Chapters (48)
- Cover
- Praise
- About the Author
- Also by Tricia Stringer
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgements
- Excerpt
- One
Kate tucked her phone back into her jeans pocket. She’d tried to ring Sean last night with no luck and this morning his phone had gone straight to voicemail again. There was phone reception at the shack but it wasn’t reliable and as soon as she got out to the paddock she’d lose coverage too.
She’d spoken to him the night she’d arrived to let him know she’d made it safely, full of chat about Laura’s rainbow-coloured hair and interrupting Bree’s dinner with her new fella. Sean had been interested in Owen, pleased to know there might be at least one more bloke at family gatherings. He’d called her Friday before he’d left for the shack with last-minute queries about where the spare torch was and his new fishing rod. She’d smiled at that. She doubted they’d get any fishing done.
She made her way across the yard to the ute. Dragged herself really. She was the last to leave the house. Laura had gone to town early, Graeme and her dad had already left for the paddock and Bree was working on something in another shed somewhere. Bree loved to be outside. She would happily fix a dodgy pump, change a tyre, muster stock, help a ewe deliver a lamb; whatever it took to work the property.
The three of them had been brought up in the same house and yet they were all so different. Kate liked to think she was practical and she didn’t mind getting her hands dirty but she preferred inside work. She was happiest in the office of Sean’s family business but also enjoyed being on the road with him, helping with stock-work from time to time. And then there was Laura, who didn’t like sheep and showed her creative talents with hair and make-up. Sometimes that extended to cooking too, but she would still get outside and help if she had to.
Several sharp bangs echoed from the storage shed. Bree was no doubt taking out her frustration at being banned from the paddock, whereas Kate struggled to find some enthusiasm for the day’s work ahead. Mustering wasn’t a job she enjoyed and her energy levels were still low in spite of plenty of sleep. She was beginning to think maybe there was something wrong with her. She’d have talked to her mum about it but she’d be gone all week.
Once again her hand slipped over the bulge of her phone. Hearing Sean’s voice would be a tonic. She wanted to know how his blokes’ weekend had gone. No doubt he’d be full of Damo stories to make her laugh. Damo really was an accident waiting to happen.