Return to Stringybark Creek

by Karly Lane

  Hadley smiled sadly at her gran. ‘I’m not sure I want to make any more mistakes of those proportions.’

  Gran patted her hand gently. ‘It wasn’t the worst one ever made.’

  ‘I feel like a failure, Gran,’ she admitted. ‘You and Grandad, Mum and Dad … you guys all managed to stay married.’

  ‘We came from a different era, sweetheart,’ Gran said gently. She placed a hand on top of her granddaughter’s and it felt cool and soft against Hadley’s. ‘I don’t think you can really compare the two. In my day you married young, had your children, worked from dawn to dusk. We were too tired to think about finding someone else and getting a divorce. Besides, the stigma attached to a young woman who left her husband was huge,’ she went on, her eyes narrowing slightly. ‘It happened, don’t you worry. There were women who left husbands, but they had a wretched life. My cousin Eunice left her husband. He was a brute of a man, but her family couldn’t take her back in, they still had five children at home. She ended up moving in with another aunty for a while.’ Gran shook her head slightly. ‘She was such a beautiful girl when she was young, happy and carefree, but after her marriage and divorce she was never the same. I never saw her smile. Most men her age were already married and those that weren’t, well, their mothers didn’t want them marrying a divorced woman. Poor Eunice.’

  ‘What happened to her?’ Hadley asked when Gran stopped talking.

  ‘Oh, she ended up marrying some older man from church. He was much older than her. Years later when I saw her again, she still had the saddest eyes,’ Gran sighed.

  ‘But what about you, Mum? You were well and truly in the free love, women’s lib era, but you managed to stay married to Dad all these years.’

  ‘Well, it might have been all well and good if you lived in the city back then, but out here growing up there was no such thing as free love, I can tell you. My parents would have skinned me alive,’ she said with a wry grin. ‘I know it seems like it must have been all smooth sailing for your father and I, but it hasn’t been,’ she said, a small frown crinkling between her eyebrows. ‘There have been times I’ve felt like packing up and moving out, but I guess I was raised to believe that divorce wasn’t an option. Maybe I was just lucky, finding a man like your father,’ she shrugged. ‘Yes, we had rough patches, when things were bad with the farm and we were tired and stressed and we fought a lot. We could have let that drive us apart, but the reality is that we love each other. We love the family we created, and in the end the tough times brought us closer. I don’t know what the answer is, darling, but I think it depends on who it is you’re marrying and whether they’re the right person for you. I think two people can survive anything together if they’re right for each other.’

  The truth of her mother’s words struck home. Had she married Mitch for the right reasons? She’d known her family had their reservations about him, but their relationship had been so easy. They liked the same things; they knew the same people. They worked in the same industry. They were friends. Inwardly, Hadley sighed. There’d been a small part of her that had kept on with the wedding out of pride. She’d been determined to have the perfect wedding. She’d wanted to prove to her family that the man she’d chosen was the right one, even if now, with the clarity of hindsight, maybe they had just fallen into a comfortable friendship with benefits. But were fireworks and giddy feelings really what made a successful marriage? She knew plenty of couples who’d been absolutely smitten with one another only to have their marriage fail too … so what was the answer?

  ‘You know what I think the secret is to a long and happy marriage?’ Gran piped up, as if reading her mind.

  ‘What, Gran?’ Hadley smiled, before taking a sip of her coffee.

  ‘Sex,’ she said simply. ‘Your grandfather was a magician in the bed,’ she sighed.

  Hadley coughed, then choked on her sip of coffee, managing to snort some of it out of her nose. She took the tissues her mother handed over and dabbed at her nose and eyes.

  ‘Well, it’s true,’ Gran said with an indignant sniff. ‘He was very talented.’

  ‘Ida,’ her mother tsked, with a hopeless shake of her head.

  ‘I bet that was the problem with that Mitch fella, wasn’t it?’ Gran nodded sagely. ‘He was a dud between the sheets.’

  ‘Oh, for the love of Pete,’ Lavinia muttered.

