Free Queen of the Road by Tricia Stringer Page B

walked ahead. Coop followed him out the door and watched from the gate as the city bloke started up his car.
    ‘Maybe we can catch up for a drink next weekend,’ Jeremy called.
    Coop gave a slight nod of his head and Jeremy drove away. Jilly nudged her head against her owner’s leg and he reached down to give her a pat.
    ‘He’s a strange bloke, that one, Jilly. A strange bloke.’
    Coop glanced from Jeremy’s dust trail to the sky. The grey cloud had spread further while they’d been inside and what was left of the slight breeze had dropped out altogether. Something was brewing. He turned away from the house and whistled.
    ‘Come on, girl. We’ve got sheep to check.’

Chapter 10
    According to her GPS, the murky haze ahead was Port Augusta. Angela glanced over at Claudia who was, thankfully, still asleep. The trip from Melbourne to Adelaide had been exciting for both of them. They’d made it to the Adelaide depot in good time and spent the night there before loading up this morning, but that’s when Angela’s bravado had begun to waver. Perhaps Claudia had sensed it. She’d been tetchy and uncooperative ever since.
    At the depot, Angela had run out of things to entertain Claudia with and stupidly promised breakfast at McDonald’s. The backlog of cargo was long and the assortment was such a mixture that it had taken a while to load, with some items having to stay behind until the next trip. By the time they were on the road it was later than Angela had anticipated. She wanted to reach Munirilla before dark and they still hadn’t seen a McDonald’s. So instead they’d stopped at a bakery in Port Wakefield, where Angela had placated her whining daughter, buying treats not normally allowed beforelunch. Back on the road, singing and playing ‘I Spy’ had filled the time until the little girl finally dozed off in a muddle of toys, paper, pencils and books.
    Angela’s gaze followed the huge pylons stretching across the highway ahead. To her right, the Flinders Ranges formed a majestic natural barrier that disappeared into the hazy northern horizon. She’d never been to this part of South Australia, and getting away for a while had seemed like a great option back in Melbourne. Now, however, as each kilometre took them further from home, the initial excitement of the adventure was beginning to wane.
    Her father had great faith in her ability, but the only long-haul she’d ever driven had been with another woman driver, sharing the run from Melbourne to Roma, in Queensland. That had been long before Claudia was around. Now, way beyond Adelaide and heading into unfamiliar territory, Angela was losing her confidence. Every new sound or movement played on her nerves.
    There’d been no trouble getting leave from work – management was already cutting costs. Taking some holidays she was owed plus some leave without pay, she’d wangled a month. Long enough to help out her father and let the dust settle on the fallout from the wedding.
    Big Red rumbled on and she gripped the steering wheel and clenched her teeth. The anger she’d been harbouring resurfaced and chased her doubts away. The injustice of her disgrace with Eddie still rankled. Kate was the only one who’d stood by her and tried to understand her side of the story. For what it was worth, she doubted Carmela would ever speak to her again.
    To top this off, Nigel turned up the night after the wedding bearing gifts for Claudia. It was awkward, to say the least. The little girl had taken a fair bit of coaxing to reconnect with the father she hadn’t seen for seven months. In some ways this made Angela feel vindicated. In others, it broke her heart.
    ‘Can we stop soon, Mummy?’
    Angela glanced across at Claudia who was peering at her through sleepy eyes. Her cheeks glowed from the warmth of the sun through the window.
    ‘We’re nearly at Port Augusta. We’ll stop there.’
    The sound of a car horn drew Angela’s eyes back to the string of vehicles in