Silver Clouds (26 page)

‘I know,' she moaned. ‘But I think it's better than wearing clothes that would be just so out of place.'

‘I'm gonna step on those boots and christen them as soon as we stop,' he threatened.

‘That's something I think of every time I buy new shoes.' Tessa laughed. ‘We always did that as kids. Did you Marni?'

‘Um, nope.'

‘We loved jumping on whatever new shoes we'd been given – while our feet were still in them, mind you. I'd end up with some horrible bruises from Ryan.'

‘You weren't bad at it yourself,' he answered.

They swung onto the highway. In three hours they would join the queues of utes and other four-wheel-drives making their way to the annual rodeo.

She remembered from her childhood that the trip could be very different from one year to the next. Sometimes they drove through massive potholes and down two-wheel tracks full of mud. They'd laugh as they slid around the road. Others, bogged to the axles, had not been so fortunate. In some years, though, the dust had been so thick it was hard to see three feet in front of the bullbar and the holes filled with bull dust would make for an uncomfortable ride.

Ryan cranked up the stereo and Marni began humming to a country artist Tessa had never heard before.

‘Who's singing?'

‘Beccy Cole,' Marni answered. ‘She's good. If you like her, you'll like Sara Storer and Gina Jeffreys. They're all solo artists but they sing together. Call themselves the Songbirds. I could listen to them sing the bills on Ryan's desk!'

For the rest of the trip, Marni introduced Tessa to new country music singers. The three of them sang and laughed together. Tessa was thrilled to see Marni and Ryan so much more relaxed, now they had a plan in place to try to get pregnant. Even though Tessa assumed there would still be tough times ahead, she was sure they'd be okay.

As they drew closer, the traffic increased until there was one long line of vehicles. Some were towing horse floats and some hauled trailers. Most of the cars had their windows down, country music blaring from the speakers. People who were travelling together kept the airwaves busy, calling each other to warn of deep bogs or to agree on a good spot to stop and have a break.

Tessa noticed that many of the vehicles had spotlights and aerials on the roof and were loaded up with swags. The atmosphere was electric and they hadn't even reached the grounds yet!

Finally they pulled up in the camping bays. Tessa helped Ryan and Marni unload and they began work on setting up their site. They'd brought their own wood to burn in the large iron rings supplied for small fires. Ryan expertly lit the kindling while Marni unpacked the chairs and food. Tessa threw the swags onto the ground and made sure there was room for Peggy and Paul to join them later.

She could hear music coming from the main arena and bulls bellowing from their pens.

Straightening, she gazed around, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of Brendan. Everywhere she looked people were setting up camp. Shouts and expectation filled the air. A group of young lads was hanging out the back of a stationary ute, all with cans of rum'n'Coke in hand, yelling encouragement to a group of girls who were dancing to their own music.

The smell of woodfire smoke and food wafted through the camps and there was the sound of children laughing everywhere.

Tessa smiled. She had missed this.

‘Tessa! Tessa!'

She turned towards the voice. Cally was running, waving at her.

‘Look at you!' Tessa exclaimed as the girl twirled in front of her. ‘You look beautiful.'

‘Everything fits perfectly,' Cally said with a grin. ‘I feel amazing.'

‘So you should. When did you get here?'

‘A couple of hours ago. I came with old Joe. Dad came early 'cos he had some stuff to organise.'

‘Joe's here? Fantastic! I've got some questions to ask him.'

‘He's around somewhere, probably checking out all the horses.'

‘Cool, I'll find him a bit later. So, tell me, when do you ride? I don't want to miss it.'

‘This afternoon.' Cally tugged at Tessa's hand. ‘Come on. I'll show you around.'

Tessa laughed. But thinking it might be a good chance to find Brendan, she agreed.

‘I'll catch up with you somewhere, sometime?' she said to Ryan and Marni.

‘Yeah, well, you won't get lost. We'll find you, or you'll find us. See you later.' Ryan waved as he slipped his arm around Marni's shoulder. Tessa saw her look up at him and smile. The tension between her brother and his wife had definitely dissipated.

