Logan was exactly what Paige had expected. Standoffish and abrupt. She had imagined him older. Maybe balding and overweight would have helped make him more likable. But from what she had seen he was not bald or overweight. In fact, he cut quite a figure in his blue jeans and T-shirt. His chin and cheeks were stubble-darkened as though it had been a few days between shaves. She also thought she had seen a small dimple in his chin, but couldn't be sure under the whiskers.
She judged his age to be only a few years older than her - early thirties. With a nine-year-old child that meant he had married young. She wondered what the appeal of settling down so early had been.
After high school Paige had taken a gap year to decide what she wanted to study. She had been attracted to nursing but after spending time teaching English to kids in India she had found her true calling. The switch to special needs education had come after a particularly challenging class. One of her students, Angela had Down Syndrome and needed a lot of extra attention. She had already been kept down two grades and was an easy target for the school bullies. Paige had finally won the battle for funding and a special needs assistant had been employed to sit with Angela and help her with her work. Paige had watched and learned as the assistant, Penny, coaxed the potential out of the young girl. By the end of the year she was reading at a higher level than anyone else in the class. Penny and Paige had formed a close friendship and still kept in touch.
Paige wondered if she would be able to impact Scotty's learning in the same way Penny had enhanced little Angela's. He was a sweet, cautious child, bubbling with potential. She needed to help him harness it and focus on one task at a time.
All the children were eager to learn but bored easily. With two years of sporadic learning and lots of interesting distractions happening around them she could hardly blame them for preferring station work over history lessons.
After changing back into her shorts and a T-shirt she returned to the main house for lunch. With more time on her hands, Ruth had stocked up the pantry with biscuits, cakes, quiches and scrolls. Today a bacon and egg pie was cooling on the dining table. The aroma of pastry and herbs tantalized Paige's tastebuds as she sat down.
The children were soon at her side, eagerly discussing the story she had read them that morning. Logan walked in and seemed to stiffen when he saw her.
Beside the pie, Ruth placed a bowl full of salad. Grated carrot, tomatoes and cucumber made it a rainbow display.
"Yum." Scotty looked hungrily at the salad. Paige helped him scoop out a large serving, with extra cucumbers.
"Since when does he eat vegetables?" Logan asked.
Proudly, Paige ruffled Scotty's hair as he shovelled lettuce into his mouth. "We fixed up the veggie patch and planted seedlings. Scotty loved getting his hands dirty."
"There were worms!" His face lit up. "Lots of worms."
Logan raised his dark eyebrows. "I never would have thought of that."
Paige smiled at Logan and there was a moment of shared pride and respect. He really was very attractive. Now that she could see him clearly, without the shading of his hat, she noted the pale grey of his eyes below thick, dark brows. There were laugh lines at the sides of his eyes and she suddenly longed to see him smile.
Ruth cut into the pie and dished out large slices. "What's the plan for this afternoon then?"
Paige looked around the table. "I think we should do some art."
She was rewarded by whoops of excitement. These were country kids who enjoyed working with their hands in the dirt, mud or paint. Today it might even be a combination of all three.
By the end of the day, Paige was exhausted. After saying goodnight to the children, she passed the dining room where Logan sat, slowly turning the pages of an Outback magazine. His thick brown forearms bulged with sinewy strength below his rolled-up sleeves. Despite the aching of her body she determined to get to know this man better.
"Tea?" she asked.
He looked up at her, his steel-grey eyes making her heart jump a beat. "Thanks."
A few minutes later, Paige put the two cups on the table and sat heavily in a chair. Logan closed the magazine and pushed it aside. The front cover, Paige noticed, was a picture of an older woman in a Drizabone jacket. She was the embodiment of resilience with work-roughened hands and skin that had seen too much sun and dusty heat. Her shoulders were squared by years of hard work. These were the unsung, unglamorous heroines of the bush. Their lives full of struggle and difficulties. For years they had supported their weary men, raised and taught their children and worked their fingers to the bone outdoors and in. Paige drew strength and encouragement from these hardy bush women.
"Mum said you're from Victoria." His gravelly tone broke into her thoughts.
"Yes, Ballarat."
"So why such a big change?" He leaned toward her.
She paused for a beat wondering if he was genuinely interested. "I lived and worked in the same job for a long time and needed a change. Plus, the winters are just so cold in Victoria. It snows in Ballarat."
"Really?" His thick eyebrows were raised. "Just wait until you swelter through one of our summers. You might think you've come too far north."
She bit her lip. "Have you always lived in Queensland?"
"No. I worked in Western Australia for a while at a mine there. The Northern Territory too."
"Two states I’ve never been to." She sipped at her tea. "Australia is such a huge country with so many interesting places and people."
"Have you spent much time on farms or stations?"
"Not really. My cousins have a farm near Daylesford so I go there sometimes. My Nona has a veggie garden and pots full of herbs. She also has chickens and a rooster. When I was a little girl I loved collecting the eggs and cuddling the little chicks."
Her face warmed as she realised she must sound very naive. Over the brief time she had been living on the station, she had become increasingly aware of her inexperience in all facets of property life, and she decided to use every opportunity to gather information so she would better fit in.
"What kind of cattle do you have?"
"Brahman. You can tell because they have big floppy ears and a big hump on their back." He explained that the 10,000-acre station was divided into thirty-five paddocks of varying sizes and the country was mostly Mitchell grass. "At least it is when it's not in drought."
They sat in contented silence for a few minutes, drinking their tea and listening to the unusual silence of the house.
"Did you always want to be a teacher?" He eyed her curiously.
She nodded in reply. "I love teaching kids, especially at the primary level. I had some amazing teachers at the little country school I attended and I always wanted to be just like them."
"Why did you go into special needs?"
She told him about her friend Penny and their experience with Angela. She couldn't help but smile as she thought of all the children she had helped. "They're a pleasure to teach because you can really make a difference. Like with Scotty. He's already come a long way so it's not that he couldn't do it, he just needed a bit of help to get there."
Paige realised Logan was staring at her and heat rose on her skin. She looked away.
"Sorry. It's just, you're so passionate about it. For most people work just pays the bills and passes time. But what you do really makes a difference."
Paige looked up at him from lowered lashes. "Thanks."
Outside, the dogs set up a cacophony of barking in the yard. Logan stood and went to the open window and admonished the noisy animals.
Paige glanced at her watch. It was later than she thought. "I should go. Your children are early risers."
They both reached for her empty cup at the same time and their fingers grazed. He pulled his hand back as though her touch had caused an electric shock.
"Sorry. I'll take care of these." His voice was low and quiet.
Paige nodded back. "I'll see you in the morning."
She turned and walked quietly back to her quarters.
With the image of Logan uppermost in her mind she drifted off to sleep at last.