A Dusty Road To Peace: A Peace Series Novella

by Tee Smith

  “Morning,” an older gentleman called as he passed.

  Clancy smiled and tipped his hat at the man. “Morning.”

  The man turned and looked at him, obviously thrown by his accent, but he kept walking. Chuckling to himself, Clancy continued on his route down the main street. The town reminded him of the smaller towns back home. Not that he frequented town all that much. Generally, if his parents went to town, he’d stay home with the animals. It was only when there was a rodeo nearby, that he managed to get away.

  With his thoughts turned to home, he wondered how his trusty old steed was doing. He knew one of the jillaroos would take care of him, but it wasn’t the same. His horse was probably the one thing worth returning to the station for.

  As he walked, he came across a friendly looking diner. Thinking he could grab a newspaper and read up on the town gossip, he decided to stop in and maybe have a coffee. His mum had always been a huge fan of the newspaper. She would have it sent in with their weekly mail drop. Even though the news was already a week old by the time it reached them, it was still new.

  The bell over the door dinged as he entered, alerting staff to his presence. He made his way to a booth by the window, snagging a menu to peruse.

  “Well, hello again, cowboy.” The familiar voice in a sea of new faces and experiences forced his eyes up in a flash.

  “Hello again, Bailey.” He smiled, taking in her baby blue eyes. This time they were rimmed with a lick of mascara, making them appear even brighter than before. He couldn’t help notice what a natural beauty she was. She had high cheekbones and a perfectly rounded chin. Yesterday she’d allowed her blonde hair to flow, today she had it tied into a plat at the back, showing her perfect features.

  “Who’s your friend?” Came another voice and he tore his eyes from Bailey to see an older woman.

  “Tammy, this is Clancy. The guy I told you I picked up last night on my way back to Peace.”

  “Oh, the guy who was walking all the way from Billings?” The woman threw her head back in a laugh.

  Great, now he was the laughing stock in town, the silly Aussie cowboy. Clancy shifted his gaze from the table to the window and back again before he caught Bailey’s eye.

  “Anyway, can I just grab a bucket of chips and a coffee?”

  “Chips?” she asked, eying him quizzically

  “Ah, fries?” he shrugged half in question. He’d need to remember the American’s didn’t always understand his Aussie slang.

  A small smile tugged at the corner of Bailey’s mouth, as the woman beside her prattled on about his accent.

  “Sure thing, you make yourself comfortable, and I’ll bring it right out.” She waved her hand, gesturing to the near-empty dining area. He figured it was nearing lunch time, it would be filling with locals soon enough.

  He didn’t have to wait long, as advertised, his fries and coffee arrived within ten minutes, just as several other customers began filtering through the door.

  “So, how are you finding Peace?” Bailey asked after depositing his order on the table.

  He nodded slowly as he formulated his answer. “What can I say? I haven’t been here twenty-four hours yet, and I’ve slept for much of that time.”

  “True,” she laughed quietly, placing a hand over her pretty lips as she did. “Say, a group of us are meeting up at Toppin’s bar tonight. If you don’t have any better plans, maybe you…”

  “I’d love to,” he interrupted her. “It will be good to meet a few locals. It’s going to be a boring few weeks if I spend the whole time sitting around at the B & B.

  “Awesome,” she smiled, plucking a strand of her long blonde hair from her ponytail and twirling around her finger. “Around eight?”

  “Sure thing,” he replied, trying to suppress a chuckle at her overt attempt at flirting with him. He was not immune to her charms, but he was very familiar with women’s attempts at flirtation. The girls always liked the cowboys, this one was obviously no exception. They made it all too easy.

  While he ate, he fiddled with his phone. The stupid phone company had promised him he would get international coverage, he should have known better than to trust them, though. They also promised full range on the station and yet, even with a giant antenna on the roof of the homestead, it always dropped out within a kilometre of the house. They’d be better off using homing pigeons; they would be more reliable.

