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As Tarni dozed off almost immediately, Cy frowned. She had obviously picked up a bug or some infection, perhaps from the soil she had been working with. He would make sure she saw the doctor on Monday. He hummed under his breath as they approached the station, feeling content. Jerry had made good progress this morning. He was a good worker, keeping to himself. Cy had checked that he was okay to work there by himself over the weekend, and when Jerry had agreed, Cy had paid him in advance, although he’d wondered if he was being gullible. He’d offered to check on the dogs too, and top their dry food up.

‘I’ll be right, mate,’ Jerry said. ‘If I work Saturday and Sunday, it’ll be finished when you get back. I'm heading off after that. I'm gonna drive across to Camooweal. I got some work on a cattle station over in Queensland.’

He was a funny little guy and always seemed to want approval. Jerry kept asking if Cy was happy with the trenches he’d dug.

‘It’s fine, exactly what I wanted,’ Cy reassured him. And he had done well.

‘A cattle station in Queensland, huh? Haven’t worked there. I’ve worked in the west most of my life,’ Cy said.

Jerry looked at him quizzically. ‘I didn’t know you worked on stations too. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it. Got my new ute. Heading off when I’m done here.’

‘Sounds good. Okay, we’ll leave this afternoon. We'll be home late Sunday. So dig those two areas on the third and fourth avenues on Saturday and Sunday, and that’s everything done, mate.’

‘Thanks for giving me the work.’

‘You’ve done well. It saved me a heck of a lot of time.’

‘I aim to please,’ Jerry said, beaming. ‘See ya around sometime.’ He turned and walked away to his ute.

‘Jerry!’ Cy called him, but Jerry ignored him. ‘Jerry! Hey, mate!’

Jerry finally turned, and there was a strange look on his face. ‘Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean... okay, yeah, what’s wrong?’

‘When you finish, I’ll get you to leave the shovels and the crowbar outside the shed. I'll be locking it up when we go out tomorrow.’

‘No wuckers.’ He looked strangely relieved.

Cy had shaken his head. He was a strange one, but it took all types.

Half an hour later, as they approached the homestead, Cy glanced at Tarni; she was sound asleep. He reached over and gently touched her hand, but she didn’t stir.

‘Tarni, wake up. We're almost there.’

She opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion. ‘Where are we? What are we doing in the bush?’

Cy waited until she woke and stretched. ‘We're almost to Wilderness Station,’ he said.

‘Sorry, for a minute, I forgot where we were going. I was sound asleep.’

‘How did you sleep last night?’ he asked.

‘Not too bad, but I kept having crazy dreams. It must be the residue of the pain medication in my system.’

‘Side effect, huh? You said you hadn’t taken painkillers for a few days.’

‘I haven’t. I forgot.’

Cy frowned; Tarni seemed confused, but she sat straight, removed her hat, and pulled the rubber band from her hair.

‘Okay, we’re only about three kilometres out. See those mountains over there? That’s where Hidden Valley is.’

‘I hope that cheesecake hasn't bounced about too much,’ she said. ‘I left it in Pyrex dish before I put it in your camp fridge,’ she said. ‘With a cover over it.’

Tarni had packed the cheesecake she made last night and put it in the camp fridge on the back of his ute. She managed to find the ingredients in Ellie's fridge and cupboard, and borrowed a touch of Baileys liqueur from the bar in the dining room. She’d buy new bottle and leave it here when they came home.

‘Thoughtful of you to make it.’

‘Was it?’ she said. ‘I'm not up with visiting people. I thought the given thing was to take something with you.’ She yawned and covered her hand over her mouth. ‘Did you pack that thermos of coffee I made?’