“Yes.”
“I’ll take them over.”
Keely didn’t follow him but watched from the bar as he put down the drinks and joined in the conversation with the other three. Steve was still talking with Euan at the end of the bar. Beside him, her collection of bead jewellery was all gone but for a couple of bracelets. She allowed herself a little smile.
There was a clutter of used glasses under the counter and she realised she’d left her tray over by the door, where Marty had caught her in the hug. She bent down to look for something else to put them on.
“I’ve got to duck inside for a moment,” Euan said quietly beside her. “Do you mind keeping an eye on things here?”
Keely straightened up. “That’s fine,” she said. There was no one left at the bar anyway. Steve had gone to join the others. Besides them there were only a couple of other small groups at tables, lingering over their drinks.
She busied herself cleaning up behind the bar, until a woman left one of the groups and approached her.
“I’d like to take a dozen of the Scarecrow Dry White,” she said.
“Certainly.” Keely went through to the carport where the boxes were stacked. She was amazed to see how much the supplies had dwindled. She picked up one of the last cartons of Scarecrow and carried it back, just as Flynn was rounding the bar.
“Oh, Keely, you’re here.”
“Yes. But you’re just in time. This lady wants a dozen of your dry white.” She put the carton on the bar.
“Are you the winemaker?” the woman asked.
“I am,” Flynn said.
“We really enjoyed it and the label is a nice touch.”
“That’s Keely’s.” Flynn rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. “The original is up there on the wall.”
The woman studied the painting, then turned back. “That’s the other man who was behind the bar, isn’t it?”
“Yes, my father,” Flynn said.
“So this is a real family business. My friends and I were saying we liked the atmosphere here. Some of the other wineries we’ve been to this weekend have been too big, too upmarket for us. We like the feel of this place and your wine is very drinkable.”
“We’re glad you’ve enjoyed yourselves,” Flynn said and they went on chatting as the woman paid for her wine. The last of the customers stood and gathered their things, ready to leave.
Marty and the others came over to say goodbye. Keely enjoyed the warmth of his farewell hug, smiled at his final pleading look and leaned against the entrance to wave them off. She let out a sigh, tired but happy. The weekend had been a success.
Behind her the house door banged open. She spun to see two young men burst into the cellar door, glancing over their shoulders as Euan stormed out after them.
“You can leave now.” His face was dark and his voice held a threat Keely hadn’t heard from him before.
“Settle down, Grandpa,” one of the men said.
Flynn came round the bar. “What’s going on?”
The other man shrugged his shoulders. “We were only making a coffee and Grandpa here came in and went off his trolley.”
“Out.” Euan pointed towards the carpark.
“Glad to go, old man.” The bloke turned, his companion gave Euan the finger and they both strode off.
“What happened?” Flynn asked.
“I found them in the kitchen making themselves at home.”
“How did they get in there?”
“Continued on through from the toilet area, I suppose.” Euan rounded on Flynn. “They frightened the life out of Maggie. She’d been asleep on the couch. This is why I don’t want a cellar door.”
Flynn’s hands went to his hips. “Because of one mistake?”
“Who knows what they might have got up to if I hadn’t come through at that time? It’s our home, Flynn. I won’t have strangers traipsing through it.”
“It’s your home, you mean. I don’t get a look in. I’d be better off out of it altogether.”
“Are you two arguing again?”
Maggie came out and Keely took the opportunity to slip away. This was an argument she could see would have no winners.
CHAPTER 32
A shiver prickled across Keely’s shoulders and she rubbed her arms. What a difference a day makes. The morning air was very cold and the sky was dull and cloudy. The vines didn’t look quite as green and some of the roses that had looked so pretty over the last few days had started to drop their petals.
She approached the house with legs of lead. She was tired from the weekend and in spite of falling into bed exhausted the night before, sleep had eluded her for some time. She’d woken with the first of the sun’s rays edging around the curtain and tried to keep busy by tidying the studio. Not a big job. Then she’d attempted to eat some toast and swallow a cup of tea. The knot that had formed in her stomach had made it difficult and now it threatened to force back up the small morsels she had managed to get down.
Keely sucked in a deep breath and pushed through the gate into the house yard. A little group of guinea fowl huddled together under the bougainvillea, the breeze ruffling their well-groomed feathers. Both Euan’s Volvo and Flynn’s LandCruiser were missing from the carport. She hoped that meant they were both out. She didn’t want to face them again after their argument the day before. Then she had a jolt of panic as she wondered how she was going to get to school. Next to the carport was the ute that Flynn sometimes drove but she wasn’t sure how reliable that was.
She slid back the door and stepped into the house. There were no lights on in the kitchen and no sounds came from the rest of the house. Keely had seen Maggie’s car still parked under the trees beside the carport. If she was like Keely she’d be avoiding her brother and his son. Who knew, she could be still sleeping after their hectic weekend.
