Return to Stringybark Creek

by Karly Lane

  That was true.

  ‘Look, there comes a time in everyone’s life when they re-evaluate,’ Linc continued. ‘I think if Hadley’s sayin’ she’s finishin’ up in eight months, then you should take her word for it.’

  ‘Maybe this whole Mitch scandal did you a favour,’ Griff said, patting Ollie on the shoulder in mock sympathy as he missed the next shot.

  ‘How do you figure that?’

  ‘It forced Hads to lie low out here. I didn’t think I’d ever see her hang around this long.’

  Also true.

  ‘So you two got the buck’s night sorted?’ Griff asked, changing the subject.

  ‘What? We’re supposed to throw you a buck’s night?’ Linc said, reaching for his beer. ‘I didn’t get the memo.’

  ‘No one told me.’ Ollie shook his head as he watched Griff set up the next shot.

  ‘You better be throwing me a buck’s night,’ Griff warned.

  ‘I’m pretty sure your lovely fiancée told us, quote, if anyone throws Griffin a buck’s night, they will lose their nuts. Unquote. As I’m fairly partial to mine, I can safely say it won’t be me who throws you a buck’s night,’ Linc said.

  ‘Hey! She’s getting a hen’s night. I heard her talking to Hadley about it.’

  ‘Why don’t we just go to that then?’ Ollie suggested.

  ‘That’s not a bad idea,’ Linc said, straightening from his shot and considering the idea thoughtfully.

  ‘I don’t bloody think so,’ Griff said, staring at them as though they’d both lost their minds. ‘Oh, hang on. I see where this is goin’,’ he said slowly, eyeing them shrewdly. ‘You’re just yankin’ my chain. Good one,’ he slapped his brother on the shoulder but his grin faded a little as he looked between the two men uncertainly. ‘You are, right?’

  ‘Sure,’ Linc said, returning to the table.

  ‘You bastards better be sortin’ something out.’

  ‘It’s your shout, Griff,’ Linc grinned and his brother eyed them both narrowly and headed to the bar.

  ‘So have you organised anything yet?’ Ollie asked once the two of them were alone.

  ‘Nope. You?’

  ‘Nope, but I suppose we should,’ Ollie sighed.

  ‘Yeah. I guess so. But we’ll let him stew a bit before we tell him.’

  ‘He’d do no less for us,’ Ollie agreed.

  ‘Speaking of which. When are you gonna propose to my sister?’

  The question surprised him. ‘I don’t know. I’m not actually sure she wants to get married again. The last time was a bit of a fizzer.’

  ‘You talked to her about her it?’

  ‘Not in so many words.’

  ‘Don’t let this whole disaster with Mitch throw you off. I know my little sister tends to put out this big, independent woman-of-the-world vibe, but I also know that family is important to her.’

  If he thought proposing to Hadley would change her mind about going, he’d do it in a heartbeat, but he knew it wouldn’t change anything. Besides, he wanted to wait until it was just them. No drama about Mitch and Harmony looming over them; no media speculation that would try and turn it all into a headline. If he was willing to wait eight months for Hadley, he could wait for the right time to ask her the most important question of their lives. He chuckled to himself as Kenny Rogers’ ‘The Gambler’ came on the jukebox. Maybe it was an omen. He’d know when the time was right.

  New Year’s Eve came around too fast and Hadley felt a wave of melancholy fill her as she stood in front of the mirror putting in a pair of earrings. The end of a year always made her feel a little sad. As though she was saying goodbye forever to something. It hadn’t been the best year by any stretch of the imagination, but she was still sad to see it go.

  Cash and Linc were leaving for Brisbane the next day. Christmas was always officially over once everyone started going home. Usually she’d have been going home too—if she hadn’t already left. This was strange, her being the one waving the others off.

  The five siblings were heading to the pub and by the time they arrived the place was packed. It had taken Cash and Linc a significant amount of time to go over the mile-long list of instructions for Lavinia, who was babysitting Mia for a few hours.

