The Long Paddock, page 20
He returned to the campfire and the smell of cooked bacon. Cressy had already eaten but a full cup of black tea sat beside her.
She remained seated in her camp chair that she’d repositioned to face the cattle. He sat across from her and, after tossing Tippy a small piece of bacon, enjoyed his breakfast.
Whatever awareness had surged between them now appeared forgotten as Cressy maintained a close watch over her herd.
‘Where would you like your caravan?’ he asked after a swallow of coffee. ‘Down near the Wattle Road turn-off?’
‘Yes, that’s where I was thinking. But I can move it.’
‘No, I’ll go. I’ll also set up tonight’s yard.’
The busier and the further away he kept, the less risk of ruining the tentative calm between them. Fliss also would have slept in. He’d have at least another hour out here alone with Cressy until Fliss arrived.
‘Okay.’ Cressy passed him her ute keys that hung from a cowboy hat key ring. ‘The fence looks good. How late did Tanner stay?’
‘Late. It turns out we have mutual friends in Montana.’
‘Meredith always says the world’s a small place. I’m glad you two met. He doesn’t seem to know anyone else around here.’
‘He doesn’t. He grew up in the city. Much to the disgust of his lawyer father he prefers open spaces to courtrooms.’
‘Well, there’s plenty of that in Montana as well as on the long paddock.’
‘There is.’ Denham set his empty plate on the table but didn’t move to leave. ‘He’s going to use my rodeo yards to practise for the campdraft.’
‘That’s a good idea. The cattle yards aren’t very big on the Collins’ place. He was more of a sheep man.’ She paused to trace around the top of her mug with her finger.
Denham tensed as the gesture revealed her uncertainty. He didn’t have to be a betting man to know their conversation wasn’t about to continue in the same impersonal vein.
‘Denham … we haven’t talked about what happened the other night. You’re one of the most honourable people I know … Why do you think you’re undeserving of being with someone … or is it just being … with me?’
Mouth dry, he stared at his coffee and took his time to answer. ‘As I said before … you have nothing to do with … how things are. I’d make a lousy partner for anyone.’
‘So is it something you’ve done?’
He fought down his panic. Cressy wasn’t going to let this go. He couldn’t start giving yes or no answers because eventually she’d whittle away his words to discover the truth. A truth that would hurt her, him and the family name he was duty-bound to protect.
‘It doesn’t matter what it is, the end result’s the same.’ He gave in to his instinct to flee and stood. ‘I wouldn’t make you, or any woman, happy. I’m sorry. I’m a workaholic and relationships come second. No-one should ever settle for such a pecking order.’
Cressy stood too, her eyes searching his. ‘You’re so much more than a workaholic and that’s rubbish about you putting relationships second. But I know how hard it is for you to talk about your feelings so … let’s leave this conversation here.’
Her words didn’t bring Denham any comfort. Her resolute tone flagged that while this conversation was over for now it could be continued at any stage.
He nodded and broke eye contact to collect his coffee mug and place it on his empty plate. ‘What can I say? I’m a typical Rigby.’
Despite his best efforts, bitterness grated in his words. He didn’t wait to see Cressy’s reaction. He strode off towards the ute, Tippy close behind him.
***
When Denham returned from towing the caravan to its new stop and setting up the portable yards, a familiar Land Cruiser ute was pulled up beside Cressy. He released a silent breath. Fliss had arrived. There’d be no more questions from Cressy he couldn’t answer.
He parked Cressy’s ute in the shade of a gum tree close to where the herd grazed. Tippy raced ahead to greet Fliss while he took his time to walk over. He could feel Cressy’s eyes on him from where she sat on her ag bike. He made sure his arms hung relaxed by his side. She couldn’t be privy to the emotions that rampaged through him with the force of a wind storm.
‘Morning,’ Fliss said with a bright smile. ‘And before you ask, your precious ute is in one piece.’
‘Morning.’ He forced a grin. ‘I never thought it wouldn’t be. Don’t forget Cressy wasn’t the only person I taught to drive in our old farm ute.’
