The Sunburnt Country (10 page)

Daniel was looking at her vacantly, trying to work out her point.

‘These are real people, Daniel,’ she continued. ‘You have their whole lives in your hands. It’s worse out here: people are born and bred on the land, and when you take that away from them they lose everything.’ She rolled her eyes towards her uncle. ‘He was a great farmer and he could have made it work, but the bank never gave him a chance. Look what’s become of him now.’

She left Daniel there while she went into the kitchen and checked out what was in the fridge. Daniel came up behind her as she was halfway through making a grocery list.

‘So what does he do now?’

Jonny studied Daniel. Was he asking just for her sake or was he really interested? There was a hint of curiosity on his handsome face.

‘Besides drink his sorrows away? Not much. The farmers around here try to give him work but everyone’s doing it tough. He’s old, he’s got nothing to retire on. We help support him and Dad offers him work, but Uncle Rex finds it hard working under his younger brother.’ Jonny glanced back to the armchair, her uncle’s bald head just visible. ‘He’s aged so much in the last year and he’s not the man he used to be.’ Her voice cracked as the emotion threatened to overwhelm her. Uncle Rex used to have her for weekends when she was younger, just her so that she could escape her brothers. It was at his farm that she was treated like a cherished only child, spoilt even. Uncle Rex always listened to her or asked for her opinion. She got to play lady of the house and cook him his meals, just like her mother did at home. ‘Uncle Rex taught me how to play chess and canasta. We played a lot of cards,’ she said. Embarrassed at the emotions welling in her chest, she turned back to her list and wrote down a few extra items. She busied herself tidying up the kitchen area, chucking leftover food in the bin before turning to Daniel, who was back looking at the other photos on the wall.

‘I can see who his favourite was,’ said Dan, with a knowing smile.

Yes, she was.

‘Hey, Uncle Rex,’ she said, going back into the lounge room and standing in front of him so she had his full attention. ‘I’ll be back tomorrow morning with some supplies once Gabby and Carlo open up, okay?’

‘Thanks, love,’ he said and tried a smile but his face was riddled with shame.

She reached out and squeezed his hand. ‘Don’t fall asleep on the chair again. You know how it stuffs up your back.’

She called out to Daniel, ‘Ready to go?’

He joined her in the lounge room. ‘See you, Rex. Nice to meet you.’

‘You too, Daniel. Jonny’s never brought a fella with her before. Guess I might see you again,’ he said, giving him a wink.

Jonny couldn’t be bothered setting Uncle Rex straight. By morning he probably wouldn’t even remember it.

‘Let’s go,’ she said, pulling Daniel by the hand.

Back in the ute, Jonny leaned against the steering wheel, breathing deeply. After a few seconds, she turned towards Daniel, half his face visible in the glow of the streetlight. He sat there patiently, waiting. Daniel was a really good-looking fellow. Shame his day job sucked. Glancing at him now, Jonny wondered whether he would help her. Did Daniel have any compassion?

There was only one way to find out.

‘I need to ask you a favour and you can’t say no.’

DANIEL
paced around the kitchen, tidying up an already clean house as he worried over the events of the coming day. His dad wouldn’t be pleased with him at all, but for some reason, just like Jonelle had said, he hadn’t been able to say no. The scene at Ryan’s house had tormented him, but he had to admit it – this was about Jonelle, too. Somehow she had worked her way right under his skin. When she’d asked for his help, he’d accepted without hesitation. Was he trying to make up for not offering her an extension on her loan? He wasn’t sure. But she was such a stunning, vivacious woman, with her emotions laid bare on her on her greasy mechanic’s sleeve. Every time he gazed at her he felt like he was staring right into her soul. It was so bright she almost glowed. He wasn’t used to seeing honesty like this. There was certainly none of that growing up, and his last girlfriend had been so hard to read, but Jonelle . . . well, she was an open book of compassion, and her loyalty was admirable. She was so intriguing, perhaps made all the more so given how much she disliked him.

Maybe, too, she reminded him just a little of his mother. He thought back to his childhood, past all the horrors of the divorce to how much she had loved and cared for them. She’d been everything a child could ask for in a mother, always making sure they were busy with sports and activities. He hadn’t talked to her in years. But that was what he’d wanted, right? To punish his mother for what she’d done to their family. Oh, she had tried to keep in touch at the beginning, but he had seen the pain in his father’s eyes and having anything to do with his mum would be a betrayal to John. So he’d pushed her away, and had lumped onto her all the anger he had over the break up of their family. In a way, he sometimes wished she’d never stopped trying to reach out to him. Shouldn’t a mother always keep trying to have her child in her life? They might have reconciled. But she’d abandoned him, gave up on him. Now he’d never know.

He pushed the memories from his mind and checked his watch again. Jonelle did say she would pick him up just after nine. It was 9:07 a.m. With a bit of luck she’d changed her mind, decided that spending time with him was too much to handle. As much as he liked being with her, learning more about her, he didn’t want to go back to Ryan’s house. He didn’t want the visions to return and haunt his sleep again.

A knock at the door made him jump. He was on edge.

