Outback Dreams

by Rachael Johns

  Finally, he hired a keen eighteen-year-old who just happened to have experience with cattle to help him round the farm. The boy was the youngest of four sons of a local farmer, and there was no work for him on his own family property. Monty recognised a bit of himself in the hardworking teenager, who also spoke about one day buying his own farm. They often shared a beer at the end of a hard day’s work.

  The days were hectic—if he wasn’t busy with the cattle, he was doing fencing repairs and other property improvements—but at night the place echoed with the emptiness. Never one to spend idle hours watching TV in the past, he now had the blasted box on all the time just to fill the silence. Rooster was pretty good company, but the one-way conversations grew dull after a while. He’d taken to watching ghastly reality shows about people who couldn’t sing or dance trying to prove they could.

  On those quiet nights, his thoughts always drifted to Bunyip Bay. He’d picked up the phone numerous times to ring Faith, but always put it down again. He spoke to Adam once and his mum a couple of times, and although they tried to be enthusiastic, the calls never lasted long. He didn’t ask about Faith nor did they mention her, which left giant silences in the conversation.

  Early one evening, about a month after his arrival, the phone rang and Monty all but pounced on it. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Hi, sweetheart, how you doing down there?’

  ‘Oh, hi, Mum. I’m good.’ Settling back on the couch, he picked up the remote and switched off the television. He could find out who got kicked off The X-Factor later. ‘We’ve just finished ear-tagging the calves and they’re all growing really well. I’ve been reading up about the weaning process, because we’ll have to start that in a few months.’ He babbled on about every tiny thing he’d done that week, dancing around the one thing he really wanted to know—whether Jenni had heard from Faith lately.

  ‘That’s so great, honey. I’m pleased it’s working out so well for you down there.’

  ‘Thanks Mum. And what about you? Anything new in the Montgomery household?’ He put his feet up on the crate he still used as a coffee table. He and Faith had talked about buying furniture from Albany, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to make that trip alone.

  ‘Not really, same old same old, and that suits me just fine.’ She paused a moment. ‘Listen, honey, I’m not sure how you’ll feel about this, but Will would like to bring Pippa down to you for a visit.’

  ‘Great. I’d love to see you all.’ He was immensely excited about the idea of showing his family round his property, playing host.

  ‘That’s the thing. They want to come by themselves.’

  His smile drooped. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yep. We’ve looked into it and there’s a bus that comes into Mount Barker—’

  ‘I know it, but are you sure it’s a good idea? It’s a long trip.’ Will’s social skills tutor had taught him how to navigate the bus in Perth, but he had always hated long-distance journeys in a car. How would he cope being confined on a bus for that long with a bunch of strangers? And what if something wasn’t to his liking down here and he totally lost it? Monty hadn’t had to deal with anything like that in years. The panic rose in his chest.

  ‘Darling, Will’s come a long way since you lived with us. He catches the bus with Pippa all the time. I’ll drop them off in Perth, and you’ll be there to pick them up in Mount Barker. Simple. I’ll give them a list of towns to tick off on their way. They’ll love that.’

  ‘Okay. I’d love to see them.’ He realised he actually meant it. ‘But you’ll have to email me a checklist to make sure I’ve got everything sorted for them down here.’

  ‘He doesn’t want that.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Daniel, Will wants to live a normal life. He knows he’s different, and he likes being different, but he also wants to learn to deal with things outside his comfort zone,’ his mum explained. ‘Just do exactly what you’d do for any other guest and enjoy their company.’

  At her emphasis on the word enjoy, he wondered if she’d guessed how lonely he felt down here.

  Have you heard from Faith lately? The question almost slipped out but he held it back at the last moment. What if she told him something he didn’t want to hear? Like Faith hadn’t spared a moment’s thought since he’d left and had revived her mission to find herself a man. What if she’d been successful? The microwave pie he’d had for dinner swirled in his stomach at the thought.

  ‘All right. Let me know when they’ve booked a ticket and I’ll be at the bus stop.’

