Page 74 of Stockman's Stormcloud

A team of agile muster dogs danced around the large cattle hooves, as they shifted the beasts through a network of railed corridors. There the vet checked them over, before they were separated into different paddocks.

The network of rails, chutes, corridors, and gates sorted out the cattle as if playing a life-sized game ofSnakes and Ladders. Each gate represented a decision point, where the stockman would send the cattle down one path or another, just as players in the game moved their pieces up ladders or down chutes based on the roll of the dice, ready for their next stage in the process. Today, their focus was on the veterinarian examinations.

When she’d had her fill of watching the Riggs brothers orwhen the yard dust got too thick, she turned her camera on the landscape. Through the lens she followed the cragged crevices, the peaks and troughs and other gorgeous geological formations of the red-orange rock faces that formed part of the picturesque frontier.

To the south, a soft sea of green tree canopies attracted various birds that flew in flocks. Various varieties of birds would disappear and reappear in the treetops, the same way different people walked in and out of a grocery store.

Then her medical interest was piqued as she watched the vet conduct pregnancy testing on the cows, along with various other medical tests.

When they took a drink break, she quizzed Dex on the terms she’d heard. She learned the difference between acoacher(a calm beast that had been tagged and branded, and somehow coached others during the mustering process) and acleanskinbeast (one that bore no brands) when it entered the chutes. Dex told her cleanskins were also known asscrubbersorferalsand to be extra careful around them because they had little to do with humans and were practically wild. She’d learned her lesson well, especially when the gigantic animal bucked and bashed against the rails, it worried her that the rails were going to break.

That’s when the brothers called it akiller,sending it off to stand in its own yard. Leaving her to wonder if that animal was really a murderer?

It was soon joined by a few others they’d calledfats, which meant they were going to be fattened for market.

As she zoomed in for a close-up of their operations, it was clear that those harsh stockmen were incredibly gentle with the calves. There were moments where they’d all pause, allowing the dust to settle, giving the mother and her calf time to find each other in the paddock of other cattle. It was the sweetest thing to witness the reunion, it had her sighing with so much sentimentality she forgot she was there to take photos.

Every now and then one of those angry andargumentative brothers took the time to pat one of the many cattle dogs so keen to roust the herd on command with their wagging tales and big doggy smiles.

Most of all it was how the brothers would pat each other on the back, even sharing a joke or two. The Riggs brothers worked like a well-oiled machine, backing each other up, especially when a massive bull entered the chute.

The big brown Brahman was a muscular mass of beef with a terrifying set of horns. She’d heard them say it weighed over a tonne.

Yet, for something so big, the bull was surprisingly calm as the vet gave him a thorough examination. He then calmly strutted off to join his ladies in the paddock and pick at the bales of hay on offer, as if it was just another day in the office.

All afternoon, she’d witnessed how hard the Riggs brothers worked, and the teamwork that went into beef production, especially in such a remote location. It gave her a sense of intimacy, as she took her many photos, until the sun hung low on the horizon and the last beast was sent to bellow with his pals in the paddock.

‘Do you want to stay for dinner?’ Dex asked Sophie as he approached her, peeking through the rails to take photos of the grazing cattle.

‘Where?’ Was Dex finally going to ask her out on a date?

‘Up at the farmhouse.’ He nodded at his brothers driving away.

That didn’t sound very romantic at all. ‘Aren’t you staying at Bree’s place?’

‘Nah.’ He tossed his thumb back to the drafting yards. ‘If I could do this job today, I’m almost healed. I can feel it. And I’d rather not get in the middle of Bree and Ryder’s feud.’

Good. Brotherly blood was thicker than the fancy filtered water at the caretaker’s cottage.

‘Does that mean…’ Sophie swallowed hard. ‘I’ll be taking the oxygen tanks back?’ Which meant no more visits.

But she liked it out here. And she was dying to see the sunset stretch across the horizon and to take more photos of cattleand the men working with the cattle, and Dex. Lots of Dex.

‘How about you drive me back to the homestead and stay for dinner? But first, we’ll swing by my place. I want to see what those girls did to it.’

Girls? Who else lived out here?

Back in the work vehicle, she drove them down a red dusty trail with Dex seated in the passenger seat. ‘So, you said you made something new?’

‘I modified the cradle and reorganised the drafting yards.’

‘What is a cradle, and what is it used for?’ She had no idea what Dex was talking about, but he sounded so proud of himself she had to hear more.

‘A calf cradle, also known as a cattle crush, is a metal cage or a trap, that safely restricts the calf in a position via a set of bars. Its job is to protect both the beast and the stockman so they can work on the beast. And I redesigned the layout of our cradle to minimise the stress on the cattle to allow for easier movement, as well as to cut down on our processing time.’ Dex grinned with pride that heightened an adorable shine in his eyes. ‘Normally we’d be coming back tomorrow to finish off the job, when we did it in half a day—and I can’t even have a beer to celebrate.’

‘You only have a few days to go on your meds, Dex.’ She patted his arm. ‘And you’ve had quite a big day.’ With likely only two hours’ sleep, if that.

‘Yeah.’ He seemed pleased to have his hands dirty again.

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