Meant To Be

by Fiona McCallum

  Grace had proven herself and she was excited that David wanted to use her. He had put her through her paces, and she had turned out to be a natural in both the yards and the paddock. And she was still very young, so would only get better. Emily puffed up with motherly pride at the thought.

  She thought back to her first ever conversation with Barbara when she’d gone to pick up the tiny puppy. Grace was the runt of the litter and hadn’t been wanted by anyone else because she was so much smaller than the others. Well, so much for that!

  She was also glad that Grace would be occupied. It was much better than being locked in the house yard, which she would need to be to keep her safe from all the extra foot and vehicle traffic. She felt dreadful locking up Grace, but they were expecting Jake’s team from Melbourne at any moment.

  Speaking of which, she thought, as a dual cab ute with five men aboard arrived on site.

  As the men poured out of the vehicle, Jake greeted them like they were great mates. She heard them ribbing him gently about not taking long off work after all.

  ‘Missed you guys too much,’ Jake said in reply. ‘This is David, a friend who’s been helping out. And this is Emily,’ he said, with his arm around her. ‘She’s co-boss, so just watch out,’ he said with a laugh. ‘Em, this is Toby, Ben, Stan, Bill, and Aaron.’

  ‘Hi Emily, lovely to meet you,’ they each said whilst offering their right hands.

  ‘Likewise. Thanks so much for coming. I’ll try not to be too bossy,’ she said, smiling and shaking hands with each of them in turn whilst desperately trying to commit their names to memory. A couple of them – blond, blue-eyed Toby and pale, redheaded Aaron, in particular – had a bit of a larrikin look about them. Emily pegged them at around her age or maybe a bit younger. Stan and Ben were older – nearer early to mid-forties – and a little shyer. Bill, the oldest of the group, had more salt than pepper in his mid-brown hair, and had the weathered look of someone who had spent most of his life in the sun.

  She warmed to them instantly. They all seemed like really nice guys. It would be fun having them around.

  Despite the long drive from Melbourne with only a night in Adelaide, they got right to work. Jake unrolled the plans on the back canopy of the ute whilst gesturing in the direction and general layout of things. While David returned to work on the rocks, Emily left to go back to the house. She had to finish preparing for the big barbeque she’d organised to welcome them, and double-check that everything was organised regarding their accommodation.

  Until David had finished with the shearing shed, the men would be sleeping in the house’s two spare rooms. She’d gathered five swags: John’s, her own – only ever used once – David’s, Barbara’s, and one they’d borrowed from Grant, but left it up to them to decide if they wanted to share the double beds or camp out on the floor. After deciding it would be a nightmare trying to keep track of towels if they were all the same colour – Emily, taught by Enid, only ever had sets of matching towels, hand towels, bath mats, and face washers – she had gone to town one afternoon and bought five new towels in different colours. Now she put up a clothes airer in the enclosed verandah for the stonemasons to keep them on.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  From the kitchen window, Emily watched the sheep race past the house on their way down to the yards. Her heart swelled and she felt a wave of emotion as Grace came into sight behind them, making her way back and forth, pushing them forward. She seemed to be doing a great job. Next came David’s ute with Sasha aboard. Emily laughed, feeling like the proudest mum in the world. She reluctantly dragged herself away and got back to work on dinner. She yearned for a nanna nap, but she had too much to do to stop for even half an hour.

  The welcome barbeque had been a triumph. The five guys, her parents, Barbara and David, Nathan and Sarah, Bob and his wife, Grant and Steve and their wives, and two babies, had all joined in to celebrate the official start of the building. Everyone seemed to have got along well and had fun. And they’d all raved about the food, especially the pavlova piled high with cream and fresh fruit she’d served for dessert.

  She was glad that Nathan and Sarah had made it. They still hadn’t got around to inviting her and Jake over – Emily quietly suspected they were too busy getting to know each other intimately – so it was good to have them over at last.

