by Lisa Ireland
‘Demons.’
‘Demons, huh? I guess it was too much to expect they’d have the same team colours as the Mighty Cats. What colours are they?
‘Red and blue.’
‘Like Melbourne. I guess that make sense. Well, I suppose if I’m going to be a bona fide supporter I’m going to have to wear the colours. I’ll have to get the knitting needles out.’
‘You’re full of surprises aren’t you? Handy with a cordless drill and knitting needles.’
She laughed. ‘I’m a woman of many talents.’
‘So I see.’
The rest of the thirty-minute drive was spent in similarly friendly banter. By the time they arrived at the ground, Mitch realised his resolve was in serious jeopardy. With every witticism, every breathy laugh and every glance from those chocolate-brown eyes, Bea Elliott was chipping away at his determination to keep this relationship purely platonic.
Chapter 5
April 20, 9.40pm
To: Emma Jenkins
From: Bea Elliott
Subject: Finally!
Don’t faint! I have the Internet connected. It’s been a struggle without it these past couple of weeks, especially seeing as the mobile reception out here is patchy at best. I changed phone carriers in the hope of getting better coverage and it is a little bit better but not much! Sorry our phone catch-ups have been so sporadic, but now I’m hooked up properly with a landline (will text number so you have it in your contacts) we should have better luck communicating.
How’s everything at your end? I can’t believe we’re getting close to the middle of the year already. How’s your grade this year? Are they all adorable little cherubs or should I stock up on hard liquor for your visit in the school holidays?
Bea stopped typing for a second and thought about everything she needed to do before Em’s visit. There was a lot of work ahead of her but she was confident the guest rooms would be done in time, provided Joe could spare a few days to come up and fit out the bathrooms for her.
I’m working hard on getting the place ready for your visit. The plan is to have the guest rooms fully finished, including the en suites, by the end of term. Then I can start work on getting the kitchen up to scratch. When that’s done I should be able to get my accreditation and hopefully start welcoming guests by the start of September.
She felt a tingle of excitement at the thought of opening up the B&B for business. If things went well this first season she had plans for expansion. There was a disused stable out the back that would make a fabulous self-contained cottage, and there was plenty of room for more cottages in time. But she was getting ahead of herself…
Right now the house is a disaster zone! The builders have left crap everywhere. But I can’t complain. The new bathrooms are looking good. One has room for a big bath and a walk-in shower. The other one’s a bit smaller so that room will be slightly less expensive to stay in. I can’t wait for you to see the house in person. I’ve attached a few ‘before’ pics for you to look at, so you can appreciate the full glorious transformation when you get here.
She couldn’t wait to see Em, full stop. It was hard not having any truly close friends nearby. Of course, she had made some friends. Caitlin was lovely and had gone out of her way to be friendly and include Bea in as many social opportunities as possible, but real friendship took time to build.
I’m taking your advice and trying to fit in with the locals. Yesterday I ran into Caitlin—the hairdresser I told you about—at the General Store and she asked me if I wanted to come to a tree burn with her next weekend. I had no idea what a tree burn even was (kind of like a big bonfire thing with a BBQ and lots of drinking from her description) but I was happy to accept the invitation. She seemed surprised that Mitch hadn’t said anything to me about it, as she knew for a fact that he was going. So I guess I didn’t make a great impression on him. Maybe it was my overly enthusiastic barracking at the footy! I know Jason was always horribly embarrassed by me when I really got into a game. So much for me making friends with the locals!
She hadn’t seen Mitch since the day they’d gone to the footy together. It was a shame, because she’d thought the two of them were getting along famously. Perhaps she’d committed some social faux pas she was unaware of and had offended him. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Well, I think I’ve rambled on enough. I have an early start tomorrow. There are no noise restrictions out here so the builders start work around seven. I need to be up and dressed with a pot of coffee made before they arrive.
Talk soon.
