by Karen Wood
Debbie reached for a small cordless microphone. ‘Go on, then. I’ll find him.’
Zoe heard the call for Archie Brown as she took Frankie back to the car, found him a drink and fed him a few biscuits. ‘A thousand bucks, Frankenstein,’ she said. ‘Win this thing and I’ll buy you a new forty-four-gallon drum.’
He lay on the ground and huffed back at her, the little golden dimes above his eyes jumping up and down to the pant of his tongue.
She unhooked old Bert and gave him a pat. ‘I think you have more chance at winning.’
‘What took you so long?’ Her dad’s voice came from the other side of the car.
‘I went for a ride with Josh,’ she said.
‘I know that,’ he said. ‘But did you have to take my wallet with you?’
She pulled it from her pocket and handed it to him. ‘Sorry.’
He shook his head as he unclipped Race and Toby. ‘I had to borrow a fifty off Fred. Did you find anything?’
She pulled the ear-tag backings from her pocket and showed him.
His mouth pursed into a thin line as he took them from her and rolled them over in his hand. He looked up. ‘See any cattle?’
‘No Black Angus,’ she said.
He sighed through his nose and looked thoughtful as his eyes roamed back to the yards.
‘Did you find anything?’ asked Zoe.
He shook his head. ‘Come on,’ he said, changing the subject. ‘Let’s get this circus act over and done with.’
Zoe led her two entries to the marshalling yard. Dad sprinted to the secretary’s office with Race and Toby running alongside. After what seemed like ages, he joined her by the dog jump.
‘What do I need to know?’ he asked as he eyed the timber wall.
‘Not much,’ she shrugged. ‘They can scramble over any way they want as long as you don’t touch the dog or help him. You get three goes at each height until the highest jump. If it’s a tie, they count back on refusals.’
A crowd had gathered in the late afternoon. The wall was set up in a grassy area between the two arenas. Behind was a man serving damper and golden syrup from a picnic table with a red gingham tablecloth. It smelled sensational. Given that she had forgotten to eat lunch as well as breakfast, she planned to grab some of that at the first opportunity.
Zoe resolved not to look at Josh until the competition was over, lest he distract her. When it was Spiderman’s turn, she figured it was safe to look and she watched the brindle rat glide through the air, clamp onto the bottom part of the timber wall and scurry up to the top. He launched off the top rail and threw himself into Josh’s waiting arms. There was a rise in the collective mutter of the crowd and a small round of applause.
No guesses as to why he’d called the dog Spiderman. Hmm, Frankie would have a hard time beating that.
As predicted, after a few yells from Dad and some half-hearted leaps, Race and Toby were knocked out in the first round. Her dad looked completely unperturbed, confirming Zoe’s suspicions that he hadn’t come here to win any canine agility contests. Something much bigger was brewing.
A couple of fat Jack Russells later, she led Bert to the wall. She ran at it and smacked her hand against the planks. ‘Up you get.’ She laughed with the crowd when he stopped abruptly and looked up at her hand vacantly. ‘Please?’ Bert dropped to his belly and put his nose on his paws.
She tried two more times and then handed him to her father in disgust.
She untied Frankie. ‘Let’s show ’em how it’s done, big fella,’ she said, and was delighted when he began springing around on all four legs on seeing the wall. She scruffed up his ears. ‘Do this one for Queenie,’ she whispered to him. She held a finger to him to ask him to stay and then ran to the wall and clicked her fingers in the air, without even bothering to say ‘Up’.
Frankie launched off the ground and nearly cleared it in one bound. To the crowd’s delight he slid down the haybales, dashed to the front of the wall and leapt it again in a sideways, corkscrew motion, seemingly for the pure joy of it. She smiled proudly at him and called him to heel. ‘Good boy.’
There were thirty-five dogs in the dog jump, so it took forever to get through the first round.
Zoe seized the opportunity to tether Frankie and go and get some of that damper. While she was waiting, a pair of arms snaked around her waist and Josh’s voice rumbled in her ear. ‘Hungry?’ He squeezed her and it made an elated squeal pop out of her throat. ‘Starving,’ she said, turning to him.
