Fifteen
The dingo’s howl was so close and so clear, Mia woke with a start to Willow’s cold nose pressing against her cheek where she slept on the couch in the caretaker’s cottage.
‘ Bree ?’ Yellow light spilled from Charlie’s bedroom door as it opened. It highlighted the kitchen. ‘Did you hear them?’
‘I did, Pop.’ On the other side of the room, Bree came out of her bedroom fully dressed in jeans and riding boots, braiding her red hair into a thick rope-like plait.
She scooped up a long, heavy coat from the hat rack, sliding it on as she unlocked a metal cupboard filled with assorted guns. ‘Get dressed, Pop. I want you to take the Razorback and wake Ryder. It’s their herd. You can reach me on the radio.’
‘Where are you going?’ Mia quickly slid into her overalls.
‘To ride out and protect the herd. We don’t need a midnight stampede happening.’ Bree shoved a box of bullets into her coat pocket, snatched up a bottle of water from the fridge, slapped on her wide-brimmed hat, grabbed one of the stockwhips and was out the door.
‘You up for a bit of adventure, girlie?’ Charlie sat on the kitchen chair and slid on his boots.
‘To do what?’
‘You would’ve done some spotlighting on your family farm, eh?’
‘I did. My brother hunted rabbits.’
‘Good. I’ll get you to operate the spotlight.’ Charlie handed her a rifle and a few boxes of bullets before closing their ammunition cupboard. ‘Put your boots on and do a toilet run before we skedaddle. I’ll go first.’ He closed the bathroom door, while Mia slipped on her boots.
‘HEE-YAH!’ Bree’s shout was soon followed by a fierce gallop of horse hooves.
Mia couldn’t get dressed quick enough as Charlie grabbed torches and water bottles.
Another haunting howl echoed in the air. It made Mia’s skin crawl.
‘The buggers are close.’ Charlie narrowed his eyes at the open back door that only showed a deep blackness. ‘Leave your dog here, girlie. We don’t want Willow tangling with them wild ones. It’s why Cap keeps his dogs in kennels at night—to protect them.’ Charlie slipped on his jacket, before sliding on his sweat-stained Akubra with its distinctive crocodile leather band.
‘Want a jacket?’ He pointed to the rack filled with assorted coats, hats, leather aprons, stockwhips, and spurs. Underneath stood a row of assorted boots.
‘I have a jumper.’ Mia grabbed her water bottle, holding her jumper with her teeth, she slung the rifle’s strap over her shoulder while shoving boxes of bullets down the front pocket of her overalls, as she raced after Charlie.
By the back door, Charlie nodded at Willow. ‘Tell the dog to stay or she’ll break out and follow.’
‘Stay, Willow. Please, stay. I’ll be back soon, I promise.’ Mia patted the dog, securely closing the wooden door behind her.
The excitement and the sense of urgency had her scrambling as the cool outback air nipped at her skin. She scurried after Charlie, who’d quickly headed for the dark sheds, only guided by torchlight.
At one o’clock in the morning the world was draped in a deep galaxy of stars that allowed the cool heavy dew to fall like an ice blanket. Mia wished she had borrowed one of Charlie’s coats.
Inside the shed, the corrugated walls amplified the sound of a deep-throated engine roaring to life, so loud it hurt her ears.
It belonged to a fierce-looking vehicle you’d expect to find in a Mad Max movie. It was a four-wheel drive, with its top half cleanly cut free, leaving only two front seats and a steering wheel, with a large bionic arm and a serious steel bull bar across the front. It had no front windshield or doors or anything for safety like airbags or seatbelts. In the back, it held steel bench seats that ran down the sides like a troop carrier. The odd thing that stood out most was the baby seat in the middle of the two front seats.
‘I’m guessing the baby seat is for Mason?’ Mia helped Charlie load up the vehicle, before taking the passenger seat.
‘That boy loves this thing. I reckon he’ll be driving it the second his toes hit the floor pedals, just like Bree did.’ Thick diesel smoke spewed out of the twin exhaust stacks like you’d expect to find on the sides of a huge semi-truck.
‘What is this thing?’
