The Road Home

by Palmer, Fiona

  When she came to, her throat was dry and her head ached. With careful fingers she touched her head. She could feel a lump like a second head, and a gluggy, sticky mess. The blood on her fingers was very thick, which suggested the blood flow was slowing, but as for her leg and the poison, which she could just imagine working its way through her body, she had no idea. Was this how she was going to die? Alone in the bush? As if reading her mind, Roy came and licked her face. Dippa, she realised, was snuggled into her body, his head down as if he knew it was all his fault. With a shaky hand, she patted him reassuringly.

  How long had she been out for? The sun was high and very hot. She felt dizzy but needed to think. She needed help. She reached for her phone in her back pocket. No signal. And the scrap pile was deep in the bush, so even if Mel came looking for her, she’d never spot the ute. Maybe she should try to get to the ute and drive herself home – or would the movement send the poison even more quickly through her body?

  ‘Shit, Dippa.’ Her voiced cracked and her lips tore as she opened her mouth. ‘Where’s Mel when you need her?’

  The sun in full force was burning her skin. Slowly and steadily she began to drag herself towards some shade about a metre away. Each movement hurt.

  ‘Roy,’ Lara called. ‘Roy,’ she said a little louder and the dog poised, ready for her command. ‘Go get help. Roy, get home.’ She tried to fling her arm out and point towards the paddock. As lame as her command was, Roy took off at a rate of knots. Hopefully he was off home and not chasing a rabbit. But Roy knew commands well and she prayed he’d find Mel.

  ‘Bloody got myself into a right mess, hey, boy,’ she said to Dippa, resting her head down on his fur. She couldn’t stop thinking of the poison coursing through her feverish body. She couldn’t stop thinking she was dying, and she was dying all alone. Maybe her parents would greet her in heaven. Her head thumped and her eyes had trouble focusing so she closed them. Just for a few minutes …

  Jack pulled up at the house and Mel came running out to meet him.

  ‘Thanks for coming over, Jack. I’m really worried now. Lara’s been gone for over four hours and I can’t get her on her phone.’ Mel clutched the ute door.

  Jack scratched his head and looked around as if expecting her to show up. ‘Her ute’s not here and it doesn’t have a two-way, either. Let’s go check the paddocks with sheep first.’

  With a nod, Mel jumped into the ute and let Jack take charge. They drove around the paddocks in silence, not spotting Lara’s ute in any of them.

  ‘Where else could she be?’ Mel asked when Jack stopped by another gate.

  ‘Maybe she went inspecting dams or something. Let’s check the rest of the paddocks.’

  ‘Okay. If you think it’s worth a try …’

  ‘Normally I wouldn’t worry too much, but with you here, I know she’d be eager to get back and spend time with you. Maybe she has a flat tyre?’ Jack tried to smile but he was having that gut feeling again. Something was wrong. ‘Come on. Let’s keep going.’

  Mel’s jaw set tight as she nodded and they headed off towards the next paddock. ‘Thanks again for coming. I didn’t know who else to call.’

  ‘It’s okay. You did the right thing. I’ve got a weird feeling that something’s not right.’

  ‘Me too.’

  There was a lot of ground to cover but by the third paddock, Mel spotted something. ‘Over there. Look. What’s that?’ She pointed to something moving in the distance.

  ‘It’s Roy. What the hell’s he doing over there?’ Jack floored the accelerator and the ute shook harder over the old plough marks in the paddock. His teeth vibrated against each other so he clenched his jaw tight. As they got closer to Roy, the dog spun around and began running back the way he’d come.

  ‘What’s he doing?’ Mel shouted over the clanging of tools on the back tray.

  Jack didn’t reply but kept the wheels heading towards Roy.

  ‘Where’d he go?’ asked Mel frantically.

  ‘He’s heading into the old scrap pile,’ Jack said. It made sense to him now. That’s where she was! She must have picked up Noah’s habit of clearing rocks from the paddocks.

  His nerves tingled as he drove through the open gate onto the bush track. In among the dull green bush, a white ute appeared, hooked up to the sheep feeder.

  ‘Oh, thank God,’ sighed Mel. ‘Do you see her?’

  Jack pulled up quickly, jumped out and looked around the ute.

