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Back The Orchardist's Daughter Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. PRAISE
  3. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  4. DEDICATION
  5. PROLOGUE
  6. PART I SEEDS
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. PART II GERMINATION
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. PART III GROWTH
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. PART IV UNDERSTOREY
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. EPILOGUE
  57. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Even if she failed, she needed to do this. And, like the prince, she wanted to do it on her own.

18

18

‘Go on, Max. Get the ball. Get in there. Big kick. Big kick.’

Max was playing footy with the Devils and it wasn’t going well. He’d improved, practising with Leon, but he was having a bad day. And it didn’t help with Dad standing on the sideline shouting at him like that. He slipped in the mud, then he was down on the ground, and two boys ran over him, their studs digging into his leg.

‘Get up!’ Dad yelled. ‘You’re no use to anyone down there.’

Shut up, Max wanted to shout at him, just bloody shut up. But he couldn’t say it, because Leon had come along to watch too, and Max didn’t want to sound like an idiot. He picked himself up, scraped the mud off his jersey and flicked it away. Yuck.

‘Come on, Max,’ Mum called out. ‘Keep going. We can hose you off after the game.’

Max glanced over at Leon, who grinned and gave him the thumbs up. It made Max feel better. What was it that Leon had said when they were kicking balls over at his place the other day? Sometimes it all goes to shit no matter what you do. Yep. Max was having one of those days.

By now all the other kids had reached the far end of the field, and Max stumbled after them so he could join in again. He hadn’t quite caught up when the ball flew through the air and plopped in the mud at his feet. He couldn’t believe his luck—no one else was even close. He grabbed the ball and ran with it towards the goals.

‘Bounce it,’ Dad yelled. ‘Bounce the bloody thing.’

Max wasn’t going to try bouncing the ball because he knew it would stick in the mud and then someone would catch up and snatch it. He ran as fast as he could on the soggy ground till he heard the other kids gaining on him, then he took a shot for goal. It wasn’t a champion’s kick, but at least he remembered to hold the ball like Leon said and sink his boot into it. He stopped to watch the ball spin through the air. He could see it wasn’t going to make it as far as the goal, but he’d kicked it straight and that was good enough.