Inheritance (20 page)

‘You don’t say. Wow! I’d sure like to see that.’

Rosie shot him a surprised look. ‘Would you really? I could show you one day. Cassie wouldn’t mind.’

‘Just the one cave, is there?’

‘Only one with paintings.’

‘But there are others?’

‘Yes, there’s two or three more. Nothing much interesting in them, though.’

‘I like caves. Perhaps we could look at them all.’

‘If you like. I think I could still find them.’

‘That’s my girl.’ He smiled and leant across to pat her hand. ‘We’ll make an outing of it. Maybe take a picnic? What do you say?’

‘Sure.’ She shrugged. ‘Sounds okay.’

Ben turned up the music and Johnny Cash’s voice filled the car.

‘Help put us in the mood for today,’ he shouted above the sound.

A large crowd had already arrived when they reached the rodeo ground. They could hear cheering as they made their way towards the ring.

‘Sounds like the calf roping’s started,’ Ben said as he led them into the crush. He caught hold of Rosie’s hand. ‘Hang on to me, babe. I’ll get us through to the rails.’ Rosie held on as he forced a path for them through the mass. ‘‘Scuse me, mate,’ he kept calling. The crowd parted good-naturedly, with only the odd grumbled, ‘watch where you’re going,’ in response.

‘Room for a little one?’ he asked as they reached the fence around the arena.

‘Come on, love,’ an elderly onlooker, dressed in full cowboy regalia, moved sideways. ‘Always room for a pretty girl. Move up a bit,’ he called out, pushing the man next to him.

Rosie slipped into the gap. ‘Thanks mate,’ she said, but he had already turned his attention back to the ring and was cheering loudly.

Ben stood behind her, tall enough to see over the top of her head. He slipped his arms around her waist. ‘Good spot, eh?’ he asked, leaning close to speak in her ear.

‘Excellent.’

‘I’ll always get the best for you, babe,’ he said, giving her a little squeeze.

She turned her head to smile up at him, ‘I hope so.’

In the ring, a gate opened with a loud clang as a calf was released from a chute. A horse and rider galloped at breakneck speed alongside it as the rider whirled a lasso around his head. As the rope descended around the animal’s neck, the horse skidded to a halt. The rider leapt from the saddle and within seconds had thrown the calf to the ground and tied its legs. A great roar went up from the crowd with Rosie and Ben yelling as loudly as the rest, caught up in the excitement.

‘They have to tie the legs in thirty seconds to get points,’ Ben explained to Rosie. ‘This is Clint Jones,’ he pointed to the next contestant entering the ring, ‘he’s the current champion.’ Tumultuous cheering broke out. ‘Can he hold his place? That’s the big question.’

‘No one could be quicker than the last one!’ Rosie protested.

‘Wait and see.’ They watched while Clint Jones went through the same ritual.

‘How can you possibly tell which one is fastest?’ Rosie asked.

‘You need a stopwatch, you couldn’t possibly split them when they’re so good. But the judges’ll let us know.’

Several more contenders went through their paces before the last calf left the chute.

By then, Rosie had shouted herself hoarse. She sneezed several times.

Ben squeezed her arm. ‘The dust’s getting to you. And I’m as dry as an old boot. Let’s go get a beer. There’s a bit of a break now before the steer wrestling.’

They shoved their way through the crowd, Ben leading the way, to one of the many drinks tents set up nearby.

Ben pushed his way to the bar and returned with two foaming glasses of beer. ‘Get this into you, babe. It’ll make you feel like a new woman.’

‘Thanks.’ She drank gratefully. The beer was icy cold. It quelled her thirst and washed down the dust in her throat. ‘Just what I need. Sure hits the spot.’

‘Enjoying yourself?’ he asked when they had both drained their glasses.

‘Sure.’ Rosie smiled up at him. ‘It’s just the greatest.’

‘We’ll watch the steer wrestling and then we might find something to eat. Okay?’

‘Okay.’

They made their way back and took up their positions again. It was a colourful crowd that lined the rails and made use of every vantage spot. Bright shirts and jeans or moleskins were everywhere; wide brimmed hats seemed mandatory. No one appeared to be bothered by the hot sun beating down on the ring, where males of all ages pitted their strength and technique against the sheer power of the steers.

A great roar went up from the crowd as a contestant missed his footing and went down on the ground in front of a steer. Rosie screamed as loudly as the rest as the great beast pawed the ground and lowered its head to ready to charge at the helpless figure on the ground. Within seconds, several rodeo clowns appeared in the ring to distract the enraged animal, while others pulled the hapless casualty clear and the onlookers settled back.

