No Ocean Deep

by Cate Swannell

  “Happy birthday, sweetheart,” she whispered as Jo wrapped arms around her waist and bore her gently backwards till they were lying full-length along the sofa. Very blue eyes twinkled at her at close proximity. “I’m in so much trouble, aren’t I?”

  “Oh yeah,” Jo burred, silencing any further conversation by brushing her lips lightly over Cadie’s.

  “Oh yeah,” Cadie breathed, slipping a hand into the dark locks and pulling her beloved closer.

  Chapter Four

  “You’ve never roasted marshmallows over an open fire?” Cadie asked incredulously, staring at the dark-haired figure sitting across the campfire from her. “You, my Outdoor Queen, have never stuck a marshmallow on a stick?”

  “Um, no,” Jo admitted with a wry smile.

  “Weellllllllll, then you’re in for an education,” said the American as she gleefully produced a packet of the sweet treats from under her sweatshirt.

  Jo watched, amused, as her partner set about the business of raising her blood sugar by several notches. When they’d changed their minds about flying out to the station, opting instead to drive from Brisbane onward, Cadie had been the first to admit that camping had never been her thing. But the thought of seeing the Australian countryside up close and personal had intrigued the American. And now she’s really getting into the swing of things, Jo thought happily.

  “Here you go,” Cadie said, handing Jo a long, straight stick she’d cleaned of dirt and debris, and a handful of marshmallows. “Just stick it on the point and hold it close to the flames. Not right in it though, or you’ll be chewing charcoal.” The blonde grinned, her nose wrinkling endearingly.

  That’s guaranteed to turn me into … well, a marshmallow, Jo chuckled. “Rightio then, here we go,” she said, more than happy to indulge Cadie’s infectious, upbeat mood. She skewered a marshmallow and reached out with the stick, watching as the sugary surface of the sweet began to bubble and caramelize.

  Cadie popped a melty morsel into her mouth and rolled her eyes in exaggerated ecstasy.

  “Good?” Jo asked, not really needing an answer to know her lover was in heaven.

  “Mphmghmm,” came the muffled reply, followed by a happy sigh. “Yours is probably about done, sweetheart.”

  Jo plucked the marshmallow gingerly from the end of the stick and dropped it onto her tongue. Wow, she thought. That’s… really, really… sweet. She giggled. “I think I like it,” she said around the mouthful.

  “I thought you might,” Cadie laughed, her eyes sparkling.

  A well-timed, but purely coincidental phone call from an old friend had caused Jo to suggest a change in travel plans earlier in the week. They’d set off early on Saturday, catching a flight to Brisbane, the Queensland capital, that had seen them sitting on Rita and Brian’s back patio, cold glasses of wine in hand, by mid-afternoon.

  It was great to see them, Jo reflected as she stuck another marshmallow on the end of her stick and placed it in the fire again. Rita – a gorgeous brunette who shared Jo’s sense of humor and taste for red wine – had been a Cheswick employee when Jo had joined the company over five years ago. She and Brian had more or less adopted her in those early days when she was trying find her feet and rebuild her life, and they’d done it without asking too many questions or expecting too much of her. Their offer to lend Jo and Cadie their truck, loaded up with more camping gear than they’d probably need, was typical of her friends’ generosity. Good people.

  After a very pleasant afternoon and evening spent in excellent company, Jo and Cadie had hit the road late on Sunday morning, driving west from Brisbane before ducking south and crossing the border into New South Wales. They’d driven most of the day, covering about 310 miles as they pushed further west till they’d come to Moree late in the day. Cadie had shared the driving with her, Jo confident in her ability to handle the unfamiliar conditions. Not to mention driving on the wrong side of the road. But she dealt with that really well, Jo thought with a smile. It had been fun to watch the American’s eyes growing wider as the countryside became harsher and drier. And flatter.

  They’d had an easier day today, putting another 260 miles behind them before they hit the small mining and agricultural town of Bourke, known as the Gateway to the Outback. They’d arrived by early afternoon and had done some shopping at the local RM Williams outlet.

