Breaking The Drought (12 page)

Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for entertainment. Most of the other newcomers seemed to be fitting in perfectly. Everywhere she looked there were girls laughing and chatting, throwing back glasses of cheap wine, looking like they belonged.

A flash of magenta tulle caught her eye. Another hapless misfit perhaps? She squinted to get a closer look and realised it was Charlotte. Jenna excused herself from the group and went in search of a kindred spirit.

Charlotte embraced her and air-kissed each of Jenna's cheeks. ‘Thank goodness you're here. You've saved me from being totally bored.'

Jenna laughed. ‘If it's so tedious why did you come?'

Charlotte held up a camera. ‘I'm working,' she said. ‘Besides, nothing much ever happens in Barlow. When there's an event like this, everyone comes. Any social activity, no matter how mundane, is better than none.'

Jenna tried to imagine a life where a bush dance was the pinnacle of her social calendar. She laughed at the thought.

Charlotte held the camera up and snapped a shot of Jenna. ‘Fashion on the field,' she quipped.

Jenna looked deflated. ‘Will that be going in with a title of Most Inappropriately Dressed?'

‘I think I'm the winner of that title,' Charlotte said, ‘but I guess everyone expects that from me by now. They'd be disappointed if I turned up in jeans and a T-shirt.'

‘Hi, Lottie. Off to the ballet?' called a male passer-by.

‘See?' she said.

‘Everyone calls you Lottie. Do you prefer that to Charlotte?'

Charlotte rolled her eyes. ‘God no. It's my childhood nickname and I hate it.'

‘Why don't you say something?'

Charlotte shrugged. ‘Believe me I've tried, but no one takes me seriously.'

‘Have you always lived here?'

‘Pretty much. I grew up here, but I moved to Melbourne when I was 18 to go to university. After uni I got a job on a suburban newspaper, but I had to come home last year to nurse my mum.'

‘I'm sorry to hear that. Is she well now?'

Charlotte looked at her feet. ‘She died last winter.'

Jenna reached out and touched Charlotte's arm. ‘I'm very sorry to hear that.'

‘Thank you.'

‘Will you go back to Melbourne?'

‘Eventually I'll leave here I guess. But it's been a great comfort to be home, surrounded by friends, while I've been grieving these past few months. The thing about living in a small town like this is everyone knows you and everyone cares. I didn't cook for a month after Mum died but my refrigerator was filled with meals. I didn't spend one evening alone either. I think they had a “Sit with Lottie” roster.' She laughed and then looked up, her face serious again. ‘My head might be in Melbourne, but my heart will always be in Barlow.'

Jenna nodded. She tried to think of anyone, apart from Brooke, who would do the same for her. She had plenty of friends in Melbourne, but did any of them really care?

‘Looks like the band is about to come on,' said Charlotte. ‘I guess I'd better go snap some shots. Do you want to come?'

Jenna looked back at Maggie, happily chatting with her friends. ‘Sure,' she said. ‘Why not?'

She turned to follow Charlotte to the stage but was stopped in her tracks by a large ruddy-cheeked man staggering towards her. She stepped sideways to avoid him but her evasive action came too late. The collision left her wearing a sizeable beer stain down the front of her favourite dress. Could this night get any worse?

Backstage, in a tent behind the trucks, Luke was greeted warmly by the members of The Fleece. ‘Hey, Luke. Are you going to play with us tonight?' asked Jake, the band's lead singer.

Luke shook his head. ‘You guys don't want me up there. I'd just be in the way.'

‘Don't be stupid,' Jake said. ‘It'll be like old times. We still do a lot of the old songs. You can slot right in.'

Luke thought about Jenna looking up at him from the crowd. It would be nice to play for her. ‘Maybe I could join you for a couple of numbers then.'

‘Great.' Jake slapped him on the back. ‘Did you bring your guitar?'

Luke shook his head.

‘No worries, we'll sort something out. I think Dave has a spare in the van. I'll go find out.'

