Page 36 of The Dairy Farmer's Daughter

He paused to look out on the narrow river. It was flowing steadily over rocks and through reeds. "I've never seen a platypus before."

"They're so cute. They dive and splash around—it’s fun to watch."

"Where are we going now?" he asked as they walked back up to street.

"To the supermarket. I noticed you need a few things."

A short stroll later, they walked in through the open, welcoming doors of the independent supermarket. As usual, it was a hive of activity, the checkouts busy and lots of people pushing trolleys up and down aisles.

"I don't think I need milk," he said when she paused in front of the fridge.

"I know. I just wanted to show you what they stock." She pointed to the display of milk in various-sized containers with the familiar Emerald Hills logo displayed on them. “Milk from your cows goes into every bottle that we sell. It goes into the cream, the yogurt, and the cheese." She paused. "You canfind Emerald Hills products everywhere as far as Toowoomba, the Gold Coast and Rockhampton. People all over south-east Queensland consume milk made right here in Maleny. From Boyd's animals. You should be proud of that; I sure am." She turned slightly to show him where the yogurts and cheeses were kept. "The strawberry yogurt is my favourite."

She handed him a single-serve tub, which he accepted and stared at the Emerald Hills logo of jagged hills and a cartoon cow.

"My mother designed the logo. It was supposed to be a joke, but we decided it captured the essence of what our business is all about. From our family to yours—that's our core value."

"It's really good. I didn't know your mum was an artist."

Freya thought of the times she had caught her mother drawing on serviettes and edges of the newspaper. "She likes to dabble, but she doesn't get a lot of time to pursue it."

They walked slowly through the aisles, and Freya pointed out other local produce, including strawberries, pineapples, macadamia nuts, and a wide variety of meat. Justin stopped to read labels and put various things in his trolley.

As they loaded their products on to the checkout conveyor, Freya chatted to Margie, their cashier. It wouldn't take long for news of their outing to become widespread knowledge around town. People had already seen them together plenty the last few days, not to mention at the pub. Tongues would be wagging, but she didn't care. The more time she spent with Justin, the more her feelings for him grew.

Of course, that would make it harder when it came time for him to leave. Would they be able to make a long-distance relationship work? Would he even want to try?

She pushed the thoughts away. She needed to focus on the present, not the what-ifs. They were together now, and that was all that mattered.

He was facing a big decision, and she knew it would be a hard one to make. She could only hope that during this week, he would fall in love with the farm, the community, and maybe just a little bit with her.

CHAPTER 14

Justin and Freya had finished unpacking the groceries, and putting things away in the kitchen, when there was a knock on the door.

Justin turned to see Fred waiting for him. "Afternoon."

"Sorry to bother you." Fred looked from Justin to Freya but didn't make a comment. “We've got an orphaned calf down in the shed."

Freya moved beside him. "Is it a newborn?"

Fred nodded. "A big one too. Looks like there was some problems birthing and the mother didn't make it."

"Is the calf okay?" Justin asked.

"Should be fine. She's in a nice, dry pen."

Freya touched his shoulder. "You must be tired. We'll look after her tonight; you head home."

Fred gave her a weary smile, and Justin realised he must have been on the job for more than twelve hours. "That's right. We'll look after the calf."

"I appreciate it. She'll need a feed in a little bit."

"Don't you worry about anything. Go home and get a good night’s sleep.” Freya waved him home before turning back to Justin. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a poddy calf.”

“A what?”

“An orphaned calf is called a ‘poddy calf’. Now let’s go and find a bottle and give her a feed.”

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