LITMIR.BIZ

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again rolled her eyes. Maggie studied the brother and sister as they entered the stable yard ahead of her. Jack was the elder by three years, but Sylvia looked so much older and behaved more like a boy than a girl. She also came across as very unfriendly. Maggie thought that she could be quite pretty, if she smiled once in a while instead of scowling, and she sensed there was a great deal of tension between the siblings. They seemed more like reluctant colleagues than kin.

      Jack, on the other hand, looked heart-melting in his stockman gear as he towered above her at over six feet. He was as handsome and masculine and muscly as they came, and Maggie envisioned his big strong arms around her, which caused her to blush.

      Stop it, just stop it, she thought, it must be the heat.

      He had a cheeky smile and she blushed again when her eyes wandered over his perfectly firm behind. This is madness, she thought, she needed to settle down and fast. Concentrate on Sylvia, Blue or the horses and stop thinking of Jack in this way, she chastised herself.

      He was her employer and was about to be engaged and she was here solely for working and starting a new life. Nonetheless, she was a young woman and appreciated just how handsome he was, and nothing altered the fact that he had a damn fine behind.

      “How many horses do you have here?” questioned Maggie, trying to be serious.

      “We have ten stockhorses at the moment but have room for fifteen.” He smiled. “Stockhorses are amusing?” he asked.

      “No,” she blushed, “just thought of something silly, don’t mind me. May I help out in the stables?”

      “That’ll be good Maggie, as a jillaroo that will be part of your role, but we’ll go through that another day.”

      “Sounds good to me. Now which is my horse for today?”

      “Gravel!” replied Sylvia gleefully, as she quickly wandered over to a stall and started to saddle up.

      Woman of few words, thought Maggie but at least she was talking.

      “NO!” scolded Jack, “YOU take Gravel and Maggie will have Dingo.” He looked daggers at his sister. “Maggie,” he said more gently, “I will show you how to saddle up as we may do it a little differently to what you’re used to.”

      Maggie was slightly perplexed about what had just happened between the brother and sister as she wandered over to Jack to watch how he saddled up. He explained things clearly and talked her through. When he had finished, he unsaddled so he could watch her from the beginning to check she was doing it correctly. With all the horses saddled and riders mounted they slowly made their way out of the stable and down to the water trough.

      “Hi Maggie,” said Sid, as she passed him by the stable door.

      “Hi Sid.” She leant over quickly and whispered to him, “Sylvia wanted to give me Gravel, what’s wrong with him?” Sid’s horrified expression was enough to confirm Jack’s response earlier. “Thanks Sid, see you later.” She gently tapped Dingo’s side with her heel to catch up with the others. It seemed it would be an interesting day, she would stay on alert around Sylvia.

      Maggie was enjoying the ride. The scenery, the last time she had ridden, had been so different. She missed the soft lush green grass of the apple orchards. The grass here was harder and bristly. As they passed beyond the greenery the terrain changed to much the same as when she had travelled in with Mrs Heppler and Emily.

      “It must be quite a challenge to muster out here,” she said.

      “It is but you get used to it and the horses know the land very well. You need to have your wits about you though Maggie; cannot afford to have a lame horse out here, could mean the difference between life and death. There are potholes, stones, dingoes, roos, anthills and sheltering snakes. You need to trust your horse too; you build up a relationship and get to know how the other works. You respect your horse and you will get respect in return.

      “We will assign you your own horse in good time, I’ve a couple in mind. Dingo is one, that’s who you have today. See how you go.

      “Sorry to go into a lecture but I cannot emphasise enough the importance that you do not ride out in the bush on your own, it can be very dangerous. Not only for you but also for the people coming out to search for you if you don’t arrive back when expected and they don’t know your location. I’ve seen how someone’s stupidity and failure in not reporting their whereabouts can cause another’s death. We have strict rules on the Station and as head stockman I expect everyone to abide by them. If not, then they are out. No second chances.”

      “Thanks Jack, I understand,” she said, taking heed, “so, what was the problem with Gravel back there?”

      “Gravel is a bit of a maverick, Maggie. He’s too temperamental for you.”

      “I’m a good rider. I can hold my own,” she said defensively.

      “I dare say you can, but until I see that for myself, Gravel is off limits. I am responsible for the safety of all staff here and I ask that you trust me on this. Okay?”

      “Understood.”

      Smoko was a little awkward with Jack trying to make conversation sometimes to bridge the silence and frostiness caused by Sylvia. They rode on for another hour with Blue taking a break and sitting up behind Jack enjoying the ride. Maggie was impressed that he managed to balance so well. Shortly afterwards, Jack said it was time they made their way back and after a couple of hours they dismounted to give the horses a break and to have some lunch.

      They stopped under the shade of a huge gum tree where they fed and watered Blue and the horses. Jack said that the gum was an important landmark and stated that it was imperative to always be observant to surroundings when out in the bush as it was so easy to get disorientated. He pointed out the unique markings and shapes of some of the branches so that Maggie would be able to recognise the gum in the future. It was a popular stopping point because of the shelter it provided. Going due south from this point would take around three hours to ride back to the homestead and on the way back home Jack said he would point out some other landmarks if Maggie ever lost her compass or found it hard to navigate by the sun or stars.

      Maggie was growing quite tiresome of Sylvia’s whole attitude and her inaudible mutterings. She was fully aware that she was new here, but damn if she could stand this for much longer as she tried to calm her irritation. It was spoiling what was otherwise a good day.

      Jack passed Maggie a thermos of tea and some tucker. As Maggie sipped her tea she indicated toward the barbed wire fence that kept the sheep within a certain area.

      “It must take a lot of work to maintain the fencing and to make sure it is all intact.”

      “It does,” he replied, “It takes many man-hours to check the boundaries and paddock fencing. Expensive too as the fence goes as far as the eye can see. It’s backbreaking work digging and replacing the posts. We put teams together who go out on a rotational basis, sometimes they camp out for a few days to get the work done.”

      Before Maggie could reply, Sylvia asked abruptly, “What on earth are you doing here anyway? We don’t want or need you here.”

      “Excuse me?”

      “Watch your mouth Sylvia,” spat Jack.

      “It’s a free country. It’s a simple question,” Sylvia said defiantly.

      Okay, thought Maggie. Her dander was well and truly up. But, instead of an argument she decided to turn it around. She knew that if she let Sylvia bully her from the beginning then there would be no going back.

      “Sylvia!” she exclaimed, as she sat round to look at the woman, “welcome to the conversation. It’s good to know you can string a sentence together, however rude it may be. I won’t insult your alleged intelligence by even giving that comment a reply.”

      Sylvia stared at Maggie, not expecting this response at all. She had mistakenly taken Maggie for being quite timid. Jack sat back and drank his tea, instantly

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