The Falls

by Cathryn Hein

  A hundred times she’d thought about calling or sending him a text. She’d even slowed at the turnoff for Astonville, flicked the blinker on then flicked it straight back off again before accelerating past.

  She was too uncertain of his reaction and too afraid of worsening the ache in her heart.

  With a long sigh, she bent down to collect more manure into the pooper scooper. The woodchips in Diablo’s stable were beginning to stale. Nick tried to keep to a schedule with changing the bedding, but some horses were simply messier than others. Diablo paced so much he scattered his droppings and dug them in. She hurried along, the smell of spoil reminding her too much of all the things she’d done to mess up her own life. Pinehaven’s loss still left a sharp pain in her chest. Only on Sunday, feeling miserable in the wake of Lucas’s lack of contact, and like a masochist wanting to make it worse, she’d checked the Levenham real estate listings and found a large promotion for Pinehaven’s upcoming auction. She’d been teary enough, but that had left her bawling like a baby.

  Teagan had finished the stable and was closing the gate when Nick came jogging across the yard.

  ‘Phone call,’ he said, thrusting his mobile at her.

  She regarded it with distrust. If someone wanted her surely they’d call her direct? Then she remembered she’d left her own phone charging back at Falls Farm.

  Only when Nick waved the screen in front of her face did she register his worried expression.

  She snatched it out of his hand. ‘Hello?’

  ‘It’s Vanessa. An ambulance is here for your mother.’

  ‘Why? What’s wrong?’

  ‘I thought it was gastro but she kept getting worse.’ Ness stifled a sob. ‘So I called the doctor. He rang the ambulance straight away. She’s really ill, Teagan.’

  ‘Oh, God.’

  ‘You’d better come home.’

  ‘Yes. Yes, of course.’

  ‘If we’re gone, head to Nepean Hospital. I’ll call you with the details.’

  When Ness hung up, Teagan swallowed and turned to Nick. ‘It’s Mum.’

  He took the pooper scooper and phone from her hands and pushed her. ‘Go.’

  The yard at Falls Farm was empty. Teagan picked up her phone and immediately headed back out, steering one-handed as she called Ness. Too bad if she was pulled over. The police could give her a bloody escort to the hospital.

  ‘We’re pulling into emergency now,’ answered Ness without preamble. ‘I’ll see you soon.’

  By the time Teagan arrived and found a park her mother had been taken away. Ness was pacing the emergency room, being ignored by the other people present who had their own worries.

  Teagan grabbed her, fear making her rough. ‘What did they say?’

  ‘Nothing yet.’ Ness’s cheeks were pale, her eyes wide and liquid. ‘I haven’t heard anything.’

  ‘But you must know something?’

  ‘Only what the doctor said. Her blood pressure was too low and she was severely dehydrated. Which comes as no surprise. Everything was coming out of everywhere, poor thing.’

  ‘Could it have been from all that stuff she was taking?’

  ‘The doctor seemed to indicate as much. But, darling, there’s no point jumping to conclusions until we see what they have to say.’

  ‘It was that muck, I bet you.’ Teagan stared towards the big doors, wanting to bash through them and demand what was going on. But all they could do was wait.

  She rubbed her arms, feeling sick and angry and helpless. The antiseptic smell combined with the odour of humans under stress and the mustiness clinging to her clothes didn’t help. If anything happened to her mum Teagan would never forgive herself. She should have gathered up all those pills and potions and flushed the lot down the toilet.

  ‘I should have stopped her.’

  ‘Teagan,’ said Vanessa, reaching for her.

  But Teagan veered away. She’d failed to act again, and this time over something far more precious than a farm. The shame of it was flailing her heart.

  It seemed to take hours before someone came out to find them. A kind-mannered nurse finally led her and Ness to a bed where Penny lay. She was pale and deathly looking, her eyes closed, the lids greyish. Exhaustion dug deep lines through her skin. A tube was dripping something into her arm, another fed oxygen into her nose. Her breathing came slow, with a faint but frightening rattle.

  ‘The doctor will be by in a moment,’ said the nurse.

  She and Ness stood at either end of Penny’s feet, looking at her face, frightened by her fragility. Teagan wanted to wake her, to check this was really sleep and not unconsciousness. That she hadn’t suffered more than the tubes and casual care indicated.