Tessa focused on Cally. ‘So where do we start?'

‘The horses,' Cally stated firmly.

‘Naturally.'

Weaving their way through the other camps, Cally stopped occasionally to say hello to people she knew. Finally they made it to Cally and Harrison's horses. They were tethered next to their float, happily chewing on hay. Big plastic buckets of water lay within reach. Cally pressed her face against Megs' shoulder and the horse nuzzled her. ‘We're gonna try really hard to win today, aren't we, beautiful girl?'

‘Give it your best shot, Cally. But it doesn't matter if you don't win.'

Maybe I should take my own advice
, Tessa thought as soon as she said it. She'd always wanted to be the best, and had strived to do everything better than anyone else. She'd always sought everyone's approval, and if she didn't get it she'd tried to make herself into what other people wanted her to be. She didn't want to see Cally become like that. That sort of process destroyed you. It spun you around until you didn't know who you were or who you had been.

‘I want to, though. For Mum. She always won.'

‘She may have done, but all she would've wanted from you is to do your best. And be yourself.' She hoped it's what Spider would have said to this girl.

Cally didn't answer – she was too busy crooning to Megs. Then she turned. ‘Come on, there's more to show you.'

They wandered over to the main arena, where transportable cattle yards had been set up.

‘Bull riding.' Cally waved towards the ring. ‘That's where they hold the horse and barrel races. And over here,' she indicated a large shed, ‘food, dancing, drinking. All that sort of stuff. And the arm-wrestling competition. Did you know Ryan won it last year?'

‘What? My Ryan? Are you serious?' Tessa looked at the girl. ‘He's puny!'

‘Dad says he wiry and strong.'

‘There seem to be many things I don't know about my family! Next you'll be telling me Mum won a dancing competition!'

‘Nope, but she cooks the best doughnuts.'

As they wound their way through the crowd, Tessa could see people were gathering in the shed where the bar was.

She was on constant lookout for Brendan but so far she'd not sighted him. What she did notice was the sea of hats and checked shirts, faded jeans and belts with large buckles. It was almost like a uniform.

‘I'd better go and get Megs,' Cally said an hour or so later, after she'd shown Tessa through all of the sights. ‘I want to get her ready.'

‘Do you need any help?'

‘I'll be fine. But don't forget to come and watch me, will you?'

‘I won't, I promise. Good luck!'

Suddenly on her own in the crowd, Tessa didn't know what to do. Feeling self-conscious she decided to head back to the camp. As she pushed her way through the masses she willed Brendan to appear, but he didn't.

There's plenty of time
, she thought.
It goes for the whole weekend. He said he'd be here.

Finding herself in an open area, she stopped and watched the hustle and bustle, the flow of bodies. She was listening to the laughter and rumble of voices when she felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around.

‘It's good to see you, Tessa.' A stooped old man with watery eyes stood before her. Tessa broke into a smile.

‘Joe! Cally said you were here!' She grasped his hand tightly. ‘It's so good to see you again.'

‘The yarn we had at Violet's funeral was too short, missy. I want to catch up with all of your latest news.'

‘And I've got a heap of questions for you. So we'd better make time for a chat.'

‘How long you staying 'round?'

‘For as long as it takes to clean Aunty Spider's house out, at least. She left a letter asking me to do it.'

‘There's no one else who woulda done it right. Now, how about you make an old man happy and have a drink with him. I was just on me way to the watering hole.'

‘I'd really love to, Joe, but it will have to be something soft.'

Together they ambled across to the bar and ordered some drinks. Then they sat on a bench against the wall and talked of old times.

‘Cally says you're not breaking horses anymore?'

‘Nah, mate. I like to go easy these days. Getting a bit doddery on me feet to be in the yards. 'Specially with those young, flighty things that come in from the bush.'

‘Are there still brumbies around?'

‘Too right, there are. Not as many, but they're there. Some bloody good stock horses in amongst em, but it'll take a better man 'n me to get 'em.'

‘You need to cut that out, Joe! You sound like you've put one of your own feet in the grave already!'

