Talk of the Town

by Rachael Johns

  ‘Earth to Lawson? Anyone home?’

  ‘Huh?’ He blinked and shook his head at the sound of Tab’s voice and her hand waving in front of his face.

  ‘Are you all right?’ she asked, frowning at him.

  He scrunched up the serviette he held in his hand and shoved it into his pocket. ‘Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?’

  ‘You’ve been a little distant this last week—I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve caught you staring off into space and I just did again. Are you worried about something? Did you hear the Baxters have just lost their milk contract?’

  ‘Yes, I did.’ If only it were the farm and current dairy industry crisis that had been occupying his mind. He sighed and tried to offer her a smile. ‘I’m just tired for some reason, but I’m okay.’

  ‘You know I’m always here if you want to talk—about anything,’ Tab said, reaching out and squeezing his arm.

  ‘Thanks.’ He summoned a carefree smile, hoping she’d take his answer at face value. Talking? He wouldn’t know where to start.

  ‘Ethan!’ Ned leaped up and around the table to greet their worker as he approached.

  Lawson, happy for the distraction, lifted a hand in greeting. ‘If I’d known you were coming into town I’d have given you a lift.’

  Ethan shrugged. ‘Was a last-minute decision. Had a craving for one of Tabby’s ice-creams.’

  ‘What flavour can I get you?’ she asked, already picking up her scoop and rinsing it in her container of water.

  Ethan turned to Ned. ‘What do you recommend?’

  Again, he espoused the virtues of the Lolly Mayhem and when Ethan decided to go with it, Ned asked if he could have one as well. He hadn’t finished his sausage sizzle but it was the weekend.

  ‘It’s on the house,’ Tab said when Ethan went to pay.

  ‘Aw, thanks.’ He took the ice-cream and was putting his wallet back in his pocket when Adeline came up to the stall.

  ‘Hello, everyone,’ she said, her smile lingering longer on Lawson than the others. ‘Anyone want to buy a raffle ticket for the Progress Association?’ The PA was another local pie Adeline had her fingers in.

  ‘What’s the prize?’ Ethan asked.

  ‘Ooh, it’s a ripper this month. Two nights’ accommodation for two people to a day spa retreat in Margaret River.’ Again, she looked to Lawson as she said this.

  ‘Nice idea but as if any of us could get away for two nights,’ he mused.

  ‘I’ll take five tickets,’ Tab said, stealing money from her ice-cream float.

  ‘Who will you take if you win?’

  She winked at Ethan as she took the tickets from Adeline. ‘That’s none of your business.’

  ‘Good luck,’ Adeline said, popping the coins into the top of her tin. ‘What about you, Lawson? You want to buy some tickets?’

  Had she not heard what he said a few moments earlier? He dug out his wallet, not because the idea of a spa retreat appealed in the slightest but because it was for a good cause. ‘Give me five as well.’

  She scribbled his name down on the tickets, tore off the stubs and then looked down at Ned as if she’d only just noticed him. ‘Hello, Neddy. How’s the puppy going? Have you given him a name yet? You know I’m happy to come out to the farm and help you with some training if you’d like.’

  Ned looked up at her as if she were speaking a foreign language and Lawson’s gut clenched. He hadn’t mentioned Meg and the puppy thing to Ned or Tabitha—the latter because she’d read stuff into the gesture and Ned because he’d insist on going out to visit. But he’d been stupid to think he could hide something like this in a small town.

  ‘What have you done with him this morning?’ Adeline asked. ‘He’ll get up to mischief if left alone too long.’

  At the same time Tab and Ned chimed in unison, ‘What puppy?’

  Lawson shoved his hands in his pockets and resisted the urge to whistle as he racked his mind for what to say.

  ‘Lawson took one of my dogs on Wednesday,’ Adeline explained, her tone sharp as she narrowed her eyes at him.

  ‘You bought a puppy?’ Ned asked, his mouth full of ice-cream.

  Lawson didn’t have the chance to reprimand him before Tab perched her hand on her hip and demanded, ‘Well, if this is true, what on earth have you done it?’

