Legacy of Hunters Ridge

by Sarah Barrie

  ‘Wow.’

  ‘Yeah. Both Cam and Lee came out of it pretty disillusioned by the whole thing, but also as really good friends. Lee quit the force and came back here to figure out what he wanted to do next. His dad, Clint, used to be a builder and Lee had grown up helping him out, taking odd jobs, so it wasn’t a hard decision to use those skills. And Cam had always had an interest in making things, always liked working with his hands. He’d renovated his house in Paddington – done a really good job. When he came to see how Lee was getting on and to check up on me – I was doing my internship by this stage – he decided he needed a project. He bought the property he’s on now, thinking he’d have a go at building something from scratch. Lee helped with contacts and contractors and muscle. They decided they liked working together and that’s how the business got started.’

  ‘And now you’re all out here. That’s nice. Do you think he misses being a lawyer?’

  ‘I think he liked the challenge of it, he liked getting good outcomes for his clients, but really, it was always just expected he’d be a lawyer. He’s got this genius IQ and famous father, and he likes to figure things out, use that big head of his, so for a while it looked like it would work. Only, Cam’s also got this real sense of right and wrong, and as a defence lawyer, that didn’t always gel. And after that case with Lee, he lost faith in the whole thing.’

  ‘He really seems proud of his house. It’s gorgeous.’ Ebony looked at her curiously. ‘You’ve been up there?’

  ‘I left my car up there when I went to get the cows and when he took me back to get it, he gave me a tour.’

  ‘Did he just? I guess you don’t clash as much these days then.’

  Ally’s eyes narrowed on Ebony’s amused face, but she shook her head. ‘I guess not.’

  Ebony’s smile got bigger. ‘So what are your plans?’

  ‘Plans?’

  ‘For Mavis’s place.’

  ‘I’ve offered it to Cam. And I’ve sold my place in Sydney and should be looking for something else. I’m letting it slide for a while until Mavis’s place is sorted out.’

  ‘You going to live in the city?’

  The idea left her cold. ‘Not if I can help it.’

  ‘So what’s wrong with here? It’s a lovely property.’

  ‘That’s what Cam said.’

  Ebony’s brows shot up. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes, but the house is terrible.’

  ‘Build a new one.’

  Ally grinned but shook her head. ‘But I’ve already told Cam he can have it.’

  ‘You could always tell him you’ve changed your mind.’

  ‘But I haven’t.’

  The bell sounded downstairs and Ebony swore quietly. ‘Sorry, sounds like I’ve got a walk-in.’

  ‘That’s okay. Thanks for the tea. I wasn’t sure about it, to be honest, but it was actually really good.’

  Ebony’s face split into yet another grin. ‘You just say what you think, don’t you?’

  ‘Was I rude? I didn’t mean to be.’

  Ebony laughed. ‘Not rude, just refreshingly honest.’

  ‘I don’t always think before I open my mouth. Bad habit. I know. Then I get nervous and I start rambling on – like I am now.’ She got to her feet, took the half-finished cup into the kitchen, rinsed it.

  ‘Take the cookie with you.’ Ebony led her back down to the clinic. ‘Cam said you’ll be up tonight.’

  ‘I think so. Lee said he’s bringing pizza.’

  ‘Hmm, I’ll have to stop by the shops, get something for dessert. I’m pretty well booked all afternoon, but I might make it in before they close. Fridays are always hectic, even though I open Saturday morning. Go figure.’

  ‘I’ll make something for dessert. I like cooking, and I owe you for keeping Tom for two days.’

  Ebony flashed her a grateful smile. ‘Thanks, can’t wait.’ She strode ahead and pulled Tom from the pen. ‘Do you mind if I just send you an account at some stage? I haven’t worked out the bits and pieces yet from my visit.’

  ‘Whatever suits.’

  Tom went into the cage without complaint. One prison for another.

  ‘How was Mavis?’

  ‘Um, pretty out of it actually.’

  ‘It’s good of you, to visit.’ She handed Ally the carry cage and headed for reception.

  ‘I need to go see Gus too. Do you know him?’

  ‘A bit. He seems very friendly.’

