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“That’s a good darlin’,” I purred, earning me a nudge from Spook when we were ready to go. We wouldn’t be taking them out far that afternoon, instead just letting them get a feel for us riding them in the smaller paddock with the rest of the horses. Scottie and Ally were there as our leads, showing our new horses what to do if their training wasn’t up to scratch.
We entered the yard and I walked Spook around with the reins, letting him get comfortable and used to the sandy dirt underfoot. In some places it was hard packed, and in others, where the horses didn’t walk as much, it shifted as if we were walking on dunes by the beach. I notched the saddle one hole tighter and mounted him in one smooth move, petting his neck as he sidestepped and tossed his head, before kicking his legs out and taking off.
“It’s okay, Spook.” I held on as he cantered wildly around the paddock, trying to keep my voice soothing. I held the reins gently, but I was out of practice. I knew nudging him forward would give him room and get him to stop bucking, but doing that and staying on was a challenge. “Shh, boy.” My voice jarred each time his galloping hooves connected with the ground. I struggled to run my hand down his neck, but I tried, keeping my touch gentle. “S’all right. I won’t hurt you.”
Scottie and Ally brought their horses in close on either side of me, and Craig had Daisy trotting in front of us in an instant, all three of them slowing down together. Spook followed. I didn’t know whether he was reassured by the other horses or me, but he fell back to a walk, until all four horses were taking a stroll around the small paddock with us on their backs. “That’s it, buddy, calm down. Testing me, hey, Spook?” As he slowed to a stop, I rubbed his wither and grinned at my companions. “He’s a feisty one. How broken in is he?”
“Looks pretty green to me.” Scottie eyed him, checking his stance as Spook shifted underfoot.
Craig looked away, embarrassment colouring his cheeks. “The bloke said that he was well broke but performed best with an experienced rider.”
I laughed. “I’m a little out of practice. Looks like we both might need to up our skills, hey, bud.” I petted his neck again. “Let’s see if we can do that a little better this time, hey?” The others pulled their horses away, and I nudged him gently with my feet, letting him read my body language. Sure enough, when he got a feel for me, he rode smoother, not bucking or carrying on like a pork chop anymore.
I couldn’t help the whoop that left me as my heart soared and the wind ruffled my hair. If flying was pure freedom, riding a horse came a close second. As the sun began to drop low on the western horizon, lighting the sky in a harmony of pinks, oranges, and yellow and casting lengthening shadows on the deep red dirt, I laughed and nudged Spook to go faster. Elation. Joy and warmth and happiness all mixed together in one rainbow-fuelled flock of birds filled my belly. What I could have sworn was only a moment later, except that the sky was now dark, I was slowing Spook down and turning him around to re-join the others. Craig was putting Daisy through her paces, commanding her in tight circles, side steps and stop and go movements. She was a good horse. Clearly more advanced in her training, she would be a good influence on Spook if we could keep them together.
Ally high-fived me as I pulled up next to her. “You looked good out there with him. Comfortable.”
“We just had to get to know each other a little, didn’t we, bud?” I petted Spook’s wither and dismounted him, nowhere near as gracefully as I would have liked. I was already stiffening up, unused to riding a horse after so long on motorbikes and four-wheelers.
*****
It was good to be eating dinner with a table full of people again. Those few days without Craig, Ally, Scottie, and Jono there were strange. Not because it was uncomfortable, but because it was as if the family had been split in two.
Our family.
Ma had everyone in stitches as she mimicked Nan panicking over the risk of her veggie patch getting eaten. Cows getting through the fence would have meant that it was destroyed.
Waru motioned in the direction of the paddock. “Stray eucalypt just came down. Landed on the fence and punched a hole in it. Sam here had Yindi and me rounding up the cattle with the dogs and putting them into the right paddock again while he worked on the fence and getting the tree cut up.”
I could practically see the wheels turning in Scottie’s mind, planning out the next few days’ work. “We can bring it back tomorrow. Chuck it in the shed and use it for firewood.”
Before he got too far into his mental planning, I clarified. “Most of it’s done. Still need to clean up the branches but nearly all the trunk is cut. There’s still some on the back of the ute, but what I did in the first load is stacked for you.”
“What? How’d you manage that with only three of you?” Scottie’s gaze bounced between the three of us.
“He worked his arse off, boss. We’ll only have an hour or two work out there tomorrow to clean up going by how much he brought back.” Waru’s praise, between mouthfuls of food, warmed me.
Yindi threw me under the bus, raising an eyebrow at me. “We brought the horses and dogs in so we could get the other ute and go back. We’d just started out when Sam drove past us on his way in.”
“You didn’t have to do that, Sam. If we all pitched in tomorrow, you wouldn’t have had to kill yourself getting it done. You could have just jury-rigged the fence.”
Nan placed her hands on the table as if to push up and leaned forward, giving me the stink-eye. She wanted me to feel guilty. I wasn’t. “I tried to tell you that, didn’t I?”
“You did, Nan,” I conceded with a nod, trying to placate her. I needed her to understand—for all of them to understand—that I took Scottie’s trust seriously. He’d given me a job to do, and I wanted to see it through. It was important that he knew he wouldn’t be walking home to a disaster every time he stepped foot off the station on the odd occasion that Jono couldn’t look after things. “But I didn’t want Scottie to come home to a mess. I thought I’d give it a crack and see what I could get done while Waru and Yindi looked after the animals. They worked just as hard. Bloody cows were spread out everywhere.”
Dinner had barely wrapped up and I was yawning already. Even though I said I’d just given it a crack, I hadn’t. I’d killed myself trying to get the tree cut and loaded as well as the fence mended before Scottie got back. Giving him a reason to trust me was important, but now all I wanted to do was to crash.
“Go on. You look exhausted.” Ma patted my shoulder as I rubbed my eyes and tried to stifle my yawn. Every blink was like running my eyelids over sandpaper.
I yawned and took the opportunity to get up from the table. “I am wrecked. Night.”
Craig opened the door to our cabin a few minutes after I’d climbed into bed. I barely heard the snick of the door as he shut it. He missed the creaky board outside our bedroom, and he closed the door to the bathroom before turning on the light. “S’all right, mate. You don’t need to be tiptoeing around. I’m still awake.” I yawned again and pulled the blanket up higher, letting the soft squeak of the fan turning in slow circles lull me into exhausted relaxation.
Craig slipped into his bed a few minutes later and I turned to look at him, tucking my hands under my face. “Thank you. I don’t know that I can ever say it enough.”
“Your reaction was thanks enough. I know how much you loved Eadie. I couldn’t replace her, but when I saw Spook, I needed you to have him.” I wanted to reach out to him and hug him for thinking of me. No, for doing more than thinking. Anyone else would have taken a pic and shown me. Craig bought the damn horse so I could have him.
“Scottie said something about Ally not wanting the other bastard to have him. Said he was a dickhead. What was that about?” Craig’s lip curled as if he was disgusted, and I propped myself up on my elbow so I wouldn’t fall asleep mid-conversation. “Spill.”
