“Agricultural Management." He said calmly. Rebecca was choking on her juice, having had her jaw drop open just as she was swallowing. Juice was running from her nose, and down her chin, she thought it must have been coming out of her ears. Embarrassment didn't even come close to describing how she felt in that moment. She mopped at her face with her shirt tails. What a mess. She looked at Cooper. Surely she hadn't heard him right. There was nothing about any of that in his profile. She had read it in detail, and Kali her researcher hadn't mentioned it. She was going to have to have a long talk with that girl. Rebecca still couldn't believe it.
"You are having me on surely Cooper. Don't even joke about things like that. How can you be qualified in such a thing when you spend your life out here in the wilderness? How do you keep current? I..." Rebecca stuttered to a stop. She had so many questions she didn't know where to start. What did this change? She didn't know. It certainly put a whole new slant on her view of Cooper. She had never for a moment thought of him as a clueless country boy, who knew about cattle and little else. He had been to University, she knew that. But what she didn't know was what he had done there. Cooper handed her a damp face cloth he had retrieved from the bathroom. The look on his face hadn't changed much she noticed. Well, this was going to take some getting used to. Did she have the time and the inclination? This was one heck of a shock. Just when she had decided - well almost decided, to forget the whole thing and let Cooper down gently as she headed for home, and the safety of London and her job, this knowledge turns up. She headed for the spare room to change her shirt. She was shaking her head as she did so. Rough country, rough clothes, nice man, but some rough edges. Or were they? He was more guarded than rough. Yes, she thought. Guarded. Suddenly she looked up and screamed. There was a stark naked black man standing in the back doorway of the house, still clutching his bundle of spears and throwing stick in his hand, he had the other hand up in a sign of peace, palm outward. Rebecca almost collapsed against the wall as she recognised Billy, the man who had taken Cooper on some long journey the day before. She still didn't know the full story on that one. Billy didn't move, just grinned, his white teeth a beautiful flash of white in the darkness of his face. Cooper was suddenly there beside her, rifle in hand and half lifted, when he too recognised Billy.
"Billy, lucky I didn't shoot you!" He said calmly.
"I know you not shoot me boss. You good man. Your woman got very loud voice but." He was grinning from ear to ear again. Rebecca was beginning to wonder if there was some relationship between his unabashed nakedness and his happy disposition. Or was he just crazy? A crazy aboriginal man. Great, that's all she needed.
"Cooper, can you give that man some pants for heavens sake. Doesn't he know what's decent around a woman." Rebecca stalked off to the room to get the clean shirt.
"My women got no pants boss? I had pants, but lost them long time back. No good out here." Billy scratched his head. "Oh yes, those men gone now." He added. He started to turn to go. He didn't like houses at all. They made him jumpy, and feel closed in. He didn't understand at all how white men lived in such places.
"Wait Billy." Billy kept going, and finally stopped outside in the yard. "What you mean? Men gone. Which men? Our men? The other men, the strangers." Billy's face was unreadable at the best of times, his dark visage and wild mop of hair, his large and sun wrinkled face making his expression practically unreadable. Like all these men, he rarely looked you in the eye, considering it an insult to the other person to do so. You had to be close family before such liberties could be taken. The sideways glance, the eye-line usually just about at mouth level, this was the closest a man would get with almost anyone to looking them in the eye. They thought the white man was terribly rude going around looking everyone directly in the eye.
Billy thought a bit. "Yes boss, those other fellers. That mob all gone. Pack up truck, let you mob out, and drive away toward. that way." He pointed south. "Your boys be home soon. Dogs here now." With that Cooper heard the dogs coming like a pack of hunting hounds. He had a dozen of more cattle dogs, pure and mongrel, but they were all working dogs, and all related. Like a huge noisy family, they came racing into the house yard barking and growling, tussling each other to jump all over Cooper and Billy, and take turns jumping into the water trough that led out from the windmill. Rebecca stood in the doorway at the back of the house staying out of the way. She watched Coopers easy acceptance of the dogs, the fond cuffing of various ears, and scratching of noses. Billy just stood there and put up with it. He didn't like dogs much, and occasionally had a dingo pup to keep his little group company for a while, but they always ran off to follow their wild ways, just like he and his people, so it never bothered him. Eventually calm descended and the dogs all crawled under the house into the shade, panting with excitement.
