Down Outback Roads

by Alissa Callen

  Tish forgot to breathe. Shock, need, pain all sped across his face in quick succession. She’d lived with Ewan for too long now not to know his every micro-expression. All Kree might see was his casual wave and slow smile but Ewan couldn’t fool Tish. The wishes she’d made on falling stars that one day he’d have a chance to find happiness had come true. He was smitten. So totally smitten.

  Tish’s fingers trembled on the broom handle. The moment she’d awaited for so long had arrived.

  She had to call Travis.

  Kree pushed her chair slightly away from the kitchen table. ‘Thanks, Tish, for a lovely dinner.’

  The boys were asleep, Fudge and Freckle on their beds on the back verandah and Kree had just enjoyed her very first Aussie lamb roast.

  ‘You’re welcome,’ Tish replied, as she carried the used plates to the sink. ‘Sorry the pumpkin was burnt. I was sure I’d put enough water in the saucepan so I could run out to the herb garden and pick mint for the sauce.’

  ‘The little bit I tasted seemed fine. I do apologise I didn’t eat much of it. At home we only eat pumpkin in sweet pies and not steamed as a vegetable.’

  Kree didn’t dare meet Ewan’s eyes as he sat across the table, his long fingers toying with the tiny, red charm around the stem of his wine glass. She had no idea if the minuscule pumpkin amount she’d eaten was burned or not, but she’d seen him flinch when he’d eaten a mouthful.

  ‘You know,’ she continued. ‘I still owe everyone a dinner when I return to Berridale, so how about I add pumpkin pie to my pot roast menu?’

  ‘Sounds good,’ Tish said from over at the bench where she was filling three bowls with vanilla ice-cream.

  Kree nodded. Moving back into the Tylers’ farmhouse couldn’t happen quickly enough. After seeing Ewan’s semi-naked gorgeousness by the pool that afternoon, she couldn’t look at him without her hormones hyperventilating. She risked a quick glance towards him. ‘Speaking of Berridale, any luck tracking down Don?’

  Ewan shook his head, his eyes unreadable. ‘Kathleen, his daughter, will try again tonight.’

  ‘Mrs Jessop also volunteered to help.’

  Tish giggled as she placed the dessert bowls on the table. ‘Was that before or after she gave you the nth degree? Mrs Jessop doesn’t mean any harm, she just has two unmarried daughters and she’d see you as a threat.’

  Surprise lifted Kree’s brows. ‘I don’t know why. It would be a brave man, Australian or American, who’d settle for a two-for-one deal – a control-freak wife and an impulsive brother-in-law.’

  Ewan’s lips twitched. ‘Control freak?’

  ‘I know, who’d have thought?’ she said, smiling, too. ‘Even I must admit I’ve met my match in Freckle and Fudge. No one could control them.’ She swallowed a spoonful of cold and silky ice-cream before speaking again. ‘Actually, my control-freak side was busy today. I’ve been trying to think of a way to repay the Glenalla community for everything they’ve done, and this morning I had a brainwave.’

  ‘You don’t need to do anything,’ Ewan said, his tone serious. ‘You’re taking six weeks out of your life to fulfil Seth’s obligations to the Tylers. In anyone’s books, that’s repayment enough.’

  ‘Thanks, but Seth wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you all and so yes, I do.’ She tucked a lock of loose hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. ‘After talking to the very lovely Beth, it became obvious Glenalla needs a place for the community and visitors to gather. A place for coffee, to chat, to find out local information, to provide employment and even to sell local produce.’

  Tish’s spoon stopped halfway to her mouth at the mention of selling local produce. ‘I like your idea already.’

  ‘Thanks … and it so happens there’s already a perfect place in town to achieve all of these things, the –’

  ‘Old Cobb and Co. coach house,’ Ewan said, finishing her sentence. ‘One problem – it’s owned by a Sydney artist and the town couldn’t afford to buy it.’

  ‘They won’t have to. I know of an American investor who’s partial to the Old American West and would be interested in purchasing an old coach house.’

  ‘In Australia?’ Ewan asked, his brow furrowed.

