Kim turned to find Mel staring. She hadn’t missed the look, or its significance. Kim grinned. So what? She was with Taj now, and didn’t care who knew it.
‘I meant to tell you,’ said Mel. ‘Some bloke from Parks and Wildlife came looking for you on Monday.’ She took a card from her pocket and handed it over.
Kim read the plain printed card. Noel Fullerton, Senior Project Officer. It told her nothing.
‘Did he say what it was about?’
Mel wore the tight-lipped, apologetic smile of somebody delivering bad news. ‘He said dingoes.’
Kim’s stomach lurched. For months, she and Taj had lived under the fear of a Wild Dog Eradication Order. Well, if the department planned to issue one now, they’d have a fight on their hands. One that Kim intended to win. She looked at the card again. ‘I’d better give him a ring.’
‘A trial,’ she said. ‘How would that work?’
Taj had followed her down to the house. He stood close by as she talked on the phone. By the time she finished the call, he looked ready to explode with impatience.
She reassured him with a smile, eager to wipe the worry from his face. ‘They’re interested in settling the dingo debate with a trial reintroduction. Noel read Del’s article. He wants to use Journey’s End as a test site.’
Tingo Memorial Hall was packed with people. Everybody wanted to know about the proposed dingo park, and how it might affect them. Everybody except Geoff Masters. The police had traced the abusive texts to his phone, and wanted to speak to him. Last week he’d gone to visit his sister in Sydney, and nobody had seen him since.
Winnie was doing the rounds, dropping a snippet of gossip here and a snippet of gossip there. ‘Did you hear about Ben Steele?’ she said to Kim. ‘He’s up before the Real Estate Institute disciplinary panel. And I heard something about the police. I wonder what that’s about?’ A pregnant pause, but Kim didn’t bite.
Kim excused herself and went over to where Todd was admiring Jake’s new cricket bat. ‘Taj made it himself,’ said Jake proudly. ‘Come over tomorrow. We should start practising. The season’s only a month away.’
Abbey was running round with the carved figure of a poodle that looked remarkably like Percy. Telling everybody that Bibi had puppies and they were getting one. Kim had no doubts this time about a new dog. They’d never forget Dusty, but he was safe beneath the waratahs, and this time, her life would move on. She slipped a hand in her pocket and rubbed Peri, the mountain fairy figurine Taj had given her as a token. Smooth and reassuringly solid to touch – her new good luck charm. Kim would need all its magical powers if they were to win over the locals.
Noel Fullerton stepped onto the stage to explain the plan. ‘A growing body of evidence suggests the reintroduction of dingoes can restore damaged ecosystems to balance. They keep predators in check, like foxes and feral cats. This benefits native species. Dingoes control overgrazing by feral goats, and native herbivores like kangaroos, wallabies and emus. This allows plants to regenerate.’
Kim took a deep breath. Good, the crowd was quiet, hearing him out.
‘We plan to test this theory at Kim Sullivan’s property on Bangalow Road.’
He went on to describe the scheme in more detail: length of trial, monitoring processes, control sites and so on. ‘The major hurdle to a successful dingo reintroduction trial is convincing farmers and the local community to support it. That’s why I’m here. Any questions?’
Mel stood up and broke the ice with a Dorothy Dixer. ‘I own the farm next door to Kim’s place. What happens if dingoes kill my sheep?’
‘This project is well funded. We’ll generously compensate landholders for stock losses.’ There was a murmur of approval from the floor. ‘However, in an area of abundant game, this shouldn’t be a major problem. I believe you’ve lived next door for some time, Mel, and haven’t lost sheep.’
‘That’s right. Not to dingoes at least.’
Half-a-dozen hands went up.
‘Won’t they breed up too quickly and overrun the park?’ asked Shirley.
‘No chance of that. Dingoes come in season only once a year, not twice like domestic dogs,’ said Noel. ‘And in a stable pack, only the alpha female has puppies.’
He was a great communicator, responding fully to each question, allaying doubts and calming fears. ‘And, in conclusion, don’t forget the ecotourism potential of a project like this. It could put Tingo on the map.’
Kim wanted to clap. Noel was a master at public relations, and she could feel the positive energy in the room. ‘Thank you, Peri.’ She gave her pocket fairy an appreciative rub. The town was on their side.
The first glorious day of spring. A sapphire sky shone with Tingo’s peculiar clarity of light. Kim dropped the kids at school and they ran through the gate. Abbey and Jake had well and truly been welcomed back into the fold.
Jean waved and came over to the car. ‘I was wondering . . . could you reconsider your decision to take Abbey away next year? I have a funding report to write, and you know how important student numbers are. They’re always threatening to close us down.’
‘Done,’ said Kim. ‘I’m starting a new job next week with the Office of Environment and Heritage. Noel put me onto it. Advising landholders on bush regeneration. Who’d have thought that was even a thing? Anyway, we’re staying put.’
‘That’s wonderful news,’ said Jean. ‘And not that it’s any of my business, but I’d like to say how pleased I am for you and Taj. He’s a good man, Kim, one of the best. You’re made for each other.’
‘Thank you, Jean. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have something important to do.’
Kim stood with Taj by the rapids on Cedar Creek, holding Scout’s silver urn. Above them the orchids were making a comeback, the cliffs scattered with fresh, green shoots. She cast the ashes to the breeze, and Taj threw his handful of sand. Two puffs of dust, merging, mingling, landing who-knew-where? Setting them all free.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to my patient family for enduring my absences while I was locked away writing, and for believing in me. You are all stars.
Thank you to my literary friends, talented writers themselves, who encourage me, and understand like nobody else the joys and pitfalls of this journey. Thanks to my two writing groups: the Little Lonsdale Group and the Darklings. I especially want to thank Anja Tanhane who insisted the book would be wonderful and that I should follow my heart. Particular thanks also go to Kathryn Ledson, Kate Belle, Margareta Osborn and Sydney Smith for their constant support.
