‘That’s the last of it. I don’t want this thing hanging over me any more, Jack. I want to get rid of this problem.’
31
IT took half the morning to say goodbye to Mel, who never said quick goodbyes.
‘Please think about changing your life, Mel. No offence, but you look miserable.’
Mel hugged her. ‘If you can do it, anyone can. You’re who I look to for inspiration, you know that?’
Lara kissed her cheek and wished her a safe journey. She stayed out on the road, watching the ute disappear until the dust settled. Then Lara started to get organised for seeding. The first thing was to get the tractor and air seeder up to the top paddock. Lara was feeling more comfortable around machinery but that didn’t stop her second-guessing everything she did. She still had all her fingers, so it paid to be on the cautious side.
It took a ridiculously long time to get the machinery through the various gates, and even longer to fill the bin on the truck with the grain and fertiliser. It was hard by herself, but she knew what had to be done. Once she got the tractor and air seeder to the paddock, she had to walk back to the shed for the truck. At least she could hook up the old ute behind the truck, as Noah had built an A-frame onto the front so it could be towed. Otherwise, it meant more walking to go back and get the ute and some of the paddocks were seven kilometres away.
The next morning, Lara put on her thick brown jumper and headed out at five o’clock to start the seeding. The mornings were much colder and darker now that the winter months were approaching. But she welcomed the change, and loved watching the lilac leaves turn yellow and fall, covering the ground with autumn colour.
Lara put her lunch esky on the back of the ute, along with both dogs, and drove to the paddock, where she started up the green John Deere tractor. Inside the cab, the dogs took their positions beside her chair. They were veterans at this game. If only Lara could say the same about herself.
As the engine warmed up, Lara stood at the top of the ladder, in between the two huge tyres at the front and back, rubbing her cold fingers and gazing out over the bare paddock. The early morning chill was creeping in and the sight of the sun peeking over the horizon brought on a shiver. Everything looked so alive after the rain: the trees were greener, the dirt was darker and the smell was like freshly washed linen, but more earthy and natural.
Things had certainly changed since Lara’s last experience of seeding. When she was a kid they used to rip up the ground before planting. More recently, Noah had been using the direct-drill approach. It seemed like the way to go to help reduce the effects of erosion. She’d spent hours reading up about it online, and had kept in contact with other farmers on Twitter and ag chats. You never know when you might learn something new.
The rumble of a diesel motor made her turn towards the gate. It was Nelson, driving into the paddock with the spray rig. His hair was as dark as Jack’s and for a fleeting moment she’d thought it was him approaching. Nelson pulled up in front of the tractor and opened the arms on the boom spray before heading towards her.
‘Hey, Nelson,’ Lara said as he looked up at her from the ground.
‘Hi, Lara. I’ll do this paddock and then I’ll come back tomorrow and get the next one done for you.’
‘No worries. That would be great, thanks. I’m just glad you could come out today so I could start. Cheers.’
Lara’s order of chemical had come in a few weeks back and she’d been gobsmacked at the price of just one 110-litre drum of Trifluralin, let alone the Sprayseed and Logran, which were also mixed in. Farming wasn’t cheap, and the chemicals were harsh. She was glad they hired someone else to spray them out – she would likely get the dose wrong and either fail to kill the weeds or put enough on to kill the crop. And then she had to consider what kind of water to use, as it could affect the chemicals. There were still so many things for Lara to learn, and it never seemed to end.
Nelson said goodbye and turned back to the spray rig. He even looked like Jack from behind, or perhaps that was just wishful thinking. It had been well over a week now, and Lara hadn’t heard from him. Not that she really expected to, after she’d screamed at him to leave. But for him not to have even attempted to set the record straight, or to dispute her accusations … She had to admit she was disappointed about that. Why was she wasting her thoughts on him? She simply couldn’t help it.
Lara sat in the tractor, waiting until Nelson had gone around half the paddock and the chemical had settled. She chewed on her fingernail as she itched to start seeding her first-ever paddock. On her own. Just her and the dirt … and the dogs, of course. She grinned at Roy and Dippa.
