Queen of the Road (14 page)

Angela looked up from her paperwork and checked the time. It was getting late. Coop would be back with Claudia soon. He’d offered to take the little girl with him to check the sheep again while Angela came back to the office. She’d said no initially, but Claudia was so excited and Coop reassured her that the dog incident wouldn’t happen again. He also said something about a job he needed to do in town, so it was no trouble to bring Claudia back in with him. In the face of her daughter’s enthusiasm and the prospect of a few hours alone, Angela had quickly capitulated. Jeremy drove her back to town and dropped her at the depot.

She switched on the office light and rubbed her arms. Once the sun was low on the horizon the temperature dropped quickly in Munirilla. She only had a few more things to sort out then she’d be done for the night. The truck was loaded and ready. There wasn’t a lot going Adelaide way but she had a full load waiting for the return journey. She’d accepted Ken’s chemical pick-up later in
the week as well, thanks to Coop. She glanced at the time again and picked up her pen. Her mobile rang.

‘Angel?’

‘Hi Dad.’

‘We were worried. You said you’d ring once Claudia was home.’ With everything that had happened, she’d completely forgotten.

‘Sorry, we were out on a farm. It’s hard to get reception there. I’m back at the office now.’

‘Everything ready for tomorrow?’

‘Nearly. Looks like we’ve a good lot of freight this week and I’ve done a deal with Frank from the IGA. He’s got a backlog of recycled cardboard. Berls were going to charge him more than it was worth to get it back to the city. I’m going to take it when I’m low on freight going Adelaide way, for a fair price of course.’

‘That all sounds promising.’

Once again, Angela could hear Janice’s voice in the background.

‘Can we talk to Claudia?’ her father asked.

‘You could,’ Angela stood up again and walked to the window, ‘but she’s not here right now.’

‘Have you left her in the flat? I don’t think …’

‘No Dad, she’s with Coop.’

‘Who’s Coop?’

‘A guy …’ Angela paused. How would she describe Coop?

‘You’ve left her with some guy?’ Angela heard the worry in her father’s voice, then the sound of Janice babbling in the background.

‘He’s a friend.’

‘She doesn’t ever seem to be with you.’

‘Of course she is. We went to Coop’s farm and she had such a great time, she didn’t want to come home. You know how she is. I was only coming back to work and Coop offered to take her with him to check some sheep.’

‘So, this Coop has a wife and kids?’

‘No. He lives alone.’

‘Angela!’ Janice’s voice was louder. She must have been on the other handset.

Angela hurried on. ‘His boss is usually there but she’s away at the moment.’

‘Really, Angela,’ Janice snapped. ‘You left our dear little Claudia alone with a strange man.’

‘It’s not like that,’ Angela retorted. ‘He’s not a stranger and he’s really good with Claudia.’ Angela tried to sound convincing, for their sake and her own. How well did she know Coop? She’d left her four-year-old with a man she’d only met a couple of times. ‘He’s a genuinely nice guy.’

‘And we’re putting our trust in your judgement?’ Janice’s voice dripped malice.

‘Keep your nose out of this,’ Angela snarled.

‘Angel.’ Her father tried to intercede.

‘She’s my daughter. I’ve managed to look after her on my own until now, I think I can–’

‘That’s debatable,’ Janice snapped.

Angela quivered with anger. ‘Dad, I have to go. I’ll ring
you
,’ she emphasised the ‘you’, ‘when Claudia comes in.’

Her father murmured something and there was a clunk, then he spoke to her softly. ‘Angela, I am very worried.’

‘She’s fine, Dad.’ Now that Janice had hung up, Angela’s anger turned to fear.
Where’s Claud?
She searched the darkening depot outside for any sign of a vehicle. Coop didn’t say he’d be this late. ‘Coop’s a nice guy. He’s going to help me out with a load of chemicals later in the week. Without him I wouldn’t be able to take it.’

‘Ah, dangerous goods licence. I did wonder if you might need to get one.’

‘If I was staying on it’d be a necessity.’

‘Do you think you’d like to?’

‘Get my licence?’

‘Yes, and stay on.’

‘Hold on. What’s this about?’ Angela stopped pacing and leaned against the doorframe. ‘What happened to Trev?’

Her father sighed. ‘He’s going to be a few more weeks. I haven’t got anyone else to spare. I’ve asked around but everyone’s got work at the moment.’

