Finally, having gone full circle, they pulled up near the pregnant ewes close to the house. Coop cast his eyes over them. There was one standing away from the others. He watched her for a minute before Claudia slipped her hand into his.
‘You have lots of sheep,’ she said.
‘And they’ll soon be mothers,’ Coop said.
‘Can we see more?’
‘All that’s left to see are the chooks in the house yard.’
Jilly nudged Claudia’s arm and the little girl hugged the dog close.
Angela gave Coop a tentative smile. ‘Thanks. Claudia is loving this. She’s never been to a farm before. Come to think of it, neither have I.’
Coop couldn’t imagine life without space and animals. His and Angela’s worlds were so different. ‘I’ve never been to Melbourne,’ he said.
‘Really? You should come one day. Claudia and I will show you the sights.’
Coop gazed at Angela. The pink had returned to her cheeks and lips and her eyes were shining. The fresh air had done her good.
‘I don’t like Melbourne,’ Claudia said. ‘It’s better here.’
Angela bobbed down level with her daughter. ‘But Grandpa’s in Melbourne.’
‘I miss Grandpa. And Janice,’ Claudia said thoughtfully. ‘But I like Money Real and going in Big Red and Coop’s farm.’
‘What about your friends at pre-school?’
‘It’s better fun at Leanne’s.’
Jeremy got down from the ute rubbing his behind. His hair was truly messy now. ‘This place is great, Coop,’ he said, ‘but to me one sheep looks pretty much like another. My vote’s with Melbourne.’
‘Let’s get back to the house then.’ Coop grinned. ‘You all look like you could do with a cool drink.’
Angela was slow to return to the vehicle. The strained expression she’d arrived with had returned to her face. She must be missing the excitement of Melbourne, Coop thought, while Claudia seemed to have adapted well to their new lifestyle.
They checked the chooks and Coop was able to help Claudia find an egg to carry back to the house. The hens hadn’t laid many since Alice had been away. Coop fixed their fence so they were relatively safe from foxes but he didn’t pay them as much attention as Alice did. Maybe they missed her.
Back inside the house they all sat around Alice’s kitchen table, except for Claudia, who stayed outside with the dogs. Angela had pushed her daughter’s hat firmly onto her head and issued strict instructions not to stray.
Coop offered his guests hot coffee and cold cordial and opened one of the packets of biscuits Alice had left him. Jeremy teased Angela about her confrontation with Clifford Berl.
‘I shouldn’t have tackled him at the pub,’ Angela admitted. ‘But someone’s jerking us around and they’re the only competition. There’s no other explanation.’
‘You sure it’s not just paranoia brought on by large doses of champagne?’ Jeremy asked with a smirk.
Angela shifted in her chair and stared into the coffee cup she clutched with both hands.
‘Berls said they don’t want the town freight work,’ Coop said gently.
‘So everyone says, but Frank got a call from someone saying I couldn’t collect his goods.’ Angela looked directly at Jeremy. ‘I didn’t make that call – no one from our company did.’
Jeremy shrugged.
‘But other than that, you’re getting plenty of work, aren’t you?’ Coop asked.
‘There have been a couple of other mix-ups,’ Angela said, waggling two fingers in the air. ‘But yes, I did think things were going well.’
‘Did?’
‘Well … do …’Angela rubbed her forehead. ‘I don’t know what to think.’
Coop could see the tiredness in her eyes. She’d had a big night. He knew the signs well.
‘Ken’s got more work for me,’ she said. ‘Trouble is, it’s chemicals and I don’t have my dangerous goods licence. I haven’t ever needed one before.’
There was a distant wail and they all looked up. Angela reached the door first, with Coop and Jeremy close behind. Claudia was in the front garden clutching her arm. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Jilly sat beside her.
‘What’s the matter?’ Angela’s voice was sharp as she rushed around the verandah to her daughter.
‘She bit me,’ Claudia sobbed.
Angela grabbed the little girl’s arm. ‘Where?’
‘Jilly, come,’ Coop commanded.
The dog hesitated, looking from Claudia to Coop, then finally went and stood beside her master, her head lowered.