"Thanks Billy. You are a good man. You come a long way to tell me this. Anything you need?" Cooper asked Billy.
"Na boss. Got all I need." Billy waved his arm in a wide circle out toward the desert. "Men here soon. Well before dark." He simply turned and trotted off toward the south. Back to his people.
Cooper came back into the house. He eased past Rebecca who didn't move from the back door. She followed him with her eyes though. 'What was going on in that head?' She asked herself. Her heart began to ache. He was so... so at home here. So comfortable. Did she have the right to ask him to follow her into the unknown. Into places where he, like Billy in the house, would be uncomfortable, and probably end up hating her for it. Almost certainly would. She decided she would have to put a stop to it right there and then. They must not get close again. She must not get close again. The pain was too much. Their little fling had been nice. More than nice, and she did love him, but it couldn't possibly work. It would only bring misery to both of them in the end. She came back into the main sitting room, and Cooper was standing at the table jingling the gun safe keys. He had locked up the rifles again. The danger was gone it seemed for the moment at least. The men were coming back and there were things to sort out. He was just about to say something to Rebecca when suddenly he heard the unmistakable sounds of a large helicopter approaching at speed.
"Well, better late than never." He commented to Rebecca. Together they went outside into the afternoon sun to observe a large military helicopter slowly settling onto the runway in a huge cloud of dust. A group of heavily armed soldiers piled out first, followed by someone of rank judging by the gold braid on his shoulders, and finally a civilian in a dark suit, reflective sun glasses wrapped around his eyes. As he fastened his jacket Cooper had noticed the gun in the holster under his arm. So he was no office worker. The armed soldiers fanned out along the runway, and two of them were closely inspecting the New World plane. The others slowly approached Cooper and Rebecca. The armed guards first. They all stopped about twenty feet from Cooper and Rebecca and remained motionless. It was impossible to read their expressions, their faces were masked behind protective helmets and visors, and the all black garb presented a slightly confusing shape even in the bright sun. The officer and the civilian approached Cooper and Rebecca. To both their surprise, the civilian addressed Rebecca.
"Ma'am, do I have the pleasure of speaking to Rebecca Boucher?" His voice was pleasant enough, but had an edge of steel that spoke of absolute authority. He took off his glasses and squinted in the bright light. His eyes flicked to Cooper, and back to Rebecca. She was thinking that he had nice brown eyes, with early signs of crow’s feet lines at the corners as though despite his glasses, he had spent a lot of time in wide open places in far away countries. Rebecca nodded and answered.
"Yes, I am Rebecca and this is..." She began. The man addressing her interrupted her.
"We know who he is." He closed his mouth, snapping his words off like a man biting the end off a Havana cigar. "We are interested in talking to him." With that he gave a small signal and the surrounding guards moved in and before he knew it, Cooper was being hustled off toward the helicopter. He had been just about to protest about being spoken of in the third person while he was only a few feet away, right next to Rebecca in fact. Now he was considerably more worried than a mere insult had made him. Cooper was a big man by any standards, but he found himself being propelled along by men who were like mobile tanks on legs they were so big. His protests fell on deaf ears, the soldiers ignoring any attempt at conversation. They politely but firmly bundled him into the seating area of the helicopter and strapped him in. He looked down and found himself actually locked in. There was a stainless steel locking system on the belt harness. His mouth was hanging open in surprise that was quickly turning to rage.
"What the hell do you think you are doing? I own this place. This is my property, and you have no rights here. You have no right to do this to me. It's not me you need to detain, it's those scum who have been trespassing on my place for months now." His voice trailed off as he realised that the soldiers were not paying the slightest attention to him. He yelled out so the others with Rebecca could hear him.
