Chapter Two

"Those cows are huge!" Emily exclaimed, pointing out the window.

"They're the same size as the ones in Río Negro" Nick replied amused.

"Nuh-uh, they're bigger. Oh!" The little girl grabbed her cousin's arm. "Look, Charlie, a baby cow!" Tess smiled, Emily's bubbly excitement was starting to rub off on her.

"That's so cute! Are there calves on Drover's, Aunt Tess?"

"No, they should be sold by now. It's unusual for a calf to be born as late as this one. I only saw it for a moment, but it can't be more than a month or six weeks old."

"Mummy, what happens to a calf once it's sold?" Tess looked over at Nick, hoping that he would answer her question. He was looking straight ahead, pretending to be concentrating on the road. What was she supposed to tell her daughter? Was it better to spare her the sad facts or to tell the truth right away?

"It goes to another farm."

"And then?"

"When it's grown up, they milk it." Not quite the truth, but Tess decided that this was not the right time to explain the production of meat to Emily.

"What if it's a boy?"

"Umm, then…then they use him to have more little calves."

"How-"

"I'll explain that another time, honey, okay? We should be at Drover's soon." She looked out the window, admiring the familiar landscape. The early afternoon sun had heated up the ground enough to let the air above it flicker. Inside the small car, it was unbearably hot, but that didn't matter since they would arrive in a few minutes-the bumpy road was a clear knell. She would be home again.

In the back seat, Emily was skimming through one of her picture books, only half interested. Both of the girls were getting equally impatient. "Want me to read that to you?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes!" Tess was glad that the children were getting along so well.

" 'kay. 'Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess called Larissa, who was loved by everyone. Her blue eyes sparkled like sap- sapphires and her blond hair glistened in the sun like a field of wheat in autumn'…do you really like this book?"

"It's the awesomest book ever! Please go on…"

Charlotte sighed, turning the page. "Fine. 'Larissa lived with her mother, the queen, in a white castle on top of a snow-capped mountain. Yes, she was loved by everyone, but she was lonely. Her father, the king, had died after a long illness and her mother was busy ruling the country. One night in winter, however, a young maid…"

"We're back to stay, I can't believe it." Tess muttered, half to herself, looking at the familiar sign that marked the property.

"Happy?" Nick asked, obviously enjoying her positive reaction. Her silent nod expressed more than a thousand words could have.

Farm life was something she had missed in the past few years. Some parts more, some less(and getting up at five o'clock every morning was definitely one of the aspects she had missed less). Sure, the restaurant had been a dream come true for her and it hurt her to think that she might never get to see it again, but that couldn't becloud her joy over being back-at least not yet. It remained to be seen whether returning to Drover's Run had been the right decision. Her biggest concern was that her husband might not be able to settle down here, that he would just stay for her sake, unable to see a future for himself. On the other hand, he wasn't the sort of person to look backwards full of regrets. Nick had overcome so many difficult times in his life, always focusing on the future. But would he be truly happy with it? She looked over at him, studying his expression. For now, he was. For now.

He threw her a suspicious glance. "What?"

"Nothing. Just can't take my eyes off of you, I guess."

"Oh, I know. It can be a curse to be so darn attractive" he joked, smirking. Tess was glad that the kids were too involved in their story to notice.

As they were driving up to the beautiful homestead, however, this attention quickly subsided and the book was laid aside. When they parked the rented car, the children were the first to jump out, eager to move their legs. Tess got out, stretched her limbs and closed her eyes for a moment, just inhaling.

Nick slipped an arm around her waist. "Watcha doing?"

"Just…enjoying the smell of home."

"Right. There's nothing better than the lovely scent of cow dung and sheep's fleece."

She gave him a gentle nudge. "Don't make fun of me!"

"I'm not!"

"Yah right…let's go catch up with the girls."

They found Charlotte and Emily running around in the gritted yard, laughing hilariously. "Let's go 'round to the side! We have better chances of meeting someone…" Just as she was about to finish her sentence, Tess saw a familiar person coming around the corner, who had probably been alarmed by the noise. "…there…Meg!"

