Keely looked along the beach to the area of ocean he indicated. A number of bodies bobbed in the water and one teetered on a board, riding a wave in.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “But thanks for trying to teach me the basics.”
“You’re nearly as good as Marty.” Steve nudged his mate’s arm.
“That’s being unkind to Keely,” Mike said. “She’s much better at it than Marty already.” He grinned and Steve chuckled beside him.
“What about it, Marty?” Steve asked. “We thought we’d try the Gallows this afternoon. You can show off your talent to Keely.”
“I’d like to but someone has to keep her company while you two risk your necks,” Marty said. “Besides, surfing is dangerous. Keely’s got the scar to prove it.”
He was referring to the cut above her eye. It was healing but had a deep purple bruise around it. Keely wished it wasn’t in such an obvious place so that he wouldn’t have asked what happened.
“Don’t stay on my account,” she said. “I can entertain myself.”
Steve smirked and dug Mike in the ribs. “I’m sure Marty has better plans.”
“Yeah, we’d better clear out and leave you to it,” Mike said.
“Fair go, you blokes.” Marty gave Mike a playful shove then grinned at Keely.
She turned her face to the breeze so it cooled her cheeks. She’d had a great day with the three of them. They were good fun. Even though they hadn’t got to know each other that well before her operation, she thought of them as her friends now; fellow South Aussies on holiday together.
Her initial meeting with Marty at the airport seemed so long ago. She had thought he was quite cute back then. She snuck a glance at him as he helped Steve and Mike collect up their gear. He was a good-looking guy and she had been attracted to him initially. He’d been very kind but her thoughts strayed to a different face with a gorgeous smile, ice-blue eyes and a crown of fluffy fair hair. She sighed. It was wasted energy thinking about Flynn but she couldn’t help it.
“What would you like to do, Keely?” Marty’s question startled her. “We can stay here and wander the local area or go with the Steve and Mike and check out the beaches there.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Let’s go with them for the ride then. We only get to use the car when Steve’s mate doesn’t need it.” Marty was referring to the old green station wagon that he had driven to pick her up in. The bodywork was battered and the engine burbled but it had four good wheels with a rack for surfboards and that was all they needed.
“If we had a decent kitchen we could have left Keely there to knock up some more food.” Steve patted his stomach. “That cake was delicious.”
“Idiots!” Marty threw a towel at their retreating backs.
Keely followed them up the road to the little shack they were sharing with Steve’s mate. Most of the places around it were modern holiday homes but this was an old place. It was basic accommodation, not too far from the beach, perfect for the group of surfers. The little fridge held beer and a few basic food items. It looked like they lived on cereal for breakfast, barbecues for tea and fruit in between. They had devoured the cake she’d brought in record time. At least someone had got to enjoy her efforts.
* * *
“That was magnificent, Maggie. Thank you for a fine meal.” Euan stood and collected the plates they’d just emptied of the generous servings of one of Maggie’s famous light lemon puddings and put them in the kitchen.
“I think I’ll turn in,” Flynn said.
Euan came back to the table. “Before you do, there’s something I’d like to say…” He paused and looked from his sister to his son. Flynn was smiling, at least for the moment, and Maggie had that stare as if she already knew what he was going to say. Euan was pleased it was just the three of them. “To both of you.”
It had been quite late before Flynn had arrived back from Perth and Theo’s granddaughter hadn’t been with him, thank goodness. Evidently, Flynn had dropped her next door on the way home and Maggie had received a call from Keely, saying she was eating with her friends. Now was the perfect time to tell them his news.
Euan took another sip of Flynn’s wine. It had the intensity of semillon but he could detect the tropical fruit notes of the sauvignon blanc. Flynn had every right to be proud of his wine. It was very crisp with a smooth finish and fine to drink on its own without food. Perhaps Euan had been too hasty in committing all of the next year’s vintage to their traditional wines.
