***
On Tuesday morning, Darcy woke like a bullet being shot out of a gun when he suddenly remembered he had to fix the pony club float by that afternoon. It was still dark, but he dressed and trudged out into the cool morning air. On closer examination, the float wasn’t in as bad repair as he’d thought. The floorboards were sturdy but the hinges on the doors needed tightening, some rust had to be removed and some cracks welded.
Still Faith never should have driven it out here. Though he’d never regret their trail ride together.
“What the hell are you doing up so early?” Matt stood behind him, dressed in only a T-shirt and shorts, with a scowl on his face.
“Lara needs the float this afternoon, and I forgot about fixing it.” He stretched his legs. “Was I making too much noise?” The last thing they needed was the camp guests complaining and leaving a bad review.
“No, I’m just attuned to odd noises right now.”
It didn’t surprise Darcy, not with everything going on.
“What else have you got to do?” Matt asked.
“A bit of welding, and a coat of rust inhibitor.”
Matt sighed. “Let me get changed and I’ll help.”
Darcy smiled. Matt had been his younger brother, Charlie’s best friend, but Charlie had died in an accident when he was twelve. Matt had continued to hang around the station, and when he’d left school, he’d asked to be a station hand. He’d never let them down.
They worked in silence for more than an hour. Darcy scanned the trailer for anything they’d missed and kicked the tyres. Bald as a baby’s bottom and he had no spares to replace them. It was a miracle Faith had made it to the Ridge without blowing a tyre.
He shuddered, the image of his parents’ four-wheel drive on its roof flashing in all its clarity. The blood, his parents’ bodies inside, and then Faith’s face replaced his mother’s. His hands clenched. No way was he letting Amy tow the float with dodgy wheels.
“I’ll tow Starlight into town this afternoon,” Darcy said.
Matt stood next to him, examining the tyres. “Good call. Take it easy.”
He’d have to stop work far earlier than normal, but he wasn’t taking any chances. “Let’s get breakfast.”
Darcy left for town not long after midday. He could drive at half the speed limit and arrive on time. Perhaps he was being paranoid, but he could visualise his parents’ car in the bush clearly. After he dropped off Starlight, he’d drive past the tyre place and sweet-talk the owner into donating a couple of tyres to the pony club.
Jeff’s daughter was in Lara’s class, so he might be lucky.
As he reached the turn off to the club, his heartbeat increased. Stupid. Faith would be busy getting things ready for the session, or perhaps not be there yet.
But he would be lying if he said she hadn’t been on his mind. Lying in bed after a hard day’s work, the image of her brought him enough of a distraction to switch his mind off the trials of the station and to relax.
And there she was, setting out some cones in the middle of the arena, a wide-brimmed hat on her head, shading her face. He pulled up and got out, waiting for her to cross over to him, confidence in her stride.
“Did you get time to fix the float?” she asked, a smile brightening her face.
“Yeah.”
“Thanks so much.” She bit her lip. “How did things go with the sheep?”
“They’re buried,” he replied, not wanting to be reminded of it.
Faith crossed her arms. “Right. Well, when you’ve unloaded Starlight, you can park the float over there.” She pointed to his float.
Hell, he’d been too abrupt. “Listen, I’m going to call Jeff and ask if he’ll donate tyres to replace these bald ones.”
Her smile returned. “That would be great.”
He unloaded Starlight and led her to the small stables where Spirit was stalled. He checked the time. If he was quick, he’d have time to get the tyres replaced before Lara arrived from school. Her friend, Mischa was giving her a lift. He dialled Jeff’s number and a few minutes later had an agreement. Faith was across the yard erecting a couple of jumps and he wandered over.
“Jeff’s going to replace the tyres if I head over now,” he told her. “If Lara arrives while I’m gone, will you tell her I won’t be long?”
