Page 2 of Outback Skies


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The two ringers had given him a one-month trial period, which he’d just completed, and while he still had a lot to learn, they’d been happy for him to stay on. This was only their second job of the season, with three or four more already lined up.Living out of a stock camp sure took some getting used to. As did traveling around in a sixteen-wheeler truck, with all the horses and equipment they needed for months in the outback crammed into it. But he needed this job. Needed Dave and Carrot to help him achieve his goal. So, he was going to have to get used to sleeping in a cramped folding camp bed, eating dinner by a campfire, and checking his boots for snakes every morning.

Finn set out his chair and sat with a sigh. His gaze roamed out over the flat land of the plains. It was full-on dusk, the golden orb had already sunk below the horizon, leaving pink clouds in its wake. The sky had lost its brilliant blue and was slowly going a darker indigo. A lone hill rose in the near distance, the only outcrop to break the flat monotony. Stormcloud stock camp was a permanent site; they used it every year, and so it was set up well. There was a permanent water source, a natural billabong a few hundred meters away, which was being inundated by bird life settling into the gum trees for the night. The symphony of the birds and night insects was a wonderful backdrop to the encroaching evening.

Except for the dratted crows, who were sitting in the tree nearest the mess tent, nearly drowning out the sound of the other birds. Finn wasn’t sure, but the crows were possibly worse here than at the last camp. There were always crows. The carrion eaters of the world, they hung around wherever people resided, hoping to pick through the detritus left behind. But Dale made sure this camp was kept clean, which is why it surprised Finn the crows were so plentiful here.

Indy appeared out of the dusk, the other station ringer, Mack, right beside her. Mack walked with a slight limp, and someone had mentioned that he used to be a bull-riding champion, and had suffered a bad fall. But then he’d also had a tussle with someone who wanted him dead because of his connection to the bull riding, which’d left him with a brokenankle. Sounded like he was lucky to be alive; perhaps he had nine lives. The guy was an American cowboy, with a cocky grin and playboy looks, but he seemed to fit in okay with the team, and that was all that mattered. Indy and Mack were discussing whether the cattle had enough water to get them through the night. The Stormcloud crew were a tight team, and Finn watched as Dale joined them and they all put their heads together to discuss the water problem, a tad envious of their connection. Steve had given Dale the responsibility of running this stock camp by himself for the first time, and Dale was taking his job seriously. Bindi lifted her head from the gas stove and frowned, as if she’d like to be included in the conversation. It seemed that while Bindi was a great cook, she also played a role in the stock side of things, as well. Finn liked to observe people; it was a necessary part of his job, but he also had a deep-seated curiosity, wanting to know why people did what they did. This was an interesting crew, with a good dynamic. He had a positive gut feeling about them. They were good people. He was pretty sure they weren’t involved with the group he was looking for.

Finn found his gaze resting a little too long on the petite form of Indy and forced his eyes away. Wouldn’t do to get caught staring. Turning his head, he saw his mate, Dave’s eyes fixed on Indy, too. Seemed like he wasn’t the only one who found the woman fascinating. Finn tamped down on the flash of heat that surged through his gut. He had absolutely no call to feel jealous. Indy wasn’t for him. No woman was for him, at the moment.

Then, he suddenly had no choice but to look at her, when she unfolded her chair next to him and took a seat. She crossed her booted feet out in front and relaxed into the chair. He sat up a little straighter.

“Big day, huh?” Removing her Akubra, she dropped it on the ground and ran her hands through her shoulder-length, auburn hair, pulling it out of the short ponytail.

“Yeah.” Finn flicked her a glance, enjoying the flash of her chocolate-colored eyes in the firelight. Enjoying the notion that she’d chosen to sit next to him. The buzz of her proximity sending a tingle up his forearm. “You guys run a tight ship here. I can see why Dave and Carrot were eager to work with you. Your cattle are in great condition, too.”

“Thanks,” Indy replied, sitting back and tilting her head sideways toward him. “I only joined Stormcloud five months ago, but it sometimes feels like I’ve been here forever. They certainly made me feel welcome, and Steve’s a great boss. As is Dale,” she added quickly.

Hmm, another interesting tidbit about Indy. She was right, he would’ve guessed she’d been with the team much longer. He stored the information away for further dissection later.

“Where did you work before Stormcloud?” he asked conversationally.

“Ah… Mountvey Downs. Over in the Kimberly.” She said no more, and Finn was left wondering why she’d clammed up so suddenly.

He changed the topic. “Where’s your dog? The little kelpie you had with you today?”