He smiled down at her. ‘Me too.’
‘You’re trying to distract me,’ she accused.
‘Is it working?’
‘No.’ But she couldn’t tear her gaze from his.
He leaned down, and without warning wrapped his lips softly and deliciously around hers, right there, in front of the entire damper queue, with no reservations whatsoever.
The shock of it derailed her at first, but then her eyes closed without her telling them to, and as he pulled her closer, her lips responded automatically although she willed them not to. For a brief moment she became completely lost.
‘Now?’ he mumbled into her kiss.
A tiny whimper left her throat. Hot prickles raced over her cheeks.
He pulled away, smiling, leaving her openmouthed and gasping for breath.
‘I’m so going to get you for this,’ she whispered.
His eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘I hope so.’
Neither Frankie nor Spiderman won the dog high jump. Some upstart border collie leapt the final height cleanly and won it on a countback. Zoe, still recovering from Josh’s kiss, clapped absent-mindedly while its owner, a bald guy with a beer belly, collected the thousand-dollar cheque.
Around the camp the daylight ebbed, dimming the grounds so lamps glowed in the back of trucks and shadows distorted people’s faces. As Zoe finished brushing down Blackjack and settling him for the night, she wondered about her hat.
Josh had said they would go back but it was getting too late to ride. She noticed his horse, Red, was rugged for the night. Just how did he plan on going back for the hat?
He appeared with Mike and Tahnee. ‘Mike’s going to ask if we can take the car out to that lake for a swim,’ he said. ‘We can look for your hat while we’re there.’
‘Just gotta convince Dad to hand over the keys,’ said Mike.
‘I’d rather you go off with the kids than hang around here,’ said her father, eyeing a huge marquee that had been set up as a beer tent. From inside, Zoe could hear the tortured twangs of a country band warming up.
‘Who is supervising?’ he asked without taking his eyes away from the tent.
‘Mike?’ she offered lamely.
‘Will there be any alcohol?’
He seemed distracted, as though he was looking for someone. Then she noticed that he was wearing a clean shirt – tucked in and everything – with a belt and trousers. Had he been shopping at the country clothing stands? No wonder he’d missed his wallet. Either way, he looked . . . nice. She felt a funny rush of pride when she looked at him. He steered his eyes to her, still seeming only half-interested.
‘We’re just going for a swim in the lake and then coming back for the night-time events and the band.’
‘How are you getting there?’
‘Your car?’
‘Who are you going with?’
Zoe hesitated. ‘Josh.’ Then she quickly added, ‘And Tahnee.’
Her dad reached into his pocket without hesitating and took out his keys. ‘Tell Mike he’s the only authorised driver. You’re not to part company. Back here by ten o’clock.’
Jeepers. What had gotten into him? Mr Agreeable all of a sudden. Bush festivals did her father the world of good, she decided. She did a little jig.
Zoe talked to Tahnee over the shower wall as she washed off the day’s dust and cow smells.
‘How’d you go with your dog today?’ Tahnee asked.
‘Don’t ask,’ she said. ‘Total disast
er. How did you go in the barrel-racing?’
‘Came second.’
‘Who to?’
‘Caitlin Bowers.’
Zoe hoped her good luck would continue and she wouldn’t run into Caitlin. It would be excruciating to try and make polite conversation, especially after Scotty’s sleazy make-up attempts. Ick. Caitlin could have him.
She hurriedly dressed and then swapped earrings with Tahnee, settling on a pair of large silver hoops. Tahnee fell in love with a pair of Zoe’s dangly turquoise ones, which looked great with her short haircut.
‘Did you really bring a hair-dryer?’ said Zoe, eyeing the cord hanging out of Tahnee’s washbag.
‘Go for it,’ said Tahnee, rubbing a patch out of the fogged-up mirror and inserting an earring. She looked down at Zoe’s feet. ‘Want to borrow some heels?’
‘To go swimming in a lake?’ said Zoe.
‘We have to get there in style, hunny. A date’s a date.’
‘This is a date?’
‘Sure.’
Zoe laughed and looked down at her Blundstones. ‘Thanks, but I have a thing for workboots.’