Luke felt the familiar pre-show adrenalin rush. Being on stage transported him to another world, one where nothing else mattered. This afternoon Jenna had made him feel the same way. He wanted to share this side of himself with her.

His first performance since the accident. He'd shied away from the limelight since Joe's death, giving up footy, the band, pretty much anything that he was good at. He'd only agreed to play cricket this weekend to keep Maggie happy. But now Jenna had walked into his life and suddenly he felt like coming out of the shadows.

When he was up on stage he'd be singing just for her.

Jenna stood in front of the stage with Charlotte, waiting. The sun had finally set and the fairy lights lit up the evening. Luke seemed to have disappeared altogether, along with her visions of a romantic evening. Perhaps he regretted what had taken place at the river and was avoiding her.

She tried to quell the disappointment that was growing within her. She told herself that Luke owed her nothing and this afternoon was just a bit of harmless fun, nothing more. What had she expected? She was going home tomorrow so nothing could happen. But somehow she had allowed herself to hope.

Disappointment gave way to anger. Who the hell did Luke Tanner think he was, playing with her emotions like this? She was not some unfeeling plaything for him to kiss and toss aside. Today at the river he'd seemed so caring. But wasn't that always the way? At first they were all like that. But eventually they let you down. It appeared Luke was no different to all the other disappointing men in her life.

Suddenly the stage was ablaze with light. A cowboy type stepped up to the microphone and said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, would you please give it up for The Fleece.'

Five young men, all of them dressed in blue jeans, white T-shirts and Akubra hats, ran onto the stage.

Jenna groaned inwardly. She hated country music. This night was turning out to be insufferable. She had imagined dancing to slow ballads with Luke, not clapping in time to some Keith Urban impersonators. The lights dimmed again and the band started to play. It was just as she feared.

Awful.

The crowd didn't seem to agree with her verdict, however. They screamed and clapped and took to the dance floor in droves. Jenna was amazed to see a large portion of the crowd in formation, line dancing.

She turned to Charlotte who shrugged and said, ‘I know.'

How she wished Brooke were here to see this. She'd never believe that this actually happened. She would think Jenna was embellishing for the sake of a good story.

Now there was a thought. This whole weekend would make a great article for the magazine. Jenna had intended to do a short editorial column,
My Weekend in the Bush
, or similar, but there was a whole feature story just waiting to be written here. She needed more time to research the article than just the weekend, though. Jenna looked at Charlotte snapping away beside her. If Charlotte was prepared to co-author then it might just be possible. Charlotte could email her any extra material. At least her time here wouldn't be a total loss.

Jenna looked up at the stage with renewed interest. Her writer's eyes took in every aspect: the stage set up, the band's clothes, the amateur attempts at lighting effects. She grabbed her phone and snapped a few pictures, then tapped in a few quick observations.

Her eyes flitted from one band member to the next, looking for telling details. The first guitar player was lean and muscular. His fitted T-shirt showed off his great physique. Jenna wished she could get a better look at his face, which was concealed under the brim of that ridiculous hat. She had to admit he had a certain stage presence, charisma even, despite the god-awful twang he was belting out.

The song finished and the crowd went wild. Jenna's eyes were glued to the guitarist and, to her delight, he took off his hat in a salute to the crowd.

Oh My God
.

It was Luke.

Luke lost himself in the music and it was wonderful. Being part of the band made him feel more alive than he had in a long time. The past few months he hadn't done anything purely for pleasure and it felt good to be doing something he loved again. Being with Jenna had awakened his fun side and he couldn't wait to share his joy with her.

He hoped she could see him because it was impossible to see anyone from up here with the lights shining in his eyes. He wondered if she was enjoying herself as much as he was. He had agreed to play the first four numbers with the band. After that he would go find her and they could dance the night away.

A huge cheer went up from the crowd as the first song came to an end. Luke took off his hat and raised it in a salute to the audience. For the first time since Joe's death, Barlow felt like home.