  Jo grinned at Cadie, resplendent in her new cream-colored moleskins and elastic-sided tan boots. She’d only just been persuaded to take off her Akubra stockman’s hat and Driza-bone oilskin riding coat to eat dinner. Jo chuckled. It had been great fun outfitting the blonde like a fair dinkum Aussie bushman.

  “What’s so funny?” Cadie said, loving the twinkle she could see in Jo’s eyes.

  “Just enjoying watching you have fun,” the dark-haired woman replied.

  Shopping completed, they had found their way through the small town till they’d reached the campground on the banks of the Darling River. After setting up the tent and getting a fire started, Jo had fashioned a tasty meal from the steaks and vegetables they’d bought earlier. It had been a very pleasant evening.

  “I am having fun,” Cadie declared. “This is one big country, Jo-Jo. I never really realized that before now. It’s hard to believe that there can be the islands and the reef and all that and just a couple of days’ drive away it’s like this.” She swept her arm around, taking in the flat, dry landscape beyond the ring of their campfire’s light.

  “Yeah, it’s big,” Jo agreed. “But this is where it really starts to get different. There’s an Aussie saying – going out the back of Bourke – it means going out where there’s nothing and nobody.” She popped another marshmallow into her mouth.

  “So we’re really on the edge of the desert here?” Cadie asked.

  Jo waggled a hand at her.

  “Not desert in the sense of dunes and oases, and camels and all that,” she replied after she finished her mouthful. “But in terms of arable land – stuff that can actually be farmed in some way – we’re heading into country that’s as hard as it gets. There’s nothing too glamorous about working the land out here,” she said wryly.

  “So I shouldn’t expect much in the way of green grass and contented cows then,” Cadie said, thinking of the rich dairy farms of her home state of Wisconsin.

  “Er, no,” Jo confirmed, smiling across the fire at her. “From what Mum was saying on the phone, they’re in the middle of a drought too, so things are tougher than normal.” It occurred to her that Cadie deserved a bit of a warning. “Um, sweetheart?” A blonde eyebrow lifted, waiting. “Things can get a bit harsh out here,” Jo continued, hesitantly. “Especially in a drought. Animals die, and sometimes the farmers are the ones that have to do the killing.” She looked steadily at Cadie, not wanting to sugarcoat reality.

  Cadie nodded, swallowing slightly.

  “Okay,” she said carefully. “I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I understand it’s part of the way things are out here.”

  “Well, I’m not sure either,” Jo agreed. “It’s been a very, very long time since I was here. I hope I’m exaggerating how bad it could be.” She sighed and mustered a smile for her partner. “Whatever happens, it’s going to be different, and there’s always an element of fun in that, right?”

  Cadie stood and moved around to Jo’s side of the fire, dropping down and winding her arm through her lover’s.

  “I’m having a ball, honey,” she reassured. “And whatever happens, happens. As long as we’re together, I’m happy.”

  Jo leaned in and kissed her forehead softly.

  “Ditto,” she replied. “Here, have a marshmallow.” She dropped a sticky finger-full on to Cadie’s bottom lip, watching as the blonde opened and drew the morsel into her mouth.

  “Mmmmmm, thank you,” Cadie mumbled. “Tastes almost as good as you.”

  “Tease.”

  “Yeah, and you love it.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Jo came awake slowly, the u
nfamiliar sounds of their surroundings prodding her up from a rather pleasant dream involving chocolate-covered strawberries and a certain blonde American. Pale blue eyes blinked in the grey pre-dawn light as she slowly adjusted. Tucked under her chin was a warm, limpet-like figure. Jo smiled into the lightening dark, charmed by the small sounds of protestation Cadie made when she half-sensed Jo’s wakefulness. The taller woman wondered briefly what it was that had woken her when the magpie took up its morning song again, warbling high above the tent.

  It was colder than Jo had expected and she sent out a silent thank you to Rita and Brian, who had insisted she and Cadie borrow their alpine-rated double sleeping bag as well.

  Cadie snuggled closer and Jo took a few minutes to just revel in the sleepy sense of contentment she felt whenever the younger woman was close by. She cast her mind back to her previous lovers, and wondered at herself.

