by Magro, Mandy
The positive side of all this solitude was that she’d had time to think about her life and the direction it was heading. There were no distractions – no electricity for the likes of a television or stereo, no friends to visit or phone calls to make. Just Sarah and her thoughts. And she found those thoughts always drifted to Matt.
After lunch and an afternoon nap, Sarah got stuck into preparing dinner. She was making a big pot of curried beef tonight and some homemade campfire bread to dip into the juices. As she kneaded the bread, she reminded herself that she’d be back at Rosalee in less than twenty-four hours, and the thought cheered her no end.
The noisy bellowing of the cattle, followed by the thunderous thudding of their hoofs hitting the ground, was the first sign that the men were close to camp. The chopper appeared above her and landed off to the side, sending a cloud of dust in Sarah’s direction. It stayed suspended over her for a good few minutes before settling over the camp, covering everything in sight. ‘Thanks a lot, Jimmy,’ Sarah muttered as she squinted off into the distance, trying to catch a glimpse of the men as they rode in. The sun was setting behind them, casting long shadows on the ground and darkening their faces, making it hard for Sarah to pick out who was who. Their broad silhouettes in Akubras rode in the fiery red sunset, dust riding from their horses’ hoofs. Even though she’d seen it before, she felt her heart lighten at the beautiful sight.
Jimmy sauntered into the camp before the others, whistling happily like always. His jeans were nearly black from the amount of dirt caked on them. He looked in desperate need of a good hose-down; mind you, Sarah thought, they were probably all in need of it.
‘Hey, cook. How’s it hanging?’
‘Well, if you haven’t noticed, Jimmy, I don’t really have anything to hang, being a sheila and all, but I’m great now you blokes are back, if that’s what you were asking,’ Sarah answered with a cheeky grin.
Jimmy laughed. ‘Always the kidder!’ He sniffed the air like a dog on a scent. ‘Cor, dinner smells fantastic.’
‘Thanks. Believe me when I say that I’ve been slaving over it most of the afternoon. It ain’t so easy when you haven’t got a kitchen but I secretly like not having to clean down all the benchtops at the end of the night!’
‘That’s the spirit. You gotta look on the bright side, hey!’ Jimmy pulled his towel from the tree branch it was hanging from. ‘I’m off to find a puddle to bathe in. If I’m not back in an hour send a search party.’
‘Right you are!’ Sarah called as she watched him disappear behind the chopper.
She checked to make sure the curry was simmering away nicely in the camp oven before heading over to open the gates for the rest of the men, as she’d done every night. Matt lifted his hat to her as he came into view. ‘How’s tricks, mate?’
Sarah took in his handsome face as he got down off his horse. ‘Much better now you guys are back. It’s lonely out here sometimes. I feel like I could talk for a million years to anyone willing to listen.’
‘I know it can be tough, mate. I hope this trip hasn’t made you shy away from station life,’ Matt said gently, moving closer.
‘No way. I still love it. Spending a bit of time with my own thoughts has been interesting, though. I feel like it’s helped me get my life into perspective a bit.’
‘It’s always good to have some peace and quiet to think. I’ve been doing a lot of that myself.’ Matt shot Sarah a look but she couldn’t read it.
Slim trotted over and slid off his ride. ‘Hey, Sarah! I’m looking forward to your fine cooking tonight. Look at me – I’m fading away to a shadow after all this hard work!’
Sarah was happy to see him but wished he hadn’t interrupted her conversation with Matt. She felt like he had been on the verge of telling her something important.
Liam, Patrick and Chris sauntered over after making sure the cattle were all tucked away safely for the night in the yards.
‘Do I have time for a nice long hot shower?’ Patrick asked cheekily.
‘No probs, go for it. I’ll just heat your grub up in the microwave if it gets cold,’ Sarah answered with a giggle.
Chris took his hat off and tried running his hands through his sweat-soaked and dusty hair, but didn’t get very far. ‘Friggin’ hot out there today. I could drink a swimming pool, I reckon.’
