The Outback Heart (13 page)

JENNY
placed a paper plate of scones with jam and cream, caramel slice and sponge cake on Troy’s desk.

‘Here you go. Don’t say I don’t look after my staff,’ she said.

‘Oh, yum. Thanks, Jen,’ he said, grinning.

‘The CWA ladies had a fundraising tea. I’ve spent all morning drinking, eating and chatting away. It’s a hard life,’ she said with a smile as she rubbed her contented belly through her Farmworks jacket.

Troy offered up the plate to her. ‘Oh, god no, I’ve eaten my share already. That’s all for you.’ Jenny sat on the spare chair beside his desk, leaning back with her hands on her belly.

‘Indi mentioned she was involved in the CWA. I though she’d be about thirty years too young.’ He kept his head down, as if he was just making a passing comment while he devoured the slice.

‘Yeah, well. That’s a sad story.’

Troy glanced up at Jenny, hoping she’d explain. If anyone knew anything, it was Jenny, and she was always happy to share.

‘Indi was away at uni, studying to be a physio, when her mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. She gave up her course, came straight home to be with her, to take her to appointments and help out at home. Indi was right by her side the whole time and Lizzy, her mum, was no quitter. Lizzy was one of those strong, get-up-and-go girls who helped keep our community together. She was on all the committees and involved in everything. Even in her sick days, she’d have Indi take her to meetings and fundraisers, wanting to do her part until the end. So when Lizzy passed on, Indi stepped right into all those positions. I think the poor girl is trying to be her mother. She hasn’t realised that she can’t do all that with a full-time job.’

Troy had stopped eating, the slice melting on his fingers. He could only nod. No wonder Indi was always running late.

‘Indi has a heart even bigger than Lizzy’s,’ Jenny continued. ‘I think she’s kept herself so busy over the last two years that she hasn’t properly grieved. Well, that’s just my opinion anyway. Indi is stubborn and nothing we can tell her will slow her down. And now with Jasper out of action . . .’

‘Indi really loves this town. You don’t see that kind of dedication much these days,’ said Troy. Indi was a one-man band. He had to admire her passion. When he glanced back at Jenny, he noticed her watching him. ‘What?’

‘You and Indi? She’s a great girl,’ Jenny said with an eager nod.

Troy’s hands automatically came up. ‘No, no, nothing’s going on there.’

‘Why not? She needs a good bloke, one to slow her down a bit. And you’re single.’ Jenny scrunched her brow. ‘What? She’s not your type? You don’t think she’s gorgeous?’

Troy didn’t really want to have this conversation with Jenny. She sat there waiting, giving him the eye. Damn. ‘Of course she’s gorgeous and she’s great to have around at footy, but I didn’t come here to find a girlfriend, Jenny. I’ve sworn off women. Regardless of how amazing Indi is, I just don’t want a relationship, with her or anyone else.’

‘But you could have the pick of the town if you wanted.’

‘That’s just it, I don’t want to. I came here for the football. That’s how it’s going to stay. All right? I don’t want anyone trying to set me up,’ he warned.

Jenny leaned forward. ‘Ah, you’re a hard nut to crack, Troy. I hope you change your mind, though.’

That’s not going to happen,
thought Troy.

‘So, what will you do about Jasper? Such bad luck. Who’ll fill his spot?’ Jenny asked. Troy was relieved she’d changed the subject.

‘The young lad that comes down from the city. I think he’s Jack Satterly’s son?’

‘Tyson, yep. Good kid. Plays a great game.’

‘Yeah, well, we’ll see how he goes. We kind of don’t have any other back-ups,’ said Troy.

Jenny stood up and headed for the door. ‘I’m sure you’ll have it sorted by the weekend. You’re doing a great job with those lads.’

‘Thanks, Jen. I appreciate that.’

A message came through on his phone. It was from Indi.
Can you get time off at 3 for the rock?

‘Hey, Jenny?’ he called out.

She grabbed the doorframe and popped her head back around. ‘Yeah?’

‘Do you mind if I take a few hours off around three? I’ve been dying to go see the rock.’ He couldn’t tell her he was going with Indi, not now. That would just add fuel to the fire.

‘Shouldn’t be a problem. Just check with Phil that there’s nothing major on. God, I haven’t been up there in years,’ said Jenny with a laugh. ‘But it is pretty.’