  ‘Well, he was …’ Hadley wasn’t exactly sure how to answer. She hadn’t ever imagined having a conversation like this with her grandmother. ‘He was fine,’ she ended uncomfortably.

  ‘Fine!’ Gran chortled. ‘My darling, when you’re with the right man you won’t use the word fine,’ she promised. ‘Didn’t I tell you that boy’s eyes were too close together.’ She turned to look at Lavinia. ‘I told you so,’ she announced smugly.

  Hadley swapped glances with her exasperated mother. Life was never dull around Gran.

  A car pulled up outside and Lavinia craned her neck to look out the window. ‘Oh, it’s Ollie. I wonder what he wants.’ Hadley set her cup aside and forced her expression to remain as nonchalant as she could. ‘He mentioned he might be dropping by. I’ll go see.’

  She ignored the slight raise of her mother’s eyebrow and the less than subtle curiosity on her grandmother’s face and left the room before any questions could be asked.

  Ollie took a breath before opening his door and getting out of his ute. Just do it. Don’t think about it. Just say it and get it over with. His step faltered slightly. Say what exactly? What was he supposed to say?

  ‘Hi.’

  Hadley’s greeting cut through his momentary panic and he cleared his throat. ‘Hey.’

  ‘I got your message you were coming over. Everything okay?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. ‘Everything’s fine. I just … I was driving and I …’ He paused. ‘The thing is, Hadley,’ he said starting again, ‘I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.’ He risked a glance at her. ‘Life’s short,’ he said simply. He saw her eyes widen a little as he took a step towards her. ‘I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m not imagining there’s something different between us lately, am I?’ It wasn’t really a question. ‘The kiss the other night and then the other day …’

  Hadley opened her mouth to speak but he didn’t give her time. He didn’t want to be wrong and, if he was, this would probably be his last chance to kiss her, so he did.

  The first time had caught him off guard with the unexpected spark it created, and even though he was expecting it this time, their first contact still went through him like a bolt of electricity. Her lips beneath his were warm and soft, and they moved with a growing curiosity that soon turned to hunger. His hands slipped up to cup her head and he felt her push closer into his body as the kiss deepened. He’d only meant to kiss her like the other night—a gentle, tentative kiss—but something had definitely changed over the last few days. Maybe she’d been thinking about the kiss just as often as he’d been.

  He felt her ease back slightly and fought the disappointment that swiftly followed. He closed his eyes briefly. This was it. If she told him she didn’t want things to go any further, it’d be the last time he held her like this.

  He slowly let his hands slip to his sides and braced himself to hear the ‘We’re just friends’ speech.

  ‘You’re not imagining it,’ she said softly.

  For a long moment he could only stare at her. ‘Okay,’ he said uncertainly.

  He saw her lips tug into a soft smile. ‘So what happens now?’

  ‘I don’t know really. To be honest, I was just wingin’ it.’ He grinned at her chuckle and gingerly slid his hands down to loop around her waist. ‘We could try again just to make sure?’

  ‘I think we’ve more than established we’ve got that part down pat,’ she said dryly. ‘Actually, I’m more worried about what everyone else is going to say.’

  ‘It’ll be a bit of a surprise, but I don’t think it’s going to be an issue.�
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  ‘I just think we need to take this slow. I haven’t got my head around this thing yet.’

  ‘Yeah. Me either. I mean, you’re all I’ve been able to think about for the last few weeks, but now that we’re here, it kind of feels like I’m dreaming.’

  ‘If you are, then we’re both having the same dream.’

  ‘Oh, yeah? Well, in that case, in my dream I need to kiss you again,’ he said simply. When she didn’t argue he took it as a yes and lowered his head. The effect was the same. Kissing Hadley had just become his favourite thing in the world.

  A sound edging closer alerted him to the fact they weren’t going to be alone for much longer and he reluctantly lifted his head. He couldn’t help the small grin that tugged at his mouth when he saw the sleepy-eyed look on Hadley’s face. It gave him a cocky kinda kick to realise she was just as affected by the kiss as he was.

  ‘My brother has the worst timing ever,’ she muttered when she glanced over her shoulder at the tractor returning to the shed.

