Four
Mia searched the road for a sign, but there was nothing but red dirt and dry paddocks surrounding them. She had wanted a lift out of town, and she got that, but it didn’t leave her with much choice of where to go.
Yet, Cap seemed like a friend to that policeman, earlier in town, and the old guy seemed harmless enough, and she had—
‘Come on, girlie.’ Charlie took off his hat and held it to his chest, his eyes sombre, as he held open the passenger door. ‘We’re the good guys. Swear it on my precious wife’s soul we are.’
‘Yeah, all right.’ She gingerly climbed into the cab. It was old and dusty, but well taken care of. Assorted trucker caps lined the front dashboard, while a sun-faded red dog’s collar hung from the rear-view mirror. Stuck in the middle of the seat, she tried to make herself smaller to avoid touching the two men’s shoulders. ‘Is your name Cap from all the hats?’
‘You could say that.’
‘I like your truck. You don’t see many of these around.’ But she saw Cap’s big hands, callused and strong, on the steering wheel. His wrists were thick, and his forearms were muscular with thick veins hinting at this guy’s muscles, that could do some damage, if they wanted to .
‘I don’t like trucks that are full of computers and electric gadgets. If you have a problem, you can’t fix them when you’re out in the middle of the scrub.’ Cap put the beast into gear, and it began rolling towards what she hoped was a good thing. Even though her face pounded, the icepack was a true blessing. But what was she doing, squeezed into the front, between two strange men?
Cap casually gave her a side glance. His eyes were a rich malt-whisky colour, the kind of colour that evoked thoughts of warm malted milk drinks before a winter fireplace. ‘You know, I’m happy to drive you back to town.’
She shook her head, only to wince at the headache. ‘I’m good.’ If she kept telling herself that, she might wake up from this nightmare any second now. ‘So, um, what do you guys do?’
‘Me, I’m an old stockman who’s pretending he’s retired.’ Charlie gave her a playful nudge, enough to make her smile, even if her fat lip hurt. ‘Cap there, runs the station with his brothers.’
‘How many brothers?’
‘ of us. Ryder is the oldest. Then there’s Dex, me, followed by Ash, who has his partner, Harper, with him. They’ve got a boy, my nephew Mason there, too.’ Cap shared a grin at the mention of a child.
‘A family station.’
Cap nodded.
‘Do you live in the same house?’ she asked Charlie.
‘Nah, me and my granddaughter have the caretaker’s cottage.’
‘Which is better than the farmhouse, where two of my brothers live.’ Cap cracked a grin. ‘And then there’s Dex’s situation.’
‘Dex is squatting in the stockman’s shack.’ Charlie chuckled at some in-house joke.
‘And I’m renovating a demountable near the kennels.’ Cap then cleared his throat. ‘So, you’re at the mine?’
She plucked at the dirt and dog hair off her work shirt. ‘Was. I just finished my contract today. I was having knock-off drinks with the team.’
‘Team for what area?’
‘I’m…’ She gathered her courage to reveal her job title, which regularly made miners scowl at her. ‘I’m a mining revegetation specialist.’
‘For real?’ Cap eyes lit up like he’d struck gold. His hint of a grin made her look at him, like really look at him.
Cap was a rugged but stunningly handsome man—which was not what she needed right now.
But she couldn’t stop herself from taking in the details of how the sun and wind had etched lines of experience over his weathered face where a shadow of a beard complemented his strong jawline.
‘What sort of job is that?’ Charlie asked.
‘Basically, I plant trees.’
‘So that’d make you a specialist in digging holes, eh?’ Charlie cheekily winked at her.
‘Charlie’s old school. You’ll have to explain it to him.’
‘Well...’ She jutted out her tender, bruised chin. ‘I’m a tropical native botanist who specialises in soil repair. I love dirt so much I help repair mining site landscapes, which means planting a lot of trees.’
‘So, you’re one of them eco-thingies like Cap.’
She shrugged.
Cap shifted behind the steering wheel. ‘I might have a job for you, if you want?’
‘Doing what?’
‘I’m trying to work out where to create wildlife corridors to protect the soil. Last muster we had a killer sandstorm, and we lost topsoil.’
‘Worst one I’d seen in all my years,’ said Charlie.
‘Besides rehabilitating some areas on the station, I want to try some no-tilling, self-seeding feed crop methods, too.’ The excitement was evident in Cap’s voice, as he rested his thick wrists on the steering wheel of the Tojo that plodded along the dirt road.
‘But aren’t you a cattle producer?’ In her experience they were very protective of their carbon monoxide–producing cattle that accelerated climate change. But she wasn’t going to mention that to the guy helping her out of a jam.