  ‘Thanks, honey.’ She paused, but the tone in those two words told him there was more to come, something he might not want to hear. ‘I know it wasn’t always easy on you having Will as a brother.’ She paused again. ‘But he was—is—really lucky to have you. Don’t let the past dictate your future.’

  ‘You need to put more oomph into your throws. Remember, you’re a team, not seven individuals battling it out against seven other individuals.’

  Faith smiled as she gave her girls a pre-training pep talk, and their enthusiastic faces smiled back. Funny how your world could fall apart at the seams, yet life around you continued on as normal. Daisy (surprisingly) still needed her daily milking sessions, her netball girls (amazingly) were undefeated so far this season, and life on the farm (blessedly) was as non-confrontational as it had been in a long time. Her father was finally talking about taking a holiday, and he and Ryan had not only been encouraging her to do more farm work, but actually seeking her out and requesting help.

  Despite all this, life without Monty took some getting used to.

  ‘Okay, five laps round the netball courts and then we’ll get stuck into some real training.’

  As the girls charged off towards the other end of the court, Faith turned at the sound of footsteps behind her and waved at Ruby approaching from the car park. Where once she might have assumed Ruby was coming to try and poach her girls for horse riding lessons, now she welcomed her friend. ‘Hey.’

  ‘Hi there.’ Ruby nodded towards the girls and patted her flat stomach. ‘Maybe I should train with them. All those treats you’ve been feeding me are starting to take effect.’

  Faith forced a laugh. Ruby wasn’t the only one complaining about her baking efforts. The local IGA had had to up their flour supplies. Her home freezer had enough cakes and biscuits to see the Forresters through three harvests and seeding seasons. Dad had mentioned buying an additional freezer, and Ryan reckoned that if his girth grew any more they’d also need a larger harvester to accommodate him in a few months time. Faith couldn’t help it. Cooking was the only thing that gave her any comfort, but no amount of baking could fill the massive hole in her heart.

  ‘What’re you up to?’ she asked Ruby, hoping her friend wasn’t going to try to convince her to head to The Palace after training. It just wasn’t the same without Monty, and although Ruby had made more than a few mentions of the other fish in the sea, Faith wasn’t ready to go there.

  ‘Actually, I’ve come to ask you a favour.’ Ruby adjusted the flower in her hair.

  As the girls passed by on their first lap, Ruby and Faith claimed one of the benches that bordered the courts.

  ‘Go on.’ Faith tried to keep the dread out of her voice.

  ‘Since you did such a fabulous job with the Barking Ball, I was wondering if you’d like to help me organise the Undies Run.’

  They’d raised an impressive twenty-one thousand dollars, and although Faith wasn’t sure that would put her in the contest-winning stakes, it would be a valuable contribution to the charity. And really, that’s what mattered.

  ‘Is it that time of year again?’

  ‘Uh-huh.’ Ruby nodded. ‘And some of the ladies who have been on the committee for years want to take a step back. I had so much fun helping you that I thought maybe I could offer my services for this as well. Beats sitting around watching bad television every night.’

  Faith didn’t want to crush Ruby’s enthusiasm, but the
Undies Run—held each year on the weekend of the famous Bunyip Festival—was a big deal. It raised crucial money for the Hospital Auxiliary and she didn’t know if she was the right person for the job in her current state of mind. Likely Ruby was only asking her to give her something else to focus on anyway.

  ‘I’ll think about it,’ she promised.

  ‘That’s all I ask.’ Ruby smiled and looked back to the court. ‘Now, do you need any help with these girls? I could take some of them to the other end for some one-on-one training if you’d like.’

  ‘Thanks. That would be fantastic.’ As the girls came round again, Faith stood. Ruby had been such a great friend since Monty left, and Faith had been about as fun as an infectious disease. She hoped she wouldn’t stay in this funk forever, but nothing she’d tried thus far had worked to get her out.

