Queen of the Road

by Tricia Stringer

‘That’s Dad and Paul’s domain.’ Annabel added the dishes to the teetering pile and threw the cutlery in the sink with a clatter. ‘With Paul away, don’t expect any work on your place for a while.’

  Coop felt uncomfortable. Alice had some kind of agreement with the Camerons but he didn’t know the details and this wasn’t sounding too promising. ‘I mean, I can get started …’

  ‘Dad and I have got things ready to go here. He reckons we’ll start our place tomorrow, so he’s gone home for the afternoon. You’ll need to talk to him about Mrs Tansell’s property.’ Annabel pulled a small, flowery notepad from her pocket, scribbled on a page, then ripped it off for Coop. ‘That’s Dad’s number. Can’t understand how he could let Paul go away at this time of year. Erica picked the dates.’ She rolled her eyes.

  Coop tucked the page into his pocket. He was anxious to be on his way. If the Camerons weren’t going to help Alice for a while, he’d need to do a lot more. He almost wished he hadn’t offered to drive for Angela now, but he needed to visit Alice.

  ‘If you could feed the dogs and check on the sheep …’

  ‘No probs. I’ll be doing tractor shifts with Dad but I’ll go over when I can. It’s easy for me to pop round the back way and check on them.’

  ‘The back way?’

  ‘There’s a gate from our property to yours. We take machinery through that way, saves us going around on the road.’

  Coop knew there was a gate in what Alice called ‘narrow paddock’. He supposed it could be called the back way.

  ‘The ewes are in the paddock close to the house,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, I thought … Okay. Probably just as well you shifted them with the fires.’ Annabel was standing in front of the new picture window. With the light behind her, Coop couldn’t see her face very well, much less read it.

  As he drove away, a shiver rippled down his back. Alice would say someone just walked over his grave but Coop put it down to instinct. Time spent in detention as a teenager had honed his intuitive skills. If nothing else, Alice placed her trust in the Camerons to get her seeding done. And right now, that wasn’t looking hopeful.

  Chapter 30

  Angela jumped down from the truck, stretched her arms above her head, then gently bent forward and touched her toes. Every one of her muscles ached. It had been a big day and it wasn’t finished yet.

  When Angela had finally arrived back in Munirilla and dropped Claudia off with Leanne, she’d headed straight to the IGA. Thankfully Frank wasn’t too fazed by the delayed arrival of his refrigerated goods – he always greeted her with a smile.

  Since then she’d been unloading kegs all afternoon. The Munirilla Hotel was first, where Bill Badenoch was happy to help, but when she got to the Highway Hotel there was no one available – or perhaps willing – to lend a hand. It had been a huge effort to get their kegs off. Their renovations had made the building look nice but didn’t allow for a straightforward delivery. After easing the truck into the narrow lane behind the pub, Angela had walked back to the depot, rigged the forklift so she could roll a keg onto it and keep it there safely, driven the forklift back to the pub and then shifted the kegs, one at a time, and with much difficulty, in the tiny space. It had taken a long time.

  When at last she’d finished, the manager miraculously appeared to sign the paperwork. His only comment was that they’d been expecting the kegs the day before. Angela was ready to slap him but instead murmured something about teething problems at the Adelaide office and that it wouldn’t happen again. He handed back the papers and mumbled a thankyou before hightailing it back to his office.

  Angela lifted her elbows at right angles from her body, twisting her torso left and right. She couldn’t help a smug smile. Everything had been against her with this delivery. The delays at the brewery, the late start because of Janice, the weather, the prank with the brakes and the difficulty unloading the kegs – it had all slowed her down but she’d still managed. She was sore and exhausted, but she’d done it.

  Her stomach rumbled and she glanced at her watch. It had been a very long time since her breakfast in Port Augusta, and she’d been so angry about the brakes she hadn’t eaten much even then. Somewhere in the back of the cab was the box with the rest of Jenny’s sandwiches. They wouldn’t be too fresh by now but at least they’d tide her over until she finished the few remaining deliveries.

