INTRODUCTION
Ron Barr runs a trucking company in rural New South Wales, Australia, where his drivers like to race other trucks, drink till they drop and chase fast women when not too tired and they are still half sober.
They spend their money so quickly that Ron unilaterally decided to place half of their weekly pay into the bank account of their mothers, or if they live with a woman, into that female's bank account. The drivers consider they had no option but to sign consent forms because they knew what would happen to their job if they didn't cooperate.
As a result of that social engineering, Ron always has replacement drivers on a waiting list, many of the initial applications appearing to have been made in women's handwriting.
Ron had started out as a 17-year old in the trucking company owned in those days by his father. He didn't drink liquor but chased fast women and that's how he met Kathy whom he later married against his parents' wishes. They had picked out the Rev. Blake's daughter for him, thinking she'd tone Ron down.
Truckie Ron later entered management and eventually ownership of the firm knowing every trick in the book as well as some not yet known to run-of-the-road drivers and would sooner fire a driver gone bad than argue with him. If the guy wanted to fight to vent his anger on Ron he could try but probably would regret that decision.
A tough guy is Ron.
The years went by and Ron and Kathy (who turned out good) sent their kids to Sydney to university. Ben with a build and dark bushy eyebrows much like his father, completed an accounting degree and had been appointed general manager of his dad's business while blonde and deeply blue-eyed university graduate Cody had won a scholarship to the United States to complete her studies with a one-year accelerated MBA in Health Administration.
CHAPTER 1
Before heading to the Midwest to her university, sweet-smiling Cody stayed in LA for a week to have a good look around. On the day she headed out to shop in Rodeo Drive her motel room was broken into and her two travel bags and all her unpacked possessions were stolen.
She had to report the theft to the police to get a travel insurance payout. Motel management denied any responsibility although admitting their security surveillance system had been out of action for more than a month. Cody looked dangerously menacing when told about that so management added its own compensation to pay Cody off from going to the media.
Cody called home to report her loss and her dad answered the phone.
He listened. Cody could almost feel his rising anger.
"You come home right this minute, do you hear? I'm not having you alone in that den of antiquity called America."
"You mean den of iniquity dad."
He roared, "I know what I mean and so do you."
With years of practice, Kathy wrestled the phone from her husband and said patiently, "What's all this about dear?"
They discussed the issue and her mom said. "You're going through with this advance in your education and that's that."
She asked, "What was Rodeo Drive like?" and her frustrated husband went out to kick two or three palings off the fence surrounding the homestead.
"What do you suggest mom?"
"Move into a quality hotel and buy replacement stuff and keep all receipts for insurance purposes. Catch your plane on schedule and go to your university and stop thinking what had happened to you. What happened to you could happen to anyone in any city, perhaps even here in Australia. Um even here in Australia."
"Yes mom. How are the fowls laying?"
At the university Cody found she was sharing a room with a fairly shy and watchful young woman off a ranch who was studying for a health support qualification.
"I had been dubious about being paired with you," Sarah Carter smiled. "I was half-expecting a fat black young woman with a nude kid on her hip."
"Oh you have seen pictures of Australian Aboriginals? I guess I could have expected you would like a an Indian squaw."
Sarah laughed. "I'm ignorant aren't I? You look like one of us and sound much like a West Coaster."
"Yeah well wait till I say g'day or fish."
"What was that last word?"
They laughed.
Sarah pulled a jug of fruit juice from the fridge and poured two glasses.
"This is freshly squeezed. I regulate the intake of nasty stuff because I come off a ranch and am used to eating wholesome food."
"Oh god, you watch what you eat too. How wonderful."
Sarah looked pleased. "Our ranch is almost 8500 acres but it includes a mountain."
"Wow," Cody said politely.
"I think you have bigger ranches than that in Australia, even larger than ranches in Texas?"
"Well yes, but there are lots of people with only 100 acres or even less."
"Want to come for a swim? We have a wonderful sports complex here."
"I know. I've played the video many times and that was one of the reasons I competed for a scholarship here. I'm really big into health and sport and your MBA in health admin here is pretty top-notch and I didn't want to go to a big city university. This looks and feels my kind of place."
At the pool Sarah introduced Cody to three other girls and a couple of guys appeared from nowhere and asked to be introduced to the stranger.
"A scholarship from Australia eh?" said Burt. "Don't they have a university there?"
"They have several. I did my BA at Sydney University and it has more than 30,000 undergrads and 16,000 grad students."
The students around her appeared impressed.
"Then why come here?" Lauren asked.
"My home town has 9,200 people and that's big enough for me. I found Sydney was too big for my and I chose to apply for a scholarship to this university because it's a valuable scholarship and the university is located in a smaller state and it offers the educational opportunity I also required."
By the time she'd finished saying that no one was listening.
The guys watched the girls swim two lengths and then Al said, "Burt and I can see you have the style of a coached swimmer Cody. Come on, race us."
"I don't wish to show off."
"It's the American way," one of the girls said and Sarah said, "Go give it to them Cody."
Cody creamed them and Burt said as they dried off, "Cody would you mind if I tell Coach White about you?"
"She wrote me, having seen my performance times in my CV when the scholarship was awarded. I'm here on a swim scholarship."
"Omigod and you told me you are an elite long distance cyclist," Sarah said.
"Look guys could we please get off me. I'm only an Aussie."
"Only an Aussie," Al laughed. "And cute."
Cody dated Al for just over a month before she dumped him, finding he'd been with Annie the previous night. Annie took up to three guys at a time.
