by Tania Joyce
Troy grinned and kicked his boot into the dirt. It was a typical morning catch-up with Nick, running through everything going on around the vineyard. “I’ll meet you in the lab about three-thirty after spraying today. If it doesn’t rain too much, we’ll be right in four to five weeks to harvest.”
“Excellent. We also need to get together and discuss the final expansion plans and implementation strategies. Harvest will be over before we know it. I’ll send you a message later on today with a suitable time to catch up. Might have to wait until early next week for that.”
“Fine with me. I went through everything again last night. I’m really happy with it. Even have room to accommodate some new trellises.”
“Sounds good. I gotta get going so I’ll leave you to it. Have a good day, you sly ’ol dog. Good to see you getting some action at last. At least one of us is. Maria’s always too tired these days.” Nick chuckled as he turned around and headed back over to the office.
Troy watched Nick depart and caught sight of several couples on their holiday stay weave their way along the pathways from their cabins toward the restaurant to have breakfast. He caught the faint smell of bacon wafting in the breeze, which made his tummy grumble. He, too, had better grab some food before heading out to spray.
“Hey. What’s that for?” Mustang, the old well-loved quarter horse popped his head over the railing and nudged him in the arm for his morning ear rub. He grinned as he scratched the horse behind the ears. Mustang pushed his neck harder against Troy’s hand; closed his eyes and twitched his ears in delight. “You know I give good massages, don’t you?”
Not too much of that went on last night when he was with Kelleigh, but he was sure he’d touched every inch of her skin. The majority of it with his mouth. He inhaled deeply, still smelling her scent upon his skin and clothing. It had been a great night, but the fun was over. He sighed as he picked up the grain bucket and headed back into the barn. Time to face the day. That spraying wouldn’t get done on its own.
Chapter 7
Late on Friday afternoon, Troy stood on the veranda of his cottage and watched the trickle of weekend guests arriving. The icy-cold beer in his hand was quenching his thirst after a hot hard day’s work out in the field. As he finished off the last mouthful, Conner’s silver Audi made its way up the driveway and parked in front of his home.
Even though it had been two and a half years since finding out he had a grown son, some days laying eyes on Conner still felt like the very first time Jessica brought him out to Gumtrees. He’d never be able to make up for all the years he was absent, but swore to himself he wouldn’t miss another day in his son’s life. Progress was slow, but at least they had become friends.
Conner stepped out of the car and waved in his direction. Board shorts, surf shirt and flip-flops made Conner look like he was going to the seaside for the weekend, not to work in the vineyard. He grabbed his bag and a case of beer from the rear seat of the car before taking the steps up into the cottage.
“S’up,” Conner said as he placed the beer onto the small kitchen table and dropped his bag onto the ground. Troy gave him a manly hug hello and patted him on the back.
“What have you been doing today? You stink like a chemical spill.” Conner waved his hand in front of his screwed-up nose.
“Probably do. I’ve been spraying all day so I’d better go and take a shower. Wanna beer while I go and clean up? There’s cold ones in the fridge.”
“Hell yeah.” Conner helped himself to the fridge and restocked it with the beer he’d bought.
After a refreshing cold shower to rid himself of the spray and dirt, Troy walked out of the bathroom to find Conner had well and truly made himself comfortable. There he was, lazing on the blue couch with his feet resting up on the coffee table, watching the start of the evening innings of the day/night cricket match.
“What’s for dinner?” Conner asked as he stood up and grabbed himself and Troy another beer from the fridge.
“I thought you’d bring up something?”
“Nope. Totally forgot.”
“Well then, it’s leftovers. There’s a casserole I made the other night I can reheat. The restaurant is booked out tonight, so we’ll leave the kitchen staff in peace.”
“Whatever. As long as I don’t have to cook, it’s fine with me.”
Troy busied himself in the kitchen, surprised when Conner pitched in to help. He set the small table with plates and cutlery, even toasted and buttered some bread.
