Second Chance At The Ranch

‘We’re going into town tonight,’ Pete announced as he finished washing his hands at the sink.

Nick shook his head as he chewed a mouthful of beef stew. Pete dished himself out a portion and sat down opposite his younger brother. Nick was still chewing.

‘What do you mean, no?’ Pete asked as he forked up some of the stew.

‘I’m knackered, mate!’ Nick complained. ‘Jacob was meant to be helping with the new shed until those flippin’ tourists showed up. Joe and I ended up doing it on our own.’ He took a swig from his beer and swallowed forcefully before peering suspiciously down at his stew. ‘Do you know how long Mum’s had this in the freezer?’

Pete looked up from his plate as he chewed. He shook his head and kept on chewing. He gave his plate a questionable look. Nick leant back and grabbed another beer from the fridge. He flipped the top off and pushed the bottle towards his brother. Pete swallowed with the help of the cool drink, glancing down at his own plate.

‘Too long.’

Gathering the crockery, Nick scraped their contents into the bin, then placed the china in the dishwasher. He made a mental note to remember to turn it on before their parents returned from their weekend viewing prospective retirement properties in the city.

‘Anyway, that’s why we’re going to the pub,’ Pete announced.

‘What?’

‘The tourists. Or rather, one in particular.’

Nick rolled his eyes. ‘Oh right. The girl you’re going to marry.’

‘Yep.’

Nick let out a sigh as his stomach rumbled and complained. ‘Yeah, all right. Let’s just hope they’ve got something other than beef stew.’ He left the kitchen and headed up the stairs towards the bathroom for a shower. ‘You’re driving.’ He called back.

The Outback tour group was in the pub when the two men entered a while later. Nick watched as his brother’s eyes scanned the crowd for the blonde. Pete saw her. She was sitting at a small table by the window, writing. Her baggy clothes from earlier had been replaced by a long pink sundress with tiny flowers on it, and a pale lemon cardigan. The ponytail had been freed allowing soft blonde curls to bounce on her shoulders.

‘There,’ Pete stated, as he flicked Nick on the arm to get his attention before making his way over to her table.

‘Hello again.’

The blonde looked up. She seemed surprised, but not unhappy, to see him.

‘Hello.’

They looked at each other for a minute, neither quite sure what to say next. Nick looked between them, then made a small roll of his eyes.

‘Hi.’ He stuck out his hand. ‘I’m Nick.’

‘Pleased to meet you, Nick. I’m Juliet.’

Nick sneaked a look at Pete from the corner of his eye. He didn’t appear to be about to speak anytime soon. His brother bailed him out.

‘Pete tells me you were on the tour today. I hope you enjoyed it.’

Juliet slid her eyes back to the elder brother. ‘Yes, I did.’ She paused. ‘Very much so.’

Pete’s grin got wider. Nick smiled. He had never seen him like this. He really did have it bad. Again, there was a pause.

‘I was just writing to my sister and telling her about the trip to your station.’

Pete bobbed his head happily.

Nick rolled his eyes again and couldn’t help smiling. ‘Well, I’m going to get us a couple of beers. Would you like a drink?’

‘A beer would be lovely. Thank you.’

As Nick turned to cross to the bar, he nudged Pete and spoke in a loud whisper.

‘Mate, stop just bloody grinning and say something intelligent or she’s going to think you’re the village idiot.’

It was busy at the bar, but Nick was happy to wait. His brother finally seemed to have got some oxygen back into his brain and was deep in conversation with the lovely Juliet. Nick had to agree there was something about the woman that made you want to know her. She was certainly beautiful, but not in a slap-you-in-the-face, obvious, movie star kind of way. It was gentle and warm but no less appealing for its softness.

Nick took the drinks over to Juliet’s table.

‘Here we go.’ He sat for a few moments before seeing a neighbour he urgently needed to talk to and left them alone.

‘Your brother is very tactful,’ Juliet observed.

‘Yeah, he’s all right.’

Having not only learned her name, as he’d promised himself he would, Pete was also successful in persuading Juliet to change her itinerary and stay in town for a few extra days. He was up to his ears in debt to Nick for all the jobs his brother covered him for on the station whilst he showed his new love around. Juliet had been working in Adelaide for six months after leaving a job she hated in London and had taken some time off to see a little more of the expanse outside the city.

‘I just decided to leave,’ she told Pete when he asked how she had ended up temping in Adelaide. ‘I was in London, working at a job I didn’t like and I’d had enough. It was cold and it was raining so I went onto the internet, thought of somewhere sunny, and booked a flight out here.’

They were sitting on a blanket underneath a clear night sky. Juliet shifted a little and gazed up at the stars now showing themselves. ‘Of course, it gave my sister a complete panic attack. She’s so much more organised than me, and likes to plan everything as much as possible. We’re so different in some ways but very similar in others. Does that make sense?’

‘Sure. Sounds a bit like me and Nick.’ Pete nodded. ‘So, what does your sister do?’

‘She’s a model. It all seems to be going very well, although it’s rather a weird choice for her really, as she’s quite shy. It certainly wasn’t a career she’d ever thought about taking up but she’s doing great! She has this “something”… I don’t have it, I don’t know, a sort of serenity almost. They love that. Oh, that and the fact that she’s achingly beautiful!’ Juliet laughed. There was no jealousy in Juliet’s tone, only pride.

‘Do you see her much?’

‘Yes. Quite a lot. Well, until I came out here that is, but she managed to visit me a couple of months ago after she did a shoot in Bali.’

‘Nice work if you can get it.’

Juliet laughed. ‘Yes! We text and call and email all the time, but I do miss her dreadfully. I worry about her too. She’s nowhere near as tough as she likes people to think she is.’

‘What about your parents? Do they worry as much as you do?’ Pete asked, watching Juliet, and falling further and further in love with every word she spoke.

A shadow flitted across her expression before she answered. ‘They passed away. Quite a while ago now.’

Pete pulled himself up. ‘God, I’m sorry, Juliet. I didn’t—’

‘It’s all right.’ Juliet touched his arm and then let her hand rest there. Pete covered it gently with his own. ‘We weren’t close. It was a few years ago now. My parents did everything together, went everywhere together. My mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away nine weeks later. It was all a bit sudden. Six months later we buried Dad. He just sort of faded away.’

Pete put his arm around Juliet as they sat watching the stars glisten in the clear sky. She snuggled into his warmth. ‘My father was a diplomat, and they travelled a lot. I was a novelty, and Hero was … I don’t know. They took so little interest in her, I couldn’t help but wonder why they had her at all sometimes.