“Oh, do come on,” Maggie said. “Spit it out.”
“I’d rather not, sister dear. I was just thinking what a good job our young winemaker has done with this wine.” He tilted the glass towards Flynn in salute.
Flynn opened his mouth to speak but Maggie jumped in before him.
“I don’t mean the wine and you know it full well. Who is this Dianna and why haven’t we heard about her before? I’ve been waiting all day to talk to you and you’ve been carrying out your usual avoidance tactics.”
“Yes, Euan, you sly old bugger. First you trick me, thinking Keely was one of your lady friends, and then you turn up with Dianna, who I assume did share your bed last night…unless she slept on the floor.”
“There is no need to be crass, Flynn,” Maggie said. “I think it’s wonderful your father has found someone at last.”
“At last!” Flynn snorted. “She’s just the one he’s brought home. At least she seems an appropriate age.”
“Flynn, dear, you know I love you but I really will not have this kind of talk at the meal table.” Maggie gave him a disapproving look.
Euan ignored Flynn’s barbs. He probably deserved them, although he was surprised he was being so openly crude with Maggie present.
“I’ve been seeing Dianna for quite a while now, a couple of years on and off—”
“Years!” Maggie’s eyebrows shot up.
Flynn remained silent
“This is the first time she’s come here. I haven’t said anything because I didn’t dare hope we’d be able to make a life together.”
“A life together!” Now Flynn reacted, his face creased in a frown. “What do you mean?”
“They’re going to be married,” Maggie announced.
“Now hang on, Maggie.” Euan was still trying to come to terms with his and Dianna’s plans for the future himself and he could see from the look on Flynn’s face that he needed time to digest the information. “Our lives are very different. Dianna has always been based in the east but she has rearranged her work commitments so she can spend more time here and…well…we’ll see how things work out.”
“That’s wonderful.” Maggie clapped her hands. “Come on, Flynn. Open another bottle of this delightful wine. What a pity Keely isn’t here to celebrate with us. The birth of a new label and true love flourishing.”
“Who is this Marty she’s with?” Euan asked. “Have you met him, Flynn?”
“No. Why should I have met him?” Flynn stood up and went to the fridge. “There’s still half of that bottle left, Maggie. I’m tired and I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” He brought her the wine and bent to kiss her on the cheek.
“Goodnight, darling,” Maggie said. “Tomorrow we must have a celebration with Keely. Those labels are stunning.”
“They will adorn a very good wine,” Euan said.
A hesitant smile lifted Flynn’s lips. “That’s high praise.” He left them without another word.
“He’s very tired, poor love.” Maggie turned her piercing gaze on Euan. “Now, brother dear. There’s just the two of us. Pass me your glass and tell me all about Dianna.”
CHAPTER 25
“It can’t be the downy mildew, Baba.” Tony dragged his fingers backwards through his hair. “It’s got to be something else.”
Theo stood with his son among the semillon vines staring at the rows and rows of yellowing leaves. He shook his head slowly from side to side, then stopped as he felt the giddiness begin. He’d
forgotten to take those tablets again.
Tony had come before breakfast to tell him something was wrong with the vines. He had thought the downy mildew had taken hold but there were no patches of white down on these leaves. They were yellow and had turned that way virtually overnight. He pulled off a leaf and inspected it closely. “It looks as if they’ve been poisoned,” he said.
“That’s what I thought, but how?”
Theo looked across the last row of yellowing vines beside him to a gap in the trees following the fenceline that marked the boundary between River Dynasty and Levallier Dell and he clenched his teeth. “Euan Levallier,” he muttered.
“What?”
“Everything has gone wrong with this piece of land.”
“You surely can’t blame Euan for that?”
“Maybe not the weather but the beetle outbreaks…”
“What do you think, that he keeps a supply in a jar and releases them here?”
“These vines have been poisoned, Tony,” Theo snapped. “None of us would do such a thing. It has to be our rivals.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Tony walked around the row of vines and over to the fence.
