Return to Stringybark Creek

by Karly Lane

  Over the next few days Hadley and Olivia, who had been dragged on board to help, were inundated with interest about the Dare to Bare Facebook page. Photos came pouring in, more than they could ever possibly use, and the media had begun to take notice. The high-tea fiasco had faded into oblivion as this new, even more outrageous story came to light.

  Hadley bit back a grin as she passed some older women in town who were in the middle of expressing their outrage at the photos of that Dawson boy. She felt the heavy weight of their combined stares on her back, but she didn’t turn around.

  ‘So when do we get a copy of this famous nudie calendar I saw on Facebook last night?’ asked Peg, the woman working the cash register in the local store.

  ‘As soon as we can get them designed and printed,’ Hadley smiled. ‘Actually, I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in selling a few for us in here at the shop?’

  ‘Happy to. I really like what you’re all doing … the naked men are just an added bonus.’

  ‘Well, they’re not all going to be men. We have some pretty impressive women farmers sending in their photos too.’

  ‘Hmm, maybe I should throw my hat in the ring then,’ Peg said with a deep chuckle that shook her ample bosom.

  ‘Anyone can contribute,’ Hadley said, unsure if Peg was serious or not and deciding to cover her bases by being noncommittal.

  ‘Put me down for three calendars and feel free to bring in a stack for the shop. Actually, have Ollie Dawson bring them in … I’d like my copy signed,’ she said with a wink.

  Ollie was going to really love that. Hadley decided not to tell him about his new-found local celebrity status. The poor guy wouldn’t set foot in town ever again if he knew. Oh, well, she’d deal with that problem later. Right now she was excited that their cause was getting exposure. This was what Ollie had been hoping for—to make a real change. Behind the humour was a very serious topic, and she knew that this was a good approach to get people talking. Telling people to access help didn’t work. Communication had to happen in a friendly, familiar environment. These people were a hard-working, tough breed. They didn’t want to be reminded that they sometimes couldn’t handle everything life threw at them. It had to be spoken about in a way that showed them they weren’t the only ones finding life hard. If that meant showing a bunch of farmers in the nude, then so be it. Country people were down to earth and didn’t much stand on ceremony. This was relatable. Humour was relatable. If it broke the ice, then maybe it would help. Their community couldn’t continue to grieve year after year for the loss of their brothers, friends and husbands. Enough was bloody enough.

  Ollie sat in front of his laptop and scrolled through his newsfeed. He should have been in bed, but he’d given in to the temptation to take a quick look at the Facebook page. Dare to Bare. He still chuckled when he saw the name. It was pretty awesome. His smile faded into an incredulous gape. The likes had gone through the roof, but what was even more remarkable were the comments.

  There were hundreds of comments from people—people just like him, like his mates, his sister, his family. Everyday people who had been hurting as much as he had. Even more humbling were the comments from people like Luke. People who were afraid and lost and lonely and too scared to speak up … until now. He read through a few and felt his throat tighten; then his heart lifted as people—complete strangers—responded to these posts and begged them to open up and talk freely … which they did! He was gobsmacked. Literally. He was sitting at his computer in the middle of the night watching a miracle unfold before his eyes.

  From the initial, heart-wrenching post to the final optimistic comment, he saw time and again people’s transformation through the words of strangers. People poured out their problems and their grief and then others responded and gave them hope. Would this have saved Luke? If he’d found a place where he could unload his worry and despair, would it have changed his mind about going through with suicide?

  He blinked and wiped at his eyes, realising with surprise that his face was wet.

  He jumped slightly when Hadley spoke from the shadows behind the dim light of his computer screen.

  ‘Couldn’t sleep?’ she asked, coming across and sliding onto his lap. ‘What is it?’ she asked, sitting up straighter as he swiped a hand across his face.

  ‘Nothing.’

  He saw her turn her attention to the screen and read through the page he had up, before lifting her gaze to his once more. ‘It’s working,’ she said simply, placing her hands either side of his face gently.

