The Shearing Gun

Readers love

R
ENAE
K
AYE

Loving Jay

“Recommended for an easy, light, fun read, if not for Jay alone!”

—My Fiction Nook

“This was a beautiful coming out story. I loved that this… felt so very authentic. The story flowed so smoothly and you were never thrown out...”

—Love Bytes (The Blog of Sid Love)

“I loved this novel, and would recommend it to anyone who wants a believable romantic read with humour and a few sniffs. I look forward to reading more from this author
and happily award
Loving Jay
, 5 stars.”

—Prism Book Alliance

“This is a strong book from a first time author and I for one can't wait to see what other stories she has to tell.”

—Guilty Indulgence Romance Review

The Blinding Light

“Definitely a favorite of mine for this year so if you’re looking for something to read that’s light but with great writing, give this one a try because you might just enjoy it as much as I did.”

—The Blogger Girls

“I pretty much loved everything about this story. Two incredibly likable heroes, a great plot that sees two good men finally find love and happiness together, and some really fun, clever writing… I can’t recommend it more highly.”

—Joyfully Jay

“This is the second book I have read by Renae and I have absolutely loved both of them… I cannot wait to read the next book from this author…”

—Crystal’s Many Reviewers

By RENAE KAYE

The Blinding Light

Loving Jay

The Shearing Gun

A Taste of Honey (DSP Anthology)

Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Copyright

Published by

DREAMSPINNER PRESS

5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886  USA

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The Shearing Gun

© 2014 Renae Kaye.

Cover Art

© 2014 Paul Richmond.

http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com

Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/.

ISBN: 978-1-63216-045-4

Digital ISBN: 978-1-63216-046-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014944473

First Edition September 2014

Printed in the United States of America

This paper meets the requirements of

ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

Dedication: To my nephew, Henry

February 2011—June 2012

I know you would’ve been a shearing gun!

GLOSSARY

AFL – Australian Football League. The countrywide league for teams playing Aussie Rules.

Anzac biscuit – a sweet biscuit made from oats and golden syrup, named for the Australian soldiers who fought in WWI in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs).

Blow or strike – when referring to shearing, a blow is a rounded, smooth movement of the shearer’s arm across the animal while removing the fleece. A strike is a downward or upward movement.

Border Leicester – a breed of large sheep, grown especially for their meat.

Bottle-of-beer! – in the shearing shed, should the person sweeping the floor drop the broom, they are said to “owe” the shearers a bottle of beer.

Bull-bar – a large type of nudge bar, especially designed to protect the vehicle in the case of a frontal collision with large stock such as cows (and bulls). See also: Roo-bar.

Bushie – a person who lives in the bush. One who lives in the rural areas. See also: The Bush.

Caravan – a trailer home.

Chook – the Australian term for a chicken/hen.

Chook pen – chicken coop.

Classer – see: Wool Classer.

Copper – a policeman.

Corriedale – a breed of sheep, good for both meat and wool.

Countryman –
a weekly newspaper publication for people in the farming communities.

Cuppa – a cup of tea or coffee.

Daks – pants.

Esky – a cooler box.

Footy – football, especially Aussie Rules.

Gas-bagging – slang for chatting, talking, gossiping.

Granny flat – a small apartment (usually single occupancy) built near to the main residence, but with independent access. Mostly used for widowed, elderly parents.

Grub – slang for food.

Lubricate the arm – to have a few drinks at the beginning of the night, i.e. to loosen your drinking arm before getting seriously drunk.

Merino – a breed of sheep with extremely fine wool.

Missus – slang for wife.

Mongrel – usually refers to a dog of mixed breeding, can refer to a person as a derogatory term.

Mozzie – slang for mosquito.

Panadol – brand name of a common painkiller.

Red turkey – slang for the ball used in a game of Aussie Rules.

Roo-bar – abbrev. from Kangaroo-Bar. A large type of nudge bar, especially designed to protect the vehicle in the case of a high speed frontal collision with a kangaroo. See also: Bull-bar.

Rousie – shortened term for roustabout, a farmer’s worker who helps with the livestock.

Pavlova – a dessert similar to meringue made with egg whites. Historically fought over as to whether it is of Australian or New Zealand origin.

Potbelly – an indoor, wood-burning stove used for cooking.

SAO biscuit – a savory cracker.

Shearing gun – a super-fast shearer, capable of shearing a large quantity of sheep in a single day.

Singlet – tank top, undershirt.

Smoko – a short break, usually for morning tea or afternoon tea. Slang for a smoking break.

Sunnies – sunglasses.

Taking the mickey – to mock or scoff.

The big smoke – the city, usually referring to the capital city of the state.

The bush – slang for the rural areas.

Thongs – footwear, flip-flops.

Triple-zero – emergency call number. 911 in the US. 999 in the UK.

Wether – a castrated, male sheep.

Wool Classer – a person responsible for rating the quality of the fleece as it comes off the animal.

Woop-woop – a fictional town that is supposedly in the middle of nowhere.

Chapter 1

“O
I
. I
think the Doc is finally here.”

Neil nudged me with his elbow, sending shooting pain through my possibly-dislocated-and-most-probably-broken shoulder and collarbone. I hissed and swiveled around in my chair to thump him solidly in the stomach. My fist hit with accuracy, finding the soft area under his ribs and causing his breath to whistle out through his teeth and his face to turn beet red. He clutched his belly and fell to the floor with his legs pulled up.

My knuckles smarted from the hit, but it was worth it. It took my mind off my other injury for a bit, and Neil’s dramatic antics as he writhed around on the floor amused me. Maybe he didn’t deserve to be hit so hard, but what’s a thump or two between mates, right?

The nurse-cum-receptionist looked up from her files and gave us a frown across the empty waiting room, but it didn’t last long. I’m sure she had seen plenty of lads do exactly the same thing. In fact when the two of us rocked up at the clinic, both still in our footy uniform and liberally smeared with mud and grass, me clutching my arm, she had simply rolled her eyes and reached for the phone. She pointed to the four plastic chairs in the tiny waiting room while dialing. “Sit over there while I find the doctor on call.”

Our tiny town of Dumbleyung, in the wheat-sheep-belt area in the south of Western Australia, didn’t have a hospital. All it had was a GP clinic with two doctors, which doubled as an Accident and Emergency Department if ever there were an accident or emergency. Old Doc Larsen had been around since before World War One—or so it seemed. The gentleman was as old as the hills, and the community loved him. Nowadays the man was still working full time when he should’ve been semiretired.