  This felt like the bloody Spanish Inquisition. Adeline, Ned and Tabitha were all glaring at him as they waited for an answer. Ethan licked his ice-cream and looked on in obvious amusement.

  ‘It’s true.’ Lawson looked to Tab and then to Ned. ‘I did buy a puppy, but not for us.’ He swallowed, drew his suddenly sweaty hands out of his pockets and wiped them against his shorts. ‘I bought him for Meg, the woman Ned and I met in Rose Hill.’

  Tab’s lips transformed from a thin line into a wide grin. ‘Oh, really?’

  ‘You dark horse!’ Ethan slapped him on the back in obvious approval. ‘I thought you said she wasn’t very keen on socialising. Hang on a minute, is she the girl who baked those cakes?’

  ‘What cakes?’ asked Ned.

  Lawson had shared the cakes Meg had given him with Ethan for smoko over the last couple of days, knowing that if he’d brought them into the house, Tab would have wanted to know where they’d come from. He’d led Ethan to believe one of the old dears in town had gifted them.

  He nodded in confirmation at Ethan.

  Ethan grinned. ‘That orange cake could give the CWA a run for their money.’

  ‘Sounds like you have a bit of talking to do, big brother,’ Tab said, not sounding cranky in the slightest.

  The same could not be said for Adeline. ‘You never said you were taking a puppy for a … a woman.’ Hurt and surprise flashed in her eyes. Lawson felt a tiny pinprick of remorse—he didn’t want to hurt Adeline—but perhaps if she thought there was something going on with him and Meg, she’d finally get the message that the two of them were never going to be more than friends.

  ‘I didn’t say I wasn’t,’ he countered. ‘Is there a problem?’

  ‘That girl sure can cook,’ Ethan said, still stuck, as usual, on the food thing.

  Adeline glared at him and then looked back to Lawson, her eyebrows raised expectantly. ‘Of course there’s a problem. I take great care finding good homes for my dogs and I don’t feel comfortable with one going to a stranger.’

  ‘Dad?’ Ned tugged at his shirt. ‘Can we go visit Meg and the puppy?’

  Lawson ignored him. ‘She’s not a stranger. I’ve met her twice now and she fell in love with the puppy the moment she laid eyes on him. Relax, Adeline: she’s a young woman living on her own in Rose Hill. You know how isolated that makes her. Your dog will have all her attention. He’ll be fine, more than fine.’

  ‘Having met someone twice, you can hardly give her a character reference.’ Adeline sniffed and clutched the raffle tickets and tin close against her chest. ‘What else do you know about her? Why is she living all on her lonesome in such a place?’

  Lawson bristled, feeling defensive on Meg’s part. ‘I don’t know. Not all of us waste so much time prying into other people’s business.’

  ‘Are you going to see her again? Are you going to check she’s taking proper care of my dog?’

  ‘I paid you for that dog, Adeline. It isn’t yours any more. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got to go buy some—’ he glanced up and across the car park ‘—candles. See you later.’

  Lawson strode off before she could say another word and didn’t return to the ice-cream stall until she’d moved on.

  ‘Dad,’ Ned said the moment he arrived back, ‘can we please go visit Meg?’

  ‘No,’ Lawson snapped. Ned was just as persistent as Adeline when he wanted something, but at least he had the excuse of childhood. ‘Will you just stop asking?’ There were enough voices in his head telling him to take another drive to Rose Hill, and he didn’t like the way he felt not quite himself around Meg.

  Tabitha raised her eyebrows, then leaned close and
whispered, ‘I’m not sure how I feel about you buying puppies for women I haven’t even met.’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t you start. Isn’t a guy allowed to do a good deed without getting harangued about it from all directions?’

  She smiled. ‘Helping an old lady cross a road, buying someone a coffee when they’ve forgotten their wallet—those are good deeds. I’m not sure giving someone a purebred puppy is the same thing.’

  Lawson scowled.

  ‘Relax. I think it’s sweet.’ She scrutinised him. ‘What I’m curious about is why you didn’t see fit to mention it? Is Meg the reason for you looking off into space so much this last week?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he scoffed. ‘That is exactly why I didn’t mention it. You’re just as bad as everyone else in this town. You want life to be like one of your romance novels, but it’s not.’

