Breaking The Drought (4 page)

While Matt's job was to herd the sheep, Luke was in charge of guiding the visitors, making sure they knew where to stand, keeping them out of harm's way. Clearly Matt had the easier job. It took a full 10 minutes before all the women were appropriately assembled.

Not all of them, in fact. 14 women had gathered at the farmhouse but there were only 13 here now. Someone was missing.

Jenna
.

Why was he not surprised? Luke shook his head in frustration. That woman was definitely trouble. Now he would have to go see if he could find her. He couldn't have her aimlessly wandering around a working farm. Anything could happen to her. He sidled up to Cameron Richards, one of the other shearers. ‘Cam, do us a favour would you mate? Keep an eye on this lot for a bit? I've got to go round up a stray.'

Cam grinned. ‘No worries, mate. I'll take care of them.'

First port of call would be the last place he'd seen Jenna, the homestead's balcony, then the homestead itself. If she wasn't there then more drastic measures would need to be taken. Great start to the weekend that would be, a search and rescue operation before the ball. Maggie would never forgive him.

Fortunately there was no need for his thoughts to go any further down that dark path because as he rounded the shed corner he could see the homestead and there was definitely someone sitting on the balcony. Everyone else was down in the paddock. It had to be her.

Obviously a shearing exhibition was beneath Miss High and Mighty. Why the hell had she come to Barlow? She seemed determined to find fault with everything about the town and its inhabitants. Were all city women this stuck up and difficult or was he just unlucky to have met more than his fair share of them?

As he got closer he could see her talking on her phone, laughing and waving her hands about, probably telling her friends back home about how backward they were out here in the sticks. Just like the last city girl he'd inflicted on this town.

Nicola's face flashed before his eyes and a jolt of white-hot anger seared through him.

He strode towards the house, a man on a mission. His boots thudded on the aged timber deck as he approached Jenna. ‘Are you right?' he demanded.

She shot him a confused look and pointed at the phone she held against her ear.

‘Oh, you're on the phone? Sorry, you clearly have more important things to do than worry about a small thing like good manners. I'll just wait until your important call is done.'

‘Sorry Claire, something's come up here. I'm going to have to call you back. Just make sure you copy me in on all those emails from Summer's agent.' She ended the call and looked at him. ‘What is your problem?'

‘My problem is that I've had to leave the rest of the group to come searching for you. This is a working farm. The Dawsons can't have people wandering around unaccounted for.'

‘I'm not wandering around. I'm sitting here, minding my own business, getting on with my job.' Her clipped tone revealed her irritation.

‘How was I supposed to know that? Did it ever occur to you to mention your whereabouts to someone?'

‘Brooke knew where I was. If you'd bothered to ask her you could have saved yourself this giant tantrum.'

She was right of course. He could have asked Brooke, he simply hadn't thought to. ‘You should have let one of the organisers know your whereabouts, that's all I'm saying.'

‘Sorry. It didn't occur to me. You knew that the only reason I came to the farm was to get a phone signal. I didn't realise I needed to get your permission to play hooky from the shearing demonstration. Honestly if I'd known this weekend was going to be run like a school camp, I wouldn't have come.'

Luke felt his pulse thud in his temple. ‘Why did you come? I mean you've obviously made up your mind not to enjoy yourself. You clearly think this whole town is beneath you, so I'm not sure why you want to be here. Maybe you should take your bad manners back to Melbourne where they belong.'

Bad manners? That was a bit rich from a man who had left his pregnant wife at home so he could socialise with a bevy of beautiful, single women. And why on earth did he care so much about what she was doing? If it wasn't for the fear of insulting his charming wife (and incurring Brooke's wrath) she would pull the pin on this whole stupid weekend right now. But, seeing as she was stuck here, at least for the time being, she supposed she should make some effort to fit in.

Courtesy costs nothing
. Grandpa Bob's voice, ever her conscience, rang in her ears. Jenna's anger began to taper. She'd been so busy thinking about her own issues, her own discomfort, that she hadn't given a thought to the impact of her behaviour on those around her. Maybe Luke had been genuinely concerned for her welfare.

