Leap of Faith (32 page)

Jessica was pleased to see how quickly Faith was regaining her condition. Her coat was now lovely and glossy, mainly thanks to some supplementary feeding. Her ribs no longer showed, and she was developing a good top line and sound muscle definition. Looking at her now, Jessica wasn't sure anyone would describe her as a plain Jane. But perhaps that was more about what she'd found inside the horse than her outer appearance. Every time Jessica cast her eyes down her legs, though, she was reminded that it had not always been like this for the horse, and how lucky they'd been to find her.

The only thing that niggled at her was the horse's penchant for playing in the troughs. She was fine for a few hours left alone in the paddock, but any longer and they'd look out the lounge-room window to see at least one leg in a trough and water flying about everywhere. While they were concerned about damage to the equipment, they were more concerned about Faith injuring herself and not having enough water. If they were out for the day and it was hot, it would be disastrous. Summer was fast approaching.

They decided that they'd put her down in the paddock with a dam. She'd proven she would come when called, so the longer walk down there and back would be the only inconvenience for Jessica; a small price to pay to keep Faith and their troughs safe. And when Steve was fully fit again, he'd change the large troughs in the small horse paddocks to feeders like in the yards.

They turned Faith out into the large paddock and walked back and sat on the verandah to see how long it took the horse to wander down and find the dam, and what she would do when she did. If in a few hours she hadn't discovered her water source, or for some reason didn't recognise it – quite understandable for a horse who had never encountered dams before – Jessica would go down and show her and leave a bucket of water out just in case.

As they watched, Faith walked up the raised earth bank of the dam. She looked regal standing there on the high side, like a general surveying her domain. The horse then made her way around the top to the low side where there was a gentler slope down to the water line.

‘I think she's figured it out,' Steve said.

‘Yup, certainly has,' Jessica said, as just moments later they watched Faith stride down into the water so far that it lapped her belly. They laughed when she began to paw it with first one foot and then the other.

‘We should take her to the beach; she'd love it,' Steve said.

‘Mmm. She really is a funny thing. So quirky.'

After a few moments of splashing, Faith stopped, but remained where she was.

‘I hope she doesn't fall asleep, topple over and drown,' Jessica said. She'd never encountered a horse who so clearly loved water before. There were plenty who enjoyed having their faces sprayed and would grab the end of the hose and play while being washed, but this was something else entirely different. ‘I wonder why she likes water so much.'

‘Maybe she's lived at the beach before or somewhere where there's a creek. It doesn't matter. She's here now, she's happy, and our troughs are safe. I don't think we should dwell on her past. Let's just focus on enjoying her – and the future,' Steve said sagely.

Monday morning, Steve headed out early. He'd returned to CFS duties five days after his accident and though Jessica was concerned it was a bit too soon – he didn't seem to have full movement, and there was still a lot of bruising, various shades of red and purple, with tinges of mustard yellow around the edges – she was satisfied that he knew his body. Anyway, he was a big boy, and a relatively sensible one. She had been wondering – a few times aloud – how much longer this year's fire season clean-up would take. It was meant to be finished before the season officially started, but they were running over a week late. They'd been held up because half their team – mostly the youngest and strongest – were away helping New South Wales. Thankfully they'd got all their back-burning done and were now just finishing off gutters and doing final checks around the place. Hopefully they wouldn't be out in the elements when the forecast wet weather and thunderstorms hit. Though, the bureau tended to be more often wrong than right. Nevertheless, it was probably a good thing she would be stuck at home – since Steve was using her four-wheel-drive wagon – and able to keep a good eye on the dogs, and the stock, and bring Faith in if fire looked likely.

They woke early Tuesday morning to the sound of rain. A quick peep out the bedroom window with the binoculars at the strategically placed rain gauge told them it had probably been gently raining for most of the night. They lay in bed for a few minutes in silence listening to it before Jessica sighed and said, ‘How good does that sound?'

‘I never get tired to hearing rain on an iron roof,' Steve replied.

He got up when his CFS pager sounded in the other room. They frowned at each other. It was unlikely to be a fire in this weather – more likely a vehicle accident. They hadn't heard any storm activity where lightning could be a factor, though it could have been elsewhere. Jessica reluctantly got up and went out to the kitchen while she waited for him to find out what was going on.

‘Blocked storm water drains at the school,' Steve said, before she had a chance to ask. They both visibly relaxed. ‘I'll get something to eat on the way,' he said, turning back to the bedroom to get dressed. ‘I'd better get cracking.'

‘Okay.' Jessica hovered until he left.

She felt terrible when she looked out the window and saw Faith standing with her tail into the rain and her head hung, clearly drenched. The last few nights Jessica had taken some feed down to the horse and left her out. Now she nibbled on her lip, wondering if she should bring her in. She told herself she was being ridiculous – horses lived outdoors just fine. And Faith certainly did. Though for a horse who'd taken two dips in the dam every day since being introduced to it, she certainly didn't seem to be enjoying the weather.

Jessica turned away from the window, telling herself the horse wasn't cold and shivering, she only looked miserable because of the way she was standing. One glance at the weather station told her to stop worrying – it was nineteen degrees outside, for goodness' sake. Jessica set about having breakfast and wondering how to spend a wet day inside. She wasn't a fan of riding in the rain – it meant too much gear to clean and dry off afterwards.

It was while she was sitting with her second cup of coffee after her toast and peanut butter drizzled with honey that Jessica heard the first roll and clap of thunder. She started slightly and went to the window. Faith held her head high and was up on her toes.

Jessica grabbed a coat at the door ‘Right,' she said to the dogs, ‘you guys stay here.' But she hardly needed to – they barely looked up from the couch they were sharing.

Jessica raced down to the paddock and pulled the lead rope from the gate. Faith was already in front of her. A few strikes of lightning lit up the dark sky in the distance.