  ‘Jack!’ Mel’s scream scared the living daylights out of him and he swung around to where she’d pointed. Lara was lying half curled under a bush, Dippa sitting by her side and Roy panting and pacing around her body. A chill licked the hairs on the back of Jack’s neck. Her lips looked dry, her face reddened by the sun. It didn’t look good at all. He tried not to panic but it was impossible. He was panicking beyond belief. Jack ran as fast as he could, jumping over rocks and shrubs, until he was next to her.

  ‘Lara?’ His voice choked up. Her face and arms were also burnt and her body was drenched in sweat. He could see the tangle of thick blood through her hair. ‘She’s hit her head.’ He brushed his hand gently through her golden hair and felt the lump on her head, sticky blood coating his fingers.

  ‘She must have been bitten!’ Mel pointed to the makeshift bandage around Lara’s leg.

  Jack squeezed Lara’s hand, called her name again and brushed her cheek. Thoughts raced through his mind of how ungenerous he’d been to her since she’d arrived. In that moment he’d have given anything for a chance to do things differently, to show her that he wasn’t the insensitive person she thought he was. Just let her be alive, he prayed silently, thinking of how hard this would be on Noah.

  Her eyes fluttered open. She saw Jack and almost smiled. ‘Jack, oh Jack,’ she managed dryly.

  ‘Oh, Larz, what have you got yourself into?’ he said, terror edging his voice.

  ‘The snake!’ Mel screamed. ‘It’s right here.’ She was holding her chest with her hand as she pointed to a wet mess near her feet. ‘Looks like Dippa got him.’

  ‘What kind is it?’ Jack shouted in a frenzy.

  Mel held it up by the tail.

  Lara opened her eyes as she felt a cool gel being applied along her sore arms. ‘Am I dead?’ she croaked.

  Mel’s dimpled, smiling face appeared in her line of sight. ‘Hey, sweetie. You had us so worried. Here, have a sip of this.’ She put a cup with a straw to Lara’s lips. Lara sucked up the cool liquid and almost groaned in pleasure before putting her head back down. She was surprised to feel herself rest upon a soft pillow.

  ‘Where am I?’ she asked, hoping desperately that she was in hospital and that they’d found her in time to administer the anti-venom before they’d had to amputate her leg …

  ‘Jack?’ she cried out.

  ‘I’m here.’

  His voice was warm and light. ‘Where am I?’ she asked again. She needed to know whether she was in the local hospital or in the city.

  ‘You’re in your room, sweetie,’ Mel said gently.

  She heard Mel’s voice but it was Jack’s face that came into view. Lara felt such strong emotions surging through her. It seemed he was her saviour … again. But something didn’t add up. ‘What do you mean I’m in my room?’

  ‘It’s okay, Larz,’ said Jack with a smile and a chuckle.

  A smile? Lara wondered.

  ‘You’re not going to die, Lara. Not on my watch.’ Mel grinned and brushed her hair back off her face. ‘Dippa killed the snake.’

  ‘So you knew what anti-venom to use?’

  ‘No.’ Mel’s voice hid a hint of laughter. ‘You were bitten by a carpet snake. You’re gonna be just fine.’

  Lara tried to sit up. ‘What?’ Carpet snakes weren’t venomous at all. Her head swam and she sank back down on her bed. ‘But I feel so crappy.’

  ‘Dehydration will do that to you, also fainting and splitting open your head,’ Jack answered.

  ‘Oh, so …’


  ‘So you’re not going to die today,’ said Mel. She was in denim shorts, a T-shirt with a picture of a U2 album on the front, and the spare Landmark cap from the back verandah. ‘I can’t tell you what a bloody relief it was to see that dead carpet snake. You must have really pissed him off to make him bite you. Then you must have passed out and fallen, splitting your head open. Don’t worry. I’ve fixed you all up.’

  ‘I’m gonna live?’ Lara asked feebly. She had been so sure she was dying.

  ‘I’m afraid so,’ said Jack with a chuckle. Lara couldn’t believe he had the nerve to stand in her room, arms crossed against his chest, and mock her when she was in this state.

  Lara closed her eyes to blot Jack out. ‘Go on. Get out, if you’re gonna make fun of me.’ She felt awful and everything hurt.

  ‘I’ll be in the kitchen.’

  She heard his footsteps leaving and Mel saying, ‘Thanks, Jack. I owe you one.’

