The Brothers of Brigadier Station

by Sarah Williams

  "You made short work of that." Dylan slapped Darcy on the back. "I didn't even know you were seeing anyone."

  He ignored the trip in his pulse. "That's because I'm not. Meghan is Lachie's fiancé."

  An awkward pause occurred as Dylan looked between Meghan and Darcy.

  "Too much going on in there to remember who's marrying who," Maddie exclaimed as she ruffled Dylan’s short dark hair.

  "Sorry. Where is the groom then?" He looked around.

  "He's coming later in the ute," Darcy explained as the two women opened the car's back door where Maddie’s son was sitting.

  Darcy tried to concentrate on his conversation with his old friend, but he was more interested in Meghan’s interactions with the baby.

  "Hi, Jamie!" Meghan cooed as Maddie lifted the little boy from his seat. He looked at Meghan and gurgled at her.

  "Emma's at home with Mum. She's too girly for a campout!" Maddie sighed. "Would you mind holding him while I get his food?" Meghan nodded enthusiastically and took the small boy.

  She held Jamie against her chest. He grabbed onto loose tendrils of her hair which had come loose from her ponytail. Watching her with the baby stirred something deep within him, and he realised how much he wanted a family himself. He had decided after Lisa that he would never have a family or a wife. But now he was starting to reconsider the idea.

  "Let’s get the fire going," Dylan suggested. Darcy nodded in agreement, needing a distraction. Soon things were set up and ready.

  "Anyone else keen for a swim?" Maddie asked the group. It was a warm afternoon, so everyone agreed.

  Darcy followed his friends into the cool water after changing into his striped swim shorts.

  His breath caught as he saw Meghan approach the water in a blue floral bikini. Her ivory skin was bare and exposed. He tried to look away, but couldn’t.

  Gingerly she stepped into the cool water, and when it was up to her waist, she dived in and swam beneath the surface. Popping her head up slowly in front of Maddie and Jamie, he giggled when she playfully squirted water at him.

  Darcy's heart melted. Damn, he was falling for his brother's girl.

  Meghan and Maddie sat on the sand and played with Jaime while the men stoked the fire. The women chatted easily and Meghan felt reassured she had another friend in the outback.

  "It's so nice to have another woman to talk to." Maddie smiled broadly. "It gets so tedious with just Dylan and the kids. Our govie, Briar is great, but she's still young and single. I can't complain about men to her."

  Meghan laughed. "We can share stories and compare their bad habits."

  "Yes! Exactly." Maddie clasped her hands together. "It's going to be great having you as a neighbour. Just a couple of weeks to go before the wedding."

  "Yeah, it's coming up quick." Meghan took a deep, steadying breath. Every time she thought about the wedding she would tremble with nerves.

  "It's so exciting. The first wedding at Brigadier Station."

  Lachie arrived with the beer and swags as promised. After briefly catching up with Dylan, he brought two beers over to the women and sat down next to Meghan.

  "Isn't Jamie gorgeous?" she remarked, hoping he would fall in love with him as much as she had.

  "Yeah, but he's got a while to go before he's as handsome as me." Lachie teased.

  Meghan smiled but noticed he didn't pay much attention to the baby. Perhaps he didn't like children after all. Of course, he would love his own.

  The smell of burning wood cleared the scent of dust from her nose. The group sat around the campfire cooking sausages threaded on sticks over the open flames. When they were cooked through they covered them with tomato sauce and wrapped them in bread. It tasted like the country to Meghan. They washed dinner down with cold beers from the cooler as they were entertained by screeching cockatoos flying between trees, as the sun went down and the evening cooled off.

  "We should get going." Maddie hugged her tired, fussing son. "See you at the wedding if not before."

  They said their goodbyes and waved as their friends left. Feeling sadly empty Meghan went to the horses and hugged Molly’s warm neck finding comfort in her soft whickering.

  She would return to Townsville tomorrow and the next time she came out would be for the wedding in two weeks' time. Harriet had organized most things. Chairs and tables were being brought in. Alcohol and drinks were in fridges and Harriet would be spending the days leading up baking and cooking. They had booked a celebrant for a morning service and lunch to follow. Allowing travellers plenty of time to get there and get home before dark. Meghan planned to drive up the day before with Jodie who would be her only guest.