“No Becky with you this weekend?” Troy asked Conner about his long-term girlfriend. Troy’s heart lurched in his chest when Conner squeezed his eyes shut tightly and looked away. “What’s happened?”
“We broke up … well … actually … she dumped me.” Conner sculled his beer and grabbed another before flopping down on the chair at the table.
“What? Why?” he asked, placing a plate of hot food in front of his son.
The shrug. The grunt. The uncomfortable shuffle. That damn flick of the long fringe that hung over his eyes. “It’s been brewing for a long time. When I went and stayed with Mum in London for two months in June, that was the start of our problems. I mean, the sex was still great, but we’d grown apart. Still sucks though. We’d been together for four years.”
“Sorry to hear that. She was a nice girl. Oh, well, there are plenty of young single ladies out there. You’re a good-looking, decent young man; I don’t think you’ll have any issue of meeting someone new when the timing’s right.”
Conner rolled his eyes as he chewed on a mouthful of food. “What, you’re now an expert on dating. When was the last time you went out with someone?”
Troy couldn’t restrain the smile that crept across his face as he took a bite of his dinner.
“What’s that? What’s that goofy grin on your face?” Conner waved his fork in his direction. “There’s something different about you. Oh no, did you inflict yourself on to some poor woman? That’s so gross.”
Troy tried not to choke on his mouthful of food at his son’s observations. He felt his cheeks burning and he didn’t think it was from the hot plate of dinner before him. Every time he was with Conner, somehow the kid managed to embarrass him.
“Okay. We’re both adults so I won’t deny it.” Troy took a swig of his beer. “I had a pleasant evening with a lady I met the other night. Let’s just say I still know how to ride the ol’ horse, if you get my drift.” He winked.
“Ew!” Conner turned up his nose. “But it’s about time. You haven’t been with anyone since Mum left.”
“You know your mother and I never got back together, no matter how much I tried.’
“Yeah, but you were hung up on her for ages.”
“Maybe. Maybe we’re all only supposed to have that one great love in our life. If that’s the case, I had Nicola.”
“But she was a nut job.”
A stab of pain struck the center of his chest. Ouch! “Come on now. Most of the times we had together were good. She was adventurous, fun-loving and had a great, quirky sense of humor. But, yes, once the bad days started, they gradually grew worse. It never changed how much I loved her.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“I know you didn’t.” It didn’t help the ache in his heart subside quickly though. “Did you love Becky?”
“I guess I did, but it wasn’t rock-your-world shit like you described with Nicola. We were just good mates.”
“Well then, there’s hope for you yet. Me … I may have used up all my credit.”
“So, what? You’re not seeing the chick from the other night again?”
“Doubt it. She’s only in town for a few weeks on a job before she heads back to Melbourne.” He tried hard not to think about Kelleigh and the weird feeling inside him that hadn’t subsided. Surely it would disappear soon. “Well, that’s enough about our dismal love lives for now. Tomorrow I need to fix a fence, would you like to help me out?”
“Sure. Whate
ver. I’ll do the dishes later, but right now can we watch the cricket?”
“Sure.” With that, they both stood and headed for the couch.
***
“How’s the job hunting going?” Troy asked Conner while unraveling the fencing wire off the roll.
“It sucks.” Conner grunted as he threaded the length of barbed wire through the pole and attached the fence strainer to it. “I’ve been out of uni. for nearly twelve months and haven’t found anything.”
“What’s next then? Are you going back to do more study? What about doing your Masters? Any ideas?” Troy asked while cutting the wire.
“I don’t know. Working at Pepe’s Pizza is okay for now, but it’s not my choice of career. There’s no jobs in architecture anywhere. Stupid degree. Should have studied something else. I’ve applied for jobs all over the country but nothing’s come up.”
“What about your mother? She got any contacts?”
