He saw her as he pulled up. She was standing beside a yard fenced with good, solid timber. He didn’t have to guess who was in that yard. He grabbed the bundle of brightly coloured fabric from the seat next to him.
As he approached, he could see Anna’s hand clenched on the top rail of the yard. In her other hand, she held a bucket of feed. The bull was standing still in the middle of the yard, his head hung low. He looked far more docile than dangerous. Despite that, the tension in Anna’s body was obvious.
‘Good morning,’ Justin said.
Anna started then turned to face him. ‘Oh. Hi. You’re up and about early.’
‘I wanted to catch you before you got busy.’
‘About what?’
‘I just wanted to apologise for my brother one more time. He was drunk last night, but that doesn’t excuse his rudeness.’
‘Thank you for the thought, but any apology should come from him and it’s all right.’ She held up a hand against his protest. ‘I am not expecting him to even remember, far less apologise.’
‘I think you were right last night. I do excuse his behaviour too often.’
‘Like coming here to apologise for him?’ She raised an eyebrow as she spoke. Only one. Justin imagined the scar prevented her from moving both. But that one eyebrow told him that they were all right, and that was everything he needed to know.
‘I left him to deal with his own hangover. Thought I’d see how the patient was doing.’
‘He’s going to be fine. Right now, though, he’s a sad and sorry boy.’
‘He looks it.’
‘I was about to feed him.’ Anna hefted the bucket and looked into the yard.
Justin could almost hear what she was thinking. Yesterday, she’d done what she’d had to do to help an animal that was suffering and to keep a promise to an injured man she didn’t even know. Going into that yard now to feed the animal was a different thing altogether. While part of him wanted to offer to do it for her, her words of last night applied to her too.
Anna’s hand shook a little as she lifted the latch and opened the gate. She stepped through. Justin pulled the gate closed behind her, but didn’t latch it. Instead, he kept a hand on the top rail. It could be opened in a second, if needed. And he could be through that gate to help her a second later.
Calmly and with no sign of the inner turmoil she must have been feeling, Anna walked across the yard to empty the contents of the bucket in the feed bin. With lowered head, the bull watched her do it. He took a couple of steps closer. Anna took one step back. The bull took another few steps until he reached the feed bin. Slowly, and with obvious pain, he put his muzzle into the bin and began eating. Anna stayed still for a few moments, then crouched to get a better look at the wound on the beast’s side. Nodding to herself, she stood and began to back away from the bull. She kept her eyes fixed on the animal until she was almost at the fence. Only then did she turn her back on him and step through the gate that Justin was holding open for her.
Justin shut the gate firmly, and Anna dropped the bucket to the ground.
‘Why was that so much harder than climbing up on that wreck yesterday?’ Her voice was soft as she asked the question, not of him, but of the world around her.
‘Adrenaline,’ he answered.
‘I guess so.’ Anna took a deep breath and looked at him and smiled, a long, slow smile that had a hint of triumph in it.
‘So does this mean you’ll be taking cattle in the practice now?’
‘We’ll see. He’s going to be here for a couple more days. I may know at the end of that.’
‘Oh. That reminds me, I rescued these from the truck before it was towed.’ Justin held up the bag of show ribbons. ‘The owners might like to have them.’
‘I imagine they would. I’m expecting to see someone from the stud later today. I’ll give the ribbons to them.’
‘Thanks.’
They stood in silence for a couple of minutes. Justin knew Anna had to go back to work, but it seemed neither of them were in any hurry to say goodbye. Instead, they looked over the dry paddocks where the earth was beginning to crack. The air was still and the birds were silent. It was almost as if the world was waiting for something.
Then Justin remembered his other reason for wanting to see Anna. ‘We got a call from HQ. Our time here is done. They’re moving us back to Tamworth.’ He watched her face as he spoke, and was absurdly pleased to see her look of disappointment.
‘Oh.’
‘Yes. It’s been so dry, there’s an expectation there will be pretty widespread fires. Most of the Hunter Valley looks like this. They want us at base, ready to be deployed.’
