The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots Read Online Free PDF

The benches outside weren’t inviting either. The mostcomfortable option was to stay inside where the air was cool and the dust and flies didn’t blow into her food.
    If she stole a ute and drove off down the beach, that might create a bit more of a stir. Not because she was missing, but because the car was. Carl and Gavin were always dashing off after some crisis – having a vehicle at the ready was essential to their daily routine.
    But not her.
    Why did they even bother to hire me?
    Her hands curled into fists. It didn’t matter what their reasons were: it was her own agenda that counted. She had come to the Pilbara to see some real work and so far all she’d got was the four walls of a dirty office and hourly doses of sexual harassment.
    She wanted to see the project. The real project.
    The jetty.
    She had heard some of the men calling it the wharf because it was so big – stretching over two and a half kilometres out to sea. It supported a conveyor belt that carried iron ore from land to the gigantic ships that were docked at the end of it. Barnes Inc was there both to extend and widen the wharf.
    Her fingers drummed restlessly on the desktop, her mouth twisting as she chewed her dilemma. Maybe I’ll just go out by myself. Who’s going to stop me?
    Before she could change her mind she stood up, walked to the kitchen and slipped out the back door when she was sure no one was looking. She grabbed a hard hat, reflector vest and safety glasses from an open steel container doubling as a supply room behind the office donga and then looked for transport. She knew there would be a bus waiting outside because she saw it there all the time. Every hour it left the site office to run errands and men down to the end of the jetty. She walked over to the stationary vehicle, determined to catch a ride.
    She was prepared to meet with some resistance and was surprised to see a female driver with an inviting smile seated behind the wheel.
    ‘Well, hello there.’
    Lena’s mouth dropped open. ‘Er . . . hi.’
    The woman had short red hair and looked to be about thirty years old. Her eyes danced as though she knew in part what Lena might be thinking.
    ‘What?’ Her lips quirked. ‘You got a problem with a female driver?’
    Lena put her foot on the step and her hands on the railing. ‘Not if you don’t have a problem with a female engineer.’
    The bus driver jerked her head up with a grin. ‘All right, get on.’
    Lena could tell already they were going to be great friends. ‘My name’s Lena,’ she offered as she boarded the bus.
    ‘I know. I’ve heard about you. Word travels fast.’
    Lena rolled her eyes. ‘Tell me about it.’
    The woman held out her hand. ‘I’m Sharon. I’m the sanest person you’re going to meet today. Are you ready for this?’
    Lena took her hand and grinned. ‘I’ve been ready for six days. Let me have it.’
    ‘The Engineer has spoken.’ Sharon gave her a cocky salute as Lena found a seat behind her on the otherwise empty bus.
    ‘Not many people going out at the moment,’ Lena commented.
    ‘They’re already there,’ Sharon said over her shoulder. ‘Big day today: the first pile is going in. Just watch yourself. Everyone’s a little overexcited.’
    ‘Thanks for the tip.’ They fell into silence as they drove until Lena caught her first glimpse of the wharf.
    ‘Oh my,’ she breathed.
    It was, in a word, magnificent. Lena knew how long it was, but nothing prepared her for the awesome power of it. She felt like a pharaoh looking at the pyramids. A rush rippled through her body.
    From the shore, she couldn’t see the end of it. It just went on and on and on until it faded into the horizon. Due to thefact that it was standing at least five storeys above the ground, they had to drive up a steep embankment to get to the start of it. The deck sat on huge white cylindrical piles, set in diagonal pairs roughly every thirty metres.
    The crisscrosses of the piles grew smaller and