carved a path straight through the middle of the crop …’
‘I can see he’s told you all the best stuff.’ Lara laughed, waving Amanda quiet.
‘Seriously, though, Lara, how come you didn’t come back after school?’
Lara shrugged and sat down opposite Amanda. ‘During high school I loved coming back, but my parents had other plans for me. I went away to uni and tried not to look back. Then when they died, I just couldn’t face coming home. I didn’t want to break the illusion that they were still here, working Erindale.’
‘Maybe their spirits still are.’
‘Funny you should say that. I still feel them here. I guess that’s why I can’t bear to let Noah sell. To me this is still home. You know, it hasn’t changed a bit.’
‘Yep, that’s our Noah. He won’t change anything that ain’t broke.’
‘He hasn’t even cleaned out their room,’ Lara squeaked. She felt relieved to talk to someone about it – someone who would understand how difficult this was for her without having to go into the finer details.
‘Noah couldn’t.’ Amanda put her hand on her chest. ‘He just couldn’t. I think he was hoping you’d do it one day.’ Lara felt Amanda’s hazel eyes weighing her up. ‘Look, I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but if you came back to run the farm, it’d solve all the problems. Noah doesn’t want to part withErindale either, as much as he says he’s happy to move on. I think he feels like he’s let his dad down a bit, not to mention you. I can see how much it pains him to even think about it and I know he’s doing it for me.’
‘He’s doing it for both of you.’
‘Yeah, but I’m the one who wants our own house and Noah’s determined to use his money for that. He’s already made it clear he doesn’t want to sponge off my dad. It’s a male pride thing, I think. But if you came and ran the farm, well, Noah wouldn’t have to pay out a wage.’
‘And I suppose if I sold the Perth house, I could buy more of a share in the farm and he’d have money for your house.’ The clock ticked in the kitchen and flies buzzed by the windows as Lara’s mind raced. ‘So you think I could really run Erindale?’
‘Hell, yes!’ said Amanda, sitting up straight. ‘Easy. I do most of the farm stuff at home. It won’t take you long to learn the ropes. You already know how to drive headers and tractors.’
‘That was a long time ago.’
‘It’s like riding a bike. You never forget. Lara, you don’t have to be able to do all of it at once, you know. When has anybody ever been expected to just walk into a job and know how to do everything? Seriously, you should give it some thought.’
Lara shrugged and tried to dismiss the ridiculous proposal, but for some reason it lingered, demanding more thought.
‘So when do you think you’ll be done here?’ Amanda asked Noah as he came into the kitchen after cleaning up for dinner. Thecasserole was warming in the oven and the girls were drinking a glass of wine.
‘I reckon we’ll be finished by Tuesday at this rate.’
‘Good. The weather report is saying a chance of two to five mil on Wednesday.’
‘Ah, shit. Really? Well, let’s just hope nothing goes wrong till then.’ Noah turned to Lara as Amanda took the casserole out of the oven. ‘Thanks for lending a hand today, Larz. You were throwing fleeces like the days of old.’
A smile sprang to her lips. ‘Thanks. I actually had a lot of fun.’
‘Sure you can’t hang around longer and see out the rest of the sheep?’ he asked.
Her laughter was light and easy. ‘As thrilling as that sounds, I have a meeting with the boss this week so I have to get back.’
They took their loaded plates to the table. ‘God, this smells great,’ Lara said.
‘Yeah. Mum’s sausage casserole is the best.’ Amanda broke up some bread and buried it in the gravy.
Forks scraped on plates as they ate. Noah lasted the whole meal without bringing up the topic of selling the
‘I can see he’s told you all the best stuff.’ Lara laughed, waving Amanda quiet.
‘Seriously, though, Lara, how come you didn’t come back after school?’
Lara shrugged and sat down opposite Amanda. ‘During high school I loved coming back, but my parents had other plans for me. I went away to uni and tried not to look back. Then when they died, I just couldn’t face coming home. I didn’t want to break the illusion that they were still here, working Erindale.’
‘Maybe their spirits still are.’
‘Funny you should say that. I still feel them here. I guess that’s why I can’t bear to let Noah sell. To me this is still home. You know, it hasn’t changed a bit.’
‘Yep, that’s our Noah. He won’t change anything that ain’t broke.’
‘He hasn’t even cleaned out their room,’ Lara squeaked. She felt relieved to talk to someone about it – someone who would understand how difficult this was for her without having to go into the finer details.
‘Noah couldn’t.’ Amanda put her hand on her chest. ‘He just couldn’t. I think he was hoping you’d do it one day.’ Lara felt Amanda’s hazel eyes weighing her up. ‘Look, I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but if you came back to run the farm, it’d solve all the problems. Noah doesn’t want to part withErindale either, as much as he says he’s happy to move on. I think he feels like he’s let his dad down a bit, not to mention you. I can see how much it pains him to even think about it and I know he’s doing it for me.’
‘He’s doing it for both of you.’
‘Yeah, but I’m the one who wants our own house and Noah’s determined to use his money for that. He’s already made it clear he doesn’t want to sponge off my dad. It’s a male pride thing, I think. But if you came and ran the farm, well, Noah wouldn’t have to pay out a wage.’
‘And I suppose if I sold the Perth house, I could buy more of a share in the farm and he’d have money for your house.’ The clock ticked in the kitchen and flies buzzed by the windows as Lara’s mind raced. ‘So you think I could really run Erindale?’
‘Hell, yes!’ said Amanda, sitting up straight. ‘Easy. I do most of the farm stuff at home. It won’t take you long to learn the ropes. You already know how to drive headers and tractors.’
‘That was a long time ago.’
‘It’s like riding a bike. You never forget. Lara, you don’t have to be able to do all of it at once, you know. When has anybody ever been expected to just walk into a job and know how to do everything? Seriously, you should give it some thought.’
Lara shrugged and tried to dismiss the ridiculous proposal, but for some reason it lingered, demanding more thought.
‘So when do you think you’ll be done here?’ Amanda asked Noah as he came into the kitchen after cleaning up for dinner. Thecasserole was warming in the oven and the girls were drinking a glass of wine.
‘I reckon we’ll be finished by Tuesday at this rate.’
‘Good. The weather report is saying a chance of two to five mil on Wednesday.’
‘Ah, shit. Really? Well, let’s just hope nothing goes wrong till then.’ Noah turned to Lara as Amanda took the casserole out of the oven. ‘Thanks for lending a hand today, Larz. You were throwing fleeces like the days of old.’
A smile sprang to her lips. ‘Thanks. I actually had a lot of fun.’
‘Sure you can’t hang around longer and see out the rest of the sheep?’ he asked.
Her laughter was light and easy. ‘As thrilling as that sounds, I have a meeting with the boss this week so I have to get back.’
They took their loaded plates to the table. ‘God, this smells great,’ Lara said.
‘Yeah. Mum’s sausage casserole is the best.’ Amanda broke up some bread and buried it in the gravy.
Forks scraped on plates as they ate. Noah lasted the whole meal without bringing up the topic of selling the
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