After Jenny left, Troy replied to Indi. His hands shook as he typed out a text.

I’ve got time off. Meet you at your place?

He tapped his fingers against the desk after pressing send. He didn’t really want Jenny to see Indi pick him up.

Troy picked up a pencil and started drawing circles on a page, until he realised it was an invoice for a customer. He put down the pencil and stood up, not sure what to do.

The chime from his phone sent his heart racing. He had to stop himself from pouncing on his phone.

Sure. See you at 3 then?

Troy was about to text back ‘It’s a date’ before he realised his mistake.

Will do, thanks.

He sat down in his chair, leaning back and stretching out his muscles. It wasn’t a date. Indi was just showing him the sights. Troy was trying so hard to control his thoughts, to overthrow what the other part of him was whispering.
You enjoy spending time with her. You like her.
Of course he liked her, she was friendly and into footy. A good friend.
Ha! Just keep telling yourself that,
the voice whispered.

*

Troy parked at the side of the Wilsons’ house, next to Indi’s ute. It was well used, the back tray was full of tools and equipment, and inside it was coated with chaff and stray grains of wheat and barley. He smiled. She was a different sort, but in a good way.

Stepping towards the back door, he paused to knock but saw Indi wave from behind the glass. She finished putting on a black jacket over her red checked shirt before opening the door.

‘Hey, perfect timing,’ she said. ‘I’ve only just got home and showered. Been working with bullock barley today and it’s itchy as hell.’

Her eyes were bright, her skin slightly pink from the shower and her wet hair was pulled back into a tight bun.

Troy averted his gaze, spotting a collection of paint markers in a Milo tin by the back door.

Indi sensed his curiosity. ‘That’s Dad’s pet project,’ she said and laughed. ‘During summer when the bobtails come out, Dad paints each one he finds in our yard with a strip of paint and then he names them. Yellow is Yanna, red is Russell, blue is Bob – anyway, you get my drift. He likes to know if it’s the same bobtails that come back each time. So if you spot one, make sure to let Dad know,’ she said as she shut the glass sliding door.

‘Well, one can never have too many pets,’ he replied.

‘Russell comes back the most but poor Bob met with Jasper’s ute tyre a while back, although he hasn’t told Dad yet.’ Indi rolled her eyes and Troy smiled.

Indi headed towards her ute but Troy gestured to his. ‘Jump in mine. I’ll drive,’ he offered.

Indi glanced inside her ute and scrunched up her nose. ‘Yeah, actually that’s probably a good plan.’

He opened the door for her and she shot him a funny look. ‘I’ve never had anyone open a door for me before. Thanks. It’s nice to be treated like a lady every now and then. Most people around here forget,’ she said, getting in.

There was no way anyone could forget that Indi was an attractive, desirable woman. He could see how they would feel a little intimidated by her though – her strength, her ability to shine without knowing it and her determination. It was an intoxicating mix. Troy got in behind the wheel, and the fresh scent of lavender mixed with rose assaulted his senses. The lavender reminded him of Peta, always. He tried to shake off the memory like an annoying fly. If only it were that easy.

‘Although,’ she continued as she put her belt on, ‘Jasper has shut a door on me before. We were in the city, just kids then, and we’d been fighting in the back as usual. Anyway we climbed out but Jasper shut the door before I was clear and my finger got slammed in it. He jumped to open it again when I started yelling, but he couldn’t. The door was locked. Old-school car, so there I was waiting with my finger jammed in the locked door while Dad’s trying to open his door and crawl through to unlock mine.’ Indi wiggled her fingers. ‘It was all right, nothing broken, but it shut Jasper up for the rest of the day.’

‘No wonder you grew up tough.’ Shaking his head, he started his ute. ‘Right, let’s go see the sights of Hyden,’ he said, forcing a smile. Already he was regretting agreeing to spend the afternoon with her. Getting into his ute with her felt like he’d just stepped on a rabbit trap. It was as painful as hell, her scent and her body taunted him, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t leave. Pleasure and pain.

‘Well, as a proud Hydenite, let me be your guide,’ she said in an elevated voice. ‘Did you know over 110,000 visitors come here to see the Wave Rock granite cliff each year? It’s fifteen metres high and 110 metres long. Its shape was moulded by weathering and water erosion. In 1960, some crystals from Wave Rock were dated as being 2700 million years old, amongst the oldest in Australia.’