‘It’s all gobbledegook to me,’ mumbled Charlie.
‘I’m trying to reduce our carbon emissions,’ said Cap.
She whipped her head around to face him. ‘Are you for real?’
Cap gave a curt nod. ‘Absolutely. My younger brother, Ash, is using his drone for certain jobs, to cut down on fossil fuels, while I’m focusing on using muster dogs and stockhorses to do the same. I’m always looking for the best ways to reduce our carbon emissions, and I’ve also been researching regenerative agriculture practices to increase our biodiversity.’
‘What the hell did you just say?’ Charlie asked.
Cap spoke so passionately as he sat higher behind the steering wheel. ‘It’s all about farming for the future by looking after the soil today. I know the changes are coming fast, where the market will be demanding carbon-neutral beef on their shelves, and I’m hoping Elsie Creek Station will be there, front and centre.’
‘I still don’t understand all that.’ Old Charlie shook his head. ‘Was that English?’
‘It means that the methane created by the cattle won’t hurt the environment, because we’re balancing out the amount of stock among the landmass in the way we create our crops, use our water, and maintain our trees.’ He grinned at Mia. ‘It’s possible, right?’
She just stared at him, nodding like a fool with wide eyes, while her mind tripped over: Where have you been all my life?
‘So, do you want a job? I could really use your input.’
All she could do was nod. Normally, men would baulk at her job, especially those in the mining and cattle industry. The mining execs ignored her, because she was there as part of a government policy, and most of them would call her a misplaced hippy. Some cattlemen were so set in their ways they’d rather ignore anyone telling them what science had proven, but this… ‘I’m in.’ Sweet sassy malassy she was in.
‘Great. You can help me explain it to my brothers.’
‘Eeerh—um…’ She sank back into her seat trying to make herself small while twisting her fingers. ‘I-I-I don’t like public speaking.’ She avoided all forms of public speaking. ‘And I—’
‘How about we let the girl settle in first?’
She gave Charlie a small thank-you nod.
‘No worries. When you’re ready, I’ll show you the property and I’m happy to pay for your time.’
Right now, all she wanted was to get rid of her headache, to stop her face from throbbing, and feel safe again.
The dogs started yapping as they drove through an enormous set of gates, then under a huge archway where a sturdy metal sign made of intricately woven metals like old lace proclaimed: Elsie Creek Station .
‘Dex did a good job grading the driveway, eh?’ Charlie nodded at the wide dirt track.
Cap nodded, his grip loose on the steering wheel. ‘Harper is happy she can get her car in and out for work. It won’t be long, and we’ll start shipping out our first load of fats, after we’ve done the drafting—where you’ll give us our cattle brand back.’
Cap side-eyed Charlie, who was mumbling under his breath as they travelled down the smooth track that ran alongside a dried-up dusty paddock. The track took a sweeping left bend, where rising from the dust was a weatherboard house. It stood on the right of a large clearing with a group of sheds at the far end.
‘Is this the homestead?’
‘Yep. That’s the farmhouse.’ Cap waved to the woman holding the hand of a small boy, who was eagerly waving at Cap. Beside them stood a seriously strong-looking shepherd, with a plump cream labrador, and a tail-wagging beagle.
‘You’ll have to introduce Mia to that police dog,’ said Charlie, also waving at the boy. ‘Swear that boy grew an inch overnight.’
‘You have a police dog?’ Mia guessed it had to be the dark shepherd, who was bristling with muscles.
‘Sarge is an ex-riot dog.’
‘Aren’t they dangerous? And you have that child.’
‘He’s well-trained, and he had nowhere to go. Sadly, his owner was killed on duty. No one else trusted the dog.’
‘But you do?’
‘I trust all my dogs. Never could say no to a stray.’ His malt-whisky eyes softened, displaying a deep level of kindness she hadn’t seen from anyone in a long time.
‘And that’s my place there—the caretaker’s cottage.’ Charlie spoke with such pride in his voice as he pointed at the stone cottage, with a large assortment of flourishing flowers in the front.
She wriggled out of the seat, only to discover her body ached all over. Her thighs and calves hurt from running, and her back was a massive cluster of thumping aches and bruises. She was a mess.
‘Oi, brEE. You round?’ Charlie whistled as he followed the stone path down the side of the cottage.
Cap opened the back cage, and the dogs spilled out like water gushing from a tap. Eight dogs, and all of them stocky cattle dogs.
She gasped at the realisation of what she’d done. The sheer desperation that forced her to her climb inside a cage full of strange dogs.
