‘Your son, yes, we have to consider all the children in all this.’
‘They’re hardly children, Ava, and I’ve never needed my son’s permission to hook up with a lady.’ John grinned.
‘Is it not obvious that your son and my daughter are rather keen on each other?’
‘And you see a problem with that?’
‘What happens if Blair and Nina don’t work?’ she asked.
‘Do you want them to?’ John sat back, crossed his arms and his ankles. ‘Look, Ava, if you’re thinking this you-and-me-and-your-daughter-and-my-son thing is all a bit weird, would it help to know Blair’s not my biological son.’
His smile surprised Ava. ‘You knew?’
‘The poor bloke’s adopted some of my quirks and certain characteristics. That can happen when a child spends their formative years with the same person. We were inseparable. Still are. But I’ve always known, although not who his father is. And I used to worry about that. I had my suspicions and the idea drove me a little crazy for a while. Then I decided I didn’t want to know, so I chose to forget. Blair is my son in every way that’s important. And, yes, he’s clearly falling for your daughter, which only reinforces the fact that he also inherited my discerning taste in women. Like Nina inherited her fear of commitment from you, perhaps.’
Ava balked. ‘I do not have a fear of commitment! That’s an assumption people seem to make. Yes, even my daughter.’
‘Then why did you never marry?’
‘I told you at dinner, John. I never loved a man the way I love you.’
‘Love?’ He sat straight up, eyed her. ‘Did you just say you love me, Ava Marchette?’ He took her hands again. ‘Let’s quit with all the obstacles. Nothing mattered before – not our ages, not me being content in the country and you a city girl with dreams of travelling the world. Why should anything else matter? Surely at our age we’ve earned the right to be selfish. I can remember you and even love you, because it’s all in here somewhere.’ He put one hand over his heart. ‘I feel like a boy asking his girl to marry him, Ava. I’ve never known that feeling before now. You have to come back to Ivy-May. Stay with me and let’s see what happens. Maybe you’ll try this on for size.’ John pulled the pearl ring from his pocket. ‘It was always meant for you, I’m told. Of course, which hand you want it on is up to you.’
‘My daughter would have a field day with that!’
Chapter 63
Choices – Three Months Later
‘I need a frequent-flyer programme for you, Nina,’ Blair called across the restaurant deck. ‘Good trip now the roads are all fixed?’
‘Are you getting sick of me drifting back and forth? Do I look like a woman who can’t commit?’
‘You look like a woman who needs a hug.’ Gone were any concerns that the feelings behind the embrace weren’t mutual. ‘I understand you want to take some time and be close to Ava. It’s good you could take so much time off work. Nepotism comes in handy, eh?’
‘I guess.’
Blair pulled back. ‘Is there something wrong?’
‘I’m… I’m needing to…’
‘To sit down?’ he asked.
‘No, no, I have to stand. There are decisions to be made.’
‘And you can’t do that sitting down? You look like you need a drink.’
‘Absolutely not! I’m intoxicated enough without one. It’s a feeling I get whenever I hit the Candlebark Creek turn-off on the highway. I like how the corrugations rattle my bad mood away. And I like that I see complication in my life and a future that excites me. That’s what I’m talking about.’
Blair was smiling. ‘Funnily enough, all I see before me right this second is confusion. You obviously need to let me inside that head of yours.’
‘It’s Miriam,’ Nina said. ‘We’re like chalk and cheese but we’ve been friends for ever, you know?’
Bewilderment scrunched his face. ‘What’s Miriam got to do with this?’
‘She doesn’t hold back. She takes the bull by the horns and does whatever feels right. I’m here because I want to take the bull by the horns.’
‘You do realise that is just a saying. You don’t need to take an actual bull by its horns, although Pretty Boy wouldn’t mind, I’m sure. Where are you planning on taking this bull and his horns?’
‘I have a new project I need your help with.’ Nina knew she wasn’t making any sense, but for the entire trip in the car any planned speech had become mixed up with self-doubt. She mustn’t look at the teasing curve of his lips and the sultry sparkle in his eyes. She had to concentrate.
