Red Dirt Heart 04 - Red Dirt Heart 4 (11 page)

“Not just any team,” Ernie said. “The
best
team.”

Amos gave him a high-five and asked me what team I followed.

So I told him, “Dallas Cowboys.”

Amos stared at me. “Never heard of ’em.”

“Gridiron,” I told him.

His eyes went wide. “For real?”

“Gridiron beats the shit out of that stupid game you guys call football,” I said. “I mean, you play it on an oval field and have four goalposts!”

The others rolled their eyes, having heard me rant about it all before, but Amos laughed. “Can you play it?”

“Sure can,” I told him. “Played all through high school and first year in college but messed up my knee, so that kind of put an end to that.”

“Can you teach me?” he asked, almost bouncing. His smile was contagious.

“Hell yes, I can,” I told him.

“Cool.”

So after lunch for the next three days, I taught him how to play gridiron. At first the others just watched, and when I say
watched
, I mean they stood on the veranda and gave us shit, laughing at us. By the third day, they were all playing. George took some convincing, but we needed him to make the numbers even, and the likes of Charlie, Bacon and Ernie thought to take it easy on the older man at first. Until he out-threw them on every pass. Holy hell, did the man have an arm on him.

Ma, Nara, Trudy and little Gracie had taken to watching us. Bianca sat out there, but had her nose in a book, deliberately showing us how much she didn’t care. When Gracie started to fuss, wanting to join in, Charlie raced over and grabbed her. He ran back with her and gave the football to the little girl. “Throw it,” he told her.

Of course, she threw it all of three feet, but it was straight to Bacon. “Dadda,” she called, making everyone laugh. Bacon picked up the ball and made a good twenty yards.

“Don’t give it to Dadda,” Charlie cried. “He’s on the other team.”

Gracie clapped and giggled, and Charlie tickled her before giving her back to Trudy. George called it a game, citing old age and no respect for elders as he hobbled up the veranda steps.

It was a lot of fun, though, and it was good to see everyone smiling as they went off for their afternoon work.

Later that night, when Charlie and I were in the bathroom brushing our teeth and getting ready for bed, he said, “The footy was a real good idea.”

“It’s fun,” I agreed. “Though none of you can play for shit. Though Amos’s pretty good. He jumps and runs like there’s no tomorrow.”

Charlie washed his face, then dried it with a towel. “Amos’s a good kid. Bit of a smart mouth, but he isn’t afraid of hard work. Bianca just thinks the world’s against her and we’re all some terrible bore.”

“I think she’s okay. I think she’s spent her life being pushed from place to place. Maybe she just feels like we’re another temporary stop, know what I mean?”

Charlie shrugged. “Well, we are temporary. She’s only here a week.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “But she could use us to learn something or to try her hand at something new. Maybe even smile.”

“That’s a bit harsh,” Charlie said. “When nothing’s permanent in your life, it’s hard to admit something could be good. Saves the disappointment when it gets taken away too.”

I sighed. I hadn’t really thought of it like that. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just tired. Forget my cranky ass.”

Charlie snorted, then leaned in and whispered. “I’ll sure do something to your cranky arse tonight, but I can assure you, I won’t be forgetting it. And neither will you.”

I dared him with a smile. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Sutton.”

He growled at me. “Challenge accepted, Craig.”

* * * *

Each morning that Amos and Bianca were there, Charlie had them doin’ chores like the rest of us, and little by little, Bianca was opening up. Charlie would have her tend to the animals, and when I saw her bottle feedin’ a day-old calf and smiling, I knew Charlie had done the right thing. He knew what she’d open up to. I never should have doubted him.

I left Amos on the veranda and found Charlie on his knees in the holding yard, bent into the water trough, scrubbing it out. He was wet, dirty and covered in algae gunk. “Surely you could get someone else to do that?” I asked.

He didn’t stop scrubbing. “Why can’t I do it?” he asked, though it was rhetorical. “I’ve got arms and legs.”

