Brandon has just graduated from university as a primary school teacher. As he travels to his first teaching post, he wonders what he’s got himself into. From the airplane, the tiny town of Gunnanilla looks no bigger than a cattle station. And when he lands, he steps into heat such as he has never encountered before. Sweating and feeling faint from the extreme temperature, he meets his new boss Mark Petersen, the racist principal of the only school for miles around. Then he meets the school’s other teacher, Mark’s wife Trina, and the students, most of whom are Australian Aborigines. Life in the small town is no picnic. In the summer, the heat is unrelenting. In the wet season, the town is cut off from the outside world and all deliveries are brought to a halt. There is only one television channel. To top it all off, there are any number of poisonous creatures around, such as snakes, scorpions, and spiders. How’s a poor city boy like Brandon, who’s interested in fashion, music, and clubbing and none too confident with his sexuality, going to cope? Enter the handsome, rough-around-the-edges miner, Frank. When Mark warns Brandon that Frank is gay, it seems this town might finally have something to keep him entertained. But how can he meet Frank without drawing attention to his own sexuality? How can anything possibly happen between them in such rough, tough, and macho surroundings?

Desert Country

“Hope I’m not disturbing you,” he said, flashing a killer smile.


“No,” said Brandon, lying. “Nope. Not disturbing me.”


Frank raised the hand holding the six-pack. “Can I come in?”


Brandon stepped aside, pulling the door open wider. “Of course. Shit. Sorry. Come in.”


Frank twisted two cans of beer from their plastic rings and, without asking, put the remaining four cans in the empty bar fridge.


Brandon went over and shuffled the various pieces of paper into a small, untidy pile. “Nothing. Nothing. Just some work I have to finish.” He turned to face Frank. “But not today. Not now.”


Frank laughed, his chocolate brown eyes sparkling, even in the dim light.


“So tell me about yourself,” said Frank, taking the liberty of sitting on Brandon’s bed, since the only chair in the room was at Brandon’s desk.


Chapter 7