  A vehicle pulled into the yard and Angela gave a little groan as Ken Harris threw open the door and stepped out. His engine had barely stopped by the time he was striding towards her.

  ‘I needed that timber yesterday,’ he declared, waving his arm at the load stacked on the trailer.

  ‘You’re next on my list,’ she said, feigning a smile and polite tone. ‘We’re still experiencing a few teething problems.’

  ‘Teething problems! You should have a handle on it by now.

  I promised this customer his gear would be delivered yesterday.’

  Angela took a deep breath. Her smile was more like a grimace by now but she held the muscles in place all the same. ‘Ken, you know it’s not that straightforward. Deliveries get held up, trucks have breakdowns …’

  ‘Breakdowns?!’ His eyes flicked to the cab behind her.

  ‘This is an excellent rig,’ Angela hurried to explain, ‘but you know that anything can happen. You should never promise your customers an exact delivery date out here. There’s only one of me. The business is building up but it’s a long way from Adelaide and I bring an assortment of goods that takes several trips to collect. I brought back kegs for both pubs in this load but it took me more than half a day to get them loaded at the brewery …’

  ‘I don’t need excuses.’

  ‘And I’m not giving you any.’ Angela clicked her tongue. She was doing her best to be polite but Ken was pushing all her buttons. ‘That’s the trucking business. If you don’t like the way Ranger Transport does it, then perhaps you’d better try someone else.’

  ‘Are you threatening me?’ Ken’s face went red and there was a wild look in his eyes.

  ‘No, but you wanted us here. If you’d rather another business took over …’

  ‘Your father said he’d do the run for two months. Time’s not up.’

  She didn’t like the way Ken was behaving. He looked like heart attack material. Once again, she softened her voice. ‘Of course we’ll continue. My father wants to make this a permanent part of our business. I’m just reminding you that there are factors beyond our control, factors that sometimes delay trucks and deliveries.’

  Ken exhaled and his shoulders dropped. ‘Always over a barrel,’ he murmured.

  Angela wasn’t sure what he meant but at least his agitation had subsided.

  ‘This is for a farmer. He’s not far out of town,’ he said. ‘Can you deliver it there?’

  ‘Sure, if you give me directions.’ Angela tried to sound enthusiastic, even though she’d hoped to offload the timber at Ken’s yard and head home for a warm shower.

  ‘I can do better than that. You can follow me out there. I have to see him and another bloke out that way. Drop my gear at the agency and we’ll go from there.’

  ‘Okay.’ She smiled at him and her stomach grumbled. She’d have to eat the stale sandwiches as she drove.

  Ken got in his four-wheel drive and left in the same hurry in which he’d arrived. He was a real conundrum. Angela was never sure if he was for or against her. It was interesting to know her father had made the deal for two months though, when he’d initially asked her to do one. Still, he’d been expecting Tiny Trev to take over after that – maybe there was nothing in it.

  Another vehicle turned into the yard. Angela’s face broke into a genuine smile as Coop drew up beside her and rolled down his window.

  ‘Hello,’ he said. ‘Glad you’re here.’

  ‘It’s nice to see you too.’ Even though his face was serious, Angela was pleased to see him. Besides Jim and Leanne, Coop was the only person in town she could call a friend. And sh
e could certainly do with an ally right now.

  ‘My workload has changed since we last spoke,’ he began.

  Angela’s heart fell. He was going to back out of the trip. She’d just reassured Ken that Ranger could do it. Her mind raced. Maybe her father could fly over …

  ‘Don’t look so worried. I just need to know what time we’re leaving.’ He pushed his hat back on his head and Angela saw the hint of a smile on his lips. Lips that looked kissable. She tugged her eyes back to his. What was she thinking?

  ‘Oh, sorry, no … At least, yes.’ She wasn’t making any sense. She’d been working too long on too little food and her mind had gone to mush. ‘If we leave here at four,’ she did the sums in her head, ‘that should put us in Adelaide with plenty of time to load up.’

  ‘You okay with me sleeping on the way there? I can go and visit Alice, then once we’ve loaded I can drive back and you can sleep.’