  Everything she put her mind to reminded her of Monty. Every movie held memories of watching it with him—unless she resorted to romantic comedies—but quite aside from her lifetime distaste, they came with their own issues. If she took a walk across the farm, every little hill and tree reminded her of some mischief they’d got up to as children. Even here on the netball courts— which doubled as tennis courts in summer—her mind flashed with times they played sport together. Many a night she tried to recall a time when Monty didn’t feature in her life, but that was impossible.

  ‘Okay, girls, time’s up,’ she shouted across the courts. Enough wallowing. ‘Ruby has been kind enough to offer to help us today, so I think we’ll divide into a couple of groups.’

  As with everything Ruby did, she turned out to be an excellent netball player and a patient and talented coach. With both Faith and Ruby instructing them, the girls trained hard and finished even more enthused for their Saturday game.

  Afterwards, Ruby helped Faith collect the netballs and lock them away in the sports pavilion. ‘Thanks for letting me help. It was so much fun. Now, what say we treat ourselves to dinner and a drink at the pub? Promise it won’t be a late one.’

  How could she refuse after all Ruby had done? ‘Okay, you finally got me. Dinner and one drink.’

  Ruby smiled like she’d just convinced her to hand over her life savings, and Faith made a silent vow to at least pretend to enjoy the few hours ahead.

  ‘They’re the talk of the town right now. No one can believe how quickly Constable Noble cottoned on to them,’ Frankie said, making elaborate gestures with her hands.

  Faith twisted her bottle of beer round and round as she tried to feign interest in the conversation. It sounded like Frankie from the café had her eye on the new cop and that half the town were also smitten. The latest on the grapevine was that their new English lawman had busted two teens from good local families for a string of crimes around town.

  Ruby, who didn’t usually indulge in gossip, took another sip of her wine. ‘Their parents must be ropeable, but Drew obviously knows his stuff. We can all feel a lot safer knowing he’s in town.’

  Faith raised her eyebrow at the use of his first name, but none of the women seemed to notice.

  ‘Amen.’ Frankie lifted her glass of rum and Coke. ‘I for one sleep better at night knowing he’s not too far away.’

  Ruby giggled in response. Faith tried to summon a smile, but the conversation had moved on by the time her lips even began to lift. She didn’t understand the fascination with Drew Noble. Sure, he looked good in a uniform and his killer smile had the power to knock some women sideways, but it wasn’t like there weren’t equally good-looking men in these parts. She put it down to his accent.

  ‘What’s all this laughter about?’ Adam arrived at the table with a pint of beer and plonked himself down between Frankie and Ruby.

  They burst into giggles again, and Adam looked to Faith for clarification. She shrugged and took another pull of her beer. Even if she wanted to fill him in, she’d only taken in part of what the girls were saying because, as usual, her heart and mind were elsewhere.

  As if sensing they were losing her, Adam tried to drag her into conversation. ‘So I hear your dad might be going on a holiday soon.’

  ‘Uh-huh.’ She nodded and took another gulp of beer. Empty plates sat on the table in front of them and her one drink was almost gone. She couldn’t wait to escape. Part of her wished she could do a better job at feigning happiness, but her friends were trying to act as if life was normal when everything had changed for her.

  No one had mentioned Monty in almost four weeks. It was as if he’d never even existed. They’d avoided the topic for her benefit but she desperately wanted to know if anyone had heard from him. She didn’t think Ruby had, but surely Adam would have called or exchanged emails.

  ‘So, everyone, Faith’s agreed to help me organise the Undies Run,’ Ruby announced, smiling in Faith’s direction.

  ‘That’s fabulous,’ Frankie did a little jig in her seat. ‘I love the Undies Run.’

  Faith tried her best, but it was hard to get enthusiastic. She felt like a badly made jumper, ready to unravel at the slightest tug of a loose thread. She wondered how long her friends would persist with trying to draw her back into their circle. They chose their topics carefully, mindful not to speak about anything that might upset her.

  Maybe they’d eventually give up and she’d end up like Esther Burton, holed up on the farm, sending other people out to do her shopping and only attempting to socialise on the odd occasion when people tried to visit her.