‘This was meant to be temporary, Dad.’

‘I know, I know. Look, I’ll work something out. I’ll come and do it myself if I have to. You can hold the fort at this end …’

‘But Dad, I have a job. I’m just on leave, I have to go back some time.’

‘You like driving trucks, Angel. You’re good at the business. We could be a team.’

‘I don’t know. There’s Claudia and …
And what?
Angela didn’t really know. Claudia had taken to trucking life well. But speaking of … Angela again searched the dark yard for a sign of vehicle lights. Maybe Coop had taken her to the flat. ‘I’d better go.’

‘Is Claudia there?’ Beyond her father’s voice she could hear Janice’s demanding tone again.

‘No, but she will be soon. We’ll ring you back, okay?’ Angela disconnected before he could say any more. Her heart was thumping. What had she done? She should have insisted on bringing Claudia home with her.

She locked up the office and made it as far as the gate before Coop’s ute pulled up. She flung open the passenger door and her heart lifted at the sound of her daughter’s voice.

‘Mummy, Mummy, guess what?’

Angela didn’t care what, she reached in and put her arms around her daughter.

‘I wouldn’t …’ But Coop’s warning came too late.

Angela nearly choked on the rank animal smell coming off the little girl. She pulled back, hoping the muck was only mud. ‘What is …?’ Angela put her nose into her sleeve. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light inside the cab she could see that Claudia was filthy, covered in dirt and goodness knows what else.

‘Sorry, I tried to ring but your phone was busy and–’

‘Coop’s sheep had babies.’ Claudia bounced on the seat. ‘Two babies.’ She held up two fingers. ‘We had to help.’

‘I had a ewe down. She was in trouble with twins. I had to stay back, sorry. Claudia was my assistant.’ His lips curved up in a gentle smile. ‘I was going to give her a wash,’ Coop said, ‘but I thought you’d be worried.’

‘Coop thought the babies would die, but we think they’ll be okay now, don’t we, Coop?’ Claudia looked across at him, then back to her mother. The little girl looked so happy. Angela couldn’t be cross.

‘Get in and I’ll drive you home,’ Coop said. ‘That’s if you can stand the smell.’

‘What is it?’ Angela quickly rolled down her window.

‘Best not to know,’ Coop chuckled.

Angela directed him to their flat and in the few minutes it took to get there, Claudia gave a detailed account of the births. She had certainly learnt a few basic things about life that afternoon.

‘Thanks Coop.’ Angela looked over Claudia’s head into his gentle gaze. She felt guilty she’d even entertained the idea that he might harm Claudia.

‘It was nice to have company,’ he said.

‘I’m hungry, Mummy. You said we would have pizza.’

‘You need a shower before you go anywhere near food, young lady.’

‘Can Coop have pizza with us?’

‘Coop’s run around after us enough today,’ Angela said. She glanced at the man beside her. He didn’t have the look of someone in a hurry.

‘I’m a bit of a mess as well …’ he mumbled.

‘You can use our bathroom. Please, Coop,’ Claudia implored. ‘Mummy makes the best pizzas.’

He looked directly at Angela, making it difficult for her not to squirm in her seat. ‘It’s fine with me,’ she said eventually. ‘And Claudia’s right. I do make darn good pizzas.’

Coop was up at first light the next day and out in the paddock with the ewes. Three more of them had given birth overnight. Two had twins. So far this was a good rate, and he hoped it would continue.

The ewe he’d worried over yesterday was looking well after her initial struggle with the birth, and both her lambs were looking strong on their feet. He was concerned she might reject them but she was showing all the signs of being a good mother.

He stood for a while watching the mob. Once the sun had risen above the horizon he pulled Angela’s camera from his pocket and took some pictures. She’d suggested lending it to him. He didn’t have one of his own and had no idea if Alice did, so gladly accepted the offer.

Last night, over pizza, he’d explained to Angela his idea of taking some pictures of the farm and visiting Alice with them. That was why he’d offered to drive the truck.

He moved away from the sheep and checked their water trough. If he was being honest with himself, there was a second reason for his offer: getting to spend more time with Angela.

