Romancing the Girl Page 22

“Are we?”

  Aimee froze. “Umm…” Aimee looked away and shrugged. How the hell was she supposed to know what was serious or not?

  “You don’t know?”

  “Well…I mean, I think I know, but…you know…” Aimee could feel the heat of a blush moving up her neck. Why were feelings so hard to turn into words?

  Justine smiled and leant up to kiss Aimee on the cheek. “Yes, we’re serious. Stop panicking.”

  Aimee’s face lit up into a smile and she let out a breath of relieved air.

  “You know I love you, right?”

  Aimee nodded.

  “You’re the first woman I’ve ever loved, did you know that? The first person I’ve ever been in love with, actually.”

  Aimee shook her head.

  “And you’re going to be the last. Do you understand me?”

  Aimee went back to nodding and was feeling a little dizzy from the seriousness of the conversation

  Justine cupped her cheeks. “I’m new to all of this as well. I’ve never been in an adult relationship before. I don’t know the rules, but I know what I feel. What I feel is undeniable. Okay?”

  Aimee gave her a small smile and said, “Okay.”

  “Now. I need coffee.” Justine snagged the milk from the bench and made her way over to the kettle. “Want some?”

  Aimee’s eyes scanned her girlfriend and recognised that she was in nothing but a t-shirt. The small smile playing on her face from the heart-to-heart conversation turned decidedly evil. “Oh, yes. I want some.”

  After making Justine squeal when she made her intentions clear, the women returned to the bed and had missed the coolest part of the morning by the time they exited the loft. Aimee walked into the rapidly heating day with a spring in her step and a sore but loved body. As the day progressed and dust stuck fast to the sweat on her brow, her mood remained upbeat.

  Everyone noticed.

  “Aims, mate, you’re bleeding,” Gav said after she returned from a maintenance run on a bore.

  She inspected the skin missing on the back of some of her fingers. “Yeah, the nut on the pump got stuck again. Bashed my hand on the casing.” She shrugged and smiled before stowing away the tools she had taken with her.

  “Okay,” Gav said slowly, expecting a burst of profanity about the injury. “Right. Danny an’ me are headin’ out to the north-west corner. The Ritters next door reckon some bloody yobbo’s been shootin’ roos up there. Gunna go take a squiz. Make sure they haven’t wrecked the fences like last bloody time. Stupid wankers.”

  “I hope for their sake they haven’t,” Aimee said, exiting the cage where she stored the oil canister she had used.

  “You comin’?”

  Aimee took a deep breath and considered it. In the north-west corner of the station was a rocky outcrop that glowed in the sunset light. It was a good spot to enjoy a hard-earned beer. She checked her watch. It was nearing three in the afternoon. “Got a coldie on board?”

  Gav scoffed at the question.

  Aimee grinned. “You’re on. Let me grab Justine and Aaron. Back in five.” Aimee ran from the machinery shed across the dirt quadrangle now pounded into fine dust from the lack of rain. Despite the dry heat, the fields still flourished with thick grass from their rotating grazing management, the plentiful summer rains last season, and the late winter showers before the TV show came to take over their lives. What a rollercoaster it had been since then.

  Bursting through the kitchen door, Aimee was met with a scream.

  “Jesus Christ!” Sally yelled dropping the plate she was carrying. It hit the floor with a loud shatter. “Damn it, Aimee! What the hell are you doing?”

  Aimee cringed and bent down to help pick up the scattered ceramic. “Sorry. I was trying to find Jac.”

  Sally stopped in her attempt to clean the mess and frowned.

  “Justine. Where is Justine?”

  “Oh. Out on the patio watching the kids in the pool.”

  “Great. Thanks. Sorry about the mess.” Rushing off before she was reprimanded further, she gathered Justine and Aaron, found herself joined by Robbie as well, and left behind a cranky Rolly because her mother wouldn’t let her come along.

  “Where are we going exactly?” Justine asked as they all clambered into the tray of the ute. “And I’m pretty sure this is illegal,” she said as the car began to move and she made a grab at the side. “Aaron, hold on.”