  ‘Why not? This person buys all sorts of memorabilia from frontier life and in this case it’s still memorabilia, just from a different frontier. Besides, the first drivers of Cobb and Co. were actually Americans, as too were the company founders.’

  Ewan leaned back in his chair and placed his interlocked hands behind his head. ‘I like your thinking, Kree, but we’re not talking a few hundred dollars for memorabilia. On top of the purchase price of the coach house, there will be annual rates, insurance and general upkeep. Then I’m assuming there will be rent payable to the owner, as well as electricity and water charges to cover. The town doesn’t have the capacity to pay such things, especially coming off years of drought.’

  Kree blanked out the stretch of his thin grey tee over the defined ridges of his chest and focused on presenting her plan.

  ‘There will be a way to fund these sorts of things. Beth floated the idea of holding markets in the park area outside the coach house. She also suggested the coach house could be hired for private parties and local fundraising events. She knows of a country girl two hours away who has started a mobile catering business. The idea wouldn’t be to run a full-on, labour intensive coffee shop, just a coffee nook with a commercial coffee machine, plenty of seating and a variety of cakes and slices. An area would then be set aside to provide tourist information, and another area for merchandise.’

  Tish didn’t appear to be listening. Ice-cream forgotten, her wistful eyes rested on the box Kree had earlier seen her pack with what looked like bottles of salad dressing.

  ‘It is possible, isn’t it, Ewan,’ Tish asked, voice dreamy, ‘that Kree’s plan could work?’

  Ewan’s hands lowered from behind his head and he leaned forward in his chair. He slowly nodded.

  CHAPTER TEN

  ‘That’s it, Whisk, we’re done. We can start sowing the canola tomorrow.’

  Ewan wiped his grease-covered hands on an already oil-stained rag and returned the once-navy-blue singlet to the bench beside him. It’d taken long enough, but the airseeder was now good to go.

  Outside the machinery shed workshop, darkness blanketed Marellen. He’d left Tish poring over chutney recipes in the kitchen, her fingers flying as she wrote in the chicken notebook the boys had given her for Mother’s Day. Kree had helped clean up after dinner and then excused herself to make some calls. Going off the tilt of her small jaw, whoever she called had better have their wits about them.

  Ewan collected the wrench from the bench and set about packing away his tools. Kree was a woman on a mission. If he were a betting man, he’d lay good odds that her plan for the coach house would come to fruition. And, despite his reservations about the financial viability, it was a good plan. He only had to see the excitement in Tish’s face to know Kree’s idea would inspire and energise more people than just his sister-in-law. If he had the money, he’d buy the coach house himself. After the struggle of the past years, the Glenalla community sure did need something to look forward to.

  ‘We’d better get used to eating burned pumpkin again, Whiskey.’

  The kelpie gazed at him with soulful eyes.

  Tish would now have the green light to grow unlimited produce if she had both markets and a shop in which to sell her fruit, herbs and vegetables. No words had been said, but he knew she was anxious about contributing to Marellen’s finances. It didn’t matter how much he told her he’d take care of things, determination would fire in her green eyes. Now the bank had agreed to finance half the cattle, he could get on with securing her and the boys’ future and ending her worries. He’d have enough time to get the canola and then wheat in before heading to Queensland for the UltraBlack cattle sale.

  He secured the latch on his metal toolbox. He still didn’t know how he’d cover the extra funds
he needed for the number of UltraBlack head he required for his breeding herd. Fred Webb at the mechanics had again asked if his ute was for sale. Ewan sighed. This time next week it could very well be.

  Whiskey’s tail thumped on the concrete floor. Footsteps crunched on gravel before Kree entered the shed and blinked. The seconds it took for her eyes to adjust to the bright overhead lights gave him time to collect himself. Time he hadn’t had that afternoon when he’d looked up to see her standing under the pergola gazing at him. He’d only hoped she was too far away to read anything in his unguarded expression. After the way his body responded to her in town, he didn’t need Kree to sense his emotions were just as responsive. He also didn’t need Tish to guess how much their guest affected him. She’d only worry he’d have his heart broken. ‘Hey,’ he said.

  ‘Hey,’ Kree answered, her curious eyes sweeping through the shed, leaving nothing unstudied. ‘Tish suggested I come and see an Aussie man-cave. So this is what it looks like?’