‘You'll understand when you get to my age. Now, tell me about you.'

‘Not much to tell, really. I'm not going back to England. I'll stay out here until I've finished Aunty Spider's house, then make a decision about where to go from there.' She cocked her head to the side. ‘How long have you been out here, Joe?'

‘On the Nullarbor? Too long to remember. It seems like forever.'

‘Do you remember Violet as a girl?' She saw his puzzled expression and explained. ‘I'm trying to solve a bit of a mystery but I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. Found a couple of wedding rings and Spider left a note saying there're a few family secrets in the closet. Any ideas?' She looked at him hopefully.

‘Reckon you're asking the wrong person there, Tessa. Never been around enough to hear any rumours. Spend it out on the fences by meself these days. Even when I was breakin' horses, I never stayed around long enough to hear. Plus me memory ain't what it used to be.'

‘Oh well, it was a long shot, but I thought I'd ask anyway.'

‘Tessa! Come on! You're gonna miss my ride.' Cally appeared at her side. ‘Hi, Joe, are you coming to watch me too?'

‘Yes, Miss Cally. I'll be there.' Joe touched a finger to his battered hat and smiled at her.

‘Cool! Now I just gotta find Dad.'

‘You go and get Megs,' Tessa said. ‘I'll find Harrison.' She turned to Joe. ‘I'll see you over there.'

*

Tessa hung over the rails, standing so close to Harrison they were touching. She felt so proud of Cally. The horse and girl blended with each other, and Megs' hooves kicked up dirt as she wove around the forty-four gallon drums. Cally's only obvious movement was her arms pushing forward, urging Megs to go faster. She and the horse blended as one.

Harrison's eyes never shifted from his daughter and her mount. ‘Come on,' he muttered. ‘Come on.'

‘Is she going fast enough?'

‘She's not doing too bad.'

As Cally reeled her mount around and galloped towards the finish line, Harrison leaned further over the fence and yelled encouragement. The rest of the crowd whistled and applauded. Tessa couldn't help but get caught up and she started yelling, too. But by the time she'd found her voice, Cally had crossed the finish line and started to slow.

‘Good girl!' Harrison said, clapping loudly. ‘Now we'll have to wait and see how the others do to find out who wins.' He turned to Tessa. ‘She was so much more confident today. That was because of you.' He gave her a warm grin. ‘Thanks again for what you did with the clothes. It's made a big difference to her.'

‘You're welcome,' Tessa answered, aware her cheeks had flamed under Harrison's gaze.

At that moment she realised someone was shouting. They both looked towards the noise. Two men were in a scuffle. One had the other in a headlock and was trying to get a punch into the other's face.

‘Bloody hell, Ray McKenzie. He couldn't have had too much to drink already. Trouble just follows that bloke.' Harrison strode off to break up the fight.

Ray McKenzie? Tessa followed Harrison at a distance and watched as he skilfully got in between the feuding males and gave them a dressing down. She could see both offenders were older – in their late sixties, she guessed. That could make Ray McKenzie Brendan's dad. In fact, she was certain she could see a resemblance, despite the dirt and sweat covering his face.

Even though Tessa was thinking about Brendan, she found she was watching Harrison.

‘If you want to be fucking idiots and kill each other, get outside of the arena and go where there aren't any kids watching,' she heard him say angrily.

Thank goodness they weren't so cut they didn't listen to him. Sheepishly the pair wandered off in different directions, but not before she heard Ray mutter: ‘This isn't finished, Hunter. Not by a long shot. You can't go spreading rumours about me without any evidence and get away with it.'

Harrison shooed them away and Tessa watched, feeling that anyone under Harrison's protection would be safe indeed. She shook herself.
Geez, stop daydreaming about Harrison!
For goodness sake, she obviously needed to find Brendan.

Chapter 26

Outside the shed, roaring fires lit up the darkening night. Smells of cooking made Tessa realise she hadn't eaten since mid-morning.

Pushing her way through the dancers who were cutting up the cement floor, she joined everyone who was queuing for food. She looked for someone she knew, but there was such a throng of people, she just couldn't find anyone local.