Right As Rain (24 page)

Back at the Gatehouse she threw everything onto the kitchen bench, shoved a bag of perishables into the fridge then hightailed it back to where Cam was waiting for the part. She was much later than she'd meant to be. As she got closer she could see no sign of a vehicle or Cam. She drove closer, the ground was wet and water glistened from all the nozzles. He must have got it working. She sighed. Keeping water up to sheep and pastures was a full-time job.

Mackenna drove on to the next paddock. The rams lifted their heads to give her a quick look, dismissed her and went back to munching the pasture. She cruised quietly around them. After the worm scare they'd made a good recovery and, with care, had picked up condition. Their water trough was full.

She headed for the house yard. Maybe Cam was at the sheds. She drove up just as the truck pulled away from the diesel tank. What was he doing now? There were no jobs requiring the truck in the next few days that she knew of.

She got out of her car as the truck rumbled forward. Cam pulled up beside her and lowered the window.

“You've been a while,” he said before she had a chance to speak. “I've fiddled it up for now but I'll still need to replace the O ring next week.”

“Next week?” She stepped closer to the truck so she could hear him better over the rumble of the idling engine.

“It should work like it is,” Cam said, “but just to be sure I'll replace it anyway.”

“It's getting a bit late today but surely you could do it tomorrow?”

“Won't be here.” Cam tapped the steering wheel.

“Why not?” Cam usually had the weekends off unless there were urgent jobs to be done, but with everyone away he must have realised he was needed.

“Your dad said I could borrow the truck to help out a mate this weekend.” Cam took his sunglasses from their perch on his cap and slid them onto his face. “It's all organised. I can't let him down.”

She could no longer see his eyes and his mouth was straight. Mackenna had the sense he was smirking at her.

“Woolly Swamp is where your job is,” she said.

“With weekends off, boss.”

She glared up at him. He liked to call her “boss” but each time he did it was more like he was letting her know she wasn't in charge.

“Look, Mackenna,” he leant out the window, his voice soothing. “I've checked the last few mobs in the back paddocks and that pivot will hold now for ages. You'll be right till I get back.” He tapped the door with the flat of his hand and moved the truck forward. She stepped back from the fine dust that rose around it and watched as he drove away.

“Damn it,” she muttered. She was alone, with a farm to run as well as the tasting room. With no time to feel sorry for herself she jumped back into her car. There was only a soft click in response to her turn of the key. She hit the steering wheel in annoyance. She'd recharged the battery but it had obviously been on its way out. The farm ute was close by in the shed. She left her car where it was and climbed into the other vehicle. The fuel gauge barely moved when she started it up.

She sighed in frustration. Who puts a vehicle away with no fuel? Certainly not her father. It was more likely to have been Patrick, he'd been using it to take Yasmine around the place rather than his new car. She drove over to the diesel tank and filled up. The marker on the tank was low as well. She tapped it with her finger but it didn't budge. She frowned at the gauge. It had been filled not that long ago. In fact, twice since she'd come home from holiday.

The air temperature was dropping and Mackenna suddenly felt cold. She rubbed at her arms and whistled up the dogs. She shut them up and hurried back to the Gatehouse. There was plenty for her to do if she was going to be ready to serve dinner tomorrow night.

Mackenna took her coffee cup from the machine and slid onto one of the chairs in her kitchen. Just the smell of the coffee was enough to lift her spirits. She'd been up since five o'clock, checking irrigators and sheep, making phone calls, prepping food for tonight. Now it was mid-afternoon. She'd run out of puff and fancied a real coffee. Instead of making it in her mother's kitchen, she shifted the machine to the Gatehouse. She was usually the only one who made coffee with it anyway.

She glanced at her menu for tonight's meal. With only a few changes she was sticking to the menu she'd prepared for her family. The bus company was a small one doing short tours between Melbourne and Adelaide. The guy running it had been prepared to test her out on this trip but said he wasn't sure his customers were the type to pay the prices she was asking. She'd had to make some cuts but Simon and his group from Melbourne were a different proposition altogether. She wanted them to fully explore the potential of Woolly Swamp lamb for their restaurant.

