Page 51 of Road to Rosalee

Zai offered her a knowing glance. ‘So it appears you do like Indian curry, Hasselhoof?’

Hasselhoof’s shoulders lifted. ‘Fills the gap, I s’pose.’ He took bigger than usual sidewinder steps back to his chair.

‘Have you gone and put a bigger than normal stick up ya butt, Mister Grumbles?’ Showbags dared to ask, his face the picture of mischief.

‘Lay off, would ya?’ Hasselhoof groused, glaring in Showbags’s direction. ‘If you’d spent the best part of your childhood with your legs wrapped around a milk bucket, and the rest of your days glued to a saddle, you’d probably walk a little different too, buckaroo.’

‘I’m no American cowboy, Hasselhoof. It’s jackaroo to you, thanks.’ Trying to appear serious, Showbags couldn’t hide the tilt of a smirk forming on his lips.

Hasselhoof made the growling sound he always did when he was about to blow his stack.

Melody and Zai briefly locked amused gazes.

‘So who here knows where the term jackaroo came from?’ Slim asked quickly, as if trying to sway the conversation to a lighter one. ‘Anyone?’ Folding his hands, he rested his elbows on his knees, eyeing everyone with keen interest.

‘It was originally a white settler that chose to live outside the boundaries of a settlement,’ Hasselhoof said nonchalantly before shoving a pappadum in his mouth.

‘Nah way, I’ve been told that jackaroo was made up from a combination of the common name back then, Jack, and the Aussie icon, the kangaroo,’ Showbags added enthusiastically.

Tumbles chuckled. ‘Aw, come on, Showbags, that’s bullshit and you know it.’

‘Excuse me, mister, but …’ Showbags’s brows shot up and he shook his head as if about to scold a child. ‘It says it in the Oxford dictionary.’

‘Pfft, pull the other one, it does not,’ Hasselhoof bellyached.

Showbags turned his attention to the grumbling old coot. ‘Does too.’

Hasselhoof gritted his teeth as his gaze turned to slits. ‘Does. Bloody. Not.’ Every word was fired like bullets. ‘Do us a favour and grow up, would ya?’

‘Far out, righto.’ Showbags held his hands up. ‘Stop being a grouch all the bloody time. I was just stirring Tumbles is all.’

Scraping the last of his dinner from his tin bowl, Hasselhoof eyed Showbags like he was about to reach out and wallop him. ‘Stop calling me a grouch, ’cause I promise you, this ain’t anywhere near grouchy.’ He stood, dumped his bowl into the washing-up container, yanked his bag from the shadows, and stomped away, grumbling to himself.

‘We love you too, Hasselhoof,’ Showbags called after him.

‘Eff you, smartarse,’ was the short, sharp response from the darkness.

Zai tossed his screwed-up napkin in Showbags’s direction. ‘Stop stirring the old bugger, would you?’

‘Ha, I can’t help myself, he’s just so much fun to bait.’ Showbags rose from his heels and gathered the plates from everyone. ‘I’ll do the washing up tonight, you lot just kick back, or whatever you want to do.’

‘Oh, cheers, big ears.’ Slim stood too and gathered his bathroom bag. ‘I’m off in the opposite direction to Hasselhoof for a freshen up.’

‘I’ll head into yonder thata way, then,’ Tumbles added, pointing off to the right, well out of the way of his two fellow stockmen.

That left Melody alone with Zai, and she liked it, possibly a little too much. Full to the brim and feeling cosy by the fire, and in his company, she stretched her legs out, half stifling a yawn. ‘I suppose a hot shower is out of the question?’

‘Ha, you suppose right.’ He offered her an amused sideways glance. ‘Afraid out here, it’s a bucket of cold bore water and a washcloth, if you’re lucky.’

She shivered at the thought. ‘I can’t believe how cold it gets as soon as the sun is gone.’

‘Damn straight it does. It goes from one extreme to the other.’

‘Hmm, yeah, this place seems to have the capacity for extremes.’ Resting her head back, she found herself lost in the vastness of the star-studded universe circling around them, as if she were seeing so far, she could make out the curves of the earth. ‘It’s so peaceful out here. Almost ear-ringing, if that makes any sense.’

‘It makes perfect sense.’ The crackling campfire was now glowing red embers, and smoke coiled up and into the velvet black sky. ‘It’s a whole other world, isn’t it?’ Zai took his gaze from the beauty of it to her. ‘Stunning, in fact.’

‘It sure is.’ She couldn’t help but wonder if he was referring to her.