  Lachie had suggested delaying a honeymoon and that didn’t bother Meghan. She wanted to get settled into Brigadier and into her new lifestyle.

  The night grew late, and they were soon yawning. Lachie, buzzed from quite a few beers, retreated to his swag first.

  Meghan gnawed on her nails as she eyed up the swag. "Check it for me?" she asked Darcy.

  He opened it and shone a torch inside. "All good."

  Meghan climbed in and warmed up almost immediately. She lay on her back, the cool breeze floating over her face as she stared up at the sky.

  Darcy doused the fire and lay out his swag next to hers.

  In the darkness, the moon hung bright and huge. The sky was dotted everywhere with stars.

  "Can you see the Southern Cross?" Darcy asked.

  "Up there." Meghan pointed to the five stars which made a diamond shape. "That bright one there is Venus."

  "Where?" Darcy moved closer to Meghan so their heads were touching. "That bright one?"

  "Yes. Oh, look!" A shooting star streaked through the sky.

  "Make a wish," Darcy whispered.

  Meghan closed her eyes and smiled as she thought a wish. When she opened them again, she caught Darcy watching her.

  He looked away quickly. "Get some sleep."

  She looked back at the moon in wonderment.

  "Darcy."

  "Yeah?" he turned toward her.

  "I know what we should name the colt," she whispered. "Moonshine."

  She could hear him exhale. “That’s a great name.”

  Exhaustion pressed against Darcy's shoulders but sleep evaded him. He couldn't ignore the growing doubts in his head that said there was more to life than early mornings, lonely nights and a damnable never-ending drought.

  Meghan was the perfect woman. She was intelligent, compassionate, gentle and loving. His heart squeezed thinking about her playing with Jamie and even Banjo. She was the type of woman he would enjoy spending his life with. He shook his head. He couldn't have Meghan, she was taken. Maybe he could find another woman, just like her. Who was he fooling? He would never find another woman like Meghan. She was something else.

  Damn. Lachie was one lucky man. He should appreciate her more.

  Darcy had spent most of his childhood jealous of his brother. He always got the new things first. The new clothes, boots, bikes, utes. Noah and Darcy had always had to wait for the hand-me-downs. Not to mention their father's love and affection. Lachie was the heir so he got the best of their father. Daniel always saved his nice, patient side for Lachie. He'd always exhausted it by the time he got home and the younger brothers bore the brunt of his frustration and rage. Daniel McGuire had been a very different father to Lachie than his younger sons.

  Daniel was gone now, and with him the tension that had always hung over the house had disappeared too. Lachie had stepped up to his new role and seemed to be coping with the responsibilities. Add to that an amazing wife and Lachie was about to have it all.

  Darcy rolled onto his side, away from Meghan. He didn't need any more reminders about what he didn’t have in life.

  Chapter 10

  Between the curlew's eerie shrieks and the rustling sounds of small critters in the bush, Meghan didn’t sleep well. When the sun finally threw light on the camp site, Meghan sat up and watched it, soaki
ng in the beauty of the light streaking through the trees. Lachie was snoring loudly, and Darcy had turned away from her. Climbing out of the swag, Meghan wandered to the creek and splashed water on her face. She breathed the fresh morning air, letting it deep into her lungs. Hearing a strange noise, she hurried back to find Lachie crouched over a bush. The smell of vomit made her stomach turn.

  "You okay?" Meghan knelt beside him and rubbed his back. Obviously, Lachie had had a few too many. He was pale and sweating. His body repelling the toxins in his bloodstream.

  Darcy had rolled up his swag and was starting on hers. "I'll pack up, then maybe you should drive him home."

  "What about Molly?" Meghan asked as she gazed over at the horses nibbling at the weeds.

  "I'll lead her home."

  By the time the ute was packed, Lachie had stopped vomiting. Meghan helped him into the ute and rolled down the windows. Darcy gave her driving directions home and promised to see them soon. Meghan watched him through the mirror as she drove the ute away. It felt strange leaving him behind. Like she was leaving a little bit of her soul there by the creek.

