Breaking The Drought Read Online Free PDF

turned and made his way back to the stairs.
    Jenna scrambled to put her phone and her iPad back into her handbag before following him. He clearly was not in the mood to chat. She followed him from the shaded oasis of the homestead across the parched paddocks to a corrugated iron structure. Neither of them spoke.
    Once inside the shed Jenna saw that the other women were gathered in a group. They formed a line of sorts against the rear wall. The three shearers stood on a raised platform, the sheep bleating in a pen behind. Jenna wrinkled her nose at the unfamiliar smell. Heat mixed with animal dung, perspiration and goodness-only-knows what else, to cause a unique stench. She covered her nose and mouth with her hand in an effort to keep the odour at bay. Of course Luke picked that second to turn her way.
    He raised his eyebrows. ‘Over there,’ he said, pointing to the others. ‘Make sure you stay out of the way.’
    Clearly all was not forgiven.
    Helen Dawson was standing beside Brooke. She smiled and gestured for Jenna to join them, shuffling sideways a little to make room. ‘Hello, love, glad you could join us.’
    A tingle of embarrassment swept up Jenna’s neck and across her cheeks. ‘Thank you. I’m sorry I missed the first part of the demonstration. I was delayed a little by a work phone call.’
    â€˜Oh don’t you worry about that. You haven’t missed too much. The real action is just about to start. It’s Jenna isn’t it?’
    Jenna nodded.
    â€˜Brooke here has been telling me all about you and your job. She tells me you are the editor of Gloss . I’m so excited to meet you. It’s like having a celebrity in town.’
    Jenna laughed. ‘You’re very kind, but I’m no celebrity.’
    â€˜You are to me. I just love your magazine.’
    â€˜Thank you.’ Jenna had to work hard to keep the surprise out of her voice. Middle-aged Helen, with her practical clothes and scrubbed-clean face, was not part of what the marketing people considered their “target demographic”.
    Helen smiled broadly. ‘My daughter subscribes and I always read her copy when I’m babysitting my little grandson.’
    Jenna slipped into editor mode for a moment. ‘What do you enjoy most about the magazine?’
    â€˜I love the travel stories. I lived in England when I was a young teacher, before I was married. Did the whole backpacking thing through Europe.’ She laughed a little. ‘I suppose that’s somewhat clichéd these days, but back then I considered myself quite the adventurer.’
    Jenna smiled encouragingly, hoping Helen would continue. She would never have predicted that a conversation with this ruddy-cheeked, plainly dressed woman would be so interesting. ‘That sounds wonderful.’
    â€˜I’m sure you get to travel all the time for your job,’ Helen said.
    Jenna nodded. ‘A little. But it’s nowhere near as exciting as backpacking through Europe. I’m usually only in the same place for a couple of days at a time and I rarely get to see much more than the inside of meeting rooms and hotels.’
    Brooke leaned across and touched Jenna’s arm to get her attention over the din. ‘Enough of the shop talk already. Looks like the boys are getting ready to start. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to miss a second of this.’
    Helen shook her head. ‘It’s my fault for distracting her. Watching the blokes shear a sheep is nothing out of the ordinary for me, but I can see how you girls would find it interesting.’ She nudged Jenna. ‘Especially when there are fine looking young men in the shed like our Luke over there.’
    Jenna couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. Was Helen suggesting that ogling a married man was perfectly acceptable? Poor Maggie Tanner. Didn’t anyone care about her feelings?
    Jenna’s confusion must have been obvious