Page 105 of Stockman's Stormcloud

Sophie shook her head, then peered up and down theempty hospital corridor. Her leg playfully kicked out as she whispered, ‘Dex told me he can see our future, family, kids, everything.’

‘It’s scary when men do that.’

‘You’re not wrong.’ Again, they shared a grin. This one came easier, as if they were warming up to each other.

‘Being an independent woman, I bet you’re wondering if you’re going to be left to do all the cooking, cleaning and babysitting duties.’

‘Is that what your husband did, does?’

‘Finn wasn’t around much. Not with his job.’

Sophie was dying to ask what Finn did for a living, but Dex wouldn’t share that secret, and she’d learned already that Bree wasn’t going to share either.

Bree kept a lot of secrets, like a lot of other women Sophie had met during her career, witnessing their life-changing incidents. The most heartbreaking one of them all was a parent losing their child. ‘I’m sorry about your son.’

Bree didn’t react at all, calmly facing Sophie. ‘Have you ever asked yourself:what do you want?’

‘Excuse me?’ She tightened her ponytail, looking up and down the hallway, anywhere but at the redhead beside her. It was daunting to have Bree’s undivided attention like this.

‘We all have these stupid skeletons we drag behind us in these oversized suitcases where the stupid wheels are designed to slow us down. Yet, you’ve picked up your suitcases full of heartache to drag them to the other side of the country, where even the residue of the damage from your past love-life is tainting your chances of that fresh start. Isn’t that why you came out here? To start again?’

Sophie nodded, unable to speak. It was like Bree could see straight through her.

‘So, why not bury those dumb suitcases filled with your past’s scary stories out in the outback desert and finally put them to rest? And then, while you dust your hands free of your past, face the sunrise and ask yourself what do you want for your future.’

‘What do you want?’

‘A jug of gin, an ice bath, and a decent game of ice hockey on the telly, with one eye on the sunset and the other on Charlie doing what he loves in his house.’

‘And when Charlie goes?’

‘I’ll be taking a long holiday.’

‘To where?’

‘It’ll start with a road trip to the first international airport I can find. From there I’ll catch a plane to Tahiti to drink cocktails on a beach that’s crocodile free, while waiting to watch the Stanley Cup live. You?’

‘I don’t know. All I’ve been focusing on is my job and taking care of the cat.’

‘You also have your camera, Sophie.’

‘It’s just a hobby.’

‘You have an opportunity to do something more with it.’

‘Dex wants me to take a photo to hide the Kombi in his place.’

Bree laughed. ‘I was wondering how long it would take him to change it.’

‘It’s a good photo.’

‘But you can do so much better.’ Bree even patted Sophie’s hand, like a friend, and not the enemy. ‘At the station we have some talented ladies, you with your camera, Harper for words and different viewpoints, Mia for plants, and her sense of humour. If you three got together, you could create a magazine or something.’

‘Seriously? Who’d want to read that?’

‘People would love to see what lies behind the dusty outback curtain.’ Bree scrolled on her tablet to show images to Sophie. ‘There are plenty of station wives who do it on social media. They take photos used for magazines, for book covers, even corporate articles, you name it. Some do their own magazine to share their stories of the outback. I know Charlie has so many amazing stories, and Harper wants Charlie to do a dictionary for his Aussie lingo.’

‘Why don’t you do that?’

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