Outback Dreams

by Rachael Johns

  ‘I’m in.’ Simone grinned. ‘"Never turn down free food” is one of my mottos to live by.’

  ‘Mine too. You’ve made amazing progress, Ruby,’ Faith admitted reluctantly. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘My pleasure. I’ve also spoken to Louis at the liquor store. You’re going to love this.’ She paused for effect, which only irritated Faith more. ‘He’s willing to supply all the alcohol at cost price.’

  ‘What the? How the hell did you manage that?’ Simone voiced Faith’s thoughts.

  Ruby smiled. ‘It was easy. When I told him it was to help Faith raise money for her alumnae contest, he couldn’t offer a discount fast enough. I think you’ve got quite a fan there, Faith.’

  ‘Rumour was Louis had a thing for my mum before she married Dad. He’s always been sweet to me but I never thought he’d be that generous.’

  ‘Man.’ Simone wriggled her eyebrows in excitement. ‘This is going to put us way ahead of budget.’

  ‘I know.’ Faith felt her heart warm a smidgen towards Ruby. ‘I don’t know how I can thank you enough.’

  ‘Don’t be silly. It’s all for a good cause.’

  She crossed “catering update” off her meeting checklist, and then looked to Simone. ‘So, how are you going with the PR?’

  ‘Fabulously. I’ve had an awesome response from the press release.’ She opened her notebook in the middle and angled it towards Faith. ‘I’ve got three radio interviews lined up for you and five journalists who want to write a story. All promised to run their articles before our ticket deadline.’

  ‘Wow. That’s brilliant.’

  Simone held up her hand. ‘But wait, there’s more. I’ve spoken to the party hire and supplies shop in Geraldton, and they’re willing to offer a small discount too. I’ve put in an initial rough order for the tables, chairs and crockery beyond what the Shire owns and they’ve sent us a brochure to help us choose the decorations.’ She opened an A4-sized glossy catalogue.

  They all leaned into the table to take a look. Faith’s eyebrows rose at the prices next to the products. ‘Geez, not cheap, is it?’

  ‘Nope, which is why I’ve had a better idea,’ Simone said. She snapped the brochure shut and dumped it on the floor near her bag. ‘Harriet’s home economics class are looking to do a community-focused project, so I asked their teacher if they’d be interested in making the decorations. They’ve only got a month, so it’s a massive job, but guess who just happened to volunteer to help.’

  ‘Who?’ Faith and Ruby asked in unison.

  ‘The blessed CWA.’

  Who else? Faith was speechless. Everyone knew the old dears of the Country Women’s Association could achieve anything once they put their minds to it. But it wasn’t just the CWA ladies. Whether it was donating to the auction, volunteering to wait and clear tables on the night, assisting with the set-up and clean-up duties, or just buying tickets and promising to spend big at the event, pretty much everyone in Bunyip Bay had stepped up to Faith’s challenge. How many other entrants in the Ms Alumna of the Year award would have a whole town behind them?

  ‘That sounds beyond awesome,’ Faith managed, hoping her voice didn’t sound too shaky as she struggled to contain her emotion. ‘And have you told them what we want the decorations to include?’

  Simone nodded. ‘I’ve given them our paw print design and colour scheme. I’m waiting on the go-ahead from you, but if Harriet’s enthusiasm is anything to go by, they’ll do a fabulous job.’

  Back at their first meeting, Faith had told Simone she wanted a puppy paw print theme over everything, and Simone had created a cute little rustic red and chocolate brown paw logo for the event. The Dogs for Autism logo also had a prime spot on all their printed material, but the red and brown paw print had spring-boarded the rest of the colour scheme.

  ‘Excellent.’ Faith consulted her agenda. ‘Well, I guess that leaves me.’

  She spent the next half an hour telling Ruby and Simone about all the donations they’d received so far and the organisations who’d signed up to sponsor the event. After that, the trio made notes on what needed to be done between now and their next meeting, and, happy it was all coming together, they finished with a lunch of BLTs and a side of fries.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The thing about seeding was, it involved long, solitary hours on a tractor and lots of time to think. Many men liked the quiet time, but Monty found it tedious. For years, he’d sat in the hot spot, driving back and forth up other people’s paddocks, dreaming of the day he’d be toiling on his own land. Now, with the days ticking down until he took over Clancy’s Breakaway, that dream was no longer pie-in-the-sky stuff. He should have been whiling away these hours making concrete plans. Instead all he could think about was Faith.

