After 3 weeks Cody’s swelling had reduced and they replaced her skull section back. She looked up at the ceiling feeling miserable.
“Hello baldy.” said a cheerful voice.
Cody looked at Jane in the doorway. “Hi.” She said sullenly.
“Hey what’s up? You should be happy sporting a new hair cut like that.” She was referring to Cody’s head having no hair.
“I look hideous.”
“Yes you do.” laughed Jane.
“Are you trying to cheer me up?” moaned Cody.
“Yeah is it working?”
“No.” she growled.
“Guess I should keep working on it.” She stepped into Cody’s room and sat next to her.
“Tell me more about the farm, your homestead, about Toby.”
Cody after a while regained her spirits and was happy to converse with Jane. She asked what she was going to do when they released her and where was she going.
“I have no idea Cody. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know where.” Jane eyes got teary. “I don’t know Cody.”
Cody grabbed her hand. “It’s ok. Don’t get yourself worked up. One of use blowing a gasket is enough in this place.”
“Yeah I guess.”
Cody was eventually back on her feet and restless again. Her shoulder was better although in a sling and her headaches not as bad, but she got tired quickly. She realized things on the station where not going to be easy.
Cody walked into Jane’s room.
“I hear you are getting discharged tomorrow.” said Cody.
“Yeah…” Jane sullen over it.
“Me too” She said excitedly.
“Bullshit…. After that, you still hardly have any hair.”
“They tell me it grows back curly.” laughed Cody. “Actually I’m discharging myself but it really depends on you I guess.”
“What you mean?”
“I have a proposition for you.”
Jane giggled. “I don’t know you all that well Cody, please.”
Cody blushes “Noo, I mean-”
“I’m kidding you goose, what?”
“Well why don’t you come back to the homestead with me? I have plenty of room. You can take all the time you need to reconnect with yourself. But-”
Jane turned head to the side. “But what?”
“I need you to help me out with the farm. It’s not that hard. Well it may be a little physically challenging for you.” Cody checking out Jane’s lanky frame, judging she wouldn’t even be able to lift a bale of hay.
“So what are you saying? Because I’m not a big, strutting farmer like yourself, I won’t be able to handle the work?”
Cody was tall which handled her solid statue. Her life on the farm kept her fit and strong. She couldn’t hold back her smirk.
“Oh my god, that is so fucking egotistic Cody.” berated Jane.
“Hey I’m only offering refuge in lieu of help.”
“Only help?”
“Hmm and obedience.”
“I so want to punch you right now.”
Cody started to laugh. “I’m joking you goose.”
Jane sneered.
“So do we have an arrangement?”
Jane agreed.
That night Jane left her room to use a pay phone.
“Yes…. Well I’ve been a little out of action. No… not as yet, but I expect to resolve this very very soon. Things have fallen in my favour. I will contact you when it’s done.” Placing the phone back on the hook, she returned to bed.
Richard drove Cody and Jane back to the small police station in Bundi. On the side of the station was Jane’s wrecked sedan. They took a look at it and Jane cringed at how damaged her side of the vehicle was.
“I can’t believe how much damage you caused. I’m lucky to be alive. What did you hit me with a bloody tank?” asked Jane.
“Not quite, but I was moving quite fast.”
“I need to get me gear out the boot, can I have the keys.”
Richard handed them over and then he and Cody went inside. He looked over his shoulder and Jane just watched him until he went inside.
He sat at his desk looking out his window watching Jane open the boot of her car.
“I don’t like this Cody-her going back with you. I just got a bad feeling. I can’t get a trace on her, her car has no registration, it’s like it doesn’t exist in the system. Her prints are not in the system. She is a ghost.”
“I don’t know what to say Richard. I need help. I can’t stay in that hospital any longer. I’m going out of my mind.”
Jane waited for the door to the police station to close and placed her key in and opened the boot. She lifted up the carpet on the floor and lifted up the spare wheel. Her ribs were still sore as she reached deep down and grabbed something. She lowered the wheel and looked at her colt automatic pistol. She loaded it and quickly placed it in her back pack. She then ripped away the side carpet and reached inside and started to withdraw a rifle. Jane looked out the side so see Richard by the window and cursed. There was no way she was going to get that out without being noticed. She pushed it back in and put back the carpet. She closed the boot to the car and put the key back in the lock then snapped it, jamming the lock.
