Family Farm (40 page)

Will winced at the hurt he saw in Bill’s pale sunken face. He still looked sickly white and his anger at himself would not help his recovery. ‘Try not to worry too much. Izzy’s tough and she loves you, you know. When she’s back you’ll have all the time in the world to make it up to her.’

Bill looked out the window and mumbled, ‘God, I hope you’re right.’

Ten minutes later they arrived at the Tree to the usual crowd of utes and blokes from around the district. Will made sure to pull up behind a few vehicles so they couldn’t see him lift Bill into his chair. Then somehow Bill found the strength to wheel himself the ten metres to join the nearest circle of men. Will handed him his beer, pulled up a milk crate and sat beside him. It felt good to be out and about, but there was just one thing missing – Izzy.

The blokes all politely asked Bill how he was going, and then with that out of the way it was straight on to farming.

A little later Frankie, who lived two farms down from Bill, handed him another beer and asked, ‘Hey, Bill, if you’re interested, I can have Paul bring over the Case and help turn some dirt for you after it rains.’

The offers came thick and fast, but Bill shook his head. ‘Cheers, fellas. I’ll keep it in mind. Will reckons he’s got it covered, but if we get snowed under, I’ll let you know.’

Will knew how much it was killing Bill to have even him on his farm. He doubted he could handle half the district helping him.

They’d begun discussing a new variety of wheat when Muzza came bursting into the huddle with a box. ‘Hey, any of you fellas want a good working dog?’ He put the box on the ground and scanned their faces for interest. Will leant over and could see three little kelpie pups. Two were snuggled in the corner asleep on each other and the other one was trying to get out. Will picked up the active pup – a girl, he discovered – and held her in front of his face. The pup sat relaxed in his big hands, eyes glued on Will, and attempted to lick his face.

‘You’re just a bit too cute, aren’t ya?’ Will laughed and snuggled the pup into his neck.

‘She’s a go-getter, that one. Never sits still. You want her?’ asked Muzza.

Will thought of Izzy, and of Tom. And how alone he’d been feeling. This pup definitely had Izzy’s zest for life. Maybe he’d get her as a present for Izzy, for when she returned to the farm. In the meantime he’d have some company.

‘How much, Muzza? She looks great.’

‘Yeah, both parents are fantastic working dogs. But for you, Will, she’s free.’

Will turned his head and questioned with his eyebrows.

‘Mate, I still owe you for that day’s work when my shearer took sick. If you’re happy with a swap, it’s a done deal.’

‘Sounds good to me, Muzza. I kinda got the feeling I wouldn’t be seeing any money for that anyway. I know how good you are at misplacing your chequebook.’

Muzza laughed as he picked up the box and took the other pups back to his ute.

Will scratched the top of the pup’s head. She had settled on his lap, curled up but with her eyes still wide open, taking everything in.

Bill reached over and gave her a rough pat. ‘Didn’t know you wanted a new dog, Will?’

‘I didn’t really. But I thought Izzy might.’

Bill’s face stayed rigid but Will saw the smile that radiated from his eyes in the dying light.

‘Yeah, I reckon you’re right.’ The old fella had given his approval.

‘What are we gonna call ya, girl?’ Not wanting to disturb the happy little thing, Will reluctantly got up and headed to the shop, twenty-five metres behind the Tree, with her tucked in his arms. He walked through to the hardware section to see whether they had any puppy food. He found a bag and carried it back to the counter.

‘Can you bung this on the account for us please, Jane?’

‘Sure, no probs, Will,’ she replied. ‘Is that one of Muzza’s?’

Will handed the pup over for Jane to cuddle and inspect.

‘Ya gonna give her a girlie name?’ Jane asked.

‘Don’t know. I was thinking of Gully. Yeah, I like Gully.’ Like the gully that had nearly cost him his life and also brought Izzy closer to him. He took the pup back and held her up to his face. ‘What do you say? Do you like it?’ The pup just yelped and play chewed on his finger. ‘That’ll do, then.’ Grabbing the bag of pup food, Will nodded goodbye.

‘Hey, if I don’t see ya, have fun at the wedding wearing ya monkey suit!’

‘Sure will. Cheers, Jane.’

‘Can ya give the fellas a holler and tell them final drinks before I close up?’