A note had been written on the pad at the end of the table and a set of keys lay next to it. Keely read the message from Euan. It seemed Maggie would be heading home some time that day, Flynn was driving Kat to Perth and Euan had gone surfing, so he had left the keys of the ute for her to drive herself to school. Her heart sunk lower at that. He’d wished her a good day and said he’d cook dinner for her that night.
Keely slumped into a chair and clutched the keys in her hand. She hadn’t realised Euan’s sister would be leaving so soon. She’d come to like Maggie, who hadn’t turned out to be the formidable woman Keely had imagined.
The last few weeks were a blur and now everything was changing. She wondered if Maggie had been able to calm the waters between Euan and Flynn. Surely Flynn wouldn’t leave if Kat was going to live next door. Keely stood up. There was no point in worrying over the Levalliers’ problems; right now she had her own nemesis to face.
It took several tries to get the ute started but once she got going, it was easy enough to drive. She clutched the steering wheel as she bounced along the track to the road. It’d had a lot of traffic over the weekend. She worried she wouldn’t remember the way to town. It always looked different when you were the driver and there were quite a few twists and turns before she reached the main highway. Even when she did she only relaxed a little; before her stretched not only the road, but also the thought of four days’ teaching.
At the school, Claire welcomed her and Ken introduced her to a few staff who were chatting over early-morning cups of coffee in the staffroom. They seemed friendly enough but she wanted to get to the art room to make sure everything was set out and ready. Ken walked her there, talking all the way. It was hard to concentrate on his words and she found herself caught out a couple of times as she realised he had paused, waiting for an answer.
Once he’d left, Keely closed the door, leaned back on it and shut her eyes. She took some long slow breaths and waited till the sick feeling eased; then she opened her eyes and surveyed the room.
“You can do this, Keely.” Her voice sounded loud in her ears.
She forced herself away from the door and began to s
et out the gear she needed for the first lesson. She’d planned a simple project – to design a pattern or scene for a wine bottle and paint it using wet on wet technique.
It seemed no time at all before the first group of students gathered outside the door and Ken was back to introduce her. Once he’d gone, Keely launched into her explanation of the task ahead. To her surprise, the students listened attentively and were keen to begin. They all liked the idea of painting the used wine bottles. Her first class ran very well and she noted some real talent but couldn’t bring herself to relax. She knew at any moment the mood could change. It only took one or two to misbehave then the rest would follow, no matter how nice they first appeared.
Each new class of the day heightened her anxiety and, as she sat listening to the babble of teenage voices outside, she forced herself to put on a smile and open the door to them.
* * *
“I’m not telling you what to do, Euan.” Maggie’s voice was gentle. “I’m simply saying you have to make up your mind about what you want.”
“You’ve been telling me for years to find someone to love again. Someone who makes me happy.” Euan wished he was still out on his board enjoying the solitude of the ocean, instead of getting a lecture from Maggie in his own house. “Now that I’ve asked Dianna to be a part of my life, you’re saying I have to choose between her and my son.”
Maggie sighed. “That’s not what I’m saying at all.”
Euan thumped the table. “Well, damn it, Maggie, what are you saying? You told me Flynn is leaving because Dianna is coming to stay.”
“But it’s not Dianna herself that’s driving him away. Can’t you see that he doesn’t know how he fits in? He’s not sure of his place.”
“This will always be his home.”
“Of course it will but Levallier Dell is more than a home. It’s a business. Where does he fit with that? Do you want your son to be a part of this winery or not?”
Euan glared at his sister. Flynn was already a partner in Levallier Dell. What was she talking about? “I’ve congratulated him on his dry white.”
“He wanted to plant something different over at the Haystack Block and you didn’t let him.”
Euan sighed. “I know, it was probably a bit rash in hindsight.”
“Does he know that? And what about the cellar door?”
“It went well enough but I don’t like people having access to the house.”
“There was no real harm done. And maybe there are other ways to run it. You’ve got several buildings on this property. Perhaps you need to think it through further. It’s an aspect of the business Flynn wants to expand.”
“He’s got his hands full with the Haystack Block wines.”
“The small section you allow him to have a say in.”
Euan put his hands to his head. “We’re just going round in circles.”
“So now you’re starting to get a taste of what Flynn is experiencing.”
“He needs something else in his life.” Euan looked at the scarecrow sketch that now hung on the wall by the bookshelf. “I had a small hope Keely might be the one to help him with that. I tried again last night to get him to stay. I thought with everyone gone that he and Keely might have a chance to get to know each other better. It seems Kat is the one he’s interested in.”
Maggie gave a snort.
“I didn’t like the idea either,” he went on, “but, as Anna reminded me the other day, she can’t help being Theo’s granddaughter and she understands a winemaker’s life.”
“Anna’s always full of suggestions.”
“She can sometimes see things with Flynn that I don’t notice. Since Lucy died she’s been a great support.”
“There’s a fine line between support and meddling.”
Euan frowned at his sister. “Anna understands these things better than me,” he said. “I have enough trouble sorting out my own love life.
“That’s such an avoidance,” Maggie snapped. “Bloody Anna! She interferes far too much.”
Maggie went into the kitchen and started clattering plates in the sink. Euan followed her.
