Outback Sisters Read online

  ‘You betcha,’ Simone replied, sounding even more chirpy than usual—and that was saying something. Simone was probably the most positive and optimistic person Frankie knew. Although she’d been through a very dark patch following the death of her husband, she’d eventually made a decision to embrace life and live on for her girls.

  Leaving Simone on the couch, Frankie saw herself out, climbed into her hatchback and drove the short distance to her house on the other side of town. As predicted, Fred and George were waiting, peering through the front curtains. She’d barely stepped into the hallway before they were winding themselves around her legs and mewling. She wasn’t naive enough to think they’d missed her. Cats only cared about one thing: their stomachs. But Frankie was happy to focus on her pets and on warming up her damn freezing house, anything to distract her from her other thoughts.

  On the way to the laundry, she flicked on the reverse-cycle heating, the cats darting in and out around her feet as she made her way down the hallway. She poured some cat biscuits into their bowls and then, because she was feeling generous, opened them a tin of tuna for a treat.

  Her heart felt heavy as she brushed her teeth and her eyes were already moist when she began to wash her face. How pathetic. It was stupid to feel like she’d lost something when she’d only met Logan that afternoon. It wasn’t like Simone had hooked up with Frankie’s ex, or someone she’d been harbouring a secret crush on for years.

  ‘You need to get a grip,’ she told her reflection in the mirror.

  The last thing she wanted was to strain her cherished relationship with her sister because of some guy she didn’t really even know.

  Chapter Four

  Logan couldn’t bring himself to do anything more than kiss Simone on the cheek when he’d bid her goodnight. It had been a good night—the most fun he’d had in ages—and they’d talked easily right up until he’d walked her out to her beaten-up old four-wheel drive, but somehow it felt wrong to kiss both sisters on the same day.

  As he walked back to the café where he’d left his ute, the cool August air blew against his face and the street lights of Bunyip Bay shone down upon him and he wondered again whether Frankie had told Simone about his little gaffe that afternoon. He hadn’t dared ask—maybe she’d been too embarrassed to mention it. If they ever got serious, it’d probably be one of those stories that reared its head every Christmas, something he’d never be able to live down. He chuckled at the thought—longing for the normality of such a family gathering again.

  He climbed into his ute, turned the heating up full bore and then slowly reversed out of his car space. The dulcet tones of the narrator of the audio book he was listening to washed over him as he headed down the main street towards the Brand Highway, but as he picked up speed, he found it harder and harder to concentrate on the story. Squinting, he cursed under his breath as the streetlights of town faded behind him and he struggled to see very far ahead. He couldn’t believe how soon his symptoms had worsened, especially when it came to night driving.

  Shadows flickered on the road but he couldn’t make out if they truly were just shadows or something that could be a hazard like a kangaroo bounding across the road. Or worse, another car coming in the other direction. His fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard he felt his nails digging into his palms. With each passing kilometre, what started as a dull ache in his forehead compounded into a throbbing pain until he could no longer continue.

  ‘Fuck!’ Logan slammed the heel of his hand into the steering wheel. The horn blasted but there wasn’t a soul around to hear besides him. At this rate, he wouldn’t make it home until tomorrow morning. Angry and frustrated, his eyes prickling, he pulled over to the gravel on the edge of the road and killed the engine.

  This was not the way he’d hoped to end the day, but he resigned himself to a night in his vehicle with only the warmth of his swag for comfort. It was far too cold to lie in the open air on the ute’s tray, so he dragged said swag out and tried to get comfy lying across the passenger’s and driver’s seats, the hard glass of the window his pillow.

  I should have had a beer and taken a room in Bunyip Bay.

  Somehow, in the early hours of the morning, despite the gear stick jamming into his side, he managed a few hours’ sleep and woke to the sounds of pesky cockatoos flying in flocks overhead and a feeling of ice in his bones. Rubbing his palms up and down his arms, he yawned and glanced out the window, only just able to make out the sun peeking over the horizon through the frosty glass. Still, the low-lying clouds and the mist that painted the landscape took his breath away. There were a few sheep slumbering in a nearby paddock but aside from them, he felt as if he were the only person in the world. Although his muscles ached from his awkward sleeping position, a smile crept onto his face and the darkness that had loomed over him last night didn’t seem quite so suffocating.