Conner shook his head. “Nah. I’m going to help her out at the Wine Trade Festival in a couple of weeks. I don’t mind doing the odd event with her to earn some money, but it’s not my thing. She’s offered me full-time work at Kick and even Nate said I could work at the hotel in Darling Harbour if I wanted to, but I haven’t said anything either way. I’m not sure I want to be in hospitality either. I’ve hated having to move back home because I can’t afford rent on my part-time wage. Guess I’m lucky Mum’s hardly ever at home.”
“Can I throw something into the mix for you to think about?” Troy inhaled deeply, humbled by the fact that he was in a position where he could help his son. “You’ve been so determined about finding work I didn’t want to interfere, but why don’t you consider coming to work out here? There’s plenty of opportunity. There’s everything from the viticulture side of things, to winemaking, to production and maintenance to working in the restaurant, sales or administration. Pay’s nothing like the big city, but it’s there for the taking.”
“Really?” Conner stopped and looked up from attaching the next wire into place. The glimmer in his son’s eyes made Troy’s heart feel full within his chest. He’d do anything for Conner. Having him out here working by his side would mean so much. Give him the chance to get to know him after so much time lost. “Can I think about it?” Conner looked lost in thought as he looked out across the vineyard before him.
“Sure. Harvest starts in a few weeks. Could use the extra hands if you’re keen.”
“I could be. I’ll let you know.” Conner adjusted his leather work-gloves on his hands before he strained the wire tight and wrapped the ends around the strand to secure it into place. “Let’s get this damn fence finished.”
Chapter 8
Kelleigh sipped on coffee in her room and went through the long list of emails early on Monday morning. Rolls of maps, printouts of project requirements and notes littered the desk. She’d spent all of last week at meetings in nearby Maitland and Cessnock and finalizing the requirements for her feasibility studies. All weekend she’d plotted out on her maps where to conduct the soil and water tests on Larry’s place. With having to oversee the team out on-site as well as coordinate the other contractors, she didn’t know where she was going to find the time to get everything done.
Her phone rang loudly. Sifting around under the pile of papers she finally found it. She didn’t recognize the caller ID, but it appeared to be a local number. Maybe it was Troy from the other night? How would he know her number? She swiped the screen to answer, holding her breath waiting to hear the voice.
“Hello Miss Johnstone, it’s Dennis.”
She sighed with disappointment. “Hey Dennis. Thanks again for helping me last week. So what’s the verdict on my car?” She braced herself for the damage bill.
“I’m sorry it took so long but the assessor has been away on holidays. But after his review on Friday, unfortunately I don’t have any good news. After going over your car we’ve both agreed there is too much damage underneath it—to the fuel line, axle, chassis, etcetera—we’ve decided it would cost too much to fix. The car has to be written off.”
“What? Written off? But … but it’s the only thing I own.” Kelleigh rubbed at her eyes with her fingertips. Dennis’s words rang in her ears. No transport. How the hell was she supposed to get around now?
“I truly am sorry. I’m out that way later on today so I can drop the paperwork in to start the full insurance claim. You’re lucky you had insurance.”
True. It was somewhat amazing that Rodrigo had used her money to actually pay a bill and not spent it all on going to some ritzy nightclub. The bank, if nothing else, would be happy with a repayment toward her debt. “How long does that take to process? And what’s my car worth?” Numbness washed over her, but she had to think of the positives. She was going to sell the damn thing anyway.
“Er … Miss. … do you know anything about cars?”
“No, not really. My ex-boyfriend bought it brand new for me, about four years ago.”
“Well, its logbook has never been completed so we can’t verify if it’s been serviced by an authorized repairer. Whoever did maintenance on it hasn’t used genuine parts. And for a city car, the poor thing has done a lot of miles.”
Kelleigh could feel her blood boil and she gritted her teeth together. Damn Rodrigo. He’d spend a thousand dollars on going out and having a good time, but not spend the money on servicing her car properly. What kind of man was he? He said he’d take care of everything. Yeah right! Her car obviously was not a priority. Neither was she, for that matter.