  He missed her, damnit. He missed her smile, her easy-going attitude, her support, and her enthusiasm for his dreams. He missed hanging out.

  Approaching the boundary of the paddock, Monty tried to push his frustration aside as he slowed the tractor, ready to turn around. Dusk had almost faded to darkness now, and the headlights of the tractor shone bright ahead. He’d go at it another few hours then head back into town for a quick kip before starting again at first light. Making time to go and visit Faith, to have it out with her, was near-on impossible during seeding, but he couldn’t leave Bunyip Bay with things so strained between them. Once his work commitments were over in another week or two, he’d clear his schedule to help her with the Barking Ball. Spending time apart hadn’t helped, so maybe working together would give things the chance to get back to normal.

  Feeling slightly better at having formulated a plan, he turned the tractor and began the slow crawl towards the other end of the paddock. Halfway across, his phone rang. For a second, his heart jolted in the hope that it might be Faith, but the caller ID showed Ruby.

  He smiled as he answered. ‘Hi, there.’

  ‘Hi yourself. How’re things out at Annadale?’

  ‘Yeah, great. We should be all finished here soon.’

  ‘That’s fabulous. Are you planning a late one tonight, or can I lure you away with the offer to cook?’

  As if on cue, his stomach rumbled. He hadn’t had a decent meal since Ruby had cooked for him last week. Adam’s mum, Esther, attempted to feed the workers, but her culinary efforts extended to watery stews for lunch, and dry, crumbly scones for smoko. He’d taken to cooking up packets of two-minute noodles when he arrived home late at night, not that they came close to filling the hole. Oh, how he missed Faith’s incredible cakes and slices.

  ‘Give me another hour and I’m all yours.’

  ‘I like the sound of that.’

  As he disconnected, he wondered if he’d read the suggestive tone into Ruby’s last line. Was she expecting them to take things further tonight?

  In a way, he wished it were that. He’d asked her to be his date for the Barking Ball, and even during seeding, he’d seen her an average of a two nights a week. Any court of law would class them as dating, yet he still had this ridiculous paranoia about kissing her again, so he hadn’t even tried.

  ‘Argh!’ Monty let out a loud groan that only the dirt and distant trees could hear. On autopilot, he finished the paddock, parked the tractor and radioed to tell Adam he was calling it a night.

  He arrived home to find Ruby already sitting on the front step, two bulging plastic bags at her feet. As usual, she was slightly overdressed, in glossy trousers and a chiffon blouse. Her dark hair, so straight and shiny, made her look like she’d just stepped out of a salon.

  ‘You’re early,’ he called, beeping his ute locked as he jogged towards the house. He rarely used to bother, but recently there’d been a spate of petty crime in town. A couple of cars had been stolen and some at the local junkyard torched, but the local sergeant— due for retirement any day—appeared to be more interested in his golf handicap than anything else.

  ‘I didn’t mind waiting. It’s a beautiful night.’ Ruby rose and picked up the bags.
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  ‘Thanks for coming around.’ He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Damnit, no sparks. But it was only a peck.

  ‘I wanted to.’ She stepped aside while he unlocked the door, then he took the bags and ushered her inside.

  He flicked the lights on in the kitchen, dumped the bags on the bench and gestured to the fridge. ‘I need to have a shower. Can I get you a drink before I go?’

  ‘No. I’ll be fine.’ She stepped up to the bench and opened the first bag. ‘I’ll get started, and we can have a drink when you’re finished.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Longing for a hot shower to wash away the tension of being cooped up on a tractor all day, he was already heading down the hallway.

  He smiled as he kicked the bathroom door shut behind him and stripped naked. It felt so domestic arriving home to Ruby, knowing she was pottering around his kitchen while he cleaned up. As he stood under the hot shards of water, he tried to picture her in the kitchen at Clancy’s Breakaway, tried to imagine them sitting down in the lounge room together after a long day’s work, but, frustratingly, all he could visualise was the tent. And Faith.

