Home Before Sundown

by Barbara Hannay

  Bella smiled. ‘You’re starting to relax about this cooking business, aren’t you?’

  ‘I’m feeling very relaxed this evening,’ Liz agreed, eyes sparkling.

  ‘You’ve been flirting with Jack Roper again.’

  ‘No more than he flirted with me.’ Liz had moved to the fridge. ‘Will white wine do? I had a little buying spree while I was at the pub.’

  ‘White’s fine.’

  As Liz extracted a bottle of Clare Valley Riesling, she sent Bella a searching glance, but she didn’t comment until they were on the verandah, comfortable in old cane chairs padded with patchwork cushions, looking out at paddocks drenched in turquoise shadows.

  Gus sprawled on the floorboards between them, his head resting patiently on his paws. Bella wished she could tell the faithful dog that it wouldn’t be too long now before his master was home. She had a strange feeling that her problems would sort themselves out when Peter Fairburn was well and back in charge of Mullinjim.

  Liz sipped at her wine. ‘Ooh, this is nice. I hope you don’t mind the ice cube. It’ll keep the wine cool in this heat.’

  ‘It’s a good idea.’ Out of the corner of her eye Bella caught her aunt’s expression, a mixture of fondness and concern that was almost more than she could bear. She kept her gaze fixed firmly on the wineglass she held tightly in both hands.

  ‘He’ll get over it, Bella.’

  ‘Who? Anton?’

  ‘Yes. He seems to be a very level-headed and resilient young man. And now he’s heading off for another adventure. In a few days’ time––’

  ‘He’ll have forgotten me,’ Bella said with a faintly bitter smile.

  ‘Well, he might be recovering from his disappointment,’ Liz agreed. ‘That’s what you want, isn’t it?’

  Bella nodded, but to her dismay, she could feel tears stinging her eyes. She blinked hard.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Sort of.’

  ‘I’m here if you want to talk.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Bella closed her eyes, trying to collect her thoughts. She wanted to offload, but she realised she didn’t have a clue where to start. Talking about Gabe to Liz would be like taking the lid off a jar of angry bees.

  Scary stuff.

  ‘I think I warned you that coming home can be tricky,’ Liz said quietly. ‘And it can be especially tricky if you haven’t faced up to why you ran away in the first place.’

  Bella’s eyes flashed. This was a bit too close to the bone. Panic flared. Crap. She was turning into a nervous wreck. She took a swift gulp of wine, hoping it would calm her. ‘You sound like Gabe. He told me last night to sort myself out.’ But Liz had put her finger on the very heart of her problem. ‘You’re right,’ she said tightly. ‘I was running away when I took off for Europe.’

  ‘From Gabe?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Who else? Bella rolled her eyes. ‘I was pretty immature. You wouldn’t believe how stupid.’

  ‘Oh, I probably would.’ Liz smiled awkwardly, her eyes suddenly tense.

  ‘Don’t tell me you ran away, too.’

  ‘In a manner of speaking.’

  Bella remembered her aunt’s tears soon after they’d returned.

  I’ve been making peace with the past . . .

  In the kitchen behind them, the oven began to beep.

  ‘Saved by the bell,’ Liz said, moving quickly to her feet. ‘I’d better turn that darned thing off.’

  ‘Sure. Let’s eat,’ Bella was on her feet, too. ‘I’m starving. And talking about our past mistakes will only give us indigestion.’

  ‘But you will feel free to talk if you need a sounding board, won’t you?’

  ‘I will,’ Bella said as her aunt hurried inside. Talking might help her to unravel the chaos inside her.

  She didn’t follow Liz straightaway, however. She went to the verandah railing and looked out at the view she knew so well and that she’d missed so often when she was away. It was almost sunset, but streaks of pink and gold still lingered in the clouds gathered on the horizon. Cattle continued to graze in the paddocks while kangaroos hopped silently among them like shadows.

  Beyond loomed the dark hump of the trees along the creek. Across the bright sky a flock of cockatoos flew slowly homewards.

  It was an ordinary enough view, but to Bella it was extraordinarily special. It was home.

  Coming home can be tricky if you haven’t faced up to why you ran away.

  Sort yourself out.

  Okay, okay . . .

  She fingered the little horseshoe on its chain, remembering the night Gabe had given it to her in Townsville, when they were still so happy.

