Chapter 140

"Okay, I'm calling it a night. We have an early drone date tomorrow," Kate announced.

"I'm impressed you waited this long since it was finished to get out there," said Jodi.

"Well Friday was fair / rodeo / demo derby day, we couldn't miss that, and then when Ben asked us to be a part of Jaz's special ride, obviously we couldn't say no to that, and then we had this party, so tomorrow morning, we are hitting it hard. Grace, Regan, and Dylan said they would meet us over on the border fence of Wilgul. We figured we'd start from Wilgul, since they're already there."

"Well, let us know what you see, I hope it's only good news for getting you as our neighbor," said Jodi.

"I'm just hoping that everything works on the drone and we have a successful flight," Russell admitted.

"Oh Ironman, it's going to be fine. You built an awesome drone," countered Matt.

"Fingers crossed. Good night guys," said Russell.

"Actually Ironman, could you give me a hand into the house? Meg and Terry got the girls into bed, but I'm not sure Jodi would be able to help me all the way back to the house."

"I'm insulted. I'm very strong. Don't forget, I carried you through the wilderness when you were bleeding out," Jodi retorted

"Oh honey, don't you worry, I could never forget that, nor would you ever let me. I just thought that you might want to stay and talk to Tess and Charlotte. This was a big night for the three of you," said Matt.

"Well, you should have just said that then. Implying I'm weak, you should know better," said Jodi.

"You're right, I should know better because your strength is one of your sexiest qualities." Matt kissed his wife on the lips. "Good Night Honey." He hobbled with Russell helping to support his weight.

"And then there were three." Jodi said.

"You have a really good thing going with Matt don't you?' asked Charlotte.

"Yeah, I sure got lucky with him. He is the right kind of man for me. He has this quiet confidence that I love. He doesn't have to prove how tough or strong or smart he is to anyone, but he is all of those things," said Jodi.

"I agree. A lot of guys would be intimidated or threatened by you, Jodi. Matt isn't. You're stunning, you're a strong and very competent woman, and you are as good a farmer as anyone. You're smart too, but even more wise. Your name is on the deed to Drovers, and Matt's name is not and a lot of guys wouldn't be able to handle that. They would have a constant chip on their shoulder or grow to resent you for it. Matt doesn't do any of that. He is happy to let you shine when it's your time, and will step up and lead when he needs to. You did really well Jodi."

"I got lucky. Not everyone meets "their person" at age 21 like I did. I knew he was worth it. That's why I chose him, even when it meant losing my identity and potentially never seeing any of this again. I'd choose him again, but I'm glad I got to have both, I really missed it while I was gone. You don't realize how much you have until you have to give all of it up," said Jodi

"I hope I find a partner who fits me like Matt fits you." Charlotte said.

"Is there a special someone in your life?" asked Tess.

"I had a bloke I was seeing, but it didn't work out. He broke up with me two weeks ago. We had been seeing each other for a few months," admitted Charlotte.

"I'm sorry Charlotte. Are you okay?" Jodi asked.

"Yeah. It hurt at the time, but I'm finding that I don't really miss him. I didn't love him, I just liked hanging out with him. Turns out he likes hanging out with a different girl more than me."

"He's clearly a tosser then." Tess remarked

"It's okay, it would never have worked long term, he doesn't ride," Charlotte joked.

"I wasn't much of a rider when I came to Drovers, do you remember Jodi?" Tess admitted.

"Oh yeah, Becky, Claire and I used to take bets on how long it would take you to fall off, but you learned. You're a great rider now," Jodi admitted.

"Thank you. I was a city slicker, I never got much of a chance to ride when I was young, now it's a way of life. I didn't think Finn could ride when I first met him. I was immediately annoyed that I had to drive him around in the ute. Turns out he was just having back spasms from the long flight from the US. He grew up on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, he can ride, or so he says, I haven't actually seen it yet. I imagine he'll look very good on a horse," said Tess.

"Oh be honest, you think he looks very good anywhere." Jodi teased

"It's true, I do. and that accent, it gets me every time. I found Captain America!"

"Your Aunt Tess has this thing for American men, I have no idea why. I'll take an Australian bloke every time, but take a good look, Charlotte, this is what a woman who is experiencing fireworks love looks like. I hope you end up there yourself some day," teased Jodi.

"So how did you meet Finn anyway?" Charlotte asked.

