White Gum Creek

by Nicole Hurley-Moore

  ‘But I thought she knew,’ Bec said in her defence.

  ‘What’s amazing is that Matt managed to get him engaged. Ask anyone in town and they’ll tell you that if you accidentally find your way up to Winters Hill, Nick will tell you to get off his property in no uncertain terms and he has done so ever since Sophie’s accident,’ Sally said. ‘It really does prove that Matt has a way with words.’

  ‘True, but I guess Matt also wandered across Nick’s path when he needed it. At least that’s how I like to think of it. They talked about loss and I think Nick believes that Matt has some idea what he went through. He drops in every now and again,’ Bec said as she scanned the menu.

  ‘And he’s been to the poker night. Davey mentioned it,’ Sally said.

  Davey Blackwell had swept Sally off her feet when she arrived in town several years ago to take up a teaching position at the local primary school. They owned an old weatherboard on a large block just up from the school. It wasn’t hard to miss as he’d painted it sky blue the day Sally agreed to marry him because it was her favourite colour. From that day Davey’s actions were held up as the benchmark for romantic gestures. To this date, he hadn’t been topped. Davey ran the small supermarket in town and when Matt Harvey first arrived in White Gum Creek he’d taken him under his wing.

  ‘He’s actually getting out, after all this time? That’s great—I mean it. It’s wonderful. I’ve been so…worried about him.’

  ‘And I’ll make sure that the two of you are sitting together at the dinner. At least that will give you a bit longer with him. Maybe you’ll be able to have an actual conversation with him instead of the few moments you have when you sell him bread?’ Bec said as she put down the menu and went to reach for her drink that wasn’t there.

  ‘I’ll get drinks,’ Sally said. ‘I want a lemon mineral water, anyway.’

  ‘Not drinking?’ Tash asked.

  Sally shook her head.

  ‘Don’t feel like it tonight. Do you want something?’

  ‘I’ll have the same as you,’ Tash said. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Make it three, Sally. I’ll grab a wine later.’

  As Sally headed towards the bar, Tash turned her attention back to Bec.

  ‘So, do you think that would work—I mean, me sitting next to Nick.’

  ‘I reckon it would at least give you an opportunity to chat. Not that he’d talk much…sometimes him and Matt will just sit in silence. It’s not uncomfortable, but maybe that’s all he’s capable of. Like he wants company but in baby steps.’

  Tash nodded.

  ‘Anyway, I’ll make sure you’re sitting next to him and you can take it from there.’

  ‘Thanks, Bec.’

  ‘Well, you need time together to work out how you feel about him.’

  ***

  Nick scanned the steep paddock. At the top of the rise the land levelled out and that was where the shearing shed and the stock pens were. Winters Hill was never a big run, not like Bluestone Ridge or others in the area, but Nick and Sophie had been in the process of building it up when the accident happened. There might have been a few people around White Gum Creek that saw Nick’s efforts as nothing more than a hobby farm, but he had known that with hard work it would be a success one day. But that was before he lost Sophie.

  Since she died, Winters Hill had languished and fallen into disrepair. Not all of it, Nick always made sure that the sheep were happy and well-cared for, but the buildings were neglected because something inside of him had given up.

  But lately there had been a shift within him and he knew that life was changing. As Nick stood looking at the shearing shed, he realised that if he was going to stay here then he’d need to start improving the farm. He considered this for a moment. There was something seductive about the thought of moving away and starting over. But that would be running away and giving up altogether. When he’d bought this place, he’d had a dream of how his life would be. It hadn’t worked out the way he envisioned it, but the bare bones were still there; the land was still there. That would never change. And here, even though he hadn’t felt as if he belonged for years, he at least had a couple of friends. Maybe it was enough to rebuild on.

  Nick leaned against the nearest post of the sheep pen. It wobbled but held his weight. It was true he did have friends, ones that did give a damn about him. And that was about the most positive revelation he’d had in years.

  The phone buzzed in his pocket. Nick winced when he saw the name flash on the screen. It was his brother in law, Peter Telford—Sophie’s older brother.