  “We’re on private property, this is fine. Gav won’t be an idiot, and we’re heading up to the north-west for a cold drink.”

  Justine frowned and Aimee grinned at her. “You’ll see.”

  The boys made a game out of the ride in the back of the ute, and Justine slowly relaxed and enjoyed the view. Aimee watched the same scenery pass by with a more studious expression. The feed on the ground was better than could be expected, and the sheep looked fat and lazy as they hid in the shade while the sun still rode high in the sky. The vegetation on the road was more concerning. The grass was long and thick along the fence boundaries, and it was a trend she was finding across the entire station since she returned. Close to the homestead, the vehicles had suppressed the grass and made the area a dust bowl. Further out, the road became two-wheel tracks and she could smell the burn of grass beneath the car engine as they warmed it on their path.

  Aimee banged on the roof of the cab and leant around to the passenger side. “Danny, we gotta grade this,” she called out over the noise of the car.

  “Yep,” was all he said in response.

  Furrowing her brows, Aimee felt Justine tug her arm.

  “Grade it?” Justine said.

  “Clear it. Not only does it make checking fences easier, but it acts as a fire break.” With a glance at the boys and seeing them preoccupied in discussion and pointing to the passing countryside, Aimee said, “Joey’s been slack this year. All this should have been done a few months back, but with the TV show and his trip to the city, it obviously wasn’t high on his list.” Lowering her voice and moving closer, she added, “He should have noticed,” she said, gesturing to her brother-in-law. Whispering in Justine’s ear, she said, “I think something is going on between him and Sal.”

  “Like what?”

  Aimee shrugged. The car slowed and Aimee jumped off the back to open and shut the gate. A few minutes later they were riding the boundary between their property and the one to the west. “See the difference,” Aimee said, pointing out the bare strip on the neighbour’s side of the fence.

  A burst of profanity from the front cab made Aaron turn bright red and Justine raise her eyebrows. “Those bastards,” Gav yelled as he stopped the ute. “Look at that.”

  A section of fence had been cut by trespassers. Swearing again, Gav called the neighbouring station over the UHF radio with the news and got on with the task of fixing the hole.

  Having their refreshments when the task was done, they drove home in the dark as the boys on the back amused themselves with the spotlight.

  With her arm around Justine, Aimee sipped at her beer and stole the occasional kiss.

  “Woah! Aims! Look,” Robbie said.

  “At?”

  He pointed behind them. Turning her head, she saw the flash of lightning in the distance. I hope it brings some rain, Aimee thought, watching the light show for a few moments. Her eyes flicked to the overgrown road they were driving on and she shook her head.

  ***

  “Joseph Turner, explain yourself,” Aimee said the moment her brother returned to the station a week later.

  He rolled his eyes and walked away from her.

  “Hi, Aimee,” Amber said, climbing out of the other side of the car.

  Aimee spared her a quick “Hi” and a nod before charging after her brother. “What the hell have you been doing since I left?” she yelled, opening the door to the office that he slammed in her face. “You said you took care of everything.”

  “Not now, Aimee.”

  “Yes, now. Why is half the stock still
up in the middle paddock?”

  “There’s good feed up there.”

  “Maybe for a few more days. We agreed on rotating the stock. It’s sustainable and it works, but apparently in your wisdom, they’ve been in that paddock for a month, and in the previous one for five weeks. If you moved them every two weeks, the feed will recover faster. You know that.”

  “So move them,” he said, giving her a dismissal wave and sitting at the desk.

  “Jesus, Joe. Do you even care?”

  “Of course, I bloody care.”

  Aimee scoffed. “Yeah, I can tell.”

  Joey gritted his teeth. “Look, it’s been a rough year. Shit happens.”

  “Yeah, it does, but it happens all the time and you’ve never let the management slip this bad. None of the fire breaks have been seen too. I spoke to Gav, and he’s still waiting on that disc planter. The bloody sorghum seed is still sitting in the shed going off. According to Danny, the gen set is due for some serious maintenance, but you’ve put it off. Need I remind you that if that breaks down, we’ve got no power.”