  In the waiting room, a mother and little boy waited with a very fat rabbit. ‘Hi Gale. Hi Toby, how’s Creamy today?’

  ‘He needs his needle.’ Toby performed a wide-eyed shudder.

  ‘You’ll have to give him a big cuddle afterwards for being brave.’

  ‘We brought him treats. He loves treats.’

  Ebony laughed. ‘I can tell. I’ll see you tonight, Ally.’

  Given Ebony’s and Clint’s character assessments of Gus, Ally decided he was probably safe enough to locate and talk to about Mavis’s property. She found his driveway another couple of kilometres down her road, as Clint had promised, where a corrugated iron mailbox announced G Littleton. From the road the property appeared to be virgin bushland, and she wound her way down a dirt track lined with thick scrub and tall gums until a neat little fibro home came into view. An old Holden Premier sat beside it and three ancient car shells collected rust by a shed and what looked like a lean-to shelter for animals. There was a fence of sorts, and an old ceramic bath propped on car tyres nearby acting as a water container. A goat reminiscent of Chester stood on an overturned water tank and a slightly prettier goat shared space underneath it with an enormous black and white pig.

  As she pulled up, a three-legged border collie hopped onto the drive to give a token bark.

  ‘Millie, here.’ The man on the veranda sported a bushy salt-andpepper beard, a flannel hat and work overalls with tears in both knees.

  ‘Hi, are you Gus?’

  ‘Reckon I am. Help ya?’ He was carving something out of a piece of wood with a very sharp knife.

  ‘I’m David’s – ah, Mavis’s son’s – um, I mean I’ve –’

  ‘Got a speech impediment?’

  ‘No. I just –’

  ‘Have trouble finishing sentences?’ His eyes were twinkling with mischief, and her anxiety lessened, just a touch.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  He held up the figure he was working on; an elegant stork, though the wings weren’t finished. It was larger than the ones she’d found at Mavis’s. ‘Called whittling. You like it?’

  ‘Yes. You haven’t been leaving any in Mavis’s house have you?’

  ‘Given her one or two from time to time.’

  ‘Lately?’

  ‘Not much point leaving them there when she’s in the hospital.’

  ‘Right. Of course.’ She was hesitant to move too far from the car, just in case. It was isolated out here and the guy was holding a very sharp implement. But she allowed herself to be distracted just enough to give the inquisitive dog a pat. ‘I just came to talk to you about Mavis.’

  He got to his feet and stabbed his knife into a post. She stepped back hastily.

  ‘Lord, love a duck.’ He studied her as though she were the strange one. ‘Got ants in your knickers? Come sit down.’

  Reluctantly she moved forwards and perched on the edge of a chair on the veranda when he waved a hand at it. There were bird baths and feeders all over the place, nesting boxes in the trees. The veranda railings were littered with wooden birds of all shapes and sizes. They were incredibly detailed.

  ‘So you’re the daughter-in-law.’

  ‘Ally, yes.’

  ‘Nice to meet you finally.’

  ‘I hope I’m not bothering you, just turning up like this.’

  ‘Always got time for family.’

  Family? ‘I need to talk to you about what’s going to happen to Mavis’s belongings when – well, when …’

  ‘I reckon Mavis wants you to keep eve
rything as is.’

  ‘Yes, there’s no doubt about that, but I can’t.’

  ‘You’re not hanging round then?’

  ‘No. At least, not long term. For a while I can, but eventually, when I go back, I was hoping you might like her things.’

  ‘Mavis thought otherwise, still, Mavis can talk the arse end off a donkey and no more than a drop of it makes sense at times. Suppose there’s a few family heirlooms I wouldn’t mind keeping, if you’re just gonna palm everything off.’

  ‘The other issue is the animals.’

  He ran a hand over his face, looked less than impressed. ‘I don’t have the set-up for keeping a lot of animals. Only got a couple of goats and an old pig. You start getting rid of Mavis’s pets, you’ll have problems out there. Maybe I might have to figure something.’

  She didn’t have a clue what he was on about, was just glad he was agreeing to take them. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Not yet though. You need to keep them there until you leave, all right?’