  ‘I almost bought you sapphires or pearls,’ he’d told her. ‘Then I thought this horseshoe was more you.’ Almost immediately he’d looked uncertain. ‘But maybe you’d rather have sapphires and pearls.’

  Bella had rolled her eyes at him. ‘Don’t be crazy. When would I wear sapphires and pearls? Imagine me on a muster.’ She’d made her voice hoity-toity. ‘Mind Lady Bella and her joolz.’

  Smiling, she’d slipped her arms around him. ‘I can wear this horseshoe anywhere, wading into a muddy dam or dancing at the Ritz and I’ll never take it off.’

  She winced, remembering how naïve she’d been that night. Naïve but buzzing with happiness . . . before everything went horribly wrong.

  29.

  Liz’s roast dinner was a triumph. The meat was tender and nicely browned and the vegetables were a perfect blend of soft centres and crisp outsides.

  ‘I’ll make someone a good little wife yet,’ she joked, unable to hide a triumphant grin as she topped up Bella’s wine glass.

  ‘You’re too tall to be anyone’s little wife,’ Bella joked. ‘I meant that in the nicest way,’ she added, in case the comment sounded snarky.

  This evening Bella found her aunt’s new light-heartedness a tad depressing. Liz was so high she was practically floating.

  While I’m wallowing in the pits, Bella thought gloomily as she stared at an ice cube floating in the pale wine, her third glass for the evening.

  They were in the lounge room now. The dishes were stacked and soaking in the sink, and Liz had persuaded Bella to leave the kitchen to finish off their wine in comfortable armchairs.

  Soft lamplight cast a flattering glow over Liz’s wild, dark curls. She was wearing an embroidered turquoise top with a floaty white skirt that made her look exotic and yet comforting at the same time.

  ‘Okay,’ she said warmly, without sounding too motherly. ‘I think you should tell me about Gabe.’

  A nervous tremor rippled through Bella, which was annoying because she wanted to confide in Liz, but she was scared, scared that she might get too tense and break down. She’d always hated scenes and tears, especially in front of others. She’d seen enough melodrama to last her a lifetime from the girls at boarding school.

  ‘It’s hard to know where to start.’

  Liz smiled over the rim of her glass. ‘Forgive me for stating the obvious, but you could always try the beginning.’

  ‘It would take all night.’

  ‘I’m not in any hurry to do those dishes.’

  ‘You know,’ Bella said with soft sincerity, ‘you really are the best aunt in the world.’

  ‘Thank you, darling. That actually means more than you could realise.’

  Before she got cold feet, Bella decided she’d better dive in.

  ‘Well . . . okay . . . I’m sure you’re aware that Gabe and I were always great friends, despite the age gap. For ages he was just like a very nice big brother, as opposed to Luke, who was simply my bossy and very annoying big brother . . . ’

  ‘I had one of those. I understand.’

  ‘Was Dad bossy and annoying?’

  ‘Of course.’

  They shared sympathetic smiles.

  ‘Anyway,’ Bella went on. ‘I finally grew up, Gabe noticed and for a long time we were attracted to each other, but we didn’t do anything about it. It’s ha
rd when you live out here and everyone’s watching you, especially your parents. And there’s no place to hide if things don’t work out.’

  ‘I can imagine that would be difficult.’

  ‘So . . . we took ages to admit to each other how we really felt and when we did get together for a weekend in Townsville, we well – we kind of lost our heads.’

  ‘Losing your heads is by far the best way to start a romance.’

  ‘I guess.’ Bella found herself smiling as she remembered that heady time. ‘Problem was Gabe and I were only supposed to spend the weekend together, but somehow it turned into four days and nights. I wagged uni and Gabe told his parents he was taking a well-earned holiday. And he’d certainly earned the time off – no doubt about that – but then the worst possible thing happened.’

  Bella stopped and took a deep breath to steady herself. ‘While we were away whooping it up, Gabe’s father was killed in an accident. Here on Redman Downs.’

  ‘Oh, darling, you poor things. I heard about the awful accident, but I had no idea about the timing. How terrible for you.’

  ‘It was unbelievably bad. Gabe was devastated, but he felt dreadfully guilty too.’

  ‘Was he very close to his father?’

