‘That’s something at least. So you’ve come here to heal.’
The understanding and sympathy took her by surprise. ‘Yes.’
‘Our school community is small but very strong,’ she said. ‘I think you’ve come to the right place.’
‘Mrs Birdie, I’d like to make a clean start. I have the name of a counsellor in Kurrajong for us to see, and we will, but I’d like to keep my past private.’
‘Of course. Nothing you say to me will be repeated without your say-so, but Kate Armstrong will need to know some details in order to help the children.’
Antonia nodded. ‘I understand.’
‘Make sure to see Louise on your way out. There are some forms to fill in. Do they have any medical issues? Allergies and so on?’
‘No, they’re very healthy.’
‘Are they up to date with their inoculations?’
‘Yes. I have their records.’ The poor twins had received a number of jabs since their rescue, but exposure to other children after being isolated since birth meant they’d be wide open to any germs.
‘That all sounds perfect. Now Antonia, do you have any skills you can offer us at school?’
‘Skills?’
She laughed. ‘No need to be alarmed. We’re always on the lookout for things our parents can bring to the school in the way of knowledge. We don’t get the support city schools get in a lot of ways. Languages and music, for example. Can you speak a foreign language, sing or play an instrument?’
‘I can, as a matter of fact. I learned the flute all through high school and I took it up again last year.’
Mrs Birdie’s smile was of pure delight. ‘We have a piano teacher in town so some of our children go there for lessons after school. Would you be prepared to take on our recorder ensemble? Or perhaps offer flute lessons if anyone’s interested?’
‘I hadn’t thought of that … I could take on the recorders I suppose.’ Teach flute? Who would want to learn in this little town? But Mrs Birdie was so keen …
‘Wonderful. Anything else? A language, painting, sports coaching?’
‘No. Sorry.’
‘The music will be a wonderful start. The arts are so important. One of our town councillors comes in and takes the seniors for photography sessions during the year. They produce some amazing work.’
‘A councillor?’
‘Flynn, you must know him, he would have rented you the house.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Simon mentioned Flynn liked photography. ‘Simon is a good photographer.’
‘Really, I didn’t know that. I don’t know him very well, Rufus is the one who comes in and teaches the children about gardening. We have quite a thriving vegetable plot once the year gets underway. And we have hens.’
‘Goodness. It sounds very comprehensive.’
‘We try,’ she said. ‘Now, let’s go and meet Kate.’
‘Before we do can I ask you, please … I didn’t finish my last year at high school. Is it possible to enrol for my Higher School Certificate somewhere? Not right away; later in the year.’
‘Absolutely. I’ll look into it for you. There’s a TAFE in Kurrajong, but also online courses.’
***
Simon arrived that evening. He stood on the verandah with an overflowing box of vegetables at his feet and a shy smile on his face. He held a framed picture.
‘I just picked them,’ he said. ‘I thought you might not have much food in yet. And I brought you this as a house-warming gift.’
He turned the picture so she could see. One of his beautiful photographs, this one of a waterfall splashing down a fern-laden gully, cool and green.
‘Simon, it’s beautiful. Thank you. I love it.’
He shrugged. ‘I have plenty and there’s a whole national park full of subjects right next door.’
‘Thanks, that’s wonderful. Come in.’
He hefted the box and followed her to the kitchen where Jacob and Sarah were doing colouring-in at the table. They both stopped, pencils poised. ‘Hello,’ he said. ‘I brought you some lovely fresh veggies from my garden.’
Two pairs of eyes moved to the box.
‘Want to help me unpack it?’
Jacob nodded but Sarah stayed put.
Antonia lifted the photograph to show them. ‘Simon brought this for our house.’
The twins studied it, then Simon.
‘It’s pretty,’ said Sarah.
‘Did you take that picture?’ asked Jacob.
‘Yes.’
Antonia propped the photo carefully on the kitchen bench.
‘I’ll have to decide where to hang it,’ she said.
Should she invite him for dinner? She opened the fridge, which was empty save for milk, eggs, butter and a jar each of vegemite and strawberry jam, Sarah’s favourite. Enough to cover breakfast and scrambled eggs for dinner, in other words.