  ‘Sure. These birds are beautiful.’

  ‘I sell a few at the local markets, some people come round asking for pieces, brings in a bit of cash.’ He stood and selected one, handed it to her. ‘Willy wagtail. Reminds me of you ’cause you’re never still – even sitting there, you’re all fidgety.’

  ‘Oh. Well. It’s beautiful.’

  ‘Keep it.’

  ‘I couldn’t.’

  ‘Course you could. I just said so, didn’t I?’

  She ran her fingers lovingly over the smooth lines of the breast, the textured feathering of its wings. ‘Thank you. The thing is, I’ve been finding these around the house. One of them is so like Mavis, it’s incredible.’

  He studied her. ‘You having any trouble out there?’

  ‘Not really, I mean, the house is falling apart but Rob said it wasn’t built properly to begin with.’

  Gus’s gaze sharpened. ‘Rob’s been out? What’d he want?’

  ‘To introduce himself, to ask what my plans were. Is that a problem?’

  ‘No, course not, just curious. Mavis wouldn’t have him on the place. Hasn’t wasted any time in getting himself out there, that’s all.’

  ‘He mentioned he and Mavis weren’t on good terms.’

  ‘Nope, but that’s family – always a feud or two. Now, tell me more about you.’

  By the time she left, Ally had decided she genuinely liked the old man. He’d called her family and given her a lovely gift, and they’d had a long, easy chat. She’d discovered Gus lived on his own, had done so since losing his wife thirteen years ago. He was content with his mates and a good dog. Millie was such a dog, and her leg had been lost in a fight with a boar. Ebony’s predecessor had done the surgery free of charge to save Millie’s life, and Gus had repaid him in boar meat for his two Labradors. Ally smiled down at the little bird figure he’d given her. She’d treasure it.

  As soon as she got home, she pulled the Mavis and sad girl statues from the drawer, put them with the cat, sat the bird beside them. The sad girl looked so miserable, the body language so broken, that it touched her to look at it. He had so much skill.

  Because she hadn’t fed the animals, she did that next. As she fed Violet, Tom trotted in and leapt onto the bench to his bowl. ‘Sorry, mate, I’ll be there in a sec. Hey.’ She looked closer, noted his biscuits were already full. ‘Must have done it yesterday without thinking. Guess I’m being scatty again.’ Scatty – and nervous. Because of Cam. After the way she’d blurted out her sob story, he was probably regretting even asking her to the pizza evening. She needed to lighten up. It was nice to know she could feel that little buzz in her system when it had been so long since she’d felt it. Even if that buzz had butterflies doing backflips in her stomach.

  She could always take something for the anxiety, but she didn’t want to. The pills that had been her crutch for so long were becoming less and less important. She hadn’t taken her sedatives for the last two nights – had decided it would be nice if she never had to take them ever again. A night out with friends was certainly not a good enough excuse to cave.

  She’d wear something nice to give herself some confidence – maybe that white embroidered top Mia had left behind and her maxi skirt, with some make-up? Why not? If the night wasn’t going well she could always come up with an excuse to leave. It was only just back down the hill.

  ‘It’s not a big deal,’ she told herself, almost believing it.

  Cam poured Ebony a wine, grabbed a beer for himself and joined her on the veranda.

  ‘So let me get this straight,’ Ebony began, accepting the glass. ‘You were going to come up with a master plan to convince Ally to sell you the place before she even put it on the market, then she hands it to you on a silver platter and you tell her you’re busy? You’ll think about it? What’s going on in that head of yours?’

  ‘I’m not sure I need it just yet.’

  ‘Really?’ she asked dubiously. ‘Because you’ve been eyeing off that place forever.’

  ‘We’ve got a lot on at the moment.’

  ‘And what, it’s going to get up and walk away if you don’t work on it immediately? I suppose, of course, she’s doing the place up while you decide. She’s done a good job on the gardens and the house is certainly a lot neater.’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘But I can’t help but think how nice you’re being,’ she pressed, ‘fixing up the property you’re apparently not sure you want anymore. Lee said you’re holding up projects to get it done and you haven’t invoiced Ally for hardly any of it.’