  ‘Hi, Peter, how you going?’

  ‘I’m glad you answered. I’ve rung a couple of times, but you never pick up.’

  ‘Sometimes I forget to take the damn thing with me.’

  There was a moment’s silence and Nick couldn’t think of anything to say. God, it was difficult and he didn’t know why. The seconds ticked by and the awkwardness grew. It was a relief when Peter spoke.

  ‘I just wanted to check in to see if you were alright. We worry about you, you know that.’

  ‘Thanks, I do and I appreciate it.’

  ‘No need for thanks. I just want to make sure that you’re in a good place. Tell me that you’re finally getting away from the farm and talking to people?’

  ‘It’s a work in progress,’ Nick said.

  ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Yeah, I went to a poker night and met a few guys.’

  ‘That’s good…Sophie wouldn’t have wanted you to close yourself off from the world.’

  At the mention of his wife’s name, tension spiked through Nick. It was only natural that Peter would speak about her, but Nick wished he wouldn’t. Once again silence stretched between them.

  Peter continued.

  ‘What I mean to say is that the family is here for you. We’d love for you to come by—maybe for lunch or dinner. It’s been ages since we last caught up and Mum’s been worrying about you.’

  ‘I’m fine, really I am. And tell Lana thanks for worrying but I’m good. Look, I’m not sure when I can make it, but I’ll drop by for dinner…soon.’

  ‘That’s all I ask. Take care, okay, and I hope to see you soon.’

  ‘Thanks Peter—you too. See ya.’

  Nick shoved the phone back in his pocket before rolling back his shoulders. Peter ran his parents’ farm on the other side of White Gum Creek, just before the crown land over near Jackson’s Flat. Peter rang every month or so, just to make sure that Nick was still in the land of the living. He was a good guy, but Nick had stayed away from the family for years.

  ***

  The flour was cool against Tash’s fingers as she sprinkled a handful on the stainless-steel table.

  ‘How are you going with the dinner rolls?’ Alex called out.

  ‘Just dividing them now,’ she called back as she took a large lump of bread dough and placed it on the flour. ‘Don’t worry, we’re not that far behind.’

  Tash’s morning had been thrown into disarray when a persistent ringing woke her up. It had been Alex to say that Joey was sick and he needed her help if they were going to make all the orders. According to Joey, he was officially dying, but Alex assured Tash he’d only managed to catch a summer cold and couldn’t be in the shop sneezing over everything. Tash had told him she was on the way before she rolled out of bed and hit the shower, inwardly cursing herself for staying up late last night reading just one more chapter.

  Turning The Gumnut’s fortunes around had swapped one set of problems for another. The business was growing, but it was slow. Both Tash and Alex had become accustomed to the steady upswing of the bakery and managed. They hired Joey as the baking assistant and Meg to work on the counter to ease the work load, but as Tash pushed the large baking tray of rolls into one of the ovens she realised that it wasn’t enough.

  ‘We need to get someone else in the kitchen with us,’ she said.

  ‘Well, that’s obvious,’ Alex said as he turned out a batch of hot, cru
sty loaves.

  ‘No need to get snippy.’

  He glanced over to her.

  ‘I’m not. We’re just behind and I don’t want to let anyone down.’

  ‘We won’t. But we’re going to have to think about how we move forward. If one of us gets sick or something, that could throw the whole place into jeopardy. A day here or there can be covered, but if we’re in this for the long haul we have to be smart and protect ourselves, as well.’

  ‘Go on, I’m listening.’

  ‘I’ll look at our sales and see how many new people we can hire.’

  ‘As long as we don’t lose who we are and what The Gumnut is,’ Alex said as he pulled out another tray of bread. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I want the help, but we’re a small, family-run business and I don’t want to compromise that by getting too big.’

  Tash nodded.

  ‘I agree. But we need to future-proof the bakery and maybe even take a holiday every now and again.’

  Alex grinned back at her.

  ‘What are they?’

  ‘Smart-arse,’ she said with a smile as she started filling the next tray.

