Heartland by Cathryn Hein

Author:Cathryn Hein
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781742536163
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2013-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

With Matt busy at Amberton, Callie spent the day clearing what she could, which, to her fear-filled mind, still wasn’t enough. The fire tank was full and ready, attached to her ute, with the small plastic knapsack unit she’d discovered in the garden shed in the tray. She laid sprinklers around the house but didn’t start them. Even though the outside taps were fed by bore, Callie saw no point wasting precious water – it’d only evaporate in the wind and heat anyway. She phoned in and cancelled her shift at the Royal, relieved when Doug expressed his understanding. He was a farm boy himself, and his brother still ran the family’s grape-growing and grazing property over the border at Wrattonbully. Besides, with everyone knuckling down for the fire effort, the pub would be dead.

She kept the Jumbuk’s doors open and the radio turned up, listening for updates and emergency warnings. Following Matt’s advice, Callie downloaded the CFA’s FireReady app to her phone and checked it regularly, while in the house, the laptop remained on, its browser windows open on the CFA, Bureau of Meteorology and news websites.

Though her anxiety refused to wane, Matt’s reality check kept the panic at bay. She worked and worried and constantly reviewed warnings, but there was only so much she could achieve. Glenmore’s fate lay mostly with the weather gods.

Kate and Lyndall arrived at lunchtime, Lyndall in a panic over Morton’s safety, but when Callie carefully suggested they move the horse to Kelso, Kate said no. Morning had brought further drama to the Soriano household; the relief of finding Lyndall safe had worn off, and now her father had grounded her. Glenmore was out of bounds, but for her daughter’s sake, Kate was secretly defying the directive. Even with the threat of fire, their domestic situation was far too delicate to take Morton home and, like Matt, Kate had every confidence the fire wouldn’t breach the river.

At five, having done all he could at Amberton, Matt returned towing Wal’s horse float, an agitated Topanga stamping in the back.

‘His owner wants him home. Best place for him anyway. Horse is restless without Wal.’ He indicated Morton, who had remained near the gate since Lyndall’s visit, as if sensing it was the smartest place to be. ‘I asked if she had room for another and she said she did.’

‘Thanks,’ said Callie. ‘I asked Kate to take him but she couldn’t.’

‘Things not good with Lyndall?’

She shook her head. ‘Diabolical by the sounds of it. But Kate’s working on it.’

‘They’ll sort it out.’

‘I hope so.’ But Callie wasn’t so sure. If anyone understood how fraught the relationship between a teenager and her parents could get, it was her. Some fights everyone lost.

With Morton loaded, Matt took off again, promising to be back in an hour. Callie stood in the yard, watching the sky. It seemed to heave like a living thing, every fiery breath shooting dense smoke across the firmament, swelling her anxiety with it. For a moment

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