‘Really?’
‘Of course.’
‘It’d be a pretty big job.’
‘Yes, but not impossible. You’d have to separate the useable stone from the debris, clean off the old mortar, and then you could rebuild. It would have started out as a pile of rocks in the first place.’
‘Hmm, I hadn’t thought of it like that.’
Emily turned right and halted the car at the steel mesh gate into the paddock next door. She was glad when Jake leapt out of the car, saying, ‘I’ll get it.’ Hopefully that would mean an end to the topic of the cottage.
‘If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I wouldn’t have believed someone could be so spiteful,’ Jake said, as he settled back into the car after shutting the gate. ‘To go to the trouble of tearing down the cottage and then put the shed nearby – not even use the site,’ he said, shaking his head.
And there you have it. Emily pursed her lips and put the car in gear.
Chapter Thirty-one
Although she was careful to take the rough track slowly, Emily cringed every time she felt the bump and thud and twang of stones underneath the car. The heavy, fertile soil John had often bragged about was also home to sharp brown rock.
‘I wonder where the stone for the cottage came from – it’s not indigenous by the looks of this,’ Jake said, nodding at the rough, stony track ahead of them.
‘Nearer the coast I’d reckon. We’re only thirty kilometres inland. All the old cottages, schoolhouses, and churches around here are built from limestone. I guess it was easier for the early settlers to come by.’
‘It’s certainly easier to work with,’ Jake replied. ‘Often just a matter of plonking a rock in and filling up the gaps with mortar. And it’s easy to break if you need it smaller. The iron in this stuff was probably too difficult to work with back then,’ he added, again nodding at the track. ‘Wow, it’s a lot more undulating than it looks.’
Emily turned the corner of the paddock and drove alongside the dense scrub, beyond which rose a small range of hills. She stopped the car about halfway along the paddock where a narrow track disappeared into the scrub – a path worn smooth over many years by sheep making their way down onto the flat to graze or drink from the trough against the road.
‘Sorry, we’ll have to walk from here. Bring your camera,’ she added, turning off the car and getting out. ‘Gracie, you stay right here beside me,’ she commanded with a point to her leg. The dog immediately fell in alongside.
Emily felt pleased to be showing Jake around. Gone was the unease she’d felt in the car. This really was an exciting new beginning. She indicated for him to go first, and held back enough so she wouldn’t get hit in the face with tree branches.
She remembered the day John had brought her here; proud to be showing off his little piece of paradise.
She felt a similar pride, though she reminded herself that her little piece of paradise was the twenty acres twenty kilometres or so back over to the west. This was just an asset she would have to decide what to do with. Would Thora and Gerald demand she hand it over to them? Could they?
About a kilometre in, the scrub opened up into a lush clearing with a natural soak and a small creek running through it. Up here there was still a trickle of fresh water, unlike the dry creek bed where the cottage had been.
Emily tramped along in silence, lost in her own thoughts, reminding Grace to stay beside her every so often. She had no idea where on the property the sheep were, and she didn’t want to disturb them.
‘Wow, this is gorgeous,’ Jake whispered, stopping at the edge of the trees. ‘Look.’ He indicated forwards with his head.
Ahead of them were about a dozen kangaroos, lying stretched out in the sun.
‘Grace, stay,’ she hissed. The dog was crouched low beside her, her tail still.
Jake carefully put down his bag, squatted, and removed his camera.
The kangaroos were now flicking their ears back and forth – their presence had been detected. A couple of them lifted their heads and looked directly at them. Jake would have to be quick if he was going to capture this.
He began clicking away, and continued as one by one the kangaroos got up and then slowly and gracefully hopped away into the scrub and out of sight. They didn’t seem too startled, just not at ease with human company.
‘I won’t be allowed to say this once I become a landowner – farmers and wildlife aren’t supposed to get along – but aren’t they majestic creatures?’
‘Gorgeous,’ Jake said, nodding.
‘I hope you got some good shots.’