  ‘You’re not wrong.’ Bloody Griff. ‘Can you come over tonight? To my place? I’ll cook you dinner.’

  Hadley shot him a doubtful eyebrow lift. ‘You know how to cook?’

  ‘Oh, ye of little faith,’ he scoffed.

  ‘Faith has nothing to do with it. I’ve never seen you cook. Ever.’

  ‘Doesn’t mean I can’t. I’ll have you know I plan on having a feast set out for you tonight.’

  ‘You know, I’m going to say yes, purely because I’m calling your bluff,’ she said, folding her arms across her chest, which only managed to stretch her T-shirt tighter across her breasts and distract him from their banter.

  ‘I’ll see you tonight then,’ he said, holding her amused gaze as he backed away. It wasn’t until he got into the ute that he was capable of thinking clearly again and realised he was going to have to come up with something pretty impressive if he was going to live up to the big-mouth claims he’d just made. Bugger.

  ‘What did Ollie want?’ Griff asked later as he strolled across to Hadley.

  ‘Nothing. He was just sayin’ hi.’

  ‘Since when does he have time to stop and say hi?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Hadley snapped irritably. The last thing she needed was her nosy brother making too big of a deal out of whatever this was. ‘I didn’t ask him what he was over here for. He just stopped on his way out.’

  Griff sent her a side-eyed glance. ‘Everything okay?’

  ‘Everything’s great. I’ve got things to do. See ya later.’

  Hadley didn’t have to look at her brother to know he would be wearing a somewhat suspicious look on his face. He must have noticed how close they’d been standing, or maybe he’d just picked up on the chemistry between them. Either way, she wasn’t going to stick around and fan any flames. She wasn’t ready to admit to herself what was happening, let alone to her brother. It was way too soon for that.

  Twelve

  Hadley pulled up in front of Ollie’s small cottage. It felt strange driving past the main house. It’s just Ollie, she reminded herself firmly as the nerves began fluttering once more. Only it wasn’t just Ollie. It wasn’t the old Ollie. This was something new. Something very different. This was Ollie as she’d never known him before. This was hot Ollie. An image of him lying back in the lentils flashed through her mind once again and she pushed it away. She couldn’t think about that right now. She was distracted enough as it was.

  The old wooden boards groaned as she stepped up onto the tiny front verandah and knocked on the door. From inside the cottage she heard something drop and a sharp expletive, followed by hurried footsteps up the hallway.

  A somewhat flustered Ollie appeared in the doorway and Hadley bit back a smile. ‘Am I too early?’

  ‘No. No, come on in. I’m just …’ He waved his hand vaguely towards the direction of the kitchen at the rear of the house. ‘Diesel. Get out, go on,’ he said, letting the dog out the front door. ‘Don’t look at me like that,’ he warned when the animal tilted his head slightly at his owner.

  ‘Don’t kick him out on my account,’ Hadley said, crouching down to rub the dog’s head.

  ‘He’s getting under my feet in there. He usually stays outside anyway.’

  ‘Is something burning?’ Hadley asked.

  ‘Shit. Bugger it.’ Ollie turned and jogged down the hallway. ‘Come on in,’ he threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Hadley to follow cautiously.

  The kitchen was remarkably tidy. She’d been expecting a sink full of saucepans and bowls; food spilled all over the benchtops. A small table was set up with a white tablecloth and a candle, two crystal wineglasses and fine bone china plates.

  Ollie was at the oven juggling an oven mitt and blackened tray of what appeared to have once been garlic bread.

  ‘Do you need a hand?’

  ‘Nope. I got it all under control,’ he said, dumping the tray on the sink with a clang. ‘Sorry. Burned the bread.’

  ‘We didn’t need the carbs anyway,’ Hadley shrugged. ‘So what else is on the menu?’

  ‘Ah, well, we’ve got,’ he paused, lifting the corner of the foil-covered tray still in the oven, ‘peas, potatoes and roast … lamb,’ he said hesitantly.

  ‘You’re not sure what you cooked?’ Hadley asked innocently.