As much as she hated to admit it, Simon's engagement had totally thrown her. Instead of spending this weekend away loosening up and having some fun as Brooke had suggested, she was focussing on all the negatives of being away from the city. It wasn't just the loss of a phone signal she was lamenting, it was her life as she'd known it. All her plans for happily-ever-after had gone out the window and now she had nothing.

It was ridiculous. Life had thrown her far worse curve balls than this and she'd always prided herself on facing adversity with strength and grace. No matter what she thought of Luke Tanner it certainly wasn't his fault that her life had gone so spectacularly off course and she had no right to take it out on him.

‘You're right,' she said. ‘I should have been more considerate. My apologies. I have a lot on my mind right now and I guess I haven't really been the most gracious guest. I hope you'll forgive me.'

Luke was obviously surprised at her back down and, if she wasn't mistaken, he seemed a little disappointed. Maybe she wasn't the only one spoiling for a fight this weekend. Well, he'd have to look elsewhere, because from this moment on she was determined to make the most of her weekend escape from reality.

He gave a quick nod. ‘I need to get back to the shed to help with the shearing demonstration. Now that I know you're safe, I'll leave you to your work.'

‘Oh. Actually, I'm pretty much done now. Would it be okay if I joined you?'

He shrugged. ‘Sure.' Without another word he turned and made his way back to the stairs.

Jenna scrambled to put her phone and her iPad back into her handbag before following him. He clearly was not in the mood to chat. She followed him from the shaded oasis of the homestead across the parched paddocks to a corrugated iron structure. Neither of them spoke.

Once inside the shed Jenna saw that the other women were gathered in a group. They formed a line of sorts against the rear wall. The three shearers stood on a raised platform, the sheep bleating in a pen behind. Jenna wrinkled her nose at the unfamiliar smell. Heat mixed with animal dung, perspiration and goodness-only-knows what else, to cause a unique stench. She covered her nose and mouth with her hand in an effort to keep the odour at bay. Of course Luke picked that second to turn her way.

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Over there,' he said, pointing to the others. ‘Make sure you stay out of the way.'

Clearly all was not forgiven.

Helen Dawson was standing beside Brooke. She smiled and gestured for Jenna to join them, shuffling sideways a little to make room. ‘Hello, love, glad you could join us.'

A tingle of embarrassment swept up Jenna's neck and across her cheeks. ‘Thank you. I'm sorry I missed the first part of the demonstration. I was delayed a little by a work phone call.'

‘Oh don't you worry about that. You haven't missed too much. The real action is just about to start. It's Jenna isn't it?'

Jenna nodded.

‘Brooke here has been telling me all about you and your job. She tells me you are the editor of
Gloss
. I'm so excited to meet you. It's like having a celebrity in town.'

Jenna laughed. ‘You're very kind, but I'm no celebrity.'

‘You are to me. I just love your magazine.'

‘Thank you.' Jenna had to work hard to keep the surprise out of her voice. Middle-aged Helen, with her practical clothes and scrubbed-clean face, was not part of what the marketing people considered their “target demographic”.

Helen smiled broadly. ‘My daughter subscribes and I always read her copy when I'm babysitting my little grandson.'

Jenna slipped into editor mode for a moment. ‘What do you enjoy most about the magazine?'

‘I love the travel stories. I lived in England when I was a young teacher, before I was married. Did the whole backpacking thing through Europe.' She laughed a little. ‘I suppose that's somewhat clichéd these days, but back then I considered myself quite the adventurer.'

Jenna smiled encouragingly, hoping Helen would continue. She would never have predicted that a conversation with this ruddy-cheeked, plainly dressed woman would be so interesting. ‘That sounds wonderful.'

‘I'm sure you get to travel all the time for your job,' Helen said.

Jenna nodded. ‘A little. But it's nowhere near as exciting as backpacking through Europe. I'm usually only in the same place for a couple of days at a time and I rarely get to see much more than the inside of meeting rooms and hotels.'

Brooke leaned across and touched Jenna's arm to get her attention over the din. ‘Enough of the shop talk already. Looks like the boys are getting ready to start. I'm pretty sure you don't want to miss a second of this.'