"You over there. You, Sunglasses man. What the hell do you think you are doing? I'm addressing you, and your gold plated mate. This is my place. I demand you release me immediately." His voice trailed off as he realised that they were ignoring him. He began to worry a little. He had been expecting a friendly greeting and a discussion about the intruders. He had not been expecting this, and that was a fact. Only one guard was near the helicopter now, the others having gone back at a brisk walk to stand in a line stretching way at an angle from the two men talking to Rebecca. Rebecca was looking toward Cooper and waving her arms about. Cooper couldn't hear her, but had no doubt that she was reading them the riot act. Or he hoped she was, she was a lawyer after all. Cooper remembered that fact and smiled. He would be ok. There was obviously some misunderstanding. They had only just arrived and couldn't possibly be aware of the situation as it really was. They certainly didn't know what Billy had told him only a short while before. Cooper sat back in the seat and tried to get comfortable. The seat belts had been pulled pretty tight, and it wasn't all that easy. The men who he had shouted at completely ignored him. 'What was new?' He thought to himself. Everyone was ignoring him. Vague thoughts of being spirited off to Guantanamo Bay flicked through his mind. He shook his head, think himself stupid for thinking such thoughts. He had done nothing wrong. Well, not really. Rebecca had been more than willing as he recalled. 'What are you thinking?' He almost said aloud. They weren't worried about any relationship he may or may not have with Rebecca. Any woman for that matter. These men were here on serious business, and somehow he was right smack in the middle of it - and on the wrong side of it it seemed. He would just have to wait and see what happened.
Rebecca meantime was stamping her foot in frustration.
"I'm telling you, he and I arrived here together. We came from Brisbane on his plane, over there." She pointed to the damaged Cessna. "Someone shot out the tyres and the windscreen so we couldn't fly it out." She drew herself up straight, and tried to look as cool as she would in a court.
"I am a lawyer. An attorney at law if you want the American equivalent. I belong to a London firm of great prestige, and good connections. Our New York office is equally well established, and with equally good connections. Unless you want a whole ship load of trouble descending on your head, I demand that you release my ... um. Cooper. You must release him. This is not a battle field; this is his home." Rebecca realised that neither of these gentlemen had given their names. She launched into them again.
"The very least you could do is introduce yourselves. You obviously know who I am, and who Cooper is. May I ask who you are?"
"Sorry Ma'am," replied the suited one. "My name is Special Agent Mitterrand. I'm with the US Embassy here in Australia. This is Captain Fielding. Australian Intelligence. ASIO to be exact." He paused. We have been watching the activities of the... intruders, for some time. When we were alerted by MI5, our friends in the UK, we thought it best if we got here asap." He pronounced it a-sap, which made Rebecca smile. Just like in the movies. Really, who were these people? The British would never behave in such a rough and cavalier manner. She didn't know about the Australians. A rough lot from what she had seen so far. Rebecca was not impressed and it showed on her face. She may have been out of her comfort zone dealing with Cooper's domestic arrangements, but this she knew about. This was her territory. Rebecca went on the attack herself. Come in here and throw their weight around would they.
"Was your mother one of those hippie people?" She asked the Agent specifically.
"Beg pardon Ma'am?" He blinked.
"That's a hell of a first name. 'Special Agent'..." Rebecca wasn't smiling. She wanted Cooper out of that helicopter. "Would you mind telling me just why you have hustled him off and restrained him in the helicopter? You do know there are laws against illegal detention." Her face was set, her lips in a thin line. She had been prepared to welcome these people as rescuers until they had shown their otherwise aggressive intentions. If not aggressive, certainly - unpleasant, and not the least bit friendly.
