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“I came out for the ride. I’ll be helping Bonnie while my grandparents are away, so she’s showing me the ropes.” He paused at the entrance to the shed. “You’ve made a lot of changes over the years.”
“We’re getting there. I’ve had some help the last few years. City boys needing a change of scene. They come out for a six-month stint. I keep them busy. It works well.”
The boy from earlier and another one carried boxes over to the four-wheel drive, stacking them in the back. He could see more lads inside the packing shed, working a conveyor belt. There were probably some in the greenhouses as well. It was a bigger operation than even he’d expected, considering what he knew about the business. Xander had never quite understood Briar’s attachment to the place, even if it had been his family home for generations. These days, with his own desire to put down roots, he could begin to find a kindred feeling with his childhood playmate. Considering he was three years younger than Xander, he’d done a lot with the place. “Is it possible to get up to the corner block from here? It’s not overgrown?” He had to wonder after seeing the track into the clearing.
Briar picked up a large jar of honey from a shelf inside the door. “The road is fine. I’ve been doing a fair bit up there on my side of the boundary. The power is connected to the shed now.”
“You have been busy.” He turned to Bonnie. “Do we have time for a drive?”
She took the honey from Briar, her face alight with interest. “We’ve got all day. Don and Flo are supervising Tamara and there are only a couple of guests arriving. The esky boxes will keep the fruit and veggies cool, especially on a day like today.”
Xander glanced up at the gathering clouds. The worst scenario would be sleet and they could shelter if they needed. The four-wheel drive would cope with most weather, anyway.
“Let’s go then.” He raised a hand in farewell to Briar while Bonnie thanked the boys and passed over the cake and biscuits. Now he’d seen the extra mouths, he could understand her bringing such a large quantity of cooking. Teenage boys were voracious eaters, especially if Briar kept them hard at work in the greenhouses.
He turned the nose of the vehicle past fields of the tougher herbs like rosemary and thyme. He recognised those because of the song his grandmother had taught him while educating him about herbs in the kitchen. Others were unfamiliar in their natural state. Bonnie would know them. He saw the turnoff to the clearing as they ploughed deeper into the bush, the road rising and winding more and more as it climbed.
The glint of reflected light forewarned them as they reached an open hillside facing north. Acres of solar panels caught the winter sun. He braked to a stop so he could look at the vast array. “I never expected this.”
Bonnie eyed him curiously. “You knew they were here?”
“I expected a few. This is a major project. I wonder how he could afford it.”
“He’s quite successful with his organics. He ships tonnes of herbs to the cities almost every day.”
Xander squinted against the glare of the mirrored surfaces. “I guess.” He smiled. “Part of this was the marijuana patch. I wonder if they still get the odd one popping up.”
Bonnie choked back a laugh. “Seriously?”
“It was all bush with open areas scattered through so it wasn’t obvious from the air.”
“Did you ever try it?”
“Once or twice as a kid. Medicinally.”
“Medicinally?”
“Honey used it as part of her herbal repertoire. She took care of anyone with illness or injury.” He shifted into gear and pressed firmly on the accelerator. Memory lane was a dark unwelcoming place sometimes.
They drove past the field and the track became rougher.
Bonnie clung to the handle. “I hope Don doesn’t mind his four-wheel drive actually doing four-wheel driving.”
He grinned, keeping his eyes on the track. “You can blame me. It’s not far now.”
The place hadn’t changed in five years. He recognised it instantly, even with the new shed Briar had organised for him, before Xander gave up on the project.
Parking in the shelter of a spreading eucalyptus, Xander stared out at the view. The reason he’d bought this place came back to him in a rush, washing away the blackness brought on by seeing the camp where he’d spent so much of his childhood.
“Are we hopping out?”
Bonnie’s query brought him back to the present with a thud. “Yes. I want to check a few things.”
Chapter Nine
Bonnie watched Xandercross the bare ground to a sheet of rock, where the ground below dropped away into scrubby bushland. At some point, a large level area had been cleared, leaving a handful of trees, but no one had done anything further if the knee-high shrubs and other seedlings scattered over the yellowed grassy space were an indication. The shed was quite cute, a light olive green, built in the style of a cottage with a verandah along the long side with a door and windows. Larger garage-style doors were on one end and there were thin solar panels in a dark glass blending against the darker green iron roof, with a metal chimney towards the other end. Two enormous rainwater tanks sat flush against the end wall of the building. They were likely to get a top-up today.
Circling around the building, she noted more solar panels on the back. Enough to power a lot more than a house-sized shed.