  ‘Yeah. It is.’ Christ, where the hell had these bloody tears come from? He couldn’t seem to stop them. It just felt so good to see some kind of light at the end of what had been a very long tunnel since losing his mate.

  He saw the slow smile transform her face and he gently wiped his thumb under her eye to catch the tears that had spilled over. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘You knew something had to be done. This was all you, Ollie.’

  ‘I couldn’t have done it without you.’

  ‘It’s only just started. This is your baby now,’ she said softly, kissing him gently. ‘It’s important, and there’s a lot more work to be done.’

  He had no idea what they were going to do with it now that they had this explosion of interest, but she was right, he’d been the one doing all the talking about needing a change of approach, and now that it was here, he was beginning to worry. ‘I’m just a farmer. What do I know about any of this stuff?’

  ‘Just a farmer?’ she said and frowned. ‘Would you stop it!’

  ‘I’m being serious, Hads. What the hell do I know about mental health and counselling?’

  ‘Firstly, you’re not here to provide mental health care or counselling. We need to leave that to the professionals. This is like the pub. People feel free to come in and pull up a chair, have a chat, have a laugh at the photos, all the while, I might add, thinking to themselves, that would take a lot of guts to get naked like that and put the photo up for the entire world to see,’ she said, scrolling through the Facebook page. ‘But that gets the wheels turning. It starts opening people’s minds to this stuff. Then someone says something in a comment that might resonate with them, and that might make them like the post,’ she said. ‘Maybe next time they come on they actually write a comment on someone’s post, and then maybe they move on to write their own. It’s taking that first step. Opening up lines of communication—everything you’ve talked about that was missing from Luke’s situation. He might have been too embarrassed to talk with you or anyone else—maybe he needed a stranger, someone he thought might not judge him.’

  ‘That’s the point, though—I wouldn’t have judged him if he’d talked to me.’

  ‘Maybe not,’ Hadley agreed gently, ‘but maybe at the time, if you weren’t aware of his mental state, if he covered it up in public, then you may have brushed off what he said as a joke or something. I think some of the problem with this whole thing is we’re not a people who often open up. It’s not something that we’ve seen our parents or grandparents do, and it’s going to take time to change that pattern. Being able to talk to strangers online—connect with other people who might be struggling—it’s a really positive start.’

  ‘But what if that’s not enough?’

  ‘Then we make sure we’re promoting places that people can go to. We pump the page with numbers of helplines. Places to find professionals, that kind of thing, so people can choose to reach out in their own time.’

  Ollie nodded. Then a thought occurred to him. ‘What about setting up pub nights?’ he said slowly. ‘Like casual kinda get-togethers in a place that isn’t too daunting. I mean, most blokes I know would have to be dragged to a counsellor’s office or a doctor’s surgery, but it might be different if they knew it was in a familiar place, like a pub. Maybe down the track we could even get mental health workers to come along and talk to us there?’

  ‘You’re amazing, Oliver Dawson,’ Hadley said softly, and when he glanced d
own at her, he felt his heart fill with so much gratitude and … love. The realisation took his breath away. He’d always thought he was in love with this woman, but it wasn’t until this very moment that the actual meaning of the word hit home. The emotion flooded every cell, every inch of him, until he felt as though it threatened to explode from his body.

  ‘I love you,’ he said simply. ‘I always have.’

  He saw her eyes widen in surprise, moments before they filled with more tears. ‘I love you too.’

  He had doubts about a lot of things in his life right now, but the one thing there was absolutely no doubt about was his feelings for the woman he held in his arms. As long as he had her, he knew he could fumble his way through anything.

  Hadley reached over to her bedside table and searched blindly for the source of the insistent noise that had woken her from a deep sleep. Grasping the phone, she managed to open her eyes and focus her blurry gaze on the lit-up screen as she swiped the answer button.