“What’s the insurance going to pay out on it?”
“Twenty thousand.”
“What? It’s a freaking Mini Cooper. I was expecting more like thirty thousand.”
“Miss Johnstone, I’m sorry. But with the damage and poor maintenance on the car, there’s no way you’re going to get any more than that. You’re entitled to a second evaluation, of course, but in my experience you’d be wasting your time.”
So much for getting out and about to see the sights of the Hunter Valley, or venturing to Sydney and Newcastle on the weekends. She couldn’t do that in the company’s hired Landcruiser, thanks to their strict policy on vehicle usage. She was stuck here in the middle of nowhere for three more weeks.
Ending the call with Dennis, she glared at her phone, wanting to crush it within her clenched fist and throw the remains against the wall, but instead she left it on the desk and opted for cursing, swearing and thrashing a cushion against the couch to vent some steam. Picturing Rodrigo’s face as she slammed the pillow about made her feel better. There’d be no more keeping her frustrations locked up inside.
After her little outburst, she placed the cushion neatly back on the couch, flicked her hair out of her face and tied it back into place with a band. Calmly she walked over to the kitchenette and made a fresh cup of coffee in the Nespresso machine. Thank goodness for decent coffee, none of that instant crap. The deep, rich aroma and long sip placated her as she resumed her seat at the desk. Yes … all better. Kelleigh had opened up the planning schedule on her laptop when her cell phone rang again. She grabbed it and rolled her eyes when she noted the caller ID. There may be more cushion bashing in a minute or two.
“Hi Kel, it’s Toru. Settling in all right?” She rubbed the center of her forehead as she concentrated to understand his strong Asian accent. Toru Kei, five years her junior and her boss, seemed as useless as tits on a bull. He was the “yes” man, and she was quite convinced his sole purpose in his role was to suck up to the senior executives in Japan. Ever since she started working on this project, she’d already tried to pull him up on several things that were not technically possible in the designs for the resort. But he brushed her off with no regard to her input and assured her everything would be okay. His lack of engineering knowledge worried her and her stress levels, the headache-inducing kind, escalated every time the man was near.
“Yeah. All settled. I’ve met with Larry and the contractors. All syste
ms are in place for us to start setting up this afternoon when the boys arrive with the drilling truck. Larry’s also given us permission to leave the heavy equipment on-site.”
“Excellent. You’ve done well.” She heard him clear his throat loudly. That was never a good sign with him. “I fly up there first thing tomorrow morning. I’ve arranged meetings to discuss our project with some people and I’d like you to come with me so you can help outline the schedule. Our first meeting is tomorrow morning at eleven. Get the boys together and I’ll take you all out to dinner tomorrow night. Okay? Yes?”
“I didn’t know you planned on coming up so soon.”
“I fly into Newcastle, then drive to Pokolbin. I will pick you up from your hotel. I will be there about ten-thirty. Okay, yes?”
“Is there anything I need to know for the meetings?”
“We have some exciting new developments. Yes.”
Calling him the “yes” man was certainly apt, and she tried not to laugh. “What new developments have there been?”
“There is nothing for you to be concerned about.”
“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She ended the call and replayed their conversation through her mind. She chewed on a broken fingernail as she stared at the laptop screen in front of her. For Toru to be heading up here earlier than expected there must be something major brewing. But what? He said don’t worry, which of course now had her concocting up all sorts of scenarios. What developments could there be?
She grumbled as she noted the time on her watch. The morning was slipping away. When she’d met with Larry last week he hadn’t been well, so this morning at breakfast she’d arranged with Grace to do up some soup and goodies for her to take out to him for lunch. He’d been so nice and helpful as she’d gone through all the legal documentation with him for approving access to his farm to run all the site tests and survey the land. Taking him a nice healthy meal, which he looked in desperate need of, was the least she could do before her team arrived.