He’d worried about taking Claudia home so late and he saw the anxiety in Angela’s eyes when she threw open the door of his ute. He’d never intended to take as long as they did, but the ewe was in trouble. Claudia wasn’t at all interested in staying in the car and so she was right beside him when he pulled the first lamb from the mother. The second was smaller and followed quite quickly. It was weak. He’d used an old towel from his ute to clean the lambs up. Claudia worked gently on the smallest lamb, talking to it and cleaning it with the towel.

Coop thought he’d have to move the mother and babies to a pen even closer to the house, but the ewe had come good and the lambs had begun to suckle enough that he felt confident leaving them. By that time it was dusk, so he bundled Claudia into the ute and drove straight into town. Coop wasn’t sure how Angela would take the news of Claudia’s afternoon, but once she got over their lateness she didn’t seem too concerned – apart from the smell.

Claudia had been hustled into the shower as soon as Coop finished washing his hands in their tiny bathroom. Angela then threw together some delicious pizzas and Claudia only managed a few bites before nearly falling asleep at the table.

Coop smiled. There hadn’t really been any need to go back to Munirilla last night. Offering to keep Claudia with him had been a spur of the moment decision. He liked kids and Claudia had enjoyed her trip to the farm. Once she was in bed he hadn’t stayed much later, just long enough to finish the meal. Angela looked tired and he knew she was planning an early start.

Coop looked east to the bright horizon. They’d be well on their way by now. Then he looked west, where the clouds spread as far
as he could see. Maybe this was the next lot of rain coming. He still had plenty to do before seeding though, and if he was going to be away a couple of days this week, he’d have to put in some extra hours in the coming days.

There was also the dilemma of who he could ask to keep an eye on things while he was in Adelaide. He’d only be gone two days but he couldn’t leave Alice’s precious ewes without someone to watch over them.

He considered his options. There were the Barnes on one side and the Camerons on the other. Alice relied on both families from time to time, but the Barnes seemed to be the closer arrangement. Coop knew Barry Barnes and Skitch had done lots of odd jobs for Alice before he was on the scene. Joan Barnes called in for a cuppa every now and then, but he didn’t know if Alice reciprocated these visits.

Alice had more of a working relationship with the Camerons. They’d done a lot of contract sowing and reaping for her over the years. She was worried about that arrangement this year, with Phil and his wife retired to town and Paul away on his honeymoon. His sister, Annabel, was keeping an eye on the property while he was away. Coop knew Phil came out regularly to help his daughter, but he also knew they’d be flat out seeding their own property.

Coop glanced at the approaching cloudbank. If it delivered good falls there’d be plenty of farmers wanting to get seed in the ground, not just Alice. Her insistence he work on the air seeder might prove to be worth it yet. He looked down at the camera in his hand. That was something else to take a picture of. He’d hook the seeder to the tractor, he decided, and take it for a test run.

A couple of lambs skittered around their mother, then did a short run away from her and back. He smiled. It hadn’t taken them long to gain strength. If the rest of the mob dropped good, strong lambs like these, Alice would have excellent breeding stock.

Coop whistled to Jilly, who was sniffing along the fence line in the other direction. She turned and ran back to him as he climbed into the ute. He shouldn’t get too excited over these first few lambs. There was still a long way to go before the ewes all dropped, and then the young ones had to survive.

And things weren’t going as smoothly as they could. So far five mothers had gone missing and he’d nearly lost the first set of twins in a difficult birth. He pushed his Akubra firmly onto his head.
Best not to count your chickens before they’re hatched
, he thought. Or in this case, lambs.

When he reached the sheds, Jilly gave a series of barks. Coop slowed and looked around. There was a vehicle parked in the house driveway. He continued past the sheds and pulled up at the front gate. The car was a Barnes vehicle but there was no one in sight.

Jilly jumped from the back of the ute, barked in the direction of the house, then made a dash for the verandah, disappearing around the back. Coop followed, rounding the corner before stopping in surprise.

Rusty and Jilly each had their noses in a bowl and Joan Barnes was standing in the doorway, holding the screen open, watching them. She looked up and gave him a wan smile.

‘Hello Coop. I came over early to catch you but you were already off. Alice always says you’re a hard worker.’

Coop tugged his hat from his head and shuffled his feet, unsure of what to do. Joan was standing inside the door, as if he was coming to greet her at his own house. He turned his hat around in his fingers. Well, not
his
house, but Alice’s house, and Alice wasn’t home.

‘I just came to drop off some fresh cake and thought I’d bring the dogs some scraps as well,’ Joan said.