  4

  Slipping into his best pair of jeans, the only ones without holes in them, he checked his reflection in the mirror. Anyone would think he was a pauper. Dressed in his finest, he still looked like he had been working out in the dust all day. Going out was not high on his agenda back home. When staring at an eight-hour round trip to the nearest town with a nightlife that consisted of Saturday night bingo, you soon learned how to make your own fun.

  Pulling a button-up shirt over his shoulders, he straightened the collar. Another quick glance, and he decided he didn’t scrub up too badly. He smoothed down the wayward curl that always sprung up on the right side of his scalp if he didn’t keep his hair short. He had planned on having a haircut before leaving home but had run out of time. He made a mental note to check out the local salon.

  Toppin’s Bar was only a short walk from the B & B, and he soon located Bailey. She was standing at the bar, chatting to a couple who she introduced as Vicki and Cal. They seemed friendly enough, shook hands and made small talk about the weather, before moving on to a table nearby.

  “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked, as soon as he had the chance.

  “You can get the next one,” she laughed, nodding her head to the clear liquid that filled the tall glass in her hand. He was such an idiot sometimes, he had not even noticed she was already drinking. When the barman asked for his order, he drew a blank. None of the beer names sounded familiar; there was not an Emu or Swan in sight.

  “Ah, just a pint of draught, thanks.”

  “So, are you going to introduce me to your new friend?” Came a voice from behind, dripping with honey and sickly sweet.

  He’d be blind and stupid if he didn't notice the way Bailey stiffened at the sound of the woman’s voice. For a moment, her pretty, genuine smile dropped and was quickly replaced by a fake, forced one.

  “Betty-Sue, this is my friend, Clancy. Clancy, Betty-Sue,” she responded curtly with a wave of her hand, before turning back to the bar and clasping her drink, so tight her knuckles began to turn white.

  “Nice to meet you, Betty-Sue,” he said extending a hand to shake.

  “Oh, you’re Australian. How gorgeous!” Her voice was a high-pitched shrill, and he was sure he noticed Bailey cringe in his periphery. “How about you buy a gal a drink, then maybe we can have a little dance? You can show me how you Aussie boys do it.”

  He knew this game, he’d danced this dance before. It was worse in a small country town such as Peace, and oddly, he thought, it seemed to get worse as women aged. His sister had explained the phenomenon, saying they were worried they’d be left on the shelf. Most small towns had slim pickings for partners as you got older. It wasn’t only women that worried about being left behind.

  It wasn’t as if they were gunning to return to the station with him, so he’d play along. For the most part, it worked in his favor, one girl or the other would always end up in his bed. Either he could play the nice guy, and the original girl thought she’d won the round, and be more than happy to leave with him. She would see him as her trophy. Or he could play the bad guy and go with the other girl, who would jump him in an effort to prove her prowess. Either way, it was a win-win situation for him. He wasn’t there looking for love, after all. He would be happy to have someone to keep his bed warm for the night. If he played his cards right, he might even get to keep Bailey in his bed for his entire stay.

  “Well, I’d love to Betty-Sue, but you see, I’m here with Bailey tonight. I’m sure one of the other boys would love to buy you a drink, however.” There that ought to do it.

  B
ailey straightened her back and offered him a wry smile. He knew he was in, playing the nice guy was going to pay off nicely. Betty-Sue’s eyes shot to Bailey, as she looked her over. Bailey gave her a hands-off he’s mine look before Betty-Sue poked her nose high into the air and stalked off to the other side of the bar. Women.

  They were a rowdy bunch at Toppin’s, and he wondered if it were always this busy. Several people stopped by and Bailey introduced them, but the noise level made it almost impossible to have a proper conversation. Not that talking was the main thing on his mind. Seeing Bailey, dressed in her short-short shorts and cute little pink top that exposed a smattering of freckles across her shoulders, he had more than conversation on his mind.

  He was more than a little relieved she suggested they move on to somewhere a little more private. What he had hoped for, was maybe her house. But when she produced a picnic rug and headed toward the nearby parkland, he didn’t complain either. He could work with that.