  ‘Mitch? What the hell?’ It probably wasn’t the politest greeting, but it was her ex, so she wasn’t going to feel guilty.

  ‘Hadley, they’re running the story about me and Harmony.’

  ‘Who are?’ she managed to get out once his words registered.

  ‘Everyone. Morning TV. Newspapers. Radio.’

  Hadley wasn’t sure if she swore aloud or inside her head, but she didn’t waste any time thinking about it. She tossed back the covers and disconnected the call, heading out her bedroom door. This was going to be a disaster. She could already hear movement in the kitchen and the chatter of the radio. She knew her parents would be up and about, despite the fact it was still dark outside.

  As she entered the kitchen she saw both her parents listening intently to the radio, both wearing frowns, and her heart sank as she caught the last part of the news story.

  ‘Hadley?’ her mother said, turning towards her.

  ‘I don’t know how they found out.’

  ‘It’s true? What they’re saying?’ her father cut in abruptly.

  ‘They shouldn’t have broken the story like this.’

  ‘They’re saying Harmony and Mitch …’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘But … I don’t understand,’ her mother said dully.

  ‘Harmony and Mitch have been having an affair. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how.’

  ‘So instead we’re finding out on national TV?’

  ‘It was never supposed to get out this way. They were supposed to have their publicist handling it.’

  ‘I can’t believe you would keep us in the dark like this,’ her mother snapped.

  ‘I’m sorry, Mum,’ Hadley said quietly. Damn it, this was not her fault. And yet she knew she could have broken the news to her parents at any point since she’d returned home. But it wasn’t her place. Hadley clenched her teeth and focused on letting out a slow breath.

  ‘You’ve known? All this time?’ her father said, looking haggard.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I can’t believe Harmony, of all people, would do this. Not after her own husband cheated on her.’

  ‘They say they’re in love, Mum,’ she shrugged helplessly. ‘I don’t know. Maybe they are.’

  ‘I can’t believe she wouldn’t tell us.’

  The morning TV program came back from an ad break, and the first topic up for discussion was TV’s golden boy and the leaked weekend footage about his mystery woman.

  ‘A reliable source has come forward to reveal the dirt on Mitch Samuals and the reason behind his recent marriage break-up to foreign correspondent Hadley Callahan. You remember all the hype over the wedding and the guest list—it was a who’s who of Australian celebrities, and then the bombshell break-up not even a year afterwards,’ said the blonde gossip magazine editor, called in by the show as a supposed expert. The woman’s eyes lit up with mischievous glee. ‘Well, we now know the reason behind the split was because Mitch was having an affair,’ the editor revealed. ‘And to make things even worse for the network’s most highly paid and respectable current affairs personality, the woman he chose to have an affair with was Hadley Callahan’s own sister,’ she said, eliciting mock gasps from the other two people on the panel.

  ‘Will there be any ramifications from this, do you think?’ the morning show host asked.

  ‘Let’s face it, the channel executives have invested a significant amount of money here. There was that massive bidding war between the two TV networks for Mitch Samuals. And he’s the highest paid presenter on Australian TV. He’s had this reputation for being a clean-cut wholesome guy who’s worked his way up the ladder through sheer talent and hard work. That good guy reputation will be taking a huge hit from this. He cheated on his wife with her sister,’ the woman stressed again. ‘That’s a pretty low act for anyone, but if your reputation is based on being a trusted, respected face of the news, then it’s going to really cause an outrage.’ ‘Is his career finished?’ the host asked bluntly.

  ‘I don’t know if it will be career-ending, but it’s certainly not going to go down well with his employers and I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull him off the show for a while until this all passes. But they’ve invested too much money in him to sack him. So I’m guessing he won’t lose too much face over this in the long run. Unlike his wife. Can you imagine how betrayed Hadley Callahan would be feeling right now?’

  Hadley’s dad stabbed at the remote and turned off the TV. ‘Bloody vultures.’