‘This here is the Razorback.’ Charlie’s wide grin deepened his many weatherworn wrinkles, as he flicked on a bank of spotlights that lit up the world in hot white light.
‘A what?’
‘The Razorback is a bull catcher, and a bloody good one at that.’ He crunched the gears, and the rumbling beast roared with its lethal V8 engine, as Charlie steered towards the farmhouse where he hammered on a foghorn you’d expect to find on a ship!
Mia flinched in the passenger seat, while holding her ears. ‘Sweet sassy malassy that’s loud.’ It was enough to wake the dead.
‘Gotta get their attention somehow.’ Charlie chuckled as he pushed the horn again.
Hoooonk.
The shepherd they called Sarge, howled with the horn from the front verandah.
The porch lights flickered on as Ryder pushed open the screen door. Slipping on a shirt, Ryder was a wall of muscle. But his scowl was super scary. ‘You’d better have a bloody good reason to play with that horn, Charlie.’
‘Dingoes are makin’ a helluva racket up near the herd.’
BOOM!
Running over to meet them, Dex and Cap flinched like Mia did in the passenger seat as the sound of a shotgun blast rang in the air. But Ryder and Charlie remained calm.
‘Don’t tell me that’s Bree out there.’ Ryder pulled on his boots and jacket.
‘Bree’s on horseback,’ said Charlie. ‘You can reach her on the radio.’
Ash rushed outside wearing only boxer shorts. Another brother with nothing but a torso of muscle. Was it a Riggs family trait? Whatever it was, Harper was a lucky lady.
‘Did I hear a gunshot?’ Ash asked.
‘It’s those damned dingoes.’ Dex dashed past him, heading into the farmhouse.
Ryder slid on his hat while trotting down the front steps to the Razorback. ‘Move over, Charlie, I’m driving.’
‘Oi.’
‘Don’t argue with me. I’m not leaving Bree out there alone another second. And I drive a helluva lot quicker than you, old man.’
BOOM!
‘Damn that woman.’ Ryder mumbled an explosive set of expletives under his breath. ‘Ash, stay with your family. Car is full.’
‘No worries. You lot be safe,’ said Ash. ‘I’ll put the coffee on.’
More lights flicked on inside the farmhouse to the sound of Mason crying.
Dex rushed back out with his arms full of weapons. A hessian bag swung off his shoulder. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Take my seat, Charlie.’ Mia scrambled into the back. Ryder slid into the driver’s seat as Charlie scooted over, and Dex and Cap jumped in the back. The sturdy vehicle dropped from the weight of all the men and their weaponry.
‘Are you up for this, Mia?’ asked Cap, doing up the buttons on his shirt hiding another toned torso—it stopped her ability to speak.
‘I told Mia she could man the spotlight while you boys play with the guns,’ said Charlie from the front passenger seat. ‘I might not have the eye for shooting like I used to, but I can help you mob load up.’
‘Done.’ Shoving a handful of bullets into his pockets, Dex passed the heavy hessian bag to Charlie who handed out headlamps and handheld radios, while Dex started loading up the assorted guns, he’d laid across the floor.
Ryder gunned the deep rumbling engine as Ash waved from the well-lit verandah, and they were on their way.
In between working his way through the gears, Ryder flicked on the CB radio embedded in the dashboard of the Razorback. On the front by the bull bar, its long thick radio antenna flexed against the wind. ‘Bree? Ryder, here.’
‘Didn’t you take your sweet time to join the party, cupcake.’ Bree’s voice had the same teasing tone as always, but she was out there on her own.
‘Where are you?’ Ryder steered them past the sheds where nothing but dark open country lay before them.
‘Wrong question, cupcake. You’ll want to know where the—’
‘Where. Are. YOU. People come first.’ Ryder was adamant.
Bree huffed over the radio. ‘I’m by the herd. They’re safe.’
‘See, Bree’s in mother-bear mode. Of course, the herd is safe.’ Dex chuckled from his seat, only for Ryder to turn around and glare.
‘Look, if you’re coming from the back of the sheds,’ Bree said over the CB radio’s speakers, ‘I’d suggest you change course. Sorry, but they got one of your heifers. I’ve sent the pack running, so you might want to go after them.’
