Page 21 of Jillaroo from Jacaranda

Chucking the four-wheel drive into gear and hitting the accelerator, he felt his old LandCruiser choke then splutter. He walloped the dash. ‘Come on, girl. We’re almost there, don’t give up on me now.’ Sucking in a breath, he tried a gentler approach with the accelerator and the truck lurched forward. ‘That’s the way, girl. Just keep on plugging,’ he said, patting the dash this time round as he rattled over the first cattle grid of the five that led to the homestead.

He’d love to buy a new truck, but with the mortgage looming over him, and now the pressure to pay Kelly her very unfair share of something she hadn’t put a dime or drop of sweat into – money she and his cousin would just piss up the wall – he didn’t have the funds to revel in such unnecessary luxuries. With his bull-riding winnings and the upcoming sale of his cattle to the meatworks, he’d just slide in with the sixty-five thousand he needed. Then he’d be starting from scratch again.

He was making ends meet, for now, but one unforeseen cost and he risked losing everything. And by god, he loved this land, as parched and as unforgiving as it could sometimes be. He’d put everything he had into it, blood, sweat, tears, money, sometimes his sanity – as taxing as it was, he wouldn’t want his life any other way.

Admiring a mob of his Droughtmaster cattle as he rolled past the long stretch of barbed-wire fencing that had taken an age to complete, he felt a sense of pride for what he’d accomplished over the past eighteen months, predominantly with his own bare hands. Old Don had helped him where he could, but with a stockman’s back and bow-legged gait from his sixty odd years in the saddle, Don had earnt his retirement. And Ty didn’t mind the backbreaking work; it had been his saving grace, a way to escape the lingering terror of the nightmares which sometimes seized him in the dead of night, and the habitual hauntings of his mind during the day. Space, freedom, unspoilt beauty, breathtaking sunsets and sunrises – what more could a country man want?

Pitching his gaze to the rocky ridges marking the southern edge of his five-thousand-acre property, he then looked to the north, where nothing broke the endless stretch of patchworked land apart from a far-flung jamboree of tabletop hills. It was as if they understood there was safety in numbers in such an unforgiving part of the world. And the deep ringing silence between each inhalation and exhalation of Mother Nature, a pause of breath one could only understand by truly letting everything else go while immersing yourself in the heart of the outback. He loved it all with an unbridled passion.

Approaching the homestead, he groaned when he spotted his cousin’s flashy four-wheel drive – a perk of his job as a travelling salesguy. A shrewd salesman without much of a conscience, Ben could sell sawdust to a lumber mill without batting an eyelid. He and his younger cousin were like chalk and cheese. Ty had no idea how they were even related.

His chest knotted as he rolled past – this was the last thing he wanted to come home to. What in the hell did Ben and Kelly want now? They most certainly wouldn’t be here to drop off the signed divorce paperwork; Kelly had made it very clear she wasn’t doing that until she got her money. From his experience this past year, face-to-face meetings were usually for demands and threats.

He jammed on the brakes, dust billowing as the four-wheel drive came to a shuddering halt in the shed. Cutting the engine, he felt a deep weariness seep through his bones – he wasn’t in the mood for this shit.

Appearing out of the cloud of dust, Don met him as he stepped from the driver’s side and slammed the door shut. ‘Hey Don, how goes it, mate?’

‘Yeah, can’t complain.’ Don’s wrinkled face furrowed even more. ‘I just thought I’d better warning ya that those pair of dimwits are here again.’ He pointed in the general direction of the homestead. ‘I tried to stop them going inside but that damn woman wouldn’t listen, and that cousin of yours, he’s the bastard of the litter.’ His bushy brows met in the middle. ‘Sorry, but there wasn’t much I could do, apart from knocking both of them out cold, and there ain’t no way I’m going to lay a finger on a woman, no matter how infuriating they might be.’

Ty couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘That’s okay, Don. It’s not your problem.’ He gave his best mate’s grandad a hearty slap on the back. ‘I know all too well what Kelly can be like, and as for Ben, I have no words left for that son of a bitch.’

‘Too right.’ Don gave him an affirmative nod. ‘Someone should just put him out in the paddock and put a bullet …’

‘No need for that.’ Ty cut Don off. He didn’t like his cousin, but he also didn’t like talking about shooting him – the war had made him pull the trigger to save his life, and his comrades’ lives, too many times.

‘Right, well. I’m going to head back home, if you don’t need me to do anything else, Ty.’

‘Nah, all good. Thanks so much for taking care of the place.’ Grabbing his wallet from his pocket, he passed some money to Don. ‘A bit more, seeing as you had to stay an extra night.’

‘Don’t be daft, boy. You need it more than me,’ Don said as he handed the extra cash back.

Ty knew better than to argue with him. ‘Thanks, Don. I’ll pop in over the next couple of days for a chinwag.’ Grabbing his bag from the tray, he tipped his head towards the homestead. ‘I’d best get whatever it is over with, hey.’

‘Good luck to ya is all I can say.’ Don hooked his gnarled thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans, almost tugging them over his bony hips. ‘Women like your ex-wife is why I never wanted to get married.’

Ty tossed his bag over his shoulder. ‘I like to think they’re not all bad, Don.’

‘The good ones are few and far between. Diamonds in the rough.’

‘A bit like panning for gold,’ Ty chuckled. ‘Catch you a bit later.’

‘Yup, right you are,’ Don said, turning on his heel and wandering towards his Holden ute.

Ty clenched his jaw, his stomach churning as he strode towards his Queenslander-style home that Kelly clearly still had a key to. He really needed to get around to changing the locks. And who did Ben think he was, letting himself into the house? He wasn’t welcome when Ty was home, let alone when he wasn’t. Knowing he couldn’t follow through with his first instinct, to give Ben a right-hander to the jaw, he reminded himself to breathe, in then out, in then out.

Crossing the bone-dry back lawn – he really needed to find time to tend to it – he jogged up the back steps, kicked his boots off at the back door then flung it open. It slammed against the wall and bounced shut behind him. Dumping his bag to the floor, it took him a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dimness. Kelly’s sickly-sweet perfume hit him and he followed the scent into the lounge room.

‘Hey, cuz,’ Ben had the nerve to say. ‘Old Don mentioned to Pete, who told Gary, who mentioned to Jenny that you’d be back around now. Gotta love the country grapevine.’

Deliberately turning his back to Kelly, Ty directed his fury towards Ben. ‘What the hell are you pair doing in my house?’

Ben held up his hands in pathetic protest. ‘Don’t shoot the messenger.’ He peered around Ty, towards Kelly. ‘I’m just the driver and back-up, if needed. Nothing more.’

‘This is as much mine as it is yours, until I see that money, so I will let myself in when I feel like it.’ Kelly rose from her chair and strode in between Ty and Ben, demanding Ty’s undivided attention. ‘I want my payout.’

Ty narrowed his gaze and shot her a glare. ‘I told you, Kelly, as soon as I have it, you’ll get it.’

‘It’s not my problem you don’t have the cash to pay me what I’m owed, Ty Parker.’ Folding her arms, Kelly squared her shoulders and gave him a tight-lipped smile. ‘Sell this dump and give me what you owe me. Then I’ll sign the divorce paperwork, and you’ll never have to have anything to do with me ever again.’