  He laughed. ‘Like paradise.’

  Kree smiled, shook her head, and bent to pat Whiskey, who’d swooned against her legs. ‘You boys with your toys.’

  ‘Seth would appreciate it.’

  ‘That goes without saying. He’s still trying to talk me into letting him buy a ute.’

  She gave Whiskey a final pat, straightened and walked over to the airseeder. ‘So, is this the thing that has caused you all the grief?’

  ‘Yes, and I’m glad to say it’s finally sorted.’

  She touched a hose that delivered seeds to the holes in the soil dug by the metal tines. ‘It looks quite complicated.’

  ‘I guess so, but after the drought and money being tight there isn’t anything I can’t fix.’

  She flashed him a sweet but cheeky grin. ‘Except pressure pumps.’

  He chuckled. ‘True, but in my defence the Tylers’ pump is a dinosaur. Travis did take a look, in case I’d missed anything, but he agreed its pumping days were over.’

  ‘He’s a good guy.’

  ‘The best.’ Ewan resumed packing away the last of his tools by hanging spanners on the chipboard attached to the side wall. The boys had helped him trace the spanner shapes in order of size and even now, the wobbly black silhouettes made him smile. He and the boys loved the man-cave.

  ‘Did you and Travis grow up together?’ Kree asked as she stopped in front of the chipboard and examined the rows upon rows of spanners.

  ‘We knocked about as little fellas, but then I went away to a Sydney boarding school. We then both did agricultural science at Sydney University.’ Ewan paused as he watched Kree trace the outline of a missing spanner with her forefinger. ‘He went away for a few years to earn some serious money and has only been back for a couple of months. He’s actually bought the farm where I was born.’

  She stared out the wide shed door towards the old homestead sprawling in the shadows. ‘So you haven’t always lived here?’

  ‘No, and to be honest, sometimes I wish I didn’t now.’ He tried and failed to keep the bleakness from his voice.

  Kree’s wide-eyed gaze held his. ‘If you don’t mind me asking, why? The homestead is magnificent and Tish has created a lovely garden.’

  ‘Marellen may look impressive, but sometimes it feels like the house doesn’t want us here. My father was a hard worker and a good farmer and made a lot of money. When this property came on the market for the first time in the district’s history, he moved us here. He basically didn’t make any money again. Even in good seasons, crops failed or were frosted by a late cold snap. We couldn’t get a break. The house was built as a family home but the original couple only had one child, the mother died at the birth. The child either died or moved away but whatever the reason, the father became a lonely old recluse.’

  Ewan reopened the steel toolbox and fossicked through the various tools. There was a small spanner missing and Braye had last had it when he’d come to help yesterday.

  ‘The family it was built for mightn’t have filled Marellen with life, but your family does. And I’m sure the original family would want you here. Your luck will change.’

  ‘Maybe,’ he said, forcing his tone to lighten. He didn’t want to elaborate on his certainty it wouldn’t. The greatest price the Mackenzies had paid for living at Marellen was that of the four family members who’d moved there, he was the only person left.

  ‘So, how come Travis doesn’t have a lipstick target on his back, like you?’ she teased, changing the mood.

  Ewan found the missing spanner and hung it in the spare space on the chipboard. ‘Lipstick target?’

  ‘Yes. If Travis is single, too, how come Mrs Jessop isn’t setting her sights on him as a future son-in-law?’

  Ewan didn’t answer straight away. He looked across the garden to where the soft glow of the kitchen light shone. ‘Well …’ he rubbed a hand around the base of his neck. ‘Everyone has always known Travis is a one-woman man and always will be, even if he can’t ever have the woman he loves.’

  Kree too stared towards the kitchen light. ‘Tish?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Does she know?’

  ‘No. You’ve seen how reserved Travis is, he hasn’t said more than a few words to her since he’s come back. He hasn’t come out and admitted it, even to me, but he’s loved her for a very long time.’

  ‘Tish obviously loved your brother but the way her eyes soften when you mention Travis’s name could mean she now has feelings for Travis.’

