useful.
Macklin strode across the bush with such confidence and ease that Caine felt a stirring in his gut again. This was a man who belonged in the outback, who understood how the world around him functioned and knew his place in it. Eventually he slowed, bending down over something Caine couldn’t see. A few minutes later, he stood again,
waving his hat to get Caine’s attention. Caine opened the door and stepped down.
“There’s a tool kit in the boot,” Macklin called. “I need a pair of wire cutters.”
Caine had no idea what wire cutters looked like, but he figured something like a pair of scissors or snips, so he went to the back of the Jeep and rummaged around until he found something that looked likely. He picked his way across the bush far less confidently than Macklin had done, not sure what pitfalls—physical or animal—might be between him and his goal. When he reached Macklin’s side, he offered the wire cutters and looked down at the sheep baaing in distress at their feet.“Can I help?”
“You’ll have to,” Macklin said. “I can’t cut the wire and hold the lamb still at the same time.” He pulled a pair of work gloves from his belt and handed them to Caine. “They’ll be too big, but otherwise you’ll tear your hands up working with the wire, and I doubt you’re strong enough to hold this girl down. She weighs almost as much as you do, I’d wager.”
Caine looked skeptical since the lamb didn’t look all that big to him, but he pulled the gloves on and knelt down next to Macklin, studying the mess of barbed wire around the sheep’s legs and torso. He wanted to get it off her as fast as possible with as few cuts as possible to minimize the chances of hurting her in the process.
“What are you waiting for?” Macklin asked after a moment.
“Nothing,” Caine replied, forcing the wire cutters through the mess. The barbed wire snapped, freeing the lamb’s leg, but it was still tangled around her belly. “She’s a mess, isn’t she?”
“I’ve seen animals in better condition,” Macklin agreed. “Get her loose. We’ll have to take her to Taylor. If we leave her out here like this, the dingoes will get her for sure.”
Caine nodded and cut the wire a few more times, feeling each snip reverberate up his arm. Yet one more area where he wasn’t as strong as everyone else, but he got the job done, and that was the important thing, as far as he was concerned. He’d get stronger with time.
When the last of the wire fell free, Macklin hoisted the lamb to his shoulders. “Get the wire. If we leave it here, something else will get caught and might not be as fortunate to have someone stumble across it.”
Caine scrambled to do as he was told, gathering the scraps of wire and the wire cutters and hurrying after Macklin, silently wishing for the same ground-eating stride. He didn’t think Macklin was that much taller than he was, but he walked like a man twice his size.
Macklin tossed the wire in the back of the Jeep with the toolbox, but he put the lamb in the back seat. “Climb in there with her, pup, unless you’d rather drive.”
“I d-don’t know where I’m going,” Caine said. He didn’t point out that the steering wheel was on the wrong side of the Jeep. On a private dirt road, he wasn’t likely to run into oncoming traffic or have to worry about the rules of the road, but he still wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
“You don’t know anything about lambs either.” Macklin tossed him the keys. “I’ll tell you which fork to take.”
Caine climbed into the driver’s seat, sure this was a bad idea, but he wasn’t going to tell Macklin that. The foreman already thought he’d turn tail at the first hard spot, and Caine wasn’t about to do anything to support that misconception. Checking over his shoulder to make sure Macklin and the sheep were settled, he put the car in gear, praying he remembered how to drive a stick shift, and jerked forward over the rutted road. He
Macklin strode across the bush with such confidence and ease that Caine felt a stirring in his gut again. This was a man who belonged in the outback, who understood how the world around him functioned and knew his place in it. Eventually he slowed, bending down over something Caine couldn’t see. A few minutes later, he stood again,
waving his hat to get Caine’s attention. Caine opened the door and stepped down.
“There’s a tool kit in the boot,” Macklin called. “I need a pair of wire cutters.”
Caine had no idea what wire cutters looked like, but he figured something like a pair of scissors or snips, so he went to the back of the Jeep and rummaged around until he found something that looked likely. He picked his way across the bush far less confidently than Macklin had done, not sure what pitfalls—physical or animal—might be between him and his goal. When he reached Macklin’s side, he offered the wire cutters and looked down at the sheep baaing in distress at their feet.“Can I help?”
“You’ll have to,” Macklin said. “I can’t cut the wire and hold the lamb still at the same time.” He pulled a pair of work gloves from his belt and handed them to Caine. “They’ll be too big, but otherwise you’ll tear your hands up working with the wire, and I doubt you’re strong enough to hold this girl down. She weighs almost as much as you do, I’d wager.”
Caine looked skeptical since the lamb didn’t look all that big to him, but he pulled the gloves on and knelt down next to Macklin, studying the mess of barbed wire around the sheep’s legs and torso. He wanted to get it off her as fast as possible with as few cuts as possible to minimize the chances of hurting her in the process.
“What are you waiting for?” Macklin asked after a moment.
“Nothing,” Caine replied, forcing the wire cutters through the mess. The barbed wire snapped, freeing the lamb’s leg, but it was still tangled around her belly. “She’s a mess, isn’t she?”
“I’ve seen animals in better condition,” Macklin agreed. “Get her loose. We’ll have to take her to Taylor. If we leave her out here like this, the dingoes will get her for sure.”
Caine nodded and cut the wire a few more times, feeling each snip reverberate up his arm. Yet one more area where he wasn’t as strong as everyone else, but he got the job done, and that was the important thing, as far as he was concerned. He’d get stronger with time.
When the last of the wire fell free, Macklin hoisted the lamb to his shoulders. “Get the wire. If we leave it here, something else will get caught and might not be as fortunate to have someone stumble across it.”
Caine scrambled to do as he was told, gathering the scraps of wire and the wire cutters and hurrying after Macklin, silently wishing for the same ground-eating stride. He didn’t think Macklin was that much taller than he was, but he walked like a man twice his size.
Macklin tossed the wire in the back of the Jeep with the toolbox, but he put the lamb in the back seat. “Climb in there with her, pup, unless you’d rather drive.”
“I d-don’t know where I’m going,” Caine said. He didn’t point out that the steering wheel was on the wrong side of the Jeep. On a private dirt road, he wasn’t likely to run into oncoming traffic or have to worry about the rules of the road, but he still wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
“You don’t know anything about lambs either.” Macklin tossed him the keys. “I’ll tell you which fork to take.”
Caine climbed into the driver’s seat, sure this was a bad idea, but he wasn’t going to tell Macklin that. The foreman already thought he’d turn tail at the first hard spot, and Caine wasn’t about to do anything to support that misconception. Checking over his shoulder to make sure Macklin and the sheep were settled, he put the car in gear, praying he remembered how to drive a stick shift, and jerked forward over the rutted road. He
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