She rested her head in her hands a moment. She'd decided to set the two groups up in separate rooms but hadn't finished rearranging the furniture yet. There was still food to be prepped and there was one last paddock of sheep she wanted to check.

A footfall made her whizz around, spilling her coffee as she went. Cam was standing behind her and she hadn't heard him come in.

“How did you get here?”

“A mate dropped me off. My ute's still here.” He jerked his finger over his shoulder.

“I didn't hear a vehicle. Where's the truck?”

“Still in town with his gear on it. I left them to unload. Thought you could use some help.” His mouth opened in a wide grin revealing his crooked tooth.

A shiver ran through Mackenna. She pushed back her chair and went to the sink for a cloth to mop up the spilt coffee.

“The sheep in the swamp paddock need checking,” she said. “No-one's been there for a couple of days.”

“I meant here with your bus group.” Cam opened the fridge and peered in. “I'm not a chef.” He closed the fridge and turned back to her. “But I can take orders.”

His eyes swept over her. She wanted to turn away from him but she forced herself to meet his look. If it were orders he was wanting he'd get them.

“That's good,” she said. “I've got everything under control here but I do need you to check the sheep.”

“One more day wouldn't hurt.” He took a step towards her. “I'm handy at more than farm work, you know.”

Mackenna resisted the urge to step back. She'd never felt lonely on the farm but she suddenly felt very alone. It was still several hours till her guests arrived and she didn't like the way Cam was acting. She wanted him gone from her kitchen.

The sound of a motorbike grew louder and she realised it was coming their way. They both listened as it roared closer then stopped near the house.

A frown flitted across Cam's face. “You've got a visitor.”

Neither of them moved as the crunch of footsteps approached the back door.

“Mackenna?” The sound of the familiar voice was a welcome surprise.

She stepped around Cam and opened the door.

“Adam,” she smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“I told your mum to let you know I'd be back to help tonight. I'd have been here earlier but I got delayed by an accident not far out of Melbourne.”

Mackenna was so pleased to see him she barely listened to his explanation. Whatever reason had brought him back, she was glad of it.

“How are things going?” he asked as he stepped into the kitchen. He paused at the sight of Cam. “Looks like you've got help already.”

“Adam,” Cam said with a nod of his head.

“Cam just called in to see what else needed doing on the property,” Mackenna said quickly. She tossed her head back and looked Cam firmly in the eye. “If you could check those sheep for me that would be great. Then you don't need to be back until Monday. You can finish helping your friend shift house.”

Mackenna spoke with a brightness she didn't feel. Cam had been acting almost predatory. What might have happened if Adam hadn't turned up?

“You're the boss,” Cam said, but once again Mackenna felt his tone mocked her. “I'll leave you to it.”

He passed her to get to the door, brushing her shoulder with his as he went. She followed and watched him leave.

“Everything okay?”Adam asked.

“Yes.” She tugged at her ponytail and turned to her menu. “Except that I'm way behind with the prep. I don't know why you're here but I hope you've come to work.”

“Yes, chef,” he said.

Adam's quip reminded her of Cam and the way he called her boss, but there was a difference. Adam was laughing with her.

She focused on the menu. There was no time to waste on thinking about Cam. She had a big night ahead and plenty of jobs for Adam. She started listing them.

It was midnight when she waved off Simon and his mates. The bus group had enjoyed their meal, had a few drinks and were gone by nine thirty, but Simon's group had settled in, enjoying her food and wine. Just before they left he had cornered her and, exhausted as she was, Mackenna managed to strike a deal with him to get their lamb to his Melbourne restaurant. The excitement of that put a spring in her step as she made her way through the house, turning off lights on her way to the kitchen.

Adam was wiping the last of the pans. Everything was cleaned up and the work surface gleamed. While she'd been chatting, he had been cleaning.

“Thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate your help.”