  He packed up his swag, almost froze to death relieving himself behind a tree and then climbed into his ute to continue the drive to Mingenew. Back to the property that had been his parents’ pride and joy and was now, he sometimes thought, the only thing that kept his brother going.

  It didn’t feel long before he slowed the ute at the entrance to the farm. As it always did, his heart stilled a moment at the names on the gate welcoming visitors to KNIGHT’S HILL, TREVOR & CELESTE KNIGHT’S PLACE. Reminders of his parents were everywhere but nowhere more than here on the sign. Neither he nor Angus nor Olivia had ever raised the possibility of taking it down and replacing it. Somewhere in the last few years they’d stopped talking about their folks—something Logan didn’t think healthy but he’d never quite been able to rectify it. He sometimes shared the odd anecdote with Olivia, wanting to keep their parents’ memories alive for her, but Angus seemed to prefer to keep all his pain and heartbreak locked up inside.

  Sometimes Logan thought about provoking him, pushing him to the edge so that he’d snap, get angry and let it all flow out, but the closest he’d ever got was trying to get him to talk about the future direction of the farm. Their discussion about the potential of wind turbines was the latest point of contention.

  With a sigh and a determination not to have a depressing weekend, he continued up the track to the main house. As with all farms, there were wheat storage facilities, near-empty dams, the shearing sheds, workers’ quarters and various pieces of old machinery put out to pasture on either side of the track, but they’d always been there and Logan barely noticed them. The only time he ever thought about what the farm looked like was when he was travelling for work and thinking of home, but in the last few months, he’d starting started seeing things differently. Taking more notice of his surroundings before it was too late.

  Angus’s two red kelpies were the only sign of life in the yard, racing towards Logan’s ute as he pulled up under an old gum tree.

  ‘Hey boys,’ he greeted them, chuckling at the way they always barked like he was a stranger. They fancied themselves more as guard dogs than farm dogs, but they were pretty good at both jobs. At the sound of his voice, they quieted and escorted him up onto the verandah, before falling into two heaps on either side of the front door. He yanked off his boots and headed inside.

  Although it was at least ten degrees warmer than outside, the house still felt chilly and Logan hurried down the corridor, one destination in mind—the bathroom and a hot shower.

  ‘Look what the cat dragged in.’

  He startled at the sound of Angus’s voice as he trekked through to the kitchen and found his brother filling the kettle. ‘Good morning.’

  ‘Maybe for some.’

  Logan didn’t even roll his eyes; he’d be suspicious if Angus wasn’t in his usual grump. ‘What’s on the agenda today?’

  Angus sighed as he grabbed a mug from the overhead cupboards. ‘I noticed a tree down over a fence yesterday. Need to fix that.’

  ‘Must have been that storm we had the other night.’

  Angus grunted. ‘Pity all that wind didn’t bring much
rain. Also need to check water levels and start servicing the header. Harvesting will be upon us before we know it. Nice of you to turn up, though. I could use a hand.’

  Logan nodded, trying not to feel annoyed. Harvest was still a couple of months away but it was as if every opportunity Angus got, he tried to make Logan feel guilty about leaving him with all this work. But the fact of the matter was, the farm could not support both of them full time and, even before their dad’s death, the plan had always been for Angus to take over. ‘I’ve gotta have a shower and eat something, but then I’m all yours. Use and abuse me.’

  Whereas most people might laugh at that, Angus merely raised one of his permanently knitted brows. ‘You up to it after your shenanigans last night? I’m guessing this girl you’ve met online turned out to be just as hot in person?’