‘Ready, boys?’
Two days later, she was still attached to the tractor, going around and around. It was the same every day: get up early, pack her food for the day, drive the tractor and then come home late for around five hours’ sleep. Lara’s phone rang while she was out in the paddock and she recognised the Esperance number.
‘Hi, Mandy,’ she said. Her heart stopped as she waited for the news, good or bad.
‘Hi, sis. It’s me, actually.’
Hearing his voice was like the release of an elastic band. ‘Noah! Oh, hi. Hold up two ticks?’ She stopped the tractor so she could fully concentrate. ‘All right, I’ve stopped seeding, right to go now.’
‘Seeding, hey? How’s that going for ya?’
It was so amazing just to hear his voice. ‘I’m surviving. I’ll make it through.’ She could imagine Noah smiling on the other end. ‘And you?’
‘Oh, you know, surviving.’
‘Everything’s fine? The wedding’s all good?’
‘In other words, how’s your gambling problem coming along and will they cancel the wedding?’ he said.
‘Yeah, I guess.’ She was clutching her phone as if it would try to escape from her ear.
‘Don’t worry, I think I’m really getting there. I can admit my problem and I want to be rid of it. And yes, the wedding is still all go. I’m not letting Mandy escape now,’ he joked. ‘But I really rang to explain. Jack told me about the agreement. It was organised before you took on Erindale, Lara. We just forgot about it; I forgot to tell the lawyer not to worry. I was a bit preoccupied with showing you the ropes and moving to Esperance and then learning my own ropes.’
‘Oh.’ Lara could see how that could have happened.
‘Anyway, what kind of brother do you think I am? I wouldn’t do that to you,’ he said resentfully.
‘Obviously I wasn’t thinking clearly myself,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry, Noah.’
‘Nah, but yeah, it’s all water under the bridge. We’re family, we move on, we forgive and we put up with each other’s quirks.’ He chuckled.
‘Hey, I don’t have any quirks,’ she protested. ‘Thanks, Noah. I’m glad you called.’
He cleared his throat. ‘Yep, well, my job is done. I best let you get back to it. See you at the wedding, sis.’
‘Bye, Noah.’
Her legs wobbled as the stress left her body like ants from a disturbed nest. She leant against the seat of the truck and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been weighing so heavily on her mind.
Later, Lara took the truck back to the shed, parked it under the auger and began to fill it. But soon she realised she’d made a terrible mistake.
‘Oh, shit. Bloodyhellbloodyhellbloodyhell,’ she said to herself. With a quick hand, she shut the auger off and watched as the last of the grain fell from its mouth. She cursed herself as she surveyed the mess. Grain piled on top of the yellow tarp she’d forgotten to take off before she tried to fill the bin. It trickled over the edge onto the dirt, leaving maybe a few wheelbarrow loads on either side. Just when she thought she was getting a grip on this farming caper, something like this would happen. She just wanted to scream. She went to kick the silo and stopped herself halfway. That wouldn’t solve the problem.
Somehow she managed to get the tarp off and transfer the grain on top into the bin. What was lef
t on the ground she’d give to the chooks. It wasn’t so bad, she tried to reassure herself, but she’d wasted a good chunk of seeding time, and delays certainly didn’t help when you were trying to make the most of the moisture in the ground.
As she was climbing down from the bin she saw a yellow ute coming up the driveway. Her stomach lurched. Aaron. What was he doing on her property again? She needed him here like a flash flood. Crossing her arms, she braced herself for whatever was about to go down. Aaron stopped just in front of her, looking her over like she was his next meal.
‘Good morning, Lara,’ he said smugly, before poking his cigarette back into his mouth. He squinted at her through the haze of smoke.
‘What do you want, Aaron?’ she asked gruffly.
‘Now, now, don’t get your knickers in a twist. I’ve just come to collect my money. I have a big game coming up tomorrow night and I need it now. I think I’ve been lenient enough, don’t you?’
Oh, damn. Noah clearly hadn’t paid him. Christ, she’d had enough of dealing with Aaron. ‘Come to the house and I’ll write you a cheque.’ What else could she do?