Helen shook her head. ‘It's my fault for distracting her. Watching the blokes shear a sheep is nothing out of the ordinary for me, but I can see how you girls would find it interesting.' She nudged Jenna. ‘Especially when there are fine looking young men in the shed like our Luke over there.'

Jenna couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Was Helen suggesting that ogling a married man was perfectly acceptable? Poor Maggie Tanner. Didn't anyone care about her feelings?

Jenna's confusion must have been obvious because Helen gave a self-conscious laugh.

‘Is Luke not your type? I know he can come across as a bit stand-offish, but that's just because, well…let's just say he's had a rough time of it lately, but he's a good man underneath that reserved exterior. Not many men would do what he's done for Maggie, that's for sure.'

‘Oh?'

‘He really looks after her.'

Clearly Jenna had missed something because this conversation wasn't making any sense. ‘Forgive me, Helen, if this sounds impertinent, but don't most married couples look after each other?'

Helen's brow creased in confusion for a moment, but then she began to laugh. ‘You think Luke and Maggie are husband and wife?'

Jenna nodded. ‘Yes, I assumed… Well, aren't they?'

Helen shook her head. ‘I'm surprised no one mentioned it to you. I guess we're all so used to knowing everything about everyone here…'

‘So are they related? Brother and sister?'

‘Maggie is Luke's sister-in-law. She was married to his brother, Joe.'

‘Was married?'

Helen's eyes dropped and her voice became quiet. ‘Joe died just before Maggie found out she was expecting. Luke stayed on at Tandarra to help her run the farm and to make sure she was okay.'

Jenna momentarily covered her mouth with one hand. Maggie was a widow.

And Luke wasn't married.

She immediately chastised herself for the tiny speck of happiness that had surfaced at the realisation of Luke's single status. A man was dead, for goodness sake. And Luke Tanner was not her type, single or otherwise.

‘That's so sad…for both of them.'

‘Yes, it is. Maggie's been a rock, though. I think the thought of the baby has helped her get by, but I reckon there are still some hard days ahead of her. Raising a little one as a single parent won't be easy. That's where she's lucky she's got Luke.'

Jenna nodded. Her respect for her host had gone up immeasurably in the past few moments.

‘Luke on the other hand, he's the one I worry about.'

‘Why's that?'

Helen shrugged. ‘He hasn't been the same since the accident. He's so busy focussing on Maggie and making sure she's doing okay. He lost just as much as she did that day, in some ways more.'

Jenna wondered what she meant. Of course it would be dreadful to lose a sibling, but no more so than losing a husband, especially when that man was the father of your unborn child.

‘I don't think he's really sorted out his grief.' Helen continued. ‘I guess it's a bloke thing. You know what they're like.'

Jenna smiled and nodded. She didn't think Helen needed to hear about her lack of understanding of the male species.

Mal Dawson's voice bellowed above the racket in the shed, putting an end to their conversation. ‘Ladies, we are about to make a start. He gestured to the timber platform behind him. ‘As you can see, we have three shearers here today, Cameron, Luke and Matt,' he said. Each shearer tipped his hat at the audience as his name was called and was given a round of applause in response. ‘The boys here are going to make the demonstration a little more interesting for you by having a friendly competition.'

One of the women let out a loud whoop and the three shearers began to laugh.

‘Now bear in mind none of these men are professional shearers. Matt's an engineer, Cameron's a mechanic, and Luke here's a…' Mal faltered for a moment and cleared his throat. ‘Luke's a Jack-of-all-trades.' He glanced up at Luke who nodded. ‘They might not shear for a living but the boys all grew up on farms and know their way around a sheep.'

Some of the women began to giggle.

The blokes shook their heads in unison.

‘Get on with it, Dad,' Matt shouted.

Mal grinned. ‘As I was saying, in a couple of weeks we'll get the professionals in here to shear our flock and some of those blokes will shear one sheep approximately every two minutes or so. Of course we can't expect this from these lads, but we do want to see which one of them can get a decent fleece off in the quickest time. First one to get a fleece off in good nick will be the winner.'