Outback Sunset (18 page)

Diane supplied the answer before Stuart could speak. ‘Oh, you know, the usual wealthy man-about-town image; the successful businessman who, when he thinks he can get away with it, tries to live the life of a bachelor half his age.’

Vanessa would have had to be slow-witted not to pick up Diane’s undertone of rancour. She and Bren exchanged glances after which she made a mental note to discuss this new insight when they were alone. Apparently, and if she hadn’t misinterpreted Diane’s tone and expression, Bren’s uncle and his wife were not as content in their ‘Garden of Eden’ existence as they purported to be. She was getting bad vibes — a barely subdued passive aggression from Stuart and thinly veiled tolerance from Diane who, with her tight-lipped expression, appeared to be not happy.

‘That’s bloody nonsense and you know it, Di,’ Stuart remonstrated, his tone tense. He threw back his head and downed the remains of his drink in one long gulp. ‘Anyone want another?’

‘I will,’ Bren said, hoping to break the edge of tension at the table.

‘Soda water for me,’ said Vanessa. As Stuart moved towards the bar she looked at Diane and asked, ‘So, when is Kim’s baby due?’

Later, in the professionally decorated guest bedroom with its own roomy bathroom which overlooked the pool and distant sandhills leading to Roebuck Bay, Vanessa subtly pressed Bren for information on the state of his uncle’s marriage.

‘It … was a little awkward down by the pool,’ she began as she applied her make-up, talking to him through the bathroom’s open doorway. ‘I had no idea that Stuart and Diane were, well …’ she paused, let the words hang in the air for a moment or two. ‘They seemed happy enough in Darwin.’

Bren shrugged his shoulders. He was naked apart from a towel around his waist, and was waiting for her to leave the bathroom so he could take a shower. ‘They’ve been like that for years. One day they’re fine, the next they’re snapping and sniping at each other like dogs. Curtis reckons …’ He stopped, suddenly distracted when she emerged from the bathroom, ready for dinner. She was wearing a shoestring strap black and white patterned frock that showed a tantalising length of shapely legs, accentuated by her high heeled sandals. ‘You look gorgeous.’

‘Thank you, kind sir,’ she gave him a smile, ‘and what does Curtis reckon …?’

‘Oh, yeah. He’s of the opinion that their problems began a long time ago. They had to get married, if you know what I mean, and they had Kim and Traci pretty quickly and years later, Gillian and Anna. Stuart, well, frankly, my uncle considers himself something of a ladies man, which Diane does not appreciate. Over the years there have been whisperings of affairs all over the place — that
Stuart, supposedly, has a woman in every capital city!’ He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. ‘Curtis believes Diane’s stayed with him because of the girls. They all have a nice lifestyle here and, I guess, so long as Stuart’s discreet about his extra-curricular activities, she chooses to turn a blind eye to his womanising.’

‘Sounds a touch despicable to me,’ Vanessa’s tone was honest. ‘Diane seems to be a nice person. She deserves better, don’t you think?’

Bren shrugged again. ‘Dunno, I try not to get involved with it.’

Oddly, Bren’s disclosure about the state of his uncle’s marriage should have satisfied her as to her feeling of being uncomfortable with his uncle, but it didn’t. The fact that he was a womaniser was interesting but, in today’s semi-promiscuous society, not unusual. No, there was … something else, something she couldn’t tie down to anything specific. A certain wariness towards him remained. When she’d been young her mother had said to always trust her instincts, that they wouldn’t let her down and to date they hadn’t. Around Stuart Selby, it would be wise to remember that.

During their four-day visit, she saw little of Bren because Stuart monopolised his time. Diane and her daughters went out of their way to make sure that Vanessa enjoyed her stay in Broome. While Bren and Stuart went golfing, to the pearl farm and did some deep-sea fishing in Stuart’s boat, the women showed her the area. That included a trip to Stuart’s pearl farming interest, to Cable Beach, where she rode a camel and later, to Malcolm Douglas’s
Crocodile Park. In town she was given a behind-the-scenes look at, and instruction from no less than one of the directors of the fabulous Paspaley Pearling Company, the largest and most profitable pearling company in Broome.

‘You should come over for
Shinju Matsuri
, the Festival of the Pearl. It’s celebrated in August,’ Diane said as they sipped cool drinks at an outdoor street cafe in Napier Terrace.