The door swung open and there she was, her blonde hair swept up into a cute ponytail, a checked shirt over a singlet and little denim shorts that showed off her perfect legs. He decided then and there that this trip was worth it.

‘Hi,’ she said, surprised. ‘Um, you look different.’ She gave his blue linen shorts and grey polo shirt the once-over, and when she got to his thongs she smiled. He got the feeling she approved of them.

She headed back to the street and her orange Torana.

‘I thought you might need an extra cherry on top,’ she said, nodding to the driver’s side. ‘You can drive.’ She ran her hand over the bonnet, obviously in love with her vehicle.

‘Really? Cool.’ His reply brought another small smile to her lips. He’d never met a girl who’d been into cars before. She had a classic and she knew how to fix it.

He got in behind the wheel and took a moment to appreciate the old-car smell and the feel of it. God, if only his Uncle Darryl could see him now. The desire to call him tore through his chest; he hadn’t seen him for years either.

Turning the key, he brought the beast to life. The pulse of the V8 rippled through him.

‘I like a guy who appreciates a classic,’ said Jonelle, her smile reaching her eyes this time. It was the first compliment she’d ever paid him and would probably be the last.

‘Open her up,’ she said when they were a few minutes out of town. ‘She likes her pipes cleaned out.’

Daniel didn’t need to be told twice as he let the V8 beast out with a drop of his foot. Just a little burst, before he settled back to the speed limit.

‘You know quite a lot about cars. I’m impressed,’ she said after they’d discussed diffs and five-litre engines.

‘Just don’t ask me to pull one apart and put it back together, or change a tyre,’ he said. ‘I know roughly how it’s done, I’ve just never had to change one before.’ Daniel loved talking cars with Jonelle. She treated him just like a mate, and she really lit up with enthusiasm and passion. It was a beautiful combination. Her eyes were iridescent, so enchanting that he had to remind himself to watch the road.

Daniel was having so much fun that he almost forgot the mission they were on, and it wasn’t until Ryan’s house came into view that his muscles clenched. Jonelle fell silent.

He turned off the car. ‘Thanks. That was awesome,’ he said, trying to cling to the lighter mood that was quickly passing.

‘You can drive it back too if you like,’ she said as they got out.

When they reached the gate, she turned to him, her face serious. ‘You know, I don’t let just anyone drive my car.’ The admission hung in the air before she walked on. ‘I actually think she likes you,’ she mumbled softly.

Dan smiled at the way Jonny attributed human emotions to the car. His father had never understood his love for cars. Only Uncle Darryl and Cam did. His mum thought he was a little crazy but she never said anything against their V8 passion. Yet when he’d named his first car, his dad told him it was ridiculous. ‘What grown man would do something like that?’ he’d said.

Dan made it through Ryan’s front door with only a quick glance towards the shed and the spot on the verandah where he’d lain. A shiver rattled up his spine. With a heavy sigh, he followed Jonelle inside.

‘It’s a bit cleaner than last time I was in here’ he said, when they stopped in the kitchen. When he’d come in to get the wet tea towels for Ryan, he’d walked into a giant mess. Literally – dirty dishes and leftovers everywhere. And the house stank. But now it shone so clean and bright, like it had been scrubbed from top to bottom, and it smelled fresh.

‘Yeah, I was here on Thursday,’ Jonelle said. ‘Didn’t want Ryan coming home to all that mess. The less he has to worry about, the better. The office is down here. I’m sorry to say I haven’t started in here. I wouldn’t have the faintest idea how farm books work. Dad never let me near his, so I figured I’d leave it until I had help.’

They walked into a large room. A computer sat on a corner workstation that was covered with all sorts of bills and documents. A grey four-drawer filing cabinet was next to the desk, paper jutting out of the bottom drawer. On one wall was a large framed photo of Ryan’s farm, just like the one Jonelle’s Uncle Rex had.

‘Hmm. Where to start . . .’ Dan said.

‘Well, let’s sort the ones off the floor, then I’ll see when he last updated Agrimaster. I hope there’s not too much to enter.’

Daniel bent down to start collecting up the papers and wondered again what his father would say if he knew he was getting involved in this way. His father would never understand.

‘I’ve found the chequebook,’ said Jonelle, waving it. ‘Fat lot of good it will do us, right?’

‘Let’s just get everything entered and then we can see what we’re dealing with.’

So for the next hour they worked side by side. Sorting through the private business of a man Daniel didn’t even know. Jonelle sensed his concern.

‘It’s okay, Dan. Ryan knows we’re here. He’s finally accepting help and this is what you do for best mates. You trawl through the shit to help them out.’

‘I guess.’

‘Haven’t you had to do anything complicated for a friend?’

Daniel shrugged. ‘I only have a few mates and they’re all well-off, organised and capable.’

Jonelle glared at him. ‘I’m going to pretend you weren’t just insulting my friends then.’

‘Oh no. Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply . . .’ Dan stopped before he made it worse.

‘Well, I’ve known all my friends since birth, just about. You could say they’re more like family – there isn’t much I don’t know about them. Out here, your business is everyone else’s business, whether you like it or not.’ Jonelle sat down at the computer.

