Chapter 9

Matt and Jodi were at the Drovers Run dam. The water level had fallen several more centimeters overnight. They noticed the water seemed to be disappearing much faster than it had in past droughts.

"Matt, can you grab that tape measure for me? We measured the waterline here yesterday and the day before and I want to get a measurement today. We measured the distance from the waterline to the fence so we can get some actual numbers and data to compare. I also got in and checked the depth from the center. I figured collecting data is what Squirt would do in this situation." said Jodi.

Jodi stripped down completely and climbed into the cool water. Usually, the water was well over her head in the center of the pond, but as she waded out to the center, it became clear how much water was missing. Jodi stood in the deepest part of the pool and the water only came up to her neck. She pulled out the tape measure, put one side on the ground under the water, and pulled the tape measure up to the water level.

"Okay, it's at exactly 1.6 meters total today. Yesterday it was at 1.66. That's quite a drop!" said Jodi.

"It sure is. Jodi, what are we going to do?" asked Matt.

"I don't know. None of this makes sense. We lost six centimeters of water depth in twenty-four hours. Even in this heat, we shouldn't be this low." said Jodi

"I reckon the first thing I should do is get in there with you!" said Matt.

Matt stripped down like Jodi and ran into the cool water. He wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her deeply.

"I'll have to thank Tess for taking the girls with her today. A romantic swim is just what we needed to fix the ..." Jodi was interrupted by Matt's kiss.

Tess stayed closer to the house that morning. She had Meggie, Katie, and Claire with her. They were going to start with mucking out the horse stalls, and feeding and watering the horses. Then, they were headed to feed the chickens and take care of the alpacas.

As Tess was entering the stables, her mobile rang. It was Stevie, calling her during her breakfast with Ben and asking her if she noticed a drop in water levels. The conversation was interrupted by a call from Dave, so she clicked over to that call.

"Hey Dave, are you here? Yeah, I'm down at the stables, I'll meet you by the alpaca stall."

"Righto. I'll see you in a few."

Tess brought the girls out of the stable and walked them down to the paddock where Annabelle and Liberty Bell were being kept. Dave was there waiting for them.

Meggie and Katie watched the alpacas for a few minutes, and then began to play together nearby. As they played, Tess looked over at Dave and thought about their past. After her divorce from Nick, Tess occasionally allowed herself the indulgence of thinking how her life would have gone if she had married Dave instead.

Dave was a good man, she thought, who had been unlucky in love for the first part of his life. He had been happy with his wife, Leighanne, but she was tragically killed in a car crash. He and Tess had a short but rather intense relationship. They were briefly engaged, but it became clear Dave hadn't finished grieving his wife, so Tess had ended things. Dave did soul searching and therapy and worked through the loss of his wife. Believing he was a changed man, he returned to her, but Tess was already falling in love with Nick, and turned him down, but it had caused some feelings to resurface for her. Nick was incredibly hurt by Tess's brief hesitation at turning down Dave and had closed Tess out for a while, restarting his affair with Sally. He was still seeing Sally while they were working out their issues and that's when Nick's son Harrison was conceived. Tess hadn't known about the relationship between Nick and Sally until she showed up in Gungellan, 8 months pregnant with Nick's baby a few months after their wedding.

Tess knew now that she should have seen his involvement with Sally as a big red flag, especially since he was seeing both of them at the same time, but she had loved Nick so much she was determined to work through it. It was a horrible time in her life, loving Nick, while feeling betrayed by him at the same time. It nearly destroyed them from the start.

Tess knew that being with Dave might have been easier. He was a more straight forward guy. He didn't brood or sulk like Nick often had. Dave was much more open about sharing his feelings, but Tess didn't regret letting Dave go. It wouldn't have worked long term, she thought. It would have probably ended in an amicable divorce. Dave was a great guy, but the burning passion wouldn't have lasted between them, at least not on her part. Tess knew she had made the right choice letting Dave go. If she had been with Dave, she wouldn't have Claire, and she wouldn't change that for the world. Claire was the most important thing in her universe.

Dave walked over to Tess, smiling at her and the girls as they played in the grass.

"G'Day. G'Day, How are you beautiful ladies doing?" said Dave.

"Good Morning Dave, I'm feeling well, and Meggie and Katie are off discovering who knows what over there."

"I was talking to the alpacas, but you girls are pretty, too." teased Dave.

"Very funny Dave. It looks like Mom and baby are doing well. The cria has been nursing regularly and seems to be looking fit and well. It appears they are bonding well. I just want you to check them out so we know for sure everyone is healthy," said Tess.

Dave examined both Annabelle and Liberty Bell carefully.

"Righto, at the first examination, everything looks right. Liberty Bell is bright eyed and eating well, so no real initial concerns. No lameness or abnormalities. Everything looks great. My official diagnosis is that you've got another beautiful alpaca here, Tess." said Dave.

"Great. You know how I love them. Did you want to stay and have a cup of tea?" offered Tess.

"No, I've got to head over to Wilgul. Jaz has got a horse who is off his feed, and Ingrid is across the district dealing with a very sick bull, so it's got to be me."

"Oh, I'll give Jaz a call, and make sure everything is alright. I wanted to talk to my cousin anyway about her water levels. We are getting dangerously low and I'm starting to worry. I'll give her a call after I finish my chores,"

"I'm headed there now. I'll tell her to give you a ring this evening." said Dave.

"Thanks Dave. You and Julia and your boys are coming for Charlotte's eighteenth birthday party next weekend, right?" Tess asked.

"Yeah, we wouldn't miss it. Julia is making Lamingtons, and the boys are excited to see the other kids."

"Great. I'll see you later." Tess waved as she spoke.

"Bye." Dave waved as he headed back to his car.