  Back at the house, Meghan undressed Lachie and put him to bed. He needed to sleep off the hangover now that he had stopped throwing up. She pulled the sheets up under his chin and tiptoed out of the room. After showering and changing, she started down the hall. Darcy's bedroom door was open. Knowing he wasn’t home yet, she cautiously stepped in and looked around.

  Packed boxes lined the wall. Most of his belongings were gone. She sat down on his neatly made bed and gazed around the room. He really was moving out of the house. This had been his room since birth, and he was moving out so she could move in. Meghan felt guilty, but she reminded herself that she had said he could stay on. This was his decision. Besides he was a grown man, he should move out. This would be a good thing for him. Practice for when he bought his own station. Then he would be even farther away from the house. From her.

  Even at the ringers' quarters, she could see him daily. He would check on the horses at least once a day, and she was bound to run into him in the paddocks. He would probably even come for dinner most nights.

  A book on his bedside table caught her eye, and she touched it fleetingly. Lachie never read novels, and she wondered when Darcy had time to relax with a book. Despite being almost empty, the room still smelled like him. As though his scent had been absorbed into the paint and wooden frame. She stroked the pillow which still had an indentation where his head had been. Idly, she wondered what he dreamed about at night. Her heart skipped a beat. Did he ever dream of her?

  Lachie felt better by midday and had eaten some toast then shut himself up in the office to work like always. Meghan had visited the horses and watched Moonshine walk around after his mother. Jasper and Molly were returned and happily grazing, but Darcy was nowhere to be seen, but there were many places he could be. Waterlines and troughs constantly needed to be maintained. Fences checked and repaired. There was always something for him to do. He had mentioned back burning some paddocks. She hoped he wasn’t out there doing that now, alone. But glancing at the horizon, she didn’t see any smoke clouds.

  Finally, Darcy's ute pulled up at three in the afternoon, looking just as dusty and unkempt as its owner. He was still in yesterday’s clothes, with a day’s worth of stubble growing. Meghan was sitting on the veranda folding towels, and she watched him walk up. He simply nodded in her direction after removing his dirty boots and went inside. Although her pulse quickened at the sight of him, she stayed quiet.

  Fresh from showering and changing clothes he smelled a mite better than he had, when he sought her out later.

  "Ready to go soon?" Darcy asked.

  "Yep. I just need to grab my bag and say goodbye."

  "Ten minutes then. I'll meet you at the ute."

  Meghan nodded, and piled the towels into the basket and carried it inside.

  She said goodbye to Lachie first who was hunched over books writing notes as he went, this was one place he could stay all day. He was so engrossed in whatever he was doing that when she called his name at first he didn’t even hear her.

  "I'm off then."

  Lachie stood up hugged her. "Bye, sweetie. See you in a couple of weeks."

  "I love you," she whispered more to herself than him.

  "You too." He kissed her hair before pulling away and turning back to his work.

  She paused for a moment, but he didn't look up so she left him alone.

  Harriet hugged and kissed her and gave her a box of Anzac biscuits.

  "Thank you," Meghan said, her melancholy lifting briefly. She was sad to be leaving. She was ready to be settled here and plan for her future. It was what she wanted.

  So why was she starting to doubt herself?

  The first hour and a half of the flight back to Townsville was filled with polite conversation. Darcy was thoughtful and quiet while Meghan gazed out of the window.

  The image of smiling and relaxed Meghan wearing that skimpy bikini would be ineradicably burned in his memory long after she had left.

  Something had shifted between them last night. Being so close to her in the moonlight he had the strongest desire to kiss her and he was sure she felt it too. She made him feel alive for the first time in years. How had he gone this long without feeling this way?

  Now, instead of the easy conversation they were used to, nerves coursed through his veins and kept him silent. Scared he might not be able to stop himself from saying or doing something that he would come to regret. He resisted the urge to curse from his frustration.

  He turned on the radio and they listened to the final strains of a country song. Meghan turned to Darcy with a knowing look when the familiar song from the night of the campdraft started.

