‘Hey, um, would you be interested in coming to the lake this weekend?’
‘Jilakin Lake? It’s got water in it?’ Jilakin was a large dry salt lake, which, on the odd occasion after a flood, filled up with water. When that happened they could water-ski on it through most of summer. She’d been about twelve the last time she’d gone skiing on it.
‘Yep, but it’s evaporating fast so this will be our last few months. It’s not too salty yet. So, you keen to come? I’ve got spare skis and vests, so all you’ll need is your bathers and a towel.’
‘Sure, Trent. That sounds great.’
‘Brilliant. It’s a plan. All right, let’s try this again,’ he said, holding out the darts.
Lara took them and lined up her first dart. She was determined to at least make this game a close one. It wasn’t in her nature to give up without a fight.
17
SUNDAY came around quickly and Lara was looking forward to an afternoon of skiing as a reward for getting the fence done – and having kept the sheep alive. Trent was picking her up at nine so she was ready to go, wearing her black swimming shorts and bikini top. She’d chucked on one of Noah’s long-sleeved cotton shirts to keep the sun off. She’d been plastering aloe vera on her burnt skin over the last few days to stop it from peeling.
Trent pulled up in his ute, towing an old purple speed boat. It was filled with tubes, skis and life jackets.
‘Nice boat,’ Lara said, jumping into his silver dual cab with a huge smile.
‘Bit of an old girl, but she still runs when we drag her out of the shed.’
They snaked their way along the gravel, the sun high in the sky and already belting out the UV rays.
When they arrived at Jilakin Lake Trent hauled the boat into the water, then parked the ute and trailer out of the way. The white-grey crusty ground around the clumps of shrubs crunched under their feet. By the water’s edge, salty white foam lapped at the bank, and tiny diamonds sparkled across the lake’s surface as a boat raced past, churning up the water in the sunlight. There were two boats already on the lake, and a few people out skiing. Chairs and eskies were set up in the shade of nearby trees, and Trent helped Lara carry the chairs he’d brought.
‘That’s the Templetons over there. They’re from north Kulin,’ Trent whispered.
‘Oh, yes, I thought some of them looked familiar. Who are the others by that big tree?’
‘Um, actually, I’m not sure. Maybe they’re from a nearby town.’
Nonetheless they all waved and shouted out greetings.
‘Well, let’s not waste the beautiful weather and perfect skiing conditions. You ready?’
‘Now? But we just got here. I haven’t skied in years; I’ll need time to work myself up for this. You know, let the nerves settle.’
‘It’s best to just dive right in, that way you can’t talk yourself out of it. Here, take these skis and just check your foot size in them,’ he said, resting two cream skis on the ground. His white T-shirt reflected brightly in the sun and his black and white board shorts hung to his knees. He had a nice, fit body but what Lara liked most about Trent was his open and friendly face. He was so approachable and engaging. In a relatively short time she had become so comfortable with him, as if they’d been great friends for years. He definitely took after Marge.
Lara stuck her feet in the skis as Trent adjusted them for her then carried them to the lake’s edge. He pulled out a black and yellow vest and handed it to her as she stripped off her shirt and thongs.
‘This will be enough to hold you up. Just click in the bits at the front and check it’s tight.’
Her hands were shaking a little and it took her a few attempts to clip on the vest. Finally, she picked up the skis and dipped her toe into the gently lapping water. It was cool and refreshing. She stepped in further, her feet feeling along the slippery, muddy floor until the murky brown water crept up to her waist. She could faintly smell the salt in the water, which felt silky against her skin.
Trent pushed the boat into the lake, climbed in, and hurled the ski rope towards her. The handle hit the water with a splash, taking Lara’s breath away as the coolness reached her shoulders. Trent gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up as she sank into the water and slipped on the skis. She held the rope between her legs – that much she could remember – as Trent waited for her signal.
‘Yep!’ she yelled out as she floated, trying to keep the tip of her skis out of the water.
