"She is beautiful, Tibby."
"And she needs some exercise too. Guess you have a job."
"Are you sure I should be riding her in her condition?" She looked from her brother to the old man unsure of what was right for the animal.
"Course it is, wouldn't tell you so otherwise. Remember, I don't bullshit or lead people on. If I say something, I mean it." He picked a strand of hay from the rack on the wall of the stable and put it in his mouth rolling it around. "Now, how's about we continue on with our tour. You can come back and make nice to the horses later."
"How many do we have exactly?" Garth chewed on his bottom lip.
"I think at last count there were three more mares in foal, two are due to go to the stallion in a month or two and a handful of yearlings. Plus a couple of nags I use every now and then for stock work. Oh, and don't let me forget the old stallion out the back paddocks. Don't use him anymore except for teaching the young ones a few manners when they need it. Your grandfather put him out to pasture a couple of years ago." Tibby took the straw from his mouth and used it to point in Sami's direction. "Nearly broke the old man's heart it did but the vet advised it. Said the horse could do with being put out since he had done such a good job as a sire for the last decade. Now we have to pay for the mares to be covered."
"And who owns the father of Mallika’s foal?" Sami was getting interested in the horses pedigrees. She hadn't been lucky enough to own an Arab before they had to make do with the stock horses.
"He would be young Mason Newland’s pride and joy, Caesar."
"So he is related to the solicitor who contacted us, the Mason from next door?" The skin on the back of her neck prickled.
"Yep, that's him. Don't let it worry you though. The kid is nothing like his father. Stuck up bloke if ever I saw one, the old man is. Right pain in the ass." Tibby scowled.
"Hmm, he tried to get me to sell this place without us even seeing it. In fact, every time we speak he pushes the point."
"Well now, kind of makes sense to me. You see, young Mason owns the land next door and is keen to grow his business bigger. See the grapes over yonder fence?" He pointed past the tractor shed and Sami strained her neck to look.
"Those big posts with wire running between them and dead looking sticks?" She walked past the shed to get a better look trailed by Tibby and Garth.
"Yep, that is the new part he is keen to expand. He wants to use these paddocks next to the stables if he can lay his hands on them. The original plantings are closer to the house but he has planted down toward this place and is putting in another type of grape according to his father. It's a winery in case you didn't realize. One of the nicest ones in the Hunter Valley too."
"They want this place to turn into a winery? Not bloody likely." She stamped her foot. "Prissy buggers. Why can't they drink beer like normal men instead of poncing around putting on airs and graces?"
"Now just a minute, young lady. I actually like a drop of red myself," Tibby protested. "You should try it before you knock it. Go over and meet Mason and have a sample or two. They give them out the public all the time, maybe bring back a bottle or three for yourself."
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll stick to coffee."
"Because Sami is a two pot screamer," Garth said as the laughter bubbled up in his throat. When she turned on him he put his hand over his mouth to stem the sound.
"Not a bad way to be either," Tibby said. "Nothing I dislike more than a drunk woman."
"Fine. So now we have our drinking etiquette sorted out, how about the rest of the farm then?" She turned and stepped away from the fence intent on finding out more about their new life. The sound of footsteps followed her and she paused in the driveway.
"Down over the other side of the house is where the young steers are. I sorted them out ready for sale in case it's what you want to do."
"Let me ask you this up front, Tibby. Are you planning on staying on?" Sami waited on tenterhooks for his answer.
Chapter 5
Tibby closed his eyes a moment before answering. "Well now, I hadn't actually planned on making my mind up until I met you, understand? I've worked here all my life and have a pretty nice little stash if I wanted to move on and retire somewhere near the beach or whatever but truth be told, I kinda like it here where I am."
"Um, great. Wonderful." Sami breathed a sigh of relief.
She sidestepped the puddles in the dips of the driveway and followed Tibby on the tour around the farm. She was impressed with the cattle and said so much to his obvious delight. When they walked back to the house, it was almost lunchtime and her stomach was rumbling.
While they ate, Garth wrote up a shopping list.
"Ready to go do some work?" Tibby asked her as she rinsed her cup in the sink.
"Sure. Give me a minute." She grabbed her bag from behind the back door and rummaged through it for car keys and her purse before handing them over to Garth.
"Buy everything you think we need, okay? There is plenty of fridge and freezer space and you don't want to be going into town every couple of days if we can help it." She