"Finn works for an American company called Blue Apron Organic. They're expanding into Australia and need organic beef and lamb suppliers. Drovers Run was recommended to him. He decided to do a spontaneous station tour and turned up unannounced one morning just over a week ago. The contract would have been good for Drovers, so I took him around. I offered him a horse and he requested a "pick up truck" ride. That's American for ute. I drove him around on morning chores, and I honestly didn't notice him in that way at all. Turning down the horse definitely didn't help his cause. He stayed and had lunch with all of us so he could meet Jodi and Matt since we function as partners. We exchanged business cards and that was it. He told me he fell in love right then, but I didn't."

"So how are you in love now?"

"Well, I must preface this by saying that this entire relationship has progressed at a super sonic rate, and I hope when you have fireworks, it's a little slower and easier to process, because I feel like I have lived several months of feelings in the course of a few days, and I was and still am, terrified by the sheer intensity of the feelings that I have for him. I have just decided to ride the rushing rapids of love and hope we make it down the river alive and together."

"Okay, it's noted, Tess." Jodi rolled her eyes. "Now just tell her the story"

"So the next night, I decided to take Claire out for dinner at the pub. Stevie had the same idea with Xander, and we bumped into each other and obviously decided to dine together. That's where things got weird. Finn was staying at the pub while he was conducting station tours. He went to have dinner on his own in the pub, and Claire insisted on having him join us. She and Xander started one upping each other because unbeknownst to Stevie and I, both kids thought he would make a good boyfriend for their moms, and in the process of trying to talk us up or set us up or whatever, shared all of our family baggage from my divorce with Nick, to Claire's death, to Nick's injury from the bull, to Alex dying, and Jodi learning she was my sister. It was the most awkward dinner you could ever imagine, and I felt extremely exposed and vulnerable. Finn literally shoved like a quarter of his steak in his mouth and ran away from the table to escape it."

"And yet here you are in love, how?" asked Charlotte.

"So the next day, I had a very serious talk with Claire about the debacle of dinner, and she told me she can tell that I'm lonely, and wants me to be happy, and that if I get heartbroken she will help me through this time. It was very sweet, and it changed my perspective. She also told me she thought Finn liked me because of how he looked at me during lunch and then again at the pub. So later that day, I had to drive to town to file paperwork for Jaz because, well, that's a long story for another day, but I was in Stevie's Ute, and got a flat tire and pulled over to change it. Low and behold, who drove by and pulled over to help, but Finn O'Hara. I apologized to him for the catastrophe that was dinner and thanked him for the help with the tire." said Tess. she took a sip of wine before continuing "Then he did something that completely threw me off. He shared some of his baggage with me right there on the side of the road. He told me his pregnant wife was struck and killed by a car eight years ago. I asked him why on earth he would share something like that with me. He replied that it only seemed fair because all of my secrets were exposed without my permission and he wanted to even the score for me. He then told me he liked me and felt terrible because he wanted to know all about me, but that he wanted it to be on my terms when I was ready to share. Then he asked me to have coffee with him after I filed the paperwork at Town Hall. I decided to give him a try because of the talk I had with Claire about being lonely. We went out two more times that week. By that third date, I realized I was in love, and that terrified me. I freaked out for a couple days and then last night I decided to face my fear head on, so I drove in the Demolition Derby, won third, and called Finn when I got home. I told him I was ready to jump off the waterfall with him and asked him to come tonight. I didn't realize he was in Adelaide at the time. He drove all day to get here tonight and I said I love you for the first time when he walked into the party. He said he loved me too," said Tess as she took another sip of wine.

"Wow, that really is a lot in just a week. I feel like I've felt a month's worth of emotions just from listening to your run down." exclaimed Charlotte.

"Yeah, try living it!" Tess shook her head and then rubbed her temples. "I guess I realized it was scarier to not be with him than it was to just be on the rollercoaster with him," admitted Tess.

"It would seem, Charlotte, that we McLeod women, we don't have boring, or traditional romantic experiences, but they're usually loving and fulfilling. May your relationships be calmer than ours, but just as fulfilling and loving." offered Jodi

"Alright Ladies, It's time for me to go to bed. I'm stiff as hell, and I may not be up for chores tomorrow. If Claire comes in for breakfast and says her mom is dead in bed, just know that I died happy and in love." said Tess

Jodi turned to Charlotte, rolled her eyes, and said, "She is such a drama queen. C'mon, let's go to bed."