  ‘Severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance,’ the doctor advised. ‘Most likely from the cleansing program.’ His tone revealed exactly what he thought of that therapy.

  ‘But she’ll be all right?’ asked Teagan, skipping her focus between the doctor’s and her mother’s face.

  ‘Yes. With rest.’

  Teagan’s shoulders sagged with relief. She moved forward to take her mum’s hand while Ness asked a few more questions and the doctor hurried off to his other patients.

  ‘They’ll keep her in overnight at least, just to keep an eye on things,’ said her aunt, sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching forward to brush a hank of greasy hair off Penny’s forehead. ‘I’m not surprised it was the cleanse. All that apple and grapefruit juice and Epsom salts, not to mention the olive oil. Her system simply couldn’t digest it.’

  ‘But why do it? She said she felt amazing after the centre. Why a cleanse? As far as I’m aware she has no history of liver or gallbladder problems.’

  ‘Perhaps she thought it would make her feel even better.’ Ness stroked the back of her hand over Penny’s cheek. ‘In her excitement she probably went a bit too far. Drank too much too quickly, added too much salt. I don’t know.’

  ‘She shouldn’t have been doing it in the first place. She was a perfectly healthy woman before she went to that place. Now look what’s happened.’ Teagan curled a fist to her chest where a cold hole had formed. Her mother was in hospital. ‘This is Dom and his stupid centre’s fault.’ And her own for letting her mother stay there for so long, getting brainwashed. It was meant to be for pampering. Instead she ended up seriously ill.

  ‘You can’t blame Dom or the centre staff. The fault is likely Penny’s more than anyone else’s.’

  Teagan looked back at her mum and felt tears prickle.

  ‘Teagan, look at me.’ Ness was surveying her worriedly. ‘This isn’t the centre’s fault. Nor is it Dom’s. Or anyone else’s. Surely you can see that?’

  A soft moan had them both fixing back on the bed.

  Teagan bent forward as her mother slowly roused. ‘Hey, Mum.’

  Penny stared unfocused before frowning in confusion. ‘What?’

  ‘You’re in hospital,’ explained Ness gently. ‘You had a bad reaction to the cleanse. They’re keeping you in for a while as a precaution, but you’ll be fine.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Penny’s face crumpled in on itself, contorted with pain and memory. ‘So sorry.’

  She began to sob, the sound heartbreaking. Teagan wanted to punch something. To hurt as her mum had been hurt.

  ‘Hey,’ said Ness. ‘Shh. Don’t be silly.’ Ness leaned close to whisper to Teagan. ‘I think she’s upset about her bedroom.’

  The thought only made Teagan feel worse. ‘It’s fine, Mum. You have nothing to be sorry for. You just get better. We’ll look after everything else.’

  Her words did nothing to ease her mother’s distress. The tears flowed until exhaustion left her hollow and shrunken. Penny lay sunken into the pillow, staring at the ceiling and breathing rattled, ragged breaths while Teagan squeezed her hand and held back her own tears of guilt.

  Finally, Penny cast sad eyes past Teagan and addressed her sister in a pathetic, needy voice. ‘Does Graham know?’

 
Teagan stilled. Why would her mum care if her dad knew? She’d left him.

  Ness used the edge of the blanket to tenderly wipe Penny’s sodden cheeks. ‘Do you want me to call him?’

  Penny nodded, her mouth screwed up.

  ‘I will when I get home.’

  Teagan shot a sharp glare at her aunt. Why the hell had she agreed to do that?

  Ness caught her gaze and held it steady, then she deliberately looked back at Penny. The message was clear: don’t argue.

  A fair call. A hospital wasn’t the place. Later though, that would be something else.

  A police car was parked outside the bakery when Lucas called into the village shops to check his mail. Probably ducking in for a pie, he decided, unlocking his post-office box and dragging out the contents. A bank statement. Better than a bill.

  He headed into the newsagent’s for a chat. Tony was on the phone but quickly rang off when he spotted Lucas.

  ‘Have you heard?’

  Tony’s overexcited tone and bulging eyes told Lucas something big was up. ‘Heard what?’