Simon had brought lettuce, celery, shallots, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, zucchini, carrots, lemons, parsley and a jar of honey. ‘It’s not much but it will get you started,’ he said.
‘Simon, it’s brilliant. I was going to make do with eggs and toast tonight but now I can add salad and do a frittata.’
He squatted with Jacob and together they transferred items to the fridge, handing Antonia the lemons and tomatoes to put on the bench.
‘I need a proper fruit bowl.’ She reached for a plastic container.
‘We should go to the markets in Kurrajong. They have all sorts of stalls, craft as well as food and produce. There’s a great chocolate and fudge maker who comes regularly.’
‘Can we, Mummy?’ Sarah piped up.
‘When is it?’
‘Second Sunday of the month, so the Sunday after this one.’
‘Sounds good.’
‘We went to school today,’ said Jacob.
‘Did you? What was it like?’
‘I like the playground things.’
‘The climbing frame? I always liked the monkey bars best but I wasn’t very good at them.’ Simon straightened and closed the fridge. ‘My best friend could swing across really fast. He was like a monkey. I could hang upside down by one leg though.’
‘Don’t try that, Jacob,’ said Antonia swiftly. Simon pulled a face at Jacob, who laughed. ‘I enrolled them. Mrs Birdie is very nice and so is the kindy teacher.’
‘Miss Arms,’ said Sarah and giggled.
‘Miss Armstrong.’ Antonia caught Simon’s eye and laughed. ‘Mrs Birdie asked me if I’d teach the recorder group because I told her I used to play the flute.’
‘Great. You’ll meet lots of people really quickly.’
‘I’ll have to ask Jax how to go about it. Lucky I’ve got her as a resource. Mrs Birdie said Rufus helps with the garden.’
‘Yes. They have chooks too. You should get some.’
‘I thought of that. We had them … before.’
‘I’ll come over and build a run. Jacob will help, won’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘A good strong one so foxes don’t get in.’
Jacob nodded with a serious expression. ‘You have to shoot bloody foxes,’ he said.
‘We don’t say bloody, Jakey,’ Antonia said. Would she be able to override that man’s influence? Simon’s gentleness would help. And school. Kate Armstrong wouldn’t be impressed by five-year-old swearing. ‘We had trouble with foxes before—but we won’t shoot them.’
‘No, we’ll just build a strong fence,’ Simon said. He picked up the empty vegetable box. ‘Would you like to stay and eat frittata with us?’ she asked. ‘Thanks, I’d love to. Do you need anything extra? I can take a run to the shop.’ ‘I can only offer tap water or milk, so if you’d like something else to drink you’ll have to get it. And more eggs, please. And a clove of garlic.’ Simon smiled. ‘I’ll be back in ten minutes.’ When he’d gone, Sarah said, ‘Is he coming back?’ ‘Yes. Is that okay?’ ‘I s’pose,’ she said. ‘He’s our daddy,’ said Jacob, as if that settled the matter. ‘Yes, h
e is but if he worries you he doesn’t have to stay.’ ‘We like him,’ said Jacob. Sarah nodded and resumed colouring. Five minutes later, someone knocked on the door. Simon must have forgotten something. Antonia went to open it, calling, ‘Come right in. You don’t need to knock.’ The door swung wide on Flynn. ‘Hello,’ he said. ‘I thought I should knock seeing as how it’s your house now.’
Chapter 7
She was obviously expecting someone. Simon? Who else would she greet that way? Her total surprise was better than annoyance, but pleasure would have been nice. Delight even better.
‘Hello,’ she said.
‘Hello. I came to see how you were settling in and to check everything was working okay. I brought this as a house-warming gift.’ He produced the bottle of wine he’d held half hidden by his side, chosen specially because she’d enjoyed it at Simon’s dinner.
‘Oh. You didn’t need to …’ She made no move to accept it.
‘I know but I did.’