‘Jump in. I’ll take you there.’
She hesitated a fraction, before nodding. What the hell. She just wanted him gone quickly. He brushed food wrappers off the passenger seat onto the floor and she tried not to let her disgust show.
‘Have a little spill, did we?’ He smirked, pointing to the grain on the ground.
Great. That’ll be all over town by this afternoon, Lara thought.
‘Don’t worry. Done that meself a few times.’
She didn’t find his small talk at all charming or helpful. His ute reeked of spilt Red Bull, cigarette smoke and another smell that she couldn’t put her finger on but probably had something to do with the small metal tin by his side. She was almost certain it was Aaron who’d been growing that crop. She wondered what was taking the police so long.
‘Is it a straight two grand?’ she asked when they pulled up at the house.
‘Yeah, I’d be happy with that. I’ll let the rest go.’
Lara didn’t care about the rest. She just wanted this bloke far away from her. As quickly as she could, she ran inside, scribbled out a cheque and ran it back to him.
His smile unnerved her as he took the cheque and shoved it in his top pocket. After he dropped her back near the truck, she met his gaze. ‘I hope I don’t see you back here again,’ she warned.
Aaron winked. ‘See ya around town, gorgeous.’ Then he drove away while she shuddered. He was dark-alley stuff.
Her phone rang a few minutes later as she was about to have another go at filling the bin.
‘Hi, Lara. It’s Constable Peters here. Just wanted to let you know that we’ve finally apprehended someone over the drugs, and all the plants have been removed.’
‘It took long enough.’
‘Sorry about that. The crop had been abandoned but we had to figure out why, and we had to investigate further, which took time.’
She wondered whether they had nabbed Aaron as he left. It all seemed too coincidental. ‘So, who was it?’ Just to be sure.
‘I can’t release that information.’
She almost laughed. Didn’t he realise they were in a small town? She’d know by tomorrow anyway.
‘Thank you for all your cooperation and understanding,’ he continued. ‘Sorry it took longer than expected.’
‘No worries. I’m just glad it’s all over. Thanks, Constable.’
Lara was relieved that she could cross that off her list of things to worry about.
She finished loading up the fertiliser in the other end of the bin and put the tarp back over. The mornings were quite moist with dew so it paid to keep the fertiliser covered to stop it sticking together.
She parked the loader back in the super shed, wiping her hands on her jeans and smiling at how much fun it was to drive. There was something gratifying about being able to handle large machinery – even more because she’d had to teach herself.
The morning breeze ripped around her, taking a loose strand and wrapping it around her face. As she was clipping it back into place she saw a white ute roar in and pull up to a stop near the shed, narrowly missing the truck. Marge jumped out. For an old lady she had plenty of spring.
‘Morning, Marge,’ said Lara, walking over to her. ‘How are you?’ Lara thought she should invite her in for morning tea but she really wanted to get this paddock finished.
‘Oh, Lara. I’m so sorry. Oh, what am I to do?’ Marge cried. Her normally calm temperament was now frantic.
‘Whoa! Steady up. What’s wrong, Marge?’ She took the elderly lady by the arms and helped her to sit on an old tyre. Marge was pale and looked ready to faint. ‘Are you okay? Are you having an attack? Should I call Trent?’ Lara wondered whether she should call the ambos. Or Jack?
Marge began to cry. Lara had never seen tough-as-old-boot-leather Marge so unhinged. ‘Take some deep breaths and then tell me what’s going on. Have you got any pain?’
Marge’s bony fingers shook, so Lara held them tightly in hers.
‘No, it’s not me. Oh, Lara. I’m so sorry – I didn’t know. I can’t believe it. They’ve taken my boy.’
‘Who’s taken who?’
Marge took a deep breath and faced Lara, her tired eyes weeping. ‘The police have my Trent. They’ve taken him to Narrogin to the lockup until his court case.’
‘What? What do you mean, Marge?’
Marge gripped her hand. ‘The drugs, Lara. It was Trent. He was the one growing them. My Trent.’ Her shoulders began to shake and for the first time she looked frail and as breakable as fine china.
