Charlie wasn’t the only one who’d come home. Bill was back too. Back with a nurse, not fully recovered, not able to physically run the property himself. But he was back, and back with a vengeance. He’d never been so impossible, so full of bile. For Drew, there was no more time spent next door at Brumby’s Run. In the week since Charlie’s return, he’d hardly seen Sam. When he phoned, she’d seemed distant. When he dropped by, she was always busy, and Charlie was always there.
Drew remembered Sam’s kiss the night they stole Whirlwind. She’d been happy, ready to start again where they’d left off – he was sure of it. What they really needed was some clear air. If Charlie hadn’t turned up like she did, who knows what would have happened? Somebody was always getting in their way. Like Bill, for instance. Hijacking every minute of every day. So far Drew had put off telling his father about the expired lease. Why invite trouble? But sooner or later, the shit was bound to hit the fan.
‘Mr Bill, he want to see you,’ said Mai, as Drew came in for breakfast.
Drew nodded and sat down. ‘Those eggs look good.’ He grabbed a piece of toast. ‘Any chance you could rustle up a few mushrooms to go with them?’
‘Mr Bill, he wants to see you now.’ Drew took a closer look at Mai. Her eyes were red, and her apron was all bunched up in her hands.
‘All right, Mai.’ He put down the toast and stood up. She gestured down the hall. Voices sounded from the study. Drew gave her a reassuring smile. ‘I’ll see what he wants.’
Bill glared at Drew as he entered the room. ‘About time.’ Tom stood by the door, an expression of pure exasperation on his face. Bill was waving a newspaper about, Stock and Station. ‘What the hell happened to that Benambra mob I told you to buy? Bob Hunter’s got them.’ Bill stormed back and forth, as much as a man could storm while sitting in a wheelchair. He rolled over to his desk and searched the drawers, tossing papers and pens aside as he went. Lena, his nurse, gathered the scattered things off the floor.
‘And where’s that new lease the Kelly woman signed?’ he asked, becoming more and more agitated every second. ‘You said they turned our cattle out and locked the gates?’ Tom nodded. Bill shook his head. ‘Unbelievable.’ He began to search the desk, all over again.
‘Dad, Mary never signed the renewal.’
‘Makes no difference,’ said Bill, slamming shut the drawer. ‘A clause in the agreement states that when the lease expires, it converts to a periodic tenancy. As long as Mary accepts those lease payments, the contract automatically renews itself each month. She had no legal right to turf out our cattle. I want them back in first thing tomorrow.’
‘Dad,’ said Drew, raising his voice a notch. ‘Will you just listen for once? This isn’t about the law. It’s about what’s right. The Kellys need that land for themselves.’
‘What’s Mary need it for?’ argued Bill, his voice rising. ‘That wormy, inbred mob of hers are no better than scrubbers. They’d be a waste of good feed.’ He was shouting now. ‘And they’ll never earn her an income. I just about keep that woman!’ A purple vein throbbed at Bill’s temple and Drew began to fear his father might have a heart attack. ‘Sucking me dry all these months, without a word? I should brief my solicitor, take her to the cleaners.’
‘You mean she’s been collecting rent all along?’ asked Drew.
‘Damn straight,’ said Bill.
It hadn’t occurred to Drew that his father might keep right on paying Mary without a signed copy of the renewal in his hand. He was always so tight-fisted.
‘Where’s Mary?’ barked Bill. ‘Get her over here. I’ll soon sort this out.’ He rose from his chair, his face suddenly distorted in pain. Lena sprang forward.
‘Mr Chandler. Please don’t put weight on that leg. It won’t heal right.’
‘Stop fucking mothering me!’ he yelled, sinking back down. Lena tried to put the rug back onto his knee, but Bill flung it aside, accidently clouting her on the leg. She squealed and jumped back. ‘And Tom, what’s happening with the stock up in the park? You been keeping an eye on them?’
Tom nodded. ‘I wish we’d fitted those GPS collars though, Bill. Right now we’re in direct breach of our agreement.’
‘Tracking devices for cows,’ scoffed Bill. ‘What a load of nonsense.’
Drew wasn’t listening. He was watching Lena’s face. The woman looked absolutely terrified. Somewhere inside him, a slow fuse began to burn.
‘You imbecile!’ Bill was screaming at Tom now, accusing him of not knowing one end of a cow from the other. Lena caught Drew’s eye, shrugged and looked helpless. Drew cursed beneath his breath. It was about time someone stood up to his father.
‘Tom,’ said Drew in a low growl. The two men went on arguing. ‘Tom!’ Tom stopped in mid sentence and stared at him, disbelief written all over his face. ‘Leave us, please, Tom. I want a private word with Dad.’ Tom opened his mouth to speak. ‘Leave us, Tom.’
The head stockman shut his mouth and left the room.
Bill looked at Drew like he’d gone mad. ‘I’m not finished …’
‘Oh, you’re finished alright,’ said Drew, his voice full of controlled fury. ‘You’re finished fuming and bitching and throwing your weight around. You’re finished bullying Mai and Lena. You’re finished talking to the most respected head stockman in Currajong like he’s a first-year jackaroo.’ Drew marched forward and stabbed his father in the chest with a finger. ‘And you’re finished treating me like a damned slave. If you want to move cattle back onto Brumby’s Run, do it yourself. But if that’s your decision, I won’t be here to see it.’
Lena cowered in the corner. Bill sat speechless, his eyes popping out of his head. That only happened when he was seriously, seriously angry. Up until now, Drew had feared this bug-eyed father, but not today. Today Bill just looked like a sad old man, struggling to keep hold of his shrinking world.
‘You have no right —’ Bill started.
‘It’s you who have no right,’ said Drew. ‘No right to run my life, or anybody else’s. You’ll drive me off, Dad, just like you did Mum and the girls. I love you, you old bastard, and I don’t want to leave Kilmarnock. But if you take back Brumby’s, I swear, I’m gone, Dad. Gone for good.’ He took one last satisfied look at his father’s stunned expression, then strode from the room and slammed the door behind him.
Drew took a big breath. His heart was beating like a bongo drum, but he felt like a million dollars. He should have done this years ago, should have taken back the power. Lobbed the ball into Dad’s court. Stay or go, it was all the same to him now. Not that he’d go too far if it came to that. Not too far from Sam. His gut told him Dad wouldn’t call him on this one, but just in case, he’d better head over to Brumby’s when Sam got home from work and warn her.