Tahnee grimaced.
Twenty minutes later they strutted out of the shower block together, all skinny jeans and tight blouses and Tahnee’s mum’s expensive makeup.
16
At the car, Zoe was mildly disturbed to find Mike looking kind of . . . good. Really good. He had also been haunting the country clothing stands. She realised for the first time that Mike’s loose old flannies had been hiding a rather well-cut physique.
Zoe walked up and leaned against the car beside her big brother, sharing his view across the showgrounds. ‘Well, don’t you look sharp,’ she said.
By the big marquee the band had started up slow and people gathered around in clusters. On a nearby stage a kid recited bush poetry while an appreciative crowd laughed along.
‘Waddya reckon?’ said Mike, staring out over the showgrounds, poker-faced. ‘Lady-killer?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Zoe, stifling a laugh. ‘You look hot, big brother.’
But not as hot as Josh.
He walked towards her in jeans, boots and a pinstriped shirt. Looking at his skin, tinged by a day of sunshine, and his hair, still damp from the showers, Zoe had to stop herself from ogling him. He grinned at her and dived into the back seat. She got that dissolving feeling all over again.
‘Do you want the front seat?’ said Tahnee to Zoe.
Heck no. She also caught a warning glare from Mike. ‘I’ll go in the back,’ she answered quickly, yanking open the door. ‘Peuw! What are all the dogs doing in here?’
‘Dad said we had to take them for a swim,’ said Mike. ‘They’ve been chained up most of the day.’
In the back seat she pulled at the seatbelt and the faint scent of fresh soap coming from Josh made her glad of the restraint. She clicked herself in and made up some excuse to rummage through her bag, unable to look at him.
Mike turned the engine over and they rolled out of the big cast-iron gates of the showgrounds and into town. Josh’s hand found hers and their fingers wove together. She gave him an inane smile, trying to silence the giddy voice inside her that was squealing, OMG, I’m going on a date with Josh Miller!!!!
‘Do your dogs always smell so bad?’ asked Tahnee.
‘It’s not the dogs, it’s Zoe,’ said Mike.
‘Hey.’ Zoe clouted him on the back of the head.
They drove with the windows wide open. Outside it was dark but the air that rushed in through the windows was still warm and dry. The whole time, Josh’s fingers didn’t stay still. They wound in and out of Zoe’s and his thumb brushed over the back of her hand impatiently. The whole way there, all she could think of was kissing him and she wondered if he was thinking about it too.
They got to the laneway and Josh showed Mike where to pull up at the wire gate. The dogs erupted out of the back of the station wagon and glided into the shadows, sniffing and circling.
The sun had completely disappeared behind the western ranges and daylight had given way to a deep velvety sky. They walked over the lumpy cow paddock to the crest of the hill, to see the moon hanging above the lake, big and imposing and beautiful. Everything was black and silver and shades of in between. A massive colony of cattle egrets nested in a grove of skeletonised trees at the water’s edge. A billion crickets provided the music and Zoe could see the silhouettes of kids jumping and diving into the water, moonlight bouncing off the splashes and waves.
Josh grabbed her hand and started running. She laughed as she let herself be pulled along. Frankie and Spiderman scampered after them.
At the bottom of the hill, she felt him scoop her legs out from under her. She squealed and threw her arms around his neck while he carried her over the rest of the paddock towards the water’s edge. ‘You rescued me like this,’ she said, with her arms around his neck. ‘I remember.’ She reached up and touched his face. ‘Thank you.’
Josh came to a stop and he set her onto her feet, but his arms stayed wrapped firmly around her. ‘You rescued me,’ he said, touching her cheek with his thumb.
‘How?’ Now she was confused.
‘I never wanted to come back to Bell River. We lived in Sydney for three years and I wanted to stay there. I was miserable.’
‘How could you be miserable in Bell River?’
‘I was doing an agricultural engineering course. I thought I’d have to give that up – not many colleges do it. But now I go back and do blocks of study.’
‘Sounds geeky.’
‘Not really.’ He smiled. ‘Anyway, then I found this demented girl in a cow paddock one day and everything changed.’