‘Where are you hurt?’ Angela inspected her daughter’s arm. Coop stepped forward and looked at Claudia’s sleeve too. There was a small tear in the fabric. He looked back at Jilly who was flicking her gaze from Coop to somewhere beyond the gate. Something was up.
‘Claudia, look at me,’ he said gently. She stopped wailing and met his eyes. ‘Did Jilly bite you or just grab your sleeve?’
‘I hardly think that makes any difference,’ Angela snapped.
‘She grabbed me,’ Claudia said and rubbed her arm where the sleeve was torn.
‘What were you doing?’ Coop asked.
‘Hiding from Jilly.’
‘Where?’
‘Over there.’ Claudia pointed to the lavender bushes. It was the only bit of garden Alice encouraged either side of the gate.
‘What does it matter? Your dog bit her,’ Angela said. ‘There are teeth marks.’
Coop glanced at the tiny dents in Claudia’s skin as Angela pulled back the sleeve and lifted her daughter’s arm. The skin wasn’t broken. He moved towards the gate and Jilly gave a low growl.
Claudia wailed and clutched her mother.
‘Stay, Jilly,’ he commanded.
‘I think we should go,’ Angela said.
‘Jilly doesn’t normally come into the house yard.’
‘So, what, it’s Claudia’s fault?’
Coop ignored her and looked at a couple of marks in the loose dirt at the gate. He cast his eyes across the yard. The sun was warm and the red dust shimmered. ‘It’s okay now,’ he said turning back. ‘Jilly was just being cautious.’
‘Is that what you call it?’ Angela said.
Coop squatted beside Claudia and looked at her arm again. ‘Jilly was trying to stop you going near the bushes,’ he said. ‘She didn’t mean to frighten you.’
‘What do you mean?’ Angela had one arm protectively around her daughter’s shoulders.
‘I think she saw a snake,’ Coop said.
‘Where?’ Angela looked quickly about.
‘Don’t worry. With all this noise, the snake’ll probably be long gone.’
‘Probably,’ Jeremy snorted from the verandah.
Coop wiped the dusty tear marks from Claudia’s face. ‘Do you understand, Claudia? Jilly thought you were in danger. She grabbed your sleeve to stop you from going near the snake. She doesn’t have hands so she used her mouth.’
‘I didn’t see the snake.’ Claudia’s eyes were wide.
‘It probably wasn’t that close but Jilly knew it was there.’
Claudia pulled away from her mother and flung her arms around Jilly’s neck.
‘Claudia!’ Angela yelped.
‘It’s okay, really,’ Coop said. ‘Let’s go finish our drinks.’
‘Good idea,’ Jeremy said. He spun on his heel and walked back around the verandah.
Angela looked up at the house. ‘We should go,’ she said.
‘But I don’t want to go yet.’ Claudia pouted.
‘I’ll send Jilly off to the shed,’ Coop said. He didn’t want them to leave either.
‘Don’t do that,’ Angela said and laid a hand on his arm. ‘I understand, it’s just I’ve got to work out what to do about this job of Ken’s. There’re some other loose ends to tidy up and we have to be ready for an early start tomorrow.’
Her touch was gentle. Coop was overwhelmed by the sadness in her eyes. He made a qui
ck decision. ‘Maybe I can help.’
She dropped her arm. ‘How?’
‘I have a dangerous goods licence. I could drive that load for you.’
‘You? But … I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve got your work cut out for you here. With Alice away …’
‘It’d only be for two days. And I need to go to Adelaide anyway.’
‘Really?’ Angela’s face held an expression of hope.
‘I think we can work something out,’ Coop said. There was a tap on his leg. He took his eyes away from Angela’s to look down at the equally beautiful face of her daughter.
‘Can Jilly come too?’ the little girl asked.
Chapter 23
Angela looked up from her paperwork and checked the time. It was getting late. Coop would be back with Claudia soon. He’d offered to take the little girl with him to check the sheep again while Angela came back to the office. She’d said no initially, but Claudia was so excited and Coop reassured her that the dog incident wouldn’t happen again. He also said something about a job he needed to do in town, so it was no trouble to bring Claudia back in with him. In the face of her daughter’s enthusiasm and the prospect of a few hours alone, Angela had quickly capitulated. Jeremy drove her back to town and dropped her at the depot.