‘Certainly did,’ he said, standing up. ‘Here, have a look.’ They leant in together to look in the viewfinder.
Emily was impressed with what he’d taken, but was distracted by his proximity. God, he smelled good!
‘I don’t know how you think you’re going to top this spot,’ Jake said after he’d put away his camera. He wrapped his arms around her. They kissed while Grace snuffled around in the scents left by the kangaroos.
‘Shall we keep going?’ Emily asked after they had regained their breath.
‘Sure. I’d like to see how it looks from the other side,’ Jake said. He set off, skirting the natural clearing. Emily followed with Grace trotting beside her.
‘How far back does the property go?’ Jake asked. ‘
About the same distance as back to the car and across a few kilometres. I’m not very good with distances. It’s around four thousand acres all up, but only half of that is on this side of the road. Come on; I’ll show you as much as I can – we’ll find somewhere for our barbeque along the way.’
‘Surely there’s nowhere else as picturesque as this,’ Jake said, as they started walking back.
‘You’ll just have to wait and see.’ She grinned. The spot she had in mind would take his breath away. He’d seen the oasis-type settings so far – David and Barbara’s and now hers – so it was time for something different.
It felt odd thinking of the property as hers. Though, technically speaking, it had been hers while she’d been married. Not that John had ever let her feel that it was.
After returning to the car, they continued around the property until they could see the back of the house and surrounding sheds in the distance. They had come full circle after going through a number of steel mesh gates and quite a few of the much more difficult and dangerous wire or ‘cocky’ versions. Between them they had managed to get the notoriously tricky gates opened and closed without injury.
Again they parked near the scrub at the base of a rise. Emily unloaded the boot and between them they carried the esky, small gas barbeque and bottle, and a backpack containing a ziplock bag of dog biscuits, a large bottle of water, two dog bowls, cutlery, hard plastic plates, and a tartan picnic rug.
Grace raced ahead and disappeared off into the scrub. The hill was quite steep and a little rocky, so they stayed silent while they watched their feet and tried not to appear out of breath. When they got to the top, the view was just as beautiful as she remembered it.
Stretching out before them were miles and miles of farmland and scrub. The patchwork of browns, greens and pale yellows looked like a magnificent quilt. In the distance, the farmland gave way to a wide strip of pure white sandhills, announcing the rich blue-green of the Spencer Gulf.
They were blessed with a cool, clear day. The white-painted grain silos were clearly visible, stretching up and seeming to join the cobalt blue sky with the farmland and the nearby ocean. The first time Emily had seen this view she’d marvelled at how it seemed to encompass the whole cycle of farming life.
‘My God. It’s beautiful. I didn’t think you could top the oasis earlier, but bloody hell!’ Jake said in a breathy voice.
Emily grinned at him. ‘Glad you like it.’
Jake got out his camera and began frantically snapping away as if he was concerned the view might disappear at any moment. Emily smiled. He was like a kid let loose in a candy store.
&n
bsp; ‘It must have been hard to leave all this behind,’ Jake said, peering into the lens and making adjustments. ‘Do you miss it?’
‘Not often,’ she replied with a shrug. ‘Too many bad memories, I guess.’
But she hadn’t felt at all uneasy driving around. In fact, she had to admit that she felt really quite at home. Being here had always felt right, it was just that so much had happened.
Her feelings about the place had been shifting since the day she and Barbara had come over.
As Emily unpacked the lunch things, she tried to get her thoughts in order. She loved where she was living, and she’d gone past the point of no return on that. She’d given her word to the brothers, and the surveyors were there right now.
But what if the farm did come to her? Could she see herself living here again?
This house was already done. Could do with a spruce up, but certainly didn’t need a full renovation. Emily bit her lip. I don’t know.
At least she would have somewhere to live while she renovated. No need to beg for the use of her parents’ caravan.
‘Here, let me do that,’ Jake said, taking the barbeque from Emily and setting it up in a matter of seconds.