"Miss Boucher, we know exactly who you are, and we know who your friends are, including those in MI5. The fact is that we have been watching the activities of the New World people for some time. They seemed to think that they had escaped our notice, and could hide out here in the middle of nowhere, using this place as an illegal dump for their nuclear waste. The small radiation proof transport pods someone in their organisation has invented is of great interest to a lot of the world's nuclear energy companies. Fortunately, they chose to try and secret the material here, rather than go through legal channels. We are none to sure what Mr Anders' involvement is in the operation. It is his property after all." Agent Mitterrand looked back at the hapless Cooper. He turned back to Rebecca and said.
"Ok, we'll take your word for it Miss Boucher. I do know your credentials, and respect them. If you say he had no part in this operation, then I'll accept that, on the proviso that should that prove to be wrong - you will be personally responsible. I'm sure you know what that means." The Agent signalled to the men near the chopper to let Cooper free. Cooper wasted no time in getting out once freed, and marched across to where the agent and the Captain stood. He was about to give them a piece of his mind when he caught Rebecca's eye. The slightest shake of her head alerted him, and she breathed a sigh of relief when instead of launching into a full scale outraged volley, he drew a deep breath instead and simply said.
"Thank you for having the good sense to realise that I am not one of the bad guys." Cooper turned away and went to stand next to Rebecca.
She took his hand and squeezed it. She may still have reservations about this man, but she had no intention of letting these people take him off to who knew where, perhaps never to be seen again. It was bad enough the 'bad guys' where on his property and shooting at him, he didn't need the friendlies doing the same thing.
Apparently Agent Mitterrand had decided that he may have been a bit hasty in grabbing Cooper, because he now smiled depreciatingly and said,
"Well, lets put that behind us shall we? From where we were, some considerable distance away, it didn't look good. We didn't want to take chances. So Cooper," he continued. "What can you tell us about these people?"
Cooper scratched his chin with a fingernail. Rebecca smiled, she was getting to know Cooper well she thought. That was definitely a mannerism of his. Cooper looked at her in slight puzzlement. He was momentarily distracted by her sheer beauty. Even out here in the harshness of the outback, and she definitely not dressed in her best clothes, she was still like someone out of a top fashion magazine. It must have been quite disarming to be against her in a court of law. Cooper looked at the two facing him, Captain Fielding and Agent Mitterrand. Special Agent he corrected himself.
"I think we can do this inside, rather than out here in the blazing sun." He could feel the heat, so he guessed that Rebecca would certainly be feeling it. "And for what it's worth," he continued, “I'm told that the intruders have gone from their camp away there to the south. Apparently they upped stakes and left in the night. They set my workers - my friends, free before leaving. They should be here soon." Agent Mitterrand was looking slightly confused.
"How do you know this?" He asked with a sceptical note in his voice. Cooper pointed away to the nearby ridge. Billy, the nomad aboriginal, stood outlined on the ridge, one foot resting on his other knee, standing one legged, his spears in his right hand grounded in the sand for balance. He was like a dark statue, his lean body unmoving. Just watching. He had appeared just after they had let Cooper back out of the chopper.
"He told me." The agent looked from Cooper to Billy and back again. There was disbelief in his face.
"There are still nomads in this region? Aboriginal people living traditionally in the desert?" The question in his voice sounded disbelieving. "We have no knowledge of these people. How many are there? Where do they live? How long have they been out there?" He snapped his mouth shut. ‘This was bad,’ he thought. A whole group of people he now had to report on, that previous to this encounter he had no knowledge of. He turned to the captain.
"Captain Fielding, do you have any knowledge of these people. Did you know they are out here?" He shook his head in disbelief.
"Well, yes actually." Drawled the very Australian Captain Fielding. "We have known about them for years. It's their country after all, so it's only... um, polite? To know about them. No one thought they had any interest in the doings of foreigners. We may have been wrong on that score." The look in his eye told Rebecca that he actually had no real sympathy, if that was the expression needed, for the Special Agent in his company. It was a working relationship then, not a friendship. Rebecca noted this with interest. Meantime, they had all moved to the shade of the big house. The armed escort included. Cooper looked at them. They must have been sweltering inside all that black heavy clothing and protective jackets, close fitting helmets and webbing and packs that seemed to hang from every part of them. How on earth they kept it under control if having to move fast he couldn't even guess.