She switched on the office light and rubbed her arms. Once the sun was low on the horizon the temperature dropped quickly in Munirilla. She only had a few more things to sort out then she’d be done for the night. The truck was loaded and ready. There wasn’t a lot going Adelaide way but she had a full load waiting for the return journey. She’d accepted Ken’s chemical pick-up later in the week as well, thanks to Coop. She glanced at the time again and picked up her pen. Her mobile rang.
‘Angel?’
‘Hi Dad.’
‘We were worried. You said you’d ring once Claudia was home.’ With everything that had happened, she’d completely forgotten.
‘Sorry, we were out on a farm. It’s hard to get reception there. I’m back at the office now.’
‘Everything ready for tomorrow?’
‘Nearly. Looks like we’ve a good lot of freight this week and I’ve done a deal with Frank from the IGA. He’s got a backlog of recycled cardboard. Berls were going to charge him more than it was worth to get it back to the city. I’m going to take it when I’m low on freight going Adelaide way, for a fair price of course.’
‘That all sounds promising.’
Once again, Angela could hear Janice’s voice in the background.
‘Can we talk to Claudia?’ her father asked.
‘You could,’ Angela stood up again and walked to the window, ‘but she’s not here right now.’
‘Have you left her in the flat? I don’t think …’
‘No Dad, she’s with Coop.’
‘Who’s Coop?’
‘A guy …’ Angela paused. How would she describe Coop?
‘You’ve left her with some guy?’ Angela heard the worry in her father’s voice, then the sound of Janice babbling in the background.
‘He’s a friend.’
‘She doesn’t ever seem to be with you.’
‘Of course she is. We went to Coop’s farm and she had such a great time, she didn’t want to come home. You know how she is. I was only coming back to work and Coop offered to take her with him to check some sheep.’
‘So, this Coop has a wife and kids?’
‘No. He lives alone.’
‘Angela!’ Janice’s voice was louder. She must have been on the other handset.
Angela hurried on. ‘His boss is usually there but she’s away at the moment.’
‘Really, Angela,’ Janice snapped. ‘You left our dear little Claudia alone with a strange man.’
‘It’s not like that,’ Angela retorted. ‘He’s not a stranger and he’s really good with Claudia.’ Angela tried to sound convincing, for their sake and her own. How well did she know Coop? She’d left her four-year-old with a man she’d only met a couple of times. ‘He’s a genuinely nice guy.’
‘And we’re putting our trust in your judgement?’ Janice’s voice dripped malice.
‘Keep your nose out of this,’ Angela snarled.
‘Angel.’ Her father tried to intercede.
‘She’s my daughter. I’ve managed to look after her on my own until now, I think I can–’
‘That’s debatable,’ Janice snapped.
Angela quivered with anger. ‘Dad, I have to go. I’ll ring you,’ she emphasised the ‘you’, ‘when Claudia comes in.’
Her father murmured something and there was a clunk, then he spoke to her softly. ‘Angela, I am very worried.’
‘She’s fine, Dad.’ Now that Janice had hung up, Angela’s anger turned to fear. Where’s Claud? She searched the darkening depot outside for any sign of a vehicle. Coop didn’t say he’d be this late. ‘Coop’s a nice guy. He’s going to help me out with a load of chemicals later in the week. Without him I wouldn’t be able to take it.’
‘Ah, dangerous goods licence. I did wonder if you might need to get one.’
‘If I was staying on it’d be a necessity.’
‘Do you think you’d like to?’
‘Get my licence?’
‘Yes, and stay on.’
‘Hold on. What’s this about?’ Angela stopped pacing and leaned against the doorframe. ‘What happened to Trev?’
Her father sighed. ‘He’s going to be a few more weeks. I haven’t got anyone else to spare. I’ve asked around but everyone’s got work at the moment.’
‘This was meant to be temporary, Dad.’