Jane went into the station. “I guess you can take it to the wreckers now, it’s of no good to me.”
Richard stood up as did Cody. “No… I think I’ll hold on to it. The car isn’t registered to anyone. For all I know, it’s stolen.”
“I might not know who I am sergeant, but I wouldn’t steal a car.”
“Well, like I said I will be holding on to it a bit longer.”
“Fine, do whatever you like.” she said flippantly.
Richard grabbed his hat and they drove to his place.
Toby was all over Cody as she was with him. He gave an excited bark and then payed Jane some attention who in turn patted him.
“Wow, he is friendly?”
“Hmm he likes you. I guess that means you get to come home with us.”
“Oh really and if he didn’t?”
“You would be riding in the back of the Hilux and Toby in front with me”
Cody walked to her vehicle with Jane in tow.
“You can drive a gear stick?”
Jane shook her head. “Nope.”
Cody threw her the keys. “Good time to learn. My shoulder is killing me so you can drive.”
“Oh how far?”
“About 2 hours, but we need to stop in town for supplies.”
Jane managed to make Cody’s Hilux hop into town as she tries to work out the gear changes. Toby whimpers on the back seat and Cody laughed.
They grabbed some groceries, and went into the local pub for lunch.
The girl came out from behind the bar and hugged Cody.
“Oh my god, I heard about it. My dear how are you?”
“Yeah I’m ok Lois. This is my new stock hand Jane.”
Lois looked over the young thing and smirked. “Hmm can I get you both a drink?”
Jane excused herself to the toilet and Lois got their drinks. Cody took off her hat to show her scar and bald head.
“She’s the one from Dunner’s track.”
“Hmm”
“What ever in the world was she doing out there?”
Cody shrugged.
“Nothing but rocks and goats.”
“Yeah I guess.”
Lois leaned over the bar. “She’s preetty.”
Cody smirked. “Now don’t you be starting anything about this.”
“Oh c’mon Cody. It’s about time you moved.”
“Lois.” warned Cody.
The girls ate their meals when a couple of local boys came in for their afternoon beer. One guy looked down the end and elbowed his friend.
“Well well well, if it isn’t Cody Wilson, thought you were dead.”
“Sorry to disappoint you Craig.” She bit back.
“Heard you tried to take your own life.” He continued.
“As usual you heard wrong.”
He walks over and stands next to her. “I also heard you nearly killed some other moron in your mad dash, from your self inflicted wound.”
“Shut up Craig.” warned Lois.
“Actually I’m Jane, I don’t answer to moron. Something tells me you do tho” said a voice behind Cody.
Jane stepped out and faced Craig.
“Well hello sweetheart. You finally gone and got yourself a mail-order girl. Do you think this one will stay?”
Cody jumped up and got in Craig’s face “Why don’t you just fuck off?” Cody snarled.
“What you going to do?” He pushed her.
“Craig so help me I will ban you from this pub permanently if you don’t stop this shit.”
“Fine. See you around lezo.” He faces Jane “Hm I certainly hope to see you again. Maybe you and I could hook up for a bit of fun.”
Cody pushed past. “C’mon lets go.” growled Cody.
Jane started to follow noticing Craig heading to the toilet. “I’ll be a minute.”
Craig was standing at the urinal smiling to himself when the door opened. His eyes widened.
“Couldn’t wait, let me just finish.”
Jane was over and grabbed hold of him real hard squeezing.
Craig was in tears of agony from Jane squeezing his balls. “Let me go, let me-”
Jane put her other hand over his mouth and yanked his balls causing him to lower so she could whisper.
“Don’t you ever talk to Cody that way again, don’t you ever call me sweetheart and there will be no you and me.” She yanked him again, tears swelling in Craig eyes.
“And you come anywhere near either us, I will tear your fucking balls off and feed them to you.”
He nods. Jane washes her hands and looks over at Craig sitting on the ground hold himself.
“You fucking little bitch, don’t think you getting away with this. I know where you are staying.”
Jane nodded and reached behind her pants pulling out her pistol and cocks it aiming it at him. “You want to repeat that Craig?”
Jane left laughing at how Craig pissed all over himself. She got back into the driver’s side.
“You ok.” asked Cody.
“I’m tired, I just want to go.”
They turned onto the unsealed road leading to Cody’s place. The sun was getting low in the sky. Cody got out and opened one of the two gates to her property. Jane slowed down for the next one.
