A Changing Land(141)
Matt grimaced. ‘Sorry to hear it.’
‘Well, you know what they say, Matt, it’s not over till the fat lady sings.’
‘I guess. What do you need me to do?’
They walked companionably to the back gate. ‘Nothing. We wait and see how things unfold. Everything going okay?’
‘Pretty much. All quiet on the western front,’ he said, glibly nodding in the direction of Boxer’s Plains. ‘Toby’s walked the cattle down Marshall’s Lane. The feed’s pretty good actually.’
‘And Anthony?’ Sarah asked. Not wanting to rush a showdown, yet knowing it was going to happen sooner rather than later.
‘Haven’t seen him. Actually there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. I was hoping you’d give me a bit of leeway. I’ve got a friend staying and was wondering if it was all right with you if she moved in. Permanent like,’ Matt scratched his head. ‘That is, while it lasts. Want to have a look at the steers?’
‘Sure.’ Sarah lifted Ferret into the back of the tray as Bullet jumped in. She climbed into the Landcruiser beside Matt. ‘What’s her name?’
‘Tania. She was my missus before I came here.’
‘True love eh?’ Sarah grinned.
Matt cleared his throat, moved through the gears more than necessary. ‘Yeah well, at the moment it’s working.’ He thought of the last two nights. A man could die of exhaustion when it came to Tania’s appetites. He’d have to try a bit of restraint otherwise he wouldn’t be able to function properly. As it was he’d forgotten to double-check the gates after they shifted the cattle from Boxer’s Plains to the route, and only remembered to do the job this morning. Just as well too. They were all open and it looked like some idiot on a motorbike, probably a hoon from town, had been the cause.
The cattle were feeding into the wind; the curve of their bodies above the oats obscuring their heads and legs so that they resembled a herd of Stone Age animals. Ferret barked delightedly, limping from one side of the tray to the other and snapping at the two ramps they crossed. In contrast Bullet sat at the rear when they headed east and on their return he faced the west. Sarah patted him when they stopped at a gate. ‘What’s the matter, boy?’ They were near the woolshed where an avenue of aged peppercorn trees stood sentinel above the long drafting race. Bullet jumped from the back of the Landcruiser and, ducking through the wooden fence, ran across the yards. ‘Great,’ Sarah muttered as they continued home. ‘Something’s wrong.’ Bullet was running up the road and then veering towards the west.
‘He just hasn’t been for a run for a while.’ Matt inspected the dash of the Landcruiser, digging through a layer of Coopers notebooks, screwdrivers, pens, a carton of bullets and a bag of melted chocolates; the object of his search.
‘I don’t know. I think I should follow him.’ Sarah watched Bullet become a speck in the distance as Matt turned north through the house paddock boundary gate and stopped at the machinery shed.
‘The ranger from the PP Board is coming out this afternoon to check on Toby. I said I’d meet him out on the route to discuss numbers. I was hoping to put out another couple of hundred head. You want to meet him?’ He offered Sarah a chocolate from the perpetually heater-melted and winter-refrozen selection.
‘No thanks, don’t want to deprive you.’ The chocolate looked like squashed sheep droppings. ‘Think I’ll leave you to it.’ Her decision not to go was based on letting Matt do his job and had nothing to do with Toby Williams.
‘Righto. By the way, Tania can garden if you’re interested.’
‘Sure I’m interested.’ Sarah doubted Matt would take any rubbish from a woman and he certainly wouldn’t recommend someone if they weren’t capable, male or female.
‘I’ll bring her over next week some time.’
‘Sounds good. Well I might go find Bullet before it gets late.’
‘You need anything from Wangallon Town? Jack and Tania are going in to get a few things later.’
‘No thanks. We’re fine.’
Sarah drove out through the house paddock gate with Ferret for company. The local radio station was playing a run of hits. Between Smoky Dawson and Dean Martin she was more than ready to start opening gates, even with the nippy breeze. She scanned the bush, expecting to hear Bullet yapping away at a roo or an emu. A year or so ago he’d often bailed up odd unsuspecting wildlife, however with age came maturity and the novelty of the chase appeared to have worn off. She drove on, stopping to open a third gate. In the dirt in the middle of the road she stooped to pick up a wallet. It appeared to have been run over for it was flattened into the dirt. Sarah recognised it instantly as Anthony’s. A fizz of worry spiked through her. Turning off the Landcruiser’s ignition, she cupped her hands around her mouth. ‘Anthony? Coo-ee?’ Her voice echoed hollowly. ‘Bullet? Coo-ee?’ A distant bark answered. Ferret pricked his ears and barked in reply.