‘Really? That’s pretty cool.’

Indi pointed out the way to the rock as she replied. ‘Yes it is. You should have brought your surfboard. You could have got a photo just like all the other tourists,’ she teased.

‘My surfboard’s back home in my old room, wasting away.’ Troy followed her directions and parked his ute beside a clump of mallee trees, all the while aware of Indi’s eyes studying him. ‘What?’ he asked eventually.

Indi screwed up her face. ‘I’m trying to imagine you in a pair of boardies and hanging onto a surfboard. It’s just not working.’

‘Are you saying you don’t think I can relax and have fun?’

She smiled coyly and climbed out of his ute. What
did
she think of him? He jumped out and caught up to her.

‘No, I didn’t say that. You’re putting words in my mouth,’ she said, continuing her pace. ‘See, through here is the rock and back over the road is the Wildflower shop and the wildlife park. We can go in for a look after if you like. I’ll shout you a cuppa and cake.’ Indi stepped around a she-oak, leading towards the rusty browns of the granite rock on the other side.

Troy let her change the subject but his mind lingered on the question of what she really thought of him.

‘Well, what do you think?’ Indi asked as they crunched their way over broken rocks at the base of the huge granite wave. ‘Awesome, hey?’

Troy looked up, feeling the power arching over him. It was a huge wave frozen midway through breaking. The rock face was striped with earthy tones from years of water running over its surface and the wave stretched for over a hundred metres. To stand beside something so ancient was amazing.

‘It is pretty cool,’ he said, turning to Indi who stood with her hands on her hips, admiring the wave.

‘I know, right? It always makes me feel inspired and energised.’ Indi smiled. ‘We always came here as kids. Pat, Jasper and I would get on our bikes, ride over and spend most of the day running around playing. It wasn’t as touristy back then and we would build cubbies in the bush and hunt for lizards. Then as we got older the boys tried to ditch me so they could bring their girlfriends here and make out.’

‘And you didn’t bring your boyfriends?’

Indi burst out laughing. It was so light and carefree.

‘What boyfriends? I didn’t get one until I was away at high school in Perth. I’ve actually never brought anyone here,’ she said. ‘Besides you.’ Indi brushed her hand against the rock face, her head turned away from him but he could see colour rising up her neck.

‘How come you went to high school in Perth?’ he asked.

‘Um, because we only have a primary school here. The nearest high school is miles away and Mum wanted me to go to her high school in the city.’ Indi beckoned him, ‘Come on, I’ll take you to Hippo’s Yawn.’

The walk was refreshing: the damp smell of earth, the lichen carpets and mosses growing along the rocks. Indi pointed out a few rock lizards scurrying to hide under small flat rocks.

‘I could tell you another story about the time our Jack Russell, Patch, went over the side of the rock,’ said Indi. ‘He loved chasing the lizards and took off after one and ended up shooting off over the side of the rock near the wave and rolling all the way down. Lucky bugger was fine bar a few scrapes and sores. Think he only survived because he was so small. I don’t think a bigger dog would have fared so well.’ She led him through the throat of Hippo’s Yawn, which indeed looked like a giant hippopotamus’s open mouth. The magpies were calling from their treetop branches while willie wagtail wrens flapped about the lower branches.

Indi stopped by a boulder and climbed up to sit on top of it. She stared out over the bushland. ‘It’s been years since I’ve been up this way. Sometimes you just forget to take time out and appreciate the things you’ve got. I forgot how beautiful and calming it is here.’

Troy climbed up beside her. ‘I think you need to relax more than I do,’ said Troy quietly.

Indi glanced at him out the corner of her eyes, and sighed. ‘Maybe. But there’s just no time.’

‘Have you ever thought of letting some things go so you can make time for yourself? You don’t have to be Wonder Woman. No one would think anything less of you.’ Troy held back the urge to touch her, to stroke her back. Instead he leaned across and nudged her shoulder with his.

‘You make it sound so easy,’ she mumbled.

‘Why do you do so much, Indi?’ he asked as the cold afternoon air wrapped around them. ‘CWA, Telecentre, Progress Association, Trevor and all the footy stuff as well.’

She looked at him questioningly.

‘Yes, I’m aware of all the pies you have your finger in,’ he said.

Indi pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. The sounds of the birds eased the growing silence between them as she picked at a thread on her old jeans.