As if barely containing the anger at the loss of their livestock, Ryder gripped the CB radio’s microphone in one hand, while steering the Razorback with the other. ‘How big is the dingo pack?’
‘Listen, Ryder…’ All traces of humour as well as the nickname disappeared as Bree said, ‘They weren’t dingoes. It’s a pack of six wild dogs. Big bastards, too. I’ve scared them off towards the drafting yards.’
‘Dammit.’ Ryder cursed again, planting his foot heavily on the accelerator and the Razorback tore to the right at breakneck speed down the bumpy dirt track, sending a plume of dust high into the night skies.
‘Aw, crap.’ Cap shut his eyes, shaking his lowered head.
‘Why is that different to dingoes? They’re a wild dog, too. Right?’ Mia asked Cap.
‘Traditionally, dingoes are solitary hunters that prey on smaller forms of wildlife, like wallabies and possums. Unless they’re training their pups before they leave to become solitary hunters, then they’ll hunt in loose packs and will take our calves,’ explained Cap.
‘These aren’t dingos, brother. You heard, Bree.’ Dex held the butt of the shotgun to his leg and fed large plastic casings down the magazine tube.
The Razorback hit a pothole forcing it to drop, making Mia’s bum lift off the seat. She lost her grip and had nothing to cling onto. ‘Oh, no.’ She latched onto Cap’s chest, gripping his shirt in her fists.
‘Gotcha.’ Cap wrapped his arm around her as if cocooning her in his aroma of outdoors and sultry male. ‘Why don’t you sit in front of me while Ryder’s racing to catch the pack. Hold onto Charlie’s seat.’ His large hands were warm on her back as he effortlessly picked her up and put her down beside him. ‘There.’
Again, his large hands swamped hers, ensuring she got a grip on the rail that ran along the back of the front seats. ‘Good?’
She barely nodded, while trying to hide her disappointment when he sat back beside Dex and continued loading his gun.
Ryder drove them deeper into the night where the spotlights caught the tops of fluffy leafed eucalyptus trees. They soon fell back to open country where the wind whipped around them as they bumped along the track under a massive sea of stars. With the moon rising on the distant escarpment, it would have been magnificent—if not for the breakneck speed and bumpy track.
She needed to focus on something else, so of course she focused on Cap. ‘What were you going to say about the wild dogs?’
‘They—’
‘Hunt in bloodthirsty packs.’ Dex scowled as he slid the loaded rifles securely into the gun racks that ran behind the front seats, like fishing rod holders. He then handed Ryder the shotgun.
Ryder jammed it into the gun holder close to the steering wheel, with his eyes on the dirt road bathed in hot white light where wallabies fled from the sides. ‘Wild dogs are coordinated, vicious creatures that can have an enormous impact on our herd.’
Dex lifted his seat like the lid of a deep box, to drag out some thick poles. ‘The problem with a wild dog pack is once they’ve got the taste for blood, they’ll massacre the herd.’ He then dropped a brotherly hand on Cap’s shoulder. ‘I’m sorry, brother, it has to happen.’
Cap’s head hung low, with his eyes squeezed shut. ‘I know. I know.’
With one hand still gripping the rail, Mia slid back closer to Cap and gave his hand a squeeze, wishing she hadn’t climbed on board. This was a big ask for a man who rescued canines.
Dex slammed the poles together to construct a sturdy tripod. ‘Where’s that spotlight?’
‘Here. Mia’s gonna man it.’ Charlie rummaged under the raised passenger seat, to pass back a massive globe to Dex, who slid it into place on the sturdy tripod.
‘Up you get.’ Dex beckoned to Mia with a crooked finger.
The thick steel poles were cold under her fingers, as her hair whipped around her face, now facing the full brunt of the wind as Ryder continued to drive as if in some high-speed police chase, except they were hurtling through the outback.
She had no clue where they were going as there were no signs, no streetlights, not even a road. It only made her grip the poles tighter.
‘You’ll want to make slow sweeping arcs,’ explained Dex, helping her to stand behind the tripod as they bounced over the rubble. ‘If you see anything, you hold the light on them and blind them. Ryder will steer towards what you find, and I’ll take care of the rest.’ Dex pulled back the rifle’s hammer, and leaned over the steel bar, armed and ready for anything.