Cooper had a cool room full of drinks of all sorts, including large milk churns full of water kept for drinking. He said to the captain.
"Do you think your men could relax a little? There are no armed rebels out here after all. There is no one to be protected against now. Even previously there was only one armed person shooting at our aircraft. Please, sit yourselves down. Take it easy. I can get you cool water, soft drink, beer? What will it be gentlemen?"
The captain told his men to stand down. Meaning Rebecca supposed that they could relax. It didn't take long and the men had removed their heavy battle ground equipment, and sat easily on the many chairs and benches scattered along the veranda. They didn't say much Rebecca thought. Probably something to do with training. They all opted for water, Cooper returned first with a basket of tin cups, then went and fetched the large milk churn full of cool water. He wheeled it out on a small trolley, and invited the men to help themselves. Cooper then got a large coffee jug going, and it didn't take long and there was coffee for any who wanted it. Soon everyone was relaxed in the shade on the veranda. Agent Mitterrand asked Rebecca to explain her presence on the property. He asked politely, and Rebecca thought it wouldn't hurt to bring him up to speed as it were. He and the others had come to their rescue after all. She told him the full story, of the approach by the potential buyer of Cooper's property, leading to her flight out to Australia and her eventual arrival on the cattle property as Cooper's guest. Their finding of the place deserted, and Billy's trek with Cooper to show him what was going on. Neither of the men interrupted, and eventually Rebecca came to the present moment. The agent had been making notes, and Captain Fielding had been listening keenly. They both looked out toward the sand ridges, but Billy was no where to be seen. Agent Mitterrand asked Cooper,
"Do you think the aboriginal people will talk to us? To Fielding and myself that is?” Cooper shook his head slightly.
"I very much doubt it. They don't like us much. They tolerate me and my men, because we've grown up here, and know to leave them alone. Billy; not his real name by the way, that's the one you saw on the ridge over there only came to me because he didn't like what the New world people were doing to their country. He needed to check that I wasn't involved. A bit like you I guess. When he discovered I wasn’t involved, he took me to where they were holding my workers. One of their team was speared in the leg for his troubles, and one had a warning spear thrown to within inches of him when it looked like he might be coming our way. Billy and I were hidden just in the lee of a sand ridge above them. I didn't know myself that they are a full social group out there until today. Or at least yesterday, when a couple of Billy's women came in and stayed with Rebecca while I was away with Billy. But talk to you? I'd be surprised. I've been here all my life, and in that time, I've only every come across the station hands talking about them. Until yesterday, I'd never met Billy, or to my knowledge, any of them."
Agent Mitterrand made some notes then said. "Well, we will have to try at some point. These people could be very important for the security of the country. Such first hand intimate knowledge of the country would be invaluable. Perhaps it depends on how much they want paying."
Cooper's jaw dropped open, then he started laughing. "Pay them?" He gasped through his laughter, now so hard that tears were streaming down his face. "Pay them. Agent Mitterrand, what are they going to spend it on out there? What could they possibly want, that money could buy?” He continued to chuckle and wipe his cheeks. It showed him just how little outsiders understood the lives of these ancient people. "I'm sorry Agent Mitterrand, but it's just not on. If they want to talk to you, and I understand the importance, and help you - then they will do it in their own time, and on their own terms. Terms you may not actually like."
Agent Mitterrand and Captain Fielding conferred quietly together for a few minutes slightly away from everyone, and then came back along the veranda.
"Ok Cooper - may I call you Cooper? and Rebecca?" He looked at them both seeking approval for first name use. He continued. "We'll leave that for the time being anyway. We need to find out where the New World lot have gone. But where do we start?"
