father’s neck. He only ever did the one-eyebrow trick when he was in a good mood. Craig braced himself and raised his half-full coffee cup in the air so as not to spill it.
‘No promises, Jess. We’d have to think about it properly and organise some things. Maybe we can go. And I mean maybe .’
Jess smothered him with kisses.
‘Oh, good grief!’ Craig gasped for air. ‘Stop slobbering on me, will you?’
‘Come on. Let’s go and plant those mulga seeds before it gets too hot,’ suggested Caroline. ‘Then we’ll cook up a fine draftcamping breakfast.’
‘That’s campdrafting, Mum,’ said Jess, walking to the door and pulling her new hat down on her head.
‘Campdrafting. A good campdrafting breakfast. Those cows had better look out!’
‘Hang on a minute! We haven’t decided yet,’ called Craig from the lounge room.
‘Oh, give it up, Dad,’ called Jess. ‘You know you’re outnumbered!’
Jess and Caroline made their way out to the garden. The ground was still lumpy over Diamond’s grave, but tiny shoots of green had begun to poke up through the dirt. Caroline took a rake. ‘We’ll just loosen the soil so those seeds can get a better grip on life, Jess.’
Jess carefully emptied the contents of the packet into the palm of her hand and then poked her finger into the ground, making little holes and placing the seeds in one by one. When they had pressed them all in and watered them, Caroline headed back to the house. ‘I’ll come up in a minute,’ called Jess, sitting down under Diamond’s tree. She ran her hand over the ground. ‘I’ll do this somehow, Diamond,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll win the money and buy Walkabout and it’ll be like old times again.’
16
THE NEXT DAY, Dodger trotted up to the fence for his morning feed. He had put on condition and his coat looked a bit healthier, but he still had a big saggy belly. The resentment Jess once felt for him had waned since she had last handled him, but he still didn’t seem like her horse. She climbed through the fence and Dodger snorted with surprise. He didn’t usually get so much as a ‘hello’.
While he was eating his hay, she gave him a good brush and combed out his tail. His feet were a bit overgrown and he would need shoes, but to start with she could work him in the arena, where it was soft underfoot. The gear she had put together last time she rode him was still in the tackroom and, once he finished eating, she saddled him up without incident and led him down to Harry’s.
At Harry’s she tied him up to the hitching rail alongside the other horses. He stood there with his lower lip hanging out, looking like an absolute train wreck next to the long-legged, gleaming colts, Legsy and Nosey. Tom, Luke, Grace and Rosie gathered around waiting for Harry’s appraisal.
Jess cringed. It was ridiculous. Dodger wasn’t going to win any campdrafts. Why was she even doing this?
Harry limped over and gave Dodger a rub under his thick forelock. ‘Geez, he’s got a head like a beaten favourite,’ he chuckled. ‘How old is he?’ He pushed open Dodger’s mouth and had a quick look at his teeth. Then he ran his hand down the horse’s neck and over his shoulder. ‘Station-bred, by the looks of this brand.’
Harry talked away as he passed his hands over Dodger, picking up the horse’s feet and looking at his hooves, inspecting every bump on his legs with an experienced thumb. ‘These old legs could tell a few stories,’ he said. ‘He seems sound enough, though.’ He moved around the tail end and all the way along Dodger’s back. ‘A horse for all the family, they’d call him out west,’ he said. ‘Long in the back, isn’t he?’
Harry approached the other shoulder. ‘Well, I’ll be jiggered!’ he said in astonishment. ‘He’s got the same stud brand as old Bunyip.’ He ran a couple of fingers over the three horizontal bars on the Dodger’s shoulder and his expression changed.
He grinned at Jess and she
‘No promises, Jess. We’d have to think about it properly and organise some things. Maybe we can go. And I mean maybe .’
Jess smothered him with kisses.
‘Oh, good grief!’ Craig gasped for air. ‘Stop slobbering on me, will you?’
‘Come on. Let’s go and plant those mulga seeds before it gets too hot,’ suggested Caroline. ‘Then we’ll cook up a fine draftcamping breakfast.’
‘That’s campdrafting, Mum,’ said Jess, walking to the door and pulling her new hat down on her head.
‘Campdrafting. A good campdrafting breakfast. Those cows had better look out!’
‘Hang on a minute! We haven’t decided yet,’ called Craig from the lounge room.
‘Oh, give it up, Dad,’ called Jess. ‘You know you’re outnumbered!’
Jess and Caroline made their way out to the garden. The ground was still lumpy over Diamond’s grave, but tiny shoots of green had begun to poke up through the dirt. Caroline took a rake. ‘We’ll just loosen the soil so those seeds can get a better grip on life, Jess.’
Jess carefully emptied the contents of the packet into the palm of her hand and then poked her finger into the ground, making little holes and placing the seeds in one by one. When they had pressed them all in and watered them, Caroline headed back to the house. ‘I’ll come up in a minute,’ called Jess, sitting down under Diamond’s tree. She ran her hand over the ground. ‘I’ll do this somehow, Diamond,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll win the money and buy Walkabout and it’ll be like old times again.’
16
THE NEXT DAY, Dodger trotted up to the fence for his morning feed. He had put on condition and his coat looked a bit healthier, but he still had a big saggy belly. The resentment Jess once felt for him had waned since she had last handled him, but he still didn’t seem like her horse. She climbed through the fence and Dodger snorted with surprise. He didn’t usually get so much as a ‘hello’.
While he was eating his hay, she gave him a good brush and combed out his tail. His feet were a bit overgrown and he would need shoes, but to start with she could work him in the arena, where it was soft underfoot. The gear she had put together last time she rode him was still in the tackroom and, once he finished eating, she saddled him up without incident and led him down to Harry’s.
At Harry’s she tied him up to the hitching rail alongside the other horses. He stood there with his lower lip hanging out, looking like an absolute train wreck next to the long-legged, gleaming colts, Legsy and Nosey. Tom, Luke, Grace and Rosie gathered around waiting for Harry’s appraisal.
Jess cringed. It was ridiculous. Dodger wasn’t going to win any campdrafts. Why was she even doing this?
Harry limped over and gave Dodger a rub under his thick forelock. ‘Geez, he’s got a head like a beaten favourite,’ he chuckled. ‘How old is he?’ He pushed open Dodger’s mouth and had a quick look at his teeth. Then he ran his hand down the horse’s neck and over his shoulder. ‘Station-bred, by the looks of this brand.’
Harry talked away as he passed his hands over Dodger, picking up the horse’s feet and looking at his hooves, inspecting every bump on his legs with an experienced thumb. ‘These old legs could tell a few stories,’ he said. ‘He seems sound enough, though.’ He moved around the tail end and all the way along Dodger’s back. ‘A horse for all the family, they’d call him out west,’ he said. ‘Long in the back, isn’t he?’
Harry approached the other shoulder. ‘Well, I’ll be jiggered!’ he said in astonishment. ‘He’s got the same stud brand as old Bunyip.’ He ran a couple of fingers over the three horizontal bars on the Dodger’s shoulder and his expression changed.
He grinned at Jess and she
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