After a week living in the same camp, Sarah still hadn’t quite figured Chris out. He’d certainly been in better sorts this week, compared to his hissy fit before the last muster. He seemed less grumpy and better rested – probably because he wasn’t wandering about half the night.
Before dinner the men all headed into the falling darkness with torches and towels to have a quick rinse in the small pool of water that Sarah had found earlier. It was the cleanest she had come across the whole trip, but stale-smelling all the same. By the time the men had returned, marginally cleaner than before, Sarah had dinner on the fold-out table, ready for them to help themselves. She was pleased to see all of them went back for seconds.
Once they’d finished eating, Sarah boiled the billy and made everyone a cuppa. They sat around the campfire, mugs in hand, scaring each other with ghost tales.
Stumpy spoke with a hushed voice. ‘And then the slimy creature grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him from his swag, blood dripping from its fangs. He struggled with all his might to get free, but the creature had its claws buried deep within the skin of his legs. The whole camp heard the man’s bloodcurdling screams as he was dragged into the blackness of the night, never to be seen again!’
Stumpy finished the story by shining a torch beam on his face and pulling a ghastly expression, sending chills up Sarah’s spine. She’d found the first few stories amusing, but after that she began to feel really unsettled. The tales were getting hairier and scarier, told in graphic detail. ‘Shit, guys, I’m gonna be too afraid to sleep tonight if we don’t stop scaring each other’s pants off!’
Matt gave her a grin. ‘You can pull your swag up beside mine if you like. I’ll make sure the bogy man doesn’t get you.’
A dingo howled in the background, adding to the already sinister atmosphere. Sarah felt her skin prickle with goosebumps, and she was tuned in to every little sound in the darkness beyond the fire.
‘I think I’m gonna take you up on that offer, Matt.’
Matt dragged his swag over next to hers, and Sarah’s fear instantly abated. She snuggled into her swag. ‘Thanks for being my knight in shining armour.’
‘I don’t know about that, but hey, no worries, Sarah.’ Matt said, sliding into his swag and yawning.
Sarah closed her heavy eyelids, feeling the warmth of Matt’s swag through hers. ‘Well, night then, Matt.’
‘Night, Sarah. Sweet dreams.’ Matt’s husky voice caressed her ears in the silence of the night. A boobook owl hooted in the tree above them, calling to its mate. Sarah smiled to herself as its mate called back, then drifted off to sleep.
When Sarah woke, the moonlight was kissing Matt’s face as he slept beside her. He was pressed up against her swag, and his bare arm was draped over her. She found herself fighting the urge to leave it there, but she knew it would look bad if any of the others woke up and saw it. Reluctantly, she lifted Matt’s arm gently and placed it slowly down on his chest, hoping not to wake him, and smiling when she succeeded without him even stirring. She squinted at her watch, trying to make out the time, eager to catch a bit more sleep before the new day. She finally saw that it was four-thirty, which only gave her another half-hour of sleep. Oh well, better than nothing, she thought.
She drifted off back to sleep, only to be woken again by Slim letting a massive fart loose. He sleepily pronounced that his arse was the alarm clock, sending them all into muffled fits of laughter in their swags.
Sarah was delighted. After sitting on her own doing nothing for six days, she was finally able to get involved. She idled slowly in the Toyota behind the men on horseback, dreaming about a hot shower, as they moved the cattle towar
ds their final destination. Her attention was caught by a calf struggling at the back of the mob, its legs wobbling around like mad. As she watched, it collapsed under a tree. She wound down her window. ‘Hey, Stumpy! You wanna put that calf in here, mate? Looks like it’s not doing too well out there.’
‘Good idea, Sarah,’ he called back. ‘Just give me a minute.’
Matt had heard the conversation. ‘You keep going, Stumpy. I’ll look after it, buddy.’
Stumpy nodded and continued on. Sarah pulled over and watched Matt as he scrambled with the exhausted calf, trying to get his arms around it. It fought for a few seconds before deciding it wasn’t worth the effort, allowing Matt to pick it up and carry it over to the Toyota. She jumped out of the driver’s seat and ran round to open the passenger door.