"That's easy." Said Rebecca. "They went south, according to Billy. There is only one road in that direction according to Cooper, so they must be on it. Their plane is here, and useless. Unless they had air transport somewhere along that track further south, they are all in that huge truck that Cooper told me about. Should be easy to find, and you may call me Rebecca, if I have your first names?" She raised a quizzical eyebrow.
Agent Mitterrand nodded. He didn't smile much Rebecca thought. He also didn't answer her, but changed his address to her.
"Miss Boucher, then I gather yourself and Mr Anders will be happy enough to stay here, while we go and try and locate them. I'm most curious to pinpoint exactly where they are. I doubt they have actually escaped, so I'm sure they will be found.” It sounded as though it was more of a command than a query, but Rebecca wasn't arguing, and nor was Cooper. Now that they appeared to be safe from direct attack he had some things he wanted to talk over with Rebecca, and it needed privacy.
"More than happy Agent Mitterrand." Rebecca replied. Cooper just looked at him and nodded. He was capable of showing courtesy to guests, providing food and drink as necessary, but he was still smarting from being bundled into the helicopter and was not at all ready to forgive and forget so easily. At a signal from the captain, the men were on their feet and kitted up again in moments, and headed out to the helicopter. The captain followed them, and finally, with little more than a nod of his head, Special Agent Mitterrand followed them. Rebecca was not sorry to see him go. They had arrived too late to do anything by way of help, and caused more trouble than they had averted actually. Cooper watched them go, the chopper lifting off in a cloud of dust and heading away to the south, low against the horizon. He had given them some features to pinpoint their search for the camp site, and from there they should be able to track the vehicle south if they wanted to. He didn't want to see them back particularly. Cooper looked at Rebecca.
"I'm pretty sure that no one meant to actually harm us. No one in New World that is. If they had wanted to, they could have done a lot of damage the moment we arrived. There was something else going on." Cooper moved over to be close to Rebecca. She was wearing a light cotton blouse with buttons up the front, looking almost like a very chic cow-girl shirt. Her jeans were painted on, and he noticed her feet were encased in strapped sandals of the kind that were jokingly referred to as Jesus sandals. He smiled. She looked such a picture of little girl glamour, and country girl chic that his heart began to thud against his chest wall. She was beautiful and everything he wanted in a woman. Intelligent, fit and healthy, a wicked sense of humour and stunningly beautiful either in or out of her clothes. He had trouble keeping his hands off her. He was beginning to think that they had maybe gone too far already, but he had to put a stop to their getting together. It was a path filled with danger and misery. She would never fit into his world, and he knew she thought he would never fit into hers. Essentially he was a cowboy. Albeit a very rich one, and she was a big city lawyer. The biggest city actually. The two biggest cities in the world. New York, and London. Oh she knew he had that university degree, gained after long years of hard struggle studying at university. Degrees were not easy to do, but although a lot of work, it had come reasonably easy to him. He had wanted to get his study out of the way, get his degree and get back to the property to help his father. He had managed it too, but his father hadn't lasted much longer and Cooper found himself rattling around the vast homestead with no one to share the joy of the place with. The result was obvious, and now that he looked around him, the house looked drab and weary with the sunshine of Rebecca standing in the middle of the room. He had never noticed it much before, the long familiarity had allowed the deterioration to sneak up on him.
Well, it could be fixed and fixed quickly - if he had a reason. He knew he didn't have a reason, because he knew equally well that Rebecca was out of there the moment she could manage it. Just like the others. Had they seen this too, and like Rebecca just not said anything. Suddenly it came to him. That was what her comment about the chickens was about. Nothing to do with actual chickens, but a comment more gently put about the lack of any home comforts about the place. Not even fresh eggs. No children. No flowers. No greenery of any kind. Well now that he could see what was revealed to him, he could fix it.