Bea xxx
Bea pressed ‘send’ and closed her laptop with a sigh. She missed Em, and her other close friends, more than she’d anticipated. The days weren’t so bad. She was busy with all the renovations. She couldn’t do too much physical work inside while the builders were there, but she’d done plenty of planning and organising. She’d made the trek into Orange to purchase her new kitchen appliances and ordered the shelving and new bench tops and even had a bit of a scout around for furniture that might make the guest lounge feel cosy. The front garden had taken up a fair bit of her time these past couple of weeks. She’d spent days pulling out weeds and preparing the garden beds for planting. There was plenty of work to do and she’d kept herself busy. During the daylight hours there wasn’t much time for feeling homesick.
Nights were a different story. The TV antenna no longer worked and she hadn’t managed to do anything about that just yet. Prior to today’s internet connection, she’d felt pretty lonely and isolated once the sun went down. The first few nights she’d enjoyed the stillness and was happy to just sit with her mug of tea appreciating the peace and quiet. Three weeks on, whiling away the hours alone had become less attractive. Her thoughts were starting to drift to dark places and she worried about whether she had really taken on too much with this project. If it failed she would be left with nothing. She’d have no option but to move back in with her father. Love him she might, but the thought of moving back home, with Dad hovering over her and second-guessing her every move, filled Bea with dread. Also, something Joe mentioned when they were unpacking the truck made her think that perhaps Dad wouldn’t be too thrilled to see her move back in, if it came to that. Apparently once Luca had left for Italy, Dad had started seeing one of the ladies from the bowls club on a regular basis and they’d become quite an item.
At first she was shocked. ‘You don’t think they’re …?’ she’d asked her big brother, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
Joe shrugged. ‘I dunno. And I don’t want to know. It’s none of our business. He’s been alone for a long time, Bea. Surely you don’t begrudge him a little happiness?’
Joe was right of course. ‘No. I don’t. It’s just hard to get my head around, that’s all.’
If this move to Dulili wasn’t a success she’d not only be facing the fact that her life was in the toilet, she’d be putting a dampener on Dad’s happiness too.
Failure simply wasn’t an option.
* * *
Mitch ripped the top off a Toohey’s New and took a big swig as he watched her approach.
Obviously someone had been kind enough to invite Bea to the tree-burn bash, Caitlin by the looks of it, and now he was feeling like a heel that he hadn’t thought to mention it.
Jesus.
Now he was telling lies to himself. Of course he’d thought of it. And thought about her. In fact, he’d done little else. Ever since they’d watched the Demons get thrashed she’d been on his mind.
Quite a few women came along to watch the footy, most of them because their husbands or boyfriends played. If it was a close game they might show a bit of interest but really, it was a social event for most of them. A chance to catch up with the other wives and girlfriends and maybe have a cheeky glass of wine or a beer. When Bea had agreed to come along he’d thought she was just looking for a chance to meet other locals and that her interest in the game would be cursory. He couldn’t have been more wrong. From
the first to the final siren she was totally into it. She knew all the rules, and wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion when she thought the umpire had made an iffy decision. Loudly. It was hard to believe that such a small chest could contain such a huge set of lungs.
Her support for her newly adopted team was ferocious. He found himself watching her instead of the game. There was something raw about her passion for the game, and watching her aroused his most primal instincts. The more she yelled and laughed and swore, the more he thought about kissing her hard on those plump red lips. Watching the football together was not an activity they could safely repeat.
All the way back to the farm she’d prattled on about her love for the game. How her mum had been a huge Geelong fan and had gone to all the home games. Bea hadn’t been interested until her mum died and she took it upon herself to support the team on her mum’s behalf. Her eyes shone with excitement as she spoke and all he could think about was getting her out of that car before he did something stupid. He hadn’t seen her since.
Until now.
She came and stood right beside the fire drum he had his back to and put out her hands to warm them. ‘Hey Mitch. I thought you might be here tonight.’
‘Yeah. It probably doesn’t seem like anything special to a city girl like you, but these bonfire nights are a pretty big deal out here.’
‘On the contrary. I’ve been looking forward to it ever since Caitlin mentioned to me earlier this week.’
