Meant To Be (24 page)

‘But, God, just think of the cooking involved,' Barbara said.

‘Oh well, no pain no gain, they say. And I'll need something to do to keep me occupied after being over here day after day. It's been an experience, but somehow I don't think I'll miss chipping mortar off rocks for hours on end,' Emily said.

‘No, I imagine not. Surely there's an easier way,' Barbara said, looking around and frowning.

‘Not if you want to reuse old stone. It's actually not too bad, quite therapeutic in fact.'

‘Well, I'll take your word for that,' Barbara said.

After the last of the cake was gone, they drained their cups, screwed them onto the tops of the thermoses, helped Barbara repack the box, and then waved her off.

They had been back at work for a few minutes when Jake's mobile rang and he stepped away to take it. Emily had got used to tuning out his conversations while she worked, and also tuning out her concerns that he was doing too much. He was looking great, and the night sweats seemed to have stopped. He'd assured her the jittery feeling had lessened too. His hands still sometimes
shook a bit as he held his cutlery, but that could be put down to all the work they were doing. Her own shook sometimes as well. She looked up at hearing Jake exclaim.

‘We've done it! We've got council approval. We can officially start,' he cried.

They leapt up and jumped about – Jake, Emily, and David – dancing around in a circle like children. Des looked on, smirking and shaking his head slowly in mirth. Grace just looked confused.

From then on, the pace seemed to go up a gear. A few days after news of the council approval, David announced that the Bureau of Meteorology's long-range forecast was indicating that the winter crop-growing season would break in mid-April. That gave them about nine weeks to get as much done as possible before the rain came. Meanwhile, David would also need two weeks at the end of February to shear his sheep, and Emily's. All depending on the weather of course. Almost everything to do with farm life was reliant on the weather.

Emily hadn't really thought about the significance of Jake's birthday being near the end of April before – other than their apparently excellent astrological compatibility. Now she realised that, as he had promised to drive David's second tractor during seeding, there was no point trying to organise a trip away or probably even a barbeque – he'd be too busy.

Since she'd found out when his birthday was she'd been unsuccessfully racking her brain for a gift. What did you get a successful guy who could probably afford to buy anything he wanted? A few days on a tractor? Well, whether he wanted it or not, that's
what he'd be getting. And probably a whole lot more than a few days. Poor fellow. She could imagine it turning into one of those ‘careful what you wish for' situations.

The only thing Emily remained a little concerned about was that there had been no further discussion of their engagement. It was as if it had been forgotten, or had never happened in the first place. A couple of times it was on the tip of her tongue to mention it, but each time she chickened out. She really was trying so hard to not be like Enid; just let things happen and not nag or control.

She hadn't had much to do with her mother recently. They'd had a brief conversation where Emily had declined an invitation to dinner – she was simply too tired from chipping mortar all day. Predictably, Enid got all huffy – it was fine for her to be busy, but apparently not for Emily – and put Des on the phone. But instead of trying to persuade Emily to change her mind, he'd chattered excitedly about the project's progress.

One evening Emily emerged from the pantry with her arms full of dinner ingredients and found Jake on the phone. There was nothing unusual about that, but the frown on his face as he paced back and forth piqued her concern.

‘Is everything okay?' she asked when he'd ended the call.

He ran a hand through his hair. ‘One of the Melbourne jobs has had to be halted – the client's run out of cash.'

‘Oh no, that's terrible. Does that mean you'll lose money?'

‘Not a lot. At the most, thirty grand. I can wear it if I have to. Thankfully the progress payments are up to date.'

‘God, not a lot? Thirty thousand dollars sounds like a lot to me!'

‘I suppose, but not in the context of the whole job,' he said with a shrug. ‘Anyway, it's not something I'm going to waste time worrying about, Em, so you shouldn't worry about it either,' he added, grasping her gently by the shoulders and looking into her eyes before kissing her on the forehead.

God, to not have a problem with losing thirty grand! He must be very successful indeed, Emily thought, feeling a whole new sense of respect for Jake. They'd never discussed Jake's financial situation in any great detail. If they were officially engaged, should they be discussing merging finances, getting a joint bank account?

‘The good news,' he continued, ‘is that my team will be here in a few days.'

Instantly Emily's brain started whirring with all that had to be done to make five men comfortable. Upon first mention of the team coming across from Melbourne, she had expressed concern about where they would fit them.

After a few phone calls, Jake had assured her they were happy to stay in swags in the shearing shed. It might be different if the weather was cold, but as it was, it would be okay. Emily couldn't believe they would be happy to spend months in swags on a hard floor. They must really like him, she decided. They'd agreed that if it got too cold, or too much for the men, they would scout around the district and find caravans for them. And with that agreement, Emily had put the accommodation side of things out of her mind.

They would come up to the house to eat and shower. It would be a strain, but it had to be done if the project was going to come along as quickly as possible and remain within budget. In a way Emily was looking forward to retreating to the kitchen and playing host. But another part of her would miss being in the thick of the action; making a visible contribution. Fuelling the workers was important, but it wasn't the same as actually being out there.

Emily also worried about backlash from businesses in Wattle Creek for bringing in labour from elsewhere. But there was nothing she could do about it. They would have hired local people
if available, but as Jake had explained, stonemasonry wasn't the same as bricklaying. They'd be hiring a local concreter, electricians, roofers, and cabinet-makers when the time came. In the meantime, they'd have to cop whatever flak they got on the chin.

By Wednesday the twenty-second of February, David and Jake and Emily had most of the stone cleaned and divided into two different sizes. David announced that he wouldn't be available for the next two weeks – he was shearing Emily's sheep down here and then his own up at his place the week after. He again declined Jake and Emily's offer of stopping what they were doing to help – he had a good team set up. David's crew brought all their own food, so Emily wouldn't have to feed them. Soon she would have five men to feed full-time anyway.