  Chapter 5

  Nick turned off the car ignition and sat for a moment. He’d just parked outside Matt’s place and was officially ten minutes late for the birthday dinner. He fiddled with the button on the cuff of his new dark red shirt and wondered if he should turn it up or leave it down. It didn’t matter. Nick blew out a breath, he was procrastinating and he knew it. Several other cars were parked along the nature strip and Nick recognised Davey Blackwell’s SUV. Soft light from the cottage spilled out across the overgrown garden, and even from here he could hear the faint sound of music coming from within.

  He promised to come, but now that Nick was here he was having second thoughts. It wouldn’t take much just to turn the key and get the hell out of here. No one would miss him, except maybe Matt, but he’d be busy with his guests. Nick’s hand hovered over the ignition as he stared towards the cottage.

  A loud thump on the side of his ute made him jump. Freddy’s face appeared in the driver’s window.

  ‘How’s it going, Nick?’

  Nick wound down the window.

  ‘You bloody well scared the hell out of me!’

  Freddy laughed and opened the door.

  ‘Just keeping you on your toes. You coming in?’

  As Nick’s escape plan had been ruined by his card-cheating friend, he had no choice but to nod and climb out of the car.

  ‘It should be a fun night and Matt always has great food. His sister brings interesting stuff up from Melbourne.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Nick responded. ‘I know.’

  His response was obviously a little too lacklustre because Freddy nudged him on the arm and said, ‘Come on, you need to get out and have a bit of company—we all do. Otherwise what’s the point? We may not have lovers, but at least we’ve got a motley crew of friends that actually give a shit about us.’

  ‘No partner, then?’

  Freddy shook his head.

  ‘Nah, what can I say—the farm is my life. Maybe one day it might happen, who knows.’ He punched Nick in the shoulder. ‘Let’s go, I’m hungry.’

  Matt grinned as he opened the door.

  ‘I was beginning to think you were going to bail on us,’ he said as Nick walked past.

  ‘Reckon he was on the verge of running, but I stopped him.’ Freddy said as he kept going towards the kitchen. ‘You could almost see the panic in his eyes.’

  Nick felt his cheeks get a bit hot.

  ‘Okay, there was a second when I thought about going home…’

  ‘Well, I’m glad you didn’t. Come on in. I’ve had to set up a table out the back so we’d all fit.’

  Nick was met with a collective hello as he stepped into the courtyard. There was a long table and dotted down the centre was an odd assortment of candles. Some were short and had been poured into jars, other were slender and elegantly dripping down an old silver candelabra. The spring air was almost warm and there was the scent of jasmine wafting over from an ancient tangle that covered the back wall.

  Nick smiled hello and headed for the nearest vacant seat. He spied one by Tash from the bakery, but as he neared it Freddy grabbed his arm.

  ‘C’mon, mate, you’d better sit here so I can keep an eye on you.’ Freddy then leaned forward and called out, ‘Everyone move down a seat so Nick can sit down.’

  Several people stood up, some taking their glasses with them and all moved down one seat. Nick found himself wedged between Freddy and Davey Blackwell.

  ‘See, nothing to worry about,’ Freddie said, grinning as he passed him a beer. ‘Your poker buddies will take care of ya.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Nick said. ‘Appreciate it.’

  ***

  Tonight confirmed what Tash had always believed—that Freddy Carmichael had been put on this earth to ruin her life. He was a couple of years older than her, but that had never stopped him from messing up everything for her since primary school. Because of him she’d been blamed for breaking the window in the art room, and everyone believed that she had been in love with Davey Blackwell just because she’d kissed his cheek when she was six years old. Freddy had never let the story drop. The story was so persistent that she even got sympathetic looks from some locals when Davey asked Sally to marry him!