Trent floored the boat, the rope took up slack and Lara tried hard not to let her body be pulled over. She managed to sort of get out of the water but her bottom was lagging behind in the lake and the water was spraying up around her, affecting her vision. It continued like this for a few moments before the drag was too much for her arms and she let go of the rope.
Trent slowed the boat and swung it around her so she could grab the rope. ‘You were nearly up. Just need to straighten your legs more,’ he offered as the boat cruised past. ‘You’re doing great.’
She shifted her skis up into the starting position and reached for the rope, while still trying to wipe the salty water from her face.
They gave it another shot and this time she was up, clear of the water. She felt a buzz of exhilaration as she skied behind the boat. It was all coming back to her now. But she wasn’t satisfied with just being towed. She knew skiing involved going over the wake from side to side. She wouldn’t be happy until she’d attempted it. Moving her weight slightly, she began to move slowly to the left, over the wake and out into the smooth water where it became easier. Trent gave her a clap and pointed back in the other direction, and she wondered if he could see the mixture of sheer terror and pleasure on her face. Following his directions, she headed back to the right, moving faster this time.
‘Oh, crap,’ she murmured as she saw the first wake approaching. It wouldn’t have looked pretty, but she managed to get over it. She was so busy praising herself that she forgot about the other wake and lost her balance. What followed was a spectacular face-plant into the water, a Funniest Home Videos winner for sure. She was glad it was only Trent watching her.
She was still coughing up water, which also dribbled from her nose, as Trent swung the boat around again.
‘Yeah, you’re really getting the hang of it quick. See, it’s like riding a bike. The skiing you did as a kid is coming back. Ready to go again?’
Easy for him to say. He was the dry one in the boat.
Lara nodded, determined not to give up just yet. She wanted to master this by the day’s end.
She managed a lap around the whole lake on the skis before she touched her head, signalling to Trent to take her in. When they were back where they had started, Lara let go of the rope and glided in. When she took off the skis and walked to the shore, her body trembled and her legs felt like soggy noodles. The warm air dried the water on her body, leaving itchy, salty remnants on her skin. She knew she’d have sore muscles tomorrow.
She heard Trent’s voice yell out behind her. ‘Hey, Jack! Wanna ski? I’m ready to go, mate.’
Oh, great, Lara thought. Sure enough, there was Jack, walking towards them. He was wearing a grey T-shirt with green and black boardies. He had a beach towel slung over one shoulder and a flash-looking ski under one arm.
‘Cheers, Trent. That’d be great,’ Jack said as he put his ski and towel down and tugged off his shirt in one fluid movement. Lara cursed how sexy he looked. She tried to tell herself that his tanned body, all ripped and toned, did nothing to impress her.
‘Lara’s got the vest, mate,’ Trent added.
Jack picked up his ski as Lara held out the dripping vest, but Jack just walked straight past, as if she wasn’t even there.
‘I thought country people were supposed to be friendly,’ she whispered to herself. She was about to drop the vest on the ground when Jack reached back and plucked it from her fingers. Not even so much as a thank you!
Loosening the clips to fit his broad shoulders, Jack sta
rted talking to Trent like a normal, amicable person. Lara cursed and made her way over to their seats, washed out her mouth with some water and grabbed her towel.
‘Lara, you coming?’ Trent yelled from the boat as he waved her back with both arms.
She put on her sunnies and headed back to the boat with her towel. Jack was standing at the edge of the lake with his ski on already. He stared at her impatiently. She trod slowly through the water, just to annoy him even more.
‘Hey, not bad out there earlier. How do you feel?’ Trent asked Lara after he’d helped her into the boat.
‘Um, okay actually,’ she said, rolling her arms to test her muscles.
‘Any time you’re ready,’ came Jack’s deep voice.
Lara sat up the front while Trent threw out the rope. ‘That guy is such an arse,’ she said.
‘Who, Jack?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. He’s so rude to me, like he has a chip on his shoulder. I really don’t get how he and Noah are best mates.’