Thank you to my publisher at Penguin Random House, Sarah Fairhall, my editor, Ali Arnold, and the rest of the publishing team. Thanks also to Clare Forster of Curtis Brown, for always being on my side.
Perhaps the most special thanks of all go to my old school friend Kim Gollan and her husband, Pete. Journey’s End is based on their magnificent Dingo Creek Rainforest Nursery. I’ll never forget that trip we took together to Tapin Tops National Park. Kim, you are a real life inspiration for the concept of bush regeneration and rewilding.
Last but not least, thanks to Rewilding Australia for tirelessly supporting the restoration of Australia’s natural ecosystems.
About the Author
Jennifer has always harboured a deep appreciation and respect for the natural world. Her house, which was left to her by her father, is on a hilltop overlooking valleys of messmate and mountain ash. She lives there with her family. A pair of old eagles live there too. Black-tailed wallabies graze by the creek. Eastern spinebills hover among the callistemon. Horses have always been her passion. She grew up on the books of Elyne Mitchell, and all her life she’s ridden and bred horses, in particular Australian stock horses.
jenniferscoullar.com
Also by Jennifer Scoullar
Brumby’s Run
Currawong Creek
Billabong Bend
Turtle Reef
ALSO BY JENNIFER SCOULLAR
Unlucky-in-love zoologist Zoe K
ing has had enough of Sydney. Seeking a fresh start, she moves to the small sugar town of Kiawa to take up an exciting new role in marine science. Zoe is immediately charmed by the region’s beauty – its rivers and rainforests, and its vast cane fields – and by the people – the farmers and fishermen, unhurried and down to earth, proud of their traditions.
Her work at the Reef Centre provides all the passion she needs and Zoe finds a friend in Bridget, the centre’s director. The last thing she expects is to fall for her boss’s fiancé, cane king Quinn Cooper. Zoe focuses on her research and tries to ignore the growing attraction between them. But things aren’t quite adding up at the Reef Centre, and when animals on the reef begin to sicken and die, Zoe’s personal and professional worlds collide. She faces a terrible choice. Will protecting the reef mean betraying the man she loves?
For Nina Moore, the rare marshland flanking the beautiful Bunyip River is the most precious place on earth. Her dream is to buy Billabong Bend and protect it forever, but she’s not the only one with designs on the land. When her childhood sweetheart Ric returns home, old feelings are rekindled, and Nina dares to dream of a future for both of them on the river. But a tragic death divides loyalties and threatens to tear apart their fledgling romance.
This star-crossed rural romance sets Nina, a floodplains grazier, and Ric, a traditional cotton farmer, on a heart-rending collision course, amid the beauty of northern NSW.
PRAISE FOR JENNIFER SCOULLAR:
‘A crisp, well-written tale . . . Sings like a Bunya mountain breeze.’
COURIER-MAIL
‘A lovely story of family and self-discovery, of love of the land and the wildlife that live on it.’
1 GIRL . . . 2 MANY BOOKS
‘Celebrates the country and, more importantly, the bush as a life-changing environment . . . A heart-thumping romance.’
THE WEEKLY TIMES
Brisbane lawyer Clare Mitchell has a structured, orderly life. That is, until she finds herself the unlikely guardian of a small, troubled boy. In desperation, Clare takes Jack to stay at Currawong Creek, her grandfather’s horse stud in the foothills of the beautiful Bunya Mountains.
Here life moves at a different pace, and for Clare it feels like coming home. Her grandad adores having them there. Jack loves the animals. And Clare finds herself falling hard for the handsome local vet.
But trouble is coming. The Pyramid Mining Company threatens to destroy the land Clare loves – and with it, her newfound happiness.
‘An excellent read.’
NEWCASTLE HERALD
‘Delightful, thoughtful and heartwarming.’
BOOK’D OUT
‘Ms Scoullar’s love of the land truly shines through . . . Told with warmth and humour, this is a story about family, the risks and rewards of selfless devotion and the powerful bonds we form with animals and the land.’
BOOK MUSTER DOWN UNDER
A blissful carefree summer beckons for Samantha Carmichael. But her world is turned on its head when she learns she’s adopted – and that she has a twin sister, Charlie, who is critically ill.
While Charlie recovers in hospital, Sam offers to look after Brumby’s Run, her sister’s home high in the Victorian Alps. Within days city girl Sam finds herself breaking brumbies and running cattle with the help of handsome neighbour Drew Chandler, her sister’s erstwhile boyfriend.
A daunting challenge soon becomes a wholehearted tree change as Sam begins to fall in love with Brumby’s Run – and with Drew. But what will happen when Charlie comes back to claim what is rightfully hers?
Set among the hauntingly beautiful ghost gums and wild horses of the high country, Brumby’s Run is a heartfelt, romantic novel about families and secrets, love and envy and, most especially, the bonds of sisterhood.
‘Jennifer Scoullar’s passion for the land shines through in this wonderful romance set high in the Victorian Alps. Highly recommended.’
SUNSHINE COAST DAILY
‘A strong storyline with appealing characters set within a magnificent landscape. If you devoured The Silver Brumby series as a child or had a crush on Tom Burlinson, you are sure to love Brumby’s Run.’
BOOK’D OUT
MICHAEL JOSEPH
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Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies
whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, 2016
Text copyright © Jennifer Scoullar 2016
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Cover and text design by Laura Thomas © Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Cover photographs: woman watching ocean by Asia Images/Getty Images;
Megalong Valley by Andrew Peacock/Getty Images
penguin.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-76014-151-6
THE BEGINNING
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Journey’s End Page 30