  ‘Extremely close. When he was little there was a patch of about five years when his mother went away, so it was just the two of them. Big Gabe and little Gabe.’

  ‘Yes, I remember Virginia mentioning something once about Leila Mitchell taking off. I think there were all sorts of rumours flying around, weren’t there?’

  ‘I was too young to know much about it and Gabe’s never talked about it. I’ve never pushed him to. I think his dad was always quite protective of Leila and Gabe’s been the same, so I’ve respected that.’

  Liz nodded her approval.

  ‘But I know that Leila came home again after a few years, Gabe’s sisters were born and everything seemed fine until the accident.’ Bella sighed. ‘Again, I don’t really know what happened on Redman Downs after that. I think Leila had a very hard time dealing with her husband’s death. And it was a really hard time for Gabe. He was grieving, he felt guilty and he had to worry about his mother and looking after his sisters.’

  ‘As well as the property.’

  ‘Yes, that too.’

  ‘The poor man must have been beside himself.’

  ‘Yes.’ Bella stared down into her glass. This was where it got hard. ‘But he wouldn’t let me help. He shut me out. I . . . I don’t know if he blamed me for his father’s death . . . ’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure he didn’t.’

  ‘He might have. I probably talked him into taking those extra days off and staying in Townsville.’ Bella swallowed. ‘But I’m not sure if I’ll ever know what was going on in his head. We didn’t get to talk about it. I had to go back to uni, but I sent emails. And I rang Gabe and offered to come home on weekends, but he always said he was too busy to see me. He didn’t need my help, but he didn’t have time for me either.’

  ‘Which might very well have been the truth.’

  ‘I know.’ Bella chewed nervously at her lower lip. ‘Or at least I can see that now, but at the time I was so damn hurt. I was insanely in love. I’d been waiting for so long for us to get together. It was all I’d ever wanted really – to be with Gabe and to work with cattle. And I was sure I could help him emotionally, if he would let me. I would have done anything.’

  Bella realised she’d barely touched her wine and she took a few sips before she went on. ‘I couldn’t cry on Mum and Dad’s shoulders – they were sort of sympathetic, but they wanted me to concentrate on getting my degree. It was supposed to be my ticket to independence because back then Mullinjim was always going to be Luke’s responsibility. Problem was – I wasn’t looking for independence. I just wanted Gabe.’

  Liz smiled in sympathy.

  ‘If you’d been here, you might have talked some sense into me.’

  ‘I might have warned you to be patient. To give Gabe time.’

  ‘And that would have been good advice, but I probably wouldn’t have listened.’

  ‘So what happened? You gave up on Gabe and went overseas?’

  ‘Not straightaway.’ Bella grimaced. ‘First there was the Gidgee Springs Ball.’

  ‘Ah . . . the famous Gidgee Springs Ball.’ Liz’s mouth twisted in a wry smile. ‘How many romances have started or ended in and around the Gidgee Springs Dance Hall?’

  ‘I guess I’m just another statistic.’ Bella tried to smile back at her, but she couldn’t quite manage it. ‘I’m afraid I was in a bad mood even before I left for that ball. I hadn’t planned on going. I had uni exams and I had no plans to come home for the Race Weekend. Then I found out that Gabe was going to the ball with his sister, Sarah, as her escort.’

  ‘I’m guessing Sarah would have been quite young.’

  ‘Well, yes. Sixteen going on twenty-seven, and she was in her last year of high school. But to be honest, I was a bit fed up with how strangely possessive Gabe had become about his family. I knew they were all dealing with grief and everything, but I––’

  The phone rang in the kitchen, startling them both. Bella’s heart leaped. Could it be Gabe calling?

  Liz groaned. ‘That might be Evan, my agent, ringing from London. I’ve been avoiding his emails.’

  ‘I’ll get it.’ Bella hurried away, nervous but hopeful. Her hand was a little shaky as she lifted the receiver from the phone on the kitchen wall. ‘Hello? Bella speaking.’

  ‘Hello, love. Dad here.’

  Dad. Not Gabe. Her father was probably wondering why she hadn’t rung him tonight. ‘Hi, Dad.’ She stamped down on her disappointment. ‘How are you?’