‘Surely not,’ Lara said. It couldn’t be. Not charmingly sweet Trent, her neighbour and her friend. The first one to make her feel welcome and cared for. He was Marge’s grandson. He had a farm of his own. What in the hell would he be doing growing drugs?
‘It’s true. They took him away like a criminal. But my Trent isn’t a bad person. I can’t understand any of this.’ Marge clutched her heart. ‘And on your farm, no less. Oh, I feel so bad, Lara.’
Lara wrapped her arm around Marge as they sat there on the old tyre by the super shed. ‘Don’t worry about that, Marge,’ she said. Trent had been arrested. Not Aaron. ‘It’ll be okay.’
The pink and grey cockies gathered around the truck to eat the spilt grain and Lara stared without really seeing them. She thought of all those plants and of Trent sitting in a prison cell in his jeans and Rossi boots. Oh, Trent. What had he done?
32
THAT night, after Lara had made herself a ham and cheese toastie for dinner, the phone rang, as it always did at this time of night. You wouldn’t catch a farmer inside at any other time.
‘Lara, it’s Trent. Please don’t hang up.’
Oh, wow. Of all the things going through her mind, hanging up on Trent wasn’t one of them.
‘I won’t. Where are you?’
‘I’m in the lockup waiting for the court case tomorrow. They’re letting me make this call. I need to apologise, Lara. I didn’t mean for any of this to affect you. I’m so sorry.’ The desperation in his voice melted her heart. They’d become close, very close. She counted him as one of her best friends, but now she wasn’t sure what to think, or how she should be reacting.
‘Why, Trent?’
He sighed heavily. ‘I don’t know … Sheer stupidity? Our farm is struggling. We have three generations still living off it and it’s taking its toll, especially after last year’s failed crop. None of us want to move, or shift Gran off. She’d die if she left this place. And after everything that happened with Lauren …’ He paused. ‘So I started looking for another income. I thought of working off the farm. I thought of going to the mines, but this way just seemed too good. I could have the money without leaving the farm. I had some friends who said it would be easy and they guided me. But Lara, I need you to understand – this all happened before you came to the farm, and I only used Erindale
as we don’t have any bush like you do and it was close to a dam. I’m so sorry, Lara.’
‘Trent …’ She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t condone what he’d done.
‘I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I stopped it. I need you to understand that after getting to know you, after that first night I took you to the pub, I let the crop go. I pulled the water source and waited for it to die. The cops got me when I went back to burn it all.’ He hesitated. ‘Look, no matter how you feel about me and all this, I was still hoping that you’d be able to keep an eye on my gran. I worry what this will do to her.’
‘You should have thought of that at the start, Trent. Oh, how could someone like you do something so stupid?’
‘You know, I’d heard all the stories about some farmers who’d grown mull crops to get ahead. I thought, if they could do it, why couldn’t I? Stupid now when I think about all that’s happened, what it’s done to my family. Gran is coming to court tomorrow. Will you come? Please, Lara, will you come to court and sit with her? I’m not sure how she’ll handle it all.’
‘I don’t know, Trent. I have seeding to get finished.’ It was a big ask, but thinking about Marge sitting in the courthouse watching her beloved grandson worried Lara. ‘I’ll have a talk to Marge.’
‘Thank you so much, Lara. I’m so sorry. They’re telling me to go now, so I better.’
‘Okay, Trent. I appreciate the call. Good luck tomorrow.’
After hanging up, she held the phone to her chest. She was heading to Esperance at the end of the week for the wedding, and she had to get the rest of the crop in by then. She needed a trip to Narrogin like a hole in the head.
She dialled Marge and was shocked to hear a frail, unfamiliar voice answer.
‘Hi, Marge. It’s Lara. How are you coping?’
‘I still can’t believe any of this has happened. What’s worse is that he just wanted to help us and the farm get ahead. Such a stupid, crazy notion the boy had, but I can’t help loving him for trying. He’s still my wonderful grandson.’
The Road Home Page 24
