Blaise told her about the flat tire in the ute. He didn’t mention Aaron, though the thought of that man kept his blood running hot with anger.
Deciding to take the tire in now, he transferred it to the back of her Holden car, and Claire would take it in to be fixed. It meant one less job for Dusty to do. If she wasn’t about to let him help with the big jobs, then he would do the little ones. At least, he hoped it would help.
Claire invited him to stay for the afternoon. After the incident with Aaron, Blaise agreed. He figured it was better to hang around, instead of driving back to his place in Wilkton. By being at the farm he was more likely to catch up with Dusty later. This afternoon’s brief encounter had left him wanting to simply spend time with her, reconnect, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company.
He’d set up his computer on the kitchen table, managing to work on some of his accountancy projects. The figures at least offered a distraction to the thoughts about him and Dusty and where they were heading.Together? Apart?He couldn’t tell what was in front and it was making him nervous.
Before he knew it, the sun was setting, and Claire was back from Wilkton telling him to stay for dinner.What could he do?There was no way he was about to decline a home-cooked meal from Claire, especially since she was going to put together a roast meal. He did wish that he had some clean clothes to change into. If he could leave some clothes here, that would help. So far, Dusty hadn’t made him feel welcome enough to do that. Besides, with Claire here all the time, Dusty was reluctant to let anything happen, and he spent more time in town at his place. He got it. He would feel the same. But still, it felt like they were at the crossroads in their relationship with both of them needing to make the decision of which direction to take.
To make himself useful, he insisted he did the evening jobs. With Ted and Molly’s help, he’d penned the show team, the merino ewes and rams that Dusty would give extra care for sale in the on-property auction next year and for exhibiting in the country shows. The community’s focus around the country shows was another new experience for him. He had no idea that it was a thing with Dusty busy entering the sheep and Claire cooking up a storm with her entries for the Wilkton show had been a lot of fun in August.
Am I really settling into this life?He hated how Aaron too easily made him feel uneasy about this.
I am, he told himself firmly.
Bucket in hand full of a dozen brown eggs laid during the day, he walked back to the house using the light of his phone to help guide him.
The pine trees swayed in the evening breeze, the heat of the day still lingering heavily in the air. The smell of the animals was not something he detested after being around them anymore. When he’d first moved here, he’d found the odors difficult to ignore. He smiled to himself. It was all now quite normal to him.
What a change for a city boy, he thought to himself.
Here he was doing the daily chores as if he’d been doing them all his life.
Blaise walked past Ted and Molly’s pens. They were happily chewing on a bone he’d given them. He grinned thinking that all they needed for Christmas was a bone, and they’d be happy.
That reminded him, he had no idea what he was going to get Dusty. That decision paled in comparison to the one needing to be made, at what exactly the Christmas plans were going to be for the two of them. His parents were wanting to see him, which of course was fine, but what he wanted was to spend Christmas with Dusty.
The question was, where was Christmas going to be this year?
Here at Acacia Plains or back in Adelaide?
On the day, or will it need to be delayed?
Blaise hated not being able to make these decisions, and to be left in limbo for what was going to be their first Christmas together concerned him. He was worried that the harvest might just make this not the special time together of bonding that he was yearning for.
He approached the backyard. Light streaming from the back door helped to guide him in the dark.
A rumbling engine and bright light caught his attention. He turned to his left and saw the combine bumping slowly past the shearing shed.
Blaise grinned to himself, his pulse increased. The combine here in the yard hopefully meant that Dusty was finished for the night, and that by hanging around, he was going to be rewarded by spending some time with her. He left the bucket of eggs by the back gate, hanging on a post, and walked toward the combine. He had to know if she’d finished for the day or not. For selfish reasons, he hoped she had.
Keeping close to the shed in case Dusty didn’t see him in the darkness, Blaise waited for the combine to stop. He was clutching to the slither of hope that they could share a meal together tonight, even if Claire was there. He didn’t mind Dusty’s mom, in fact, he found her a lot of fun.
Bang!
The combine jerked and came to a stop near the fuel tanks.
Blaise jumped.What the fuck was that?
He rushed over to the combine hoping Dusty was all right. His mind raced. The engine was still running. There was no smell of fire, which he took as a good thing. There was a bit of a greasy metal smell, but he wasn’t sure if that was normal or not.
The door of the cab swung open. Dusty clambered down, her feet barely touching the ground.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She rushed around to the back.
“You sure?” Blaise followed her.