  ‘Fitter than a scrub bull, Belle. And you’ll never guess. I have good news. The doctors and your mother have agreed to set me free.’ Her father had never sounded so jubilant. ‘I’m coming home.’

  ‘Oh, wow! That’s amazing. That’s . . . that’s wonderful.’ Bella didn’t have to fake her excitement. ‘Wait till I tell Liz. She’ll be thrilled. So . . . so when are you coming?’

  ‘Tomorrow.’

  Bella’s jaw dropped. Momentarily she was too surprised to speak.

  ‘This motel room is the size of a matchbox and the traffic outside is so damn noisy, it’s driving me insane. I don’t want to stay here a minute longer than I have to.’

  ‘I can imagine. Wow. That’s fantastic news.’ She meant it – she was thrilled for her dad – but a bit stunned, too.

  ‘Now don’t make a fuss, will you?’ her father went on. ‘Your mother and I will take the place as it comes.’

  ‘Okay. I’ll tell Liz not to fuss.’

  ‘Thanks, Bella. I have an early appointment with the cardiologist in the morning and then we’ll head off. We should be home before sundown.’

  Bella smiled. ‘Sounds great.’

  ‘It does sound great, doesn’t it? I can’t wait, sweetheart.’

  ‘Me, too. Safe travels, Dad. Love you. Bye.’

  Bella’s green eyes were huge and brimming with significance as she came back into the lounge room. She looked so excited, Liz supposed she’d been talking to Gabe.

  ‘I take it that call wasn’t from wasn’t my agent,’ she said. Or Jack, she added silently.

  ‘No, it was Dad and you’ll never guess.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘He’s coming home. He and Mum are coming tomorrow.’

  ‘Tomorrow?’ Liz had been relaxed in the armchair, with her legs curled up, but now, surprise brought her upright. ‘That’s wonderful news, but Lordy, I wish we’d had more warning.’ Already she was looking around thinking about the shelves and wooden louvres that needed dusting, the floors and carpets that could do with a thorough vacuum, the garden still waiting to be weeded.

  ‘Dad said not to fuss about getting the place ready.’

  ‘I’m sure men always say that. Easy when it’s not their responsibility.’

  ‘Mum won’t expect the place t
o be spotless.’

  ‘Bella, how well do you know your mother?’

  Bella seemed to consider this and a scant second later she gave a sheepish grin. ‘Point taken. But don’t start panicking, Liz. I’m pretty much on top of the outside work. I can help you.’

  ‘Thanks. I might take you up on that. I was planning to spend most of tomorrow practising.’

  ‘For the CWA concert?’

  ‘Yes, it’s the day after tomorrow.’

  ‘Do you need to practise? Gidgee Springs isn’t exactly Carnegie Hall.’

  ‘I’m well aware of that, Bella, but I’d like to run through the pieces again. People in the bush can still recognise a bum note.’

  ‘Of course they can. I should have known you’d want to give your best, no matter where you’re playing. And as I said, I’m happy to lend a hand with getting the house ready.’

  ‘Wonderful.’ Liz jumped to her feet and picked up her empty glass. ‘I’d better get on with the dishes.’

  Bella collected her glass, drained the dregs and followed Liz back into the kitchen where she found a clean tea towel. Liz rattled cutlery while hot water ran into the sink.

  ‘I don’t know why your mother hasn’t had a dishwasher installed.’

  ‘I think she was worried about using too much tank water.’

  ‘From what I’ve heard, the modern dishwashers use less water than hand-washing the dishes.’ Liz realised that her comment might have sounded like a complaint. ‘Sorry. I always get tense when my domestic limitations are about to be exposed.’

  ‘You can’t be good at the piano and housework,’ Bella said with a laugh. ‘We all know you have a cleaning lady in London.’ She picked up a plate and began to dry it. ‘I suppose you’ll be going back there now, once Mum and Dad are settled in.’

  Liz shrugged. Her agent would certainly be happy if she hurried back. His recent emails had sounded rather frantic. ‘It would be a pity to leave when it’s so close to Christmas.’

  ‘Gosh, I’ve hardly given Christmas a thought.’

  ‘You’ve had so much on your mind.’ A groan broke from Liz and she stopped scrubbing at the baking dish. ‘Bella, I’m so sorry. You were going to tell me about the Gidgee Springs Ball and here I am rattling on about housework.’