The Lost Man(32)

‘Keith, mate.’ Nathan kept his voice soft and controlled. ‘You listen to me carefully, because this is the truest thing you are going to hear all year. You might be able to buy and sell every bloody cow in this district, but you can’t keep me away from Xander.’

‘It’s what Jacqui wants.’

‘Tough shit. Jacqui’s going to have to live with it.’

Keith jangled his keys, perhaps a touch nervously. ‘Not if I can help it. If you’d been a better husband and father in the first place we wouldn’t even be in this position.’

‘Mate, there’s nothing in this world that would keep that woman happy. Maybe if you hadn’t always been in her ear telling her what a waste of space I am, then maybe she wouldn’t have left.’

‘You think it’s my fault she saw some sense? I tried my best with you, Nathan. I gave you that land, didn’t I? Gave you a chance?’

Nathan laughed. ‘Yeah, right, you keep telling yourself that. I never had a bloody chance with that land, and you know it. You wanted me to stuff up and you wanted Jacqui to see it, and you got your wish, mate. Well done. But you’re not going to get what you want when it comes to Xander.’

‘We’ll see.’

‘Would you seriously be happy if I abandoned the kid? You think that would be better?’

‘Honestly? Yes. I don’t think Jacqui or Xander are better off for being around a man like you.’

‘Why?’ Nathan felt a genuine stirring of curiosity beneath the anger. ‘What’s so bad about me? You’ve never even bothered to get to know me, Keith.’

‘I know men like you,’ Keith said. ‘I’ve lived my whole life in the outback and I know what goes on out here. I know what men like you do.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

Keith opened his car door. ‘This is a waste of time. I’m not getting into this. I’ve got to go.’

‘Wait. Who are you talking about? You mean my dad?’

‘For one.’

‘Hey. No.’ Nathan put his arm out and grabbed the door, blocking Keith’s way. He was a lot bigger than the other man. ‘That’s not fair.’

‘You sure about that?’ Keith looked pointedly at Nathan’s arm until he slowly dropped it. Keith shook his head and climbed into the car. He wound down the window. ‘Don’t try to call Jacqui. Communication should go through the lawyers.’

‘Jesus, Keith.’ Nathan had leaned in through the window. Kylie, watching from behind the service station counter, later remembered seeing that too. ‘This is between me and Jacqui. Keep your money out of it. You listening? I don’t want you messing around with my family.’

‘No, Nathan.’ Keith had actually laughed. ‘You’re the one who’s not listening. I’m going to keep writing those cheques as long as it takes. Jacqui and Xander aren’t your family, they’re mine, and I’m going to make sure they’re properly looked after. So you listen to me now. I don’t give a shit what you want. I care about what I want, and what Jacqui wants.’

‘And what exactly is that?’

‘Don’t bloody come near me or my family again.’

Nathan could have reached through the window and broken the man’s nose. To that day, he sometimes wondered if he should have. The whole thing would have been done and dusted a lot quicker, at least. But somewhere, in the midst of it all, he had suddenly thought about Ilse. The magic of the night before had more or less been hosed off thanks to Keith but, for just a moment, the man in front of him seemed a tiny bit less important. He and his money couldn’t touch everything.

Nathan had made himself take a long, deep breath. Without another word, and with a level of self-control he had barely demonstrated in all his life, he’d walked to his own car and driven away.

Nathan parked further away from the grave than Harry did. It looked somehow even more lonely than it had the day before. Bub got out this time as well and followed Harry over to the headstone. They stood side by side. The sand and the wind had almost entirely repaired the ground, as Nathan had expected. It was already hard to imagine Cameron lying there. Nathan watched through the windscreen as Bub said something, and the slightest frown crossed Harry’s face.

Nathan turned to Xander. ‘Do you want to get out?’

‘No.’ Xander was looking anywhere but at the place where Cameron’s body had been. ‘Do you?’

‘No.’ They sat in the car as the smell of rotting food floated through from the back.

Nathan had spotted the expensive four-wheel drive from miles away. He’d left the service station with his hands gripping the steering wheel hard and Keith’s words ringing in his ears. Ilse and the night before seemed a long time ago and now Nathan just felt hot and fractious. He’d been planning to drive straight home, but he could feel the lack of sleep catching up with him and that was never good news on the road. He’d pulled over at the bakery and bought a coffee. He still felt tired, but as he sat in his car, sipping coffee and thinking about the reason for his lack of sleep, the smile started to return to his face.

He’d hit the road twenty minutes later and was half an hour out of town when he saw the four-wheel drive parked at an angle on the gravel track. Not even parked, perhaps. Just stopped, half on the road, half off. Nathan had recognised the car well before he’d seen the figure leaning against the hood.