I loved how he, the boss, had no qualms in doing any job. “And what mighty fine arms and legs they are.”

He smiled, but didn’t stop scrubbing the algae out of the trough.

“Though you could lift your ass a bit higher,” I added quietly.

Charlie laughed and kept scrubbing. “Can I help you with something, Trav? Need me to find you something to do?”

“Nah, I’m good. Just waiting for Amos.”

“Where is he?”

“Oh, he’s over there, talking to Nara, being all in love.”

Charlie stopped scrubbing. “He’s what?”

I lowered my voice making sure no one else could hear, especially not Amos or Nara. “They’re talking on the veranda. I think Amos has a crush on her.”

Charlie stood up and stared at the two teenagers who were talking innocently on the veranda.

“Oh hell no,” Charlie said flatly.

“There’s nothing wrong with it, Charlie,” I said. “They’re just teenagers.”

His eyes shot to mine. “Exactly. And he’ll wanna keep his hands to himself or he’ll be gettin’ body parts back in the mail.”

We watched as Amos and Nara talked, and when Nara laughed at something Amos had said, Charlie growled again.

“It’s sweet that you’re protective of her, Charlie,” I said, “but the very last thing Amos needs is a homicidal Charlie chasing him through the desert with Billy not far behind.”

Charlie narrowed his eyes at me. I grabbed his arm and stopped him from going over there. “It’s all harmless, Charlie,” I said. “And Nara can handle herself.”

“How long has this been going on?” he asked.

“He’s been looking at her with hearts in eyes for two days, Charlie. How can you not have seen that?”

“I don’t notice these things,” he said, annoyed. Then he growled some more. “Isn’t he supposed to be out checking cows or fences or something?”

“Or what about the twelfth bore?” I offered sarcastically. “Because it’s only two hundred miles away in the farthest paddock.”

“Good idea.”

“I was joking.”

“I wasn’t.”

I laughed. “I know. But I ain’t taking him up there, Charlie. The twelfth bore is working just fine. We have the computer program to tell us now.” When he didn’t smile, I turned toward the house and called out, “Hey, Amos. We’ve got cows to check.”

He jumped off the veranda with a grin from ear to ear and climbed into the old ute. Thankfully he didn’t notice the daggers Charlie was shooting him.

I kept Amos out all afternoon, keeping him away from the wrath of Charlie. I even suggested to the kid he try and play it cool, but it was fruitless. Amos was smitten with her, and by the way Nara blushed and ducked her head when she saw him at dinnertime, I’d say the feeling was well reciprocated.

Charlie kept giving Amos the stink-eye, and I kept kicking Charlie under the table. Thankfully, no one at dinner noticed.

He was still grumbling about it when we’d gotten into bed. “Oh, Charlie,” I whispered. “Let them be. They’re kids, they like each other.”

“No,
he
likes
her
. Nara’s two years older than him. She’s not interested.”

“Nara likes him,” I told him. “How can you not see that?”

“See what?”

“The way she looks at him. The way she gets all shy and giggly. Jeez, Charlie, are you blind?”

He looked genuinely confused. “What?”

“They’re into each other,” I repeated. “Let them have some fun.”

Charlie pulled the pillow over his head and grumbled again. “She’s seventeen!”

“Exactly! She’s seventeen. She needs this, Charlie. Let her live a little. Don’t you remember what it was like when you were seventeen? All those hormones…”

He pulled the pillow off his face to reveal one raised eyebrow and a horrified look on his face. “Exactly my point.” He glared at me. “But, unlike you, I couldn’t act on my hormones.”

I loved jealous-Charlie. He was too much fun. I leaned back and put my hands behind my head. “Ah, good times. All that making out, playing around—”

He rolled on top of me and growled, pinning my arms to the bed and looking down at me. “Really? You wanna tell me about the guys you’ve been with? While we’re in
our
bed?”