  The evening sped past. Hadley caught up with old schoolfriends and thought back to the evenings out she’d had with Mitch. None of them had involved a pub with a live band playing ‘Run to Paradise’. She tried to imagine Mitch standing here with her as she laughed with people she’d spent her childhood with, but couldn’t. He’d never have come with her in the first place. This wasn’t his world any more than the red carpet and glamorous opening nights was hers. She glanced across at Ollie who was talking with some other people nearby and caught his eye. She loved that they could share a smile and it felt as though there was no one else in the room with them. Her heart did a little flip and she almost groaned at how pathetically sappy she’d become.

  ‘You look happy,’ Ashley commented as she walked past, picking up glasses. Hadley gave her a weak smile, unsure if she was being sarcastic or not. It was hard to tell with Ashley. ‘I mean it,’ she said, giving Hadley a shy kind of grin. ‘I know we don’t really know each other well, I mean I was only with Griff for a bit of fun,’ she said, before waving a hand impatiently, ‘but I remember that Christmas, just before your wedding … You didn’t look as happy as you do now. That’s all.’

  ‘I am happy,’ Hadley said and felt her smile widen.

  ‘Ollie’s a good fella. I’m kind of disappointed I never managed to bag him though. Now I know why,’ she said shrewdly, before picking up her tray and flashing a bright smile, ‘Oh, well. Plenty more fish in the sea as they say. Hooroo.’

  Hadley was still trying to work out if she should be offended or relieved by Ashley’s off-hand remark when Ollie came up to hand her another drink.

  ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she chuckled. ‘But I was thinking of bringing in the new year … naked,’ she said and saw his interest pique instantly.

  ‘Really? Not that I’m trying to be a killjoy, but that might get us kicked out of this joint.’

  ‘Then we probably should go somewhere else.’

  ‘Just to be on the safe side,’ he agreed. ‘Let’s go.’

  ‘You can think it over if you like,’ she told him dryly.

  ‘No need. I’m on board.’

  ‘You’re so easy, Dawson. Seriously.’

  ‘Easy? Who said I won’t make you work for it once we get home?’

  ‘Really?’ she asked doubtfully.

  ‘Probably not.’

  Later, in the early hours of the brand-new year, Hadley lay with one of Ollie’s heavy arms across her side as she drifted off in a peaceful sleep. Now that was the way to send off the old year and see in the new. Maybe she’d look forward to New Year’s Eve a lot more in the future.

  Nineteen

  The day of the fundraising high tea arrived and Hadley found herself immersed in an ocean of tulle and lace and crockery.

  Her mother and the other ladies of the CWA had organised to bring in whatever fancy crockery they had. There were lots of heirloom tea sets and fine bone china and Hadley was a nervous wreck. How many of these beautiful cups would get broken today?

  ‘You can’t have a high tea without Royal Doulton,’ her mother had said when she’d voiced her concerns. ‘Besides, if we don’t use them, they’re going to sit in a cupboard gathering dust. Everyone was excited for an excuse to bring along their favourite cups. Speaking of which, has Griffin dropped in that box I forgot earlier?’

  ‘What box?’

  ‘The box of extra cups that were on the bench.’

  ‘I haven’t seen him, but I’ll keep an eye out,’ she said before Lavinia was called away to sort out another mini crisis.

  Hadley looked around at the inside of the hall. Already it was looking amazing. They’d set up long rows of tables covered with white tablecloths and draped pink tulle across the
backs of the chairs. More tulle and fairy lights had been draped from the roof to form a canopy and the lights twinkled prettily.

  The kitchen was a hive of activity with women organising the delicious array of high tea delicacies to be served to the guests who’d paid to attend today’s fundraiser.

  ‘Darling, can you give them a hand in the kitchen?’ her mother said, brushing past and giving out instructions like the seasoned general she was. Hadley placed the last dessert fork on the table she’d been setting and headed for the kitchen. She’d no sooner walked in than she was handed a plate of bread and a knife and told to find a spot and start buttering bread. As she scanned the available real estate at the long bench she discovered, to her inner dismay, that the only vacant place was between Harmony and Mavis Goodwin.

  She forced a cheery face and set herself up.

  ‘You have to butter right to the edges,’ Harmony said as Hadley stacked her first two slices on the plate in front of them.

  ‘They cut off the crusts anyway,’ Hadley shot back. ‘I’m saving butter.’

  ‘I’m sure they’ll appreciate that saving of point two of a gram of butter.’