‘What did you see in her? She was a fruitcake.’
‘Fruitcakes are yummy.’
‘You’re yummier.’
‘Really?’ He sounded unsure of himself.
‘Yeah. If you don’t kiss me soon, I think I’m gonna die. Or starve. Or something.’
‘Well, don’t do that,’ he said softly. ‘I’ve already rescued you once.’ He leaned in towards her.
His kiss took her breath away, rushed at her skin, and tore at her heart. It was exhilarating and scary at the same time. Another whimper escaped her throat. He laughed softly and hummed appreciatively.
Someone coughed nearby. ‘Ah, guys?’ It was Mike. ‘Didn’t you need to find a hat or something?’
‘Swim first,’ said Josh, pulling his T-shirt over his head.
‘Heck, yeah,’ said Zoe. She stripped to her one-piece cossie and ran to the lake’s edge. ‘Race you.’
The lake was lined with greasy dark mud like black Vaseline. Zoe’s foot slipped sideways and she landed heavily on the ground with an undignified splat.
Josh laughed from the edge as she flapped around in the mud like a harpooned seal. ‘Don’t just stand there laughing,’ she squealed, lobbing a handful of mud at him.
‘Oi!’ He stepped onto the muddy edge and picked his way over to her. As soon as she could get hold of his leg, she pulled it out from under him. He sprawled next to her.
‘We have to commando-crawl,’ he said. ‘I saw it on Man versus Wild.’ He pulled himself on his belly towards the water’s edge. She followed in a similar style.
As the water became deeper it was warm on top and freezing below her chest. Her legs scissored in the murky iciness and she tried not to think what critters lurked on the bottom. She rolled on her back and floated, loving the free feeling of being adrift, attached to nothing, miles from anywhere.
With her ears corked by the water, she stared up at a sky that was thick with stars, blazing and blurring into each other and fighting for space in the sky. They seemed so far away, yet close enough to touch. She rolled her head to see Josh take hold of a tree skeleton that lay prostrate with its branches half submerged.
‘Come over,’ he called.
She rolled and began stroking slowly towards him.
From the corner of her eye she saw Mike an
d Tahnee swim past, heads bobbing in the water, laughing and talking breathlessly.
‘Tahnee reckons there’s a beach on the other side,’ Mike called out. ‘It’s sandy.’
‘Wait for us!’ She swam after her brother.
It was a good long swim to the other side and by the time she pulled herself onto the small sandy inlet, her muscles were dull and achy. She walked to the grass beyond and fell onto her back with her knees up and her arms out to the side like lead. Her chest heaved for breath. ‘I’m knackered. And freezing.’
‘Let’s walk back across the hillside,’ said Josh, taking her hand. ‘We’ll go back to the fenceline where we were riding today and see if we can find that hat.’ They walked barefoot through the long grass.
Mike clambered up the hillside towards some cattle lying in the shade of some trees.
‘Black Angus,’ said Mike. Then his voice lifted a few octaves as he swore. ‘They’re Black Angus!’
‘Ours?’ called back Zoe.
‘Can’t tell. No ear tags,’ shrugged Mike, ‘but I reckon they might be. They’re the right age and size.’
‘Have a look at the brands,’ said Zoe.
‘We can’t get close enough to see.’ He cursed. ‘I need a torch.’
‘How many are there?’ She counted at least a dozen but it was hard to tell with them bustling up against each other and moving further into the darkness.
Zoe whistled up Frankie. ‘Get around,’ she said.
Frankie, followed by Bert, trotted calmly out wide and their presence was quickly picked up by the cattle. They stopped running and bunched into a group. Toby circled them from the other side, keeping his distance.
‘Sheese, they probably bloody know each other,’ said Mike, watching the dogs work the dozen or so beasts with ease. ‘We should yard them up and take a closer look.’
‘There are yards in the next property if we can find a gate,’ said Josh. ‘I need to get some clothes on first, though. I’m frozen.’
‘Shouldn’t we just ring the stock squad?’ said Tahnee.
‘We should ring Dad,’ said Zoe. ‘My phone is in my clothes.’
