Heart of Gold

by Fiona Palmer

  Lindsay led her through an alleyway of stalls, past an area set up with food vans and live music, through a shed with more stalls and out into the open. He took her up a small gravel slope towards the open shearing shed. Shade cloth covered an area of plastic chairs, set up like an amphitheatre so you could easily see the action. Lindsay found some empty chairs for them and dumped his bag on the ground.

  CJ sat and took in the view of the six stands. There were three on either side, with a gap down the middle where the rousies took the fleeces out the back. Each stand had a big digital timer above it and there was a judging table off to the left.

  Lindsay pulled off his blue and black Warrie jumper and lifted up his shirt with it, revealing smooth olive skin and ab muscles to die for. CJ noticed a couple of girls in shearing singlets just about snapping their necks to get a second glance. She smirked, pulling his singlet back down for him.

  ‘Are you getting nervous?’ she asked.

  He put his sunglasses on top of his head. ‘Sort of, especially when you keep bringing it up.’ He flashed her a cheeky smile.

  ‘Sorry. So, how many sheep do you have to shear?’

  ‘I’ve got five in the heat and they have ten in the final. I’ve gotta go soon and do the draw to pick which stand I’m on and also to sort our sheep so it’s even.’

  A tall, solid man swaggered up to Lindsay and slapped him on the shoulder. He was wearing a black shearing singlet with red trims and CJ guessed he’d be in his thirties.

  ‘Hey, Slick. Long time no bloody see, mate. How ya been?’

  Lindsay looked up and shook his hand. ‘Nigel, bloody hell. What you doing down this way?’

  ‘Same as you, no doubt. I’ve entered the comp but if I’d known you were in, I wouldn’t have bothered.’

  Lindsay laughed and then motioned to CJ. ‘Hey, Nigel, this is CJ. CJ, this is an old mate of mine, Nigel. He has a farm forty ks from ours.’

  ‘G’day.’ She felt him give her the once-over.

  ‘How’d ya do? Well, Slick, it’s time to go get ready. I’ll see ya out back.’ Then he was off.

  ‘Slick?’ CJ asked, curious.

  ‘Yep. A nickname some blokes gave me back home.’

  ‘I’ll remember that one.’

  Lindsay groaned. ‘Well then, you have to tell me your real name.’

  Now it was CJ’s turn to groan.

  ‘Come on. You’ve gotta give me something.’

  CJ took a deep breath. ‘If you win the final, then I’ll tell you.’

  He held out his hand. ‘You’re on,’ he said, and they shook on it.

  He dug around in his bag for his handpiece, located it, then waved goodbye.

  ‘Good luck, Lindsay!’ she called as he headed off.

  CJ didn’t know about him, but her heart was already beating faster than normal.

  Lindsay was on stand three, just next to Nigel. As they waited they leaned on the fence and looked over the sheep in their pens. Better than facing the large crowd gathered out front.

  ‘Rumour has it you left the farm?’ said Nigel.

  ‘Just a rumour? The folks must be keeping it quiet. Probably thought I’d be back.’

  ‘Nah, mate. You can’t go back. You were born to be a shearer.’ Nigel threw a quick glance over his shoulder. ‘That CJ’s not your normal type either, Slick. What’s going on there?’

  ‘What do you mean, not my normal type?’

  ‘You were always dating those high-maintenance fillies. You know, high heels, make-up, dresses.’

  ‘Yeah, well, that wasn’t much fun.’ Lindsay shuffled his feet. This wasn’t the conversation he really wanted before the comp.

  ‘You kidding me? They were gorgeous. I mean, not saying CJ’s not. I’m sure she’s a knockout underneath the shearing clobber.’

  Lindsay felt uneasy. ‘CJ has more going for her than any of them. She’s the first genuine girl I’ve come across. In fact, I’m teaching her to shear. She’s a natural.’

  Nigel held up his hand. ‘Hey, I don’t doubt that. Is she going in the novice comp?’

  ‘Nah, it’s too soon. But watch this space. She’ll be back.’

  ‘With you as her teacher, I don’t doubt that. Well good luck, Slick. Just go easy, hey, and let me get into the final too!’

  CJ was feeling so nervous that she didn’t notice someone sit down next to her.

  ‘You okay, CJ?’

