by Mandy Magro
‘We don’t have to act all weird around each other. What happened—’ he shrugged ‘—happened.’
Charlize tried to smile, but her wobbly lips made it almost impossible. ‘I’m not acting all weird.’ Unable to look into his gorgeous eyes any longer for fear of kissing him again, she turned back to the sink. ‘I’m just really hungover, that’s all.’
Dallas slid in beside her at the sink, making her look sideways at him. ‘I know you’re feeling uncomfortable, I can feel it.’
She stirred sugar into her cup, the spoon clanking loudly. ‘Okay, you got me. I am feeling uncomfortable. What happened was something I can’t forget, and I don’t think I want to.’ She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. ‘But I feel guilty as hell for doing it before telling Alistair we’re officially over.’ Emotions overwhelmed her, and before she could control them a lone tear rolled down her cheek.
Dallas reached out and wiped it away. ‘You’re a good woman, Char, with strong morals. Don’t beat yourself up. We stopped before we did anything too bad …’ He chuckled lightly. ‘Or too good, depending how you want to look at it.’
Laughing through her tears, Charlize playfully slapped him. ‘Trust you to make light of the situation.’
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. ‘You should know by now that you can always count on me to make you laugh.’
She nodded. ‘True.’ Turning so she was facing him front on, she reached out and gave him a hug. ‘Thank you, Dallas, for being the wonderful man you are.’
He hugged her tightly back. ‘And thank you for coming into my life.’
Voices at the back door sent them hurtling from each other’s arms. Dallas took off in the direction of the lounge room and Charlize pretended to be engrossed in the contents of the fridge just as Katherine and Reg stepped through the back door, Bruce in his arms.
‘Good morning, Charlize. I hear we’re having ourselves a movie afternoon,’ Reg said chirpily.
Grabbing an apple, Charlize recomposed herself before shutting the fridge door. She smiled in Katherine and Reg’s direction. ‘Morning, Reg. I think a lazy afternoon on the couch is in order after partying all night long.’ She padded over and gave him a kiss on the cheek in greeting, and then lovingly rubbed Bruce’s head. ‘And I tell you what, you wowed me with your dance moves last night, Reg. Nancy sure knew her stuff to be able to get rid of those two left feet of yours.’
Reg smiled tenderly. ‘My Nancy taught me so much in our lifetime. How to dance was just one of them. What it felt like to love unconditionally and be loved unconditionally, was another.’
Both women went ‘aww’ at the same time.
Katherine shuffled over to the pantry. ‘A movie day calls for popcorn.’ She rifled through containers and pulled out two packets of microwave popcorn. ‘Yay, we have some.’
‘Excellent, Kath.’ Reg gave her a light pat on the back. ‘I’ll meet you two in the lounge room. I’m going to claim a comfy chair.’
‘Righto Dad, be in in a sec.’ Katherine headed over to the microwave.
Not wanting to risk any in-depth questions about what happened between her and Dallas last night, Charlize made her exit too. ‘Just going to have a loo break, and freshen up quickly before the first movie starts.’
‘Okay, love.’
Heading down the hallway, Charlize couldn’t help slowing as she passed the lounge room doorway, enjoying the view of Dallas bent over at the DVD player.
If only things could be different.
CHAPTER
26
It was Tuesday—the day she’d be heading back to the big smoke—and Charlize felt like a traitor as she eyed Dallas and Katherine across the dining table, her plate of fruit salad hardly touched. She glanced over the rim of her coffee cup, her stomach churning over what she had to do at ten o’clock. Maybe whatever Vivien Hiller had to tell her wasn’t that bad after all? She would soon find out.
‘Are you sure you don’t mind me borrowing your car to head into town this morning, Kath?’
Katherine looked up from the newspaper spread out on the dining table. ‘Of course not, love. I haven’t got anywhere to go today. After spending most of yesterday with a hangover I have stacks to catch up on around here anyway.’ She groaned. ‘And while we’re on the subject, just for the record, I’m never drinking again.’
