Chapter Three
“Please, Mum. We promise we’ll bring the calves up after school,” Austin whined.
Austin was not a farm kid. He took after his father. He’d made no secret of the fact he wanted to move back to the city. Adam, however, had made it abundantly clear that he was busy getting on with his life, and his new family, as her daughter not so eloquently insisted on pointing out.
“Austin, I am sick of asking you to do things. You’re always promising to do it after school, and nothing gets done.”
“I will if you let me have my quad back.”
What he didn’t know was that she had already spoken to Cody about bringing the calves up. He had arrived at the perfect time; she knew she needed help on the farm regularly. It was too much for her alone. It had been too much for her dad also, but she realised that too late. Being the stoic old Aussie bloke he was, he wasn’t about to let anyone know he wasn’t coping.
“I tell you what. When you get home tonight, if you clean your room like I’ve been asking you to for weeks, you can have your bike again.”
Austin flopped his head back and rolled his eyes. “Dad wouldn’t make me clean my room.”
“No, and Dad wouldn’t let you ride a quad bike either, would he?”
Austin didn’t answer her; instead, he stormed off into the kitchen to fix his lunch, something else he was unhappy about.
In their old lives, in the city, Adam had driven the kids to school each morning on his way to the office. They had attended a prestigious private school, which provided them with daily cooked lunches. Harlow’s Bend Primary School held a sausage sizzle once a month, and the kids caught the school bus to and from the farm gate. Grace didn’t seem to mind. She was more her mother’s daughter. Before moving to Harlow’s Bend, she had enjoyed her visits with her granddad. Grace, like many little girls, loved horses, and from the time she was old enough to hold the reigns, her granddad had led her around the yard. He’d even given her a pony. Of course, Vin had taken care of it, but now, in his absence, Grace had learned to do much of the work herself.
Callie offered horse agistment to a few local townsfolk. It helped supplement the farm's meagre income. Even though she was down to only one hundred head of cattle and four hundred sheep, running stock was becoming an increasing struggle. Events management she could do blindfolded. The day to day running of a farm, not so much.
“I’m ready,” Austin harrumphed, dropping his school bag at his feet.
“I don’t think your sister’s ready yet. Go call her, would you?”
Rolling his eyes to the heavens once more, he stormed off toward the back of the house, calling his twin sister’s name as he went. Callie could have done that herself.
With the kids in the car, she set out toward the gate, noticing Cody was already in the cattle yard. She smiled to herself. He fitted in nicely already. Maybe she would have to crunch the numbers to see if she could afford a permanent farmhand. Then again, it wouldn’t be fair to expect anyone to live in Harlow’s Bend permanently; it was hardly a thriving community.
“I like Cody,” a starry-eyed Grace announced from the back seat.
“I don’t,” Austin interjected. “He’s an idiot.”
“You’re an idiot,” Grace retorted.
“That’s enough.”
“Is he going to be your new boyfriend?” Grace asked, ignoring her brother’s look of disgust.
Callie stifled a laugh. “I only just met him yesterday. Besides, Mums don’t have boyfriends.”
“Why not? Dad’s got a new girlfriend.”
“Fiancé,” Austin reminded her.
Callie felt a pang of jealousy settle in the pit of her stomach at the sound of those words. “It doesn’t matter what your dad’s got. Cody’s here to work. I’ve put him on as a farmhand, that’s it. He will probably leave as soon as the rodeo’s over.”
“But you like him, don’t you, Mum?” Grace continued as they pulled to a stop.
Callie closed her eyes and searched for the right words. When she opened them, the bus was almost at the gate. A plume of red dust kicking up in its wake as it approached.
“Look, the bus is here. You guys have a good day, yeah?”
Grace leaned through the front seats and placed a kiss on her mother’s cheek. Austin bumped his fist against hers; he was too grown-up to kiss his mother now. A fact that made her heart hurt a little. Where had the last twelve years gone? From the overwhelming love when she brought two tiny babies home from hospital, to having two children on the brink of puberty, so much had happened in such a short time, and yet, it felt like nothing at all.
“I have the fences secured, do you want me to saddle the horses?” Cody called as she approached the yards.
Callie’s brows rose in surprise. She had expected Cody would want to use bikes like most workers. Her dad had taught her to ride as a youngster; she would muster with him from the age of ten. These days she tended to use the quad bikes for farm work, saving her riding time for leisure, which there never seemed enough time for either.
“Sure,” she smiled. “I’ll go lead them in.”
Cody tipped his hat and offered her a smile. Her heart fluttered at his gesture, and she checked herself. She had no time for crazy thoughts about a cowboy, much less. Cowboys did nothing but break girls’ hearts. They were players, and Callie