"Tess! What…hello, Nick…we didn't expect you this early…" She hurried towards her friend and hugged her. "…welcome home!"

"Thanks! Oh Meg, it's so good to see you! I wasn't sure if you'd be here!"

"Don't be silly, of course I'm here when you return", she stated matter-of-factly, "even when you're early." Tess smiled broadly, it felt good to be greeted by a close friend like that. Meg had gained a few pounds with time and, like everyone, aged slightly, but she was definitely still her old, bright self, the woman with the big heart who held everything together.

"Wow, Emily, I hardly recognized you! You've grown so much in those past few months!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're a big girl now!" She crouched down, spreading her arms, while the little girl flew into them without shyness. Meg was a mixture between a grandmother and an aunt for her, it didn't matter that they were no biological relatives. She and Alex were the two people Emily had been drawn to immediately.

When Meg got up again, her gaze fell past the small family of three. Tess turned around, feeling guilty that she had forgotten about her niece for a moment. "Oh Charlotte, you don't need to stand there in the background of course. Come here, honey!" She put a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder and led her to the others. "Charlotte, this is Meg. She-"

"My God…" Meg gaped at her "this can't be our little BOM!" In a moment of true emotion, she embraced Tess' niece, who was merely surprised, letting it happen. "I can't believe it, it's been such a long time…look at you! Tess, she looks so much like you did as a child-how old are you now? Seven?"

Charlotte nodded politely, with obvious insecurity. "It's…it's nice to meet you, Mrs…"

"Oh, call me Meg, really." She was starting to get a grip on herself, apparently realizing that the little girl was overtaxed with the situation. "And welcome on Drover's Run, Charlotte."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tess approached the water tank, following the unmistakeable sound of persistent scrubbing. Inside the now dry container, she saw a young, pretty woman whose messy, loose blond curls were protruding from under her hat. Her white tank top was covered in dirt, and so were her bare arms. Incredible, Tess thought, that this was supposed to be the same girl who had once been trying to avoid all work that posed a threat to her nails. For some reason, it filled her with a sense of pride to see her working her butt off down in that water tank.

Jodi didn't look up when someone was blocking the sun. "If you're a visitor, go back to the main house. If you're a salesman-go away, we don't care."

"Okay" she shrugged. "Looks like someone's in a bad mood."

"And could that possibly be because I'm trying to clean the sea bottom with a toothbrush! Wait..." She looked up, shielding her eyes against the sunlight. "Tess! What are you doing here? We didn't expect you before the evening!"

"Well, that's a nice greeting. I missed you too, sis." She laughed and stretched out her hand to help a confused Jodi out of the container. "Nick and I took an earlier flight, it was more of a spontaneous decision."

"No!" Jodi cried, as Tess motioned to embrace her. "I'm all dir- well, I guess it's too late for your shirt now."

"Oh, I think it's gonna survive it. I have to change anyway."

"Poor mum, she was gonna have everything neat for you guys by the evening. We had it all planned out, the whole welcome…but I guess I shouldn't tell you that."

Tess was touched by the lengths they went to in order to make them feel at home, but she didn't want to get too sentimental. "No, not if it keeps you from your work. That 'sea bottom' won't scrub itself."

Jodi grimaced. "Yes, ma'am."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I sure hope that those are the last few hay bales" Alex exclaimed in a dramatically pressed voice, shoving one of them under the tarp forcefully. "I've got a bit of work to do on my own land, ya know. Can't afford to help the rival!"

"And who d'you think fixed the fence on the Northern pasture yesterday?"

"It's your fence, too!"

"Strange, and I thought it was King Harold who broke it. Besides, you offered to help me voluntarily. Too bad for you."

"Actually, I was expecting to get something back for it…" he answered with an ambiguous smirk. "or have you ever seen me workin' for free?"