‘How concerned should I be about this project, Nina?’ Blair grinned.
‘It’s me. I’m worried that I’m a failure at forming attachments to avoid being hurt and that’s why I have goldfish as pets. Nobody cries when a goldfish dies, right? I mean, they’re not like dogs and cats that you mourn, set aside a spot in the garden or pay for a cremation and get their ashes in a hundred-dollar box to keep on the mantelpiece. I hate to admit it, but I think Miriam’s right. People have goldfish so they can flush them down the toilet.’
‘Slow down, Nina, is that why you’re upset? Your goldfish died?’
She pressed the heel of one hand on a cheek and found tears she didn’t know she’d cried. ‘Oh, ah, no, they’re in the car.’
At that moment a family of four appeared on the deck, with backpacks, bags and expressions that said they’d been driving for too many hours.
‘We made it,’ the father told Blair, shaking his hand.
‘Good, I’ll show you all to your rooms and let you get settled. You…’ He smiled and spoke firmly to Nina and pulled out a dining chair. ‘Sit and don’t move. I’ll be back.’
Nina plopped into a chair, remembering her friend’s face the day she broke the news about Project Nina.
‘You were right,’ Nina had said, after cornering Miriam in the staff room. ‘I’m working in the family business and doing a desk job I hate because it’s safe. My heart isn’t in it, like yours is.’
‘Der! I love making those freaking franchisees more successful. And I love that they don’t know I’m doing it.’
‘Then we both need to do what we love, starting now.’ Nina had slipped the phone from her pocket, ignoring several messages from Blair. What she was about to do was more important.
‘Nina,’ Miriam said, a note of warning in her tone, ‘whatever you’re thinking about doing I want you to stop and put the phone down. I said step away from the phone, Nina.’
‘Nope. I’m telling Tony before I chicken out. Besides, he’s working from home today.’ Nina opened a new message and started typing.
‘What are you telling him?’
‘That I’m taking more leave. Actually…’ Nina stopped to delete her last five words. ‘Make that… r-e-s-i-g-n-i-n-g.’
‘Are you crazy? This is your family’s business!’
‘I’m not crazy and I’m very aware it’s my family’s business, which means I can tell my brother to appoint you as my permanent replacement. There, sent.’ She looked up, enjoying Miriam’s stunned-mullet impersonation. ‘Next time Mr Pain-in-the-butt franchisee calls and wants to talk to the person in charge you can tell him you’re it.’
‘Oh, wow, Nina.’ The pair hugged. ‘That’s so not crazy. Thank you! I won’t let you down.’
‘I know you won’t. I really should have done this sooner.’ Nina sighed, feeling the weight of expectations fall away.
‘Why now, Neens, what are you going to do?’
‘Mum’s connection with John Tate made me see how much I want the same, but also how much I might lose if I don’t toughen up and make a few changes.’
‘We all want the same, Neens. That’s hardly a reason to resign.’
‘Bark Hut was taking over my life, Miriam. I don’t want to be Tony’s sister and Ava’s daughter. Time I made my own decisions and stood on my own two feet. I may be only twenty-five, but who knows what’s waiting around the corner? Lo
ok what happened out of the blue to John Tate and he was just twenty-one. I’m not rushing into anything but I’m not wasting another day doing something I don’t enjoy, or being with someone I don’t love. Besides, you’ll be heaps better at this job than me – but I’ll want regular updates and all the goss.’
Now Nina felt Blair’s hand on her shoulder, his finger slipping the fallen bra strap back up. She’d been too busy staring at her unadorned fingers knotted tight in her lap to notice him return.
She looked up and saw his smiling face above her. ‘Hello!’
‘Hi there.’
‘Guests settled?’ she asked.
‘Yep.’
‘So, do you reckon I can make that entrance again?’
He shrugged. ‘If you feel the need. Maybe I should help you get those goldfish out of the car.’
‘Yeah, and Mum should be here soon. She wanted to stop in town first.’
Blair stopped walking. ‘Ava’s coming?’
Nina sniffed and wiped her nose. ‘Your lucky day, Blair. You get me, my goldfish and my mother all at the same time. Is the cottage vacant?’