I bit back a laugh. “Well, there was this one guy in college. They called him Seabiscuit for good reason. He was hung like a horse—”

His mouth was on mine, hard and insistent. He pushed his legs between mine, spreading my thighs and held me to the bed. There was a rumble in his chest and fire in his eyes. “You belong to me.”

He had some pent-up frustration, even a dash of pissed-off. I wanted to feel it. “Prove it to me, Charlie,” I breathed. “Fuck me like you mean it.”

What’s one more?

At breakfast, Charlie saw it firsthand. Nara brought in another tray of food, and the second her eyes met Amos’s, she ducked her head and blushed before darting out of the room. Charlie sighed and bowed his head, completely resigned.

“Everything okay, Charlie?” George asked.

“Just wonderful,” he said flatly. “Just wonderful.”

I covered my laugh by biting into some toast, which earned me a glare from Charlie.

“Right, then,” George said. “Today’s list of jobs…”

Charlie organised everyone, keeping Bianca on all animal duties, and not surprising at all, he sent poor Amos out after breakfast with Ernie and Billy, each on dirt bikes, doing the rounds of the calving paddock. And again after lunch. It was a very not-so-subtle hint to get him away from Nara.

Afterward, when we were walking down the stables, I said, “It’s not fair, Charlie. Let Nara have some fun. Even if it’s just hand-holdin’ and kissin’. I mean, jeez, if you make it too obvious, she’ll resent you.”

He stopped walking. “She’s like a sister to me.”

“I know. And it’s sweet. But out here”—I looked at him pointedly—“there’s not many options, Charlie. She doesn’t like going into town, so let her have this.”

He frowned and huffed.

“It could be worse,” I said lightly. “She could like Ernie.”

Charlie’s eyes popped, and he whisper-shouted, “He’s twenty-seven! And you don’t wanna know what he does on his weekends off.”

I snorted. “No. No, I don’t. But I’ve made my point. Amos’s a good kid. Leave them be.”

Charlie made a face, half-pout, half-glare. Which meant I’d won. I grinned at him, he stalked off, and I followed him, trying not to laugh too loud.

Charlie walked through the sheds and headed straight for the stables. I don’t know what he was looking for, but what he found was Bianca. She was in Texas’s stable, brushing him down, and my horse—the traitor—was loving every minute.

“Done the dogs and calves already?” Charlie asked with a smile. “We just had breakfast. Were you up before me?”

“Yep. And I’ve collected the eggs.”

“If you’re not careful, I’ll give you a job,” he said.

She kept brushing Texas. “Nah, thanks anyway, but it’s a bit too remote out here.”

“But you like the animals?”

“Oh yeah. They’re great. I had a dog when I was younger, but we moved and had to give it away,” she said. “Never realised how much I missed it.”

I couldn’t believe it. It was the most I’d ever heard her say. Charlie, on the other hand, didn’t seem surprised and I figured then that they must talk more than I realised.

But he was right. Her talent was with animals. It’s one thing to be able to handle them and to have the animal’s best interest at heart, but Bianca seemed different when she was around animals. Like she found it peaceful. I mean, she even smiled.

“Can I ask you something?” Bianca said, brushing down Texas.

I could see Charlie steel himself, but he answered, “Yeah.”

“Where’s your horse?” she asked. “We’ve got Travis’s, George’s, Billy’s and two spare stockhorses. Everyone’s got one but you.”

“Well, I uh…” Charlie started. “I don’t have a horse… anymore. She died.”

“Oh.”

“She was a beautiful horse,” Charlie said quietly. “She… saved my hide more times than I could count. She… understood me.”

Bianca started to brush Texas again, having stopped when Charlie spoke. “You should get another one.”

Charlie swallowed hard. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because you can,” she said simply. “You have the money, an empty stable. Why miss out when you don’t have to.”

“It’s not like that,” he said quietly. “It’s about…”

“Replacing something you lost,” she finished for him.

