Bruce had done well at the sale. He’d been the successful bidder for a small truck and a pig trailer, which had been his main reason for making the journey. He’d also picked up an assortment of smaller items, which were now being loaded onto the back of the truck they’d driven over in.

Dan walked around the truck again, tugging on ropes and checking tyres. Bruce joined him.

“Did you get through to Paula?”

“No.”

“I’ve just spoken to Jane. They had lunch together and she said Paula was fine but your house is very hot. Jane said she doesn’t know how Paula copes.”

“This is our first summer in the old place.”

“You might need to put in some air conditioning, mate.”

“We don’t very often get several days in a row of constant hot weather.”

“Speaking of which, Jane said that fire south of our place has flared up again. Lightning strikes from Saturday night, they reckon. They’ve called out the fire trucks from our area to go down.”

“We’d better head for home then.”

“You happy to drive all night?”

“Yes, but pull over when you get tired. You drove all the way last night.”

“I’ll be right.” Bruce started to walk away. “I just hope that old truck I’ve bought goes as well as the bloke said.”

Dan pulled out his phone to try his home number again.

* * *

Paula could hear a phone ringing. She snapped her eyes open trying to remember where she was, then the heat hit her like a sledgehammer. She’d sat on the couch with a wet cloth and the fan blowing on her to try to cool off for a while and she must have fallen asleep. She struggled from the couch and felt a second of relief as the fan blew over the perspiration rolling down her neck and onto her chest. She picked up the phone in the kitchen.

“Hello.”

“Are you okay?” Dan sounded worried. “I’ve been trying to call you for a couple of hours.”

“Have you?” Paula tried to think why she hadn’t heard the phone earlier. “I’ve been outside a few times.”

“I rang your mobile as well.”

Paula glanced around the kitchen. The dishes from her lunch with Jane and the boys were stacked on the sink. Where was her mobile?

“It must be in the bedroom.”

“I was worried.”

Paula was swept with an irrational surge of irritation. He worried when she didn’t answer a phone for five minutes but not enough to share more important details like the future of their property.

“I’m fine, Dan, apart from the heat,” she snapped. “The inside of the house is so stuffy but the hot wind outside is worse.”