‘Yes, but it might be a bit small for you all.’
‘Oh, really? Well, maybe Mum can have the cottage and you can find me a comfy bed somewhere else.’
‘You and your goldfish?’
‘Yeah, but they don’t take up much room and they’re like me, simple needs – food, protection, a place to breathe.’
‘I was about to take the dogs for a run.’
‘Great! I’ll come with you.’
‘And then I’ll give your accommodation options some serious thought – for about a second.’ Blair gathered her up, kissing her in such a way that she wished the guests who’d arrived earlier were not loitering on the deck.
Chapter 64
86,400 Seconds
One year later
‘So, here we are, Mr Tate.’
‘Indeed, Ms Marchette.’
‘What a difference a year makes,’ Ava said. ‘I feel like a new woman.’
‘You look the same to me. Our circumstances might have changed, but the world keeps moving and the sun replaces the moon.’
She looked at the sky, now painted plum and apricot. ‘Every 86,400 seconds.’
‘And quad bikes replace horses.’ John pointed as Blair and Nina rode by at breakneck speed, two silhouettes, two farm dogs and one little dachshund that thought it was a farm dog in hot pursuit.
‘That little fella’s certainly taken to farm life since it arrived on Blair’s doorstep.’ The little brown dog, with eyes that said Love me, had arrived just over two months ago, looking a little the worse for wear. Blair and Nina had put posters up around town and tried Facebook, but no one had come forward to claim the runaway.
John nudged Ava’s shoulder like he used to do. ‘Some things land on our doorstep for a reason.’
‘And some runaways end up exactly where they need to be, John. The Little One-eyed Dude Dog has a second chance, and he’s proof anyone can adapt to a new life, no matter how different or how difficult things seem. Nina has never looked happier.’
‘If what she’s achieved with Blair’s business in the last twelve months is any indication, I’d say she’s exactly what he needs. As amazing as I might think my son is at everything, Iron Pot Hill Farmstay Retreat is thriving with Nina’s input. The cooking school she’s established has brought a whole new clientele to stay. I’ve been to one of her classes. She’s good.’
‘I suppose that portrait served its purpose. Without it those two wouldn’t have met.’
John tut-tutted. ‘I’m almost embarrassed about that work. I know it wasn’t what you were expecting.’
‘My coming out here for the portrait that day was never about the end result.’
‘Still, less detail may have been called for.’
‘It was your detail that made the difference, John. The ring and the Peppi’s napkin were the key.’
‘The ring was always intended for you, Ava.’
‘And my daughter has indeed had a field day – several – with me wearing it on my right hand.’
They both laughed, watching the now-distant figures.
Ava sighed. ‘Oh, to have such boundless energy.’
‘Remember we used to run the working dogs on horseback?’
‘I was never terribly keen on the riding,’ she said. ‘My favourite time was after your parents went to bed. You’d wait for the cover of darkness before sneaking down to the cottage. The night was ours.’
‘Ava, I’m sorry, I don’t remember.’
Ava kissed him on the lips. ‘You don’t need to apologise.’
‘But I want to remember everything.’
‘Remembering the past will only make us dwell on what we lost. I want to spend whatever’s left appreciating what we’ve found. Think of each new day as a fresh canvas, John, and we can paint it any way we want.’
‘I like the sound of that, and I like being here, just the two of us.’
‘We used to do quiet together so well.’
‘And for the first time in years, Ava, I feel quiet inside. It’s been a long time since anyone or anything made me feel that.’
Ava smiled. ‘Dear John, when I met you I was running away from so-called love for the second time. I ran from you thirty years ago and I’ve kept running from one thing or another ever since, trying to find my place, like Dad wanted. It’s what I did.’ She worked the pearl ring from her finger and pressed it on the flat of John’s palm.
‘But, Ava, I—’
‘Ssh!’ She pressed a single finger against his lips. ‘I’m tired of running and I’ve let you wait long enough, John Tate. So put the damn ring on my wedding finger.’
Chapter 65
Dragonflies
Ten years later
When Ava wakes, the sun is streaming through the window and the man she’s always wanted to marry is beside her in the bed.
