“Mothers. Most workers here were born and bred, so this is kind of a village in a way. Now, the area we need to check starts here,” he said, taking us down the path furthest away from the accommodations, where the land devolved into forest. He pulled up at the corner of a 20ft fence, covered in cyclone mesh and made from sturdy metal supports, and grabbed a clipboard from a saddlebag. “Basically, we go along the fence-line and make a sight check. There’s sensors on the wire so that if there’s a break, they pick it up early. What we’re looking for is signs of activity outside it.”
“What would want to break into a mine site?”
He shrugged, “What we dig up in there, its valuable, so there’s that. There’s also the dogs we keep roaming in there. Good for keeping intruders out, bad for being around little kids, if you catch my drift. We’re checking as much to make sure none of them are getting out, as keeping other things from getting in. Now if you find anything, you write it up in this report form and then file it with the fencers.”
Were they the guys I’d spied on yesterday? I imagined walking into their shed and submitting the reports, it probably would go as well as going to the mechanics on the first day. Fuck, I was never working in a male-dominated environment again. It was too damn embarrassing.
We walked and rode along the fence line for hours, Slade passing me a bottle of water and prompting me to drink at each interval. I was just filling in the form about some loose wire at one section, when Slade held up a hand to me. I looked up, curious as he bent down, staring into the mesh, then he gestured for me to come over slowly. I crept up to him, still getting a glare when I stepped on a twig with a snap. He crouched down and drew me with him, pointing at the wire.
It took me a while to see them, tawny coats blending in with the brown leaf litter and tree trunks, but I had to slap a hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp when I did. There they were, two huge dogs. Not the usual German Shepherds or Rottweilers, they looked a lot like Buddy, though with a pale grey and white coat and so much bigger. “They’re so beautiful,” I whispered. Slade glanced back at me, a lazy smile spreading across his face as he took in my expression.
“Check them out,” he hissed, and then gestured to our left. I looked hard and then fell back onto my heels. There, timidly clustered around a wide tree trunk was three puppies, each a dull brown colour with some dark ticking around the ears.
“Oh my god!” I squeaked. I regretted it instantly as the animals started and took off.
“You’ll see them again,” he said, and got to his feet, dusting dried grass off his pants. “C’mon, I know a nice place for lunch.” With the sun overhead, he headed for the forest, parking at the edge and pulling out a styrofoam Esky cooler, and then beckoning for me to follow him. Once past the first few trees the space opened up, and we could walk easily under a shady canopy. He gestured to a few logs which had fallen almost at right angles. He handed me a sandwich and another bottle of water and sat down, legs outstretched on the ground, his back against his log.
“This is nice, thanks,” I said.
“Not quite a picnic basket at Old Man Falls, but it’ll do,” he said with a wink.
“So, I’m guessing everyone knows about that by now.”
“You weren’t at mess, neither was Shaunie. People put two and two together. Then Dylan, who works in the kitchens, let the cat out of the bag.”
“Oh bugger, this is tuna. Here, you have it. I can’t eat it.”
“Seafood or eggs? Yeah, I know. I got them mixed up. Here you go, Princess, chicken salad.”
“OK, so you heard about that too.” I unwrapped the sandwich slowly, suddenly uncomfortable.
“Don’t start overthinking it,” Slade said. “Single blokes have got nothing much better than to gossip.”
“Yeah, but I don’t even know you, and you’re making custom sandwiches for me based on my dietary preferences.”
“And if one of the girls had done it, what would you say?”
“Thanks.”
“So, what’s the difference?”
“Well…”
“Well, what? It’s different because Nerida doesn’t want to fuck you? Don’t count on
that one, you should see her with a couple of drinks in her. Her and Stevie… Let’s just say I learned a whole new bag of tricks that night. Most single guys here are gonna try and get in your pants, that’s a simple fact. Thing is, what are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t have to do anything about it, according to Kelly.”
“That’s right, you don’t. But guys…” he reached into the cooler and pulled out some grapes, picking one off and digging his thumbnail into it and quickly pulling the skin off, before offering the green blob to me. “They’re gonna keep trying to find that currency, that tipping point which turns a no to a yes.”
“What’s that?” I asked, looking at his hand.
“A peeled grape. They’re always talking about them being the height of luxury in books and films.”
“It looks like snot.”
“Have a taste.”