‘Have you ever had a go?’ Rosie asked Ben during a break after the next round finished.

‘Not bloody likely! I’m no cowboy. I leave that to the experts.’

‘So you’re not from the country?’

‘Oh, I’ve spent a bit of time here, a bit of time there. I’ve been all over, really,’ Ben waved his hand airily.

‘But you grew up in the city?’ she persisted.

‘Yeah.’

‘Which city?’

Ben frowned. ‘Brisbane, if you must know. Why the interrogation?’

Rosie shrugged. ‘Oh, I’m just interested, that’s all.’

Ben took her by the elbow. ‘Come on, let’s go get something to eat. I’m hungry. What do you feel like? A pie? Hot dog? Hamburger? Fish and chips?’

‘Hot dog, I think.’

‘Let’s go.’

They battled their way through the crowd again and found a seat under a shady tree. Rosie sat there while Ben shoved his way up to the counter and bought the hot dogs. When he returned with them, they both wolfed them down.

When they had finished, Rosie licked her fingers, laughing. ‘I wouldn’t give you thanks for those at home, but here they taste great.’

‘And how would another beer go down?’

‘Pretty good.’

‘Okay.’ Ben stood up and pushed through to the bar again, returning with two cold beers.

After drinking they sat there, discussing the merits of the various styles and techniques of the contestants they had been watching.

‘You know a lot about rodeos for a city slicker,’ she told him.

‘I told you I’ve been around a lot,’ he replied easily. ‘Come on,’ he jumped up and pulled her to her feet. ‘Let’s get back. The exciting stuff’s about to start.’

The buckjumping, always the highlight of any rodeo, was next on the programme. Each rider needed to stay on the bucking, kicking bronco for eight seconds; otherwise he was eliminated. The roars and cheering from the crowd was even louder than before. It seemed as if each onlooker must make more noise than his neighbour as he cheered on his favourite.

The bull riding came next and was no less exciting as the riders fought to stay on the backs of the plunging, stomping bulls.

When the show was finally over, they walked back to the car hand-in hand.

‘That was the greatest,’ Rosie told Ben. ‘But I have to tell you, I’m buggered right now.’

‘Well, in a way that’s good. Because I have to cut short our day.’

Rosie stopped walking. ‘What do you mean?’

Ben stopped too. ‘I didn’t say anything earlier because I didn’t want to spoil it. I’d planned for us to go to a pub and listen to a band tonight, but I had a call from my mother last night. My Gran’s in hospital, pretty sick. My mother was going to spend all day at the hospital with her today and she’s going to ring me tonight and let me know how she is. If she’s too bad, I might even have to go down and be there, just in case, you know.’

Rosie frowned as she looked at him. ‘Down where?’

‘Brisbane. I told you that’s where I come from.’

‘I’m sorry to hear she’s ill,’ she said uncertainly. ‘I hope she’ll be all right. I’m sorry about tonight, too, but I guess you can’t help it if she’s ill. You can’t ring your mother, see how she is?’

‘Nah. She’ll be at the hospital. I’ll just have to wait by the phone till she calls. I’m sorry, babe. You don’t know how disappointed I am. But I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’

Rosie shrugged. ‘Well, I suppose an early night won’t do me any harm.’

‘That’s my girl. Come on, I’ll buy you a beer before we go.’

***

Cassie looked up, obviously surprised, when Rosie walked in so early.

‘Hi, how was your day?’

‘We had the best time,’ Rosie replied brightly.

‘You’re home earlier than I expected.’

Rosie took a deep breath. ‘Yes, well,’ her voice lost its sparkle. ‘His grandmother’s ill and he had to go home to wait for a call from his mother. That’s what he told me, anyway.’

Cassie sat silent for a moment taking in her friend’s dispirited manner. ‘Do you believe him?’ she finally asked.

‘Well, how do I know if it’s true or not? But I have the feeling he’s giving me the run around. If he had something better to do tonight, why didn’t he just say so? Last night, when he rang me, I got the impression he was ringing from the pub. But his mother’s supposed to have rung him last night. I…suppose…she could have rung him, after he got home.’ Rosie sounded doubtful.

‘I suppose she could have. Does he have a mobile phone?’