‘How could I forget? You sat me on a cushion so I could see over the steering wheel. Those were fun days when we used to practise in the paddocks while our mothers played tennis on the Claremont court.’
‘They were.’ He turned to Cressy and handed her the ute keys. ‘Your caravan and yards are all set up. Hope you have a more peaceful night tonight.’
‘Thanks.’
Her fingers brushed his. The brief, warm contact offered both understanding and comfort. He didn’t fool her. She knew their conversation had left him unsettled. Throat tight, his arm slowly lowered to his side.
On the road to their left, a red car zoomed past.
Cressy sighed and shook her head. ‘It’s going to be one of those days again. I’d better trail these cows.’
Fliss gave her a long hug. ‘I’ll call when I’m back in Sydney tonight.’
‘Make sure you do and that you drive safely. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since being out here, it’s that roads are unpredictable places.’
‘You’re starting to sound like me. I’ll be fine.’
Cressy started the ag bike and flashed him a smile. ‘Thanks for everything. Please give Reggie and Jazz a carrot for me.’
‘Will do.’ He gave Tippy a pat before she bounded after Cressy.
Fliss helped him load the table and chairs into the ute and soon they were headed home. He checked his rear-view mirror until Cressy’s cattle were little more than black dots.
Fliss glanced at him, her hazel eyes serious. ‘If you break my sister’s heart again, you know I’m not talking to you.’
He sighed. ‘I know and I’m not trying to. The last thing I want is for Cressy to be hurt.’
‘Right answer.’ Her tone softened. ‘How’s the not getting hurt part working out for you?’
Denham didn’t respond, he just gave Fliss a loaded look. If she could decipher over the phone how much he hurt after a rodeo injury, he’d have no chance of hiding his pain now.
Concern indented her brow. ‘I’ve never asked what happened, or why you left, but I am asking you now. What’s stopping you and Cressy from being together?’
His only reply was to pass a hand around the base of his rigid neck.
‘Tanner,’ Fliss continued quietly, ‘doesn’t know the history between you and Cressy and yet he saw your connection. I could see it in his smile. You look at each other on the Main Street like you did around the campfire last night and everyone will know things are not over between you.’
‘Fliss … as much as I want to explain … I can’t.’
‘Why? You’re not like your father and brother.’
Cold fear slicked his skin. His knuckles shone white. Could Fliss have worked out their family secret?
‘For a start,’ Fliss spoke into the strain, ‘you might have the Rigby blue eyes and dark hair but you can communicate your feelings. You have far more of your mother in you than you have your father. Sure, you’re not big on words but show me a country boy who is.’
Denham remained silent. He might be more like his mother but his father’s blood still ran through his veins. He relaxed his clamped grip on the steering wheel. But at least Fliss didn’t appear to know about the connection between his brother’s and father’s deaths. If she did, she wouldn’t hesitate to discuss such a sensitive subject. Fliss, like Cressy, never backed away when things got tough.
His phone rang from where it sat in the hands-free car kit. A woman’s name flashed onto the screen but he didn’t take the call.
‘It doesn’t matter how many words I do or don’t have, the reality is I’m not right for Cressy. I’d only ruin her life and in the end you’d both hate me.’
Fliss’s eyes narrowed. ‘So your plan is to be ‘just friends’ with the woman you love?’
He glanced at Fliss and nodded.
She shook her dark head. ‘Good luck with that.’
Silence settled between them and lasted until they reached Glenmore. Before she left his ute, Fliss turned to him, expression grave. ‘I thought cowboys always finished what they started. You’re the most honourable cowboy I know.’ When he didn’t answer, she kissed his cheek. ‘And the most stubborn. We’ll talk again soon.’
Fliss’s solemn words stayed with him as he drove towards Claremont. The only way he could finish what he’d started with Cressy was to be with her. And that was impossible. Wasn’t it?
Deep in thought, he almost drove past Phil as the farm manager strolled through the wheat crop checking for leaf rust. Denham pulled to the side of the road and walked through the paddock gate.