‘Nice of you to offer to take it in here,’ Matt said, out of breath as he got the calf settled on the floor. It immediately tried to clamber onto the seat, foamy saliva dripping from its mouth.
‘I couldn’t bear to watch it struggling. Better to have it in here slobbering all over me than collapsing out there.’
Matt smiled at her in a way that made her heart melt. ‘You just keep on surprising me, Miss Clarke.’
‘All in a day’s work,’ was all she could come up with as he shut the door and walked back to his horse, his jeans clinging to his divine butt.
Sarah turned her eyes back to the road. She spoke to the calf like it was a long-lost friend as she drove the rest of the way towards the homestead.
‘Well, my friend, I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m really falling for Matt, big time. He’s gorgeous and such a deep thinker, and I love that in a bloke. He makes me feel so good when I’m around him, too, always telling me what a great job I’m doing. I really wanted to kiss him this morning when I woke up and he was asleep beside me in his swag. I’m not sure, but reckon he might like me too. There’s something in the way he smiles at me.’
The calf’s big, wet eyes looked up at her in bemusement and she tried her best to keep it calm, giving it an occasional scratch behind its oversized, floppy ears, laughing at the absurdity of her having a heart-to-heart with a calf.
It was a slow journey and Sarah’s legs were starting to ache as the procession neared the last gate. She was itching to get out of the Toyota and on to solid ground. When they finally arrived at the yards, Steve and Georgia were there to meet them. Georgia ran to the truck, her eyes widening when she saw the calf with its head on Sarah’s lap.
‘Gee, Sarah, fancy picking up a hitchhiking calf on the way!’ Georgia helped her lift the calf from the passenger seat as the men yarded the cattle they had mustered.
‘Yeah, well, crazy things happen out there, Georgia!’ Sarah laughed.
She bagged the first shower, and sighed with pleasure as she turned on the taps and soothing warm water poured over her filthy skin. She gazed at the concrete floor, watching the water running off her body in brown rivulets before disappearing down the drain. She used half a bottle of shampoo washing her long hair three times, then shaved the Amazon jungle from her legs before sticking some conditioner on her ringlets, which had started to turn into dreads after a week in the bush.
While the water trickled down her body, Sarah reflected over the last few months. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed in the little time she had been at Rosalee but she felt stronger and more focused because of it. She lived on a massive cattle station, had a group of great mates, had learnt how to muster cattle and discovered why people in the outback loved it with a passion – it was simply the breathtaking beauty of it all. She had conquered so many of the things she had dreamt about. Except for one – Matthew Walsh. Was she ever going to conquer him, or would he forever be an untouchable desire?
Chapter Twenty
THE air brakes on Greg’s truck groaned outside the gates of Rosalee. Sarah squealed in delight. The men were sitting in the lounge room enjoying their day off watching Westerns, the air conditioner whirring at top speed. She flew past them, trying to pull her boots on at the same time, tripping over her own feet as she went. ‘Slow down, mate, or you’re gonna do yourself an injury!’ Stumpy called, laughing.
‘I can’t, Stumpy! I’m too excited! They’re finally here!’ Sarah called back as she ran out the flyscreen door and towards the front gates. It had been three weeks since she got back from the muster, and she’d been counting down the days until Greg, Lily and Daniel arrived from Mareeba. She waved like a lunatic when the truck came into view, and felt happy tears burning her eyes as she saw Lily waving frantically back to her from the cab.
Sarah swung open the gates and ran over to the door of the truck, still waving. The door opened and Lily slid over the top of Daniel and jumped down out of the cab, her arms outstretched, ready for a hardcore hug.
‘Sarah! It’s so good to see you, mate! I’ve missed you!’
Sarah wrapped her arms around Lily. ‘I’ve missed you too, Lil! I’m so glad you’re here. It’s been months!’
