"Zanzibar! Hurry up, block that gap or they're going to get loose!" I can hear my dad's voice loud and clear across the mob of sheep that we are currently chasing, he urges me on impatiently to keep the mob together and tight. For some reason or another I was 'wool gathering' again like always and noticed that a few ewes had already slipped through the gap.

Cursing loudly I hurried my horse towards the escaping ewes, I knew I couldn't rush my horse too quickly as we were chasing the mob over uneven ground and it was easy to loose your footing, not to mention the hot sun that was beating down over the mob and everyone that was involved in the mustering.

By the time I had closed the gap and waved my arms a little to scare the sheep away from escape a total of five ewes had gone their separate way, luckily for me there were floaters on the edge of our crew who's job it was to go and muster in the escapees.

If you haven't figured things out yet, my name is Zanzibar Wilson. Stupid name, I know but the station I live on is Zanzibar Down, I'm named after the station thought I always tell people that the station is named after me. It makes my name sound a little bit cooler either way, but there is usually no escaping the jokes once I'm introduced to new people.

I guess that's really what has my mind distracted, in a few days I finally meet the woman my dad married. I say meet because I've never actually seen her, see my dad went away on vacation for a while and left all of his children at home with out grandmother...our mum's mum. When he came home a few months later he declared that he had met and married a woman and that she and her five kids would be moving down here, to Zanzibar Downs, located in the remote wilderness of Australia within a few months.

And that was all he said, he didn't give us anything else to go on, other than there was a girl around my age and that two of the womans children were twins. Dad demanded that we treat her with respect and respect her kids too, my older brother Beckett and I were old enough to know that our dad was excited but it was our youngest sister Marlis that didn't understand anything.

She was only five and would be the youngest kid out of all eight of us, it made Beckett and I worry how she would handle having more siblings and if she would be ignored by the woman and her kids. It also made us a little skeptical that the woman had married our dad for love, maybe she needed stability and normalcy that she suspected was in my dad. It was, he was a dependable guy, always did what he said he would do, always said yes when people were in trouble.

That was the other reason why Beckett and I thought this was all a mistake, our dad liked to help people in trouble. So maybe he thought Katherine and her kids were in trouble or something, I mean a single mum raising five kids and attempting to work two jobs at the same time was a little ludicrous.

"Zanzibar! Pull your head out and pay attention!" I was pulled from my thoughts when Beckett yelled at me this time, he was behind me and threw something at my horse which made her startle and almost lose her footing. I turned in my saddle to give Beckett the finger before pushing my horse further along so stop the ewes from escaping.

By the time we reached the stock yards I was dusty, my horse was tired and I was grumpy at both Beckett and my dad.

"Yo, what's your problem? You've been distracted all day, giving other people more work to do. Can you at least focus while we drench and sort the ewes?" Nodding my head I climbed down off my horse, gave her a few pats before leading her to the water and barn. She had done a lot more than she needed to today and I was thankful that she managed to stay on her feet the time Beckett spooked her.

"Ouch, what was that for?" I heard the slap and looked back to see my dad standing next to Beckett who was now rubbing his head.

"For spooking your sisters horse, she could have fallen and gotten squashed. You want her to be injured? If she were injured that'd be double or even triple work for you." Beckett looked ashamed, I continued on towards the barn to cool my horse down before we really got into doing the work.

It was late to be shearing sheep but we had moved late this year, dad was hoping the weather would stay cool so that the sheep could stay out longer and their wool could grow a little thicker. But since the weather had been heating a little the plan had changed and now they were being brought in, it was hard work and we would have to ride out again tomorrow to bring in the last mob of sheep that another gang was mustering today.

The shearers would probably start showing up tonight some time, hopefully by that time we had checked over all the ewes, last years lambs and the rams. Feet needed checking, drenching needed doing and wool needed removing. Once all that was done then the ewes would be put with the appropriate rams and mating would begin.