  She found the idea depressingly appealing.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  On Friday afternoon, Monty waited at the Mount Barker bus stop, squinting every time a vehicle came into view. With ten minutes to go until the scheduled arrival time, he paced back and forth, unable to keep still. He’d been restless ever since his mum had told him he was going to have visitors. Part of him couldn’t wait for the company, but the other part of him worried about the responsibility.

  He’d spent the day vacuuming his house so no such noise needed to pollute the place during Will and Pippa’s stay. Even though Jenni had assured him Will was past it, he didn’t want to risk either of them melting down while in his care. He’d never before spent two days with Will without his parents around; they had spent precious little time together at all during the last few years.

  ‘It’s coming.’ A woman in her early seventies hobbled forward and waved her hand excitedly towards the road. She looked as if she was waiting for grandchildren.

  Monty stilled and followed her gaze as the TransWA bus loomed into view. Car doors slammed as people who’d been waiting in the car park got out to meet the bus. Everyone jostled for a spot closest to where the bus would pull in. Not normally the type to push through crowds, Monty planted his feet, not wanting to be pushed out of the way. The moment Will and Pippa got off he wanted them to see him. No room for panic from anyone.

  The bus pulled into the stop and the doors peeled back, squeaking a little, as if they needed to be oiled. He glanced down the windows, scanning the full bus for Will and Pippa. People disembarked, rushing forward to meet friends or relatives. With each face that wasn’t Will’s or Pippa’s, Monty’s pulse raced a little more. His mum had called him after waving off the bus in Perth, so they had to be here. But doubt crept into his mind. Could something have happened on the way?

  They were adults, he told himself. They might struggle with certain social situations and sometimes have difficulty functioning in the ‘normal’ world, but they were probably smarter than everyone on the bus put together. Thanks to their parents’ dedication to helping them adapt to a normal life, they’d progressed beyond expectation.

  He shook himself as another person stepped off the bus.

  What would I be like if I had children? Constantly stressing about what might go wrong?

  And then they were there—Pippa’s smile placid and Will’s expression serious as they helped each other down the steps. The air rushed back into Monty’s lungs as he stepped forward to greet them.

  ‘Will, Pip
pa,’ he called. ‘Over here.’

  Relief flashed on Will’s face as he located Monty in the now dwindling crowd. He lifted a hand to wave. His other one held Pippa’s tightly.

  Monty felt an uncharacteristic wave of emotion wash over him at the sight of them together, and he thought of his mum’s declaration of happiness that Will had found the type of relationship she’d never imagined possible for him.

  ‘How are you? Good trip?’ he asked as they stood by the side of the bus waiting for the driver to unload their bags.

  ‘We didn’t fall,’ Will said, and then he closed his eyes and shook his head. He looked to Pippa. ‘He meant the journey.’

  She nodded and they smiled as if sharing an in-joke.

  ‘Yes, the journey,’ Monty said. ‘Was it a good one?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Pippa nodded. ‘The scenery was lovely and we spotted some rare birds as we passed through Kojonup.’

  ‘Awesome.’ Monty took Pippa’s bag as Will picked up his own. ‘I’m so glad you decided to come. The ute’s this way.’

  Will and Pippa squished in next to Monty for the twenty-kilometre drive to Clancy’s Breakaway. He tried to make conversation. ‘Is there anything particular you would like to see or do this weekend? I could take you into Albany, or we could go farther afield and do the treetop walk at the Valley of the Giants.’

  ‘We just want to hang on the farm,’ Will said. ‘See your animals, take some walks. We’d like to have a bonfire one night.’

  ‘We can do that.’ Monty had found a place between a few large gum trees not far from the house that looked to be perfect for a bonfire, but there hadn’t been any point going to all that effort for only one person. ‘I think I even have some marshmallows somewhere.’

  ‘This is Pippa’s first time on a farm. And it may as well be mine too for all I can remember of ours when I was a kid,’ Will announced.

  ‘But Will’s told me all the stories you told him about life on the land, and we can’t wait to experience it for ourselves,’ Pippa added, her tone excited.