"Rebecca." He stopped and looked down into her eyes. He felt he was drowning in vast pools of deep green ocean. Her eyes seemed to change between brown and a deep green depending on her mood. "Rebecca. I know you have to go back to London. I know I am not..." He had to swallow to clear the knot in his chest. "I know I'm not what you want in your life. You think I wouldn't fit with your lifestyle. The city confines. Your friends and family. What would I do for a living? I won't like it but I have to let you go back to your own part of the world, the things you are familiar with. Your career for one thing is very important." His face was so sad, Rebecca had to stop herself from bursting into tears. She clutched at his arm, shaking with emotion. Not bothering to answer, she reached up, stretching on her tip toes and kissed him. She held on, and as her kiss began to melt him she could feel his lips responding. He circled her with his strong brown arms and held her close. His passion was rousing, he couldn't help it and Rebecca could feel the surge of him against her. She clung on as though drowning in a turbulent sea. She felt the storm inside her. She knew if she said anything she would immediately weaken and give up any hope of going back to England just to stay here with Cooper. She unlinked herself and bit down on her lip to stop it trembling. Cooper slowly dropped his arms to his side and Rebecca fled into her room, the door swinging shut behind her. She buried her face in her pillow to drown out the sounds of her sobbing.
Cooper was bitterly disappointed. There was nothing he wanted more than to be with Rebecca, but if she didn't want him there was nothing he could do. He just didn't see how a relationship could work. A long distance relationship was totally out of the question; the distances were too great. He had to stay and continue with the cattle property. He owed it to his father to keep the dream alive. It had meant that his hard won degree languished in it's frame on his study wall, unapplied and almost forgotten on a day to day basis. He had managed to keep abreast of modern developments in his particular field, as the nights were long and solitary out here, but what could he do with it out here. Cooper began to pace about the house, in and out of rooms, along the wide verandas, out into the yards and sheds. He was taking stock of what he saw. not just counting sheds, but looking at them. Looking at the house, really looking. Looking at the house yard, now almost indistinguishable from the surrounding countryside that stretched away into the shimmering distance. Sand ridges that had always seems mysterious and beautiful to him now looked to be exactly what they were. Dangerous and slow moving destroyers of landscape. Were they coming closer to the house with each passing year? He could do measurements on that, and research through old family records and photographs to find out.
What he saw now as he found his way back to the house did not please him. He decided he really needed to take absolute stock of his situation, and act on it. If he was to stay here - let alone invite anyone else to stay here, the place had to be brought back to it's former grandeur and soon. Inside and out, the whole house and its surroundings needed a complete make over. That would require a woman's touch, and he had only one woman in mind but that woman was clearly not interested in staying here. What a quandary. Cooper was intelligent enough to see that his life was at a crossroads.
Cooper mounted the steps onto the veranda and turned to face the yards again. He lent against the supporting post and stared into the distance. He supposed Rebecca was still in her room. He had heard her sobbing through the thin panel walls. The house was very old, and had been built in the old tongue-and-groove timber wall style, and never modernised in over a hundred years. Thin walls let the sound travel. He felt wretched - it was the only way of putting it. He had once again caused Rebecca unnecessary hurt, but he couldn't let her go on thinking that he could just go back to London with her. He could not equally expect her to give up all she knew to come and live out here in this wilderness. Certainly not if the place looked like this. He realised that he was in something of a state of shock over his new insight into where he lived and had been raised up all these years. This place was still his fathers house. Practically nothing had changed and yet his father had been dead for years now. Cooper smacked the veranda post in frustration. Suddenly his mind was made up. He knew exactly what he had to do. Rounding on his heel he marched back into the house and into his study. He picked up the phone called and straight through to Toowoomba airport and ordered a service plane to come out and fix his now crippled aircraft, and they should bring tools to repair the New World plane and take it back to Toowoomba. There were other places he could have organised this with, but he had accounts at Toowoomba, and it was just easier. They would come straight out in a small jet, his runway was suitable, and he bank account was never questioned. Next he called British airways and booked a flight one way, one person to London for two days’ time. Name: Rebecca Boucher. Departing Brisbane, direct flight. His next call was to a building firm in Toowoomba that he had used before, and that he knew were familiar with working on projects on remote properties. They were to arrive by the end of the week, using a charted plane and carrying all they could fit on board to start refurbishing this place immediately. The plane was at their disposal for as long as it took. They had an open account to get what they needed. Their only rider was that the house was to retain its heritage character and basic layout, and where possible original materials. In other words, he wanted it to be a restoration as well as a modernisation. electricity was to be provided by the latest state of the art technology, and they were to hire a team on sub-contract to start with the outbuildings, and work their way into the house. Repairing, pulling down and rebuilding where needed. Gardeners were to be hired and put on the job. There was plenty of accommodation between the house and the stockmen's quarters, and if any was lacking - truck it in. He had been an hour on the phone by the time he smacked his palms together and declared himself ready. The first team would be here in the morning. They were left in no doubt that if they couldn't do it, he would immediately find someone who could.