  ‘Sure … I …’ The thought of Coop in the bunk had Angela’s brain sending all kinds of wayward messages to her body. She took a small step back to check herself. ‘That’s fine. I don’t want to leave Claudia for too long.’

  ‘See you bright and early Friday then.’ He grinned, then drove away with a small nod of his head.

  Angela stumbled back and leaned against the cold metal of the truck. She steadied herself and climbed into the cab, banishing thoughts of Coop.

  Ken was waiting with the forklift when she pulled in to his yard. It didn’t take much time to offload the smaller gear. He explained where they were going and she followed him along the highway then onto a dirt road. It was narrow and in poor condition. The rain she’d driven through earlier had obviously dumped here and her wheels churned up the already mushy clay surface.

  She was beginning to wonder how much further when she saw Ken indicate before disappearing into the tree line ahead. She eased back and approached slowly, hoping there’d be a big wide entrance. As she reached the gap in the trees she hit the brakes.

  ‘Oh no,’ she groaned, bringing her rig to a halt. There were two farm gates, a wider one and a narrower one, and coming out the latter was a Berl Stock Transport truck. How was he going to get around her? Ken had pulled up onto the verge, out of the way, but to make it through the skinny gate, the Berls driver was going to have to bring his rig right out onto the road before he could turn.

  Angela checked the road ahead and to her side and then her mirrors. She backed up, swivelling her eyes in all directions, acutely aware of the churning under her tyres. She wouldn’t have come out here if she knew how bad the road would be. Two big rigs up and back after all the rain could wreck it altogether.

  She watched as the Berls driver eased onto the road and turned his rig to pass her. As he drew level she could clearly see the craggy face of Cliff Berl Senior glaring at her. He wagged his finger as his cab passed within a metre of hers.

  Angela gripped the steering wheel without acknowledging him. ‘Ignorant old bugger,’ she muttered.

  Once the sheep truck had passed her she eased forward again, towards the wider gate, then stopped. Her heart sank. Cliff must have entered the farm through the wider gate. The ground inside it was a quagmire and she could see his deep wheel marks all the way up the track to the farm buildings on the rise.

  Angela lowered her window as Ken approached.

  ‘You won’t be able to get through here.’ He pointed back at the entrance. ‘Cliff said he nearly got stuck there going in. You’ll have to go through the other one.’

  ‘Is there no other access?’ Angela cast her eyes about.

  ‘Probably through paddocks, but they’ll be as boggy as this. Don’t worry, the track’s in good condition. They packed it with crushed metal. It’s almost like concrete. You won’t get stuck there.’

  ‘It’s not the track I’m worried about, Ken. It’s the gate.’

  Ken stepped back and looked at the entrance. ‘Cliff came through it okay, and his rig’s longer than yours.’

  Angela took a deep breath. Her exasperation with this man was reaching its limit. She selected her words carefully. ‘He had a straight run down the track and room to turn once he was through. I’ll have to get my rig in perfect line or I’ll take out the gate.’

  ‘Oh.’ Ken pulled off his hat and scratched his head. He looked from Angela to the gate then back to her. She could see from the frown on his face that he still didn’t get it.

  Angela looked about again. Ahead of her, the narrow road continued on to who knows where; behind her, it was lined with trees for kilometres. There was nowhere to turn. Her only option was to get through this gate.

  ‘Wait by your car,’ she said. ‘Once I’m lined up, you’ll have to direct me. I might not be able to see the left post with my mirrors.’

  He frowned at her again before giving a quick nod and heading back to his four-wheel drive.

  Angela surveyed the space once more, then began a series of manoeuvres to line her truck and trailers up with the gate. By the time she had her rig facing the opening, the road had been badly cut up by her wheels and she was dripping with perspiration.

  Ken took up a position behind her but in sight of her mirrors. Angela sucked in a deep breath, gripped the steering wheel and released the brakes. She edged forward through the narrow gate. The cab didn’t worry her, she knew she’d get that through, but if the trailer was even a fraction out of line, she’d be taking part of the fence with her. Slowly she crept the rig forward until the whole length was inside the gate. Then she paused a minute, resting her head back against the seat.