  I always hated actually sleeping with other people, she remembered. That skin on skin thing, all night long, just drove me nuts. She glanced down at the blonde head whose warm breath was tickling the skin of her throat. So what is it about this that I just can’t get enough? Jo sighed happily. Well, love, obviously, she answered herself. But I’ve seen plenty of people in love who don’t do this night after night. Unconscious fingertips began a gentle movement across her ribs and Jo smiled into the gloom.

  “Mmmmmm,” came the drowsy greeting as Cadie drifted.

  “Good morning sleepyhead,” Jo said quietly, squeezing the blonde gently. “How do you feel about breakfast?”

  “Mmmmmm, orgasmic,” Cadie muttered. “Want me to call room service?”

  Jo chuckled. As much fun as Cadie was having discovering the joys of camping, she was missing her creature comforts just a little.

  “No room service darl, but I can promise you hot food and a cup of tea. How does that sound?”

  Cadie whimpered as she clutched at Jo’s t-shirt.

  “Zat mean I have to let you go?”

  “Mhmmmm. But the good news is, you get to stay snuggled in here till it’s ready. How about that?”

  Green eyes flickered open for the first time and they looked at her with pathetic gratitude.

  “I adore you.”

  A low, rumbling laugh was her answer. Carefully Jo extracted herself from Cadie’s grasp, unzipping the front of the sleeping bag and crawling out before the blonde gathered the warm material around herself again. The tent was a standard two-person model, wide enough only for the double air mattress and not much in the way of head room. Even sitting on the ground sheet to pull on her sweatpants, the top of Jo’s dark head brushed against the roof. A thick pair of socks was next before the skipper pulled a sweatshirt on over her t-shirt and slid her feet into her unlaced hiking boots. A quick search in her overnight bag revealed a towel, soap, shampoo and toothbrush. Jo unzipped the tent’s fly screen and pushed aside the flaps before crawling out into the cool morning air.

  Mmmmmm, lovely morning, she reflected as she walked to the ablutions block. The campground was pretty much deserted and she had the spartan concrete building to herself. Always a bonus when it comes to public bathrooms, she mused. She stepped into one of the shower cubicles and turned on the hot water, letting the steam warm her as she stripped off. She tempered it with some cold just as she stepped under the high-pressure jet.

  It was the smell of gently frying bacon that finally drew Cadie out of the warm nest of the sleeping bag.

  How do vegetarians resist that? Cadie sat up and blinked at her surroundings. It was still quite cool and she grabbed the sweatshirt Jo had discarded after her shower, pulling it over her head. It smelled wonderfully of her partner’s unique scent, combined with clean cotton and soap. Yum.

  Cadie finished dressing, grabbed her toiletries bag and towel and crawled outside the tent. The view brought her up short.

  “Ohhh,” she gasped. They were camped on a gentle curve of the Darling River. The early morning mist still hung over the grey-green water and a flock of large white birds swooped lazily over the river’s course, the air crisp and clean. On the opposite bank tall, ghostly gum trees emerged from the light fog but there wasn’t a breath of wind to disturb their olive-green leaves. It was a tableau out of a watercolor painting. “Gosh, Jo, this is gorgeous,” she breathed.

  Jo looked up from where she was crouched in front of the small fire, looking around at what had the blonde so entranced.

  “Yep it sure is,” she murmured. “Did you sleep okay?” She turned back to the fire and poked at the sausages and bacon sizzling away in the frying pan she had balanced on the coals.

  Cadie tore her eyes from the landscape and looked at her lover. Jo’s dark hair draped over her shoulders as she leaned over the cooking food. Cadie watched as a long-fingered hand absently pushed an errant lock back behind her ear. The t-shirt showed off Jo’s finely-muscled arms to good effect and the sweatpants were stretched over firm thighs as she settled on her haunches. Cadie sighed happily.

  It’s 6am, I’m not awake yet and I have crusty crud in the corners of my eyes, but looking at her still makes me twittery. An inquiring brow quirked in her direction as Jo’s question went unanswered. Wakie, wakie Arcadia.

  “Uh, sorry. Did you ask me something?” She shrugged. “You distracted me.”

  Jo snorted but smiled up at her lover.

  “I asked if you slept okay.”

  Cadie walked over and sat on the large log that lay on the ground on one side of the fireplace.