She relented and took the bottle awkwardly. A pink flush appeared on her cheeks and she ducked her head. ‘I’m sorry. Thank you very much. That’s kind of you.’
‘It’s nothing. Have you got everything in place? Did the furniture van turn up?’
Was he babbling, trying to fill the awkward spaces with noise? He’d embarrassed her, and was busily embarrassing himself. Being uncomfortable was uncomfortable—unfamiliar and downright unpleasant.
‘Yes, right on time. We moved my things in yesterday. I don’t have much so now we’re all set. I just need to slowly build up my kitchen equipment and maybe buy some ornaments and things. Did you bring in the extra chairs and the plates and cutlery?’
‘I brought it here but Cath put the word about.’
‘That’s so kind of everyone. Thank you. Simon is taking us to some markets soon. He said some really good craftspeople take their things there.’
As she spoke, the tension left her body and what he suspected was the real Antonia shone through, a happy, excited, confident young woman setting up a home for herself and her children. Thank God for that. She could easily have shut the door in his face. For a nasty moment he thought she might.
‘The Kurrajong markets?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’ll enjoy them.’ The perfect family day out. He never went. Not by himself.
‘We’re looking forward to it. I’m hoping to find some decorative bits and pieces.’
She lifted a slim hand to push a strand of smooth dark hair behind her ear and he had to stop himself reaching out and smoothing it down, running the silky lengths through his fingers. He swallowed, shifted his focus and her deep brown eyes locked with his for a heart-stopping moment.
Breath rushed back in suddenly and he blurted, ‘Would you like a photograph or two of the bush? I have a couple you could have. They’d just need framing.’ Shut up!
By the look on her face he’d overstepped some mark.
‘But you’d probably prefer to choose something yourself,’ he said quickly to spare her the awkwardness of refusing.
‘No, it’s not that.’ The flush was back, deeper and pinker. ‘Simon brought us one of his.’ A worried wrinkle appeared on her brow.
‘Right. Okay.’ He should get out of here before he made a total idiot of himself … even more of a total idiot of himself. ‘I’ll leave you to it then.’
He stepped back on to the verandah. Antonia stayed in the open doorway.
‘Thanks for coming by. And thanks for the wine.’ She sounded anxious, the flustered girl again.
‘No worries. If anything goes wrong let me know. With the house I mean.’
‘Yes. Thanks. I will.’
‘See you later.’ He strode down the steps without looking back, intensely conscious of the fact the door hadn’t closed and he knew she was watching him go. Thinking what? He didn’t want to know.
He slammed the car door and backed out of the driveway like a man with a deadline to keep, and accelerated much too fast. As he shot past the school, a white ute rounded the corner heading in the opposite direction. Simon. Of course. He belonged with his children. She’d welcome him in, eager for him to build a relationship with them. And with her?
His jaw ached and he had to consciously relax and grimace to relieve the pressure. How could he be jealous? He barely knew Antonia, and Simon was a friend.
He knew nothing about her, not really. But rationalising the situation didn’t help. He had to face the fact he was infatuated with her. Like a fifteen-year-old with a crush. He laughed.
‘God, what a fool,’ he said aloud.
The only thing to do was ride it out. Crushes didn’t last, infatuations faded. He hadn’t had a girlfriend for some time now, so this Antonia thing was simply the result of a bit of a drought in that department. In a week or two he’d be back to normal. In the meantime he could distract himself with a weekend away. If he left tomorrow he could make it a three-day jaunt. Or go bush—couple of nights camping with his camera and the beautiful bush to keep him company. That would be cheaper and very enjoyable.
Except he’d be alone with his unrequited passion. Bloody hell! What he needed was distance and attractive female company. He could drive to Brisbane late on Friday afternoon and catch up with Lou. She always had something going on or could hook him up with one of her friends.
At home, Flynn pulled out his laptop and booked a room in his favourite hotel for Friday and Saturday nights. Lou was more than happy to hear from him and thought she could wangle an invite to a function she had to attend on Saturday.
‘Bring a suit,’ she said. ‘It’s a work thing, boring as batshit, but they always turn on a good feed and plenty of booze. After that we can have supper somewhere and hear some live music.’