Mia held the large light, the size of a human head, the weight heavy in her hands as she made slow sweeps over a sleeping land. ‘Am I doing this right?’
‘You’re doing fine. Here…’ Cap stood right behind her, his arms on either side of her, correcting her stance. ‘Hold it here.’ Again, his large hands swamped hers to show her the small, raised lip that made for handles. ‘Got it?’
‘I do.’ It kept her steady, or he did, with her back pressed to his chest, and her heart flying. But so was her hair, fluttering in her face. She spat at the ends, wiping at her windswept mop.
‘Hold on, I’ve got something for that.’ Cap leaned forward to the front and grabbed something wrapped around the gearstick. ‘Will this help?’ He held out an elastic hair band.
‘Yours?’ She even grinned.
His smile was glorious. ‘It’s Harper’s or Bree’s? I think. May I?’
‘Please. I’m scared to let go.’
‘We can’t have that.’ From behind, he gently gathered back her hair, to then slip it into a ponytail. ‘There. Not too tight?’
‘It’s fine. Thank you.’
‘This will help more.’ He removed his own cap, adjusted the back and slipped it on her head, backwards. ‘How’s that.’
‘Perfect.’ Her hair wasn’t bothering her now. Thank the heavens he was there. ‘Thank you.’
‘Are you okay to do this?’ His eyes displayed a clear worry for her and what was ahead. So of course, she began to worry for him.
‘I understand you’re protecting the herd. My father did the same. But are you okay?’
Cap gave a resigned shrug as he picked up his rifle. ‘I hate it, but they are dangerous when they’re locked into that wild-pack mentality. I don’t want them near the house, they could attack our dogs, and Mason’s there, too.’ Cap cocked back the hammer of his rifle, resting it over the bar, like Dex, who looked ready to kill anything.
‘We’re here,’ called out Ryder and he started to slow down.
‘You’re on, Mia.’ Cap gave her an encouraging nod.
The massive sweeping beam of bright-hot white light was like a camera flash, highlighting everything from the dew glistening on the blades of grass, to the red eyes of a possum wedged in the trunk’s fork of a large gum tree.
When something caught her attention, she steered the heavy light.
‘THERE!’ The spotlight shone on a pack of massive dogs, much bigger than wolves, their pelts covered in blood. A few of them growled as if ready to attack.
A volley of gunshots rang in her ears as Ryder steered the Razorback closer.
‘ Keep that spotlight on them, Mia. ’ Dex passed his rifle to Charlie, who was reloading them in the front seat.
‘ Two more. THERE!’
Again, another volley of shots shattered the night. The stench of gunpowder was strong against her sinuses, as her sweaty grip struggled to hold the spotlight, now hot in her hands. It was the most fearsome thing she’d ever done.
Hold on. No, it wasn’t.
She’d run from a man who’d hit her.
And here she was in a car with no seatbelts, no roof, no helmets, hooning along the dirt with no road, under a rising moon, in a race across the outback. She’d never felt more alive.
‘We got ‘em, kid.’ Charlie spoke over the radio to Bree.
‘All six?’ Bree’s voice was clear over the speakers now they’d stopped.
‘They sure did,’ Charlie replied as Ryder dragged out a tarp from under his seat, while Dex and Cap jumped out to check on their targets, hidden in the dry grass.
With the light kept on the men to do their work, Mia turned away, flexing her stiff hands from keeping a tight grip on the spotlight. The globe shed so much heat, she was tempted to remove her jumper.
‘Here, Charlie. Let me talk to her.’ Ryder took the radio’s handheld microphone as he climbed back into the driver’s seat as Dex and Cap carried the heavy tarp roll between them. ‘Bree? How long are you staying out there?’
‘Until dawn. I’ll play nightwatchman and sing lullabies to the herd until someone brings me a coffee and some snacks.’
‘Out there on her own?’ Mia flared her eyes at Charlie, fearing for her friend who’d done so much for her.
‘That kid’s done it plenty of times before, girlie. Don’t you worry none, Bree’s fearless.’