It wasn't possible. Jenna couldn't believe what she was seeing. The most attractive man she had ever met, one who could make her go weak at the knees just by looking at her, was on stage,
in a cowboy hat
, playing country and western music. If there was ever a sign that Luke was not the man for her, this was it.

Charlotte tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Did you know Luke was playing tonight?'

Jenna shook her head, dumbstruck.

‘He had to quit the band when he moved to Melbourne, but he always played with them whenever he was in town. This is the first time I've seen him on stage since the accident. You know about that, right?'

‘The car accident that killed his dad and brother?'

Charlotte nodded. ‘He hasn't been the same since it happened.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘Luke was always the life of the party, a laugh a minute. Every time he'd come home all the local girls would flock around, even when they knew he had a girlfriend back in Melbourne. And the blokes were just as bad, hanging on his every word and shouting him beers at the pub. People were always drawn to him.

‘Since the accident, all that's changed. He seems to only think about Tandarra and Maggie. He barely socialises. This weekend is the happiest I've seen him in ages.'

Jenna wanted to ask Charlotte about Luke living in Melbourne, or more specifically, what had happened with the girlfriend, but the band was starting up again and it was impossible to carry out a conversation. She was forced to listen to the music.

Luke did look happy. He was obviously talented; it was just a shame that country music was his passion. Jenna tapped Charlotte on the shoulder and indicated that she was going to get a drink. It seemed that Luke would be tied up for a while.

Faced with the choice of bad wine and beer, Jenna decided to stick to soft drink and grabbed a Coke. She cracked open a can and watched the revellers on the dance floor. There was a hotchpotch of activity. In the middle, a large group continued to line dance, with some of the city dwellers on the edges, giggling and doing their best to join in. There were couples doing a sort of rockabilly dance and others just moving in time to the music. Everyone seemed to be more concerned with having a good time than whether they could dance or not. It was very different to the pubs and clubs Jenna and her friends frequented, where image counted for everything. Jenna shook her head. She wouldn't be caught dead making a fool of herself by joining in. She had to admit it did look like fun, but imagine if a snap of her line-dancing somehow ended up online? Twitter would go into overdrive and Simon, being the egomaniac that he was, would probably imagine that she was having a breakdown over their break up.

It looked like she had lost Luke for the evening. Maggie was nowhere to be seen and even Charlotte had joined the throng on the dance floor. This was going to be a long night.

Luke was exhilarated when he left the stage. He could have played all night, but he didn't want to leave Jenna fending for herself forever. He looked around the stage area, but she was nowhere to be seen. Luke wandered amongst the crowd, stopping to accept congratulations and high fives from locals who were happy to see him performing again. His eyes scanned the crowd, but he couldn't see her.

Maggie appeared at his side. She threw an arm around his shoulder and planted a kiss on his cheek. ‘You were wonderful,' she said.

Luke grinned. ‘Thanks. It felt great to be back up there.'

‘You did a great job. Everyone thought so.'

‘Yeah?' Luke tried to sound casual. ‘What about Jenna?'

Maggie shook her head. ‘I haven't seen her. She went off with Lottie ages ago, but I'm sure she thought you were great.'

Luke shrugged. ‘I could use a beer. Can I get you something?'

‘I'm fine. You go have fun.'

Jenna was standing by the makeshift bar nursing a Coke. She was looking out over the dance floor, a bored expression on her face. Poor girl, she was probably dying to join in the line dancing but didn't know how. He could fix that problem. He strode up to her and held out his hand. ‘May I have this dance?'

Jenna looked startled. ‘Dance? Oh…no thanks.'

‘Are you sure? It's got to be more fun than standing there like a stale bottle of Coke.'

Jenna's mouth tightened. ‘It's not really my style of dancing.'

‘Line dancing's easy. You just follow the group. Or we can just get on the dance floor and have a spin. It's pretty much open slather out there.'

‘So I see.'

‘Well?' He held out his hand again.

‘No thanks. I don't think I'm wearing the right shoes for line dancing.'

‘Take them off, then.'

‘Luke, I don't want to dance, okay?'