‘Thanks,’ she said, leaving him to light it while she got Grace some food and water. She smiled at the dog stretched out on the rug; the picture of contentment.
‘You’re awfully quiet,’ Jake said, turning back from the barbeque.
‘I’ve just been thinking about what you said.’
‘What’s that?’ he said, diving into the esky.
‘If I do end up owning this, do you think I should give up on my place and move back here?’ As she said it, Emily felt guilty about the plans he’d drawn up potentially being for nothing.
‘I guess it depends on how you feel.’
‘It’s weird; I don’t feel at all like I thought I would. Driving around today I’ve actually felt quite at peace with the place.’
‘I don’t know, Em. I can’t advise you one way or the other. Both places are bound to have pluses and minuses – you just have to weigh them up with how you feel inside. But don’t waste energy worrying about it…’
‘I know, I know, the universe will sort it out the way it’s meant to be,’ she cut in, a little exasperatedly.
‘Exactly. Give it time. Meanwhile, just enjoy this view. You can’t read the signs if you’re worrying too much.’
Chapter Thirty-two
‘Thanks for bringing me here, Em,’ Jake said, staring out to the paddock stretched out below them. ‘It’s so peaceful. The perfect place to celebrate New Year’s Day. Look at those sheep; not a care in the world.’
‘I’ve always thought that about sheep,’ Emily said. ‘John hated them. Working with them drove him mad; he’d get into such a rage every time.’
‘I wonder why he bothered then.’
‘Money, I guess.’
Grace chose that moment to get up from her snooze. She crouched down, head and tail lowered, and stared at the large white dots slowly moving around in the distance. She was noticeably quivering all over.
‘You stay here, Gracie. No rounding up of sheep for you, my girl,’ Emily warned, giving her a pat. But the little border collie seemed to shrug off her attention and remained totally fixated on the sheep.
‘Does she know how to round them up – like properly?’ Jake asked, turning the sizzling chops.
Emily glanced at him as he squatted over the barbeque. His jeans were stretched tight across his backside and his rugby top covered his lean back without disguising its definition.
‘No. Well, I don’t know. She’s never been taught, but she seems to think she does. Grace! Sit. Down. Now!’
Again Emily was ignored. This time she pulled at the dog’s collar, dragged her close and pushed her into a sitting position. Grace very reluctantly complied. She whined in objection before lying down with a sigh, resting her chin on her paws.
‘Good girl,’ Emily said, and released her hold on the collar. ‘Right, lunch.’
‘Great food; I’m full,’ Jake said, putting his plate aside and lying back on the rug.
‘Hmm. How is it that something so simple can taste so good?’ Emily said, leaning over him to put her own plate out of reach of Grace. Cooked bones were a no-no for dogs.
‘Must be the good company and the lovely tranquil setting,’ Jake said, grabbing Emily and pulling her down on top of him.
They kissed, quickly becoming lost in the moment. When they finally withdrew and sat back up, it was Jake who noticed Grace was missing. ‘Where’s Grace?’
‘Oh God.’ Emily looked around the immediate area, and then stood up for a more distant view. ‘Look,’ she said, pointing ahead with one hand while the other shaded her eyes.
Jake stood up and put a hand to his forehead to block out the bright afternoon sun. ‘Wow. How clever is that?’
There, far below them, were the sheep they’d been watching earlier, only now they were in a tightly formed bunch and moving en masse towards them.
Emily laughed. ‘I suppose I should be angry.’
‘Are you sure she isn’t trained?’
‘It must be in her DNA or something,’ Emily said.
‘Amazing.’
‘Hmm.’ Emily was too impressed to call the dog back.
The sheep were now just below them on the last flat area before the scrub and the hill. They watched, mesmerised, as the sheep began circling. Occasionally they caught glimpses of Grace, who was running around circling the large group.
‘Now what’s she doing?’
‘Looks like keeping them in the circle or stopping them moving. You probably know as much about this as me.’