Mia wanted to be fearless like Bree, too. Hanging out with Charlie and the Riggs brothers on this midnight adventure was the perfect medicine she didn’t know she needed.
She craned her neck up at the sky filled with an astounding depth of stars and smiled to herself, feeling that inner strength re-emerge inside her. It was like she’d found her courage again, to no longer be afraid of the dark.
Charlie snatched the radio’s microphone back from Ryder. ‘You want my company, kid?’
‘I’m good, Pop. You get your rest, especially if you’re spending a day in the drafting yards. And before you complain, old man, I want you to keep the Razorback away for a bit. After that bit of gunplay, the herd’s spooked enough as it is. We don’t want a midnight stampede happening.’
There was a large thud, as Cap and Dex dropped the heavy tarp over the bonnet. ‘Bree is right,’ Cap said, tossing the rope to Dex so they could tie it in place. ‘We can’t have the herd running in the dark in a panic, they’ll hurt themselves.’
Dex wiped his hands on a cloth before climbing on board. ‘You can drop me and Cap off at the back of the sheds. We’ll dig a pit there to burn the carcasses.’
‘Why?’ It seemed a bit extreme to Mia.
Cap cleaned his hands with water from a bottle. ‘Wild dogs are usually infested with either worms, ticks, or parvo. And those dogs are a lot lighter than they should be for their build. I don’t want them infecting our dogs.’
‘Hey, you don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’ve had this dog issue tonight, when we had Leo show up earlier?’ Dex drank thirstily from his water bottle.
Ryder scowled as he slammed the Razorback into gear. ‘I’ll be getting out at the stables on the way through.’ He steered towards the homestead in a much more sedate fashion than earlier.
‘Are you going to help Bree?’ Charlie asked.
Ryder nodded. ‘The rest of you get some sleep and meet us out there at daybreak. If I know Bree, and if the cattle are that jumpy, she’ll start mustering under moonlight, which will put us ahead of our plans to start the drafting.’ He pointed to the large moon that hung like a massive light globe in the sky.
‘How can they see the cattle to move them in the dark? Mia asked Cap.
‘The brahman’s white coats will be easy enough to see in the moonlight.’
‘I taught my granddaughter well, that herd will follow her.’ Charlie gave a proud nod. ‘I’ll pinch some of the coffee Ash was making for the thermos to take to Bree. I’ll lend you one, too. And some smoko.’
Ryder nodded, keeping his eyes on the road, steering them back to the homestead.
Charlie spun around in his seat. ‘How are you at making sandwiches, girlie?’
‘I’m okay. Nothing flash.’ Mia shrugged, once again holding the spotlight. ‘Why?’
‘If Bree’s gonna be out mustering she won’t have time to make lunches like she’d planned. She’s already made roast whatnots, cupcakes, and everything else. All we need to do is whack ‘em together. We’ll make a few for Ryder to take with him to meet Bree.’
‘Now I’m hungry,’ said Dex.
Mia nodded, suddenly famished as well.
‘You did good, Mia, well done.’ Dex patted her shoulder like a mate. ‘You can sit down now.’
Her inner pride had her smiling, more at the realisation that Gavin hadn’t beaten her, not after this little adventure.
She sat beside Cap as Dex stripped the spotlight’s tripod apart. ‘Are you okay?’
Cap nodded. ‘I should ask you that.’
Now away from the spotlight’s heat, the wind blasted her with icy cold air. She huddled closer, using Cap as a windbreak as her grin grew on its own. ‘The rush . I know I’m supposed to be all about the environment, but…’ Her teeth chattered, unsure if it was the cold air or the adrenaline passing.
‘I get it.’ He winked at her. ‘Want my jacket?’
‘No, you’ll need it. Just block the wind.’
‘We can share.’ He slung an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close to his side. The fresh outback air blended beautifully with his earthy aroma of mixed spicy sandalwood, making her inhale deeper. She was deliciously warm here, sliding her arm around his waist, dropping her cheek against his strong shoulder as they swayed to the bumps and dips of the rocky road. And when his arm tightened around her it became the safest place on the planet. Her ex was exactly that—her ex, gone and buried in the outback’s dusty dark behind her. Now looking forward to tomorrow’s muster.