‘It’s the highlight of our year,’ dark-haired Kim advised. ‘We give thanks for the pearl harvest with a parade, and there’s traditional Japanese ceremonies and fireworks.’

Vanessa smiled. She was learning so much about the country she had adopted as her own, finding it more diverse than she’d believed possible. ‘I’d like to see that.’

‘If you can tear Bren, or Curtis, away from Amaroo — they’re usually busy at that time of year,’ Diane said.

Vanessa looked up and down the street. It was a mixture of new and not so new buildings, the sign of a town in transition. Not overly affluent, but certainly moving forward. Young families, casually dressed tourists, four-wheel-drive vehicles, souvenir shops, organised tour shop-fronts too, permeated the streetscape together with tubs of bougainvilleas — which flowered practically all year round — in a riot of colours, from pale apricot to deep burgundy.

‘I’ll find a way.’ There was determination in her voice. Besides, she had a plan — she intended to learn how to fly the chopper and if Bren couldn’t bring her, she hoped that by then she would have
her own licence and the expertise to fly herself to Broome. ‘And we’ll want to come and see your baby.’ She smiled at Kim, to whom she had taken an instant liking.
‘Two
good excuses, no, reasons, to come, if you ask me …’

When the wet ended, for the first time in her life, Vanessa saw a wondrous transition in the land. Gumbledon Creek had overflowed its banks in several places and would remain a raging, uncrossable torrent for weeks. As ground water evaporated or was absorbed into the earth, shoots, then blades of fine green grass began to sprout. Certain wildflowers, bloomed on hitherto uninteresting shrubs and bushes, and a variety of gums sprouted shiny new leaves. The garden at the front of the homestead, which mostly consisted of a selection of native flora, brought forth a rainbow of colours that would blaze only once a year.

It took another week of unrelenting sunshine before the ground was solid enough for Vanessa and Nova to ride into the foothills — the first time in almost three months — to witness the rejuvenation of nature.

‘I’m going to miss this when I go to South Australia,’ Vanessa said wistfully. Tomorrow she was leaving to take up her movie role which was being shot in the Flinders Ranges.

They were giving their horses a rest, having dismounted and found a group of largish boulders next to the trail to sit on. The trail led to the Exeter Waterfall but they couldn’t get close enough to see it because the fall was producing such an abundance of water that the usually dry creek that ran through
the gorge had more than a metre-high flow racing through it.

‘Be grateful,’ Nova replied, ‘if you stick around here, Bren will have you herding cattle from one end of the property to the other. We have to cut a third of the mature stock out for export. It’ll be hard yakka here for a month or more.’

‘Oh, I’ll miss all the hard work,’ Vanessa shot back with a pleased-as-punch grin. ‘Acting is hard work too, you know,’ she added after a moment’s reflection. ‘I know that what you see on the screen makes it look easy, but getting the desired result can be and often is tedious work.’

‘I’ve always been fascinated by how they do films,’ Nova admitted as she picked up a stick and began to draw patterns in the earth. ‘Which do you prefer, movies or live theatre?’

‘Live theatre. I think it’s what I do best. Every performance becomes a little different because of how you feel at the time, and how each audience — which is also different — responds. That keeps it fresh for me. Some actors get bored doing the same lines night after night. I don’t because it’s my job not to.’ Vanessa flashed her a speculative look and adroitly changed the subject. ‘What about yourself, your career? You could have one, you know.’

Nova glanced at her then her gaze skittered away to the creek. ‘I’m still considering it. Dad says I should give it a go but …’ she stopped, thought, then said, ‘it would be a very different world to here. I’m comfortable with this place.’

‘Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to get what you really want. We only get one
shot at life, Nova, and often just one chance to grasp what’s being offered. That’s how it worked for me with my acting. I’ve heard Kerri say that many live entertainers, singers, struggle for years to get what that Sydney manager offered you on a platter.’

‘I know, but …’

Vanessa, wisely, chose not to pursue the topic. What was the point? She had her suspicions as to what was holding Nova back. Not a lack of belief in her talent or that she could make a success of it, but Curtis and the feelings she had — or thought she had — for him. Ironic, really!

‘When I come back from South Australia I’m going to have Bren teach me how to fly the chopper. Do you want to learn too?’ Vanessa enquired as she moved along the boulder into a deeper patch of shade.

‘Uh huh, I’m happy to be a passenger. You’re very brave to want to fly the thing.’

