Page 3 of Outback Hearts

‘I’m sitting right here,’ Jill said.

‘We know,’ Amelia replied, and she was smiling properly now. ‘Okay. Yes. Let’s try this. Trial run to the next town, and if we haven’t driven each other crazy, we keep going?’

‘Deal,’ Jill said, extending her hand.

They shook on it, all three of them, and just like that, Jill had two new travelling companions. Two English women who probably didn’t know a brown snake from a garden hose, who’d need to learn to check their shoes for spiders, and who would call Tim Tams “lovely biscuits” when they’d clearly never experienced their true magnificence.

But she was getting good vibes from them, and they seemed keen. She’d smiled a couple of times when Sophie made Amelia laugh in a way that suggested they’d be good company even if things got tough.

‘Right,’ Jill said, standing. ‘Let’s go look at the van. You should know what you’re signing up for before you commit. She’s not pretty, but she’s reliable.’

‘Like all the best things,’ Sophie said cheerfully.

They walked out to where the van was parked. Vera looked even more beat-up in full daylight—rust spots, a questionable paint job, a cracked side mirror Dylan had meant to replace. His pride and joy, lovingly rebuilt from a wreck.

‘It’s perfect,’ Amelia said, running her hand along the side. ‘When do we leave?’

‘You’re keen,’ Jill grinned. ‘How about tomorrow morning? Gives us today to stock up on supplies and figure out where we’re heading first.’

‘Tomorrow morning,’ Sophie agreed. ‘God, Amelia, can you believe you’re actually doing this? You, Miss Spreadsheet-and-Backup-Plan, just agreed to travel to the outback with someone you met an hour ago.’

‘Spontaneous?’ Amelia laughed. ‘I’ve never been spontaneous in my entire life!’

‘Harry!’ Sophie and Jill said in perfect unison, then dissolved into giggles.

Amelia groaned, covering her face with her hands. ‘Oh God, I am Harry from Mamma Mia, aren’t I? At least when Colin Firth does repressed and uptight, he’s gorgeous. I simply look anxious.’

‘At least you’re not waiting until you’re sixty to figure it out.’ Jill grinned, deciding she really liked this pair. She hadn’t laughed this much in days.

###

That evening, they sat in the waterfront park between the main street and the bay at Airlie Beach, planning their route. Jill suggested heading inland gradually, working their way through the small towns, seeing where the road took them. Maybe up through central Queensland, out towards the dinosaur country around Winton.

‘There’s really a town called Winton?’ Sophie asked.

‘Of course. It’s famous for fossils and outback poetry. The guy who wrote Waltzing Matilda wrote it there.’

‘We definitely have to go there,’ Amelia said, making notes. ‘What else is out there?’

Jill told them about the outback towns she’d researched—tiny places with big hearts, where everyone knew everyone, where a stranger was either welcomed warmly or viewed with suspicion depending on how you approached things. Where the heat could be dangerous if you weren’t careful, but the stars at night were spectacular.

‘It sounds perfect,’ Sophie sighed.

‘It sounds terrifying,’ Amelia corrected, though she was smiling.

‘It’s both,’ Jill agreed. ‘That’s what makes it worth doing.’

The next morning, they loaded the van with their combined supplies. Sophie and Amelia had way too much stuff in Jill’s opinion.

‘You don’t need five pairs of shoes for the outback,’ Jill said, staring at Sophie’s bulging backpack.

‘But what if we go somewhere nice?’ Sophie protested.

‘There is nowhere nice,’ Jill said flatly. ‘There will be red dirt and more red dirt.’

‘What about restaurants? Or... I don’t know, hotels?’

‘In the outback?’ Jill laughed. ‘Sophie, we’ll be lucky if there’s a pub with a working toilet. The fanciest you’ll need is thongs that aren’t falling apart.’