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it. Idly she flicked through it, trying to work out the best place to start. She was pretty sure it was with the sheep. The hundred or so cattle that were running on the flats of Kyleena had been marked and ear tagged and weren’t due to be weaned for another three or four months.They could be left alone for a little while. It was definitely the sheep. She needed to talk to her dad, find out the mating dates of the ewes and make some decisions from there.
    She started the car and went to the ATM.The balance showed she was down to her last two hundred dollars. Not knowing when she would have any money coming in, she withdrew one hundred, leaving the other for emergencies, and went to the supermarket to get some supplies. After refuelling the VW she headed home for the first time in two weeks.

Chapter 9
    A week had passed since Amanda had gone back to Kyleena as the new manager. At first, she and her father had avoided each other, passing only in the kitchen at meal times or on the way to the lounge to watch TV. Amanda was leaving before sun-up and returning after dark, while Brian was spending a lot of time in his office or bedroom.
    But that changed on Tuesday night. Amanda was cooking dinner – she’d decided to leave Brian to fend for himself, since the meals she’d cooked for him the first three days had gone untouched – when the phone rang.
    Brian answered it from his office and after a short while he came into the kitchen.
    ‘Smells good,’ he commented. ‘What is it?’
    ‘Lamb shank stew,’ replied Amanda, her back to him as she mashed the potatoes.
    Brian was quiet for a moment, then said, ‘Your mother used to make that.’
    ‘Yeah she did. Who do you think I learned it from?’
    ‘Did she teach you much about cooking?’ Brian asked.
    ‘A bit. I would’ve liked to have learned more.’ Amanda turned around to face him. ‘Sometimes when you were out late on the tractor putting in the oats crop we’d make fun things like pizza and nachos. We’d watch a movie, and then go to bed.’ It felt good to talk to someone who knew her mother as well as she did. ‘Would you like some stew?’
    Her father seemed not to have heard as he stared at the pot simmering on the stove.
    ‘Dad?’
    ‘Uh, yeah, that’d be good.’ Silence. ‘That was Malcolm on the phone. He’ll be here at nine tomorrow with the papers to sign. Call me when tea’s ready.’
    Half an hour later, Amanda called her father. There was no answer. She went to his office and tapped at the door. Still no answer. Sighing, she dished up his tea and put it in the oven to keep warm and ate in front of the TV by herself.
    Amanda’s brown hair streamed out from under her kangaroo-skin hat, the motor bike feeling almost alive as she gave the hand throttle an extra rev and headed towards home. She’d seen Malcolm’s white sedan turn in the driveway. He’d already be at the house by the time she returned.
    Amanda was puzzled when, from a distance, she saw Malcolm on the front porch. She pulled up, the bike’s wheels flicking up mud, kicked down the stand and dismounted.
    ‘Hi, Malcolm. Sorry I’m late. I found a lamb on the wrong side of the fence and I wanted to get him and his mother back together straight away. Dad didn’t let you in?’ Amanda said pulling her hat off and unzipping her jacket.
    ‘Hi, Amanda. I couldn’t make him hear. Maybe he’s down the sheds?’
    ‘Well, come in and have a coffee, while I round him up.’ Amanda busied herself in the kitchen talking non-stop about her plans until she put the coffee in front of Malcolm. Hearing a thump from the depths of the house, she realised her father was in his bedroom. With her heart sinking she knew he’d once again had too much to drink and would come to the kitchen table with bleary eyes, a headache and in a foul temper. She glanced at Malcolm to see if he’d heard then made a decision.
    ‘C’mon, bring your coffee and I’ll show you where I want to put the sorghum