“Yer don’t need to.” She pointed to the damaged fence line. “Just another thing to be fixed.”
They eventually pulled up outside the homestead. It had a long veranda that continued on down the one side of the old stone home, to shade it from the hot sun. Cody opened the door and they walked in.
“You don’t lock the door” Jane was surprised.
“Why? Don’t get visitors except Richard and Meredith? Maybe my neighbour Joe pops over to borrow something, he just leaves a note usually. If anyone does drop in, more than likely they are lost.”
“So it’s pretty secluded.” confirmed Jane.
“Uh huh. It’s just going to be you, me and Toby.”
“Suits me fine.” grinned Jane.
Cody walked down the narrow hallway showing Jane the country kitchen, with small dining table. A separate room with lounge and TV, open fire place. They continued to another room which was Cody’s study, with an old computer, TV, VCR and one wall containing bookcases, filled from top to bottom.
She pointed to her bedroom down the end of the hall next door to the bathroom.
“Um laundry is out the back. There is a stick by the door, make sure you take it with you before going in.”
“Why.”
“The odd brown snake likes to hide out the heat during the day.”
“You’re fucking kidding me. What if I get bitten? Oh my god we are miles from anyway.”
Cody smiled. “You’ll be right. I only killed one recently, so don’t expect another will move in any time soon.”
“Cody.”
“Look Toby usually chases them away anyhow, and you can always give me a yell.”
Jane goes into her room. It contained a double bed, side table, lamp and one cupboard not that she had many clothes. She pulled the pistol out and places it on the side table. She collapsed onto the bed; the springs had seen better days and made noises when she moved. Jane heard footsteps and grabbed her pistol putting it under her pillow.
Cody listened outside Jane’s door then spoke “You want tea or coffee?”
“Umm coffee, with lots of milk.” Jane heard giggle “What?”
“I don’t have fresh milk, I have powdered.”
Jane screwed up her face. “Black coffee will be fine.”
Jane joined Cody in the kitchen and tolerated her black coffee. They both sat down not sure what to say, so there remained an awkward silence.
“Umm do you have a phone I could use” spoke Jane.
Cody looked at her strangely. “Umm well not a landline I have a satellite phone. Who are you going to call? I mean did you remember someone?”
Jane wanted to kick herself under the table “ No… just if we need help, Richard you know.”
“You can use the Sat phone.”
There was another pause. “I’m going to get dinner ready, why don’t you have a look around outside.”
Janes got up. “Can I take Toby, to scare off the snakes?”
“Sure, take him towards the cattle hard, by the water trough. He likes it there.”
Cody watched her leave with Toby then started preparing the nights meal.
Jane looked around, poking her nose into Cody’s sheds which were full of farming equipment and spider webs. Toby growled and touched Jane’s leg. She jumped with fright.
“Don’t do that Toby.” She found a ball at her feet “Oh I get it.” She kicked the ball around the yard until she was called in.
Jane sat down, she was famished. Cody put a plate in front of her which she sniffed doubtfully. Both gave the same result, not appetizing.
“Umm what is it.” Jane asked poking around in it.
“It’s lamb and kidney stew.” Cody started to eat and watched Jane.
She took a bite and begrudgingly chewed and chewed the tough meat. She was afraid to swallow.
“It’s not too bad.” said Cody.
Jane smiled and added more salt. She tried it again and pushed it away.
“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, and it’s going to sound it but that absolutely tastes revolting Cody. That’s not lamb; it’s dried up old tyre or something.”
Cody shrugged. “Well it’s the best I can do Jane. Give it to Toby. There is bread in the cabinet.”
Jane put the stuff in Toby’s bowl. She grabbed some bread and turned around to find Toby sitting next to his bowl looking down then back up at her. Jane smiled which turned into fits of laughter.
“Cody I think the consensus is with Toby and me.”
Cody turned around to see Toby sitting next to his bowl not eating.
“Oh don’t you start. You been too bloody spoilt that’s yer problem dog. Just eat it, or go hungry.”
It wasn’t long before Cody had thrown her own meal out and was scooping out the contents of dog food can for Toby.
“I can’t believe he would prefer to eat this shit.” She placed the bowl down and Toby goes at it in quick time.
Jane laughed “I think we will leave the cooking up to me.”