  Clancy helped Bailey spread the rug out on the grass before they sat and made themselves comfortable.

  “It’s nice out here, huh?” Bailey sighed. “It gets a bit crazy in there at times. It’s fun, but sometimes it’s also nice to get away from the crowd. Know what I mean?”

  “I sure do,” he huffed out. Having grown up on the station, he felt he was probably more sensitive to a crowd than most people. Not that he was about to admit that to a hot chick.

  “So what’s your story, Miss Bailey? Something tells me you’re not like them other girls,” he jerked his thumb in the direction they had come from.

  “My story is nothing too thrilling. Just your average small-town America stuff,” she shrugged as if he understood what she was talking about.

  “And what, for this Aussie, does that even mean?”

  “Well, I grew up here, in Peace. Single parent family. I never knew my dad. After high school, I went away to college before I was called home because my mom took sick.”

  “That’s too bad,” he sympathised, he knew what it was like to be at your parent’s beck and call, although he’d never had aspirations to attend college. “What did you study?”

  “Law. I wanted to be a lawyer.”

  He let out a low whistle. “So, you’re not just a pretty face then.”

  “Well, I didn’t get to finish my degree, so…” she turned away without finishing her sentence. Clancy couldn’t help think there was more to the story that she wanted to share but had stopped herself.

  “What happened to your mum?”

  Bailey threw her head back and stared at the stars above them, he could hear her breathing growing heavier. When she finally spoke, she didn’t look at him.

  “She had a brain tumour. It turned out to be benign. They operated on her, and it was meant to be the cure-all… it left her unable to take proper care of herself.”

  “Woah, that’s harsh. I’m so sorry,” he breathed. The desire to reach out and draw her into his arms, to comfort her, overwhelmed him. He just wasn’t sure it was the right time. Silence fell between them as he searched for the right words to say.

  “Anyway, that’s enough about me,” she announced, her tone picking up with her last words, shaking off the sadness that obviously wracked her. “Tell me more about you.”

  “You already know about me. There’s not much more to tell.”

  “Pfft,” Bailey scoffed. “I’m sure there is tons to know about you. Clancy, from Australia.”

  He laughed at her attempt at mimicking his accent.

  “Well, I live in a place called Dusty Downs. It’s in the northern part of Western Australia. Hours from anywhere.”

  “So you live in the outback?” she asked excitedly.

  “Yeah, I guess I do.”

  “Have you always lived there?”

  “Yep, all my life,” he agreed. “Literally born and raised on the property. I have one sister. She’s married and moved to town with her husband. So, it’s me, my parents, a few thousand head of cattle, and various workers that pass through. Mostly backpackers.”

  “It sounds very exciting.”

  “Believe me, it’s not. It’s dry, it’s dusty.”

  “Hence the reason for it being called Dusty Downs, huh?”

  “Yeah, I guess it lives up to its name. Most years, if we are lucky, we get a few hundred millimetrers of rain. It fills up the creek beds and gives the cattle something to drink. But it’s usually pretty hectic as it will all come at once, if at all.”

  “So what do you do the rest of the time?” she asked.

  “We move the cattle from place to place. We have a few bores that pump into dams. They dry up after a while, so we have to keep a check on everything. Sometimes we go out for days droving cattle.”

  “Days?” she asked, surprise evident in her voice.

  “Yeah, I’ll head out on my horse, Shadow. For a while, we used bikes, but they were forever breaking down, plus you have to carry fuel. Shadow is happy with a feed and a good night’s sleep,” he chuckled to himself. Shadow had been a trusty steed. One of the best. He’d been a bit wild as a foal. While they were breaking him in, a herd of wild brumbies had passed through the station, leaving a trail of destruction and many agitated animals.

  “So what? You sleep under the stars?” she asked looking up again at the night sky, wonderment written across her pretty face.

  “Sure do,” he agreed, loving the awe in her tone. In honesty, whilst he didn’t mind being out there, he often longed for the creature comforts of his king-sized bed, with crisp, fresh sheets.