  ‘Oh, trust me. I know it’s not.’ Tab turned away from him and plastered a smile on her face as Boots arrived with two of his kids in tow.

  ‘Hey guys.’ He wiped his hand over his brow as he grinned at Lawson, Ned, Tab and Ethan, who was now devouring his second ice-cream. ‘It’s bloody hot already. Tennille sent me over to get ice-cream for the kids, but I think I’ll have one as well.’

  ‘Good plan.’ Tab gestured to the list of flavours on her little blackboard. ‘What can we get for you?’

  Again, Ned helped the younger kids make their selection, took the money from Boots and carefully counted out his change.

  ‘Good kid you got there,’ Boots said, nodding to Ned as he looked over at Lawson. ‘Leah would be damn proud of the job you’re doing.’

  ‘Thanks.’ He blinked his eyes, which suddenly felt gritty as he looked down at the top of Ned’s blond head. How he wished Leah could see him now. He might have the odd parenting fail but most of the time he didn’t think he was stuffing Ned up too badly and he hoped she would be proud of them both. But what would she think of him snapping at Ned, taking it out on their son when he was really annoyed at himself and others? Ned should be his priority above all else.

  That thought sitting heavy in his chest, he vowed to make it up to him that afternoon. As Boots walked away with kids trailing behind him like ducklings, Lawson reached out and ruffled Ned’s hair.

  ‘Fancy a swim this afternoon? And then maybe I can whip your bum at a game of Mario Kart before the evening milking?’

  Ned took a moment to answer and Lawson hoped he didn’t ask about Meg again.

  ‘Tell him he’s dreaming,’ Ethan said, piping up from where he’d been standing quietly watching. He couldn’t pass up the opportunity to quote from his favourite Aussie film.

  ‘He’s right, Dad, I always beat you,’ Ned said.

  Lawson grinned. ‘That, my son, sounds like a challenge too good to refuse.’ With any luck a few hours playing mindless video games would take his mind off the whole Meg-Adeline-puppy debacle.

  Chapter Eight

  At half-past eleven on Monday morning, Megan was just sitting down with her crochet when a knock sounded on the front door. Cane immediately leaped up from where he’d only moments before settled on his bed, barked and shot in the direction of the sound. Megan put her needle, wool and half-finished purple and yellow tea-cosy down on the table and forced herself to her feet. Her heart stilled at the knowledge she had a visitor, but the panic didn’t last half as long as it once had.

  As she headed out of the kitchen and towards the entrance where Cane was jumping up and down and throwing his little body at the door like a maniac, a tiny flicker of hope sparked within at the thought that maybe Lawson had returned. But then, she shook her head and pushed that fantasy aside; it would more likely be Archie.

  On Saturday when she’d delivered his milk and noodles and collected her dog, he’d invited her into his house for a coffee and she’d surprised herself by accepting. Despite the run-down façade of the road house, inside Archie’s place was neat, clean and surprisingly homely. His walls were covered with beautiful, clearly Australian landscapes. Contrary to the reputation of artists, he seemed very organised and only one corner of his open-plan living space gave any indication that the paintings were his own work. A couple of easels displayed two half-finished canvasses and there were paints and brushes scattered across a high table between them.

  Conversation had been easy, starting with discussing his art and moving onto the history of Rose Hill and the building Megan had bought. They hadn’t discussed anything deep and meaningful but she discovered that Archie was employed by the Walsh shire as caretaker for the community-owned buildings in this obsolete community. Her house was one of the few privately owned buildings and when he’d mentioned he hadn’t been inside it for years, she’d offered him an open invitation to come and take a look some time. She’d enjoyed their time chatting and sensed that, like her, he was happy to have another soul living not too far away, but would never become the type of neighbour to try and live in her pocket.

  ‘Coming,’ she called, feeling more normal than she had in a while as she neared the front door.

  Having convinced herself the visitor would be Archie, on pulling back the front door she gasped at the sight of a blonde woman in a short red sundress. Cane, who had a lot to learn about becoming a guard dog, leaped excitably up at the woman, whom Megan guessed to be selling religion or something else she didn’t want. Her hackles rose—she’d thought she’d be safe from those types out here.

