34

Wow, Holly had kissed him. Kaydon felt so high it wouldn’t have surprised him if Pilot suddenly sprouted wings and they soared into the sky together, crossing the moon like ET flying on his bicycle.

Holly’s legs tucked in behind his and he could feel her bare toes brushing against his ankles. She had made him take his socks off. Pilot’s fur was soft against his feet. He wondered why he had never tried this. It was good.

‘I’ve never ridden in bare feet,’ he said.

‘I’ve never ridden at night,’ she countered.

He took her hands from his waist and pulled them tight around his stomach. Her chin rested on his shoulder. ‘Horses have good eyesight for it. They can see better than us in the dark.’

Kaydon let Pilot pick his way through the paddock and begin climbing a long, winding hill track. Stars filled the crisp autumn sky like shards of splintered ice.

They rode by the first waterhole, past the old oil wellhead and to the stand of bluegums. He brought Pilot to a halt under a tall, slender eucalypt. ‘Nice view, huh?’ Below, an ocean of darkness spread out over the plain and the distant hills formed a dim silhouette behind. He could make out the road and a few lights from other farmhouses.

He lifted one leg over Pilot’s shoulder and then lowered himself to the ground, his bare feet crunching into the layers of shredded bark. He looked up at Holly. In the silvery light she looked almost regal with the wind lifting the hair from her neck. She let herself slip down into the space between the horse and his arms. He put his hands around her ribcage and lowered her slowly to the ground.

He nuzzled the hair away from her neck. It smelled like raspberries. Her skin was soft and perfect and all he wanted to do was kiss it. But that thought was interrupted by a loud belching and grunting noise.

‘What was that?’ said Holly.

‘A koala,’ said Kaydon. Drat, did it have to appear so quickly? He pulled a spotlight from his jacket pocket, flicked it on and ran it up the trunk of a tree. After a brief search, two eyes glowed back. He heard Holly’s breath snatch.

The noises became short, sharp screeches. Kaydon lowered the light and found a second set of eyes.

‘Another one,’ whispered Holly.

‘They’re fighting.’ As Kaydon’s eyes adjusted to the light, he saw a large buck in a fork of the nearest tree. Its lip lifted with each short screech, revealing a set of jutting front teeth. Below it another koala reached up to touch it. Each time the buck was touched by the koala below, it responded with another screech.

‘That is the slowest fight I’ve ever seen,’ laughed Holly.

‘Wait for it,’ said Kaydon.

A couple of minutes later, the lower koala lunged for the other’s leg and bit it. The treetop erupted into a skirmish of grey fluff and spotty white rumps. A tangle of fluff and teeth dropped into the rustling leaves and tumbled down through the tree, screaming and screeching.

Finally one scrambled away down a lower limb. The victor started bellowing and belching and grunting triumphantly.

‘That was awesome,’ said Holly. She laughed with delight.

Kaydon’s eyes flickered over the silhouette of the oil wellhead. ‘It would be such a shame if carbon dioxide was pumped into that old oil well,’ he said. ‘The koalas live right over the top of it.’

‘Who’s going to do that?’ asked Holly.

Kaydon sighed. ‘I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think Mr Parker is interested in farming Glenvale. He’s a geologist, and Aaron reckons he used to work in mining. I don’t like him.’

‘I don’t like him much either,’ said Holly.

Kaydon felt a surge of guilt. ‘My dad’s a hard man, but he wouldn’t normally kick a family out like that. Mr Parker has a huge hold over him and I don’t know why. I’m so sorry . . .’

‘Don’t,’ said Holly. ‘You don’t need to apologise.’

‘I do, it’s rough,’ said Kaydon.

His father’s words echoed in his ears.

‘I hocked half of Rockleigh to get this place, Kaydon. We can’t stuff this up.’

Kaydon couldn’t ignore the churning sensation in his gut. The thought of being kicked off Rockleigh was incomprehensible. ‘My dad defines himself by his home, his land. He’s the king of Rockleigh. I’m the fifth generation of Armstrongs on the property. This place is who we are.’

Holly looked up at the sky. ‘Shooting star,’ she said, as a meteor slashed across the sky and then disappeared as quickly as it had come. ‘Make a wish.’

‘I wish you weren’t leaving tomorrow,’ said Kaydon. ‘I wish it would rain. I wish Dad would listen to me more. I wish I knew more about Mr Parker.’

‘Don’t get greedy,’ said Holly.

‘I wish I knew what other properties he owns,’ Kaydon continued.

‘Well, that’s easy,’ said Holly. ‘You just look him up on propertydata dot com.’

‘What’s that?’

‘It’s an online database for property and real estate. Dad uses it all the time.’

‘Do you know how to do that?’

‘You need to be a subscriber. I’d have to find out Dad’s password.’

‘Would he give it to you?’

Holly blew a raspberry. ‘Err, no.’

Disappointment flooded Kaydon.

‘But Brandon might know it,’ she said.

‘Would he mind if we woke him up,’ Kaydon asked. ‘As in, now?’

‘Probably not,’ said Holly. ‘But I would.’ She put her hand on his cheek. ‘I made a wish too.’ She lifted her chin and kissed him again.

‘I can probably help with that,’ he muttered, pulling her closer. He never knew a girl’s lips could be so unbelievably soft. The night whirled into a dizzying spin of the golden-haired girl in his arms, her kisses, and two cranky buck koalas grunting and griping overhead. He kissed as though he would never have this moment again, drank her in as if the world was running out of water.