Long Road - 4. Lon Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“I will come with you,” Jacob said, as he zipped up his jacket, as the temperature had dropped a lot in the past half an hour or so, and with Lance following, we headed towards the main rodeo arena, to check there first before going towards the main oval. When we saw a tall solid build man and two teenagers approaching out of the darkness after about twenty minutes of searching, I began to relax, when I recognised Thomas and Logan, but we heard Lance swear behind us, “Shit, copper”, which made me wonder what the lads had done wrong.

“Are these two with you sir?” the police officer asked me, as we approached, and I saw that he had the rank of Sergeant, with the stripes on his uniform.

“Yes Sergeant, I am Harrison Alpike, and the taller rascal is my brother Logan, and the other is his friend Thomas, both under my care. I am sorry if they have been a trouble, they were supposed to have returned to camp an hour ago” I replied looking very worried.

“If I may have a moment of your time for a chat please” the police sergeant asked, and I turned to Jacob, “Mate, can you take the boys back to camp, and make sure they get ready for bed, I will speak to them when I get back” I asked Jacob, who nodded his head, then frowned at the lads, who dropped their heads and headed in the direction of the campsite.

After a short discussion with the police officer, I apologised for the lad’s behaviour and informed him that the boys will be watched very closely, and would be no longer allowed to go on their own, for the rest of the Rodeo. I was fuming by the time I returned to the trailer, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, apart from making sure that either Jacob or I was with them at all times.

Lance and Jacob stopped talking when I arrived, and I sat down in my chair. They are taking showers and going straight to bed” Jacob informed me after a short period of silence, and I nodded my head in understanding. A few minutes later I stood up, Lance, would you mind staying here for a few minutes, and make sure the boys stay inside, I need to speak to Jacob in private” I asked.

“Sure, not a problem” Lance replied, not sure what was going on, as Jacob stood up and followed me in the darkness, and we ended up walking out onto the side of the town road, to guarantee that we would not be overheard.

“What do you know about Thomas and his family?” I asked Jacob, once I was sure that we were alone, “Do you mean, do I know about Thomas being Gay?” Jacob replied, which caught me quite by surprise, and Jacob gave a small laugh when he saw my shocked look.

“Yes, I know, and he has tried hitting on me a few times, even though I am way too old for him, and yes I am Gay too” Jacob replied.

“Yes, I guessed that, when I saw you checking me out, when we were introduced yesterday, and I am cool with that, but I am not Gay or Bi, I replied, “Ok, that is good to know, so what exactly did the lads do, that attracted police attention?” Jacob asked.

“Well let me say first that when I was filling up the vehicle, and you were in the store, out two young rascals were getting up to some mischief in the trailer bathroom, with Logan opening the door, and me getting an unexpected eyeful of two naked teenagers.

Saying that the Sergeant said that he saw the boys doing something in a dark corner of the recreation centre, but by the time he reached them, they had covered up. When questioned, the lads confessed to doing some teenage experimenting stuff, without going into detail.

The Sergeant, gave them a stern warning, not to do anything like that ever again in public, or they would end up in the police lockup. Apparently, that was enough to make them nearly shit themselves, before escorting them back to us” I explained.

“They are very lucky to have got off with a warning, I have heard that they step down hard on that sort of public behaviour, so what now?’ Jacob asked.

“Are you happy to continue doing cooking duties for us all, for the rest of the rodeo, and to share watch duties on the rascals, they just need to be kept busy, maybe I can get Myles to have the rascal to look after his horse as well” I said, “Actually he and Miranda have a horse each, they are both competing” Jacob stated.

“Good, that will keep them extra busy, I will go and sort it out now if you can make sure the lads are in their separate beds, and going to sleep,” I said smiling, as we headed back to the campsite.

I was extra pleased when Myles and Miranda agreed to let the lads do all the grooming work for their horses, as it took a lot less pressure off me and Jacob to keep an eye on them, as I walked around the vehicle towards the trailer, were Jacob was setting up his swag, and Lance was in his trailer, settling in for the night.

I said goodnight to both of them as I headed inside, and the lads whispering stopped when I came in. Speaking softly so no one outside would hear, I informed Logan and Thomas, that from this moment on, they are not to leave the campsite unless they are with either me or Jacob.

I also informed them of their extra duties, for the remainder of the rodeo weekend, with them to concentrate on looking after Myles and Miranda’s horses, and when they groaned at having to do this.

I reminded them that they were very close to ending up spending the night in a police cell and that they are to do as Jacob and I tell them, or I would inform both sets of parents of what took place, and face even more punishments.

Thomas and Logan agreed to do what is asked and to be on their best behaviour, and at 6.30 am the next morning, they were out of bed and began work, feeding the horses, giving them fresh water, and giving them all a good brushing, before coming in for some breakfast.

While they were doing this, I had been summoned to the Rodeo Office, and asked to help out with Veterinary services, once I and produced my Veterinarian registration card, “Mr Harrison Alpike, BSc – Murdoch University, WA” which also has the date of registration, my date of birth, my signature and a pretty terrible photo of me.

I agreed to assist where possible, as long as it did not interfere with me participating in the competition, that I had registered to compete in, which was agreed on, and for the rest of the day, I was kept fairly busy, with doing inspections of all horses that would be competing, treating minor injuries, and competing in both events, of which I managed to win first place in both.