  ‘That’s not the point though, is it,’ Hadley forced through a brittle smile.

  Mavis shot a quick glance between them and Hadley released her clenched jaw slightly for a more believable smile.

  ‘Here, give me some of your pile and I’ll help,’ Harmony said, moving to take some of Hadley’s bread.

  ‘No,’ Hadley snapped, causing Mavis to whip her head up in alarm. ‘Thanks, but I can manage.’

  ‘Oh, for goodness sake, Hadley, I’ve almost finished my pile. Let me help.’

  ‘You’ve helped enough, thanks.’

  She heard her sister’s irritated sigh and continued to butter her bread, stopping short of the crust just because she knew Harmony would be watching and it would annoy her.

  ‘Your mother mentioned you’ve been away for a few days,’ Mavis said, glancing over at Harmony, no doubt trying to smooth things over.

  ‘The children and I spent a few days in the city.’

  Hadley was sure Mavis wasn’t missing the increased tension.

  ‘That must have been nice. Where did you stay?’

  Hadley lifted an eyebrow as she waited for Harmony to answer. Her sister shifted slightly and concentrated with far more focus than was warranted to butter bread. ‘Just with a friend … an old friend,’ she quickly added.

  ‘Oh? From school? Who was that then?’ Mavis asked, clearly expecting to know the family—the woman knew literally everyone there was to know in the entire region.

  ‘No, not from school,’ Harmony said briskly.

  ‘Oh.’ Mavis looked confused, clearly wondering how she had missed Harmony somehow having made other friends at some point in her life, considering she’d never left town to go to university or to work between leaving school and getting married.

  ‘So how did that visit go?’ Hadley asked sweetly. ‘I haven’t seen you since you got back. You weren’t gone very long.’ ‘It was fine,’ Harmony said, although her smile, no doubt for Mavis’s benefit, looked forced. ‘I had to be back to help out here,’ she added.

  ‘Such a thoughtful girl,’ Mavis said, nodding her approval.

  ‘Selfless even,’ Hadley added with a dramatic simper, which was apparently lost on Mavis as her head bobbed even faster in agreement.

  ‘Well, that’s my lot finished,’ Harmony said briskly. ‘I’ll see what else Mum needs help with.’

  ‘I don’t know how she does it, raising a family, volunteering on all the committees … Harmony’s so much like your mother that way,’ Mavis said.

  Hadley didn’t trust herself to speak, so she simply smiled and continued buttering.

  ‘Oh, heavens, dear. You might want to try not pressing the knife so hard.’

  Hadley glanced down at the bread and saw she’d managed to rip the slice down the middle.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Mavis said sympathetically, ‘your sister’s had a lot more practice at this than you. You’ll get there.’

  Hadley counted to ten, slowly, and tried not to picture her sister’s face on the next slice of bread she reached for. It was going to be a very long day.

  Hours later, the hall was like an episode of a My Kitchen Rules sudden death cook-off. She watched the seconds ticking down and frantically placed the finishing touches on plates and tables. With barely moments before the first of the guests arrived, she took one final look around and gave a relieved sigh.

  Hadley could barely contain her delight as people began flowing into the room. Tables started to fill up and conversation soon became a dull roar as people caught up with friends they hadn’t seen in a while and relaxed into what was proving to be a lovely afternoon. More importantly, Hadley was mentally adding up the money they were raising and knew this would be a very successful event.

  Across the room, Hadley noticed Olivia trying to catch her eye. She was standing with Gran and a group of elderly ladies. Hadley sent her a confused look, but Liv’s expression only grew more urgent, even though she was smiling and nodding at the women chatting around her. Hadley made her way across to her friend and followed Olivia’s gaze as it darted pointedly to the woman beside her. Hadley had no idea what she was on about.

  Olivia didn’t say anything but continued to signal urgently towards the three ladies deeply immersed in conversation. Clearly something was wrong, and it was something Olivia couldn’t say aloud … but what?

  Hadley smiled at each of the women as Gran held out a hand to clasp hers gently. The other two women, Mary and Esther, greeted Hadley warmly, commenting on what a beautiful event it was. Hadley thanked them for coming along, her smile faltering slightly as she glanced down, and something familiar caught her eye.