Somewhere in that time line our new family members were going to show up and we had to be respectful and dressed tidily when they did finally arrive.I thought it was going to be a nightmare, Beckett and I would be rushing around to get ready and would either show up in our work clothes or be half dressed.

The day came that Katherine and her kids were to show up, they were driving in from town, which was a four hour drive away and would meet dad somewhere up the line before coming onto the station. See, the station was isolated and the 'driveway' had a few soft spots that were easy to bog a car in if you didn't know where to drive. Not to mention there were a few river crossings before you actually did make it out to the station gate, I don't think Katherine was going to enjoy the ride out and it would give everyone else a good idea of how isolated we were.

All of our supplies were trucked in before the wet season rolled around because once it started raining out here it didn't let up for a couple weeks. By then the rivers were usually swollen and dirty, the only way out by that time was by chopper but because it was expensive to run dad rarely ever used it.

I shook my head, trying to clear the memory of the last time the chopper had been used. It was a sad day and partially why dad had decided to remarry, good for him but I was still iffy about Katherine. I guess time would tell if she was actually genuine about loving my dad and wanting to live out on a station.

"Zibby! I swear, if you're day dreaming again I'm going to ram my foot so far up your *ss my toes will come out your throat!" Again, Beckett's yelling broke through my thoughts and I startled a little, falling off the fence I had been sitting on.

"Shut up d*ckhead and do your job! You're pushing those sheep through so slow I've got nothing to do!" That wasn't true, there was a nice flow of sheep coming through the shoot but I wanted to drench them today. Apparently Beckett had other ideas, he wanted to be in the sheep pen as it meant when dad and Katherine actually showed up I'd be the one to meet them first and he could take his sweet time moving around the sheep to the lady.

"Ya kids gotta get back to the house, your old man just pulled up and sent me down to take over." Ha! There went Beckett's brilliant plan, but that meant we were still in our work clothes so would be meeting everyone in our dirty work clothes. Well, I mean Beckett was dirty, I was relatively clean with a smudge here and there on my blue shirt.

My jeans had a few too many holes in them but I liked them that way, they always felt like they added a bit of character. My boots, I guess they were cowboy boots but they had a more rounded toe. I think my feet were nearly ready to wear through the bottom but the thought of getting new boots was kind of off putting because I would have to wear them in all over again.

"Marlis! Get back here right now!" I could hear my dad yelling from all the way up at the house, Beckett and I groaned. If he was yelling out for Marlis it meant one thing, that she was heading this way as fast as a five year old could run.

Just when I hopped down from the rails Marlis did come running around the corner, her face screwed up in an ugly cry.

"Jeez Marlis, what'd you do this time?" I heard Beckett say, she ignored him and flung herself at me all the while sobbing a little harder as she wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.

"Daddy brought her here, I don't like them. They talk too loud and don't listen to me when I talk." Sighing loudly I motioned for Beckett to hurry up out of the pen, I didn't want to walk back up to the house alone with a five year old glued to me. I was nervous enough as it was and didn't need my nerves sky rocketing for no reason.

"Catch ya later Charlie, we'll be back in a bit I'd say." Beckett handed over the spray pack to Charlie as we headed back up to the house. Beckett was dressed in his usual, jeans and a work shirt, his boots were similar to mine and it was a reminder of what we'd lost really but neither one of us wanted to get rid of them, no matter how worn they got.

When we arrived at the house Marlis had quietened down a little bit and was now sniffling, the sound so close to my ear was gross and I really wanted to put her down but she wouldn't let go. She was determined to stay stuck to me, so I guess I really had no choice in the matter.

"Ah, you found her. Come here Marlis and apologize to Katherine." Marlis ignored our dad, who looked like he was trying to keep his cool. Honestly, he never had been a very loving parent...I mean he loved us unconditionally but he struggled to show his softer side half the time and the softer side was always left up to our mum to show. Which she did, she always showed enough love that we never questioned why dad never showed his.