  Lifting her eyelids a fraction, Lara tilted her head to Mel. ‘I’m sorry I ruined your last days.’ She pulled a sad face but Mel, being Mel, smiled wide enough for the both of them.

  ‘Don’t worry. I’m just glad you’re okay.’ Her eyes crinkled with her sympathetic grin. ‘You know, Jack was really worried about you too.’

  ‘Very funny, Mel.’

  ‘No, I’m serious. He was as bad as I was. When we thought you’d been bitten by a poisonous snake … it was really horrible, Lara. Promise me you won’t ever scare us like that again.’

  ‘I’ll try.’ Lara thought for a moment. ‘Why would he care, anyway?’

  Mel lowered her voice. ‘I think – this is what I’ve surmised, anyway – that he has been hurt badly by a city girl and I think he likes you but keeps you at a distance so he won’t get hurt again.’

  ‘You got all that from a few days? Really?’

  Mel looked out the window. ‘I think he’s protecting himself and anger is the only way he knows how.’

  ‘You think so?’

  ‘I think he’ll come around.’ She looked back at Lara. ‘Who could resist your charms anyway?’

  ‘I don’t know. I was the biggest idiot today.’ Lara chewed her bottom lip.

  ‘Oh, Larz. Don’t worry. We’ll be laughing about this in years to come. You’ll see.’

  Lara rolled her eyes as her cheeks sizzled. ‘Great,’ she said sarcastically.

  ‘Here, have another sip of water and get your strength back. I’m going to keep spreading on this aloe vera. You just rest.’

  ‘Yes, Nurse Mel.’ Lara shut her eyes and wished she had been bitten by something more deadly, a king brown. She wished she’d had a better look at the snake before she’d panicked. God, what would Jack think of her now?

  24

  WHEN Lara went to feed the sheep two days later, she was feeling sore and sorry for herself. Her burns were peeling, her head was still tender, making sleeping hard, and Mel had gone back to the city. It was like a globe had blown and sent her into a grey darkness, like Mel herself was a happy shining light. Some people just have the knack of lifting your spirits and of knowing what you’re thinking without having to speak it. Mel was the sister Lara had never had.

  The sheep she was meant to feed weren’t in their paddock. She’d forgotten to shut a gate. To make things worse – if that were possible – the paddock they’d moved into was the one whose fence needed fixing. So, of course, the sheep had wandered through the damaged fence and into the bush. There was nothing left for her to do but walk through the bush in the midday sun with the dogs and get them out. Hadn’t she been tested enough?

  She called the dogs and together they walked the fence and then headed into the bush once they reached the boundary. Eventually the dogs started barking as they found the sheep and moved them out. It was the next few steps through the bush that caught her by surprise. She stood there with one foot still in the air, frozen. A small rabbit fence edged a green crop, about three metres by three metres. She blinked a few times, just to make sure what she was seeing was real. Marijuana! What the hell? It had to be. It looked like the stuff on TV, and it’s not like someone would be hiding tomato plants in the bush like this. It spread out before her like a small sea of pale green among the dry, dull, natural bush. The plants were a foot high, their green spiky leaves hanging over and looking rather sick. ‘Oh my God,’ she said to herself, reeling.

  Did Noah do this to feed his gambling habit? Instantly she felt sick at accusing him so quickly. But he could have done it. It was on their land. He was probably the first person the cops would check, after her. She saw the reticulation hoses snaking through the crop and considered the effort someone had gone to. In this heat, someone would have to be watering it frequently. Noah wasn’t here to do it, so it couldn’t be him. It was an awful lot of drugs, if you asked her. No doubt big bucks, once sold. She felt so scared just standing by the crop.

  Carefully she stepped back, mindful of the prints she might be leaving. With her nerves on edge and not wanting to be seen anywhere near it, she headed back through the bush and made for the gate. The two dogs had already brought out most of the sheep, but she wasn’t hanging around to double check. She got in the ute and together they took them to the other paddock, where she shut the gate and checked it twice.

  When they got back to the shed, she made sure the dogs were rewarded. Dippa was looking a little the worse for wear but that sparkle was back in his eyes. He loved every minute of sheep work, even if it nearly killed him. At the edge of the shed, Lara sat on a crate and tried to think this through as she absentmindedly scratched at her peeling shoulders. Should she go to the cops, before they pinned it on her? But what about Noah? Surely this could have nothing to do with him. There’d be no way he’d just up and leave it all. Unless he had a mate. Jack? Maybe they were in cahoots?