‘You serious? Jack’s a really great bloke when you get to know him. Sorry, I didn’t realise you two didn’t get on. I just figured ’cos he was Noah’s best mate that you’d be well acquainted. I wouldn’t have invited him otherwise.’
‘You invited him?’
‘Yeah, Jack and I go skiing together. We’re mad for it.’
Jack was still standing at the water’s edge with his ski held up on one foot. Trent gunned the motor, the boat lurched ahead, the rope pulled tight and, effortlessly, Jack was off, skiing side to side. Lara swung around in her seat away from Jack, choosing instead to smile at Trent and enjoy the ride.
When they arrived back at their spot, Jack skied in and practically walked on to the shore. He wasn’t even wet.
‘Hey, Jack, do you mind taking me for a spin?’ Trent said.
‘Sure thing.’
Jack walked back towards the boat after shifting his ski to higher ground. He didn’t even bother to put his shirt back on – no wonder he had a perfect tan. She snuck a look at her own multiple tan lines from her T-shirts, singlets and tank tops and thought she probably ought to do something about it. Lara was about to get off, but Trent grabbed her arm.
‘Hey, aren’t you gonna stay and watch? I promise to fall off a few times so you can see me face-plant. You know, even up the field a bit.’ He smiled and Lara couldn’t say no.
‘You better at least do one speckie crash. None of this getting back without getting wet,’ she stirred.
Trent held out his hand. ‘It’s a deal. I’ll take the knee board.’
Jack climbed into the boat next to Lara. Her whole body tensed, like an alarm warning her that Jack was in the vicinity. They both kept their eyes on Trent but it didn’t take Jack long to spit out a few words.
‘I hope you got the fence done before you came out here?’
Lara’s blood began to boil. ‘If you must know, I finished it days ago, although it’s really none of your business.’
Jack grunted in reply, as if he wasn’t impressed with her answer. Before she could study the expression on his face, he’d gunned the boat into life. Lara turned around to watch Trent, who was cutting across the wake on the knee board. After a few passes he settled behind the boat and showed off by doing some three-sixty turns. He headed back out over the wake but this time the nose of the board dug into the water and Trent went sprawling face-first into the water. Lara laughed.
‘What the hell?’ asked Jack as he slowed up the boat behind Trent.
‘What did you think? Not bad, hey?’ Trent had one hand over the knee board and reached for the rope with the other.
‘I’ve still got a few up on you. But yes, it was a beauty.’
Jack was watching Lara with a jaded expression, obviously feeling out of the loop with their banter.
‘What now, Jack?’ she asked, rolling her eyes.
‘I didn’t say anything,’ he said dryly.
‘Then why are you looking at me like that?’ Lara crossed her arms, ready to confront this at last. ‘Have I done something to annoy you, or are you always this …’ she waved over his body, ‘this … whatever you are.’ There were too many names for Jack and she couldn’t think which fitted best. Rude, arrogant, selfish, infuriating and a total arse.
He turned around, and automatically she grabbed his arm, demanding his attention. Sparks shot up her fingers and Jack’s eyes darted to hers as if he felt them too.
‘Are you even going to give me a clue?’
Jack guided the boat to the water’s edge, ignoring her. Fuming, Lara leapt off the boat faster than a greyhound.
‘Bloody Jack really shits me,’ she told Trent as they settled back into their chairs and cracked open some dip and biscuits. She watched Jack head across to the other group of people.
‘Don’t worry about him. Don’t take it personally. He obviously came to WA with some baggage and then accumulated some more.’
‘What do you mean?’ Lara asked, cocking her head to the side.
Trent leant closer so they couldn’t be overheard. ‘Noah let slip one night on the turps that Jack’s got a record.’
Lara’s mouth dropped. ‘Really? What for?’ She tried not to sound too pleased at this news. He really did have some skeletons in his closet.
Trent shrugged. ‘Don’t know. He wouldn’t say. Can’t be anything major.’
Well, I never, Lara thought. Somehow it didn’t surprise her. Jack had bad boy written all over him. Sexy bad boy, she had to admit.
