isn’t it?’ Ellie gasped as they reached the veranda. ‘Such lousy timing.’ She turned to Joe. Beneath the dripping brim of her hat, her dark eyes were wide with concern.
He wondered if he was the cause.
‘Have you heard the weather report?’ she asked.
He shook his head. ‘Not a word. I haven’t had the radio on. Why? What’s happening?’
‘A cyclone. Cyclone Peta. It started up in the Gulf yesterday afternoon, and crossed the coast mid-morning. It’s dumping masses of rain further north.’
‘I guess that’s good news.’
‘Well, yes, it is. We certainly need the rain.’ She frowned. ‘But I have a paddock full of cattle down by the river.’
‘The Hopkins paddock,’ Joe said, remembering the section of their land that had flooded nearly every wet season.
Ellie nodded.
‘We need to get them out of there,’ he said.
‘I know.’ Her soft pink mouth twisted into an apologetic wincing smile. ‘Joe, I hate to do this to you when you’ve just arrived, but you know how quickly these rivers can rise. I’d like to shift the cattle this afternoon. Now, actually.’
‘OK. Let’s get going, then.’
‘You don’t mind?’
‘’Course I don’t.’ In truth, he was relieved to have something practical to do. A mission to rescue cattle was a darn sight more appealing than sitting around drinking tea and trying to make polite conversation with his beautiful soon-to-be ex.
‘It’s flat country, so we won’t need horses. I’ll have to take Jacko, though, so I thought I’d take the ute with the trail bike in the back.’
Joe nodded.
‘One problem. I’d probably have to stay in the ute with Jacko.’ Ellie swallowed, as if she was nervous. ‘Would you mind...um...looking after the round-up?’
‘Sure. Sounds like a plan.’ He chanced a quick smile. ‘As long as I haven’t lost my touch.’
As he said this, Ellie stared at him for longer than necessary, her expression slightly puzzled and questioning. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something in response, but then she shook her head as if she’d changed her mind.
‘I’ll get Jacko. He’s having an afternoon nap.’ She shrugged out of her coat and beneath it she was wearing a neat blue and white striped shirt tucked into jeans. Her waistline was still as trim as a schoolgirl’s.
When she took off her hat, Joe’s gaze fixed on her thick dark hair, pulled back into a glossy braid. Her hair had always been soft to touch despite its thickness.
‘Come on in,’ she said awkwardly over her shoulder. ‘You don’t mind if we leave your gear in your car until later?’
He shrugged. ‘It’s only Christmas presents.’
‘Would you...ah...like a cup of tea or anything?’
‘No, I’m fine.’ The muddy coffee he’d had on the road would take a while to digest. ‘Let’s collect the kid and get this job done.’
They took off their boots and hung their wet coats on the row of pegs that Joe had mounted beside the front door when they’d first moved in here. To his surprise, his own battered elderly Akubra still hung on the end peg.
Of course, he’d known it would feel strange to follow Ellie into the house as her guest rather than her partner, but the knife thrust in his gut was an unpleasant addition.
The house was full of the furniture they’d chosen together in Townsville—the tan leather sofa and the oval dining table, the rocking chair Ellie had insisted on buying when she was first pregnant.
Joe wouldn’t take a stick of this furniture when they divorced. He was striking new trails.
‘I’ll fetch Jacko,’ Ellie said nervously. ‘I reckon he’ll be awake by now.’
Unsure if he was expected to follow her, Joe remained standing, almost to attention, in the centre of the lounge room. He heard the creak of a floorboard down the hall and the soft warmth in Ellie’s voice as she greeted their son. Then he heard the boy’s happy crow of delight.
‘Mummy, Mummy!’
Joe felt his heart twist.
Moments later, Ellie appeared in the doorway with Jacko in her arms. The boy was a sturdy little fellow, with glowing blue eyes and cheeks still pink and flushed with sleep. He was cuteness personified. Very blond—Joe had been blond until he was six and then his hair had turned dark.
The last time Joe had seen his son, he’d been a sleepy baby, barely able to hold his head up. Now he was a little man.
And he and Ellie were a winsome pair. Joe couldn’t help noticing how happy Ellie looked now, with an extra aura of softness and womanly warmth about her that made her lovelier than ever.
She was complete now, he decided. She had what she’d so badly wanted, and he was truly happy for her. Perhaps it was fitting that this miracle had only occurred after Joe had stepped out of the picture.
Jacko was grinning at him. ‘Man!’ he announced in noisy delight.
‘This is Joe,’ Ellie told him, her voice a tad shaky. ‘You can say Joe, can’t you, big boy?’
‘Joe!’ the boy echoed with a triumphant grin.
‘So he’s going to call me Joe? Not Dad?’
Ellie frowned as if he’d let fly with a swear word.
‘You’ve been away,’ she said tightly. ‘And you’re going away again. Jacko’s only two, and if you’re not going to be around us he can’t be expected to understand the concept of a father. Calling you Daddy would only confuse him.’
Joe’s teeth clenched. He almost demanded to know if she had another guy already waiting in the wings. A stepfather?
‘Jacko’s bound to understand about fathers eventually,’ he said tersely.
‘And we’ll face that explanation when the time is right.’ A battle light glowed in Ellie’s dark eyes.
Damn it, they were at it already. Joe gave a carefully exaggerated shrug. Whatever. He’d had enough of war at home and abroad. On this visit he was determined to remain peaceful.
He turned his attention to his son. ‘So how are you, Jacko?’
The boy squirmed and held out his arms. ‘Down,’ he demanded. ‘I want Man.’
With an anxious smile, Ellie released him.
The little boy rushed at Joe’s legs and looked up at him with big blue eyes and a grin of triumph.
What
