Family Farm (20 page)

Twenty minutes later, they all sat down at the table and continued to chat, as they dug into their meals. She had to give Will credit for cooking the steak and sausages perfectly.

‘You really know how to barbecue, Will,’ said James, as if reading Izzy’s thoughts. ‘The steak is so tender and juicy. What’s the secret?’ he asked, putting a forkful in his mouth.

Will looked at them both sideways. ‘I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.’ He laughed. ‘It’s simple – don’t over flip. Only cook each side once. If you constantly turn the meat over every few minutes, it becomes boot leather.’

‘Well, you can come and cook all my meat from now on,’ Izzy replied.

‘What varieties of crop have you got this year, Will?’ asked James as he put his knife and fork down on his empty plate and wiped up some leftover sauce with his finger.

‘We’ve got in some Westonia and Wyalkatchem – they’ve been our highest yielding varieties – plus a few others we’re trying out.’ Izzy listened intently to them discussing the finer points of the varieties. She always tried to pick up what she could. Sometimes to be a good farmer you had to listen to those around you and find out what grows well where.

It wasn’t long before Will was picking on James for driving a Ford. They went over the whole Holden versus Ford debate for quite a while, as they were both big fans of the V8 supercars.

‘Holdens are always holdin’ on. Besides, Peter Brock was one of the best and you can’t dispute his history,’ said Will.

‘Yeah, he’s a legend, for sure,’ James agreed before turning to Izzy. ‘Well, what do you think, Izzy? Where do you stand on this issue?’

Will responded before Izzy could open her mouth, ‘She’s a Holden girl, of course. No sane person would be anything but.’

James shook his head in disbelief, then turned to Izzy for confirmation.

‘Sorry, James. I drive a Holden and my folks do too, so I’m definitely a Holden girl. Fords are for pansies.’ Izzy grinned cheekily, then rose from the table and began clearing away their dishes.

‘You’re so easy to stir,’ Izzy said, when she noticed James had dropped his bottom lip. James put his hand under his chin and said to Will, ‘She’s such a loving girl, with so much compassion.’

Will aimed a bottle top he was playing with at James’s head and let fly with it. It flipped end over end and brushed the top of James’s cropped hair. ‘You’re an idiot.’

‘Well, you lot, shall we make our way to the dam for a swim?’ Izzy interrupted.

‘If I drown, are you gonna save me?’ James winked at Izzy before shaking his empty beer. ‘Hey, Will, do you need a refill?’

‘Nah, I’m still right, thanks.’

‘Righto. I’ll go pack some supplies, then.’

While James went to grab the beer, Will collected the remaining sauce bottle off the table and took it into the kitchen. He placed it on the bench just as Izzy turned around from the sink, almost colliding with him. Luckily, she’d raised her hands to protect herself and they now sat pressed flat against his chest.

‘Shit, Will, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Don’t you know you shouldn’t sneak up on people?’ It made her think back to the last time her hands had been there. She shuddered at the memory, quickly moving away and walking around him. ‘You coming or not?’

Will didn’t move. Not just yet. His mind was also reliving the bin party night, and he was struggling to wipe the smile off his face. She had such a distracting effect on him – another reason why he couldn’t let that kiss happen again. Slowly he turned and followed Izzy’s heady scent of perfume, which he liked very much.

‘We can take my ute. That way we can all fit in,’ Izzy said to them both as they walked out the gate.

‘I bags driving!’ yelled James. ‘I have to see what’s so good about the Holdens, hey.’

‘Be my guest,’ Izzy replied. They put their towels and the beer in the back of Izzy’s ute, then all got in, sliding along the bench seat. Tom jumped in at the last minute and decided to sit on Izzy’s lap. ‘Good one, Tom. Now I can’t see past your big ears,’ she laughed.

‘You know, maybe you shouldn’t have let James drive your
uuuuute
,’ Will half croaked to Izzy, as they were both pressed up against the window when James did a full slide skid.

‘Hang on, Tom.’ Izzy wrapped her arms tightly around her dog to stop him flying out the window. She was wedged up against Will’s large shoulders.

‘So, which way am I heading?’ James asked with a grin. He’d straightened up and had started to drive properly.

‘Just straight down the back track, past the sheds, turn left at the first open gate and it’s to our left over the hill.’ Her hand bounced up and down in the air as she pointed.