  ‘I’ve no doubt she does and that’s where it’s complicated. The reason why Travis left was because he thought he wasn’t good enough for her. He didn’t come from money and believed he didn’t have anything to offer her. He wouldn’t have had a day off in all the time he’s been away but he’s returned with a fortune.’

  ‘Take it from me, Travis’s honesty and integrity are worth more than any amount of money in the bank.’ She opened the tractor door and settled herself into the tractor seat. ‘Now he’s bought his farm, does he still feel the same way?’

  Ewan climbed two of the tractor’s four steps and caught the open door. He looked into the cab, his eyes the same level as Kree’s. She was so close he could see the thickness of her dark lashes. ‘No. Now it’s simply a case of him not wanting to rush Tish into anything she mightn’t be ready for. That’s why I asked if Tish could come to your dinner. Without the boys, and with only the four of us there, they would have a chance to get to know each other again.’

  Kree took hold of the steering wheel. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure such a dinner happens and soon.’

  She bounced on the seat and the heavy fall of her ponytail swung across her shoulders. He breathed in the fresh scent of vanilla.

  ‘You know, this is kind of fun.’

  ‘You’re as bad as the boys. They bounce on the seat and make brum brum noises.’

  ‘Bouncing I can do but I’ll leave making brum brum noises to the experts.’ She inclined her head towards a small screen to her right. ‘What does this do?’

  ‘It’s a GPS to make sure the tractor travels in straight lines. It drives the tractor, so I can read the newspaper.’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘I’m not pulling your leg, it does. I’m sowing canola tomorrow, so you’re welcome to come for a ride and see for yourself.’

  Her forehead creased as she glanced around the cabin. ‘I don’t want to get in your way. There’s not much room in here.’

  He inclined his head towards the smaller trainer’s seat to her left. ‘The boys sit there and aren’t in the road. Tish packs them a picnic lunch.’

  Kree looked forward through the windscreen again. ‘Well, if a short ride’s on offer, I’d love to come. In the hospital Seth became obsessed with watching internet clips of farming machinery. I’ll bring my camera and film him his own personal video.’

  ‘Seth is a man after my own heart.’

  Her lips curved in a grin he couldn’t help but return. Being around Kree never fail
ed to shift his inner chill.

  ‘I’ve an early start tomorrow,’ he said, ‘so I’d better head inside. Of course, you’re welcome to stay and make brum brum noises when I’m gone.’

  ‘Not on your life, I’m not coming over to the dark side.’ She followed him down the tractor steps to wait outside the shed as he turned off the lights and slid the large door closed. With Whiskey at their heels, they walked into the night-shrouded garden. The kelpie suddenly barked and dashed over to the fence. As if from nowhere, hard hooves drummed on the ground.

  Kree gasped and swung around.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Ewan said quietly. ‘It’s Rocket and Banjo.’ He jammed his hands into his jeans pockets to prevent himself tugging her close and reassuring her.

  The two stock horses slid to a stop close to the fence, snorting. Banjo’s white blaze flickered in the gloom as he tossed his head, while Rocket’s white fetlock pawed the ground.

  Whiskey barked again.

  ‘Whisk, that’s enough,’ Ewan said. ‘You know better than to take these two on. They’ll eat you for breakfast.’

  ‘You have horses?’ Kree asked, not waiting for him to answer as she walked forward. Pleasure resonated in her voice. ‘I knew you had the boys’ ponies as Freckle and Fudge gate-crashed their dinner yesterday, but I had no idea these two existed.’

  ‘They definitely do, even though they’re more paddock ornaments than stock horses as they don’t get ridden much. They usually stay near the creek and don’t often come this close to the house.’

  She approached the fence, where Whiskey now silently sat, and extended a hand to Banjo. The bay lowered his head over the top wire and sniffed her flattened palm. ‘Hello, gorgeous,’ she whispered, lifting her other hand and stroking his nose.

  Ewan joined her and rubbed Rocket’s nose to distract the gelding as he attempted to shoulder aside Banjo to get to Kree.

  ‘You’re a horse fan?’ Ewan asked.

  ‘Yes, from way back. Before we moved to the mountains, we had a small ranch. I spent my childhood riding in the foothills.’