Page 99 of Stockman's Showdown

Harry and Penelope had been planning to leave, with their suitcases hidden in that cave for weeks. Sadly, the day they made their move to leave, they never made it.

When Bree’s mother had finally found the courage to leave her violent husband, she’d bought their bus tickets and packed their bags, then hid them in the back shed ready to leave in the morning. They only had to get through the night.

Yet Bree’s mother never made midnight.

And Bree got to live with that memory forever.

In only one more night, if all went well, Leo would no longer be their neighbour. And so began the ticking clock to the final showdown…

Thirty-four

Hats on honeys were everywhere you looked, in assorted wide-brimmed hats brushed and bent just right, where dusty boots were even lucky enough to cop a polish. It was all part of a glorious parade of denim worn by men of various ages as they entered the grounds to the Elsie Creek Rodeo, with a line of utes filling the dusty paddock made into a car park.

‘We should have gotten here earlier,’ complained Charlie, in the front passenger seat of the Brookmere Green 1957 FJ Holden. It was Harry’s car, once stashed in the Stoneys, now fully restored.

‘You wanted me to drive Pandora.’ Bree had helped Charlie polish this beast of a vehicle that rarely left the shed. But both Charlie and Harry had nothing to hide anymore, and Charlie was returning to the rodeo he hadn’t set foot in over sixty years.

‘Harry would’ve wanted it to be used. Me and my big brother had plenty of good times in this car…’ The old stockman patted the dash like a trusty steed, his eyes distant as if picturing his brother in the car beside him.

Charlie sniffed, peering out the window. ‘Where are we parking?’

‘Ryder saved us a spot. Just look for his beastly vehicle.’ Ryder had offered to wait around for them to leave together, but hehad a carload, excluding Cap and Mia, who had elected to stay home and babysit Mason. ‘We should have brought the Kombi van, then I would’ve had somewhere to crash, and I could’ve had a drink tonight.’

‘I like my bed, thank you.’

‘Are you still getting over boot scooting like a teenager last night?’

Charlie grinned in a way that shone brightly in his eyes. He looked truly happy. ‘It was a good night, and I won’t apologise for dancing. I don’t do it enough, you know. As a lad, I used to get so embarrassed about dancing. Not much call for dancing out here. But then I plucked up the courage to dance with the most beautiful woman who took my breath away. My beautiful Bea. Boy, she loved to dance.’

‘I remember.’ She remembered the times she’d catch them dancing in the kitchen, or out the back under candlelight. Her grandparents lived a truly beautiful romance that had lasted for over fifty years. ‘Does that mean you’ll dance with me tonight, Pop?’

‘And Harper, she said I had to.’ Charlie pointed. ‘There’s Ryder’s car. He got the good spots. But then they got here earlier.’

‘You made me drive slow.’

‘Because I didn’t want dust covering the car. Not after we’d cleaned it.’ He brushed some invisible dust off the dashboard. ‘Pandora looks good. You know, Harry would have liked the name.’

Bree turned off the engine and paused behind the large vintage steering wheel, with the car key still in her hand. ‘I’m sorry, Pop.’

‘For what?’

‘For naming this car for the wrong reasons, when I thought you were obsessed over Harry.’

‘I was obsessed, kid. And if my beautiful Bea was still alive, she’d tell me off, just like you did.’

‘I’m glad you didn’t listen to me, and that you never quit.’

‘No, I think fate had a hand in that, kid. How else would you have found Harry’s cave like that?’

Still, that nagging guilt lay heavily in that place between her shoulders, all for not supporting Charlie from the beginning. No matter what, Charlie had always sworn that Harry was innocent. And he’d been proven right.

Tonight, she hoped to finally put that guilt to bed, once and for all.

She climbed out, calling to her grandfather over the roof of the vintage car. ‘Don’t forget to lock it.’

‘Always forget that when I’m in town.’ Charlie pushed the heavy steel door shut. Using his shirt’s sleeve, he wiped some dust from the chrome. ‘Have you given any thought to what to do with that gold, kid?’

‘No. You?’

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