Chapter 90

Stevie was glad she came on the date. "So where are you from originally? I'm guessing you're not a country bloke," she said.

"Guilty. How could you tell? Was it the shoes?" joked James as he pointed to his dress shoes that matched his suit. "I grew up in Melbourne, went to uni and law school there, and stayed until about three months ago when I came out to live in Renmark to be with Joey."

"Right. You said your ex-wife lived there with your son?"

"Yeah. She had moved there about eight years ago. We had shared custody until she passed away. Now I have full custody of Joey. I have two other children, but they are grown and don't live with us. JJ is twenty-two and lives in Brisbane and Summer is at uni right now. Joey is my youngest," said James. "Is Xander your only child?" he asked.

"No, actually. I also have a daughter. I was very young when I had Rose. She's married and lives on a station out in Western Australia with her husband, Paul. I wish she lived a lot closer, but she seems very happy and still usually comes for holidays, at least. We talk on the phone a lot too," said Stevie.

"It's weird when they grow up, isn't it? They move away and start their own lives. I'm not sure what it'll be like when Joey is grown and leaves home. I reckon it'll be lonely," said James as he realized how much he had come to really love being a full time dad.

"Rose was grown when Alex passed away just before Xander was born, so it's been just Xander and me for quite a while. I reckon I'll miss Xander, but if he's doing something he loves, I'll be okay alone. My cousin Ben moved to Gungellan to help me after Alex passed away and stayed on as overseer of the property. He now lives on the property next door with his fiancee and daughter, but it's been a pretty close bond for Xander and I. It will be lonely when he leaves home. My brother-in-law and his family lived on the same property until about six years ago. He had taken it over when Alex passed away, but I've run it the last six years with just Xander and I. I ran another property, Drovers Run, for several years prior to that. It's next door. That's where Tess lives."

"I'm so sorry, Stevie. Losing your husband right before the birth of your son. I can't imagine what that must have been like. You must be a very strong woman."

"I don't think it was strength specifically. It was more of a necessity. I had a brand new baby who needed me. I just tried to do what needed to be done. I was lucky to have an amazing group of friends who helped through that first year that was especially tough. A baby doesn't know that his mother is heartbroken and grieving. He just knows he is hungry or needs a fresh nappy or a cuddle. I have a great network of friends who have become my family, like Tess, in Gungellan. We try to look out for each other and help each other where we can," said Stevie.

"Stevie, you are incredibly strong." James was starting to realize how special of a woman his date actually was.

"I'm sorry. I might have over shared a bit there. I reckon I'm not very good at dating sometimes," admitted Stevie. What is going on with me? It's not like me to open up like this on a first date, wondered Stevie.

"No. Thank you for sharing. Having a support system like that is great. Everyone has things they struggle with and having people who care and can help is really important," said James.

"How about a new topic? Tell me about the best holiday you've ever taken," suggested Stevie, trying to lighten the mood.

"Okay. Hmm. I've taken a few really good ones. I went to Singapore last year. I had some business there, but I stayed and got to play tourist for a few days. It was really interesting. I saw the Supertrees and it was really amazing. I saw a couple get engaged in the Supertree grove during the big light show they do. I've never seen anything like it," said James.

"Wow. Singapore. That sounds so exotic. I've never been anywhere in Asia. I imagine the food was good there," said Stevie.

"It was really good. Living in Melbourne for so long, with the number of Asian restaurants and such, I guess I really love asian cuisine now. I used to get noodle bowls for lunch all the time. Renmark has a couple of chinese restaurants, but they aren't the same as back in Melbourne," said James "So, Stevie, what was your best holiday? I'd love to hear about it."

Stevie thought about her best holiday. It was going to Argentina with Alex to visit Tess and Nick, but she didn't want to over share again. She thought about what she wanted to say before she spoke.

"My best holiday was my honeymoon. We went to Argentina. It's the only time I've ever left Australia, but I got to travel around Australia a lot in the rodeo, and I took this amazing trip to Airlie beach, up in Queensland, once. I was with a couple rodeo mates. We had been in a competition in Townsville, and stayed up there for an extra week, and we did one of those liveaboard sailboat tours of the Whitsunday Islands and the reef. I'm not really an ocean girl, but that was truly a spectacular trip. I went snorkeling every day. We had the best time. That was years ago, and I still think about that trip," said Stevie, while smiling because she answered the question truthfully, but didn't make her answer all about Alex.