  He took a swig of his beer, refused to be baited. ‘I need a garden, don’t I? The cattle have to be contained. And if we do buy the place, we’ve done some of the work already.’

  ‘You gave her a tour of your house.’

  ‘There a law against it?’

  ‘You’re being defensive.’

  ‘I’m being defensive by showing Ally my house?’

  ‘Why not just admit she’s cute and you’re interested?’

  He took another swallow, a smile reluctantly spreading over his features. ‘Okay. Everything I said, plus she’s cute.’ The scowl returned. ‘Damn it, she’s not cute. Cute is a puppy. She’s not a puppy. And I only might be interested. I haven’t decided yet. Besides, you said you were trying to talk her into staying.’

  Ebony gave her brother a knowing smile and sipped her wine. ‘I just suggested it, that’s all. I like her. And I know you like her.’

  Tyres crunched on gravel. ‘And she’s here so – and I mean this in the nicest possible way –’ he got to his feet, gave her hair a gentle tug, ‘– shut up and stay out of it.’

  Ally was ten minutes late. She hated being late, so she nervously hurried up the front steps. Cam answered the door before she could knock, looking freshly showered, his hair just a touch damp. He was barefoot, wearing snug jeans and a black shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows. Hot. It was the one word that reliably came to mind every time she laid eyes on him.

  The way his eyes flicked over her had heat suffusing her face and she wondered, again, as her legs threatened to collapse, whether she’d made a bad wardrobe choice.

  ‘Hi, um … hi.’

  ‘You look lovely. Let me take this.’

  She handed over the cake tin and followed him inside. ‘Thanks. Sorry I’m late.’

  ‘It’s fine. We’re not on any particular schedule.’

  Ebony came inside and perched on a stool at the kitchen bench, one leg swinging lazily as she sipped her wine. ‘Hi Ally. Glad you could make it.’

  ‘So am I,’ Cam added, placing the cake tin on the bench. ‘After the earful I copped last time.’

  Ebony blew him a kiss. ‘You’re welcome. What’s in the tin, your dessert?’

  ‘Oh – yes, I just made a bit of a –’

  Cam lifted the lid and whistled. ‘Wow.’

  ‘Yum.’ Ebony leant forward to get a better look. ‘You really made that?’

  ‘
Yes, it’s just a lemon meringue.’

  ‘You need to stop putting “just” in your sentences,’ Cam observed. ‘There’s nothing “just” about that. Do we have to eat pizza first?’ he asked Ebony.

  Ebony considered that. ‘I’d like to say no, but it wouldn’t be polite. Lee’s buying.’

  ‘But he’s not here yet.’

  ‘That’s a really, really good point.’ As she spoke they heard tyres on the driveway. ‘Damn.’

  A moment later, Lee let himself in. ‘I have a large pepperoni and a chicken and bacon supreme, a carbonara pasta and a Greek salad. Hi, Ally.’

  ‘Hi, Lee. Let me help.’ She stepped forwards and took a plastic bag.

  ‘Thanks. You can come again.’

  ‘She certainly can,’ Ebony added. ‘You wait till you see what she brought for dessert.’

  ‘You mean we’re not eating cookies?’

  ‘Next time it’ll be liver treats, smartarse.’

  When the mountain of pizza had been eaten, Ally walked into Cam’s enormous kitchen and pulled the pie from the fridge. It certainly looked pretty, but would it taste all right? She should have tasted it. Her hands went nervously to her shirt. What if it was revolting? They’d think they had to be polite and eat it. That would be –

  Cam came in behind her, looked over her shoulder. ‘That looks really good. I’ll have a big bit.’ His grin was quick and infectious and though she managed a wavering smile in return, his eyes narrowed on hers. ‘Something wrong?’

  ‘I didn’t taste it,’ she began quickly, ‘when I cooked it, so if it’s not good, don’t feel you have to eat it. I wouldn’t want you to eat it just because I brought it. If it doesn’t taste good –’

  His gaze remained steady on hers, and held until she pulled a breath into her starving lungs. With an almost imperceptible nod, he smiled and repeated, ‘That looks really good. I’ll have a big bit.’