‘But you’re a farmer,’ Jake said, staring at her.
‘No. I was married to a farmer – who wouldn’t let me help him, remember? I’m just a townie.’
‘Oh.’
‘So what do you reckon we’re meant to do with all these sheep staring at us.’
‘No idea.’
They started to giggle. After a few moments they both began calling Grace and slapping their thighs. ‘Come on Gracie. Good girl. Clever girl.’
The dog looked from them to the sheep and back again, clearly very reluctant to leave her charges. She swayed back and forth as if being physically torn between her job with the sheep and loyalty to her mistress. She moved to where she was halfway between the sheep and Jake and Emily, and stood looking back.
‘You can leave them now, girl. Come on,’ Emily called.
With one final glance at the sheep, Grace seemed to give a shrug of her shoulders and bounded up the hill. Her tongue was hanging out and she was panting when she got to the top, but she looked very pleased with herself. Farmers often talked about decent work dogs being worth three men and how they absolutely loved working sheep; it was fun to them, not work. Emily had never really believed it; had actually thought it a bit cruel how hard they were worked and treated. Now she could see how wrong she’d been.
She and Jake bent down and made a huge fuss of Grace. There was no point telling her off; the dog clearly thought she’d been doing the right thing rounding up the sheep for them.
‘Was that fun?’ she said, ruffling the dog’s ears. Grace was squirming about, lapping up the attention. Emily realised she hadn’t seen her this excited since she’d left John and the farm, and felt a stab of guilt. She thought she’d been doing the right thing keeping Grace as a pampered pet, but what if in her perceived kindness she was actually being cruel? At least Grace had her for company and wasn’t left alone every day. But maybe it wasn’t enough.
Grace kept looking back and checking the sheep.
‘I think we’d better get going; she’s clearly not going to let this go, and I didn’t bring a leash.’ Emily could also now see why most farmers kept their dogs chained up or in pens – another thing she’d previously considered cruel.
‘You hold on to her and I’ll pack up,’ Jake said.
Emil
y felt guilty watching Jake struggling back down the hill to the car carrying everything except the backpack, which was all she could manage while keeping a tight hold on Grace’s collar. She was glad when she had her in the car and could straighten up properly – she was getting a definite crick in her back.
‘I’ll give you a massage later,’ Jake said, noticing her stretching.
‘I’d like that,’ she said.
He hadn’t said it in a provocative way, and nor had she, but Emily imagined how good it would be to feel their skin together, not to mention having those lovely strong hands kneading her…
She pictured them starting with a soak together in the big claw foot bath. Perhaps she’d light candles too. Did she have any? Yes, but only plain ones kept in case of blackouts. Emily made a mental note to invest in some scented and coloured candles.
No, she told herself, trying to rid her mind of the image and her groin of its humming. We’re taking it slowly. A massage didn’t necessarily mean naked, and it wouldn’t necessarily lead to sex. Besides, she was so not ready to be seen in all her nakedness.
But then she sighed. It was going to happen sooner or later. Jake would see her little pot belly and thick, dimpled thighs; there was nothing she could do about them. No diet, starvation, or punishing exercise regime had ever made a difference. She wondered how she measured up against her stick-thin cousin Elizabeth, or all the other sophisticated Melbourne women he’d most likely dated. Oh well, if he didn’t like what he saw – a slightly stout size twelve – then there was nothing she could do about it.
She hoped he would like what he saw, though.
‘What a perfect day,’ Jake said, smiling at her. ‘Thank you.’
‘My pleasure,’ Emily said, beaming back at him.
‘I think someone’s a bit pooped,’ he whispered, indicating towards the back seat with his head.
Emily glanced in the rear vision mirror and smiled. Grace was fast asleep across the back seat with what looked like a grin on her face.
‘You’re going to have to get her some sheep to play with,’ Jake said.
‘Hmm.’ Emily replied absently. She was thinking that John would have had a fit. The thought caused a shudder to run through her.
Time Will Tell Page 22