The Outback Heart by Fiona Palmer Read Free Book Online Page B

later.
    ‘Right,’ he mumbled as he sat in the ute, studying his mud map. He pulled out onto the main street and headed east out of town, past the pub and roadhouse. A sign pointed left to Wave Rock and Troy wondered what all the fuss was about. He took a left turn onto a gravel road and then another. Jenny was right – he couldn’t miss the property sign. Driving onto a farm always reminded him of riding the motorbike with his sister. Geraldine was a few years younger, so he had always dinked her everywhere. Her little arms gripped his waist and she would squeal as he carved up the paddocks. His first dream was always football, but after that he pictured himself back running the family farm. Now he would never do either. Every day he was reminded of it. Visiting other people’s farms was as close as he could get and for now it would have to do.
    Up the long gravel driveway he passed bare paddocks filled with sheep – merinos. He spotted a large water tank with chemical drums beside it past the farmhouse. He parked alongside them, dropped the tailgate on the ute and began unloading the heavy drums.
    ‘Need a hand there?’ A man in his fifties wearing old shearing pants, work boots and a blue cotton work shirt pulled tight over his large belly walked up to the ute. As he stepped closer, Troy noticed he walked with a slight limp.
    ‘G’day, I’m Ian,’ he said, holding out his hand.
    ‘Troy. Nice to meet you,’ Troy said as he shook the man’s hand.
    ‘So you’re the new bloke working for Phil. Nice to meet you, Troy. You’re the new coach, right?’
    Troy scratched his head.
Man, news travels fast
, he thought.
    ‘You coach my son, Sam.’
    Troy’s mind was stripping cogs trying to remember a Sam.
    ‘Everyone calls him Spud?’
    ‘Oh, yeah. Spud. Sorry, I’m still getting used to all the nicknames.’
    Even with his limp, Ian climbed onto the back of the ute and helped unload the rest of the drums. Troy sat on the tailgate to catch his breath for a few minutes before the drive back into town.
    ‘I hope Sam’s still coming to the meeting tonight.’
    Ian shrugged as he stood nearby. ‘Not sure. Hasn’t mentioned it.’
    ‘Well, make sure he does. Can’t be a team without all the players. I think this place has lost a bit of its . . .’ Troy couldn’t find the words. He wasn’t sure what it had lost – team spirit, community? The town seemed disjointed, as if people were too busy to get involved. Country towns weren’t like that.
    ‘Yeah, been this way for a few years now. We were all worried we wouldn’t have a team this year but that Indi . . .’ Ian smiled and nodded his head. ‘She’s just like her mother. Has enough spirit for all of us. Sounds like she did good finding you. Sam’s quite a good player. Well, he used to be. Bit harder now he’s carrying around the extra weight. But when he gets match fit, he’s handy. And I’m glad you and Indi are trying. The boys really need a break from the farms and without footy . . . well, there isn’t much else.’
    ‘Yeah, well, I want to push the boys hard this year. I understand they’ve had some bad games —’
    Ian’s deep laugh cut him off. ‘Are you sugar coating it or has no one actually told you how bad it’s really been the last few years? We’ve struggled to find someone, anyone, to coach let alone finding enough players. That’s the reason the club’s about done. People stopped going to watch, what with the boys getting thrashed all the time. Once it used to be a big thing, game day.’ Ian’s eyes glossed over. Troy could tell the old farmer was reliving the glory days inside his head, like watching a great film.
    Ian’s face softened and his smile grew. ‘They were good times,’ he said.
    ‘Well, I hope you’ll be at the first game. We need all the support we can get. It makes a big difference to the boys. Also it’s a home game against Southern Cross.’
    Ian scratched at the stubble on his cheek.