"Airlie Beach! Yes, I've been there too," said James. The memory of that trip brought a smile to his face. "I did that as a family trip when I was a little boy. We stayed on a sailboat for a few nights. I remember seeing so many whales. They were so big and so close to the boat. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. That was actually a great trip. We didn't take that many family vacations, but that one was the best. I remember my brother, Joe, fell off the boat at one point. He was like nine years old and he was leaning over the railing to try to see some dolphins that were swimming past and he just leaned too far and went in. My parents were terrified, but a few seconds later, he popped up, waving. They pulled the boat around and got him back in. It's a good thing our dad taught us how to swim when we were little. It's a funny memory instead of a tragic one," said James. "I'm glad you mentioned Airlie Beach. I love that place."

"Is your son named for your brother?" asked Stevie.

"Yeah. My brother is an incredible guy. He wasn't able to have children so I figured I'd throw him a bone and name one of mine after him," replied James. "Okay. I'm going to totally change the subject now if that's okay? I have a couple questions about you I'd really like to know the answers to," said James.

Stevie felt a little surprised when James said that but she was curious about what he wanted to know. "That would be okay. What are the questions?" she asked.

"What is your favorite rodeo event to participate in?" asked James.

Stevie was happy for the question. She wasn't sure what he was going to ask, and she was happy to talk about such a familiar subject.

"That's a tough one. I like so many events. I love the spirit of the whole thing. Everyone is there to compete and to have a good time. It really is a wonderful community to be a part of. My best event was campdrafting, so I'll go with that, but I love so many of the events. I like how much teamwork it takes between you and your horse. It really is a team sport."

"I like hearing you talk about rodeo. You so clearly love it. Your whole face lights up when you talk about it. It makes me want to know more about it. Joey has been teaching me about rodeo and how to ride. I've gotten better on a horse, but I don't think I'm ready to try any of the events yet myself. I think I'd like to get to the point where I felt comfortable enough to try some of the events myself. Just for fun. It would be great to share with Joey. He lights up just like you do when he talks about rodeo."

"I think it's really nice that you moved out of the city to let Joey continue competing. You uprooted your whole life for him. You could have just had him move to Melbourne with you," said Stevie.

"I couldn't do that to him. I feel bad that he lost his mom when he's still so young. I couldn't ask him to give up what he's most passionate about. We had to lease out Susan's property as it was. It was just way too much for me to try to handle, even with the staff she had in place. It's 2,500 acres. JJ and Summer aren't passionate about farming or rodeo like Joey is. They each own a share in it, but neither of them have the desire to be on the ground running it, so it was just too much for us. I didn't want to sell it because Joey wants to run it when he is older, at least if he doesn't join the professional rodeo circuit. I bought a smaller place with just a few acres right near town. I wanted it to be big enough for Joey to keep horses and have room to ride around, but also to be realistic for me to handle. I'm not a farmer. Even my three acres has been a lot to try to handle while starting my own law practice too, but Joey got to keep his horses, and to continue his passion, so I've figured out how to make it work," said James.

"So you have started your own law practice? What is that like? Is there a lot of need for solicitors out in Renmark?"

"It's definitely been different. I worked in the legal department of a huge corporation in Melbourne and I wrote and reviewed contracts for multi-million dollar transactions. Now, I'm doing a lot of land sales, livestock purchase agreements, even stud agreements. I've had to learn a lot of agricultural law on the fly, but it's been worth it. I'm doing well enough to cover the bills and I spend a lot more time with Joey than I ever got to before. That's the best part of all," explained James. "When Susan and I split, and she decided to move out of the city, it was pretty hard to figure out how best to handle the custody situation. I was really angry that she was moving so far away because it meant it would be much harder to see my kids. I fought for as much custody as I could get but, during the legal process, I realized that having the kids constantly going back and forth between us was going to be extremely tough on them. I finally agreed to just let her have them most of the year because it seemed like it would be more stable for them to just call one place home. It hurt because I didn't get to see them nearly as much as I wanted to, but it gave them good stability and I don't regret the choice I made. I'm thrilled I get to be a full time dad again, at least with Joey, but I wish it wasn't because Susan had passed away. We didn't love each other any more, but we had worked as partners in raising our kids and had figured out a friendship. I'm sorry she's gone."

Stevie was struck by the sacrifice James had made to provide more stability for his children during a divorce. He gave up so many memories with his kids to make their life easier.

"I think you must be a wonderful father, James," said Stevie. "I reckon you're a really good man in general. It looks like you have done right by your family, and family is so important."