  It had been getting harder to find excuses to dodge Enid’s invitations, though, and she had figured the opportunity of notching up a dinner with her mother whilst being busy with other guests was too good to pass up. Besides, she’d really wanted her dad there for what was both a kick-off party for the cottage and thank you to the other guys for doing the shed. She’d also wanted Jake’s mates to meet some locals. She didn’t want them feeling they were stuck at the farm on their time off.

  Thankfully it hadn’t been too late a night, with everyone having left by ten and the guys settled in their rooms by ten-thirty. The stonemasons had even insisted on staying to help her clean up!

  That night the kitchen was a hive of chatter as the Melbourne men talked excitedly of seeing sheep being shorn – most of them for the first time ever.

  ‘It doesn’t hurt them at all,’ Toby said. ‘I thought it would, but it doesn’t.’

  ‘They don’t pluck them, mate, it’s just clippers – like what you should use on your hair occasionally,’ Stan said.

  ‘I didn’t mean the actual shearing. It always seemed a bit harsh them being dragged across the floor when you see it on the telly.’

  ‘I wouldn’t like to be stooped over like that all day – you can see why those blokes need so many breaks,’ Bill said.

  ‘That’s because you’re old,’ Aaron said. Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw him pick up a bread roll and aim, but then put it down again after a glare from Jake.

  ‘I can’t get over how precise it all is with the testing of the fleeces and categorising them.’

  ‘And how careful they are with contamination. It’s really very clean,’ Toby said.

  ‘Yeah, probably cleaner than your house, eh, Tobes?’

  ‘Yeah, probably.’

  ‘Your dog was amazing, Emily. Pretty gutsy for such a little thing – climbing on all those big woolly beasts. David told us she’s never actually been trained. That’s incredible,’ Bill said.

  Emily beamed back. ‘I snuck a peek when they came past the house. I felt all silly, like a proud mother.’

  ‘Where is she, anyway?’ Stan asked, looking around.

  ‘She’s staying with David for a fortnight until he’s finished his own shearing, playing at being a real farm dog.’

  ‘Well, it looked like she was loving every minute of it.’

  ‘I just hope she’ll want to come home eventually.’

  ‘Don’t worry, if necessary we’ll mount a covert operation to kidnap her for you,’ Aaron said.

  ‘You can’t do anything quiet, Aaron, with feet that big,’ Toby said, laughing. The others joined in.

  ‘Thanks Aaron, I’ll let you know,’ Emily said, playing along. She really enjoyed their banter. ‘I hope you won’t find the shearing shed too smelly to sleep in. They’re a bit on the nose straight after shearing,’ Emily said.

  ‘Nah, we’ll be right,’ Bill said. ‘Won’t we fellas?’

  A chorus of ‘yep’ made its way around the table.

  ‘If not, there are always the spare beds and floor space.’

  ‘I think I might be scarred for life from the pink in that room as it is,’ Toby said.

  ‘Ignore him, Emily. It’s a nice colour. And don’t you worry about us,’ Stan said.

  ‘I was only kidding,’ Toby said. ‘I actually don’t mind it.’

  ‘It’s okay, Toby, I know it’s an acquired taste,’ Emily reassured him, smiling at the thought of David’s reaction. ‘It is very pink.’

  *

  For the first week the Melbourne guys were there, Emily would stay for a cuppa and look over progress whenever she could spare the time after deliv
ering the meals. There didn’t seem to be much going on in the beginning – mainly tidying up the site and levelling the building area. She couldn’t wait to see stone walls going up. Thankfully the weather was kind and all the rain they had occurred overnight. Nor was David’s shearing affected – each evening he managed to get enough sheep safely under cover for the next day’s work.

  Every night Jake spent an hour or so updating her on progress while they lay in bed. They didn’t have a lot of other time to themselves away from the men. And the only time they seemed to have the energy to make love was on Sunday mornings.