“
Not
being able to replace her,” Charlie said. “Or not wanting to.”

Bianca nodded slowly, still brushing Texas. “She was special.”

“She was.”

Bianca didn’t say anything, and probably assuming she was finished talking, Charlie walked to the door. “My mum,” Bianca said, “before she died, told me not to waste a day.”

Charlie stopped and looked at her. Really looked at her.

“She died of cancer, so I guess she had a lot of time to think about that kinda stuff,” Bianca said, now brushing Texas’s mane. “She said I should do whatever makes me happy. Live how I want, and ‘ride life like I stole it’.”

Charlie smiled at that. “Is that why you do the whole Morticia Addams thing?”

Bianca laughed for the first time since arriving. It was a lovely sound. “Nah. People usually give me a wide berth when they see me; that’s why I do it.”

“To avoid people?”

“I don’t like ’em much,” she said simply.

Charlie smiled. “You prefer the company of animals.”

Bianca nodded. “Yep.”

“That’s pretty smart.” After a long second, Charlie asked, “What about school? I get the whole not likin’ people much, but if your mum’s mantra was not to waste a day, then I’d have thought you’d be learning all you could.”

Bianca frowned. “I didn’t like high school too much.”

“No one does, really.”

She shrugged. “I got picked on. There were kids two years above me who had daily entertainment with me.”

Charlie scowled. “Did you tell your dad?”

She scoffed. “He’s too busy with his new wife to notice.”

Oh.
I think Charlie just scratched the surface of the real issue here.

“You know what the best form of revenge against kids like that is?” I asked.

“What’s that?”

“Being better than them. More successful. Happier.”

“Yeah, because that’s so easy,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“What do you want to do?” Charlie asked. “For a job? I mean, your dream job.”

She shrugged. “I dunno. Never really thought about it.”

“Well, I think you’d be good working with animals. You love them, they obviously like you,” I said, pointedly nodding to my horse.

“Maybe.” She kind of shrugged it off.

“Well, give it some thought,” Charlie said. “If you want, I could make some phone calls to properties closer to town. I don’t mind. Just let me know.”

She didn’t say anything, but as we left, I was sure I saw her smile.

* * * *

The last day the two kids were with us was interesting. Charlie wanted to make it a bit special for them, so after lunch we played our usual game of gridiron and then made an afternoon of playing stupid Australian games like cricket and Australian Rules.

It was awesome. As promised, he took each of them up for a ride in the chopper, which they thought was the best thing ever. We made pizzas for dinner and insisted both Amos and Bianca make their own, from toppings to sliding it into the oven.

As the night wore on, I saw Amos standing around the oven looking kinda pitiful. “Hey, man, wassup?”

He glanced at where Nara and Bianca were sitting, talking. “Oh, nothin’ really. Just my last night, ya know?”

I nodded slowly, getting the picture. He wanted to talk to Nara, but she was otherwise occupied. “What are they talking about?” I asked. “Maybe you could join in.”

“Nah.” He shook his head. “They’re talkin’ girl stuff. You know how that is, Travis. A sane man stays away from that shit.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Bianca kept talkin’ like she had it so bad,” he said softly. “Just ’cause her rich daddy got remarried. Well, now she’s talkin’ to Nara she’s gonna learn what havin’ it bad really means.”

Oh boy.

“Yeah. Nara was lucky. Billy recognised his cousin needed help and he acted.”

Amos nodded. “I like Billy. He’s real good with horses. Have you seen him ride?”

I smiled. “I have.”

“He’s real good, huh?”

“One of the best I’ve seen.”

Amos nodded and looked back at Nara, his smile fading. “She just might be the prettiest girl I’ve seen.”

My heart just about melted for this kid. “Don’t give up, yet. The night’s still young.”

He smiled. “Maybe.”

“Tell me,” I said, changing subjects. “You spoken to Bianca much?”

“Not much. She keeps to herself and she’s a bit weird.”

