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“Ainslee, why are you here?”
“Well, first of all, Tom. We’re more than just friends.” Ainslee flicked her hair and then smiled widely with sudden cheer. “And second, I’m here to talk about us and our future.”
“I made my feelings clear at my party—”
“My period is a day late,” Ainslee interrupted, full of excitement. “It’s never late and I’ve only slept with you. We’re going to have a baby!”
16
TOM
Ballydoon Community Group:
Claire Byron posted 6.57 p.m.:
Hi Ballydoon, we’re coming from Brisbane and want to see the snow that’s predicted for the weekend. What suggestions do you have for the best accommodation and the best place to see the snow?
Ash commented: the Town and Country has great rooms and great food. Log fire in the dining room too.
Benji commented: national park is a great place to see the snow, probably the Waterhole carpark.
Steve commented: IF the snow comes … IF.
My gonads were causing delays for a muster, and a wool clip, and possibly affect the rest of my life, after Ainslee’s surprise visit.
“We are down on numbers,” Grandad grunted as the last wether ran through the gates with the dogs on its heels. “I’m no sheep man but I can count and you are definitely missing livestock.”
The holding paddock was half-full. I latched the gate, called the dogs back over and stood beside my grandfather.
After my run-in with Sonny, the swelling had gone down, but I had to delay riding on horseback and driving the four wheeler until I got the all clear from Harry. With Ainslee’s surprise, our appointment was set for tomorrow and I’d booked the maximum time with Harry that I could.
And to say Ainslee’s news was a surprise was an understatement. We’d used a condom. It was also very soon after my birthday party. If Ainslee was pregnant, could anything been picked up on a scan or blood test? Googling had left me more confused. If only Ainslee had agreed to get a test…
“Most of them have gone up into the high country.” I sighed. “We’re going to need a bigger muster than I’d planned.”
“Yep, think you are right on that.”
I had been expecting at least a full paddock of sheep. Too many had gone rogue over fences that had fallen over, thanks to the bulldozer of the bush, wombats. And to add to that, I hadn’t told him about the fallen fences on the national park border. Who knew how many sheep were wandering through the park chewing out rare and endangered plants? Last thing I needed was a fine from the government for not keeping our animals on our property.
I had to face it: too many of our fences were down and the flock had scattered.
Grandad nodded towards the paddock. “Ryan said we’re facing a loss this year if we don’t get them stragglers in and those paddocks fenced properly.”
“Yeah, I know.” I took a deep breath. “I’ll split up teams to bring them in. Looks like we’re all going camping for a few days.”
Gnawing away in the back of my mind was Ainslee and our doctor’s appointment coming up.
Christ on a pizza with extra cheese, what if I was about to become a father and lose the farm, and probably fail my last semester at uni?
I hadn’t told anyone about Ainslee’s declaration. She was also refusing to go into town with me to buy a pregnancy test kit. I drew a line about where she was staying and paid for a room at the pub, which caused another fight.
But Rosie had heard Ainslee proclaim she was pregnant. She’d sent an update on Angelo that he was doing really well and would also keep my news private.
I was incredibly grateful but I knew this wouldn’t stay private for long. Ainslee outright refused to promise not to tell others until we’d seen a doctor. No doubt half of the Town and Country knew by now, but I just couldn’t face the prospect of having her stay in my bed, in my room, the other bunk rooms for the shearers, or even the homestead. With Stacey’s painting schedule, there were no spare beds or rooms in the house anyway.
“Gonna need good dogs to round them up, I imagine?” Grandad asked.
“Chooky reckons he can get another dog handler to join the muster.” I let my head rest on the top rail of the metal gate. “We’re cutting it fine but cutting it fine is all we do around here.”