Good thing it was dark already so she couldn’t see his face colouring. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t think to mention it to you. It was rude of me. I’ve been busy on the farm all week and I honestly didn’t think of it. Don’t tell Mum. She’ll have my hide if she thinks I’ve snubbed one of her newcomers.’
‘Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me. You’re not under any obligation to entertain me, Mitch, but I’m glad you brought it up because I was beginning to think I did something at the football to offend you. I have a special knack of putting my foot in it without even realising I’ve done anything wrong. I hope that’s not the case, but if it is please let me know.’
‘No, no, you didn’t offend me. Seriously, I’ve just been busy.’
‘You weren’t put off by my overly enthusiastic barracking style then? Because I have been told it can be a tad off-putting.’
He grinned. ‘I have to admit I’ve never met a woman with quite so much passion for the game. But that’s a good thing in my book.’
She laughed. ‘My ex-husband didn’t think so. He stopped going to the footy with me early on in our marriage. Said I was an embarrassment.’ Her voice was light, but he detected a hint of sadness in her statement.
‘Well, he’s a damn fool if you don’t mind me saying.’
She shrugged. ‘He wasn’t a footy fan, that’s all.’
Mitch sensed the conversation was heading into dangerous territory. Time to head back to safer ground. ‘I’m going to grab something eat. How about you? Can I interest you in a snag in bread?’
She grinned. ‘You betcha.’
He put his hand on her elbow to steer her in the right direction and they walked together to the barbecue pit.
‘Hey, Mitch, good to see you,’ a voice said from behind.
‘Alicia. Sorry, I must have walked right past you. I didn’t see you there.’
‘No worries. It is pretty dark out here when you’re away from the fire.’
‘Alicia, this is Bea Elliott. She’s just moved into Uncle Sid’s old place.’
Alicia put out her hand to shake Bea’s. ‘Ah, so you’re the new resident of Honey Hill House. How are you liking Dulili?’
‘I’ve been busy with the renovations to the cottage, so I haven’t spent much time in town yet, but what I’ve seen so far I’ve liked. High Street is just so pretty.’
Alicia smiled, ‘Glad to hear you say that.’
‘Alicia organised a working bee last month to repaint all the stores in High Street.’ Mitch said, before Bea could say more. If she was as adept at putting her foot in it as she kept insisting, he didn’t want it to be with Alicia. She’d recently put a lot of effort into beautifying the main street and he didn’t want Bea making some off-the-cuff remark about the town that might upset her. Poor girl had been through a hard time lately.
He needn’t have worried. Bea was smiling and nodding enthusiastically. ‘I did notice how fresh and clean all the shops looked. You did a great job. I love how community-minded everyone seems to be around here.’
Alicia shrugged. ‘To be honest, it wasn’t completely altruistic. I run the Ag Store in town, so it pays for me to have the main street looking good. The more people coming to town the better.’
‘Don’t listen to her,’ Mitch interrupted. ‘She’s being modest. All the local farmers have regular orders with her at the Ag Store. They don’t care what colour the place is painted. Alicia was thinking of her fellow traders.’
Alicia gave Mitch a good-natured sock in the arm. ‘Quit it would you? You’re making me out to be a regular Mother Teresa. I don’t want Bea getting the wrong idea.’
Bea laughed. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t expect you to start performing miracles or anything like that. So, you run the Ag Store? Maybe I’ll be seeing more of you soon. Like I said, I’m doing some renovations on Honey Hill House. Right now I’ve got builders in. They’re doing all the hard yakka but I’m planning on doing as much as I possibly can myself.’
‘I heard a rumour you’re turning the old place into a B&B. Is that right?’
‘Uh huh.’
‘Wow. That’ll be great for the town. But I guess you’ve got a big job ahead of you. What are the renovations you’re planning?’
Mitch smiled. It was great to see Bea holding her own with Alicia. On the surface the pair had nothing in common, but nevertheless they seemed to have hit it off. ‘Sorry to interrupt ladies, but I’m going to go grab a snag from the barbie. Can I bring either of you anything?’