“She’s a close family friend. Anyway, what’s the difference? You’re interfering.”
Maggie stopped stacking plates and turned to look at him. “I am family. Besides, I’m trying to get you to make a decision so that everyone knows where they stand and you can all get on with your lives. I’m not trying to make the choice for you, Euan. Only you can decide whether you want Flynn to stay and play a full role in the family business. If you can’t let him do that, then cut him loose and let him go somewhere else. He deserves a chance to make a go of things just like you did when you were his age.”
Euan glared at his sister. She wasn’t usually this direct. “Perhaps you’re right…”
“Thank goodness you can see sense.”
“I mean about me needing to make my own choices. I need some thinking time. Flynn’s in Perth and who knows when he’ll be back, Keely’s teaching all day and Dianna’s not coming till tomorrow. I could do with some solitude.” He looked pointedly at Maggie.
“I’ll be gone when I’ve finished the washing. Then you can have your wish of some peace and quiet.” She brushed past him to the laundry door. “Oh, and one other thing that your precious Anna hasn’t got right. Flynn and Kat are just good mates. It’s as plain as the nose on your face that Keely is the one for him. They just need some time to realise it for themselves.”
Maggie swept through the laundry door and shut it firmly behind her. Euan shook his head.
CHAPTER 33
Keely was anxious. For two days she’d been anxious. It hovered at the edge of everything she did, robbing her of sleep and draining her ability to think clearly. She’d just finished her second day of teaching. There were still things to be cleaned up before she could go home, but she couldn’t bring herself to move from behind the desk where she’d crumpled into a chair once the last group of students had left.
That afternoon her fears had been proven right. A couple of boys, who hadn’t been in the class the day before, had started mucking around. She’d separated them and finally had to send one to the principal’s office. The mood in the room had changed instantly. The rest of the students became stilted and stiff when she spoke to them and she knew then that her time was running out. Soon they would all get a sniff of her inability to cope and, like sharks in a feeding frenzy, they would circle and attack. Even the nicest of kids would join in.
She’d made it through to the end of the lesson and now here she was, collapsed at her desk. The room swam and she had to remind herself to breathe. She recalled Flynn’s voice, “Why don’t you just say no?” She grimaced. Why couldn’t she do that?
The music from the radio was the only sound in the room. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there, her hands clenched in front of her. Ken had invited her to the staffroom after school. Apparently they were having a short staff meeting followed by drinks and nibbles for someone’s birthday but Keely thought she’d rather go home. Flynn and Maggie were gone and the night before Euan had cooked her dinner. Their conversation had been stilted and forced. He’d seemed preoccupied, she assumed, with Dianna’s pending arrival. Keely would be happy to do her own thing tonight. She looked forward to the tranquillity of the studio and the gentle flow of the river past her door.
A shadow fell across the desk. She looked up, startled to see a student standing right in front of her. She hadn’t heard him come in.
“Hello.” He gave her an odd kind of smile as if he were summing her up.
He was a tall boy, perhaps about fifteen or sixteen but it was hard to tell. He hadn’t been in any of her classes.
“Hello,” she said and looked past him to the open door. There was no one else with him. She stood up. “I’m just getting ready to leave.”
“You’re nice,” he said in a low voice.
Keely froze as she saw him reach a hand towards her.
“I like your hair.”
In an instant, she was back at her last school with the leering faces, the whispered comments, the pressing hands. She gasped in a breath, grabbed her bag and made a dash for the door.
“Wait…”
She heard him call something but she didn’t stop. She rushed across the yard, around the building and out to the ute, where she paused and dug frantically for the key.
Why had she come here? She should never have let Ken talk her into it. No matter where she went, her failure would follow her. At last she found the key and managed to slide it into the lock with trembling fingers. She wrenched open the door.
“Hi, Keely.” Claire called cheerfully from across the carpark. “Aren’t you staying for…”
Keely didn’t hear the rest. She was in the vehicle, starting the engine. She pulled away from the footpath and there was a loud toot and a screech of brakes behind her. She didn’t look back. Her hands gripped the steering wheel and the ute took her away, around the corner, along the road and out of town.
* * *
“Thanks for staying, Flynn,” Kat said. “I would have gone mad listening to Yia-yia and the aunts all day.”
Flynn had picked her up from the hospital and they were drinking coffee in the late-afternoon sunshine.
“How is Theo?”
“Doing well. It’s amazing how quickly they get you going after an operation. I thought he’d be out of it for days but he says he’s feeling better already.”
“Probably the drugs talking.”
Kat’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I couldn’t imagine what we’d do without Pappou.”
Flynn reached across and squeezed her hand. “He’s tough. This is only a blip for him. I admire what he’s achieved with River Dynasty.”
“He said the same thing about you.”
“What, that I’m tough?” Flynn flexed his muscles in a Popeye impersonation.
“No.” Kat chuckled. “He likes the way you think things through for yourself.”
Flynn was speechless. He couldn’t imagine Theo ever gave him much thought. Why would he?
Something in the Wine Page 29