  ‘Oh, Doug. You scared me half to death. I didn’t know you were coming.’

  ‘I never miss Lindsay’s comps if I can help it. Besides, Tessa loves any excuse to shop and the girls love the fairy floss.’ Doug laughed and CJ realised his smile was just like Lindsay’s: large and spellbinding.

  ‘Cool. I think they’re just about to start.’

  The blokes stood by the pen flaps at the ready. Then they were off, fossicking for their first sheep. Lindsay was the first to start his handpiece, followed closely by two others.

  ‘So what’s a good time?’ CJ asked Doug over the whirr of the handpieces and the cheering from the crowd.

  ‘The times are important but they gain points for wool left on and skin cuts, and if they cut off the tit, it’s instant disqualification. It gets pretty technical. It’s the lowest score that wins.’

  ‘Come on, Lindsay!’ yelled CJ, her heart in her throat and her hands getting sweaty.

  Lindsay was onto his second sheep, and Nigel and another bloke on stand six were too. She watched the shearers’ long blows up the sheep’s backs and marvelled at their speed – not to mention their strong, muscled arms.

  Doug leaned over again. ‘That bloke on number two just cut his badly, so he’ll lose points.’

  By the fourth sheep Nigel and Lindsay were neck and neck, but one of Lindsay’s shorn sheep hadn’t been cleared properly. Instead of disappearing through the chute it stepped back and came out onto the stand next to him. A rousie went for the sheep but it jumped off the raised floorboard and headed into the crowd, causing kids to scream. The bloke doing the commentating at the front ditched his microphone and hurled himself at the sheep, and he and the rousie dragged it out the back. But it was too late – the disruption had slowed Lindsay, and Nigel was pulling the rope and hitting the red button. Lindsay hit his timer five seconds later.

  ‘Don’t worry. He’ll still make the final,’ said Doug after seeing CJ’s shocked expression. ‘They gain one point for each twenty seconds past the first finishing time.’

  She took a deep breath. ‘Sitting on the sidelines is hard work. Think I’d rather be up there.’

  Doug’s lips twitched into a smile. ‘That can be arranged.’

  She scoffed and punched Doug playfully on his arm.

  Soon Lindsay joined them, grabbing a small towel out of his bag to wipe off his sweat. Doug congratulated him and left them to find his family.

  ‘Good on ya,’ said CJ, holding onto his arms and giving him a squeeze.

  ‘Cheers. So you wanna go wander around and grab a bite to eat? I’m starving.’

  ‘Yep, sounds great. I can still smell those potatoes.’

  They ate first, CJ getting the biggest stuffed potato with a huge dollop of sour cream on top. Then they wandered around the various stalls and over to the oval, where they looked over the array of utes in the beaut ute competition. They had a fight – Land Cruiser versus a Holden ute – and in the end called a truce.

  ‘Come on,’ Lindsay said. ‘I wanna show you sideshow alley. I can’t believe you never got to do this as a kid. You’ll love it.’

  They walked down a dusty gravel alleyway. On either side of them were tents with games to play and various stuffed toys to be won. There were trailers that opened at the side, displaying all different types of show bags, and heaps of kids with blue and pink fairy floss and blow-up hats. Lindsay wasted no time in buying her some fairy floss and soon they resembled blue-tongue lizards. They lost some coins in the money machines and CJ won a stuffed bear on the clown heads.

  Lindsay p
ut his arm around her shoulder and dragged her further on. ‘This way. We have a date with a bumper car.’

  They paid their money and climbed into a car each, grinning from ear to ear like two little kids.

  ‘You are gonna cop it big time, Slick!’ CJ jeered.

  ‘Now, careful, you. No injuries. I’ve still gotta shear, remember.’

  ‘You chicken, Taylor.’

  Their cars began to move and straightaway they lined each other up.

  Bang! A hit from front on. ‘Take that, Wishart!’

  She saw a young boy and gave him a wide berth, not wanting to hurt him. The next thing she knew she was taking a massive hit from behind and turned to see the same boy sail past with a gleeful glint in his eye. Then she took another massive shunt from a cute-looking girl with pigtails. From then on, everyone was a target and CJ couldn’t remember having so much fun. All too soon it was over and Lindsay was standing next to her holding out his hand. He pulled her up, and the connection of their hands sparked like the power cables on the tiny bumper cars. At the exit they came face to face with Doug and Tess, with Bonnie and Tara not far behind. The kids barrelled them up for hugs, squealing in delight.