James followed her directions and soon came upon the dam. It was situated in the bottom corner of the paddock filled with wheat stubble. The cloudless blue sky stood out against the pale yellow stretching before them and the whiteness from the loamy dam banks. The dam only had three sides – the fourth was almost flat except for two contour banks to guide the water in on each end. James launched over the first rounded contour bank and then stopped the ute in a sideways skid on the flat part in front of the water.

Falling out of the ute, they all stretched their legs after being squished in so tightly, like a mob of ewes up against a fence. Will grabbed the beer and put it in the shade of the vehicle. Izzy grabbed some fold-up chairs, while James erected a tarp on the side of the ute.

Reaching into the back again, Izzy threw out some empty plastic chemical drums. ‘Our floaties. I can’t have you drowning.’

Stashing their beers into the holders on their chairs, they began undressing.

‘It’s bloody hot today. Just as well, ’cos that water is gonna be freezing,’ James said, pulling his shirt over his head and flicking off his thongs.

‘Oh gee, the glare.’ Izzy covered her eyes, pretending she couldn’t see for the brightness of his fair skin.

James chucked his shirt at her, ran full pelt at the water with a war-like cry and splashed into it.

Will peeled off his polo shirt. His brown stomach was pulled tight across where his shorts sat low over his hips. Izzy’s eyes found their way up to his chest. Hell, she hadn’t seen one built like that before. It should be standard on all men, like a steering wheel to a car. Izzy slowly dragged her eyes away, which was such a shame to do so, but she didn’t want to get caught staring.

She threw James’s shirt onto his chair and took her thongs off as Will did the same. Pulling her dress up over her head, she revealed a black triangle bikini top with shoestring straps and matching briefs. The cut of the top actually made her look like she had a decent bit of cleavage. It was one Alice had helped her buy. Thinking of Alice brought Emma and Chris to mind. She missed them heaps and wondered whether Emma liked the new DVD and shirt she’d sent her for her birthday. Maybe she’d give her a call later.

James had returned and was standing beside Will, water dripping from his shorts. Both men were looking rather strange.

‘What’s up with you two?’ she asked, as she gathered her hair back into a ponytail and placed her hands on her hips. ‘Anyone would think you’d never seen a girl in bathers before.’

Will was the first to find his voice. ‘We just forgot you were a girl.’ Glancing at James, he gave him a wink before the two of them lunged towards her.

‘No you don’t,’ she squealed, jumping backwards.

But it was too late. Two sets of strong arms rounded her up. Will locked his arms under her armpits, while James lifted up her legs and they carried her into the water. She sprayed profanities and kicked at them, but to no avail. Tom barked madly at their ankles trying to defend his boss.

‘Put me down, ya mongrels,’ Izzy yelled.

‘Okay,’ they replied, before ditching her into the dam.

The cold water engulfed her olive skin, bringing out goosebumps on impact. Not to be outdone, she reached down under the water and grabbed a handful of slimy mud in each hand. As she stood up, she let fire. ‘Take that!’

A pile of sloppy, lumpy mud slid down James’s arm, while the other one got Will on the chest, leaving brown splatter marks on his square shoulders.

They tore off after her and a huge water fight erupted between all three. No one could see a thing for the flying water. The commotion sent Tom into a frenzy on the bank, as he barked loudly at them all.

‘Truce,’ Izzy yelled out, half choking on the water running down her face. When they eventually calmed down, Izzy waded out and grabbed the three chemical drums that were sitting on the bank. She couldn’t help noticing both of them watching her. It was a weird feeling – she wasn’t used to a lot of male attention. She still felt like one of the boys and found it hard to think of herself as something worth looking at. Being the centre of attention was Claire’s thing, not hers.

‘Not bad,’ teased Will.

‘Yeah, I’d give you a ten out of ten,’ said James, wolf whistling.

‘Bugger off,’ Izzy said and pitched a drum at each of them as she jumped back into the water with her own.

‘Hey, I’ve got a great joke. Did you hear about the guy who lost his left arm and leg in a car crash?’ said James. ‘He’s all right now,’ he finished.

Will smiled. ‘Ha ha. I’ve got a better one. What’s the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer?’

Izzy and James both shrugged.

‘The taste,’ Will answered.

‘Oh, lovely. I s’pose you’d know,’ Izzy said, laughing. Will splashed her, the sexual tension between them well and truly forgotten for now.