  In her side mirror she could see Ken walking towards her. She applied pressure to the accelerator and moved up the gentle slope towards the farm. She didn’t think she could be polite to Ken right now.

  As she reached level ground beside the house a tall guy hopped out along the path, pulling on a boot. She stopped and lowered her window as he made his way towards her. He looked to be in his thirties and was clutching a half-eaten apple.

  ‘That was a tough call.’ He waved the apple at her load. ‘How the hell did you get those trailers through the gate?’

  ‘I would’ve preferred not to.’

  ‘I was just about to ring Jim to tell him not to deliver the timber. The carpenter’s been held up anyway.’ He stepped up to the cab and extended his hand to the window. ‘I’m Tom Bamford.’

  ‘Angela Ranger.’ She gripped his hand. ‘My wheels have done some damage to the road, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. It’s often a mess down there. I’ll patch it up later.’ He nodded past the back of the truck. ‘Here comes Ken.’

  Angela looked in her mirror. Ken’s four-wheel drive was bouncing up the driveway.

  ‘Follow me and I’ll show you where to unload.’

  She released the brakes and let the rig sidle along after Tom’s loping figure. He was already starting his tractor, fitted out with front-end forks, before she’d pulled into position.

  Ken went directly to Tom and climbed up beside him on the tractor for a quick word before moving back to where Angela was releasing the straps securing the timber.

  ‘I’ll keep going to the next property.’ Ken’s voice was low, almost contrite. ‘You right to find your way back?’

  Angela gave the strap an extra hard tug and suppressed the impulse to give him a piece of her mind. The man had no idea how difficult that last bit of driving had been.

  ‘I’ll be right, thanks,’ she said over her shoulder.

  ‘Look, Angela … I’m sorry about this.’

  She turned to look at him. His face was furrowed with lines and there was worry in his eyes.

  ‘I didn’t know … At least, I didn’t realise it was going to be so difficult to get the truck–’

  ‘We’re here now.’ Angela released the last strap as Tom moved towards them with the forks.

  ‘I’ll head off then.’ Ken raised his voice to be heard over the tractor. ‘You’re still right to collect that load of chem
icals on Friday?’

  ‘Of course.’ Angela glanced up as she answered. She saw the relief wash over him before he hurried away.

  It didn’t take Tom long to unload the timber, and before he’d switched off the tractor, Angela had the straps rolled and locked away, ready to go.

  ‘Thanks Angela.’ He shook her hand again before she climbed into the cab. ‘Just follow the track around the shed and you’ll do a gradual loop back to the driveway.’ He grinned. ‘Getting out will be a walk in the park after what you went through to get in.’

  She smiled, gave him a wave and followed his directions until she was heading back down the hill. If the Berls rig could do it in one go she knew she could. She edged out onto the road, keeping her trailers perfectly straight until she was clear of the gate, and then she turned to head home. With a sigh she set off on the dirt road, and before long she was smiling, then laughing out loud.

  There were so many obstacles in this work but she was tackling them and, most of the time, coming out in front. The air line prank still rankled her but she wouldn’t fall for that one again. As she told Ken, some things were beyond her control, but she was dealing with them. She was making sure Ranger Transport was a name people could rely on and it made her feel good.

  But her happiness was swept away as an approaching vehicle flashed the coloured lights on its roof – a police car. What on earth could they want this time?

  Angela lowered her window as the policeman approached. Thankfully it wasn’t the highway patrol guy she met last time. His walk was casual and his face friendly and relaxed. ‘Angela Ranger?’ he asked.

  Angela’s heart skipped a beat. Claud! Had something happened? ‘Yes,’ she answered.

  ‘My name’s Barry Norton. I’m based in Munirilla. I’ve seen you around a bit. Just delivered a load?’ He nodded towards the empty trailer behind her.

  ‘Yes, at Tom Bamford’s.’ Angela opened her door, her anxiety rising. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘Well, hopefully not.’ Barry smiled at her as she jumped down from the cab. ‘I’ve had a report of trucks out here without permits, so thought I’d better check it out.’