Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Brooke
Goats.
There were actual goats headbutting the car and jumping on it like a god damn playground. Brooke had never seen anything like it and the relief had her bursting out with laughter. JJ began to shake next to her, still grasping Brooke’s arm as she joined in on the giggles.
“At this rate, I don’t even care if the goats are damaging the car,” JJ said.
“I’m just happy they’re not serial killers.
And it’s morning.” She let out a long sigh, ending on a little chuckle.
“C’mon we might as well herd these guys away from the car.
I think I've got the rest of those BBQ Shapes around here somewhere…” JJ grunted as she reached into the footwell and felt around.
“Got ‘em.” She held up the box and unlocked the door.
Brooke threw a jumper on and scrambled after her.
She stepped out into the morning air and hissed, rubbing her arms. She reached back inside the car and pulled everything out of her bag until she found her beanie.
Necessary. Back outside, it was getting lighter, and Brooke could now see all six goats surrounding the car.
The one closest to them, with a black and white mixed coat, bleated and beelined for the green box.
JJ held it up high, the other goats taking a step back at the sudden movement.
“Right you lot, away from the car.” JJ shook the box to get their attention as Brooke waved her arms around behind them in an effort to get them to move and warm herself up.
Success! They started following JJ like the pied piper into the bush.
Brooke brought up the rear, treading carefully over the rocky soil, avoiding any remotely spiky shrubs.
JJ stopped once they’d gained some distance.
“I'm gonna call you Nancy,” she said to the black and white goat who trotted straight up to her. “I bet you were the one tap dancing on my roof like a bloody menace. Don't you have a farm you should be on?”
Brooke chuckled at the display. JJ met her eyes, grin widening.
While this wasn’t the start she’d envisioned for JJ, it was nice to see her pivoting this morning—accepting their bizarre situation with the wild goats and running with it.
Even with everything that had happened, they hadn’t missed out on much in terms of their itinerary.
Brooke only had them checking into their accommodation and relaxing for the night.
With any luck, they’d still be on schedule for today.
Nancy courteously ate the two biscuits out of JJ’s hand then headbutted her for more. “You cheeky devil. Where’re your manners?”
The biscuit box was wrenched from JJ, Nancy taking full advantage of the moment’s distraction. Brooke couldn’t do anything but watch on, laughter spilling from her lips.
“Oi! Come here.” JJ chased after Nancy, who was currently—and very effectively—evading her lunges. It was quite the show.
“You could help you know?” JJ threw over her shoulder.
“And ruin this entertainment? Never.” Brooke hugged herself tighter and watched on. The other goats had lost interest in the antics and began trotting deeper into the scrub.
JJ feinted to the left and launched to the right, hand clamping down on the corner of the box as Nancy tried to jump out of the way. She bleated, indignant the biscuits had been removed from her possession.
“No more,” JJ scolded the goat and hid the box behind her back.
“Go on. Off with your friends. That way.” She motioned with her free hand at the disappearing group of four-legged firecrackers, off to cause mischief and destruction somewhere else.
Nancy cried out one final time, then turned to see the rest of the group had already left.
She took off, kicking up rocks and dust as she went.
Brooke waltzed up to JJ and wrapped an arm around her. JJ’s eyes blew wide at the sudden proximity, and Brooke had to bite down on a smile. She rustled around and withdrew her hand, now filled with a handful of BBQ Shapes.
“I’m starving. Didn’t want all our snacks to go to the goats.” She playfully tossed a couple into her mouth.
“Right,” JJ said, a little breathlessly.
The sun was bursting over the ridge now, lighting up lush green hills and an old, red-stained dirt road, overgrown with shrubs and grass. It looked more used by the local wildlife than vehicles. A small sign stood out near where they’d pulled in the night before.
“Walk with me,” Brooke said. She shoved the last biscuits in her mouth and wiped her hands on her pants. JJ fell in step beside her as they strolled over to the sign and a weathered bench, the wood barely holding itself together.
“I guess this is the ‘lookout’,” Brooke said. “Riveting.”
“My butt hurts just thinking about the splinters we’d get if we attempted to sit on that.” JJ ran her hand over her behind, drawing Brooke’s eye.
That was one glimpse of JJ she hadn’t expected last night.
Then they saw the sign.
No camping. No access.
Oops. Well, breaking down and camping were two completely different things.
But now they’d sorted the goats, it was time to sort the car.
Brooke had an idea.
“I swear I saw a mechanic shop as we drove through Hawker last night, so we can—oh, hear that?” Brooke jogged down the dirt path to the edge of the road just as a farm truck bumbled over the slight hill.
Brooke waved her arms wildly with a grin.
The truck slowed at the very last minute, brakes squeaking as it pulled off to the side.
A man wound down the window. It was a very normal-looking young guy in an old flannel shirt and battered Akubra. Phew.
“Morning,” she said. “Any chance of a lift to Hawker?”
With a quick explanation of everything that’d happened, minus the goats, Harvey—a chicken farmer it turned out—was more than happy to take them to town. With a skip and a hop, she settled into a jog back to JJ, grinning from ear to ear.
“Quick, grab your bag. He’ll take us. And no, he's not a serial killer; he's a chicken farmer.”