For the first time in a long time, Cooper felt good. He checked his watch. He still had time. He called his old professor at the university, and arranged to see him in three days. The day after Rebecca left. He realised he hadn't told her yet that she was going home. The chartered plane would be here in a few hours to take her back to Brisbane. He called the hotel and booked a room for her, and one for him. Now all he had to do was tell Rebecca. He paled at the thought. He knew he loved her as he had never loved anyone before in his life, but he also knew that some things had to be done in this life. Sending Rebecca home was one of them. She was undoubtedly a fine lawyer, and would only go to waster out here. Wither away like a wilting rose in the heat. A sweet English rose. He almost jumped to his feet and went out into the lounge room to find Rebecca. He had left her alone for some time, and hoped she was ok. He needn't have worried. The stockmen and others were back, and gathered around Rebecca on the veranda. She was positively glowing with the attention these rough gentlemen were showing her. She looked up when Cooper stepped onto the veranda. The men all stood up, dusting off their jeans and slapping their hats on their legs. Rebeca was smiling and happy. Cooper welcomed the men with handshakes and heartfelt sentiments about their safe return. The foreman took Cooper aside a little, away from Rebecca and said to him.
"I'll have to talk to you a bit later Cooper." He looked aside at Rebecca. "It's not pleasant." Cooper understood. The man was a bushman, one of the old school, and there were certain things you didn't say in front of women as far as he was concerned. The others were looking at them standing slightly aside, and their laughing banter quieted down. To cover up the moment, Cooper stepped back to join them and looked at Rebecca.
"I have some good news for Rebecca." He said. "You're returning to Brisbane tomorrow, and London the day after. You will be home in a few days, this horrible adventure behind you." He could see she was stunned. "I'll have a new aircraft here later today, and if mine isn't fixed then we return to Toowoomba with the repair team and fly on to Brisbane. It might be a good idea to pack - if that's necessary." He forced himself to ignore Rebecca's look of shock and hurt surprise and turned to his men. "There will be building teams here by tomorrow, for as long as it takes they will be working here. All other work, apart from absolute necessity will stop. That has priority. You are all to work with them. If anyone is due, or wants a holiday, that's ok too. You young ringers can go home and see your folks..." He paused. "Oh yes. Full pay. your wages continue in any case. Charlie here will be in charge in my absence as usual." Even in her state of mild shock, Rebecca recognised the actions of a born leader in the way Cooper had organised everything. She could sure use some of that in her office. She lowered her head and hurried into the house. She was determined not to let Cooper know how hurt she was. He was treating her like a cast away rag doll. Oh how it hurt. Yes, he was escorting her to Brisbane, but she expected nothing less than that in any case. But the speed and finality of it all. Home before the end of the week. It was hard to believe.
Some time later Rebecca had her small bag packed and had showered and changed into her travelling clothes. She looked stunning. Cooper stopped in his tracks, crossing through the lounge room. He was riveted by her beauty. He couldn't believe he was sending her away. After all they had said to each other. All that had happened together. He had to. He knew it.