‘If he does, he hasn’t told me. I’ve never seen one or heard it ring when I’ve been with him.’ Rosie shrugged. ‘Anyway, how was your day?’

‘Started off wonderful. Ended up terrible.’

‘Why, what happened?’

Cassie recounted the events of the day. ‘I was right about him the first time I met him,’ she concluded. ‘He’s an arrogant pig!’

‘Oh, shit. Neither of us seem to have much luck with picking men, do we?’

Cassie, I’m sorry, I’ve got a bit of bad news,’ Gary’s voice came over the phone, ‘the approval to build the cabins has run into a problem.’

‘Oh, what’s the problem?’

‘There’s been an objection from someone on environmental grounds,’ he told her.

‘Who’s objecting?’

‘Someone who lives in Caroobindi. A Cliff Thompson, do you know him?’

‘No. What’s his objection?’

‘He says it’s on the basis that it may be harmful to the local wildlife. Removal of their habitat.’

‘Oh no!’ Cassie frowned. ‘But we’ll be using such a small area of the rainforest. There’s heaps left for the wildlife.’

‘I know, Cassie, and I have to persuade the Council of that. I have to submit details of the area with overall size and how much will remain untouched. Do you have a record of the actual size of the rainforest area?’

‘Yes, I do. Do you want me to e-mail it to you?’

‘Yes. That’ll be a help. I’ll calculate what area we’ll be using and submit the details; then we have to wait for the result.’

‘This is a blow. What do we do if approval’s refused?’

‘We can appeal. But let’s see what happens.’

‘Do I need to do anything?’

‘Not at the moment. Leave it to me. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear the result.’

‘Thanks, Gary. Keep in touch, won’t you?’

‘I will, Cassie. ’Bye for now.’

Cassie hung up, still frowning. Cliff Thompson? She had never heard of him, not in the environmental field, or any of the animal rights movements in the area. It worried her to be considered indifferent to the welfare of Yallandoo’s wildlife. And if approval of her plans was refused, should she appeal or just forget the whole idea? The unhappy ending to the boat trip had left Cassie dejected, and the phone call added to her depression. Perhaps she should forget about Yallandoo, forget her plans and return to Sydney.

Nothing seemed to be going right for her up her.

***

As the next couple of weeks dragged by, Cassie found little to bring her joy. The feed bills rolled in, the sky remained clear and the paddocks shimmered with a dusty heat haze.

Gary rang to tell her he had taken the necessary information to Council and now they must await the outcome.

Much to her annoyance, Cassie found thoughts of Mark popping into her head frequently. Their argument kept returning to her. Just when we were having such a great day,
too. Then I had to find out that as well as being arrogant, he’s bad tempered and bigoted. So why do I want to see him again? She knew the feelings she felt for him were more than just sexual attraction, strong though that was. There was something deeper here, something she did not feel ready to fully acknowledge.

One morning, she sat at her desk studying the latest agricultural magazine which had arrived that day. Suddenly she closed the pages with a snap. She needed action, not reading. Hearing Rosie’s voice, she sprang up from her desk and ran upstairs.

‘Rosie,’ she called out as she banged the door into the house behind her. ‘Are you busy?’

‘Not amazingly, no. Why, what do you want?’

‘I need some exercise. I need to
do
something. I’m going crazy with this sitting around waiting for things to happen.’

‘So what do you want to do?’

‘I think I’ll go for a ride. Want to come with me?’

‘Yeah. Come on, let’s grab our hats and go.’

They rode out in the opposite direction to the rainforest, Cassie riding Tango and Rosie on one of the stock horses.

‘Come on, I’ll race you.’ Cassie urged her horse to a gallop.

Across the paddocks they flew, Rosie keeping pace with her. Cassie whooped; this was what she needed. Slowly Tango drew ahead. When Cassie finally reined Tango in, she was ten metres ahead of Rosie. Both girls were laughing as Rosie drew beside her.

‘You’ve got the best horse,’ Rosie panted. ‘It’s not that you’re a better horsewoman!’

‘I give you that. Tango’s the best horse on Yallandoo, by a mile.’ Cassie patted the sweating horse on the neck. ‘Aren’t you Tango, old girl? Now we better let you have a breather.’

They walked their horses to a shady tree, dismounted and threw themselves onto the ground, perspiring and flushed from their exertion.

‘Look!’ Cassie exclaimed a few minutes later, pointing to the sky in the west. A few clouds billowed on the horizon. ‘This is the first cloud I’ve seen since I’ve been here.’