  “I know, Aimee. I’ve been talking to someone about getting it replaced. What’s the point of fixing the old one if we install a new one?”

  “So tell Danny that. All he’s aware of is that you’ve been sitting on your arse for months.”

  “Bullshit. And Danny has no room to complain. He’s been unreliable since last summer. He’s bloody lucky he’s Sal’s husband, or I would have fired him by now.”

  “Fire Danny?” Aimee scoffed. “Shame you can’t fire yourself.”

  The UHF crackled to life on the desk and Joey turned it off with an angry flick of his finger. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

  “That’s the thing, you do. This property is ours, Joe. Not yours. Once upon a time, you used to be on top of things, and when Grandad retired, you stepped up. I used to look up to you, but lately…” Aimee shook her head and started to walk towards the door. About to pass through it, she paused and said quietly, “When are you going to stop thinking with your dick?”

  “My—” Aimee shut the door before Joey was able to throw something at her. “You can’t bloody talk!” She heard him yell as she strode away. “I didn’t spend thousands on a horse!”

  “Everything okay?” Sally asked as Aimee reached the kitchen.

  “Marvellous. You?” Aimee said, slumping into one of the stools at the kitchen bench.

  Danny entered the kitchen, hesitated when he spotted Sally and Aimee, and quickly moved away.

  “Yeah…just bloody marvellous,” Sally muttered, going to the fridge and pulling out two beers. “Cheers,” she said, knocking her can against Aimee’s.

  “Cheers. Here’s to wankers who can’t keep it in their pants.”

  Sally nodded and downed half of her can. “Yep.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The air was turbulent and crackled through the night sky in a blaze of static discharge. The first summer storm came bearing nothing but dry air and electricity. Its powerful electric tendrils blasting their charge to the caked crust of the ground below. The intense heat bursting the dry vegetation in its path, and as the cluster of dry thunderstorms branded their path across the sky, so did they burn the land in their wake. On the north-west boundary of Yarrabee Station, the gusts created by the steep pressure lines of the storm front fanned and fuelled the grass and trees that had been turned to embers by the storm. The wildfire built as hungry flame chewed through the dry debris on the landscape. Four seasons of spectacular rains and growth proceeded the dry, hot summer, and now, the ground was littered in a smorgasbord for flame to find.

  And find it did. In the dead of night, hot northerly winds encouraged and nursed the small fires scattered around the station until they raged, angry and hot on a mission to devour all it could find.

  The homestead, nestled beside the creek running along the south, was quiet as most persons forgot their arguments and worries as they slumbered. In the paddocks beside those being torn apart by fire, the animals sniffed and panicked. Wild-eyed, they charged south through the valley towards the creek. Like a demon, the fire followed their tracks, fire and beast taking the quickest and easiest path south.

  ***

  Sighing in her sleep, Aimee gave up on the pretence of rest and slid out from the woman hugging her like a koala. Giving Justine a soft smile and a kiss on the temple, she whispered her love to the woman before quietly shuffling to the kitchenette. Mitsy greeted her with a wiggle and a whine.

  Water on the boil moments later, Aimee soon nursed a cup of chamomile tea as she started the final episode of Romancing the Farmer. Careful to keep the volume to a minimum, she turned on the subtitles and contented herself with reading the goings-on of all the desperate farmers. Flicking to Joey’s segments, she sipped on her tea and watched as the sound of distant thunder echoed through the night.

  “I knew almost instantly who I was attracted to the most,” he told Tiffany and Amber as they hung off every word. Studying Amber, Aimee could see the way her eyes shined as she looked at her brother. Was she pregnant yet?

  “She makes me feel less lonely…like there’s someone out there in the world that might be prepared to take me as I am. Living on the station is a lonely life without people around you that you love and respect. I’m lucky enough to have family and friends to make life on the station the best place in the world for me to be…but…despite having those people, I have no one to stand beside me until my dying day. No one to share my life with; no one in my bed; no one to raise a family with…” Joey trailed off. “I guess I just want to find what my parents had.”