  She was a little disconcerted that they had settled into such a companionable way of life so quickly, but she told herself it was temporary and that their situation was quite an unusual one.

  It wasn’t as if she didn’t still find Jake hugely attractive. Every time she looked at him her heart skipped a beat and a tingle ran right through her down to her toes. Seeing the ease with which he directed the guys, and the way he managed the project whilst remaining calm and even-tempered, and not even all that stressed, was very impressive. And a big turn-on. The man was quite something. She quite often found herself hovering with her box of food listening to him, feeling awestruck by him, and very grateful she had him in her life.

  Emily hoped Jake was okay with the way things were, but kept her thoughts to herself. She wasn’t about to raise their significantly reduced sex-life and introduce a problem if there wasn’t one.

  She worked hard to keep the amazement that he had chosen her at bay – it was negative and she was trying so hard not to be. A lifetime of not measuring up in her mother’s eyes would most likely always remain with her. But she was finally beginning to address the self-esteem issues that had plagued her for so long.

  Emily was an adult and responsible for her own happiness, as Barbara had pointed out more than once. She was doing her best to retrain herself to be more positive, not depend on her mother’s approval, and not let her past and her insecurities negatively affect her future. She was good enough, damn it! There was no reason why she couldn’t achieve whatever she wanted to.

  The Sunday after he finished shearing her sheep, David brought down an old television, DVD player, and set-top box for the boys.

  ‘This might make it feel less like you’re living back home with Mum and Dad, fellas,’ he announced.

  It had been too crowded for all of them to sit and watch television in the lounge. But they hadn’t complained – they’d instead taken to playing poker around the huge kitchen table.

  Aaron and Toby had so far not revealed themselves to be major pranksters or larrikins – well, not in Emily’s vicinity – but both had quite the lucky streak when it came to Texas Hold ’em.

  Stan had turned out to be a good cook, and whenever he had the time he was inside offering to help Emily. He confessed that cooking was what he did to relax, and she was only too happy to indulge him. He was coming up later to make bread on his day off.

  Ben had also proven a great help and wouldn’t leave the house until the kitchen was tidy. He also liked to help with cooking, and was good with instructions, but wasn’t as confident as Stan. Emily was so used to having her kitchen to herself, it was taking a bit of getting used to. But she was really enjoying having them there, and playing mother to all five men.

  Late in the afternoon, Emily joined in as everyone stood in the shearing shed with their fingers crossed, biting on bottom lips, hoping the TV would get good enough reception through the rabbit ears antenna.

  After lots of tweaking, they managed to achieve a reasonably clear picture. Hopefully it would hold when the warm, still weather became more unsettled with the onset of autumn.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  After the second week, Barbara started dropping in after lunch for a quick cuppa after she’d been into town. Emily would stop for ten minutes before resuming her buzzing around, chattering away as she got on with things. That was one of the great things about their relationship: she could just be herself. It was a busy time, but Barbara was as happy as Emily to just have the company for an hour or so. And there was no expectation that she would stop what she was doing and then start up in a mad panic again to catch up later.

  Barbara helped her fill sandwiches and cut and butter cake and do simple tasks, but was equally happy to sit back and stay out of the way. They’d both done enough catering to know that it was sometimes easier to just let someone do their thing and not waste their time explaining a process in order for the other person to assist.

  On the other hand, Enid didn’t get it at all. She had dropped by once in the first week and entered the kitchen like a tornado demanding to know what she could do. Emily had firmly told her mother that she was welcome to sit and have a cup of tea, but that she didn’t have time to stop. And, no thank you, she had everything under control. Enid had sat at the table, tapping her fingers impatiently. Clearly she thought if she waited long enough, Emily would stop what she was doing and give her the attention she demanded. She eventually left with a harrumph and, ‘Well, if you don’t need me, I’ll be off,’ after draining her cup.

  ‘See you, thanks for the visit,’ Emily had called over her shoulder from the bench where she was making a meatloaf for lunch.