It wasn't until we were older that we realized that dad had trouble showing emotions, how our mum put up with that was a mystery to me but she had loved him too and he had loved her in his own way.

"Marlis, I'm not going to repeat myself again." This was just a great old introductory to the new family. They were all standing there awkwardly with dad while Beckett, Marlis and I stood on the opposite side of the lounge probably looking all bedraggled and dirty while they all looked spotless and clean.

Again Marlis ignored him, I let go of her and shrugged to let everyone know that I wasn't the one holding her there.

A few snigger's from the kids that Katherine had brought along turned into outright laughter, I didn't get what was so funny but apparently they all did. Dad even cracked a smile, the tension in his posture and face disappeared as he walked towards us.

Bending his head he stood right next to me, his mouth next to Marlis' ear. "Pretty please Marlis, will you apologize for me? I'm sorry I yelled at you but I wanted you to meet your new mummy." Well, no wonder why Marlis had run off. Dad saying that Katherine was our new mum might have been too soon for Marlis, she had been gone only two years after all and we all remembered her clearly.

"She's not my mummy, my mummy died and went to heaven. I want my mummy, not her." Dad's expression turned sad and grim at that, thank god neither of them had been speaking loudly so I was sure Katherine and her kids hadn't heard any of that but Beckett, dad and I had heard it loud and clearly and we were all just a little bit more sad than we were before.

"It's nice to finally meet you all, your daddy spoke a lot about you. I feel like we already know each other already." There was a retort on the tip of my tongue but I remembered the warning, that dad wanted us to respect her, that it would shame him if we did anything but that.

The rebel in me died a little more as I swore myself to silence and smiled instead.

"It's nice to meet you." I didn't know what to call her, I wasn't calling her mum, Mrs. Gifford she no longer was and it would be weird to call her Mrs. Wilson. So I left it open, calling her Katherine would probably earn me a clip around the ears as my dad always saw it as being smart that you call someone by their given name without them inviting you to do so.

"These are my children, Brinlee is the eldest, MacKenzie is next, then Alexia and lastly Hunter and Deacon." Each of the kids looked like they were ready to drop dead asleep on the floor and Katherine looked equally as tired. I guess they had traveled a long way and were ready to sleep for a couple hours or days, it didn't look like dad had gotten the hint so I felt it was my turn to step up.

"It's nice to meet everyone, did dad show you rooms to sleep in? I bet you're all tired, dad is it okay if I show everyone where they can sleep? Beckett, you can take the boys and I'll take the girls." People might think it weird that my older brother let me boss him around, but that was how we worked. I bossed him around when I needed to and he would do the same to me, Marlis did the same to both of us but we never bossed her around.

"Sure, come on Katherine I'll show you to our room." Ew, even though I knew they were going to be sharing a room and bed the idea of another woman occupying my mum's spot was gross.

"So Alexia, you'll be sharing a room with Marlis and Brinlee you'll be sharing a room with me. MacKenzie will in Beckett's room and the twins get their own." None of the kids looked impressed at all and neither did Katherine, but what were they expecting? It wasn't like we could magically extend the house to fit in four extra rooms.

"We had our own rooms in America," Brinlee mentioned as I began showing them were Marlis' and my rooms were. I bit the inside of my cheek, she sounded like a rich city snob and I hated those kinds of people, always showing off about what they had and what we didn't have.

"If you want your own room the workers quarters aren't that far away from the main house." I tried to make it sound like a joke but Brinlee didn't find it funny.

"Okay, Marlis it's time to get off. You're heavy and I gotta go back to work after this so get off, show Alexia where she is going to sleep and you better not fight or I'll boot your bottom, got it?" Booting her bottom was always just a threat, I never followed through with it and neither did our mum, she never could discipline us so it was left to our dad.

"Come on Brinlee, my rooms over here." I showed her to my room...well I guess now it was our room. The side of the room that I picked had all of my stuff crammed into it, my drawers, bed and desk as well as floor rugs and posters. I had to throw out a lot of stuff just so Brinlee could have room to put all of her junk, I hadn't liked choosing which books to keep and which to throw away.