  ‘Oh, darling, I’m sorry,’ her mum said, standing up to cross to her side. ‘It was such a shock. I didn’t stop to think …’

  ‘I’m okay. I guess I’ve had time to come to terms with it. But I am sorry I didn’t tell you what was going on. I really didn’t want you to find out like this. I was just worried about how you’d take it. And there’s Harmony … I felt as though it was her responsibility to tell you …’

  ‘Yes. She should have said something. I knew she’d been going through a lot lately, but I never imagined anything like this.’

  The house phone rang and Hadley’s father stood up to answer it.

  ‘No, Dad,’ Hadley said quickly. ‘Don’t. It’ll be reporters. Don’t answer any calls today.’

  ‘I’m calling Harmony,’ her mother said, reaching for her mobile.

  Hadley left them to it. She had enough problems of her own to deal with. She knew her phone would be going off its brain back in her room and she didn’t even want to think about how full her inbox would be.

  She avoided her phone and got dressed, pulling on jeans and a T-shirt before calling out to her parents that she was going next door. She didn’t want to think about reporters and interview requests and old friends calling in favours for an exclusive. She just needed to find a decent cup of coffee and a sympathetic ear.

  As she drove along the track that led to the Dawsons’, a plume of dust up ahead alerted her to an approaching vehicle. She pulled her car over to the side as a familiar car came into sight.

  ‘Hey. I was on my way over to your place,’ Ollie said, climbing out of his four-wheel drive. He wore a concerned frown and her heart gave a kick.

  ‘I guess you’ve heard,’ she said dryly.

  ‘Yeah. How does this crap make national news?’

  ‘Don’t you know? People love a juicy fall-from-grace story. Tall poppy syndrome and all that.’

  ‘I don’t give a toss about anyone tearin’ down Samuals, but they’re draggin’ you through it all too.’

  ‘Yeah, I know. I’d hoped things had died down and it’d just go away, but I should have known better. It’s Mum and Dad I’m worried about. I’m so angry at Harmony for not telling them. I knew I should have followed through on my threat but, damn it, why should I be the one to do their dirty work?’ Hadley gave a frustrated groan as she rested against the front of her car, tipping her head back and closing her eyes wearily.

  ‘They must be in shock,’ Ollie said, after settling beside her.

  ‘
They are, I think. The phone calls have already started. I feel so bad. They must be dreading having to face everyone.’

  ‘It’s not your fault. You weren’t the one who did this. Harmony needs to step up and take responsibility.’

  ‘I still should have realised it was inevitable. They should have been prepared.’

  ‘Your parents have handled worse situations than this. They’ll be okay. Besides, they have all of us to help deflect some of the scrutiny.’

  He gathered her into his arms and for the briefest of moments Hadley felt safe from the world. She knew it was only a fantasy—no one was ever really safe from the world, and it could be a cruel place—but right here, in this instant, she allowed herself to believe it.

  Twenty-two

  ‘Is it true?’ Linc’s voice on the other end of the phone sounded deceptively calm. She knew her brother well and could imagine him sitting at his office, fist and jaw clenched tightly, waiting to hear confirmation. He wouldn’t take gossip on TV as gospel; he’d wait and get it straight from the source.

  ‘Yes,’ she said quietly. ‘It’s true.’

  The silence that followed reminded her how dangerous her brother’s training had made him. This was not laid-back Linc. ‘You knew about this at Christmas?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said.

  ‘Why the hell didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘Because I didn’t want drama to take over at Christmas time and ruin everything.’

  ‘You could have told me, Hadley,’ he said, and she heard the hurt in his tone.

  It was true. Of all her siblings, Linc was the one she was closest to. Maybe it had to do with the fact they shared similar hobbies, like war zones and long absences from home. Or maybe it was just because he was her eldest brother and she’d always looked up to him. She understood why he was feeling a little hurt. ‘I could have,’ she said softly, ‘but trust me, it hasn’t been any kind of picnic knowing all this time.’