Outside, the darkness had dropped around them and the large storage bins blocked off the last of the setting sun. Will found his ute and chucked the food on the back. He thought about leaving Gully in the ute but decided against it. Already he was too attached. He wandered back to where Bill was chatting, and sat listening quietly, patting Gully and thinking of Izzy, wondering whether she might be looking up at this same sky somewhere out there.

‘WHAT are you doing out here?’ Blake asked Izzy, who was standing at the end of the verandah. It was Friday night and tomorrow they’d be on the road to Perth for his hot date. The week couldn’t have finished any quicker for him. He’d been counting down the days and hours.

Izzy’s chest rose as she took a deep breath. ‘Can’t you smell it? The rain’s not far away.’

‘I know. I saw the forecast on the Internet,’ said Blake, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Izzy looked at the sky and pursed her lips. ‘Well, I like to tell by looking at the sky and smelling the air. I reckon it’s only a few minutes away and I can hear some thunder in the distance. It should be a good rain.’

‘You like to do things the old way, don’t you?’

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘Some things I do. Some of the old ways are best but not all. I like the future and change too. I can be flexible.’

Blake slung his arm around her shoulder and together they stood, watching the black clouds rolling overhead.

‘Isn’t it beautiful, nature doing its thing?’ Izzy said. ‘I love watching the seasons come and go. And to think nobody would probably have started ripping up at home yet.’

Blake squeezed her tightly. ‘You’re a remarkable woman, Izzy Simpson. I’ve never met a woman like you. You’re really at one with the land. You kinda stand out – especially compared to Simone – but in a good way.’

Izzy took another deep breath as the rain started to fall in large drops, which pinged off the iron roof. A bright flash of lightning ripped its way through the dark sky. A thunderous boom followed five seconds later. Izzy leant on Blake’s shoulder. ‘You know, I could stay here all night and watch this. Maybe I should drag my mattress out here.’

‘Yeah, you could. But the mozzies would carry you away, and I need you ready for tomorrow.’

‘Gee, you’re a hard man, Mac. You’d make a good boss one day.’

Twelve hours later they were on the road to Perth.

Izzy looked at the land through the rain-splattered window as they drove out of town. ‘You know, you have great soil up here. Back home we struggle with salinity. Almost a quarter of our farm is unusable because it’s salt affected. We have heaps of salt lakes dotted throughout the district.’

‘Any you can waterski on?’

‘Yeah, there is one. Usually after a flood we can go skiing on it for a while. But it’s pretty disgusting when it gets low. If you come off the skis and get a nose or mouth full of the salty water, you just about puke.’

‘Is there much you can do to stop the salt?’ asked Blake.

‘No, not really. We just plant a heap of salt bush and trees, and some people have drains. We need big pumps to lower the underground water level and stop the salt rising. It’s just one of those environmental problems that’s hard to reverse. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing.’

‘Tell me about it. You know, one day I’d love to see your farm, Izzy. You paint such a vivid picture of it. I feel as if I know it so well.’

‘You will see it, one day.’ Izzy just wished she could believe her own words.

When they arrived at the motel, they unloaded their bags and stretched out on the beds. The large window in their room overlooked a few rooftops. Nothing special, but over them you could just glimpse the ocean. Most of the swimmers had headed home; the afternoon had come in cold, leaving the diehards in their wetsuits to brave the small barrelling waves.

‘We’ll have to go for a walk along the beach tomorrow. It’s been a while since I’ve had sand between my toes,’ said Izzy.

Blake smiled as he walked to the window. ‘It’s a pity we didn’t get a chance today. It would’ve been perfect earlier on. We’ll just have to get up at dawn and go for a stroll, hey.’

‘That’s if Dawn doesn’t mind! It might be a bit cosy with the two of us,’ Izzy said, smirking.

Blake picked up the neatly folded towel from the end of the bed and threw it at Izzy, not finding her joke very funny. Then he held up two shirts, which he’d pulled out from his overnight bag. ‘What do you think?’

‘Hmmm, I’d go with the black one. It really suits you.’

‘Does it bring out my eyes?’ he asked sarcastically. ‘Okay, now which jeans? Dark or light?’

Izzy sighed. ‘Definitely the light ones. Don’t tell me I have to pick out your shoes next, or worse, your jocks?’

‘I’m sure I can manage that by myself. Well, I best get ready,’ said Blake nervously, as he walked towards the bathroom. Izzy went to her bag and pulled out a pair of jeans, not ironed, of course. She had this theory that once you wore them for ten minutes all the creases came out anyway, so what was the point of ironing. Her mum would be horrified to hear that. Izzy also pulled out a long-sleeved, low V-necked blue top and a black jacket in case it was cold out.

