity, Charlize clutched her pounding chest. ‘Oh thank Christ for that.’ She laughed a little nervously, shaking her head. ‘Because there’s no way in hell he was going to get me onto a real live bucking bull.’ She scooped a handful of suds from the sink and tossed them at Dallas. ‘You’re a turd, stirring me up like that.’

  Dallas ducked all too late and copped it on his cheek. ‘Oh come on, you love it.’

  Yes, yes she did love it.

  She remained quiet, while playfully giving him the eye.

  Dallas grinned. ‘I dunno, I reckon you could be a bit of a wild child.’ A knowing smile tugged at his lips. ‘And I’m betting before you head back to the big smoke, you’ll have gotten up close and personal with a real live bull at least once because you just won’t be able to help yourself.’

  Charlize grinned. ‘You’re on a losing bet there, buddy.’

  Dallas’s stance widened as he crossed his arms over his chest, an unruly smile still tugging at his lips. ‘That’s sounding a little like a challenge to me, Missus Dawson. And I love me a challenge.’

  Charmed by his rebellious gaze, although trying to hide the fact, Charlize plonked her sudsy hands on her hips and grinned sassily. ‘Take it as you wish.’

  Dallas tipped his hat to her. ‘I will, and you’re on.’ He eyed her up and down. ‘Just some food for thought: I don’t think that skirt will be suitable for riding.’ He looked down at her feet clad in bright pink Nikes, raising his eyebrows a little as he did. ‘And a pair of work boots might not go astray either.’

  Charlize looked down at her favourite joggers. They were the only pair of closed-toe shoes she’d brought along—her knee high boots not really suitable for the rough and tumble of Rollingstone Ridge. ‘Why would I own a pair of work boots?’ She said it as if it was the most stupid thing anyone had ever said to her. ‘And just for the record, what’s wrong with my footwear? I happen to like these, thank you very much.’

  Dallas just stared at her as if she were crazy but Katherine stepped in. ‘You have to watch out for snakes around here, and a good pair of hardy boots is just more sensible, especially around the horses and cattle—you don’t want them accidently treading on your feet and breaking something.’ She pointed to Charlize’s Nikes. ‘And you don’t want to ruin those pretty joggers either. I have some boots you could borrow, if you like. What size are you?’

  ‘Oh, right. Safety. I hadn’t thought of that.’ She felt like an idiot. ‘I’m size eight.’

  ‘Perfect, so am I.’ Her cuppa finished, Katherine popped the cup on the sink and then linked her arm in Charlize’s. ‘Come on, seeing as I let you dress me up in your style yesterday, now it’s my turn to dress you up in my kind of clothing.’ She looked over her shoulder at Dallas, who was making a beeline for the back door. ‘We won’t be too long.’

  ‘Yup, this is girl stuff so I’m gonna leave you two to it.’ He pushed the flyscreen door open and held up the pair of reading glasses in his hands. ‘I’m just going to drop these back to Gramps; he’s probably driving himself round the bend trying to remember where he put them. The poor bugger was a little sloshed thanks to the few glasses of wine over dinner last night. I’ll meet you outside when you’re ready, Charlize.’

  ‘Righto.’ Charlize allowed Katherine to drag her out of the kitchen and towards the staircase.

  Fifteen minutes later she was staring at her reflection in the mirror, completely surprised by what she saw. Never in a million years would she have imagined herself wearing boots and a candy-striped button-up western shirt, but things were so different here and she somehow felt more blended into her surrounds than in her own clothes. She looked herself up and down, admiring the swirly design on the Ariat boots that Katherine had explained were called Daisy. ‘I have to admit, I kind of like them.’ She turned to Katherine, who was perched on the end of her bed. ‘But please be honest, do I look like a complete idiot?’

  Katherine smiled broadly. ‘My god, Charlize, no way.’ She held her arms wide. ‘You actually look like a ridgy-didge cowgirl. Who would have thought it, huh?’

  ‘Thanks. I feel a little weird, though.’

  ‘Of course you’ll feel a little weird when you’re used to wearing designer clothes, just like I felt weird in that dress yesterday, but honest to God, you look really pretty—stunning in fact.’ Katherine wriggled her eyebrows. ‘You’d be turning heads and causing accidents if you went into town dressed like this, believe you me.’

  Charlize laughed then turned back to look at herself. ‘You reckon so?’

  ‘I know so.’

  ‘If only my cheating hubby could see me now,’ Charlize said before she could stop herself. She caught Katherine’s face in the mirror, her smile fading instantly, and before she knew it Katherine was standing beside her.

  �
��Oh sweetheart, you’re having a break because he cheated on you?’

  Charlize offered a resigned sigh. ‘He surely did, with his secretary.’

  ‘Well, what a bloody idiot.’ She waved her hands up and down Charlize as she tutted. ‘What kind of man would cheat on this? He needs his head read.’

  Expecting the whole, you poor thing speech followed by an attempt at a deep and meaningful, Katherine’s flare-up surprised Charlize, and she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. ‘You know, you really don’t suit swearing.’

  Katherine giggled. ‘Yeah, I have to admit I don’t do it very often.’ She pulled Charlize into a hug. ‘I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through such a thing.’

  Charlize hugged her back, surprised again by how comfortable she felt in doing so. ‘Yeah, well, I’m learning to live with the pain.’ She released herself from Katherine’s embrace and realised that for the first time while speaking about it she didn’t feel like crying. So instead, she smiled. ‘And I’m also slowly learning to accept the fact that we’re never going to get back together—even though he wants me to give him another chance.’

  Katherine stood, hands on hips. ‘Well, if it’s any comfort, you’re a beautiful woman and I’m sure there’d be plenty of men out there that would grab you with both hands.’

  ‘Are you lot finished playing dress-up yet?’ Dallas voice carried up and through the open window.

  Charlize smiled appreciatively at Katherine and then wandered over to lean her head out the window. ‘Yeah, hold your horses. I’ll be down in a sec.’

  Dallas squinted into the sunlight and gave her the thumb up. ‘I thought I might have had to send a search party.’

  ‘Oh ha ha,’ Charlize replied lightheartedly before turning back to Katherine. ‘Thanks for the clothes, and the pep talk.’ She shook her head as she stared down at her boots. ‘I have to admit I feel very unprofessional spilling my private life to you.’

  Katherine reached out and gave her arm a squeeze. ‘Oh, sweetheart, don’t be silly. We’re all human, and you’re not just a journalist here doing a job, you’ve also become my friend.’