Theo followed him. “What are you looking at?”
“I wondered if there was any sign of whatever it is on Levallier’s vines. Maybe they’ve been affected, too.”
Both men climbed the fence and inspected the first row of sauvignon blanc vines. There was no evidence of the yellow leaves that covered the vines behind them.
“He’s not going to poison his own vines.” Theo cast a searching look over the Levallier Dell vines. The vines all appeared to be very healthy. He pursed his lips. His own vines had looked like this, before Tony found the downy mildew.
Theo trudged back behind his son to their land and the sick plants.
“It might just be killing the new growth. Perhaps we can save the vines,” Tony said.
Theo tugged off a hand full of leaves and dropped them to the ground. “I don’t think so. Whatever this is, it’s killing the whole plant.” He looked across the decaying rows to where the green vines began again. “Every vine is affected. We’re going to lose four full rows of semillon.”
“I don’t understand it,” Tony said. “These are the vines I sprayed yesterday.” He walked beside Theo as they stepped up and down the rows, until they reached a row of perfectly healthy vines. “This is where I stopped. Maybe they had something else wrong with them.”
Theo looked from the first healthy row to the yellowing vines beside it. It didn’t make sense. If it were poison, why would the saboteur stop here?
“There couldn’t have been something in the tank,” Tony said. “We’re always meticulous with our cleaning.”
“Of course it’s not us. Someone has done this.” Theo stamped his foot and looked back to his neighbour’s healthy vines. “And Euan Levallier is high on my list of suspects.”
* * *
Keely came back along the river path, placing her feet carefully with each cautious step; even though it was early and still cool, she couldn’t help but glance nervously at the spot where she’d last seen the snake. She recalled Jack and the bits of string around his trouser legs. She’d thought he’d been joking about keeping out snakes.
“There you are.”
Flynn’s statement startled her. She’d been so intent on watching the path, she hadn’t seen him standing up ahead.
“I’ve just been for a walk,” she said.
“We didn’t see you last night.”
Was that an accusing tone? Keely glanced at Flynn but there was nothing to indicate his mood. “I came in late. There were no lights on at the house.”
“Did you have a good time with your friends?”
He was watching her closely. What did it matter to him what she did? “Yes, thanks. Did you and Kat enjoy Perth?” She forced herself to be polite. If only Kat was an awful person, Keely could at least dislike her.
“We had lots to do. It was a flying visit.” He gave her a weak smile as she drew level with him. “I’ve got the labels. I thought you might like to see them and… if you’re not too busy. I wondered if…” Now his look was pleading. “You might help me put them on the bottles?”
She relaxed. “I’d love to see them and I’m happy to help. It’s not as if I’m doing anything else for the next few days.”
“Oh, that reminds me, Ken’s been on the phone again. He wants you to call in and see him about some work for next week. We could drop in at the school on the way to the Haystack Block, if you like.”
Keely’s stomach lurched and she hurried ahead of Flynn so he wouldn’t see the dread she knew was written all over her face. “I’ve got something to do in the studio. I’ll come up to the house in a minute.”
Keely didn’t look behind to see if he’d gone. She rushed into the studio and shut the door behind her. She could just say no but there was no need; next week, she would make sure she was heading north, away from Margaret River.
* * *
Maggie was washing the breakfast dishes when Flynn returned.
“Isn’t Keely coming?” she asked.
“In a moment. She had something to do in the studio first.”
“I hope she likes the labels,” Maggie said. “Sometimes artists can be temperamental about their work.”
“Keely’s never temperamental.” Flynn thought back over the conversation he’d just had with her. She’d looked surprised to see him and then she’d been flippant about her whereabouts. As if he had no right to ask, which he supposed he didn’t, but…
“Is something wrong?” Maggie asked.
“No. Why?”
