Read Online Novels 01 Blue Skies by Fleur McDonald - Free Book Online
Authors: Fleur McDonald
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lined the banks of the river.
Kathleen had then spent some time in his veggie garden and tidied his hut, making it look very much like a home. Michael had been struck by how natural she looked in this setting; it seemed obvious to him that this was the woman with whom he should spend his life.
A particularly strong gust of wind whipped past and the tin rattled so hard that Michael thought it would pull away from its fastenings. He wondered, as he did when things got hellish, if he would ever be able to make Kyleena what he wanted and was it fair to ask for Kathleen’s hand, before he had?
Chapter 13
Amanda sat at the kitchen table, flicking through the latest farm magazine that had arrived in the roadside mail box yesterday. Her cup of tea and toast were beside her and the radio was on, with the weather report from the Bureau of Meteorology. As she skimmed an article on abattoirs’ killing space, she vaguely heard the announcer say: ‘So there’ll be quite a lot of rain for the South Coast, John?’ Putting down the magazine, she started to listen intently.
‘Yes, Bernadette, with the strong front that’s approaching the Southern Coastal district is likely to receive a lot of heavy rain.The front is expected to cross the south-west corner tomorrow morning and move eastward reaching Esperance by Wednesday. There’ll be strong squalls with the passage of the front and we have a sheep farmers’ weather alert, we recommend that any loose items are tied down.’
Her father, sitting quietly at the other end of the table, seemed unmoved by the forecast, while Amanda’s heart started to flutter and her mind raced. She had ewes that were only two weeks off shears.
Looking at her father, she said ‘Sounds like a bit of bad weather.’
He nodded, and Amanda struggled to hide her frustration. Her father had begun to heal and their relationship had been steadily improving until the night Adrian Major had turned up uninvited a few weeks before. Since then, Brian had withdrawn back into his shell. His drinking had increased once more and the silences were long and brooding. His office had become his safe haven from which he rarely ventured.
Amanda had noticed the photo albums disappearing from the bookshelves and when she’d cautiously put her head into the office to call him for dinner one night she’d seen them piled up on the corner of his office desk. She didn’t know what he wanted with the old albums, and she doubted he’d tell her if she asked, so she’d thrust it to the back of her mind and concentrated on farming.
Now she pushed back her chair and without another word to her father headed out the door. Sitting astride her bike, she whistled to her new pup, Mingus, a bouncy black and tan kelpie with keen eyes. Mingus flew from under the bush where he’d been dozing and landed with a thump on the back of the bike.
At nine months old, he’d been a lucky find. After the week of heavy stock work and no dog, Amanda had scoured the pages of the farm journals. Spotting a small ad for a partly trained dog in the Esperance shire, she’d called the number, not really expecting to strike gold – but she had.
The shaky voice of an old man had answered the phone, but when Amanda had explained why she was ringing, his voice had become stronger.‘Only to a good home,’ he kept repeating.
‘Why do you need to pass him on?’ Amanda had asked.
There’d been a long silence and finally the man had said: ‘I’m dying of cancer. I thought I’d have a few years left and I’d still be able to keep a few sheep and work him, but I’ve got two months tops.’
‘He’ll have a good home with me,’ Amanda promised.
From the moment she had picked him up, Mingus had seemed to understand that Amanda was his new mistress and had loved her without hesitation. He was a natural sheep dog and the sick man had started to teach her well. Amanda had read with sadness the death notice in the paper not a week later. But, however
Kathleen had then spent some time in his veggie garden and tidied his hut, making it look very much like a home. Michael had been struck by how natural she looked in this setting; it seemed obvious to him that this was the woman with whom he should spend his life.
A particularly strong gust of wind whipped past and the tin rattled so hard that Michael thought it would pull away from its fastenings. He wondered, as he did when things got hellish, if he would ever be able to make Kyleena what he wanted and was it fair to ask for Kathleen’s hand, before he had?
Chapter 13
Amanda sat at the kitchen table, flicking through the latest farm magazine that had arrived in the roadside mail box yesterday. Her cup of tea and toast were beside her and the radio was on, with the weather report from the Bureau of Meteorology. As she skimmed an article on abattoirs’ killing space, she vaguely heard the announcer say: ‘So there’ll be quite a lot of rain for the South Coast, John?’ Putting down the magazine, she started to listen intently.
‘Yes, Bernadette, with the strong front that’s approaching the Southern Coastal district is likely to receive a lot of heavy rain.The front is expected to cross the south-west corner tomorrow morning and move eastward reaching Esperance by Wednesday. There’ll be strong squalls with the passage of the front and we have a sheep farmers’ weather alert, we recommend that any loose items are tied down.’
Her father, sitting quietly at the other end of the table, seemed unmoved by the forecast, while Amanda’s heart started to flutter and her mind raced. She had ewes that were only two weeks off shears.
Looking at her father, she said ‘Sounds like a bit of bad weather.’
He nodded, and Amanda struggled to hide her frustration. Her father had begun to heal and their relationship had been steadily improving until the night Adrian Major had turned up uninvited a few weeks before. Since then, Brian had withdrawn back into his shell. His drinking had increased once more and the silences were long and brooding. His office had become his safe haven from which he rarely ventured.
Amanda had noticed the photo albums disappearing from the bookshelves and when she’d cautiously put her head into the office to call him for dinner one night she’d seen them piled up on the corner of his office desk. She didn’t know what he wanted with the old albums, and she doubted he’d tell her if she asked, so she’d thrust it to the back of her mind and concentrated on farming.
Now she pushed back her chair and without another word to her father headed out the door. Sitting astride her bike, she whistled to her new pup, Mingus, a bouncy black and tan kelpie with keen eyes. Mingus flew from under the bush where he’d been dozing and landed with a thump on the back of the bike.
At nine months old, he’d been a lucky find. After the week of heavy stock work and no dog, Amanda had scoured the pages of the farm journals. Spotting a small ad for a partly trained dog in the Esperance shire, she’d called the number, not really expecting to strike gold – but she had.
The shaky voice of an old man had answered the phone, but when Amanda had explained why she was ringing, his voice had become stronger.‘Only to a good home,’ he kept repeating.
‘Why do you need to pass him on?’ Amanda had asked.
There’d been a long silence and finally the man had said: ‘I’m dying of cancer. I thought I’d have a few years left and I’d still be able to keep a few sheep and work him, but I’ve got two months tops.’
‘He’ll have a good home with me,’ Amanda promised.
From the moment she had picked him up, Mingus had seemed to understand that Amanda was his new mistress and had loved her without hesitation. He was a natural sheep dog and the sick man had started to teach her well. Amanda had read with sadness the death notice in the paper not a week later. But, however
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