“You mean Barbie?” Indy smiled, and he knew he’d chosen the right subject. “I tie my dogs up at night. To keep them safe. Barbie is my old faithful. I’ve had her for six years. Then I’ve got Digger, a red male. He’s only two, and boy, does he live up to his name.” Indy laughed and Finn let the happy sound sink into his bones. Two dogs. That wasn’t unusual, but it added to his growing respect. “Dogs are the way of the future,” Indy said, a tad wistfully. “Mustering with dogs is way less stressful on the cattle. A team of them can move a mob of cattle more efficiently and quietly than a whole crowd of noisy ringers,” she went on. It sounded like this was a topic she was passionate about.

Finn was about to ask more, when he looked up to see Brian and Rosie join the group. A husband-and-wife contract mustering team. He and Indy nodded their welcome to the couple. They looked like they were fresh from the shower, changed into clean clothes, and Finn suddenly felt every speck of dust covering his body.

Just as the couple set up their chairs, Bindi called “Grub’s up,” and everyone surged forward, eager to pile their plates high with the slow-cooked beef brisket, and jacket potatoes roasted in the fire that’d been assaulting their olfactory senses for the past half hour.

Finn was happy to see Indy join him again once her plate was full. This time, she had a beer, as well, and she settled happily into her chair and they both ate with gusto. Chasing cattle all day made a person hungry enough to eat an elephant, Finn decided.

Through mouthfuls of food, Finn asked Indy about the brown mare she’d been riding today, another topic he knew she was passionate about.

“Gypsy is such a beautiful girl,” she replied, her face going a tad wistful. “I got her as a barely weaned foal from some ringer over at a station farther east five years ago. He was selling off most of his stock horses because he couldn’t afford to keep them due to the drought, so I got her cheap. I’ve got another horse, a gelding, Beethoven. He’s a lot older, and I left him back at the station for this muster. Between me and Beethoven, we got Gypsy broken in and trained her up to be a brilliant muster horse. She’s the most sure-footed horse I think I’ve ever ridden,” Indy told him. “Poor old Beethoven, I don’t think he really minds being left behind. I’m sure he’s being pampered like he’s a king by the girls at Stormcloud while I’m away.”

Finn savored her conversation almost as much as he savored Bindi’s food, which was delicious. Her face lit up when she talked about her dogs and her horses and her life at Stormcloud,and he watched her with growing fascination. An interesting life, indeed. He wondered if he should broach the topic as to whether there was someone special in her life, when she suddenly stopped speaking and sat back in her chair.

“Are you married?” she asked, her gaze fixed on the gold band on his finger, as if she’d only just noticed it.

“Oh, ah…” Funny, he’d almost forgotten he was wearing it. A sudden urge to tell her the truth had him tongue-tied for a second. But he finally said, “Yes, I am.”

“Oh.” Indy seemed to withdraw from him, her eyes losing their sparkle. “Where’s your wife?”

“She, ah… She works down in Brisbane.”

“Right,” Indy replied, a little too sharply. “And she doesn’t mind that you spend months at a time up here? Away from her?”

“No. Well, yes. But no. We need the money. She understands that.” Finn needed to stick to the story. It was a good one, and it hadn’t failed him so far. Why was he suddenly baulking at telling Indy the same thing he’d told countless people over the past month?

“Yeah, I guess you’re not the only guy up here who lives that way.” She picked up her plate and stood. “I’m going to hit the shower. See you tomorrow.” And she was gone, leaving Finn feeling like he’d just said something wrong. That she’d rejected him. And that was crazy; he wasn’t here to hook up with anyone.

She was correct, he wasn’t the only married man up here who was just trying to eke out a living; who left a wife and sometimes kids behind in an effort to make a buck. There were the odd few, like Brian and Rosie Wagner, who made it work as a couple, and seemed as happy as two cats who’d got the cream. Said they were saving for a property of their own, and this might be their final year on the road before they settled down for good. They were fortunate they could make it work.

Finn turned to Brian and took up a conversation about how much rain this area had had over the last wet season. But his heart wasn’t in it, now that Indy had gone. His gaze kept drifting in the direction of the large water tanks at the edge of the camp, where the shower had been built to utilize the bore water in the tanks. An hour passed, while Finn chatted to everyone around the campfire, getting to know his new workmates better. Apart from Dave and Carrot, Brian and Rosie, there was another contract team working for Stormcloud this season. Mick Scanlon—Scanner to his mates—and his two daughters, Beth and Maddie. There had been three daughters, but the oldest, Sue, had met a guy and got pregnant and was now too fat to join them, according to Beth. Scanner had been doing this contracting thing the longest of all of them, and he regaled them with tales of blood and carnage from his many days as a ringer in his younger days. Finn watched his mates out of the corner of his eye. Dave and Carrot had met the Scanlons during last year’s muster. They seemed to pick up right where they left off, Dave with his eye on Beth and Carrot with his eye on Maddie. And Scanner with his eye on all four of them.

Finn gave a quiet chuckle.

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