Grace had proven herself and she was excited that David wanted to use her. He had put her through her paces, and she had turned out to be a natural in both the yards and the paddock. And she was still very young, so would only get better. Emily puffed up with motherly pride at the thought.

She thought back to her first ever conversation with Barbara when she'd gone to pick up the tiny puppy. Grace was the runt of the litter and hadn't been wanted by anyone else because she was so much smaller than the others.
Well, so much for that!

She was also glad that Grace would be occupied. It was much better than being locked in the house yard, which she would need to be to keep her safe from all the extra foot and vehicle traffic. She felt dreadful locking up Grace, but they were expecting Jake's team from Melbourne at any moment.

Speaking of which, she thought, as a dual cab ute with five men aboard arrived on site.

As the men poured out of the vehicle, Jake greeted them like they were great mates. She heard them ribbing him gently about not taking long off work after all.

‘Missed you guys too much,' Jake said in reply. ‘This is David, a friend who's been helping out. And this is Emily,' he said, with his arm around her. ‘She's co-boss, so just watch out,' he said with a laugh. ‘Em, this is Toby, Ben, Stan, Bill, and Aaron.'

‘Hi Emily, lovely to meet you,' they each said whilst offering their right hands.

‘Likewise. Thanks so much for coming. I'll try not to be too bossy,' she said, smiling and shaking hands with each of them in turn whilst desperately trying to commit their names to memory. A couple of them – blond, blue-eyed Toby and pale, redheaded Aaron, in particular – had a bit of a larrikin look about them. Emily pegged them at around her age or maybe a bit younger. Stan and Ben were older – nearer early to mid-forties – and a little shyer. Bill, the oldest of the group, had more salt than pepper in his mid-brown hair, and had the weathered look of someone who had spent most of his life in the sun.

She warmed to them instantly. They all seemed like really nice guys. It would be fun having them around.

Despite the long drive from Melbourne with only a night in Adelaide, they got right to work. Jake unrolled the plans on the back canopy of the ute whilst gesturing in the direction and general layout of things. While David returned to work on the rocks, Emily left to go back to the house. She had to finish preparing for the big barbeque she'd organised to welcome them, and double-check that everything was organised regarding their accommodation.

Until David had finished with the shearing shed, the men would be sleeping in the house's two spare rooms. She'd gathered five
swags: John's, her own – only ever used once – David's, Barbara's, and one they'd borrowed from Grant, but left it up to them to decide if they wanted to share the double beds or camp out on the floor. After deciding it would be a nightmare trying to keep track of towels if they were all the same colour – Emily, taught by Enid, only ever had sets of matching towels, hand towels, bath mats, and face washers – she had gone to town one afternoon and bought five new towels in different colours. Now she put up a clothes airer in the enclosed verandah for the stonemasons to keep them on.

From the kitchen window, Emily watched the sheep race past the house on their way down to the yards. Her heart swelled and she felt a wave of emotion as Grace came into sight behind them, making her way back and forth, pushing them forward. She seemed to be doing a great job. Next came David's ute with Sasha aboard. Emily laughed, feeling like the proudest mum in the world. She reluctantly dragged herself away and got back to work on dinner. She yearned for a nanna nap, but she had too much to do to stop for even half an hour.

The welcome barbeque had been a triumph. The five guys, her parents, Barbara and David, Nathan and Sarah, Bob and his wife, Grant and Steve and their wives, and two babies, had all joined in to celebrate the official start of the building. Everyone seemed to have got along well and had fun. And they'd all raved about the food, especially the pavlova piled high with cream and fresh fruit she'd served for dessert.

She was glad that Nathan and Sarah had made it. They still hadn't got around to inviting her and Jake over – Emily quietly
suspected they were too busy getting to know each other intimately – so it was good to have them over at last.

It had been getting harder to find excuses to dodge Enid's invitations, though, and she had figured the opportunity of notching up a dinner with her mother whilst being busy with other guests was too good to pass up. Besides, she'd really wanted her dad there for what was both a kick-off party for the cottage and thank you to the other guys for doing the shed. She'd also wanted Jake's mates to meet some locals. She didn't want them feeling they were stuck at the farm on their time off.

Thankfully it hadn't been too late a night, with everyone having left by ten and the guys settled in their rooms by ten-thirty. The stonemasons had even insisted on staying to help her clean up!

That night the kitchen was a hive of chatter as the Melbourne men talked excitedly of seeing sheep being shorn – most of them for the first time ever.

‘It doesn't hurt them at all,' Toby said. ‘I thought it would, but it doesn't.'

‘They don't pluck them, mate, it's just clippers – like what you should use on your hair occasionally,' Stan said.

‘I didn't mean the actual shearing. It always seemed a bit harsh them being dragged across the floor when you see it on the telly.'

‘I wouldn't like to be stooped over like that all day – you can see why those blokes need so many breaks,' Bill said.

‘That's because you're old,' Aaron said. Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw him pick up a bread roll and aim, but then put it down again after a glare from Jake.

‘I can't get over how precise it all is with the testing of the fleeces and categorising them.'

‘And how careful they are with contamination. It's really very clean,' Toby said.

‘Yeah, probably cleaner than your house, eh, Tobes?'

‘Yeah, probably.'

‘Your dog was amazing, Emily. Pretty gutsy for such a little thing – climbing on all those big woolly beasts. David told us she's never actually been trained. That's incredible,' Bill said.

Emily beamed back. ‘I snuck a peek when they came past the house. I felt all silly, like a proud mother.'

‘Where is she, anyway?' Stan asked, looking around.

‘She's staying with David for a fortnight until he's finished his own shearing, playing at being a real farm dog.'

‘Well, it looked like she was loving every minute of it.'