She chuckled mischievously. "No, that's true, you're always careful not to overwork yourself- hey!" Too late, a few loose straws had already hit her and were now tangled in her hair.

"Suits you well" he commented. Stevie picked up a handful herself and soon, they were engaged in a downright hay fight-too engaged to notice the horse approaching them.

"Stop, we…we've got t- to clean it…up" Stevie panted at some point, interrupted by fits of laughter. "Alex!"

"It could've been the animals…" He pulled her closer, picking a few straws out of her hair while slipping the other arm around her waist.

"Oh yeah, it was." Their amusement had vanished, as it was being replaced by a feeling much more delicate. Alex kissed her softly, longing to feel a physical closeness that went beyond attacking each other with hay.

The moment would have lasted longer, had there not been the baffled person who had just dismounted Oscar. A surprised "oh" accidentally escaped her mouth, as she witnessed two of her friends getting so close. The other two were equally startled and Stevie broke the embrace rapidly, clearing her throat. For a moment, they were just staring at each other.

After the first shock, it was Alex who broke the silence, recovering his coolness. "You should really be careful about sneaking up to people in this part of the world. We've got the habit of shooting trespassers on our property."

"I'm glad this is not your property then." Tess replied with a broad smile, still incredulous.

"Hi, it's…good to see you" Stevie muttered, a bit confused by the situation. The two friends hugged. "Glad to have you back, boss."

Tess grimaced. "Please, I hate hearing that word from you."

"Teresa McLeod-Ryan…didn't think we'd get to see you here so soon. Welcome back on this continent!" He grinned and took his head off to her symbolically, before hugging her as well.

"Thanks!"

"And where's that brother of mine?"

"He went to Wilgul first thing to see how things were going there with the new tenants."

Alex shook his head. "Yeah, that's so like him…greeting business first."

"He should be back before long, and the girls are here, too."

"The girls?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" she asked, watching his reaction carefully. "Charlotte's here for the weekend, too."

Alex' smirk vanished and for a moment, it looked as if he had just lost all of his composure, his means of protecting himself, of deceiving people into thinking him invulnerable. When he had realized the impact of Tess' words, his eyes were shining with joy and hope. Yet something else, an indefinable weight, seemed to becloud his expression, no matter how much he tried to hide it. "She…is! I can't wait to see them! But I'll drive over to Wilgul first…"

"You are gonna come over for dinner tonight, right? It's been such a long time, and there are many things to talk about." Tess lingered on the "many things" a little longer than necessary, fully aware of the curious undertone in her words. However, Alex didn't seem to have much of a sense to detect undertones.

"Sure, if I'm invited that is."

"We'll have a big dinner."

"Sounds good, as long as we're not having Argentinean tofu or something like that…"

"There'll be loads of it."

"Oh well, food's food. I'll see you later." He placed a quick kiss on Stevie's lips and walked back to his car.

"Bye!"

"See ya! So" Tess uttered meaningfully, as soon as the new red car had driven off. "You and Alex…?" She couldn't stop beaming.

"Yup, since last February."

"Oh Stevie, that's great, you two are made for each other! I can't believe you finally realized that!"

"Yeah, well, you don't have to throw a party over it." She rubbed the tip of her nose, as she always did when something intimidated her a little, but a smile was tugging at the corners of her lips all the same.

"I want to hear every detail!"

"Ah, but you don't wanna watch me stacking those great…important hay bales while I do?"

"All right" Tess sighed, approaching the truck. "I'll help you."

"No, no, I was joking, I'll get this done in a matter of minutes, you don't have to- Tess, what are you doing? You only just arrived, now get back to the house and relax a little!"

"Oh no, I can't act like a guest and let you do all of the work." She had already grabbed the first cuboid and, supporting the weight with her stomach, tried to heave it out of the loading space. "It's better to get right back into it!"

Tess looked so happy and enthusiastic doing this that all Stevie could do was shaking her head at this insanity. She took hold of the other end of the hay bale, smiling. "You're the boss."