‘Sounds perfect.’
He hung up, well pleased. All he had to do was put Antonia out of his mind and enjoy the few days with Lou and when he returned the little emotional hiccup would be over.
***
‘Was that Flynn?’ Simon asked when he came in with the groceries.
‘Yes.’ Antonia took the eggs from the bag.
‘Why didn’t he stay?’
‘I don’t know. He seemed in a hurry.’
‘What did he want?’ He unpacked milk and two cans of beer.
‘He was checking that everything was okay in the house. He brought a bottle of wine as a house-warming.’
Simon shut the fridge door. ‘You should have invited him in.’
‘I … I didn’t think of it.’
Simon shook his, smiling. ‘Tonia, relax, he’s a nice guy. He was being friendly and welcoming, that’s what he’s like.’
Antonia grimaced. ‘Will he be offended?’
‘No. Now, twins, look what I got for dessert.’
He held up the final item. A tub of ice-cream. ‘To go with our mangoes.’
‘Yummeeee.’ Sarah clapped her hands together.
‘Bathtime first,’ said Antonia.
Simon chopped garlic and zucchinis while Antonia ran the bath. When she returned to the kitchen, he’d turned on the oven and was cutting potatoes for wedges.
‘I need some more baking dishes too,’ she said.
He pointed to the biscuit tray on the bench. ‘I found this, it’ll do. Are they all right in the bath on their own?’
‘Go and check if you like.’
He grinned and put the last of the wedges on the tray, sprinkled olive oil on top and slid it into the oven.
She broke eggs into a bowl and began whisking. Shouts of laughter and splashing came from the bathroom. Coming here was definitely the right thing to do. Those three were meant to be together. Jacob, especially, needed a decent, kind, normal male role model. Connor’s influence had already made its mark, now Simon could take over.
Flynn’s face flashed into her mind. She should have invited him in. She’d been unbelievably rude but he’d been gracious as ever. Why did that happen whenever she ran into him? Some internal switch seemed
to be tripped to off in his presence, the one that moderated her behaviour. It wasn’t because he was a stranger, a man as threat, because she knew he wasn’t. Basically she liked him. Liked him a lot. Not the way she liked Simon. She loved Simon the way she loved her little brother Damien.
She liked Flynn but at the same time he made her jittery and unaccountable for her words. Better to avoid him. That wasn’t going to be easy in this small town but once she had a routine going, their paths wouldn’t cross very much and she’d be able to relax. That’s what it was. Her whole life was settling after months of turmoil and Flynn was on the receiving end of her adjustment. She owed him an apology. Tomorrow morning she could take the twins to school to buy their uniforms from the clothing pool, then go to his office. She would say her piece, and her conscience would be clear.
‘Are you three nearly ready?’ she called.
‘No,’ shouted Jacob.
‘We’re having fun.’ That was Sarah, giggling like a loony.
She tore leaves from the lettuce and chopped another tomato for salad.
‘I’m starting cooking the frittata now. You’ve got ten minutes.’
‘Okay,’ called Simon. ‘We’ll be there.’
Sitting at the table with Simon opposite and her two freshly bathed sweet-faced cherubs on either side, Antonia raised her glass of Flynn’s wine, drunk from one of her four wine glasses, a gift from Jax. Simon had opened it for her saying it was a special occasion, which made her feel even more guilty.
‘Here’s to our new home,’ she said.
‘Your new home,’ said Simon and clicked his beer can against her glass. ‘I hope you’ll be happy here. You deserve to be.’
‘Thanks. So far so good.’
‘When do you start at the Paragon?’
‘On Tuesday. Except for the Saturday shift, it’s perfect. Cath will let me leave at three to collect these two.’
‘I could have the twins on Saturdays if you like, and if they wanted to, of course.’
She looked at the children. Sarah had stopped eating. Jacob had his worried face on. ‘That would be ideal and I’d love them to spend time with you but, well … it’s early days. We have to get settled at school first.’
The House At Flynn's Crossing Page 9