‘It’s the most efficient mode of transport out here. If I could fly I wouldn’t feel or be isolated. I could go to Kununurra, visit Lauren and the boys more often, see Diane in Broome. And Amaroo should have another chopper for mustering — even hiring out to other stations. That’s a possibility too.’

‘They’re pretty expensive.’

‘I know, but why can’t the property lease one instead of buying one outright?’

Nova looked surprised. ‘I don’t think Bren or Curtis have thought about doing that.’

‘Before I go to Adelaide, they’ll be more than thinking about it. If I’m going to fly I want a new or near new chopper — even if I have to pay for it myself.’

‘Good luck with that. Bren, Dad and Curtis had to do a lot of study, theory and practical, and it costs. Over thirty thousand dollars, so I’ve heard. Dad reckons the station has to be able to justify such a cost otherwise it isn’t economical.’ There were times, Nova thought, when Vanessa’s self-assurance irritated her. She always knew what she wanted and how she was going to get it, so much so that, occasionally, by comparison Nova felt inadequate. And she resented being made to feel that way, yes, definitely.

‘That much?’ Vanessa looked thoughtful. ‘I didn’t realise … but I did think there would be study involved. A pilot’s licence is a pretty responsible thing to have.’

‘Of course, it can work out okay financially, once you get a licence. Curtis is a licensed instructor — he did that when he was younger and working on a station in the Northern Territory for a while. When he was there he used to hire out to do sky mustering for a couple of smaller stations around Tennant Creek. Dad says sky mustering is more cost effective than putting on several stockmen for a muster.’ Nova grinned. ‘But you know Bren. He can be a tight-arse when he wants to,’ Nova said frankly. She stood up. ‘Come on, we’ll go out to Spring Valley. It’s very pretty there after the wet.’

Still smiling at Nova’s remark about Bren, Vanessa nodded. ‘Lead the way.’

That same evening over dinner, Vanessa brought up the subject of her learning to fly and leasing a newer chopper. Much debate flew between Reg and Curtis, and Bren and Warren, the stockman, as to
the merits and demerits. Then Bren brought the discussion to a close, he thought, by declaring that a lack of funds stopped Amaroo from making any such outlay until the loan from Vanessa was paid back.

‘I can pay for the cost of the licence and, you know, routine test flights, medicals, and any qualified special instructor’s fees, and fund a lease for two years with what I’ll earn from the
Heart of the Outback
movie,’ Vanessa countered.

The kitchen became startlingly quiet for thirty seconds or so.

Vanessa watched the men stare at each other, shaking their heads. ‘Why not? Another chopper would be an asset to the station. Wouldn’t it pay for itself, say, over a five-year period?’

‘It might,’ Curtis admitted, grudgingly.

‘On an annual basis, it should cut casual labour costs too,’ Reg said, scratching the stubble on his chin as he thought more deeply about it.

‘Amaroo’s a big station. Wouldn’t using two choppers instead of one to muster stock be quicker and more effective?’ Vanessa persisted.

‘Perhaps, but …’ Though Bren lowered his voice everyone at the table could hear what he said. ‘What you earn in your acting career is
your
money. I don’t expect you to invest your earnings in Amaroo.’

Vanessa turned her head towards him, a certain light — people at the table knew it was the gleam of battle — flicked in her brown eyes. ‘I know, but what if I want to? Am I going to be denied the opportunity to improve the situation here because I’m not a born and bred Selby?’

‘That’s not it,’ Bren came back defensively, his expression showing that he wasn’t pleased with the way the conversation was going, especially in front of their employees.

All at once Vanessa didn’t care. She wanted everyone to know how she felt and that when she came up with a good idea, that idea shouldn’t be put aside lightly. ‘Isn’t it? I can afford to do it, Bren. I want to be a real part of Amaroo, do the things Nova does — branding, mustering, fencing.’ She glanced meaningfully at Curtis. ‘I’ll even tackle castrating the weaners. I don’t want to be known around the Kimberley as,’ her English accent changed to something that resembled the way Queen Elizabeth might speak, ‘Vanessa Selby, oh, you know, the actress who queens it around Amaroo Downs in between acting jobs.’ Her voice normalised. ‘I want to be known as Vanessa Selby, a true-blue outback woman.’

Curtis couldn’t help chuckling with amusement at the way she’d put it, which earned a scathing glance from Bren.