Free Novels 02 Red Dust by Fleur McDonald

watched them for a minute longer, wondering how Ned and Paige knew each other. Then she shrugged. It was a small town. Turning to Jess she told her that if she wanted to know about Ben then it was time to shut up and listen!

    The rest of the weekend passed in a blur of fun and laughter. Eating out felt like a new experience to Gemma, it had been so long since she last had. The footy on Saturday brought back memories too. The cars were all parked around the oval, and Gemma found herself remembering things she'd long forgotten, like how everyone beeped their horns whenever someone kicked a goal, or how the teenage girls got so dressed up and hung over the rails of the oval waiting for the guys to notice them. The friendliness of the people who were there also startled Gemma. There were farmers and a lot of townspeople who remembered her and asked how she was, but no one pried or asked if she was going to sell her land.
    She met the famous Brad, who was everything Jess had said he was. 'Brad, this is my very best friend, Gemma Sinclair. Gem, this is Brad – the best man in my life at the moment!'
    'I've heard a lot about you, Brad – it's great to finally meet you.'
    'The same goes, Gemma.' Brad shook her hand, smiling. 'I hear you're doing an amazing job out on Billbinya. I've been meaning to call in and say g'day, but there isn't a lot of call for an agro out your way. So we're off out to tea next Saturday? It'll be great to get to know you a bit better.'

    On Sunday afternoon, Gemma went to the bus station to pick up Patrick. He alighted looking rather cramped up. 'Small seats for a big fella like me, sis,' he groaned in greeting, and gave her a hug.
    Gemma looked up at his six-and-a-half-foot frame and the floppy blond hair he was always brushing out of his blue eyes. 'I always said you were too tall.'
    'I always said you were too short.' He grinned in anticipation of the next line of their childhood game.
    'I'm not short,' Gemma said huffily. 'I'm medium!' They laughed and hugged again.
    Driving through the green-tinged hills of the Flinders Ranges, Gemma and Patrick talked about Pat's work breaking in horses in Queensland. They fell silent as Gemma turned down Rochden Road and they approached Hayelle, where Patrick would stay for the next few nights. Patrick smiled as he glimpsed the front gate. 'Home sweet home,' he murmured. As Gemma turned into the driveway, the old homestead came into view with the front dam and hills behind it. The gentle sloping hills were often brown and dry but, with this season's good rains, now glowed a bright green, with purple Salvation Jane flowers blooming and the occasional red of the hops weed.
    They pulled up next to the small stone building that held the garage and laundry. The winding path to the house went past the laundry and across a rambling lawn to the sunroom built off the kitchen.
    Patrick threw his bag on the floor of the kitchen and opened the fridge. Gemma smiled. That had been Pat's routine from the minute he'd been old enough to walk. The fridge was always full of Sarah's homemade goodies and Patrick had an appetite to match. He quickly moved from the fridge to the cupboard to the cake tin on top of the bench.
    'So what's the go?' asked Patrick after establishing there wasn't much to eat. 'What can I do to help?'
    'Well, I guess if you could just keep a bit of an eye on every thing here it means I can concentrate on what's going on at home.'
    'No worries. Hows about we go for a drive now and you can tell me what's going on with everything?'
    'Yep, righto. How long can you stay for, Pat?'
    'Well, I'm my own boss, so I can basically have as much time as I need. But I won't be getting any money in either. Guess we'll just see how it goes, okay? We'll see what happens with Dad, make some more decisions then. I'm not staying forever, though, sis.' He gave her a long look.
    Gemma nodded her understanding.
    'Great. Okay, let's have a look around.'
    * * *
    It had been a while since