  The show cut back to the faces of the female contenders. They looked moved by Joey’s words, and Amber was visibly crying.

  Mitsy put her head in Aimee’s lap and whined again.

  “Shh, girl.”

  “And the person I feel—no—that I know can be the one I need through my ageing years is…Amber.”

  Amber sobbed and ran to Joey, wrapping her arms around him tightly. The hostess of the show looked completely swept away by it all, and when the camera cut back to Tiffany, she was pouting.

  Skipping through to the final interview with the new couple, Aimee took a deep breath and smelled something she wasn’t expecting. The fast forward motion forgotten, the DVD skipped right through the credits as she frowned, alert and concerned.

  Smoke.

  The storms in the north had been ignored thanks to the multitude of distractions. Now, however, they concerned her. Sneaking past a slumbering Justine, she looked out of the north-facing windows of the loft and her heart sank right to her toes. There, over the horizon, was the tell-tale orange glow of fire.

  “No,” she said on an outward breath.

  Mitsy barked.

  “Wassup?” Justine slurred in her sleep.

  “No, no, no,” she continued to chant as she tugged on a pair of jeans and threw a flannelette shirt on over her singlet top.

  Groggily, Justine sat up as Aimee picked her shoes up off the floor and pulled them on without bothering with socks.

  Aimee finished her task and looked at Justine as a northerly gust rattled the windows for a moment. If the fire was fed by those winds, then it was headed their way. Aimee walked around the bed and took Justine’s hands. “I want you to get dressed.”

  Justine looked at the clock. “It’s three in the morning.”

  “And there’s a fire in the north. I need to get Joey and try and stop it before it gets too far.”

  “A fire?”

  Nodding, Aimee said, “I need you dressed and I think you should go down to the house with Sally and the kids.”

  Justine burst into action and did as she was advised.

  “I have to get Joey.” Aimee kissed her on the lips and ran from the loft.

  ***

  “Joe!” Aimee said in a whispered shout as she knocked on his door. “Joe.”

  “What?” the man said as he pulled the door aja
r.

  “Fire in the north.”

  Joey straightened for a moment as that news sank in. With a curt nod, he shut the door and Aimee moved on to Sally’s room.

  “Sally?” she said with a soft knock. It took a minute of knocking to wake someone inside.

  “Aimee?”

  “I need Danny. Fire in the north.”

  “What?” Sally looked at her in shock. “But the stock is grazing up there.”

  “I know. That’s why I need Danny. Can you wake him?”

  For some reason, Sally looked heartbroken. Aimee reached out to her instinctively.

  “He’s down the hall. We…uh…don’t sleep together anymore.”

  The implications behind those sadly murmured words hit Aimee straight in the chest. “Oh, Sal,” she said, squeezing her sister’s shoulder.

  Sally shrugged. “We’re trying to work it out.” Pointing, she indicated the room at the end of the long hall. “He’s in the green room.”

  The phone began to ring in the study. Sally and Aimee shared a stone-faced look. “I’ll get the phone. You get Danny.”

  Nodding, Aimee moved to the room with an apt name. Green paint, green curtains, green carpet. It was horrid. Knocking loudly knowing how deeply her brother-in-law slept. “Danny! Wake up!”

  Danny opened the door with a rush and said, “What? Where’s the bloody fire?”

  “North paddocks.”

  He blinked at her for a moment, his eyes dark as though sleep rarely came to him. “Are you serious?”

  Aimee nodded. “I wish I wasn’t.”

  “Christ.” Danny left the door open as he tugged jeans on over his boxer shorts and threw on a shirt. “Is Joey up?”

  “Yeah,” Joey said as he joined the group at the door. “Danny, get the guys and get the dozers on the move. Aimee and I will take the water trucks. Let’s hope it hasn’t reached the grazing paddocks.”

  “The rural fire brigade has just mobilised everyone,” Sally said, rushing to the group. “They’ve been dealing with the fires since midnight, but in the last hour, they all got out of control. The UHF was off.”