As Cap filled their water bucket, the working dogs sniffed at the soil, or found the nearest fence to do their doggy business. ‘That’ll keep them happy for a bit.’ He patted a few of the dogs, all of them wagging their tails.
‘The flowers are so pretty.’ She brushed her fingertips over the soft velvety rose petals that peeked through the iron fence. They blended well with the vibrant clusters of other assorted flowers, many of them not normally found in this part of the outback.
Cap pushed open the wrought-iron gate that had to be as old as the house. ‘This is nothing, wait until you see the backyard.’
They followed the stone pathway down the right side of the house where a tall wall of corrugated iron hid them from the outside world.
‘Sweet sassy malassy.’ Mia stopped on the edge of the backyard, her fingertips hovering over her swollen lip. She’d completely forgotten about her pain. ‘What is this place?’
‘I’d say it’s one of the oldest permaculture gardens in the region.’ Cap grinned, hooking his thumbs through the belt loops of the dusty jeans that hugged the man in all the right places. She shouldn’t even be noticing him like this, tearing her eyes back to the garden.
‘Amazing.’ The garden that is.
‘My wife started it, and now my granddaughter manages it.’ Charlie nodded at the yard filled with an assortment of vegetables.
‘I’ve never seen squash like this.’ Mia pointed at the strangely shaped summer squash that grew alongside luffa squashes and gourds, even some tri-coloured winter pumpkin shaped like a bell. ‘How? It’s winter with summer crops?’
‘I’d say they’ve adapted, considering they’ve been using the same seed stock for half a century, which would make them heirloom vegetables,’ explained Cap. ‘What do you think?’
‘This is incredible.’ Mia wanted to pluck at the vegetables she’d only seen in books. An oasis in the outback that filled the air with astonishing scents. It had her stomach rumbling.
‘brEE?’ Charlie hollered.
Mia jumped in fright. Swallowing hard, she looked back for an escape.
But Cap was there, holding out his hands to calm her down with his soothing tone. ‘It’s okay, Mia. You're safe here. I promise.’
‘I’m not normally this jumpy.’ Even if her heart was hammering in her chest, with her throat so dry and tight.
Cap said nothing, just giving her those sad eyes. She had to turn away.
‘I’m coming, Pop.’ The woman’s voice came from the left area of the back sheds. Horse stables stood on the right end of the corrugated fence line, and in the middle was a spectacular view of horses grazing in a paddock, which led to a group of trees and the rocky red escarpment. What a view.
Movement caught her eye and she turned to discover a meshed dome covering a raised garden bed. Inside it three hens were busily digging like tractors in the richest dark soil. It was so sweet, her dirt-loving fingers itched to dive in there.
A gate shut, and footsteps came down the stone path. ‘Where have you been, Charlie?’ The woman was hidden by a high trellis of sugar peas and snake beans.
‘I went to town with Cap to see a bloke about a dog.’
‘Is that your knitting circle where you blokes make jumpers you’ll never wear?’
‘I left you a note.’
‘Where?’
‘Kitchen. Wind must’ve blown it away.’
‘Uh huh. Which reminds me to update my spam filters, and to spray the house for note-stealing spinifex fairies.’
‘Anyhoodle, we picked up a stray.’ Charlie pointed at Mia. ‘Bree, meet Mia. She’s gonna crash on the couch for a bit.’
In a thick leather apron, Bree ripped off her long leather gloves, pulling off her skullcap to release a shocking spill of red curls. Mia had never seen so much hair.
‘Uh, hi, Bree.’
Bree said nothing for the longest time, while her green eyes took in the details. ‘Are you okay?’
Mia nodded, then shook her head, her eyes hot with tears. ‘This has never happened to me before.’
‘Aw, come here, precious.’ Bree swallowed Mia in a big sisterly hug.
Normally Mia didn’t hug anyone, but something inside her broke as she lowered her face into Bree’s soft hair, gently scented with lavender and vanilla. Or was that pecan?
‘I’ve got you. You’re safe now, precious.’ Bree rubbed her back in a soothing manner.
‘Told ya my granddaughter would be an instant friend.’ Charlie nodded. ‘Come on, Cap, let’s leave ‘em to it. Mia’s in good hands now.’
‘I’ll check on you later, Mia. If you need anything, let me know.’ Cap nodded at her, clearly concerned for her, before he followed Charlie.
Strangely, Mia didn’t want Cap to leave. She wanted to say thanks. She wanted to stop blubbering, but was helpless as her shoulders slumped, and the adrenaline leached out of her to leave her a hot thumping mess.