‘Yeah I’d love a snag too, if you don’t mind?’ Bea said.
‘Not at all. Onions? Sauce?’
‘Both, please.’
Mitch nodded. ‘How about you, Alicia?’
Alicia shook her head. ‘No thanks. I’ll grab something a little later.’
Mitch left them to their conversation and wandered over to get some food. So much for avoiding Bea. He couldn’t seem to stay away from her. It wasn’t as if she was struggling to make friends of her own. She’d come with Caitlin, so clearly they’d formed some sort of relationship already, and now she was nattering away to Alicia and managing to get more than one-word answers out of the girl. Maybe Alicia was finally finding a way to move forward. If that was the case, good for her. He was happy to see her smiling.
He was ashamed to admit that lately he’d gone out of his way to avoid Alicia. To be honest her grief made him uncomfortable. How the hell could he feel hard done by when what she was going through was so much worse? Paul was dead and there was no coming back from that. In comparison his woes seemed trivial. He’d lost the love of his life, but she wasn’t dead. Lucy simply didn’t love him enough to stay.
He felt like such a chump. Everyone else had seen that it was never going to work out between them. Jimmy had said as much. He’d told his little brother to piss off and mind his own business. And Jimmy wasn’t the only one. He’d thought his parents would be overjoyed at the news of his engagement, but Lucy never really won their hearts. Of course neither of them said as much and they’d both tried their best to welcome Lucy into the Mitchell clan, but she’d never really fitted in. He had no one to blame but himself. How had he ever imagined that a princess like Lucy could ever survive in this place? She’d hated Dulili from the moment she’d laid eyes on the town and despite all her promises of loving him ‘forever’, six months after their engagement party she was gone. She took with her all his plans for the future. He’d imagined them taking over the farm, raising a tribe of kids who’d eventually inherit Warilda and keep the
cycle going. Now Lucy was gone and he was alone. Jimmy was off to see the world and who knew when he’d be back, if ever. He’d be the last Mitchell to farm this land. Warialda would die with him.
He shook his head to free himself of his sombre thoughts. If Alicia could move on after all she’d been through so could he. It was time to stop moping about what he’d lost and get on with appreciating what he had right now.
Chapter 6
It was on the road between Orange and Dulili that Bea came to the sudden realisation that she was happy. Not ‘coping’ or ‘making the best of things’, but actually happy. This morning she’d taken Evelyn’s advice and headed off to scout Orange’s opportunity shops and antique stores. She’d found some amazing bargains, but unfortunately hadn’t been able to fit all the bentwood chairs—perfect for the relaxed kitchen she had in mind—into her tiny hatchback. She’d also spied a couple of wicker armchairs that would look adorable on the front verandah.
Luckily the Salvation Army ladies had kindly offered to hold them for a few days while she worked something out. Perhaps a friend with a truck or a ute could pick them up for her, they’d said. And that was the thing. She actually did have friends here she could ask. She’d only lived in Dulili for six weeks and yet she already felt like part of the town. The bonfire night was the turning point. Just her presence there seemed to have cemented her place with the locals. Caitlin made sure everyone in town knew who she was and before the end of the night she’d secured several dinner invitations and had been made to promise she’d pop in for coffee with several of her newfound friends. They were a varied group, all sorts of ages and personalities, but all were open and friendly and excited about her plans for Honey Hill House.
She’d especially enjoyed meeting Alicia who was quiet but friendly nonetheless. She’d made a point of popping by the Ag Store and picking up some supplies a few days after the bonfire. Alicia had introduced her colleague, Lachlan, who was a newcomer like herself. He was a quiet sort of fellow but pleasant enough. He’d offered to assist her any way he could with the renovations. ‘We newbies need to stick together,’ he’d said as she was leaving. Of course she wouldn’t take him up on his offer, she couldn’t accept help from a total stranger, but it was a nice thing for him to say nonetheless.