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Tarni’s eyes widened as she stood by the car. ‘Ellie does the helicopter mustering?’
‘She sure does and she’s the best around,’ Ryan said.
‘And Fallon Malone moved to south Queensland, I heard,’ Cy said.
‘Yeah. She settled at a place called Augathella. Got a partner and a bub now,’ Dee said.
‘I’m still looking for a pilot,’ Ryan said as they stood at the ute. ‘I’ll let you know how I go, Cy.’
‘Okay, Tarni, let’s hit the road.’ Cy opened the passenger door for her, and she smiled at him as she climbed in. She really looked great.
Cy felt good; they still had weeks together at the farm before Kane and Ellie got back. Then he had to decide where he was going to work. If Tarni decided to stay up north, he intended seeing more of her.
‘Drive carefully,’ Ryan added. ‘Apparently there was a bad smash on the Arnhem Highway yesterday afternoon, not far from Kane’s place. The highway was closed for a while. One fatality.’
‘Not good.’ Cy frowned. ‘I wonder what happened.’
‘It was on the ABC news. A truck and a ute head-on.’
‘It’s a shit of a road there with the smoke, so we’ll take care.’ Cy got in beside Tarni and started the engine.
Tarni waved to Dee and Ryan until they were out of sight. Cy hadn’t seen her animated like this since he’d met her.
‘Thank you so much for bringing me this weekend. I’ve had the best time,’ she said.
‘You look much better. You’ve got colour in your cheeks, and you look great.’
The pink in Tarni’s cheeks deepened ‘I slept well. I didn’t have any dreams. My headache's gone, and I’m not dreading going back to work,’ she said.
‘That’s good, but don’t overdo it, Tarni.’
She smiled.
‘What are you grinning at?’ he asked.
‘Nothing, just a girls’ joke,’ she said.
Cy grinned back at her. He had seen a totally different side of Tarni this weekend and enjoyed every minute of her company. ‘I’m sorry we didn’t find time to get to Hidden Valley.’
‘You’ll have to bring me back here again,’ she said.
‘We’ll come back, for sure. So, back to normal for us now.’
‘Yep, I’ve got a lot to do this week. I fell behind last week when I was feeling so crappy.’
‘Me too, now that you mention it. Not fallen behind, I mean. I’ve got a lot to do now that the trenches are dug.’
‘I hope Jerry got them done for you.’
‘He’d better have. I paid him in advance.’
‘Was that wise?’
‘Time will tell,’ Cy said. ‘He was a strange bloke. He thought I was Kane, even though I told him my name.’
‘He must have got mixed up that first day when I said my husband was down at the dam.’
‘Probably. I don’t think he’s the sharpest tool on the shelf.’