"That's your side and we both share the wardrobe down the end there, dad said to let you know that I can drive you into town when you want to go and get stuff. For now you just have a bed and drawers but we can get a desk and book shelf too while we're out there. Or whatever else you want or need." I don't think dad realized how expensive it was to keep a teenage daughter, I wasn't a typical teen girl as I had worked for a while now.

But I think Brinlee was a whole other story.

"Can I paint the room pink? Or purple? Why is the house white?" God, I could see myself sleeping out in the workers quarters if Brinlee spoke that loudly all the time and why was she asking stupid questions? Wasn't it obvious why the house was white? Had she not been standing outside a few minutes ago? Sure, today wasn't the hottest it could get but it was still pretty warm.

"You can't paint the room, it's white to keep it cool. It gets really hot here and the last thing I want to look at is puke colored walls." I don't know why so many girls and women liked the colour pink, if they saw what came in shades of pink I think it would put them off for a long while.

"Well that's just stupid." Brinlee muttered as she dragged her bag over to her bed. I was glad to see that it was small, maybe she didn't bring a whole lot of stuff so wouldn't need a whole lot of space. Though, I knew I was talking stupid to myself. Girls, especially the girly kind never traveled light so left her there to unpack while I went back out into the lounge.

Beckett was already standing there looking frustrated as hell, he looked how I felt really so we didn't need to say anything.

I was tempted to sneak back down to the sheds to work, those sheep weren't going to drench themselves or sort their own feet out. Work seemed like a lot better a place than the house right about now, I think I...

"Go get their bags in, the truck is packed to the brim so be careful when you move things around." There went my plan, Beckett and I didn't need to be told twice or even three times to go and do something. Because it was outside, away from the American's I was glad to do it and Beckett seemed glad as well.

"Linda wants to come over and meet them, I told her hell no." I laughed, Beckett had been putting off introducing his long term girlfriend to dad and now she wanted to meet Katherine? It was hilarious, he had met her parents and went over there a lot when he wasn't working so I don't know why he didn't want to introduce her to our family.

"Why don't you let her come over? Seriously, I've met her and she seems normal. It's not like she's a raging hippy like her parents, she actually likes living in one place and even got herself a job on the neighbors property just so she could stick around with you. Come on Beckett, that girl has marriage written all over her." Beckett winced at the 'M' word, so that was it was it?

"Don't even joke about that stuff, once she meets dad she'll want to start staying over and play with the kids and all that sort of stuff and I don't know if I can handle that yet." Fair enough, Beckett seemed to have a lot on his plate lately. Like he wanted to branch out of the station work, he was looking for jobs in town and places to live but if you didn't want to do station work then there was always the mines, offices or pubs and I think that's what scared him. Working inside wasn't something Beckett loved doing, he liked to run around all day outside, working and enjoying nature.

"Fine, but when sh*t blows up in your face I'll tell you I told you so. Jeez, what'd they pack all that for?" Dad wasn't joking when he said the truck was fulled to the brim, it was full and overflowing! There were suitcases upon suitcase of stuff, they must have shipped it in because it would have cost a fortune to travel with all of it, even if they were a family of six.

"Sh*t, well we better get moving. Dad wanted those sheep done by days end and we weren't even half way through, thanks to your day dreaming." I hit Beckett in the arm when he said that, it was always my fault if we fell behind but really it never was my fault.

We took our time unpacking the truck, in total there were six large suitcases, a few cardboard boxes, a couple of bags, some pillows and blankets too. "Far out, did they think we were poor or something. I've never seen so much kit for one family." Neither had I, except this family was staying for good. We headed the bags inside before taking off back down to the sheds to carry on working.

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So a new story! I should be finishing up the others...I am working through their remaining chapters but I really just wanted to write another story like this!

What do you think so far? I think my favourite character is Marlis :D

I hope you all enjoy.