‘Yeah, that’s what we all say.’ Dallas grumbled as he rubbed his temples. ‘I’ve still got a damn headache.’ He chuckled. ‘I definitely can’t party like I used to.’
‘Neither can I,’ Charlize added. ‘I can’t believe we had baked beans for dinner.’ She shuddered at the memory. ‘I hate anything out of a can.’
Katherine laughed. ‘Funnily enough I’m not a fan of canned stuff either, but the baked beans filled the hole.’
‘So what are you up to in town anyways, Char?’ Dallas asked before sculling his Berocca. ‘Do you want me to run you in there?’
She pretended to find interest out the kitchen window. She was not going to look him in the eyes when she was blatantly lying, because that just made it all the more worse.
‘Oh, that’s okay. I’ve just got a few things I need to do before I head off this afternoon. I don’t want to make you wait around for me, so I’m happy to drive myself in. If I have time while I’m in there I might go and grab one of Hollie’s creations to take back to Sydney.’
‘Oh, all right. Did she end up emailing you the designs you asked her to?’
‘She sure did, as promised, at eight yesterday morning. Obviously she wasn’t out as late as us.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘I can’t wait to show Jasper. I reckon he’ll be all for doing a fashion spread sometime in the New Year with Hollie’s label the star of the show.’
Katherine grinned. ‘Really? This is the first I’ve heard of this.’
‘Oh yeah, sorry, Kath.’ Charlize sat forward in her seat and rested her arms on the dining table. ‘I’d been rolling the idea around in my head, and then when I saw Hollie at the Ball on Sunday night I asked if she’d like to send me some pictures of her designs so I could maybe talk Jasper into showcasing them in the paper.’
‘How wonderful of you, Charlize. I bet she was excited.’
‘Ecstatic.’
Katherine looked to Dallas and smiled tenderly. ‘I’m a bloody mushroom round here, I tell you.’
Charlize watched something pass between the two of them, and then Dallas’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat before he sucked in a breath and then smiled. ‘Geez, I miss him.’
‘Me too,’ Katherine said tenderly as she wrapped her hands around her coffee mug.
Charlize looked a little confused, so Dallas filled her in. ‘That was one of dad’s favourite sayings.’
Her heart squeezed tight. ‘Oh, right. It’s a great saying.’ That sounded corny, but what else was she meant to say? These two people had lost someone very dear to them and she didn’t think there were any words sufficient.
The sound of a page of the newspaper turning over filled the awkward silence, and then Katherine squealed in delight. ‘Oh look, there’s a photo of you two in the paper.’ She tapped a photo with her finger. ‘And I have to say you look amazing together.’
‘No, really? I don’t even remember one being taken,’ Dallas said as he shot Charlize a worried smile.
For some stupid reason Charlize imagined a sleazy tabloid shot, one with her arms and legs wrapped tightly around Dallas with her tongue shoved down his throat as he had her pinned up against the wall. She almost scrambled over to the other side of the table, but used every bit of her resolve to stand slowly and then wander around to Katherine’s side. She peered down at it with her breath held, and then released it in a whoop as she saw the photo of Dallas and her smiling with their arms wrapped around one another. She had to admit they did look damn fine together, although in true womanly style, she picked faults with herself. ‘I look fat.’
Katherine slapped her. ‘You do not. You look beau
tiful, and Dallas looks very dashing.’
‘Yup, I have to say I agree with Mum …’
‘Oh thanks,’ Charlize said, still staring at the pic. They looked so happy, so right, so made for each other, that it made her heart ache.
‘… That I look dashing, that is.’ Dallas flashed her a cheeky smile.
Charlize reached out and clouted him over the head. ‘You’re a scoundrel.’
He beamed proudly. ‘That I am.’ He smiled tenderly then. ‘But seriously, you do look gorgeous, Char.’
‘I’m going to ring the newspaper right this minute and see if I can have a copy of the photo.’ Katherine grabbed her mobile from the table. ‘Do you mind picking it up while you’re in town if they can give me one, love?’
Picking up the empty plate on the table, Charlize made her way over to the sink. ‘Not at all, Kath.’