  “Wow! That is so amazing. You have such an awesome life,” Bailey exclaimed.

  “It’s nowhere near as glamorous as it sounds,” he chuckled low and deep. He liked that he could impress her, but really his wasn’t a lifestyle he’d have chosen for himself.

  “How long have you ridden bulls for?”

  “A long time, most of my life, in fact. I was five years old when I rode my first bull.” He chuckled at the memory. “We were at the circus. I was amazed at all the people. I don’t think I’d left the station much at that stage.

  Anyway, they had a fairground there, and all these older kids were taking turns on a mechanical bull. Of course, I had never seen one before. I had been riding ponies bareback at home and figured it couldn’t be hard. I begged my mum to let me have a go. The guy operating it didn’t want to let me, but mum assured him I’d be fine.

  He put it on stupidly slow, I guess I was only a little tacker, but when I didn’t fall off, he eventually turned it up. I soon gathered a crowd and all the big boys were cheering for me. I felt like a million bucks up there.” He turned and caught the look of admiration she was giving him, so he went on. He knew chicks loved this story.

  “I rode my first bull in competition when I was ten years old. My dad had busted me trying to ride the steers in the yards at home. It was probably lucky I never got myself killed. It taught me what not to do.”

  “Weren’t you scared?”

  “Scared?” Clancy scoffed. “They breed us tough in Australia, darlin’, I’m not scared of nothin’.”

  “Have you ever broken any bones?” she questioned, and he could tell she was holding back a laugh.

  “Busted this arm up once.” He moved his right arm from under his head and held it up to show her the scars. “Earned me a ride in the flying-doctor.”

  “The flying doctor?” she asked quizzically.

  “Yeah, you know like they send a plane to take you to the hospital?”

  “Right, because you live in the middle of dust-kickin’ nowhere, don’t you?”

  “Pretty much,” he laughed at her analogy.

  “So, what do your parents think of you being a bull-rider?” she asked him coyly, a small smile playing across her lips as if she were not sure if it were the right thing to ask or not.

  “Ah, well,” he sighed heavily, leaning back and folding his arms behind his head. “My Mum has always been supportive. My dad, however, thinks
it’s ridiculous. We don’t often see eye-to-eye.”

  “You’re different to what I expected.”

  He let out a low chuckle. “And what exactly did you expect?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered as she shrugged her shoulders and a long strand of hair fell into her face. Clancy reached out and gently tucked it behind her ear, as she went on. “Maybe something more like; G’day mate? Crikey have you seen me ‘roo?”

  Throwing his head back, he roared with laughter at her best attempt yet at copying his accent, it was the funniest and cutest thing he had seen in a long time.

  “I think you’ve been watching too much TV, girl.”

  “Well, isn’t that what all Aussies say?” she laughed along with him.

  In the moonlight, he could make out a slight touch of pink as it crept into her cheeks only adding to her beauty. When their laughter stopped, silence fell around them. He was caught up in the moment, mesmerised by her. Lost in her pretty blue eyes.

  “You’re not what I had expected either,” he whispered, his voice suddenly raspy as his words lodged in his throat.

  Her face turned serious too, and the air around them seemed to change in an instant. The distant noise of the band still playing at Toppin’s, faded into nothing until they were the only two people in the world.

  “What did you expect from me?” she asked, her voice soft, almost reverent.

  “I didn’t expect you would be so beautiful,” he breathed.

  Moving closer, he could feel the heat radiating between them as he tenderly reached out and touched the soft skin of her cheek, silently asking for permission. She didn’t move away. Instead she leaned in slightly to his touch.

  “Clancy,” she whispered, her voice soft.

  “Yeah?”

  “Will you kiss me?” Her pleading eyes searched his own in the dim light.

  “I’d love to.” He smiled down at her before closing the space between them. His lips met hers, and he felt as if he might melt into her as the soft pink pillows of Bailey’s moved gently over his own. He had never known kissing a woman could be so sensual.