Phil approached with a smile. ‘I hear your picnic didn’t exactly go to plan last night?’
Denham leaned against the front of Phil’s mud-splattered Hilux. ‘It didn’t but apart from a gash to one cow’s leg, Cressy’s cattle are okay.’
‘Good.’
Instead of speaking again, Denham looked out over the green field that swayed and sashayed in the wind. His conversations with Phil were always punctuated by periods of easy silence.
Phil glanced at him, the lines in his weathered face deepening. ‘Meredith talk to you this morning?’
Denham shook his head. ‘No, but she could have left a message. Why?’
‘She’s gone away for a week.’
‘She has? I was wondering when she’d go.’
Questions clouded Phil’s grey eyes.
Denham spoke again. ‘Every year, about this time, she goes away. I’m not sure where she visits, I think it’s a beach near where she used to live.’
Phil nodded.
Denham continued talking, knowing reserved Phil wouldn’t ask the questions he sought answers for. ‘When she went to teacher’s college in Sydney she boarded with my mother’s family on the northern beaches. That’s actually how my parents met. When Meredith returned home, my mother came to visit and met my father.’
Phil inspected the horizon. ‘I didn’t realise Meredith lived in the city?’
‘It’s not something she talks about.’ Denham pushed himself away from the ute and clasped Phil’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, she’ll be back in a week.’ Denham grinned. ‘Maybe earlier as this year she has more of a reason to come home.’
Denham turned to leave the wheat paddock. With his back towards Phil, his smile slipped. He hoped Meredith would be okay, wherever she was. He’d known she’d leave soon. She’d filled the freezer with meals for him and Phil. He’d also caught her staring out the kitchen window, her hands in the sink water and deep lines etched on her face. He rubbed at his day-old whiskers as concern uncoiled deep inside.
He wasn’t the only Rigby with secrets.
CHAPTER
14
It was good to be home.
Cressy closed her eyes and gave herself an extra minute beneath the shower’s hot water. She turned her head so the warmth of the spray hit the tender spot between her left shoulder and neck. She’d worked hard the past two weeks but it was her internal stress that knotted her muscles. She’d come back to no rain.
She turned off the water taps and enjoyed the luxury of not rushing. She’d unpack the caravan, put on a load of washing then duck out to see Reggie before nightfall. Then she’d sleep. She was too tired to eat. Which was just as well as she was out of food except for the eggs the chickens had laid today and two spongy tomatoes.
Tomorrow she’d go to town. Tomorrow she’d also think about how to keep Glenmore and her cattle alive. Generating some sort of cash flow was a priority. She had bills to pay. If her bank balance was also healthier, she could consider finding agistment for her cattle. In the meantime, she still had some of the hay Denham had delivered when Phil had hurt his back. She also had some new bales. The truckie who’d almost run down her cattle had sent out two large bales to apologise.
She opened her chest of drawers. Her duffle bag might bulge with dirty clothes but her home wardrobe was restricted to items that either needed mending or didn’t fit. She threw on a grey tank top she never wore because it was too low-cut and an old pair of shorts that had once been jeans. Fliss had hacked off the legs but they’d been too short so she’d put them into Cressy’s cupboard for farm wear. She flicked her wet and unbrushed hair off her face. Tonight was all about minimal effort and maximum down time.
She padded down the hallway to the kitchen. The polished cedar floorboards, which had once been carted by bullock drays from the coast, were cool under her feet. The occasional creak echoed as she walked throughout the empty house. Normally the quiet soothed her but now it only left her with a growing sense of loss. Even though she hadn’t seen Denham in the second week away droving, the aftermath of his help stayed with her.
Having Denham out with her on the long paddock had felt comfortable and right. Accepting his assistance hadn’t weakened her. Instead it had given her a new strength. Problems and issues hadn’t appeared so daunting when he’d been there alongside her. She pushed open the heavy kitchen door.
She was no closer to knowing why Denham continued to push her away. He said it wasn’t something he’d done, so it had to be something someone else had done. Even though he’d again made it clear there could be no future between them, his body had contradicted his words.