A quick phone call confirmed they would give Katherine a copy, two in fact, so Charlize could take one home with her. ‘You could use it in the article.’
‘Oh, I don’t know if I need my mug in the photos—it’s meant to be all about Dallas,’ Charlize said over her shoulder.
‘I think the readers would love to see you with your interviewee.’
I’d love to see myself with my interviewee, Charlize thought. ‘Yeah, maybe,’ she said.
Katherine stood. ‘Anyhow, I’ve got some horses to feed, and then I’ve got a basket load of ironing to do, and some bookwork to catch up on, amongst other mind-numbingly boring things.’ She touched Charlize on the shoulder as she passed her. ‘I’m sorry I can’t come along with you this morning, love, but duty calls.’
Charlize had been worried about that happening, to the point of being panicked. They’d all warned her away from Vivien, and here she was, going against their advice. She felt like an absolute bitch for not being honest about where she was going, but her work had to come first. She wanted this promotion and she was not about to go against Jasper’s wishes when he’d put in a good word for her to the big boss. ‘Oh, that’s okay. I don’t mind pottering around on my own.’
Katherine began to pull on her boots at the back door. ‘What time is your ride arriving to take you to the airport this afternoon, love?’
‘Three o’clock. My plane leaves Parkes at five-thirty.’ She tried to smile. ‘I’ll be home just in time for dinner.’
‘Hang five mum and I’ll come help you with the horses.’ Dallas stood and wandered over to the sink with his empty cup. He placed it in the sudsy water, making sure to brush Charlize’s hands as he did so. ‘I honestly don’t mind dropping you off if you want. It’s the least I can do.’
Charlize felt the warmth of his touch flood her and her legs went weak. She muffled an involuntary sigh. ‘Thanks, but that would mean you have a three hour round trip, and the cost of the courtesy car is covered by work anyways, so it makes sense for me to take it.’ She didn’t want to make this any harder than it was going to be, and a tearful goodbye at the airport was something she definitely didn’t want.
With Katherine’s back still to them as she knelt down and gave Bruce and Levi some doggy loving, Dallas held Charlize’s gaze. He didn’t need to say anything. The depth of desire and tenderness in his eyes was enough to take Charlize’s breath away. ‘I don’t want you to go,’ he mouthed.
She smiled sadly then quickly turned away, her eyes welling. She tensed every muscle in her body to stop it from trembling, as she silently told herself to suck it up. She didn’t want to go home either. Not yet, not until she and Dallas could see where this could go. But that was a stupid way of thinking, because it wasn’t going to go anywhere. She wasn’t going to cause more unnecessary heartache for herself, or Dallas for that matter, by sugar-coating the situation. She and Dallas would never be. She would drive away today, and once again be entangled in her life back in the city, Dallas would get on with his life here, and they would just remember each other as someone that could have been if things had been different.
That was life. And it sucked. But it was the way it was. She’d learnt that the hard way.
‘Catch you later on, then, before you head off to the airport,’ Dallas said, his voice low.
‘Yup, will do,’ she replied, a little too cheerfully. Grabbing the tea towel, she wiped her hands, and without taking another look at Dallas for fear of breaking down, she headed out of the kitchen and towards the solitude of her bedroom, where she could have a shower and cry her heart out.
CHAPTER
27
Pulling up out the front of the address Jasper had given her, Charlize swallowed down hard. Her heart was racing a million miles a minute and she was wrestling with the idea of just driving off. But then reality hit her like a slap in the face. As much as she hated it, she had to do this, or risk not only the promotion, but maybe even her job. Jasper may have been a close family friend, but that didn’t make her exempt from being fired, not by a long shot. And as much as she didn’t want to go behind the Armstrongs’ backs, she needed to put her own needs first.
Maybe she should be a bit more discreet and park a little further down the road, just in case someone spotted Katherine’s car. But where, when the houses along this semi-acreage road where few and far between? She bit her bottom lip, and then shrugged. Katherine and Dallas were both busy today, so she doubted they’d be coming into town for anything. She should be safe leaving the car out the front. And surely it would be more attention grabbing if she parked the car a mile down the deserted road and then walked here.
