I got a name

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"I'm sorry," Jamie said when he saw Rip stand at the window in their dining area, clutching Paul's sketchbooks to his chest. Rip looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"He didn't even say goodbye," Rip said.

"I'm sorry," Jamie said again.

When Rip had come downstairs the next morning, he'd found the house deserted, which wasn't unusual for this time of the morning. The men would have long been outside at work. What was unusual however was that despite being in Robert's bad books, he had let him sleep in.

As he debated whether he should seek him out or have breakfast first Rip noticed Paul's sketchbook lying on the long dining table. He knew it well. It contained all the pictures he had drawn for Rip for his tattoo. As he picked it up, he noticed another book beneath it, much older looking, tattered and frayed at the edges, it's cover stained from years of use. He had never been shown it before. The drawings told stories from times long gone, pictures of his nana as a young woman and his mother at various stages of her childhood and adolescence; drawings of their farm, the river and their animals and people that Rip had never met. On the last pages there were some more recent drawings of him and Nicky, with their mother and nana, pictures his grandfather drew from the photographs that Rip kept in his cigar box under his mattress and had shown Paul only once. And then there were some more of the uncle and his sons, Chip and Thunder, Barney sitting on the fence of the arena watching Rip ride, Frank digging. He went to the window but already knew that Paul's van would no longer be out there. He had always said that he wouldn't say goodbye.

"Where's Papa?" Rip asked Jamie quietly who had just come in and whose hand was already holding the handle to the door to Mr Dutton's study. "He's in here I think, Rip, but Robert is looking for you outside, he wants you to go checking fences with him. Jacob's here as well," Jamie replied.

"Checking Fences, huh? That bad?" Rip asked sombrely, biting his lip. Checking Fences was synonym with staying out of the old man's way.

"Yeah, well, I have only spoke to him briefly on the phone this morning, but he's a bit upset about Paul leaving so abruptly as you can imagine," Jamie said, "you know what he is like."

Rip nodded. 'And I am not?' he thought to himself. "And you? Are you not better off checking fences as well?" Rip asked with a shy smile.

Jamie smiled back and lifted his hand in which he held his briefcase and several unopened letters at the same time. "I've been ordered to mend some different kind of fences this morning, but I am afraid they don't take me out of harm's way but rather put me into the firing line," he said with a hearty laugh.

Rip grinned. Obviously, Jamie didn't seem too bothered. The old man often accused Jamie of being a coward, because he carefully weighed up every decision he ever made and never rushed into anything, always choosing the safest option and avoiding unnecessary risks whenever possible. Until last night, Rip would have agreed with the old man, but what he had overheard Paul say about him had made him look at Jamie in a different light. When it counts the man had guts and was well able to take risks, doing what he thought was right and not just self-serving either.

Rip put the sketchpads back onto the table to go outside, and Jamie turned and opened the door to the study.

"Oh good! There you are," his uncle's thundering voice came from inside, "I've got a bone to pick with you boy!" Mr Dutton told his adult son in an accusatory tone.

Rip knew what bone that was and felt responsible. Instead of going straight out to Robert he stood in front of the now closed door to the study, trying to listen in on their conversation and debating whether he should go in or not and whether his confession would distract his uncle enough from Jamie's transgression that had Rip feel indebted to him to such an extent that he had no idea how he could ever repay him. He couldn't make out what exactly his uncle was saying but the tone was clear, he was letting Jamie have it. As he was still debating whether he was brave enough to go inside, Robert swung open the front door but did not come inside.

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