A Changing Land(96)

She hurried through the one-room terminal, collected her bag and was one of the first passengers to reach the car park. There was a meeting organised with Jim Macken in three days and Sarah desperately wanted to see Anthony. She’d missed him despite their disagreement and she needed to sit down with him, smooth things over and decide what the best option was. The three men currently in her life all favoured paying out her half-brother and saw benefit in a development of some sort. Maybe it was time to stop fighting everyone.





‘So you’re back?’ Anthony was sitting quietly at the table having an early lunch. Sarah shut the back door and dropped her bag. Pleased to be finally home, the excitement drained at his tone.

‘Hi.’

‘Have you eaten?’ His back remained turned towards her.

She’d been ready to swoop on him with a hug. ‘No, but I’ll get something.’ Somehow Sarah didn’t think Anthony was going to make it for her. She busied herself carving a few slices of meat from the leg of mutton on the sink and then buttered the white bread that was almost past eating. ‘It’s good to be home.’ Sarah added meat and tomato sauce.

‘Nice of you to call and let me know you were coming.’ He didn’t look up from his sandwich.

Sarah took a bite. The meat was tough and the bread hard. ‘What happened to your hand?’ The knuckles on his right hand were strapped and a ghastly blue-green bruise spread out from under the narrow taping.

Anthony lifted his hand and turned it slowly, as if only just discovering he was injured. ‘Smacked it in the yards.’

‘Oh.’ She took another bite. ‘Well, I visited Dad.’ The moistened dough clung to her gums and she ran her tongue across her teeth to free the sodden clumps. ‘Mum died.’ She rubbed her eyes, surprised that after so many years she felt so sad.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s for the best.’ Sarah left the remaining sandwich on her plate. ‘She was pretty sick at the end. It’s hard to reconcile the person in the hospital bed with the woman who used to stand in the West Wangallon kitchen ordering me about.’

‘Some people are just different, I guess.’

‘Everyone seems to think we should pay out Jim.’

‘Well, it looks like my opinion didn’t count for much.’

‘Maybe you should have listened to mine, or at least asked it. It cuts both ways, Anthony.’

Anthony wet his finger and dabbed at the crumbs on his plate. Sarah knew it was a waste of time trying to discuss Jim or the development at the moment. ‘How’s everything going?’ There were dirty plates and coffee mugs on the sink and a trail of sugar ants tracking their way towards the toaster.

‘Ask Matt.’

‘I’m asking you.’

Anthony lifted his plate and carried it to the sink. Their eyes met briefly. ‘I’m not much interested.’

Sarah swallowed the remains of the bread and mutton. ‘What do you mean you’re not much interested?’ Tension fizzed between them. ‘Well?’

‘As I said, ask Matt. Your precious stockman has taken to giving me advice in your absence. Bloody hide of him.’ Anthony squeezed his thumb and forefinger together. ‘He’s this close to getting booted off the property.’

Sarah gasped. ‘What? You can’t fire Matt.’

‘Why the hell not?’

‘Because.’

Anthony shook his head. ‘Not good enough. He seems to be swinging on your grandfather’s coat-tails. I had to remind him that the bloody old master and commander had kicked the bucket.’

What was she going to do now? She could hardly reveal Matt’s role on the property without acknowledging she’d kept it a secret from Anthony, and he wouldn’t give a squat if she argued that the terms of Matt’s employment were part of her grandfather’s will. ‘You two aren’t getting on?’ she asked.

‘Let’s just say that we’re not cogging too well. Matt’s down at the yards about to weigh the steers. Now you’re here you can give him a hand.’

Slightly miffed by the abruptness of his tone, Sarah covered the mutton in plastic wrap and gathered the bread, meat and butter in her arms. ‘You coming?’

Anthony picked up the newspaper from the kitchen table. ‘Now why the hell would you need me?’





Sarah walked through the side gate of the cattle yards. Bullet greeted her with an excited yelp and she ruffled his coat. ‘Good to see you too.’