  ‘Of course I am, I just … Look, you go sit down and I’ll serve up.’ He ushered her away from the oven.

  Hadley settled herself at the table and gently ran her fingers over the silver cutlery that she knew for a fact belonged to Ollie’s mum. How many times over the years had they eaten in the good room for some special occasion and used this cutlery?

  Ollie brought over the two plates and carefully placed hers on the table before her. ‘Here you go.’

  She looked down at the plate filled with roast vegetables and thinly sliced lamb, with a hefty drizzle of gravy, and felt her mouth water. She was starving.

  ‘I’ll take that apology any time now,’ Ollie said smugly, taking his own seat across from her at the small table. Beneath the table she felt his knee rest against her own.

  ‘Oh, please. As if you managed this on your own. Come on, spill. You got your mother to cook this for you.’

  ‘I said I’d have a feast for you and here it is.’ He filled their glasses from the bottle of wine sitting in the centre of the table.

  ‘Fine. I’m too hungry to care. It looks amazing.’ There was no way he’d cooked this himself but she was touched that he’d gone to so much trouble for dinner.

  The clinking of cutlery on plates sounded loud in the small kitchen. Hadley felt as though she were on a first date with someone she’d just met. Which was ridiculous. She’d known Ollie forever. They’d eaten meals hundreds of times together, only it had never been a meal like this and they’d never really eaten alone before. There had always been someone around. This was all new territory. But it was still Ollie, for crying out loud.

  She risked a glance up at him and licked her bottom lip. She swallowed hard when he looked up at the same moment, his eyes fixed on her mouth. He had an uncanny ability to make her knees wobble without even trying. The look she read in his eyes set the earlier butterflies launching into the sky like a flock of startled galahs.

  Hadley reached out and picked up her glass, taking a hasty sip of her wine. The alcohol warmed a path down her throat. She forced herself to concentrate on finishing her meal.

  ‘How did your parents take it when you said you were coming over here for dinner?’ Ollie asked.

  Hadley focused on pushing the vegetables onto her fork. ‘I didn’t really mention it. Just said I was going out … to visit friends.’ She risked a quick glance and saw him frown a little. ‘Is that a problem?’

  ‘No,’ he said, returning to his own meal. ‘I just wondered if you said anything to anyone.’

  ‘I don’t think we should,’ she said, before hurrying on. ‘I mean, why get everyone all hyped up about some
thing that …’

  He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to finish the sentence.

  ‘I mean … we don’t even know … we haven’t …’

  ‘It’s okay, Hads.’

  Damn it. It wasn’t okay. But what did he want her to do? Go and announce to everyone that she had feelings for him? The last thing she wanted was for her family to start asking questions and, God help her, start planning a wedding date before she was even free of her current husband. ‘You know what they’re like,’ she told him. ‘They’ll all get carried away.’

  ‘Yeah. They would. No, you’re right,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘I just wasn’t sure how you wanted to play it. But Griffin’s gonna figure out something’s going on sooner or later. You’ve already told Liv about the kiss … I know my sister, she’s gonna let something slip.’

  ‘Do you know what this thing is?’ she asked, feeling a little helpless.

  She watched as he put his cutlery down and looked at her. His gaze held hers with a steadiness that felt like a touch. ‘I know what this is … to me,’ he said slowly. ‘But if you need more time to work out what it is for you, I’ll wait as long as you need me to.’

  ‘What is it … to you?’ she found herself asking, watching as his gentle smile crinkled the corners of his eyes.

  ‘I don’t want it to be something casual, but if that’s the only way I can have you, I’ll take it,’ he said, surprising her with his honesty. ‘I’m hoping it’ll be a lot more, but if it’s not, the time we’ve had together is more than I ever figured I’d get, so I’m not going to complain.’

  She mulled over his words and found that thinking about starting a relationship with Ollie didn’t freak her out as much as she’d imagined. It should, shouldn’t it? She’d already failed at marriage and was feeling more than a little disheartened about relationships. The last thing she thought she’d be doing was considering diving headfirst into a new romance. And yet here she was.

  Ollie collected her plate and she stood to help clear the table.