“You’re frowning.” She reached across the breakfast bar and ran a wet gloved finger along his forehead. “You look so serious. Do you know how much more handsome you are when you smile?”
He rubbed his damp skin and grinned at her.
“That’s better.” Maggie turned back to her dishes. “I bet Keely can’t resist that smile.”
“Maggie, don’t cause trouble. Euan brought Keely here, not me.”
She made a soft humph. “Euan was just being kind. She’s much too young for him and besides, he’s got his hands full elsewhere.”
“Don’t you go matchmaking for me again,” Flynn warned. “Anyway, Keely’s got other friends. I don’t really think she likes me that much.”
“What gives you that idea?” Maggie looked over her shoulder with an odd smile, her eyebrows arching delicately.
“Just a hunch.” Flynn headed for the office. He could tell Maggie was in a meddlesome mood. “I’ve had a bit of experience with women over the years, Maggie, at least enough to know whether they like me or not.”
This time it was a loud snort that came from behind him.
He didn’t look back. If he was honest, he’d been disappointed when Keely had said she was spending the day with her friends. He would’ve asked her to go to Perth. Kat had gone her own way once they reached the city with several errands of her own. Keely could’ve come with him to collect the labels. It would have been great to have her there for the first look, gauge her reaction and spend time with her while he waited for Kat.
Instead she’d been with this Marty and his mates. Flynn rolled his shoulders and sat at the desk. Why should he care where she’d been? She was always polite to him but he thought she would be that way with everyone. There’d been no indication she thought of him as any more than a friend.
He looked at the paperwork in front of him but it was her shy smile that played on his mind. There was something about it that brightened his day. He’d got used to her being here, looked forward to seeing her each day, appreciated her opinion. She’d said she’d planned to leave after the weekend but maybe she’d stay longer if the teaching job worked out. He hoped so; he would be sorry to see her go.
His thoughts drifted to Euan and his surprise lady friend, Dianna. By the sound of it, she was going to be around a lot more
. Flynn loved Levallier Dell but perhaps the time had come for him to move on as well, give his father some space and find something that didn’t set them at loggerheads. He thought of his recent conversation with his mate, Tim, who was part of a family winery in the Adelaide Hills. They were expanding and needed a business manager who understood winemaking. His discussions with Kat about her new job and making a move away from her family had stirred a restlessness in him. Tim’s suggestion he look at the job specs was tempting.
* * *
Kat was sipping the cup of coffee Yia-yia had made her when Pappou burst through the door with a face like thunder.
“You’re back. I’ll have one of those.” He stabbed a finger in the air towards the coffee pot.
Yia-yia simply got up and went to make it. Kat marvelled at her calm compliance. What was wrong with Pappou? She hadn’t remembered him as such an old grump, but perhaps he’d always been that way and she hadn’t realised.
“Is something wrong, Pappou?” she asked.
“Someone has poisoned my vines.” He lowered himself into his chair.
“Poisoned?” Yia-yia’s voice echoed a split second behind Kat’s. “Are you sure, Theo?” Yia-yia asked.
“Of course I’m sure. Four rows of semillon vines have been wiped out. They are dying as we speak.”
Kat clutched her coffee cup in her hands. This was terrible news and perhaps explained his gruffness. “What makes you think they’ve been poisoned, Pappou?”
“How else would four rows of vines suddenly die?” Pappou glared at her. “It’s sabotage and I know who did it.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” His eyes blazed and deep lines furrowed his brow. “Someone who has never been able to accept River Dynasty.”
“Here you are, Theo.” Yia-yia put a cup in front of him and resumed her seat.
“Who do you mean?” Kat asked.
“Euan Levallier.” Pappou thumped the table with his fist and all their coffee cups vibrated.
“Surely not,” Kat said.
“Surely yes. Four rows of semillon vines on the Levallier Dell boundary have been poisoned. Who else besides Euan Levallier would want to harm my vines?” He gave a sharp nod.
Something in the Wine Page 23