  Suddenly the penny dropped. Who else had an excuse to be on the farm and a record for drug possession? He fitted the bill exactly – dark, mysterious, moody … Her fingers twitched by her side in anger. He’d been using her land to grow his own crop and no doubt laughing at her behind her back. That’d be right.

  Noah, Noah, she thought. Her head was struggling to make sense of it all. Noah would never talk to her again if she got Jack thrown in prison. Maybe she should just tell Jack to remove it all and to never set foot on the farm again; let it go, for Noah’s sake?

  She rang Noah’s phone and watched storm clouds brewing in the distance. It rang out so she tried Amanda.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Hi, Mandy.’

  ‘Hey yourself. How’s it going?’

  ‘Um, yeah. I’ve got a problem and, well, that’s what I need to speak to Noah about. But he’s not answering his phone.’

  Amanda sighed painfully. ‘I’m sorry, Larz. He won’t take your calls. He’s still very angry and won’t talk to me either. Things are a bit strained at the moment, and even worse if I mention you or even hint at money or gambling. I just want things to cool down.’

  ‘Oh, Mandy. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause this. I’m just worried for Noah. I want to be there for him if he gets worse, you know? We’ll just have to sit under the radar for a while, but can you …’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. I’m keeping an eye on everything. I just hope this blows over before the wedding. It’s only two months away,’ said Amanda miserably.

  ‘If you need to talk, call me any time.’

  ‘I will, thanks. And what about you? Can I help with your problem?’

  ‘Nah, she’s right. I’ll sort it out, but thanks. You take care.’

  After hanging up, Lara kicked at a rock on the ground. Bloody Noah. Maybe she’d better try Jack before calling the police.

  ‘Hello?’ he said after a few rings on his mobile.

  ‘Jack, it’s Lara. I need to speak with you. It’s urgent. Can you spare time to come right over?’ She spoke calmly, trying to keep her rage at bay while fighting to keep an open mind.

  She heard him yell out to his
boss to see if he could spare him for half an hour.

  ‘Yeah, sure. I’ll be there in a tick.’

  She paced the shed, her stomach flipping over on itself. Frantically she tried to think of the best way to bring this up with Jack. All too soon his ute pulled up and he was standing there in front of her, his long, strong legs set wide.

  ‘So what’s up?’ he said curiously. Damn, he was actually being polite.

  ‘Well, I’ve just stumbled across a crop, which as you can imagine I’m not too impressed about. So, for Noah’s sake —’

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ he cut in. ‘What?’

  Her eyes drilled his. ‘A crop.’ Jack gave her a blank expression. She put her hands on her hips. ‘There’s a shitload of pot growing on Erindale and I want it removed if it’s yours.’ Lara resisted the urge to point her finger at Jack.

  ‘You’ve found pot growing here?’ She watched a muscle pulse in his jaw. ‘You’ve got pot growing here and automatically you think it’s me? What in hell ever gave you that idea?’

  Her face began to burn. ‘Well, you’ve got … a record,’ she stammered.

  Jack leant towards her, fury bubbling in his eyes. ‘Oh, so that makes me guilty, does it?’ He drew in a sharp breath. ‘That was years ago. I was just an angry kid.’

  You still are, Lara thought, but bit her tongue.

  ‘You really think I’d take advantage of my best mate like that, and grow a crop on his property?’

  She cringed inwardly as she felt the force behind his words. ‘Well, what else am I supposed to think?’

  ‘You don’t know anything about me or my life, so just let it go.’ Jack turned around and began to leave.

  ‘Well, then, tell me about it. Give me a reason not to accuse you, Jack.’ He stopped but didn’t face her. ‘So … you have a record?’ She’d start there.

  Jack didn’t move a muscle. She just waited, giving him space. Dippa and Roy settled themselves against the shed wall in the shade, as if they were waiting for his story too.

  ‘I was nineteen. I’d just come to Australia after some family problems,’ he began tensely. ‘I was so angry. A stupid, angry nineteen-year-old. To dull the hurt I got into some drugs and the wrong crowd.’