The one thing that did surprise her was how someone like Jack had come to be such close friends with Noah. What with Aaron Snippet yesterday and now this news about Jack today, Lara was starting to question her brother’s friendship choices. It seemed Noah really knew how to pick them.
18
A few weeks later, Lara stopped the ute so the auger was over the sheep feeder, smiling at how easy it was getting. She bounded out of the ute as the morning sun glared off the tin silos and sheds and the dogs barked excitedly at the nearby cockies. Just as well they hadn’t noticed what was in the paddock behind her: two kangaroos rested on their large back legs and huge tails, watching Lara with interest, their ears twitching. They’d probably been eating spilt grain, as there wasn’t much feed around for them until it rained. And the farm never got much rain in March.
After taking a few photos of the roos for Chloe and Darcy, she took off her long-sleeved shirt and tied it around her waist, over her tan shorts. Her skin was browning from being outside all day and she had a horrible sock tan to prove it.
She bent down to start the auger, but it groaned back at her angrily. She tried again before standing up, puzzled. It wasn’t out of fuel as she’d only filled it up yesterday. Glancing down at the auger, she saw the grain in its mouth and groaned.
‘Oh, shit.’
How many times had Noah mentioned not to shut off the auger when it was full? Damn it. She must have forgotten to let it empty out. She kicked at a stone on the ground, sending it pinging off the bottom of the ute’s roo bar. Muttering under her breath, she collected a bucket from the shed and started scooping out the grain. She only remembered vague details from Noah about what she should do in this situation.
She swore again, just as she saw a vehicle coming into view. It was Jack’s black Holden one-tonner. Just what she needed. Quickly she headed back to the ute and talked to the dogs. She didn’t want Jack to see she’d stuffed up.
He pulled up in a swirl of dust and got out wearing boots, work jeans and a blue singlet. His dark hair looked unruly yet perfect at the same time. She held her breath as he walked over and stood on the other side of the ute. Dippa went straight over and nuzzled him. Traitor.
‘Morning, Jack,’ Lara said, as politely as she could, guessing he was probably here to borrow something. ‘What brings you here?’
‘Noah rang. Wanted me to check on you.’
Lara took a deep breath and kept her eyes on him. ‘Well, as you can see, I’m fine.’
It took all of her willpower not look over at the mess she’d made with the auger. His help would get the job done quickly, whereas it would probably take her all morning to finish undoing her mistake alone. But still, asking for his help was not an option. He was clearly only here under protest.
The anger she saw lurking in his deep green eyes made her own rise to the surface. ‘No. Everything’s going great.’ She pushed off from the ute and headed to the nearby shed. Jack followed her.
She wanted to look busy so he’d clear off but she didn’t want to start on the auger. She decided to load the flat tyre she’d got a few weeks back onto the trailer. She’d take it into town along with the spare for the truck that needed fixing.
She lifted the ute tyre easily enough but the truck tyre was a little harder. Jack just stood back and watched her the whole time. A muscle was going to town near his jaw, as if he was stopping himself from saying or doing something. Maybe he was itching to help her.
When she finally got the tyre up, she pushed it so it would fall and settle but it rolled off the other side. Lara swore under her breath. Shame and anger entwined together. Jack still didn’t move or offer to help. What the hell was he doing anyway? Waiting for her to fail? Waiting for a few laughs to tell the boys about back at the pub, or waiting for her to ask for help?
‘Would you like some help?’ he asked, and Lara wondered whether he’d heard her thoughts. He uncrossed his arms and Lara cursed herself for noticing them. His face had softened and was almost sympathetic and sweet. Right then she could have forgiven him his behaviour of late; he was the Jack she’d first met in the shearing shed, the one she’d been attracted to. Actually, she was still attracted to him – she couldn’t seem to find the off button for that.
She strode over to the wayward tyre before turning to Jack. ‘Look, you’ve done what Noah asked you to. I’m fine, so go report back and leave me be … please.’
‘Don’t burn down the place,’ he said, before heading back to his ute.
The Road Home Page 13