  ‘I’m sorry, whatever it is you’re peddling, I’m not interested,’ she said, bending down and wrangling Cane into her arms before he made a run for it.

  As she stepped back and went to shut the door, the woman thrust out her arm to stop it from closing. ‘Oh, I’m not selling anything,’ said the blonde, smiling so widely Megan thought her facial muscles must hurt. ‘I’m Adeline Walsh and I’ve come to welcome you to Rose Hill.’

  The woman looked vaguely familiar and Megan tried to work out why. ‘You live in Rose Hill as well?’

  The other woman laughed as if this was a ridiculous thought, somehow stepping inside as she did so, despite not being offered an invitation. ‘God no, I live in Walsh. As you can probably guess by my name, my ancestors were one of the town’s founding families. My great-grandmother, Penelope, was an Elverd before she married Henry Walsh—the Elverds and the Walshes have a long history in this area.’

  ‘Right.’ Megan didn’t know what this had to do with the price of eggs, never mind with her, but she got the feeling she was supposed to be impressed. Her stomach tightened as Adeline stood just inside the door and gazed around. ‘Nice to meet you,’ she lied.

  Would it be rude if she manhandled this intruder back outside and shut the door in her face?

  Adeline reached out and fluffed up Cane’s fur. ‘I had to come and check on my baby.’

  Baby? It took a moment for Megan’s brain to click into gear and then she realised why Adeline looked familiar. ‘You’re the woman I met at the supermarket,’ she blurted. ‘The one who trains the puppies. Are you also the breeder? Lawson’s friend?’ The pressure in her chest released a little—perhaps Adeline did have a logical reason for stopping by.

  ‘Oh.’ She laughed and gave Megan a knowing look. ‘We’re a little more than friends, but yes, I bred this gorgeous little bundle. His parents are Australian prize-winning pedigrees.’ And with these words, she turned and headed not back outside as Megan would have liked, but further into her home.

  Megan placed Cane down on the floor—he took a wide berth around the stairs and bounded after Adeline—and followed reluctantly.

  ‘How long have you been living here?’ Adeline asked as she paused at a side table. She looked through the books Megan had stacked there, not bothering to put them back neatly.

  ‘A couple of weeks,’ Megan replied.

  ‘Shall we have a drink?’ Adeline asked. ‘I make it a point of getting to know the new owners of my dogs and I can just tell we’re going to be fabulous friends.’

 
Funny, Megan wasn’t getting that feeling at all. ‘I don’t have much to offer you I’m afraid,’ she said, but Adeline, already making her way into the kitchen, didn’t appear to hear.

  As she and Cane followed her in, Megan glanced longingly at her crochet sitting on the table and decided next time some random stranger came knocking at her door, she’d hide under the bed. Whether Adeline was genuine or not, Megan wasn’t in the market for friendship any more than she was for a relationship. Both things would eventually mean baring her soul and doing so would likely ruin the bond, so what was the point starting anything in the first place?

  ‘Can I get you a cup of coffee or a glass of cold water?’ Megan offered. ‘I’m sorry, but I really don’t have anything else.’

  Adeline’s smile grew wider. ‘I’d love a cup of tea.’

  Did I offer you that? Megan swallowed her irritation as her guest pulled out a chair and dusted it with her fingers. Seemingly satisfied that it was clean enough, she turned to sit down, but just as she was about to connect, the seat moved backwards and Adeline crashed ungracefully to the floor.

  If Megan hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed it. It was as if an invisible force had played that cruel old trick on Adeline.

  ‘Are you okay?’ She rushed forwards, trying to stifle a laugh and offer the other woman a hand up as Cane bounced all over her in excitement at this new game.

  Adeline blinked, shook her head, then allowed Megan to assist her. ‘Don’t know what happened there.’ She laughed nervously as she stood and rubbed her backside. Her faux smile well and truly vanished, this time she held on firmly to the chair as she lowered herself into it. ‘Now, where were we? Cup of tea?’

  ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t drink tea so I don’t have any.’