The floor was now clear but Dan would need another chair. He borrowed one from the dining room and parked it beside Jonelle’s. Looking at the pile of papers before them, he sighed. ‘This is not how I planned to spend my Saturday. I had pictured a cold beer, a few papers and magazines, and not much else.’

‘No, me neither. But this is better for the soul.’ She gave him another rare smile. ‘How about Sunday? You could do that then?’

‘Um, actually, I’m going out to your farm with Zac.’

Jonelle’s eyes grew wide. ‘Really?’

He nodded. ‘Zac’s been trying to get me out there so he can show me what he gets up to. I could tell he wasn’t going to let up until I said yes.’

‘Yep, that’s Zac. Like a Tassie devil, he won’t let go.’

Daniel hadn’t really needed that much persuasion. He was interested to see where Zac and Jonelle had grown up, see inside their private lives. ‘Do you go back to the farm much?’ he asked, wondering whether he’d see her tomorrow.

She was staring at the computer, trying to work out the farming program. ‘Yeah, most weekends.’

‘Well, I might see you, then.’

‘Maybe,’ she said distractedly.

They spent the next few hours just sorting out the loose papers and getting the books almost up-to-date.

‘Thanks for this, Dan, I don’t really know a lot about book work and this stuff,’ she said as they finished up.

‘It’s fine; I do have a bank’s perspective, which is helpful. But what I don’t get, from what I’ve seen today, is why is Ryan having so much trouble?’ Dan asked. ‘It’s not like he’s wasting money. From what I can see he runs a tight ship.’

Jonelle sat back and sighed. ‘Well, he’d not long bought the farm off his parents and then he got married, and a few years later his wife left him and pretty much cleaned him out. I guess you could say it kind of ruined his life, hence the start of his depression. A farm may seem like a lot of money, but all that money is tied up in machinery and other costs, so when Alana left she took her so-called share of their relationship, which was half of what the farm is worth. So Ryan had to give her all the money he had, meanwhile what’s he supposed to use to run the farm? It’s a shithole of a mess, that’s what it is.’ Jonelle’s face flushed with anger.

‘That sounds awful. How many years were they married?’

‘Only a couple. She couldn’t handle it out here. So much for sticking with your husband through thick and thin. Alana didn’t even try to make it work. I mean, he was paying off his folks and she insisted on this monstrosity,’ she said. ‘But, I was thinking, the house is transportable, so I reckon we could sell it to help pay off some debt. Nice houses on farms don’t alter the price of the land much, so selling it shouldn’t affect the value of the farm too much at all.’

Daniel nodded. ‘It’s actually a great idea. Is Ryan happy to do that?’

‘Hell, yeah! I think he’d be happy to live in a tent if it meant getting him out of this shit. Come on, let’s head home. We’ve done enough for today.’

Leaving the house, they headed off in her Torana, Daniel smiling with delight at being able to drive it back into town.

‘Man, you’re almost as car crazy as I am,’ she said with a grin. ‘So what’s your dream car, then?’ she asked.

‘Well, I’m a Holden fan but I still love the Mustangs and the Ford GTs. I mean, those kind of classics deserve our appreciation.’

‘I hear ya,’ she agreed. ‘They made awesome muscle cars back in the day. You know, I’d love to watch the V8s live one day. Brocky was the best and I like Lowndesy. Thank God he’s come back to Holden, though. Went off him for a while. And Zac and I loved watching the V8 utes back when Grant “Mad Dog” Denyer raced.’

‘The utes! They always put on such a show. So you’ve never been?’

‘No. It’s a long way to go and it’s pretty costly when you have to pay for accommodation, but the boys and I all get together to watch it. It’s almost as good.’

All too soon they arrived back at his house. It was well past lunchtime and Daniel racked his brain working out what food he had in the house and wondered if he should invite Jonny in for lunch. He’d sworn he wouldn’t get mixed up with women in Bundara and here he was totally breaking his own pact. Jonelle only had to look at him and he would forget to breathe. It was killing his professional demeanour. Not that she was doing it on purpose. The rest of her body language said he was still someone she wouldn’t let too close. He could tell that his refusal to grant an extension was still weighing on her mind. But he could understand that – he’d just made her life very difficult.

He didn’t have a chance to ask her in for lunch as she jumped straight into the driver’s side as soon as he stepped out.

‘Thanks again for today, Dan. I’ll catch up with you again when we can get back out to Ryan’s, yeah?’ She gave him a quick wave as she peeled out onto the road without a backwards glance.

Dan brushed the flies away, cursing them and the heat. As he walked to his door he wondered what tomorrow would bring. He liked Zac and was sure it would be fun. Most of all, he hoped to see that strangely admirable woman again.

Today had triggered a lot of self-examination. A bit of a reality check. Here was Ryan, who by all means was doing a great job farming but had problems courtesy of his ex-wife. And then there was Jonelle’s uncle, who’d been taken to the cleaners. These people were in trouble and they didn’t deserve it. And Jonelle busted her guts trying to help them out, even when she needed help herself. He couldn’t figure Jonelle out. Was she raised this way, being from the country, or was it just her own beautiful nature? He really hoped he would see her tomorrow.