Nearly an hour later they parked outside the Obie and headed inside towards the noise. Izzy felt the ocean breeze on her face and breathed in the salty air with relish. Last time she’d been here she’d been holding Will’s arm, not Blake’s. That had been a great night, and she remembered their fun with delight.

‘You know, I’m glad you didn’t get too glammed up,’ said Blake, patting her on the shoulder.

‘Why’s that?’

‘Because I want his eyes only on me tonight,’ he laughed.

Izzy wrapped her arm around his waist as they pushed through the doors and into the crowd. ‘I wouldn’t worry about that. You really do look a million bucks. I’ll have to fend off the ladies you’re going to attract. But seriously, if you guys do want to nick off to be alone without interruption, go to his room, not ours.’

‘Will you be all right by yourself if we do?’ he asked her.

‘Of course. Don’t stress about me. I’ll be fine. I’ll head back to the motel and see what’s on the idiot box.’ She grabbed his arm supportively.

Blake looked down at her and gave her a warm smile that came from his heart, then they both collided with a group of blokes heading out the door.

‘Sorry,’ said Izzy automatically, and turned to apologise properly. Her words almost stuck in her throat as a pair of bright, electric-blue eyes pierced through her. Suddenly everything seemed to slow down. People around her began to blur. It was as if someone had hit the slow-motion button and time itself had almost come to a standstill.

Blake felt Izzy’s hands tighten around his arm, cutting off his circulation. She looked startled and mesmerised at the same time. He followed her gaze and connected with a pair of eyes that made him catch his breath. He knew straightaway that it was Will. Izzy’s description of him had been perfect. Blake knew he would have trouble getting those electric eyes out of his mind. He felt as if they had stripped him bare. ‘Are you okay, Izzy?’ he whispered.

She could only nod her reply.

Izzy found herself face to face with Will amid the bustling crowd. ‘Izzy, what are you doing here?’ said Will, his eyes following her arm, which was wrapped around a man who was tall, athletic and, he had to admit, very handsome. It instantly grated on his nerves. How could he compete with that?

‘Hi, Will. This is Blake. Blake, this is Will, from back home.’

Blake took great pleasure in shaking Will’s hand, but he knew it wasn’t reciprocated. He stretched his fingers out afterwards, trying to get some feeling back. You don’t wring a man’s hand like that unless you’re trying to tell him something. ‘Here, why don’t you two catch up? I’ll go get us a drink. Bourbon and Coke?’ he asked. Izzy nodded, and he watched the nervous panic race across her eyes as he pulled away from her. Blake gave her a look of encouragement.

Izzy felt weak. She wasn’t sure she could muster up any words. Then she leant her head to one side and, keeping her voice light, asked, ‘What are you doing here, Will? Fancy bloody running into you, hey?’

‘I asked you that first.’

‘Oh,’ she said, trying to get a hold on her mind. ‘We just got the weekend off after seeding. We’ve got a big ram auction coming up and so we came down for a well-earned break before we get busy again with the preparations. You?’ Will ran his hand through his hair slowly, and damn if it didn’t rack her body with goosebumps.

‘It’s John’s wedding tomorrow and we’re just having a few drinks to celebrate.’ He nodded to a bloke standing nearby with a few mates. ‘I’m in the bridal party.’ Izzy recognised John from home and another one of his mates, Chris. They were much older than she was so she’d never had much to do with them. A picture of Will in a tux flashed in Izzy’s mind. Was she seeing her own wedding? Will broke into her thoughts with a question she didn’t quite catch.

‘Pardon? What was that?’ she asked.

‘I said when are you coming home? Don’t you think you’ve been away long enough? You know your dad wants you back.’

‘Yeah, sure. I could just see him begging me to come back,’ she laughed, trying to hide her anxiety. ‘Besides, I’ve just got settled into a great job and I don’t want to lose it. They have the stud sale coming up and they need me.’

‘You know your parents have been trying to find you? We all have,’ Will said with an edge to his voice.

‘Well, I left a message on your phone so they wouldn’t worry. I’m a big girl now, Will. I can take care of myself.’ She folded her arms across her chest, starting to feel angry that Will was being so abrupt and wasn’t happier to see her. ‘Besides, it’s probably much more peaceful there without me. I s’pose you’re doing most of the work – or has he managed to hire someone?’