Daniel got down from the cab before Greg drove the truck through the gates. Once the girls had disentangled themselves Daniel picked Sarah up off the ground and spun her around, a huge smile cracking his face. ‘Great to see you, sis. The farm hasn’t been the same without you. Just a shame I couldn’t pack Mum and Dad in my suitcase.’
‘Daniel, it’s great to see you! How was the trip?’
‘It was a really good drive, actually. Greg knows how to keep you entertained. He has a DVD player and everything up there.’
‘No way! Wish I’d thought of that when we drove out here!’ Sarah said. ‘Speaking of Greg, I better go and say g’day to the old bugger.’
Greg sauntered over from where he’d parked the truck, stretching his legs. ‘Now, now. I may have a body of an older man, but I have a mind as sharp as a twenty-year-old.’ He reached out his arms and gave Sarah a big hug. ‘How’s the station life treating you?’
‘I love it. There’s always so much to do and I learn something new every day. The Walshs – they’re the owners – have made me feel like part of the family.’
Greg lit a cigarette and blew a smoke ring, his weather-beaten face creasing as he spoke. ‘I just knew you’d love it out here, Sarah. I reckon it’s in your blood to be a cattlewoman and you’ve picked one of the best families around to learn from.’
‘You got that right! Hey, who’s up for some lunch?’ Sarah said, realising her own stomach was rumbling. ‘I bet you’re all hungry, especially you, Daniel!’
Daniel grinned sheepishly. His sister knew him well.
Over lunch there was a loud rap at the door. ‘Anyone home?’ Matt called. Sarah was the only one without a mouthful of food. ‘Yeah, out the back, Matt!’ She felt her heart flutter; knowing that she was about to see him sent her stomach plunging.
She hadn’t seen Matt much recently – he’d been spending time up at the homestead or in Mt Isa, driving the cattle to and fro, and had been too busy with other jobs on the station to help out with the mustering. She’d crossed paths with him a few times in the last couple of weeks, but he was always with Brooke, and she found those conversations awkward. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Brooke didn’t like her. Maybe she’d done something to offend her? The guys had told her that Brooke and Matt were trying to work things out, so she figured that might explain why Matt wasn’t around much. Apparently Brooke had come back from her week in Mt Isa a changed woman, keen to help out when she could. Sarah had felt her heart sink at the news, and then kicked herself for even thinking that there might have been a chance for her and Matt. She tried to be happy for him – he deserved to be happy; she just wished it was with her.
Matt grinned from ear to ear when he spotted Greg at the table, and stretched his hand out for a firm handshake. ‘Greg, mate! It’s been too long. Great to see you here. And I see Sarah is feeding you up on her fine tucker.’
‘She’s a bloody top cook, Matt. I’ve never had a bacon-and-egg burger taste so
good!’ Greg grinned, tomato sauce still stuck to his chin. Sarah smothered a smile at the sight of him.
Patrick put the last bite of burger in his mouth. ‘Tell me about it! With Sarah as cook, I reckon I put weight on when I was out droving when normally I lose weight out there.’
Slim looked down at his rotund belly. ‘Yeah, and look at what she’s done to me. I’ve lost my ribs somewhere.’
‘I reckon I could find them.’ Liam poked Slim with the handle of his fork.
Sarah started to feel her face going red. ‘Oh, come on, you lot! It’s not that hard to make a burger.’
Lily let out a burp and quickly covered her mouth. ‘Oops! Pardon.’ Sarah laughed at her innocent expression.
Matt pulled up a chair so it was facing backwards and planted his butt down like he was straddling a horse, his muscular forearms resting on the back of the chair, tattoo showing. ‘I have an idea, guys. I reckon we have ourselves a mini rodeo here tomorrow, seeing as we’ve got the weekend off. What do you reckon?’
Jimmy was so excited he jumped up without warning, and his chair flew out behind him, barely missing Duke and landing with a crash on the patio floor. ‘Bloody oath, Matt! What a corker of an idea! Can I ride?’