‘Come on, girl, let's get you in.' She looked across at the newly weaned lambs in the left paddock, huddled against the trees, and the cattle in the far paddock on the other side of the creek. They were moving about, unmistakeably rattled. Hopefully they would settle soon. The ewes were up the back of the property behind the house and out of sight – most likely sheltering against the row of pine trees on the boundary. Faith led the way, keen to get to the safely of her stable. Jessica had to jog to keep up.

She had locked Faith in the stable and was halfway back to the house when a blinding display of lightning illuminated the sky above her, followed by deafening roll of thunder. The rain pelted down the moment she got inside the house.

‘Golly, it's rough out there,' she told the dogs, who raised their heads and flapped their tails before settling back down to snooze. All around the house the sky was a deep purple. The storm really seemed to have set in – this was more than just a few passing showers.

Jessica made a cup of tea and tried to relax. Faith was safely tucked away undercover. The lambs were in sight in the next paddock from the house and had plenty of shelter thanks to the blue gum woodland they'd planted along the fences and in the corners a few years ago. The ewes would be okay; they'd been through storms before. She checked her concern. They were animals and were used to being out in inclement weather. But she had every right to be concerned; the stock were their livelihood. She looked beyond where the lambs were, down the gully to the creek. The cattle would be fine. She had to stop watching them all; she was worrying too much. And it wasn't as if she could do anything about them being in the rain – cold was really the major threat to stock, and it certainly wasn't cold.

She wished Steve was home, just for peace of mind. She didn't think anything would happen – they'd been through plenty of spring and summer thunderstorms before – but she did feel uneasy. She wasn't sure exactly why.
Get a grip.
She looked at the dogs, a great barometer of trouble. They were relaxed, snoozing on the couch. Occasionally their ears flicked like antenna picking something up, probably the tension coming from her. She had to calm down.

‘All is well,' she told herself firmly, and settled on the empty couch and turned on the TV. She just caught South Australia's weather forecast: risk of severe thunderstorms.
No shit, Sherlock
. She wrapped her hands tighter around her mug. The rain started coming in under the wide verandah and belting the window. The wind had picked up.

Suddenly the dogs were up off the couch and had disappeared into the bedroom and under the bed.

‘Great, that's all I need. Bloody wimps,' she called after them. ‘Call yourselves tough farm dogs.' She forced a laugh, desperate to keep the rising hysteria at bay.

She hoped Faith wasn't too frightened as the storm continued to rage. The noise in the stable with its iron roof and walls with no insulation would be deafening – it was pretty loud here in the house. Jessica was sure she could now hear small hail. She looked out at the lawn. Sure enough, there was a fine carpet of white. God, she hoped the lambs were okay, poor little things. Should she try to move them? Perhaps put them in the shearing shed up behind the house? The barn with the horse float in it would be closer. She stood, uncertain, gnawing at the inside of her cheek.

There was no way she could move them anywhere on her own. They weren't yet used to being handled that much and would most likely just scatter in fear. No, they were safer where they were.

Jessica wanted to phone Steve and double-check, but no doubt he was frantically busy. He'd probably have left the phone in the car where it would stay dry if he was unblocking drains, anyway.

As she scanned the property, she noticed the cattle on the other side of the creek in the bottom paddock were looking even more unsettled.

‘What's their problem?' Normally they'd be standing still with their backs into the wind and driving rain. She frowned, squinted and tried to focus. They were too far away to see if there was a fox or something stirring them up. She grabbed the binoculars from the sideboard and turned the knobs to bring the animals into focus.

Her eyes bugged and her heart slowed as she took in the scene laid out before her. The creek was flowing quickly; it had filled and strayed beyond its banks. The flat was half under water and the cattle were on the low side – on an island, thanks to the fences. The area of safe, dry land on the narrow strip against the fence looked very small. The water was coming from further up, from neighbouring properties, making the creek rise much more quickly than it otherwise would have. There was no way of knowing how much more was on its way.

Jessica put the binoculars down and churned through the options in her mind, trying to keep herself calm and logical, and not let the heavy thudding in her chest deafen her. She didn't have a four-wheel drive. The quad bike might drown. The tractor? It could terrify the cattle, who were already on edge. They'd never before seen a tractor coming towards them. The last thing she needed was for them to take fright and bust through the boundary fence and out onto the road. At stampede pace, they would be on the highway in just a few minutes.

She looked down at the dogs, who had materialised beside her. Could the three of them do it? No way, she needed to appear daunting; she'd never manage to drive cattle across a creek on foot with two dogs. And it was too deep. If they did make it across, there was a chance the cattle could turn and trample her.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed movement at the bank and pulled the binoculars up to her eyes just in time to see a large gum fall, the ground beneath it eroded. The bank was collapsing. Shit. How long until the cattle were swept away as well? She had to get them to safer ground.

Could she do it on Faith?

‘Right. Let's see what you're made of, Faith,' Jessica said. At the door, her fingers shook as she struggled into her long rubber boots, tucked in her track pants, and then dragged a waterproof jacket from the rack. Her heart was racing. The dogs looked apprehensive. She didn't know what to do about them. Surely they wouldn't knowingly put themselves in danger? She didn't want to risk them drowning in the creek and they had to cross it to get to the cattle. She needed them; had to at least give them a go. The culvert under the road might still be intact. Perhaps they would be able to go around.

Faith looked surprised to see Jessica at the stable gate laden with tack and wearing her helmet. The wind howled and the rain banged on the iron. The dogs were quick to seek shelter inside.

‘Sorry, Faith, but I need you. The cattle and little calves need us. Good girl. We can do it,' she said, trying to convince herself as much as the horse. She fought to breathe against her racing heart, having to take the occasional gulping breath.