Sandro’s gruff reply echoed in my head for the next few hours, weeks, months. “No. You need to concentrate on your studies.”
Now, I don’t think this was a serious rejection of the idea. It was more of a reaction to how Josh had been stirring him earlier, but Josh’s face flamed, and he leapt to his feet.
“You’re a real bastard Sandro. You just think you’re so great dishing out money and being the good guy. But you’re a fraud.” Next, Sandro was on his feet glaring at him. None of the Caretakers intervened, and I should have tried to settle them both because the tension in the air was unbearable. Before I could think of something, Josh threw down his dinner plate saying “I’m out of here. You can stuff your damn computer and your stupid course.” He ran for the side gate. Sandro hesitated for only a moment or two then took off, at a fast run, after him.
We watched the gate swing shut after Josh, be pulled open again angrily by Sandro, and then listened to the thudding of their feet as they ran down the side to the road. There was a squeal of tyres, a horrible heavy sound of contact, the noise of a car hitting the kerb, and then a scream of horror. It was Josh’s voice.
Check out the other books from The Caretaker Trilogy:
Eleven Hundred Sand Dunes (book 2)
The unusual world of the Caretakers in Reluctant Activists is followed by Eleven Hundred Sand Dunes shifting and deepening the expanding stories of the characters as they tackle the ups and downs of the aftermath and the challenges ahead.
Each character’s journey is not only an exploration of the physical world, but also one of personal discovery, resilience and frustrating, yet exhilarating, action. They face the eyes of the law, overcome the tricksters thrown in by the Source, and desperately struggle to maintain their somewhat normal lives. To triumph over hurdles requires supporting one another, and it is these poignant and tender experiences of love in the face of adversity which bring the characters and their stories together.
Set first in Melbourne and then across Victoria’s eastern coast, the story finally reaches the Simpson Desert. Eleven Hundred Sand Dunes is an exploration not only of the fast paced and demanding world we came to know in Reluctant Activists, but also one which explores strength, hope and courage.
www.vividpublishing.com.au/elevenhundredsanddunes
Facing the Sun (book 3)
The Birdsville Track in outback Queensland becomes a highway to realisation for Jack an indigenous youth worker. Its seductive serenity is punctuated by several ‘other-worldly’ intrusions threatening to spirit him away into madness. But the pervading desire for a lover to replace the memories of Tim wins out, bringing new hope. Not racism, his mother’s acute illness, nor his nephew’s physical and emotional battles can prevent him from giving his heart again. Reunions with long lost family prove not all they’re cracked up to be, yet hope triumphs.
In this finale of the Caretakers Trilogy, Facing the Sun considers cultural and spiritual identity.
www.vividpublishing.com.au/facingthesun
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Other books by Helena Phillips may also be purchased on the website.
Reluctant Activists Page 28