‘I know, I know. Look, I’ll work something out. I’ll come and do it myself if I have to. You can hold the fort at this end …’
‘But Dad, I have a job. I’m just on leave, I have to go back some time.’
‘You like driving trucks, Angel. You’re good at the business. We could be a team.’
‘I don’t know. There’s Claudia and … And what? Angela didn’t really know. Claudia had taken to trucking life well. But speaking of … Angela again searched the dark yard for a sign of vehicle lights. Maybe Coop had taken her to the flat. ‘I’d better go.’
‘Is Claudia there?’ Beyond her father’s voice she could hear Janice’s demanding tone again.
‘No, but she will be soon. We’ll ring you back, okay?’ Angela disconnected before he could say any more. Her heart was thumping. What had she done? She should have insisted on bringing Claudia home with her.
She locked up the office and made it as far as the gate before Coop’s ute pulled up. She flung open the passenger door and her heart lifted at the sound of her daughter’s voice.
‘Mummy, Mummy, guess what?’
Angela didn’t care what, she reached in and put her arms around her daughter.
‘I wouldn’t …’ But Coop’s warning came too late.
Angela nearly choked on the rank animal smell coming off the little girl. She pulled back, hoping the muck was only mud. ‘What is …?’ Angela put her nose into her sleeve. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light inside the cab she could see that Claudia was filthy, covered in dirt and goodness knows what else.
‘Sorry, I tried to ring but your phone was busy and–’
‘Coop’s sheep had babies.’ Claudia bounced on the seat. ‘Two babies.’ She held up two fingers. ‘We had to help.’
‘I had a ewe down. She was in trouble with twins. I had to stay back, sorry. Claudia was my assistant.’ His lips curved up in a gentle smile. ‘I was going to give her a wash,’ Coop said, ‘but I thought you’d be worried.’
‘Coop thought the babies would die, but we think they’ll be okay now, don’t we, Coop?’ Claudia looked across at him, then back to her mother. The little girl looked so happy. Angela couldn’t be cross.
‘Get in and I’ll drive you home,’ Coop said. ‘That’s if you can stand the smell.’
‘What is it?’ Angela quickly rolled down her window.
‘Best
not to know,’ Coop chuckled.
Angela directed him to their flat and in the few minutes it took to get there, Claudia gave a detailed account of the births. She had certainly learnt a few basic things about life that afternoon.
‘Thanks Coop.’ Angela looked over Claudia’s head into his gentle gaze. She felt guilty she’d even entertained the idea that he might harm Claudia.
‘It was nice to have company,’ he said.
‘I’m hungry, Mummy. You said we would have pizza.’
‘You need a shower before you go anywhere near food, young lady.’
‘Can Coop have pizza with us?’
‘Coop’s run around after us enough today,’ Angela said. She glanced at the man beside her. He didn’t have the look of someone in a hurry.
‘I’m a bit of a mess as well …’ he mumbled.
‘You can use our bathroom. Please, Coop,’ Claudia implored. ‘Mummy makes the best pizzas.’
He looked directly at Angela, making it difficult for her not to squirm in her seat. ‘It’s fine with me,’ she said eventually. ‘And Claudia’s right. I do make darn good pizzas.’
Chapter 24
Coop was up at first light the next day and out in the paddock with the ewes. Three more of them had given birth overnight. Two had twins. So far this was a good rate, and he hoped it would continue.
The ewe he’d worried over yesterday was looking well after her initial struggle with the birth, and both her lambs were looking strong on their feet. He was concerned she might reject them but she was showing all the signs of being a good mother.
He stood for a while watching the mob. Once the sun had risen above the horizon he pulled Angela’s camera from his pocket and took some pictures. She’d suggested lending it to him. He didn’t have one of his own and had no idea if Alice did, so gladly accepted the offer.
Last night, over pizza, he’d explained to Angela his idea of taking some pictures of the farm and visiting Alice with them. That was why he’d offered to drive the truck.
He moved away from the sheep and checked their water trough. If he was being honest with himself, there was a second reason for his offer: getting to spend more time with Angela.
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