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But suddenly the fact he’d only taken a knock to the head made it seem trivial. It could have been so much worse. Albie didn’t need to say that because, from the look on Percy’s face, he seemed to be thinking the same thing.
They rode on for a while, heading further downward, enjoying the warm sunshine, the birdsong, the crickets.
The flies, not so much.
“Ugh,” Percy said, swishing his hand in front of his face. “I forgot about flies. The best thing about living up there,” he gestured to the mountain behind them. “Is the lack of flies.”
“Just wait for summer,” Des said.
“Especially when you’re mucking out the stables,” Robert added.
Albie laughed at Percy’s expression.
They reached the river, and each of them slid down from their horses. They let them drink and eat the green grass by the shade of the trees, and everyone pretended not to notice how Des limped on his leg, grimacing as he lowered himself down onto the grass.
Despite the obvious pain, he looked remarkably happy to be riding like this again. And that made Albie smile.
Albie took a moment to appreciate it all. Not just the view, but how his men were working together as a team.
He wished his dad were here to see this.
“It’s beautiful down here,” Percy said. “How far is the road from here?”
“A fair way,” Albie said. “Though I was just a boy the last time I came down here. Why?”
“Well, I just wondered if it’s kinda close, why your house is up there and not down here?”
Des and Robert both stayed silent. Whether they were waiting on Albie’s version of an answer or if they didn’t know, he wasn’t sure.
“The road past home was built first, probably. The bullock road this way came after,” Albie answered. “And the only access to the road from here is through Crown land. I don’t remember much of what my father said about it, only that he wouldn’t pay the government one penny for access to his own land.”
Des smiled at that. “Yeah, that about sums it up. From what he told me too.”
“Makes sense,” Robert said.
Percy frowned. “I thought Crown land had a right-of-passage clause.” He pursed his lips. “Could be wrong. Maybe it’s different here, but I remember my grandfather getting permission and it never cost him a single penny. My grandfather would have raised hell if it did.” Then he shrugged. “Could be a different permission. It’s not like I’m an expert in such things.”
Albie stared at him, as did Robert and Des. “You know about these things?”
Percy made a face. “Only what I heard.” He met Albie’s gaze. “Could be worth asking your father’s lawyer when we get into town.”
“What would I do with the access anyway?” Albie wondered out loud.
“Build a second house,” Percy answered simply. “Down here. Run a second farm. Lotta flat grasslands down here just doing nothing for cattle and sheep. Maybe even just in winter when it’s too cold up on top of the mountain. Lambs’d be ready for the spring that way.”
Albie stared at him in disbelief.
Could it be that simple?
No, of course not.
“You wouldn’t even need a whole house,” he added. “Just a hut, basically. You and me could come down here for the winter and run some sheep and horses while Des and Robert manage the main farm up there.”
Des laughed, a long strand of grass sticking out of his lips. “Just full of ideas, aren’t ya.”
“Ain’t had a bad one yet,” Percy said with a grin.
Robert snorted. “This one hasn’t exactly panned out too well.”