  Tonight, however, Freddy had excelled himself. When Tash had found out that Nick was coming to the dinner, she and Bec had carefully orchestrated a seating plan. The only spare seat would be the one next to Tash, meaning she could finally have a conversation with the man. For once she’d have Nick sitting next to her and maybe she’d be able to finally work out just what she felt about him. Was she drawn to him because he had half-a-dozen bad years and she felt sorry for him, or was it something deeper. Either way, Tash had thought that finally tonight she’d get some sort of answer. She’d been looking forward to the dinner all week, but then, in the blink of an eye, bloody Freddy goes and screws it all up.

  Tash glanced over to Bec, who mouthed ‘Sorry’ back at her. Tash shrugged. There wasn’t anything she could do about it—well, not without it looking weird. But she was now down the end of the table. Matt’s sister, Jules, was sitting directly opposite Nick. Damn it, how had that happened?

  Oh yeah, that’s right—Freddy.

  By all accounts, Tash should hate Jules Harvey, though maybe hate was too strong a word. Dislike? But the truth was that she didn’t hate or dislike her. Every time Jules came up from Melbourne to visit her brother she dropped into the bakery. She was pretty with dark bouncy hair and a welcoming smile, and the sun seemed to travel with her. How was that even possible? Had Jules cultivated good looks and a sunny disposition, or was one just born that way?

  Tash had already decided that she and Jules had nothing in common. Jules had the ability to fit into any situation with ease. She was animated and articulate, while Tash felt like a silent, brooding wallflower next to her. She glanced across the table. Jules was already in a deep conversation with Nick and Davey.

  Typical. Just bloody typical!

  Jules leaned forward and said something that Tash couldn’t catch. After a moment, she heard an unrecognisable laugh and realised it was Nick. Jules had managed to get him to laugh and somehow it hurt.

  Tash tried to put the disappointment behind her, but as the dinner progressed she felt herself withdraw. The conversation circulated around the table, and while the food and company were good, Tash found little joy in it. Sally had tried to engage her in conversation, but it didn’t help. She was tired, and after getting her hopes up, the evening hadn’t turned out as she had expected. Was she giving up before anything could even begin? Maybe.

  ‘Hey, are you okay?’ Bec said as she pulled a chair up next to her.

  ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘No you’re not—I can tell when you’re bullshitting me,’ Bec said with a smile. ‘You were always lousy at lying.’

  Tash gave her a smile.<
br />
  ‘I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.’

  ‘Bullshitting.’

  Tash sighed.

  ‘I am tired. I started work at five. Joey is sick…’

  ‘Ah, but that’s only part of the problem.’

  ‘What’s the problem?’

  Sally had swivelled around in her chair.

  ‘Freddy mucked everything up,’ Bec said as she leaned in front of Tash.

  ‘How?’

  ‘Look, guys, can we just not talk about this now?’ Tash said. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself.

  Bec ignored her.

  ‘Nick was meant to sit next to Tash, but Freddy nabbed him before he could.’

  ‘Damn.’

  ‘Freddy has always been totally clueless. Love him, but he is one of the most frustrating people I know.’

  ‘What can we do? Can we move seats now?’ Sally asked.

  ‘No!’ Tash said. ‘Just leave it. It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I’m going to take off soon.’

  ‘So running away, then? Nice plan.’

  ‘It’s not like that, Bec,’ Tash protested as she slumped against the back of the chair. ‘Really, just let it go and maybe I’ll have better luck next time.’

  Bec grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

  ‘I just want you to be happy. You’ve wanted this for a long time. Are you really going to give up that easily?’

  ‘What Bec said,’ Sally said.

  Tash smiled.

  ‘I don’t know what I did to deserve both of you.’

  ‘Hey, is that in a good way?’ Sally asked as she narrowed her eyes.

  ‘Next time I promise I’ll stay and fight.’

  ‘It’s not a battle,’ Bec said with a shake of her head.

  Tash blew out a breath.

  ‘It is when Freddy is around.’

  The three of them laughed until Sally reached over to Tash.

  ‘Could you wait for a few more minutes before going? Davey has an announcement.

  Tash and Bec looked at each other. Their eyes widened.

  ‘Hang on a minute,’ Tash said. ‘You’ve been feeling sick on and off, and I can’t remember the last time you had a wine…’