When she’d emerged from the caravan to see him pulling on his wet shirt, she hadn’t misread the intense need in his eyes. She also hadn’t misinterpreted his alarm when their conversation had crossed into personal territory. So she’d backed off. She’d never discover any answers if she forced him to talk. But now she was home she’d find a way to revisit their discussion. She reached for her phone from the kitchen table. The screen indicated someone had called while she’d been in the shower.
All thoughts of Denham fled as she realised she’d received three missed calls and two new voice messages. She chewed her lip and pressed the phone to her ear. Usually she was lucky to have two calls a day. It only took a brief listen to the start of the first voice message for her stomach to plummet. Denham’s voice may have been composed but the words ‘Reggie’ and ‘situation’ galvanised her into action.
She grabbed her keys and wallet from off the kitchen hutch. Her phone still against her ear, she tugged on her cowgirl boots. The screen door slammed as she left the homestead and ran through the dust towards her ute.
‘Sorry, Tip.’ Cressy bent to reassure the kelpie who’d raced outside with her. ‘It’s best if you stay here. Some out-of-towners have tried to ride Reggie and he has them cornered in their car.’
The ute tyres spun in the gravel as she sped along the driveway. She slipped her phone into the hands-free cradle and dialled Denham. He didn’t pick up. She left a brief message she was on her way.
The familiar drive to Claremont seemed to stretch forever. When she passed the dry stone wall that marked the entrance to the historic property, she forced her shoulders to relax. She’d be there soon. Her blinker marked time as she took the side entrance to reach Denham’s rodeo yards.
At first all she could see was Denham standing at the gate, his ute nearby. Then movement at the edge of the rodeo arena caught her eye. Her heart thudded. Reggie pawed the ground close to an old model orange car wedged against the steel chute rails. Through the dusty windows she could see three youths trapped inside. Trampled in the dust at Reggie’s feet lay the remnants of a blue and white rope. From the dents to the side of the car, an unimpressed Reggie was determined to not let the trespassers leave.
She parked beside Denham’s ute. Reggie swung around to face her and she glimpsed the splash of red down the side of his face. Frustration boiled through her, heating her cheeks. Why couldn’t Reggie be left in peace? Once she got the thrillseekers out of their car the angry bull would be the least of their worries.
Denham opened her driver’s side door. His calm blue gaze swept over her too-warm face. Only the grooves by his mouth hinted at the seriousness of the situation.
‘Cressy, he’s okay. His wound looks worse than it is. The three kids are okay too. We’ve just got to convince Reggie to let them leave.’
Cressy left her ute, dragging a hand through her still-damp hair as the wind whipped it across her eyes.
‘Please tell me they didn’t ride him?’
Her fingers clenched at the idea of Reggie being forced to cooperate with strangers who had no idea about what they were doing or had scant concern for his welfare.
Denham shook his dark head. ‘No, he’s only in the yards because he jumped the fence. It looks like they cut the padlock, parked in the arena then snuck through the fence into the paddock to catch him. When they realised they were no match for him, they would have high-tailed it back to their car and he followed.’
‘Hopefully he gave them a fright when he jumped the fence so they won’t ever come back. I’ll go calm him down.’
‘No, you won’t.’ Steel underpinned Denham’s quiet words. ‘Reggie’s mad and not thinking clearly. I’ve seen too many people hurt by bulls feeling the same way Reggie is now.’
‘He’ll be fine.’ She walked away.
‘Cressy …’ Denham’s fingers slid around her elbow, halting her. ‘Humour me … please. I’ve tried carrots and he’s not interested. At least stay on this side of the fence until we know how he’ll react. Ella’s on her way and so are the police. If we need extra help, we’ll soon have it.’
Cressy remained still. Emotions flickered and then waned in Denham’s dark eyes like candlelight. The warmth from his touch seeped into her skin. The depth of his concern tempered her agitation.
‘Okay,’ she said softly, her gaze holding his. ‘I’ll stay on this side … to start with.’