  She was especially grateful for the extra pair of hands in the laundry when Barbara visited. Emily had taken on the guys’ washing since they were working so hard and she didn’t like them having to do it on their only day off. It was more work than she’d expected, but it wasn’t hard, just a matter of fitting in the loading, unloading, hanging out and bringing in around her other tasks. The gift of efficiency was at least one good thing she had inherited from Enid. Though, working with your best friend was nothing like working with your overbearing, critical mother. On the days Barbara visited, her friend would get in a load of washing and fold it while she pegged out another lot on the line.

  One afternoon they were sorting a load of freshly dried laundry.

  ‘You need to get someone in to help,’ Barbara said.

  ‘I couldn’t trust the cooking to anyone but you.’

  ‘Sorry, but I can’t do it.’

  ‘Of course you can’t – you’ve got to rest and take care of your baby. But there’s no need to apologise.’

  ‘I suppose it would be a ridiculous waste to have someone come and just do the washing,’ Barbara said thoughtfully.

  ‘Yeah. They’d spend all their time sitting around waiting for the machine to do its thing.’

  ‘I actually did a ring-around the other day looking for a cleaner. Just out of curiosity.’

  ‘Well I could certainly palm off the dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning of the bathroom and toilet right about now.’

  ‘Sadly, I couldn’t find anyone.’

  ‘Bugger.’

  ‘Hey, maybe we should start a cleaning company,’ Barbara said after a few moments of silent folding.

  ‘Er, we both hate cleaning, remember?’ Emily replied with a laugh.

  ‘Well, we wouldn’t be doing it; we’d be the bosses just running the show.’

  ‘Except, of course, for having no one to do the cleaning, which is our current problem. Remember?’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘Not to mention the fact that I have a paddock full of men building me an art gallery. And you’re going to have your hands full with a new baby soon.’

  ‘Yes. I’m still trying not to think about it.’

  ‘Come on, Barb, you can’t jinx it. You know that. Aren’t you always telling me that these things are out of our hands? What will be, will be?’

  ‘Apparently I’m much better at running someone else’s life than my own,’ she replied, smiling weakly.

  ‘It will be fine, Barbara. You need to stop worrying and start living again. All this worry can’t be good for the baby, can it?’

  She stopped short of pointing out that Barbara was running the risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, if her own views of the universe and
its workings were to be believed. Again Emily wondered where all Barbara’s positivity and faith had got to.

  ‘Come on, time to feed the workers,’ she said, trying to change the subject and lighten the mood. I really don’t have the knack Barbara does with pep-talks, she thought, putting the milk in the top of the large box. The first day she’d tried to carry everything over in an effort to make up for missing her morning walks – she hadn’t had a proper walk since they’d begun cleaning the stone – but by the time she’d got to the building site she’d been almost ready to drop the heavy box. Now she made the short trips back and forth in the car.

  Sometimes one of the guys did the afternoon smoko run, but today Jake had specially asked Emily to come across. They worked it out via UHF radio. The day after the guys arrived, he had been into town and returned with a few handheld devices so they could all communicate free of charge rather than the expense of using mobile phones.

  Curious about why Jake had specially asked her to come across this afternoon, Emily and Barbara arrived a few minutes before three.

  She gave her father a hug hello. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked.

  ‘You’ll see,’ he replied, and winked.

  Emily and Barbara exchanged shrugs as the other men scurried around nearby.

  ‘Right, all ready to go?’ Jake said, looking around the group.

  There was a chorus of murmurs of ‘Yep.’

  ‘Stan, you do the honours,’ Jake said. He grasped Emily gently by the shoulders and turned her towards what she knew would be the front of the cottage.

  She felt the realisation dawn as she watched Stan trowel a bed of mortar onto the concrete foundation and then place a stone on top, carefully pushing it down and tapping it into place with the handle of the trowel. A cheer went up, followed by a round of applause. Emily’s chin began to wobble.