Coop stared at her.

‘I told Alice I’d call in from time to time. Bring you some food.’

Coop found his voice. ‘You don’t need to …’

‘I said I would.’

‘Thanks.’ He tried to smile. ‘It’s nice of you, but I can manage.’

The dogs were both pushing the bowls at her feet, licking up the last bits of whatever it was she’d given them. Joan bent down and retrieved the spotless dishes. ‘I’d best be going.’

As she drew level with him, Coop remembered the vehicle tracks he’d seen in the driveway a couple of weeks back.

‘Have you been over before today?’ he asked.

‘Yes, twice. Just to bring some scraps for the dogs.’ She glanced back at the two animals, sitting side by side, watching her every move, then looked up at Coop. ‘Barry says I shouldn’t interfere but I did a lot of baking and thought you might like some …’ Her voice trailed off.

This time his smile came easily. ‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I like cake.’

Joan ran her fingers through her limp hair, pulling it away from her face, which was lined with concern. ‘Have you heard any more from Alice?’

‘She’s making slow progress.’

‘I guess that’s better than none.’

‘Yeah,’ he said. He shuffled the hat around in his hands again.

‘I sent a card. I hope it got to her.’

‘I’m going to see her later this week. I’ll find out for you.’

‘Oh, that’s nice.’ Joan’s face almost lit up. ‘She’ll be pleased to see you. Be sure to let her know I send my best wishes.’

‘I will.’

Joan looked at her car. ‘I’d best get back. Enjoy the cake.’

‘Thanks,’ Coop said again, turning to watch her go.

‘Oh, I did your dishes,’ she called over the roof of her car before disappearing inside it.

Coop watched her reverse out and drive away. This was Alice’s house and she could invite whoever she liked into it, but all the
same, he didn’t like the idea of Joan Barnes going inside without anyone home.

He turned and looked at the dogs, both watching him expectantly.

‘As for you two,’ he said patting their heads, ‘some guard dogs you are. Bribed by food.’

Rusty settled down on the verandah but Jilly left to take up her place by the gate. It was the second time Coop had seen Jilly in Rusty’s domain in a short space of time. Maybe the old boy was softening.

In the kitchen, the dishes were stacked neatly on the bench and beside them was an opaque plastic container, in which Coop could see a chocolate cake. He flicked on the kettle and opened the lid. His mouth watered. Seemed he was just as easily bribed.

As he sat eating the cake and drinking his tea, he thought again about Alice and her struggle. The only sound in the house was the reassuring tick of her clock. He dropped the cake on the plate as a shiver ran down his neck and tingled along his arms. He turned his head slowly. He’d shut the door on that ticking clock just after Alice had left and hadn’t touched it since. Now it was open.

Coop hesitated a moment. He had no desire to invade Alice’s privacy, but what if something had been stolen? He pushed the door open wider. The blinds in the lounge were closed, only allowing a dim light in. He felt along the wall for a light switch and flicked it.

The room was sparsely furnished, and neat and tidy. Coop shook his head. How would he even know if something was missing? He’d never been in there before. The ticking drew his eyes to a tall grandfather clock in the corner. It was a magnificent piece of furniture, standing out against the more modest chairs and bookshelves. As did the old piano on the wall opposite it.

Coop picked up a photo from the top of the piano. It was a black-and-white shot of a much younger Alice, taken on her wedding day. Coop studied the man who hugged her to him. This was the husband who’d died too young.

He replaced the photo on its lace doily and turned his attention to the door beside the piano, which was also ajar. He pushed it open but didn’t enter. It was Alice’s bedroom and he wasn’t going to go any further. The bed was neatly made and the floral bedspread with flounces on the sides surprised him. Alice didn’t strike him as the frilly type. He scanned the rest of the room. Nothing looked out of place as far as he could tell.

He quickly retraced his steps and pulled the door firmly shut on Alice’s rooms. He felt like a snoop but he obviously wasn’t the only one. Maybe Jeremy or Angela had opened the door yesterday. He screwed up his face. Surely he would have heard the ticking clock this morning at breakfast or last night when he was nodding off. He looked from the stack of dishes by the sink to the door. Maybe Joan had gone in there. Coop couldn’t imagine why. She’d been Alice’s friend a long time. Perhaps she was just doing as she’d said, keeping an eye on the place.