‘Happy anniversary, love.’ John drapes an arm around Ava’s neck, props himself on an elbow and presses his lips to hers. ‘Ten years,’ he says, ‘and I remember every second of every one.’
‘Then Ivy-May is no longer the place of lost memories,’ she says. ‘Good, because this property is too beautiful for such a reputation.’
‘Your being here has brought even more beauty to it.’ John’s lips are soft and warm on her neck and Ava wishes he would hold her like that for ever, but there are jobs waiting to be done, and for the first time in weeks, she’s eager to get busy in the kitchen.
*
‘Well, John, so much for me being a help today.’
‘You’re my wife,’ says John, crouching before her where she sits on Ivy-May’s back veranda. ‘That’s all I need you to be today and always – to have and to hold.’
‘In a lot more sickness than health of late, I’m afraid,’ Ava says, while twirling the pearl and diamond ring on her wedding finger.
‘I’m sorry you’re feeling so tired today.’ John shoves a pen and notepad away and perches on the coffee table in front of her. ‘Can I get you anything?’
‘Our family.’ Ava smiles.
‘Too easy,’ he says, his face full of love. ‘As usual, Nina has everything under control. She texted earlier to say she and Blair will wait for Tony’s lot to arrive so they can all come over together with the food.’
‘Oh dear, and I promised to make the panna cotta for today.’
‘You can relax.’ John strokes Ava’s cheek. ‘The panna cotta is all mine and it’s under control. Trust me.’
‘I do.’
John’s lips curl into the familiar boyish grin and he leans closer. ‘I like hearing those two words from your mouth. They sound just as sexy ten years on.’ He kisses her with such gentle exuberance that Ava’s hand goes to her chest to steady her breathing. ‘You also look just as sexy, Ava Tate.’ John winks and stands, checking his watch. ‘Oh, did I mention we’ll have visitors tomorrow, just for a cuppa?’
<
br /> ‘Who?’
‘Miriam and Conrad with their crew of two. Can you believe she’s only now introducing the father of her children to the mother-in-law from Hell? Miriam says she needs a hit of good mother first.’
‘Oh dear!’ Ava laughed and removed her glasses, wiping the lenses with the tissue she always kept up one sleeve. ‘It’ll be nice to see them all.’
‘They’re driving up to Cairns, but she wants to call in with baby Harry. According to Miriam, Ivy is Harry’s first official boyfriend.’
‘Definitely not,’ Ava scoffed. ‘Harry and Ivy have eighteen years, at least, to decide if they’re right for each other. No one in this family will be making decisions for them!’ Ava’s breathy laugh earned her another kiss on the forehead.
‘Couldn’t agree more, my love. Now, you rest here until the troops arrive. In the meantime, this story should make you smile.’ He hands her the local newspaper. ‘The article on page four.’
‘What is it?’
‘Katie,’ he says, flicking the pages. ‘You remember how she swore she was past keeping secrets and telling lies?’
‘What’s she done now?’ Ava settled her glasses on her nose.
‘See for yourself. Have a read, then a rest. I’ll be in the kitchen checking on the panna cotta. You told me once you give extra points for presentation, remember?’
She smiles as John whistles his way into the kitchen, leaving Ava in her favourite wicker armchair reading the page-four headline: Kathryn Tate wins federal seat in Parliament.
*
Although she wakes with a heavy heart, the sounds of her and John’s family lift Ava’s spirit: footfall on the front staircase, excited whispers and hushed squeals.
‘Shoes off,’ Nina is telling everyone, and Ava can picture the eleven pairs lined up at the front door, toes touching the weatherboard wall John finally managed to keep one colour – white. On Ava’s lap is a twelfth pair: pink booties for her latest grandchild, Ivy, a daughter for Blair and Nina, baby sister to six-year-old Jack, and step-sister to Tyson.
Any minute, Ava’s blended family will burst through the door and pass through the room with the starry sky. Arms brimming with food and all talking at once, Nina will corral the noisy mob in the kitchen until the meal is ready, Marchette style, on the giant wooden table that is etched with so many stories from the past.
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