  ‘Simone was lovely, but nothing happened, if that’s what you’re insinuating. I’m serious about getting serious and I’m not about to ruin something that could be great by rushing into things. If you must know, I had a few beers over dinner so I stayed at the pub,’ Logan finished, unable to meet Angus’s gaze.

  ‘Fair enough.’ The kettle began to whistle and Logan continued on to the bathroom, leaving Angus to make his coffee.

  He stripped quickly and stepped into the steaming shower. At first the heat almost burned his freezing skin, but as he stood there, the hot water slowly warmed him from the outside in. He thought about his date with Simone and smiled; if only he could work out a way to get Angus out there and meeting people as well. It wasn’t healthy to be alone so much and now that Olivia was away at uni in Perth, she wouldn’t be coming back as often as she had when she was at boarding school.

  And their baby sister seemed to be the only person who ever made Angus smile. This weighed heavily on Logan’s mind but he’d never mentioned it to her, not wanting her to put her life on hold out of guilt. Instead he’d vowed to return to the farm and check in on Angus as much as he could and to be a practical support as long as possible. Working on the farm today would be good—it’d help him keep his mind off his own woes and hopefully they’d get the chance to have a rational talk about the wind-farming thing. The energy company that was sniffing around the area had a meeting at the end of next month for farmers interested in leasing their land and he wanted Angus to be there. His mission over the next few weeks was to convince him how an opportunity like this could be good for all of them.

  With that thought, Logan turned off the shower and stepped out to start the day. Immediately the aroma of bacon and eggs drifted under the door and his stomach groaned.

  For all Angus could be a grumpy bastard, deep down he was a great bloke and that was why Logan spent so much damn time worrying about him. It broke his heart to see his big brother’s life just going to waste. He hurried to pull on his old jeans and a work shirt, his mouth salivating in anticipation of breakfast with the works.

  ‘Man, that smells good,’ Logan said, grinning at Angus as he re-entered the kitchen.

  Angus merely laid two plates on the table and indicated for Logan to sit. He did, happy to see he had cooked for himself as well. Logan suspected that often when he was away, his brother lived on Vegemite toast and Weetbix, and not just for breakfast. When he was home, he took it upon himself to ensure the cupboards were well stocked and dinner was something nutritious. He loved cooking and it wasn’t always easy to do in motel rooms, so coming home and spending time in the kitchen wasn’t a hardship.

  They ate and then dumped their dishes in the sink to return to later. Angus filled a couple of flasks with hot coffee and Logan almost made a quip about how domesticated he was, but swallowed it at the last minute, not wanting to piss him off and start the day strained.

  Once they were in the ute, bumping across the paddocks, Angus surprised him by initiating conversation. ‘What’s she like then?’

  Logan was surprised to find that the first person who came into his head was Frankie, but he pushed the image aside and smiled. He didn’t know Frankie like he’d gotten to know Simone these last few weeks and it wasn’t like Simone wasn’t also a knockout. ‘She’s great. Really warm and bubbly. Lots of fun. An artist. You’d like her.’

  Angus snorted. ‘Doesn’t she have kids?’

  It wasn’t like Angus to want to talk about women or anything personal, so Logan ignored the irritation that flared within him at Angus’s sceptical tone and went with it. ‘Yes, two teenage girls. Harriet and Grace.’

  ‘Not worried they might cramp your style?’

  ‘No. Plenty of people manage to have relationships with children in the equation. In fact, I’m really looking forward to meeting them.’

  ‘They’ll probably hate you,’ Angus said, slowing the ute as they approached the fallen tree.

  Logan ran a hand through his hair, losing patience. He glared at Angus. ‘Do you always have to be so damn negative about everything?’

  ‘I’m not negative.’ Angus shrugged as he stopped the ute. ‘I’m simply a realist. Face it, Logan. Your track record with relationships isn’t great, and those women didn’t have the added baggage of a ready-made family to complicate things. Teenage girls aren’t the easiest of people to get along with.’