“That’s what they all say.” JJ squinted. “Chickens could be a ploy to make you think he's a regular guy.”
Brooke ignored her, lips still curving up. She wasn’t about to play into the woman’s irrational horror movie fears.
Harvey was fine, just as Brooke promised.
Though JJ was pushed up against Brooke’s side so hard the whole ride, it was as if she thought the truck was going to bite her.
The painter only eased up once Harvey spoke about his farm work in such detail, there was no way he could be anything more sinister.
Twenty minutes later, they were in town. And not only did Harvey drop them off in Hawker, but he also offered them a dozen eggs fresh from his farm. Bless. With a polite decline and a wave goodbye, they dashed across the road to the mechanic. Brooke pushed the door. It didn't budge.
“It’s closed,” JJ said. She pointed to the now very obvious sign.
“Well, shit.”
JJ checked the time. “It’ll be open in an hour. Maybe there's somewhere around here that does coffee.”
Brooke did a quick search of the area on her phone. “Right around the corner.”
“Convenient when the entire town is only two streets wide.”
An old bell dinged as they entered the cafe. The scent of roasted coffee beans and grilled bacon were thick in the air. They'd come to the right place to wait. Her stomach gurgled, not happy with only the few biscuits she’d fed it this morning.
They sat in two armchairs by the front window. A small coffee table was wedged between them, topped off with a couple of Women’s Weekly magazines. They looked at least five years old. Hopefully the food was fresher than the decor.
“So,” JJ said while they waited for their order. “You mentioned you were job hunting. What do you do?”
Brooke leaned back in the chair. She hadn’t thought about the work situation once in the last twelve hours. It was the last thing she wanted to think about. A job was just a necessary thing she had to do in order to have money to travel. The particulars weren't important.
“What haven't I done would be a shorter list. Bar work, hostel manager, kitchen assistant—you name it, I’ve probably done it.” She glanced out the window, dusty with red dirt. A road train rumbled down the highway
“Oh. But you've never worked in travel? More a traveller who worked as you roamed?”
“Bingo. I go where the money flows. Or, at least, I used to. The scene has changed over the years. Prices have doubled or tripled in some places with increased tourism.”
“I had no idea.”
Brooke pulled her lips tight. “Hence, why I’m here. I needed a break for a bit. To give myself some time to reevaluate if I could do things differently.”
“But Australia is expensive. I mean you said you came from, what—Indonesia, right? Why not just stay there and live on the cheap?”
“I wasn't making more than I was spending.” It was so tiring constantly making it work.
JJ’s eyebrows furrowed, so briefly Brooke almost missed it. Brooke crossed her legs. She didn't need to be judged, especially by someone who didn't know her.
“I also had family to come back to here.” Even if she’d stayed with them as a last resort and had come to question that decision.
JJ cocked her head to the side, gaze boring into Brooke. “Listen, it's probably not my place, but Hayl—”
“It's not,” Brooke snapped. This conversation was shutting down right now.
JJ shifted in her seat. Thankfully, the waitress chose that moment to bring out their coffees. Brooke worked to relax her jaw, reminding herself that JJ wasn’t the enemy.
“So, looking forward to getting things back on track today?” Brooke asked.
If JJ was thrown by the jump, she didn’t show it. “Please. I’m looking forward to seeing what amazing things you’ve planned. The unplanned ones, I’m happy to leave in the past.”
“Life is full of unplanned surprises. That’s just living. I don’t think it’s something you can avoid.”
JJ blew on her coffee and took a sip. “Not when you’re around.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brooke folded her arms.
“Well, it’s only the start of the trip and it’s already been way off the rails.”
“You can’t blame me. It’s not my fault your car broke down. I also didn’t push you into a spiky bush with your pants down, nor did I gather a bunch of hellbent feral goats to trample your car.”
JJ looked sheepish, a small smile appearing behind her mug as she took another sip of coffee, attempting to appear nonchalant. “Well, when you put it that way...”
They stared at each other a beat, then dissolved into silent giggles just as the waitress brought over their breakfast.
“Looks delicious, thanks,” Brooke said to the older woman, trying to compose herself.
Once they were alone again, she asked JJ, “How’s your, uh, backside?”
JJ slid her cutlery out of the packet. “Fine, a little tender. Like a bruise. I won’t be doing that again anytime soon.”
“No, I’d imagine it’d be pretty hard to recreate those specific circumstances.”
Brooke smiled, happy to be back on lighter topics and away from anything to do with family or finding a job.
The rest of the hour flew by. JJ left to meet with the mechanic, while Brooke contacted their accommodation with an update on their arrival. When JJ returned with a wide grin in place, Brooke was just finishing the last sip of her second coffee.
JJ dropped back into the seat opposite. “Mechanic said it sounded like the radiator, and if so, the car should be towed, then fixed within a couple of hours.”
Brooke placed her mug on the coffee table. Must be nice to have the kind of stable income to throw at an issue like that. If it were Brooke, she would be scrounging for odd jobs to cover the cost.
“Not bad at all,” Brooke said, focusing back on the trip. “Really, we’ve only lost half a day, and look at the adventure it’s been!”
JJ didn’t indulge her with a response.