  His body grew immediately hard at the thought. Not good when he had a totally different woman waiting in his kitchen. Cursing under his breath, he leaned his head against the tiles and waited for their coldness to seep through into his body.

  Just when the one thing he’d always dreamed of had finally clicked into place, everything else seemed to be going crazy and he had no idea how to deal with it.

  We can’t go on like this. I have to tell her.

  That sobering thought returned his body to a state fit to leave the bathroom. He scrubbed dry and dressed quickly in jeans and a rugby jumper before heading back to the kitchen. He’d been gone longer than he’d expected, and Ruby had already laid the table. Dinner of Chinese stir-fried veg and noodles was nearly ready.

  ‘Now, can I get you that drink?’ he asked, his mouth watering at the thought of that first thirst-quenching mouthful of beer. ‘Wine, beer, juice?’

  ‘I’ll have a white wine thanks, but just the one. I don’t want the new cop stopping me on my way home.’

  Monty took a bottle of beer and one of wine from the fridge. ‘I didn’t think he’d started yet,’ he said, uncorking the wine and pouring her a glass. ‘About time, though.’

  ‘He arrived the other day.’ Her smiled begged for further questioning.

  Taking his beer, he sat down at the table. ‘What’s everyone saying?’

  She tossed the noodles through her stir-fry as she spoke. ‘Apparently he’s English, Drew something. About thirty, tall, dark, rides a motorbike. But the big news is he’s already pulled in two local teenagers about the torched cars.’

  ‘Geez. Watch out, Sergeant O’Leary.’ He chuckled. ‘How do you know all this stuff?’

  She laughed as she placed two bowls on the small table. ‘I hear things at the store. And remember, I haven’t been locked away on a tractor for the past two weeks.’ She paused for a second and then pointed at his noodles. ‘You dig in, I’m just going to clean up a bit.’

  ‘No, leave it till we’re finished,’ he said. ‘Better still; leave it completely. I’ll do it in the morning.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, you’ll be back out on the tractor first thing tomorrow morning, and who knows how long this mess will be here.’

  He glanced past her to the so-called mess and frowned. Apart from the wok with the leftover noodles still on the stove, his kitchen barely looked as if it had been used. When Faith made dinner, she used every pot and pan in the joint and left the cleaning up as long as possible, whereas Ruby’s cooking style was immaculate.

  ‘Please leave it.’ Desperate to put her at ease, Monty stood and crossed to where she was already wiping up around the hotplate. ‘There’s barely anything to clean anyway. Sit down. I won’t be able to relax if you don’t.’

  She sighed deeply, pursed her lips and glanced longingly at the few splashes of sauce on his bench. ‘Okay. Let’s eat.’

  They returned to the table and sat.

  ‘This is amazing,’ he said, after swallowing the first mouthful. ‘Better than the Chinese restaurant in Geraldton.’

  She laughed. ‘That’s probably just because you’re starving after working so hard.’

  ‘No, this is really good. Did someone teach you to cook like this?’

  She glanced down at her plate, swirled some noodles on her fork. ‘I taught myself. I’ve read a lot of cookbooks. Anyway,’ she began what was clearly a change of subject, ‘how are you going out on the farm?’

  He wondered why she didn’t want to talk about her skill at cooking but let it slide. ‘Great. We should be finished soon.’ He took another few mouthfuls then said, ‘By the way, I looked in at the cottage now Mrs Burton’s started decorating. She’s doing a good job, your ideas there were spot on.’

  She shrugged it off. ‘It was a fun project. Just something to keep me busy.’

  ‘And now you’ve got the Barking Ball?’ He hadn’t meant to mention the committee or Faith but he couldn’t help himself.

  ‘Yes. It’s going to be a fabulous night, don’t you think?’ Ruby smiled. ‘Faith’s doing such an amazing job.’

  ‘Are you two getting close then?’

  Ruby half-laughed. ‘I wouldn’t say close. I still get the feeling she’d sometimes rather I wasn’t involved. I’m not sure what I’ve done to make her dislike me.’