  ‘The bakery. It was robbed this morning. Kathleen assaulted.’

  Lucas stared out the door. He might not have much time for Kathleen Ferguson, but assaulting an old woman wasn’t on. ‘Do they know who did it?’

  The Falls wasn’t without its fair share of dropkicks. Nearly every shop in the village had been done over at least once since Lucas had moved to the area, and Bunny’s practice had been hit even more times by idiots looking for drugs, although not with a lot of success. The practice was like Fort Knox. Bunny didn’t tolerate crap.

  ‘She’s given a description. Col says it’s the spitting image of that soapie star rumoured to have gone into rehab.’ Tony pointed to the copies of women’s magazines piled along the front racks. One cover showed a degenerate-looking bloke wearing a beanie and skinny jeans, striding down an urban footpath. A long-haired blonde with an oversized handbag hooked over one shoulder followed slightly behind, expression mutinous. Splitsville? the headline beneath read in large shouty print. Similar photos and tags graced the other magazines.

  ‘He’s at the Wellness Centre?’

  ‘Who knows? You know how secretive that place is. Col swears it has to be him.’

  ‘Col wouldn’t know if his arse was on fire.’

  ‘Can’t argue with that. Still a bloody worry though.’ Tony grimaced towards the bakery. ‘She shouldn’t be there that early by herself anyway.’

  ‘Where was Heath?’ asked Lucas, referring to the baker.

  ‘Late. It was him who found her.’

  Convenient. Heath was known as a bit of a punter with dodgy mates. Could have been one of them. Easy enough to set up. Lucas scratched at his neck, wondering why he didn’t want it to be someone from the centre when he’d never cared previously. But that was before he’d stopped hating his father.

  ‘Is she all right?’

  ‘Yeah. Bruises mostly. Nothing serious.’

  At that moment Bunny came jogging across the carpark, wearing spectacularly un-vet-like bright-purple scrubs. ‘Lucas, have you heard?’

  ‘I’m guessing everyone has by now.’

  ‘Why would everyone know? Vanessa’s only just phoned me.’

  ‘Vanessa?’ The seriousness of Bunny’s tone and concerned expression set panic flaring. Something had happened. Something bad. ‘Is it Teagan?’

  She glanced at Tony and grabbed Lucas’s elbow, steering him outside, past the takeaway and around the corner of the shops. An action that only worsened Lucas’s fear.

  ‘Jesus, Bunny. Just tell me.’

  ‘It’s Penny. She was taken to hospital this morning with severe dehydration. Sounds like she overdid the gallbladder cleanse she was doing.’

  Lucas couldn’t help his exhalation of relief at the mention of Penny’s name instead of Teagan’s. ‘Is she all right?’

  ‘Appears so. They’re keeping her in for observation. Understandable given how low her blood pressure went.’

  ‘Does Teagan know?’

  ‘She’s there now. Vanessa said she’s pretty upset, blaming herself mostly.’

  ‘It can hardly be Teagan’s fault.’

  ‘Try telling her that. Really, that girl needs to get laid.’ She gave Lucas a blunt look.

  Lucas scraped his hand over his hair. ‘Trust me, I’ve tried.’

  ‘Not hard enough, obviously.’ When Lucas didn’t answer she let out an exasperated sigh. ‘You do realise she has the self-esteem of a maggot? Teagan just doesn’t believe someone like you would be interested in someone like her. It’s up to you to prove otherwise.’

  ‘Like how?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’m a bloody vet not a psychologist. Try flexing those giant muscles of yours or something.’ Bunny glanced at her watch. ‘I have to go. Vanessa said they’d be home sometime after three. Mightn’t hurt to call in.’

  Lucas watched her jog back to the surgery, mulling over her news. Vanessa had mentioned before that Teagan wasn’t as strong as she made out but perhaps he’d underestimated how much she kept hidden. That she was upset about her family and the loss of her home was obvious. She was grieving and out of sorts and needed a shoulder to cry on, but if it went deeper than that . . .

  The thought left him wishing he’d pushed harder, spelled out his interest instead of confusing her with his stupid friend defence. He also had a strange urge to contact Dom and warn him about Kath Ferguson and Penny, but the police would no doubt sort the former and Vanessa would look after the latter.