  ‘Uncle Lindsay, can you take me for a ride, please?’

  ‘Me too, me too!’ shouted Tara as she jumped in front of CJ.

  ‘Okay, who’s with me?’ asked Lindsay.

  Tara was just tall enough to ride and insisted on going with CJ, while Bonnie climbed in with Lindsay. Doug and Tess looked rather pleased as they found a spot to sit and unwind.

  With each bump Tara would gasp, hold her breath, then shout, ‘Again!’ and CJ found herself laughing. She was trying her best to ram Lindsay and Bonnie but all the other cars kept getting in the way.

  Before long it was time to get out again, and the four of them met at the gate.

  ‘That was sooo much fun, Uncle Lindsay,’ said Bonnie with the cutest grin. She danced around him with excited energy.

  ‘They are just so hard to resist, hey,’ CJ said to Lindsay.

  He smiled and her heart skipped a beat. ‘I know what you mean. But it’s nice to spoil them. I love being able to see them all the time now.’ His face glowed.

  After the cars they then had to go in the spinning cups, which weren’t as much fun. In fact, the ride almost turned her stomach. She noticed that Lindsay was staggering around too.

  ‘Not quite right in the head either?’ she asked.

  Lindsay put his hand on her shoulder for support. ‘Think I’m definitely too old for that one now.’

  Tara grabbed CJ’s hand and Bonnie took Lindsay’s, and they walked back to Doug and Tess. CJ saw a glimpse of what her life could have been if it wasn’t for her dad. Could she ever have this? As if! Quickly she pushed the thought from her mind – it did no good to dream. Lindsay removed his hand from her shoulder and adjusted his sunglasses.

  ‘Who’s up for an ice-cream?’ CJ asked.

  ‘Meeeee!’ screamed the girls together.

  ‘You two are spoiling them rotten, you know that?’ Tess said, laughing.

  ‘Well, we’d best be getting back to the shed,’ said Lindsay. ‘I want to rest and go over my gear before the final.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Uncle Lindsay. You’ll win,’ said Bonnie.

  ‘How do you know that?’ he asked, brushing her hair from her face.

  ‘Because we’ll be there to cheer you on.’

  Before he left, Lindsay leaned over to CJ. ‘You know I’m going to win this final just to find out your real name,’ he said. ‘Not even the girls know it.’

  CJ scoffed. ‘You tried asking the girls?’

  ‘Yeah. They said your name’s CJ and they didn’t know what I was talking about. Tess couldn’t recall ever hearing it either.’

  As she watched him head over to the stands, she realised that there was a big possibility that he would win. But it didn’t worry her now, to tell him her name. She felt like she could tell him anything. There wasn’t much left that he didn’t know. Funnily enough, she liked that thought.

  16

  CJ sat in the second row of seats with Tara on her lap and Doug, Bonnie and Tess beside her. She’d also spotted Dave, who was now sitting behind her with some mates. He’d given her a big wave and said g’day to Doug. She was already getting nervous. She could see Lindsay up at stand two and Nigel on stand four. Tara had already told her off for bouncing her legs up and down nervously.

  ‘CJ, I can’t eat my lollipop,’ Tara said dramatically.

  ‘Sorry, pet. I’m just very excited for your Uncle Lindsay.’

  ‘He will be okay. He always does good.’ Tara looked up with her big blue eyes.

  A few seconds later the final had started, with sheep being dragged and ropes being pulled, as handpieces buzzed into life.

  ‘Go, Uncle Lindsay!’ shouted Bonnie.

  CJ motioned towards the guy standing near Lindsay and watching carefully with a counter in his hand. She noticed there was one on every stand and after a minute they rotated.

  ‘Are they the judges?’ she asked Doug.

  ‘Yep. They keep count of the cuts. It’s all added up afterwards.’

  CJ nodded as her legs began to jump again. Tara got off her lap and went to sit up the front on the ground.

  Doug leaned over towards her ear. ‘Nigel is one to beat, and also Mark, the guy on stand three. I don’t know the one on stand six – he could be a dark horse.’