  When the song finally came to an end, Meghan turned to face him.

  "Darcy. I need your honest answer on something?" Her voice quivered. "Can you give me any reason why I shouldn't marry your brother?"

  Darcy's heart pounded in his chest. So many thoughts crossed his mind, so many crazy ideas and voices screaming in his head, but the only one he listened to was the one reminding him of his loyalty to Lachie.

  He focused on the sky in front of him and shook his head slowly. "No."

  He saw a flicker of disappointment cross her face before she turned back to the window, silent once more. The long flight seemed to be over too quickly. Before long Darcy landed the plane in Townsville, and he lowered the stairs for her.

  "See you at the wedding," she called over her shoulder and rushed down the steps and away from the plane. Away from him.

  Realisation pounded in his heart. He wanted to call her back and tell her all the reasons he didn't want her to marry Lachie. He wanted to hold and kiss her, but all he could do was watch her walk away. If only he had met her first, things would have been different, he would have told her how he felt a million times and not been ashamed of it.

  But, soon Meghan would be his sister-in-law. He had to accept that. It would be difficult to keep his feelings concealed if he saw her every day at the station. If she moved in, he would have to move out. Hopefully his feelings would fade over time.

  He had a decent deposit saved, he decided to start looking for a station sooner rather than later. He would have to get away from Brigadier Station, and away from Meghan.

  Chapter 11

  The Strand along the city's foreshore was one of Meghan's favourite places; she often jogged along it after work, reflecting on her day and the things that had happened. She would also think about her mother. Would she be proud of her daughter? What would she think about these great life decisions she was making? Being in the city was different now, it felt as though she were seeing it through different eyes. There were people everywhere, in their cars, in the buses, jogging, cycling. On the ocean there were kite surfers, stand-up paddle boarders and tourists who ventured into the warm ocean, despite warning signs of recent crocodile sightings. The beaches were packed with kids playin
g in the sand. Today, Jodie had joined her for a brisk walk and Meghan was enjoying her companionship.

  "Do you like Darcy?" Jodie asked her after hearing about her weekend.

  "Of course I like him." Meghan grinned. "He's honest, loyal and fun. He doesn't play games like most guys do. And he cares. He has so much to offer someone." She couldn't help but smile as she thought fondly of the man who had come to mean so much to her in such a short time. "We have a lot in common."

  "No, I mean like. You’ve talked more about Darcy than Lachie. Remember Lachie? Your fiancé." She teased but her eyes held a hint of concern.

  "Yes, I remember Lachie." She paused wondering how to explain it. "The truth is I don’t see much of him. He’s always so busy."

  "Too busy for you?"

  "Well, yeah."

  "No wonder you’re lusting after Darcy then."

  "I am not." Rubbing a weary hand across her brow, she turned to stare out at the ocean. She had dreamt about Darcy more than once, and if she was honest, he was on her mind more often than Lachie.

  They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes thinking about her situation.

  "Do you still love Lachie?" Jodie's eyes were bright with concern.

  Meghan sighed. She wanted that life on the station: horses, cattle, chickens, mustering and drenching, rodeos and campdrafting… and a family. "Yes, I love him. Things are just tense right now, with the wedding. And the drought. Once it rains everything will be perfect."

  "Then you need to focus on your fiancé."

  "You’re right. I said yes to Lachie. I promised him. I love him."

  "Then marry him and be happy." Jodie bumped into her gently. "But promise to come and visit every now and then."

  "Absolutely. We'll have an annual girls’ weekend. Shopping and manicures."

  "And cocktails." Jodie grinned brightly. "I'm going to miss you not being here."

  Meghan pulled her friend close and they hugged. Tears welled in her eyes. Jodie’s friendship meant a lot to Meghan, and she knew Jodie would always be there to support her. Arm in arm they turned to the ocean once more. The warm breeze danced along Meghan's face as she studied the hills of Magnetic Island, memorising their rocky edges. She inhaled the salty air. It was so different from the dust they breathed on the farm. "I'll miss the ocean and the sand too."