  “Actually I did, thanks,” she answered. Green eyes met blue across the column of smoke. “As long as I have you for a pillow, darling, I’m pretty sure I could sleep anywhere.” Interesting how even something as simple as that can make her blush, Cadie thought as she watched the tinge of color touch Jo’s cheeks.

  “Well, that’s good to know,” her lover answered huskily.

  “Have I got time for a shower?”

  “Yep. I’ll have this lot.” Jo indicated the bacon and eggs that were just about done to perfection. “And I’ll have yours hot and ready for you when you get back.”

  Cadie grinned.

  “I like this kind of room service,” she said cheekily as she swung her legs over the log and headed for the ablutions block.

  Jo tilted her head and watched as the blonde sauntered off.

  “Damn, I love watching you leave,” she called out, provoking a laugh and a jaunty addition to Cadie’s natural gait. Jo groaned. “Tease,” she muttered, happily tipping her breakfast onto a waiting plate.

  “Show me again where we are and where we’re going?” Cadie said an hour later. She had finished washing the breakfast dishes while Jo packed up the tent and sleeping bag, loading the equipment into the back of the truck.

  “Sure.” Jo pulled out the map from a pocket on the spare wheel cover and spread it out on the picnic table next to their campsite. She pinned down the edges with a ketchup bottle and her Swiss Army knife. Cadie came up beside her, tucking herself under Jo’s left arm. “Okay, we’re here.” Jo jabbed a finger on Bourke. “See this triangle?” A long finger traced the blue spidery line of the Darling River, southwest to Wilcannia, then east to Cobar and north again to Bourke.

  “Yep,” Cadie replied.

  “Well, Coonyabby is just about in the middle of it,” Jo said. She pointed at a bare patch in the center of the triangle.

  Cadie leaned forward and looked more carefully at the map.

  “Um, sweetheart? There are no roads leading to the station.”

  Jo chuckled. “None marked on the map that’s for sure,” she agreed. “No more bitumen for us, kiddo.”

  Cadie blinked at her quizzically. “Bitumen?”

  “Um…” Jo searched her limited lexicon of American phrases for the appropriate equivalent. “Asphalt?”

  “Ah, thank you.” Cadie nodded.

  Jo pointed at the faint unfilled-in lines following the course of the Darling.

  “That’s an unsealed road from Bourke to Wilcannia,�
� she explained. “But we’re gonna stop at Louth.” She flicked a fingertip at the tiny town about 60 miles southwest of where they were. “We turn left and there’s another unsealed road that runs to Cobar. But we’re only going about halfway along it. Hopefully we should find Mum and Dad’s mailbox somewhere along there. They’ve got a dirt track running from the road to the homestead.”

  Cadie stepped back and put her hands on her hips.

  “The words ‘somewhere’ and ‘hopefully’ are not generating a lot of confidence in me, Miss Madison,” she mock scolded, provoking a laugh from her partner, who started refolding the map.

  “Well, it’s been a while since I had to find the place, Miss Jones. And we’ve got my cell phone so we’ll be fine.” She tossed the map in the blonde’s direction, chuckling as Cadie juggled it before dropping it back in its pocket. “If we have trouble finding the track to the homestead, I’ll call Mum and she’ll come and get us.” A small flicker of something crossed Jo’s face, catching Cadie’s eye.

  She’s nervous, the blonde realized.

  “I’m looking forward to meeting her, Jo-Jo,” she said carefully.

  “So am I,” Jo replied dryly.

  “Is that how it feels?” Cadie asked. “Like you’re meeting her for the first time?”

  Jo sat down on the picnic table, her feet resting on the bench. She fiddled with her Swiss Army knife, opening and closing each tool as she thought about her reply. The silence was just long enough to make Cadie believe she wasn’t going to answer, when Jo cleared her throat.

  “Kind of, I guess,” she murmured, not meeting her partner’s eyes. “To be honest, I’m more worried about Dad than Mum.”

  Cadie watched as the emotions passed across Jo’s face, tugging at the corners of her mouth and eyes. She walked over and stood in front of Jo, resting her hands on the taller woman’s denim-clad knees. She didn’t say anything, but just offered comfort through the small strokes of her fingers as Jo continued to wrestle with her thoughts.