I had also agreed to assist with keeping Miranda’s and Myles two horse’s feet in good condition, as well as Bonnies, and by the end of the day, I was exhausted. After the presentations in the early evening and a quick dinner, I had a shower and collapsed into bed, and promptly fell asleep, missing the main concert altogether.

When I woke in the morning, I was feeling fairly tired and sore, and I could smell breakfast cooking outside, so I dressed and went to the bathroom, before heading outside, where everyone was about to eat. “Good morning sleepy head,” Jacob said to me in a cheerful tone, and I just frowned.

I was soon handed a cup of tea, and I sat down in my camp chair to enjoy the warmth of it, as it was still quite chilly outside. “We have done all of the morning chores, and Myles thanked us for all of our hard work, and even gave us $20 each” Logan said to me, after handing me a plate of cooked breakfast.

It was some time before I was awake enough to discuss anything, as I finished my plate, and placed it on the nearby table. “Lance has invited us to spend today and tonight at his uncle’s cattle station, which is just out of Morawa, so once breakfast is over and the kitchen is clean, we will get to work to pack up, and we will aim to leave here at about 9 am” I commented.

“Yes, no problem Bro, we will get right on it,” Logan said, as he picked up my plate, along with the others and headed inside to start washing up. “Congratulations by the way, on your two wins, I was quite impressed at how well you did,” Lance said to me, as we watched Jacob follow the boys inside with the rest of the dirty dishes.

“Yeah well, I have been practising a lot at home, the poor calves are probably sick and tired of being chased, roped and thrown to the grown and having their feet tied up” I replied, and Lance laughed. “You going to tell me what the hell is going on with the two lads?” Lance asked me after a short period of silence.

“Nope sorry, it's family business, and it is going to stay that way” I snapped in reply, “Ok, geez, you don’t have to bite my head off” Lance responded, and I sighed loudly. “I’m sorry mate, it’s just hard work being guardians to two rascal teenagers, and I will not be volunteering to do it ever again” I replied.

“Ok, understood, so are you still coming to the station?” Lance asked me, and I thought about this for a fair while before responding. “I don’t know mate, I would really like to get these two off my hands as soon as possible, I just don’t really know” I replied, just as my phone beeped with a message, which was from Mum.

“Jacob has text his Mum, to let us know that Thomas and Logan had got into some trouble with the local police on Friday Night, and he mentioned that you were stressing out about having to worry about them all weekend. Marg, Gloria and I are on our way up to meet you in Morawa, to take them off your hands, as I stayed on in Moora for the weekend. See you there in two hours at 10 am, Love Mum”.

“Well it appears that I will be coming to your station, but I need to go via Morawa first, to meet up with Mum, who stayed with friends in Moora, and they are meeting us there to collect the lads” I informed Lance. “Perfect, we better get a move on, as we need to leave at 9 am, to meet them on time” Lance responded happily.

“I heard some of that, did you just say your Mum and mine are coming up to meet us somewhere?” Jacob asked as he leaned out the door, “Yes mate, at Morawa, which is an hour’s drive South East of here, on the Mullewa – Wubin Road” I replied.

“Ok, I think I will go with them too if that is ok with you?” Jacob replied, “Yes sure mate if that is what you want, I will be fine. Thank you for all you have done with cooking and looking after the rascals” I said to Jacob, “Not a problem, glad that I could help” Jacob replied, before heading back inside.

For the next 45 minutes we kept busy packing everything up, and once we had Bonnie loaded up, Jacob, the lads and I climbed into the vehicle and set off, following Lance out of town on the Mullewa – Wubin road, and a bit over an hour later a big sign notified us of a junction approaching.

“Once we have dropped off this lot, we have to come back to this road, that heads to Yalgoo, to get to the station” Lance announced over the Two-way radio from his vehicle, as we slowed down. “Text Mum, and tell her we are approaching Mullewa to please,” I asked Logan, and he reluctantly did as I asked.

“She says they are at the roadhouse, and to keep going straight on the main road, and the Ampol Roadhouse is on the right,” Logan said, after receiving a reply.

I relayed the information to Lance via the radio, and a few minutes later we pulled up outside the roadhouse, where a vehicle that I presumed belongs to the Morgan family, and I was a little surprised to see a horse float attached to the back of it.

“Hello son, we thought that since you are going to spend a few days on the station, you may want me to take Bonnie with us,” Mum said to me.

“Actually, I would prefer to keep her with me, you should have asked, before dragging the float all the way up here for nothing” I replied. “Oh, ok son, I am sorry, I just thought you would like some space on your own, that is all” Mum replied.

“Thanks Mum, but we will be fine” I said as I gave her a slight hug, and watched as Jacob, Thomas and Logan loaded up their luggage, into the back of the Morgan’s vehicle, and after waving goodbye to Gloria, Mum and the lads, U noticed that Lance was talking on his phone, and he was frowning.

“Are you really sure about this uncle, I mean, do you think I can do it?” I overheard Lance say, and he listened to the caller a bit more before hanging up, and that is when he saw me standing by my vehicle, and the Morgan vehicle had left.

“We have to wait for about twenty minutes, as my Uncle is on his way into town, it appears, that I have been given a lot more responsibility, with me taking over as manager of his latest property purchase, Wydgee Station, which is 208 kilometres North East of Wubin, and 93 kilometres dues South of Mount Magnet” Lance informed me.

“Which is how far from here?” I asked sounding a little shocked.