Deep breaths—she was making a mountain out of a molehill. Vivien probably didn’t have anything credible to say anyway.
Turning off the ignition, she peered out of the passenger side window, buying time. The house was nothing like she’d been expecting. She’d been imagining an old rundown shack that somehow appeared haunted, but this was a quaint little cottage with equally quaint gardens, the colourful blooms popping amongst the dense green foliage of the manicured garden beds. Either Vivien was an avid gardener, or she paid someone to do it. It wasn’t a remarkable house by any means, but it was cosy looking. An enormous jacaranda tree stood at the side of the house, overshadowing the cottage, the purple blooms striking against the backdrop of cloudless blue sky. Its massive spreading branches seemed to be enfolding and embracing the home, concealing it a little from the rest of the street.
Curtains moved at the front window, and eyes peeked out. Charlize took this as her cue to get a move on. She grabbed her handbag, making sure her iPhone was in there so she could record the interview, before stepping out of the car. She sucked in a breath and then blew it away as she squared her shoulders. What was she about to find out?
After wandering up the pebble stone path—her heels click-clacking with each step—Charlize rapped the brass knocker three times and waited. She held her breath as she heard approaching footfalls. The door opened a crack and wrinkle-framed hazel eyes peeked out.
‘Hi Vivien.’ Charlize clutched her handbag like her life depended on it.
The door swung open and along with it came the scent of mothballs. ‘Hello Charlize, nice to finally have you paying me a visit.’ Void of any hint of a smile, Vivien extended her hand to shake Charlize’s, the soil beneath her fingernails confirming that she was the avid gardener.
Charlize shook her outstretched hand. The smell of mothballs was almost overpowering.
‘Come on then, come in,’ Vivien said curtly as she waved Charlize in.
Charlize went to step inside and then halted as she saw Vivien’s eyes trail down her then burn holes into her feet. ‘Do you want me to take my heels off?’
Vivien nodded brusquely. ‘I’d appreciate it. I don’t want my timber floors being scratched.’ She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. ‘I don’t know why you young women feel it necessary to wear such uncomfortable things.’
Biting her tongue, Charlize removed her shoes, and then stepped inside. Vivien shut the door behind her, the click of the lock startling her. Who
locked their front doors out here? Katherine was forever leaving the homestead wide open. She shook an eerie feeling off as Vivien stepped past, then motioned for her to follow down a long hallway.
Charlize shivered as goosebumps rose. Although bright and colourful on the outside thanks to the lavish gardens, the inside of the cottage was lacking sunlight and felt a little stale and dank. Much like its owner. Instead of watching Vivien’s back, she turned her attention to the silver framed photographs that lined the walls on either side of the hall. Most of them were black and white, but a few were coloured. Charlize couldn’t help but notice how happy Vivien appeared to be in some of the photos—so the woman did genuinely smile sometimes. Go figure.
The last photo was the most recent, and was of Vivien playing the piano at a church, the ruby necklace around her neck catching the light at just the right angle. Charlize halted. ‘Wow, what a beautiful necklace.’ She tapped the photo. ‘I adore rubies. They’re my favourite stone.’
Vivien halted mid-step, and spun around. She was smiling now, and Charlize was having a hard time working out if it was a genuine smile, or not. Vivien’s eyes travelled to where Charlize was gazing. ‘Oh, yes, I love rubies too. My late husband gave me that necklace the day before God decided he needed him in heaven.’
For the first time since meeting her, Charlize felt compassion for Vivien. She felt it only right to show her empathy. ‘I’m so sorry to hear that. How did he pass away?’
Vivien clucked her tongue. ‘Drink driving. Thankfully he was the only one in the car. Drove straight off the edge of the mountain he did. Foolish man. I always abhorred alcohol, and George knew that, but it didn’t stop him coming home drunk every night.’ She tapped the place on her chest that the ruby would be resting against if she were wearing it. ‘I lost the necklace a while ago now, lord knows where.’