  Logan took a deep breath as he opened the passenger door. There was so much he wanted to say about all that. So he’d been a bit of a player following the break-up of his marriage, but he wasn’t the one who’d broken his vows. Had Angus forgotten that? His only mistake was falling for a woman who didn’t love him as much as he’d loved her. When a husband cheated on a wife, everyone fell over themselves with sympathy for the woman, but when the roles were reversed, people made excuses. So many people he’d considered friends had assumed Logan must have been a bad husband for Loretta to leave him, and it cut deep that his brother seemed to subscribe to this theory as well.

  Still, he was ready to move on from the past. He wanted more out of life than one-night stands. He wanted emotional connection—friendship and companionship as well as sex—something Angus had clearly switched himself off from.

  ‘You’re not the only one who has experience raising teenage girls,’ he reminded his brother as they both climbed out and slammed their doors. ‘I might not have been at home with Olivia as much as you were but I visited her at boarding school and I’ve been there for her just as much in other ways.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sorry. You’re right.’ Without another word, Angus opened the ute’s tailgate to let the dogs out and then leaned in to grab gloves. He tossed a pair to Logan and then turned to walk towards the fallen tree. With a heavy heart, Logan followed.

  He wanted more than anything to fix his brother’s pain but he just didn’t know how.

  Chapter Five

  The house phone rang just as Angus Knight sat down to his early lunch—baked beans on toast and a glass of orange juice to wash it all down. He’d been up since the crack of dawn servicing the header and all he’d had was coffee. He looked at the handset and considered ignoring it. Phone calls to the house were few and far between; Logan and Olivia mostly sent messages or called his mobile. Predicting it would be a telemarketer, he took a swig of his juice and then picked up his knife and fork.

  Finally the ringing stopped and he grinned in satisfaction as he shoved the first forkful into his mouth. He was a man of simple pleasures but he’d barely swallowed when the damn phone started up again. Glaring at the offender hanging on the kitchen wall, he pushed back his seat and marched across to it, then snatched up the receiver.

  ‘Hello,’ he barked.

  ‘Angus?’ came a woman’s voice.

  ‘Yes. Who’s this?’

  ‘It’s … Loretta.’

  He frowned. What the hell was Logan’s cheating ex-wife doing calling?

  ‘Brad just radioed in to say he’s seen some sheep on the road. He thinks they’re yours.’

  Loretta didn’t have to say which road—there was only one that both properties used and he had a flock down there because the dam
in that paddock was the most full.

  ‘Angus? Are you there?’

  ‘Yes, sorry. Um …’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘Thanks for letting me know. I’ll head there now.’

  ‘No worries. Brad’s trying to get them back in but he thinks you might need to fix the fence. Looks like that’s how they got out. See ya.’ Loretta disconnected, as eager to be done with the conversation as Angus was.

  He couldn’t blame Logan for preferring a life of travel to hanging around on the farm—not when the woman who broke his heart was happily shacked up on the property next door—but he missed his little brother when he was away at work. It got lonely, running a farm by himself. A fact he’d never admit to Logan—that would only give him more ammunition in his quest to get Angus to date again, find a hobby, go on a holiday. He admired his brother—liked how he always tried to see the good in people, was always optimistic about the future—but that didn’t mean he could pretend to be like that when he wasn’t. Nope, Angus was quite happy with the status quo, which was why he didn’t want wind-farm developers coming onto his property and changing everything.

  He gave one final wistful glance at his unfinished lunch and then stormed down the corridor to the front door. A minute later he was in his ute, dogs on board, charging down the gravel track towards his errant sheep.

  As Loretta had indicated, he found his neighbour, Brad, trying to usher the sheep back to where they were supposed to be. Angus cursed at the sight—both thankful and disappointed Logan wasn’t here. Thankful because the last thing his brother needed when he was getting on with his life was to have to deal with his ex and her second husband. Disappointed because if Logan were here, they could have dealt with this mess together and he wouldn’t have to accept Brad’s help.

  He parked his ute on the edge of the road and climbed out, nodding at the other man. ‘Afternoon, Brad.’

  ‘Angus.’ Brad dipped his hat.