  Her startled gaze flew to Olivia who sent her a look back of, I know! Do something!

  Hadley fought an impulse to close her eyes and pray it was an optical illusion. This was no illusion, though. It was really happening. The fine bone china the women sipped their coffee from had come from the box of cups Griffin had dropped off earlier. Only they weren’t her mother’s cups … they were her Christmas cups, from Linc and Cash.

  ‘I just need to borrow Olivia for a moment,’ Hadley said, grabbing hold of Liv’s arm and moving away from the small group.

  ‘How the hell did they end up here?’ she whispered frantically.

  ‘I have no idea.’

  ‘We have to get rid of them,’ Hadley whispered back desperately.

  ‘Let’s see if they need a refill,’ Olivia suggested.

  ‘Good idea,’ Hadley said, relieved. They turned back to the women and Hadley forced her face into a serene smile. This was just perfect: a fancy high tea with all the prominent dignitaries in attendance and profanities written across the teacups.

  ‘How about we get you all a nice refill,’ Liv said, reaching for Mary’s cup.

  ‘Oh, no, I’m still going, thank you,’ she said, moving the cup out of reach.

  ‘I’m fine too,’ Esther said. ‘I do like this cup. Aren’t there some gorgeous ones around nowadays?’

  The other two women nodded in agreement and Gran turned hers around to examine the front. ‘Just so delicate and pretty,’ she said.

  So delicate, Hadley thought faintly, thinking the words on the cup her gran held had never been more apt. Fuckity, fuck, fuck!

  ‘I wish I’d brought my wretched reading glasses,’ Gran continued. ‘I can’t read anything without them.’

  Oh. Thank. God.

  Hadley held her breath as the other two women squinted at theirs. ‘I didn’t bother with mine either,’ Mary said. ‘Never mind, they’re very pretty.’

  ‘New plan,’ Hadley said under her breath to Olivia. ‘We wait here until they finish, then confiscate the evidence.’

  ‘Yep. Plan B it is,’ Olivia sighed. ‘Thank God for reading glasses,’ she added, and they shared a small grin, but no sooner had they breathe
d a sigh of relief when a chirpy voice from behind called out, ‘Big smiles, ladies.’

  Hadley turned her head and watched in horror as the journalist from the local newspaper waved them all in closer. ‘Let’s hold those cups up high and say cheese,’ she instructed.

  The last thing Hadley heard before the click was Olivia echoing her own thoughts in a harsh whisper at the camera. ‘Fuuuuuuuuuck.’

  Twenty

  Ollie was wiping his eyes as he listened to his sister retelling the whole ordeal later that evening when the siblings were gathered at Griff and Olivia’s house for dinner. ‘So it’s going to be in the paper?’ he asked.

  ‘Not if I can help it,’ Hadley said eyeing him without amusement. ‘I’ve left a message with Debbie, the journo, and as soon as she gets back to me I’ll ask her to make sure she doesn’t print the photo. This is all your fault.’ Hadley glared at her brother, who was grinning at her.

  ‘Don’t blame me. I just picked up the box of cups Mum asked for.’

  ‘Oh, and these just happened to be in there?’ she said, holding up one of the cups they’d finally managed to wrestle off the women.

  ‘Apparently,’ Griff shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

  ‘Yeah, right. This is exactly the kind of thing you’d do, thinking it would be funny, Griffin,’ Hadley snapped.

  ‘Uh-oh. Griffin,’ Ollie mimicked. ‘You’re in trouble, mate.’ ‘Hads, I swear I had nothing to do with it,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘But I wish I had.’

  ‘Look, it’s done now,’ Olivia said, always the diplomat. ‘Debbie will see the funny side of it and delete the photo, and everything will be fine. You know how crazy things get when big social events happen around here. I know Mum goes into lunatic mode and she’s the most sensible woman I know,’ Liv said. ‘If you weren’t looking at them closely, you wouldn’t even notice what the teacups said. She probably just ran around looking for suitable cups, saw these and put them in the box along with the others.’

  It made sense, but Hadley was still mortified.

  ‘Dinner’s ready. Let’s eat,’ Olivia said, giving Hadley a sideways hug.