“No problem. I've got time to kill. I've run out of interest in the touristy stuff for now and Mum's at the hospital a lot.”

“I'm sorry,” Mackenna said. “I haven't asked you how your grandfather is.”

“Deteriorating, but he's getting good care. There's nothing I can do for him.”

“You're not close?”

“I've never really known him. We sometimes came to Melbourne for Christmas when I was a kid. I remember him as a grumpy old man. He worked away from home a lot and didn't visit us. I really only made this trip to support Mum. I've been driving her to the hospital and making an evening meal for her.”

“You shouldn't have worried about me,” Mackenna said. “You should be with your mum.”

“My uncle's come from Sydney now and the flat's only small. I thought I'd keep away for a while. She'll call me if anything happens, but the doctors say it could be weeks. He's a tough old coot.”

“Well, I wasn't expecting you but I have to say you were a sight for sore eyes when you turned up.”

“Didn't your mum tell you I was coming back?”

“No.”

“I left my phone number with her in case . . .” His voice trailed off.

Mackenna was immediately back in the motel room in Queenstown. He said he'd left his number then too.

“Mum's been in a tizz getting ready for their trip. She probably forgot.”

“I'll be off then.” Adam backed towards the door.

“Where are you going at this hour?”

“Up to the house.” He turned his deep brown eyes to her. “I'm pretty bushed. I'm assuming I can use my old bed again for a while?”

“Oh, of course.” Mackenna stumbled over her words. She hadn't given a thought to where he might sleep. “The back door's not locked. I don't know if the bed's made up.”

“That's okay. I know my way around. I'll fix it.”

Mackenna followed him outside.

“Where'd you get the bike?”

“I found a company that hires them. Mum's got a hire car in Melbourne. This suits me better.”

He strapped on his helmet and kicked the bike into life. Mackenna closed the door and leaned her back against it as he roared away up the track. The sound once again transported her back to Queenstown, to another time when Adam had ridden out of her life.

It was good of him to come back to help. She couldn't have managed tonight without him, she knew that. Once again they had worked well as a team in the kitchen. Adam was a good chef with an eye for detail. She hadn't needed to check anything. They'd had a few jokes and the kitchen had been a busy but happy scene.

She dragged herself to the bathroom and stripped off her clothes. Her mixed emotions were having a field day in her exhausted state. It was time for a shower and sleep. In the morning she'd think about Adam.

Mackenna inhaled the sweet smell of the wet grass at her feet. She'd come to inspect the irrigator that had given them trouble yesterday and it was apparent that it had done its job, watering the pasture overnight. She cast her eyes over the long, gangly arm of the pivot then slowly turned in a circle. The green of the irrigated pasture was a vivid contrast to the brown of the surrounding landscape. They needed a good rain but in the meantime she hoped Cam was right and the irrigator would continue to work until he could replace the O ring.

She thought back over his visit yesterday afternoon. Had it been as creepy as she'd perceived or was it that he'd just caught her off guard? She brushed hair from her face and turned the ute around. With the crutching team arriving on Tuesday she had plenty to do. She'd allowed herself a sleep-in this morning after the big day and night she'd had. She assumed Adam was doing the same. His bike was by the house gate when she'd gone past to let the dogs out but there was no sign of him. She hadn't stopped.

Now she made her way back there. She couldn't very well leave him on his own with no-one else at the house. Besides, it would be downright rude after all the help he'd given her last night. She just wasn't sure what to say to him.

Mackenna stopped the ute next to his bike. That's what she'd been doing the whole time he'd stayed before, hiding from him, from her feelings for him. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Simon's name came up on the screen. She leaned against the ute and answered the call.

He and his friends were about to leave for Adelaide but he'd been in touch with some other friends who were travelling through today and they were keen to try the Gatehouse tonight. There'd be six of them. Mackenna had agreed to open before she'd had time to think about what was left in her fridge. Once again she was compiling lists in her head as she entered her family home. The smell of cooking greeted her before she reached the kitchen.