  He turned back to the takeaway. Too late now for the homemade sandwich he’d planned. With his diary full for the afternoon he’d have to eat on the run.

  By the time Lucas made it to Falls Farm it was close to six o’clock. He was tired, and his wrist hurt where he’d wrenched it trying to hold a bad-tempered racehorse, but crap timing or not he was determined this time to tell Teagan his feelings were for real.

  Vanessa was on the verandah with a negroni, her Monday cocktail. Although dressed with her usual care, her makeup lacked precision and there were chips in her nail polish. Fatigue had left her eyes puffy. She smiled wanly and poured him a drink.

  ‘Bunny told me about Penny. How is she?’

  ‘On the mend. It was all horrible though.’ Sliding a peek towards the house, she hunched towards him and dropped her voice. ‘Teagan’s been very quiet since we’ve been home. She blames herself terribly for what happened.’ Vanessa sat back, her tone returning to normal. ‘She’s in the pool in case you were wondering.’

  He was, but he had things he needed to check with Vanessa first and a drink to finish. For what he was about to lay open a bit of Dutch courage wouldn’t hurt. ‘Have you spoken to Dom?’

  ‘Briefly. Just to advise him about Penny.’

  ‘You heard about Kath Ferguson?’

  Vanessa nodded, her expression anxious. ‘I think Dom’s quite worried about it. He’d never say, of course. But I could hear it in his voice.’

  ‘It was probably a local. Wouldn’t be the first time.’

  ‘No. Still, accusations stick and the timing isn’t good with the expansion going to council. Or this business with Callum and poor Merlin.’ She forced a smile. ‘I’m sure he’ll sort it out. He’s dealt with these sorts of crises before.’

  The screen door opened. Teagan stood awkwardly with her hand on the jamb as though unsure whether to stay in or come out. She was wearing her white bikini and looked pale, fragile and huge-eyed.

  ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘I heard about your mum. Thought I’d drop by and check she was okay.’

  ‘Oh.’ She glanced from him to Vanessa and back again, and bit her lip, still making no move to join them. ‘Right.’

  ‘Would you like a negroni?’ Vanessa offered.

  ‘No. I . . .’ She glanced at Lucas and then at the timber floor. ‘I might go back to the pool. Leave you to it. Thanks for asking about Mum. That was nice of you.’

  Lucas stared as the screen d
oor closed, before regarding Vanessa. ‘What the hell was that about?’

  Vanessa pursed her lips and blinked, as flummoxed as him. ‘I have no idea.’ She patted his arm. ‘Why don’t you go have a swim and find out?’

  ‘I don’t have my boardies.’

  ‘Going commando these days, are you? How sexy of you, Lucas.’

  That brought a smile. Of course he was wearing underwear. They weren’t as safe as his boardies though, which covered things up. Stretchy trunks tended to show too much. And Teagan was wearing that white bikini.

  ‘Go on. I promise to keep myself scarce. Although one rule.’ She held up a finger. ‘No sex in the pool.’

  Lucas found Teagan floating on her back in the deep end, eyes closed, sunlit copper hair spilling brightly out from her head like a solar flare. She had a portable stereo playing and an unfamiliar but modern-sounding tune sweetened the air. He listened for a moment. The lyrics sounded Italian, the singer’s voice husky. Romantic. His attention settled on Teagan, the curve of her waist, breasts and thighs, feeling himself rouse at the thought of stroking all that creamy, freckled skin.

  Keeping his footsteps light, he padded to the edge of the pool and stripped off, then slipped into the water. The moment he entered Teagan heard the disturbance and rolled over to stare at him. She drifted to the pool’s edge and lifted her hand to grip the lip.

  He swam breaststroke towards her, keeping his gaze on her troubled face. Anxiety clenched his gut. He wanted this to work.

  Lucas floated in front of her, noting her huge eyes, her parted mouth, and knew talking wasn’t the answer. She’d only evade and make excuses, and keep her desire hidden.

  Not speaking, gaze burning into hers, he lifted his hand out of the water and placed it on Teagan’s, anchoring them, then curled the other around her neck and drew her within breathing distance. One kiss landed softly at the very edge of her mouth. Another on the other side. The next was in the middle, soft at first and then opening into something harder and heartfelt.