‘Here, I’ve got a good one. What do
Star Trek
and toilet paper have in common?’ James waited until they both shook their heads before giving them the answer. ‘They both circle Uranus looking for black holes.’

Izzy rolled her eyes. ‘James, you need better jokes. Where’d you get them from anyway?’

‘My
Ralph
magazine!’ he replied boastfully.

Eventually they settled down and floated in silence as they thought of more jokes. Izzy had both arms over the plastic drum with her head resting between them and her legs dangled below in the cold, dark water. Every now and then the drum would slip out from under her arms and she’d have to drag it back to her chest and throw her arms around it again.

‘Well, I’ve racked my brain and can’t remember any more,’ said James. ‘I think I’ll get out – I’m turning into a prune. Unlike you two, my skin doesn’t handle the sun very well. The last thing I need before I head back to college is sunburn.’

Izzy and Will watched James climb out of the dam.

‘Come on, I’ll race you to the other side,’ Izzy said to Will, before ditching her floating drum and breaking into a mad freestyle, trying to get a head start.

Will didn’t waste any time. Letting go of his drum, he swam after her. Just before Izzy was about to beat him to the other side, he reached out and grabbed hold of one of her ankles. Quickly, he dragged her back towards him, almost swimming over the top of her. Izzy turned over and tried to grab him around his waist, preventing him from passing her. They struggled together in a whitewash of dam water before Will was momentarily distracted by the brushing of her breasts on his chest. Her bikini did nothing to hide her erect nipples caused by the cold water. Will lost his hold on Izzy and she was able to push him underwater.

When he surfaced, Izzy was already sitting on the bank. She was trying to catch her breath slowly so she’d look like she’d been there for ages. As he climbed out, Will looked down at his chest, half expecting to see burn marks from the contact with Izzy’s nipples. He knew he was going to struggle to keep his eyes diverted.

‘Not fair. You cheated,’ said Will, lying down beside her on the bank. Don’t look, he kept telling himself.

‘Oh, and you didn’t.’ Izzy had just about regained her breath. She glanced at Will. ‘Come on, then – a rematch, with no cheating this time.’

Together they dived in and swam back to the other side where James was waiting.

Will climbed out from the muddy water and put his hand out for Izzy who was just behind him. She used his arm to help steady her through the slippery mud.

After drying herself, Izzy grabbed a packet of Barbecue Shapes from the ute and handed them around before sitting down with her towel wrapped around her. Tom settled in the shade next to her chair. James had his large black Bundy bear towel over his head and shoulders to shield him from the sun. He slightly resembled a nun, Izzy thought to herself.

Will leant back, putting his hands behind his head and looking relaxed. ‘This is the life. Now, I just need me a beer wench to bring me my icy-cold beer,’ he said, glancing sideways at Izzy. ‘Seeing as there are none around, you’ll have to do, kiddo.’

‘Hey, that sounds great. I’ve never had a beer wench before. Can I get one too?’ James chimed in.

‘James!’ exclaimed Izzy, acting shocked. ‘See what you’ve done, Will?’ She waved a finger at him. ‘You have corrupted a nice young man. Don’t you go turning him into a butthead like you.’

James lost it, laughing, and Will just chuckled.

Izzy watched Will through her sunnies as he chatted away, unaware of her gaze. This bloke, who she’d known her whole life, was now the only mate she really had out here. She was beginning to appreciate his friendship, more than he probably knew. And she wasn’t going to enlighten him either. She just didn’t think Will needed to know how much she’d come to like him and enjoy his company. Besides, his head would probably swell to the size of a large watermelon and ruin his handsome face.

A SLIGHT breeze started to pick up, moving about the hot air. It was nearly five-thirty in the afternoon and Izzy had just finished welding a bracket for the new bench she’d made for the workshop. She wiped the sweat off her brow with the bottom of her shirt and then bent backwards with her hands on her hips, stretching her aching back. The breeze felt wonderful against her hot skin, even if it was only slight. After washing her hands in an old basin at the side of the shed, she decided it was beer o’clock. It had been a hard day of work, plus it was Friday and she’d earned it. It was hard to believe another week had flown by. James had left town, along with most of the other bin crew, and nearly all the farmers had finished harvest. She’d found plenty of things to do around the farm to keep her busy enough and she hoped her dad would be impressed with her bench.