  Her questioning stare seemed to burn holes in his skin. Had Faith said something? Or was he reading too much into Ruby’s expression? He shouldn’t have left it this long to confess.

  Amidst these worrying thoughts, Ruby asked, ‘Have you two had a fight or something?’

  ‘No. Well, not exactly.’ It was all he could manage past the dry lump that felt like a sock shoved down the back of his throat.

  ‘Because I’d hate to think I’d come between you. Faith told Frankie she hadn’t seen or spoken much to you lately.’

  ‘It’s the time of year. We’ve both been busy.’ He tried for a shrug as he took a slug of beer, but Ruby raised her eyebrows, telling him he wasn’t going to get away with leaving it at that.

  ‘It was more than that. Every time I mention you she freezes up. And you’re the same. What’s going on, Monty?’

  You could have heard ants shifting crumbs under the floorboards. Ruby’s gaze didn’t waver as she waited for him to speak. Using the beer as a crutch, he drank slowly this time, all the while wondering just what and how much to confess.

  Finally he sighed, put his bottle on the table and looked her straight in the eye. ‘You know when we went down south together?’ It was a rhetorical question but she nodded. ‘The current owners of the farm assumed Faith was my girlfriend, and they liked the idea that a couple were looking to buy their property. When we realised this, I asked Faith to help me by playing along with it.’

  So far, so good.

  He picked up the bottle again and tore at the label as he continued. ‘Well, things got a little heated. We might have got a bit carried away.’

  ‘Oh.’ Ruby reached for her wine glass. ‘How carried away?’

  There was no kind way to put it.

  ‘We got sloshed and … and slept together.’

  He hated himself for these words, hated the way she took a slug of wine as if she needed it to wash over the pain he’d caused her with his statement. He wanted to defend himself, to convince her that he wasn’t that kind of guy. Never in his life had he even contemplated cheating on a girlfriend.

  Ruby looked at the curtains. ‘Oh, well.’ She smiled but it was clearly forced. ‘I guess we never agreed to exclusivity or anything.’

  ‘No,’ Monty all but shouted, ‘that’s not true. When I asked you out, I didn’t just mean for a night. I hoped that it would turn into something long-term. I really like you and… I’m sorry Ruby. I know I should have told you when it happened, but I just couldn’t. I’m so sorry.’

  She sniffed. ‘
So am I. I feel silly coming here, making you a meal, thinking that you were interested in me.’

  He reached across the table to take her hand but she pulled it back.

  ‘Please don’t feel like that,’ he said. ‘I’m the idiot. I’ve liked you since the moment I saw you, and what do I go and do? Completely stuff it up.’

  Silence reigned for a few long moments and Monty, encouraged by the fact she hadn’t got up and fled, said, ‘Have I stuffed it up? Will you give me a second chance?’

  Ruby shook her head. ‘I can’t. I left a messy relationship at the end of last year and came home looking for a fresh start. I’ve only just felt ready to date again, but if I’m going to even contemplate a relationship, I need to feel like that person is one hundred per cent committed. You may think we can move on from this, but I need more. I deserve it.’

  The disappointment he thought he’d feel at her rebuttal didn’t come. All he could do was nod his head and offer another futile apology. ‘You do. And I’m sorry I was just another loser that hurt you.’

  ‘That’s a little dramatic,’ she said. ‘Look. We had a few good dates and it didn’t work out, but I hope we can still be friends.’

  A different kind of relief flooded him. ‘Really? I’d like that. I’m—’

  She cut him off, lifting her hand. ‘Don’t you dare say sorry again, there’s only so much a girl can take.’

  He laughed. ‘Okay, point taken.’

  Although they tried to move on and continue normal conversation, the meal ended in relative silence and Monty found himself relieved when Ruby got up to leave.

  It was over. Over before it had really begun.

  He felt wretched—the kind of man he’d never wanted to be— but staring at his beer bottle, he realised it was more due to the way he’d handled the situation and the hurt he’d caused Ruby than to any sense of loss.

  Some things just weren’t meant to be.