“She’s not weird,” I corrected him. “The makeup and dark clothes are all a front.”

“She’s a—what’s the saying?—a poor little rich girl.” Amos shrugged. “I don’t mean nothin’ by it. It is what it is.”

I didn’t know she’d come from a wealthy background, and I wondered now if that’s why she’d smiled at Charlie’s offer of a job. It didn’t seem like it to me, but I guess I didn’t really know her. “Money doesn’t buy happiness.”

“Yeah,” Amos laughed, “but bein’ miserable in your new house on your new couch is better than bein’ miserable when you sleep on a piece of cardboard.”

There wasn’t any malice in his words, but I could tell they came from a place that knew all too well what it was like.

“She has her reasons, Amos,” I said. “Her mom died. That’s hard on any kid.”

“True.” He nodded. “But she still got a dad. And maybe after she’s done talking to Nara, she’ll see that her place ain’t too bad compared to what some other kids get, ya know?”

“Well, I hope you’re right,” I told him. He looked at me and tilted his head. “Everyone needs a place they feel safe. And I hope Bianca finds hers.”

Bianca and Nara’s conversation looked like it was coming to an end. Neither one of them looked too happy, but for what I imagined were entirely different reasons. I think what Amos said was right.

I led him over to the table with the drinks on it, poured two cups of lemonade and handed them both to Amos. When Bianca stood up and walked inside, I pushed Amos toward Nara.

He looked back at me, and I mouthed the word, “Go.”

Charlie walked over and poured himself a drink. He’d obviously seen me give Amos a shove in Nara’s direction. “Ah, Trav, whatcha doin’?”

“Just helping a man out,” I said, taking the cup out of his hand and drinking from it. “You know how it is. Boys have to stick together.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at me. “Mmm-hmm.”

I faked a yawn. “I’m really tired. And my back’s killing me. I think I need a massage.”

“Is that right?”

“Yep. And it’s my sciatica as well. You might need to really massage my lower back, the backs of my legs, and my ass. If you know what I mean.”

Charlie smiled. “I think I know what you mean.” He looked over at Nara and Amos, who were both now smiling. Charlie’s smile died right there. “What about them two…”

I grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him toward the house. “Those two don’t need any interference from you,” I said.

When we walked through the house, Ma was sitting with Bianca in the front living room. Bianca had Nugget on his back in her lap, giving him a belly scratch, and she and Ma looked like they were in deep conversation. I heard Ma use the words
adults
and
forgive
, and thought it was best if Charlie and I just kept on walking.

Charlie obviously saw them too, because when we in our room and I’d closed the door, he fell back on the bed, like he was exhausted.

He groaned. “Next time I suggest I bringing two teenaged kids here for anything, please just kick me. In the shins. Really hard. Over and over, until the idea goes away.”

I snorted. “You’ve loved having them here. Don’t even try and tell me any different.”

“What’s Ma got herself into in there with Bianca?”

“Don’t concern yourself with that,” I told him. “Ma has it all under control.” I pulled off my boots. “Amos said something about Bianca tonight, said she was a poor little rich girl who was acting up because her dad got remarried.”

“Trav,” he said. “Her mum died, remember?”

“That’s what I told Amos. He didn’t mean anything by it. I guess it’s just hard for kids who have nothing to see why kids who have everything complain.”

Charlie sighed. “Bloody kids. Who’d have ’em?”

I snorted and crawled over him so I could kiss him. “I would. You would.”

“I never said that… exactly.”

“Charlie, I’ve seen you with kids. With babies like Gracie, doting on her like Bacon does, and I’ve seen you with kids like Amos and Bianca. You listen. You’re patient.”

“Hardly.”

I scoffed. “I wish you could see yourself.”

“I wish I could too,” he said. “I
am
pretty hot.”

I barked out a laugh, and our serious conversation was over, for now at least. “Now, about that massage…”

* * * *

Both Bianca and Amos did their morning chores despite it being their last hours at the station.