The Return Home

Part 10

I sat on the front verandah in complete happiness. Ava was at school, I was sitting down with a coffee and I had a special bundle in my hands.

Hanna came to visit with her little one, George.

"He is so cute and adorable." I muttered in a playful voice to the baby. "Yes!"

"Oh yes he is!" Hanna replied, slightly distracted.

I watched the infant sleep in my arms as I held him close. "That hair!"

"Oh yes, what a head full of hair."

I traced my finger down George's little face. "Those lips. And the dimples!" I cooed at him. He was beautiful.

"Yeah." Hanna sighed.

"You are so lucky, Hanna, to have such a cute boy." I told her as I smiled widely at the baby.

"Yeah. Huh? What? Oh, you mean George. Sorry."

I frowned as I looked at her. "Of course I meant George. Who the hell are you talking about?"

Hanna bit her lip as she sighed again. "Him."

I followed her eyesight to see Dustin working on my car. He was shirtless and all he wore were his jeans. He had grease in different spots as I heard the clanging of metal against metal.

"Dustin?" I whispered and laughed.

"Yeah." Came her sigh.

"Aren't you married?" I joked with her.

"Yeah." Was her sad sigh.

I shook my head as I held on to George. "Mummy is going crazy. Yes she is." I babbled to him.

I looked up when I heard the footsteps on my verandah.

"Hey." Dustin smiled at us.

"Hi." Hanna grinned widely. "I'm Hanna."

"Dustin." Dustin laughed. He looked over at what I held. "Cute baby." He grinned before slipping his boots off and going inside.

"Yum!" Hanna turned to me with wide eyes. "Please tell me you are not wasting that!" She whispered to me.

I grimaced. "What?"

"You know."

I did know. "No. Hanna."

"So is he -"

"Hanna. I'm not -" I stopped midsentece as Dustin came back out and put his boots back on. I waited till he was back at the car before speaking to her again. "I'm not sleeping with him if that's what you're implying."

"What? Come on. It's been so long for you. It's not like you have to have a relationship with him. How long is he here for?"

"About eleven more days."

"It's not like you to waste anything." Hanna sulked as she watched Dustin dig in deeper in the front of the ute.

After Hanna left, Dustin went to town for a part for the car. Something about the connection piece for the battery or something. He had me lost, I don't talk shop. Well in cars anyway. I told him it was fine and to tell the mechanic to put it on my tab.

I had finished what was needed and I readied Storm for the ride to the school. Ava loved going to school on Storm, but I wasn't that eager because I didn't want her to smell like a horse.

I also had to remember to ask a friend to borrow their horse for tomorrow so Dustin and I could go out in the paddocks to round up the cows. I didn't want to use Chocolate just yet, her foal still very new and young.

I placed on my riding boots after I saddled the stallion and put my hair in a loose plait before pushing on my akubra hat.

I climbed up and made myself comfortable as I got Storm to start walking down the driveway. I had plenty of time for him to stroll and I was enjoying it.

Having Dustin here helping, has freed up a lot of my time, even if it was an odd job here and there. I have appreciated all the help I could get out of him.

I stayed on the side of the road as every now and then a car passed and I waved or tipped my head at them.

I was paying more attention to my thoughts about tomorrow's herding with the cows. They had already came in today for their milking, but I noticed it was lower again, and after a head count, I was down another cow.

I needed to find these cows. Either they have gotten lost, which I doubt, gotten stuck in a dam, which I hope not, or in a gully or they are most likely staying away from the bull that had impregnated one.

I heard a car horn as I looked up, snapping out off my thoughts.

Dustin's car was on the side off the road as he got out and walked to me.

"Hey. I've got the part for your car. It should be fixed in an hour or two." He looked up at me.

"That's great. Thank you." I smiled at him as he slowly walked next to me, heading towards his car. "How much did that set me back?" Please say a low number.

"Oh, not much. I managed to haggle him a bit."

I smirked. Country people are more than happy to pay the intended price, but city folk? No, they want what they can get at a discounted price.

"I've gotta get Ava. I'll be back soon." I told him over my shoulder as I kept going. I dug my heels in to Storm and rode for the school.

It wasn't a big school, but I felt more comfortable with Ava starting here than in another town.

"Tristan." I greeted one of my friends near the fence of the school.

"Lennie. How ya going?"

"Good."

"I've got my girl here." Tristan pointed to the horse float on the back of his truck. "Load him up and I'll give ya's a lift home."