  CJ nodded. She couldn’t take her eyes off Lindsay. He made shearing look so beautiful, like a well-rehearsed dance. He was just in the lead, and she hadn’t seen any obvious cuts, but she was too far away to see the finer details. She knew his shearing, though, and when he was concentrating he never stuffed up. Lindsay was up and dragging out his eighth sheep and she found herself biting her nail.

  ‘Come on, Taylor. Put your back into it!’ she yelled.

  He pulled on the rope with one hand, as the other hand put the handpiece down, and turned for the second-last sheep. Lindsay was still neck and neck with Nigel and Mark. By the time they dropped their handpieces for their last sheep, Mark had gone for his first, followed by Nigel, then Lindsay. CJ noticed he’d had a tough, thick neck on his last sheep and Mark had got lucky with his not having a belly to do.

  Come on, Lindsay, she repeated over and over in her head.

  She watched carefully as Lindsay clawed his way back and by the last few blows down the back it was too close to call. Her heart was in her mouth as she tried to watch all three shearers at once. Bang, Lindsay stopped his clock at a time of fourteen minutes and forty-two seconds. She whooped for joy. Nigel was next, four seconds later, then Mark twenty seconds after him.

  CJ gripped Doug’s arm. ‘Do you think he’s won it?’

  Doug nodded. ‘I reckon. The times are close but Lindsay’s the cleanest shearer I’ve ever seen.’

  Lindsay joined them soon after, covered in sweat and looking manly and very sexy.

  ‘Well done, Slick!’ she said, and got a sweaty hug in return. CJ felt proud of him, and honoured to be a part of it all.

  ‘You’ll be up there next time,’ he said, giving her a wink.

  They didn’t have to wait too long before the guys in the Open event were called up for presentations. Lindsay went and sat on the raised floorboards next to Nigel and the rest of the shearers in front of the crowd.

  The commentator, a man wearing a Woolorama shearing singlet, began announcing the results. ‘In second place, with a time of fourteen minutes and forty-six seconds and a score of —’

  CJ didn’t hear the score because Doug had already started cheering. The shearers were patting Lindsay on the back. They’d already worked out that the time the commentator had called out was Nigel’s, which meant Lindsay was the Open Champion.

  ‘So our winner is Lindsay Taylor, with a score of 62.30. Congratulations,’ said the commentator.

  An official put a blue ribbon sash over Lindsay’s head and handed him a silver plate. />
  ‘Can we have a few words from our winner?’ asked the commentator, thrusting the microphone at Lindsay.

  Lindsay faced the crowd. ‘Um, thanks to all the sponsors, and the officials and helpers who make this event happen. To all you blokes, thanks for the competition, and to my support crew, thank you.’

  CJ felt shivers run down her back as Lindsay’s eyes sought out hers. He smiled before turning and handing the microphone back to the commentator.

  ‘You did great, Uncle Lindsay,’ said Bonnie as he rejoined them.

  Lindsay ruffled her hair. ‘Thanks, Bon-Bon. It must have been all your cheering!’ He took off his winner’s sash and popped it over Tara’s head. Her big blue eyes sparkled just like Lindsay’s.

  ‘Well, I’d say that this is cause for celebration!’ Tess said. ‘How about you two come back to our place for a barbecue tea and some drinks?’ She reached over and gave Lindsay’s cheek a squeeze. ‘We are just so proud of you. Say you’re up for it?’

  ‘Only if you promise never to do that again,’ Lindsay said, laughing. He turned to CJ. ‘You gonna come?’

  ‘Of course I’ll come. It sounds like a great idea.’

  Tess tucked her sleek black hair behind her ear and motioned to her girls. ‘Well, we’d better hit the road then and get organised. Right, girls? We’ll see you later. Any time, okay?’

  Tara went to give Lindsay back his sash, but he crouched down and stopped her.

  ‘How about you look after it for me, till I come over tonight? You think you can do that for me?’

  She rewarded him with a big hug. Her tiny arms stretched tightly around Lindsay’s neck and she kissed him on the cheek.

  CJ carried Lindsay’s old bag for him as they headed back to his ute. He was carrying a bag full of stuff he’d won.

  ‘So what did ya win, anyway?’ she asked.

  ‘A new handpiece and some cutters. They’ll come in handy. Never know, I might have more students to teach.’

  When they reached his ute he went to open her door for her but paused, blocking it with his body. He faced her front on, inches away.