Meant To Be (19 page)

‘After finishing with your sheep, I could take her for a few days and do some work with mine, if you like? Really put her to the test. And then maybe she might be up for helping out with shearing. Sasha is getting a little old for paddock work, and she struggles to get up onto the sheep's backs these days, poor thing. If Grace comes home with me I can return her clean – she'll get pretty muddy out there today,' he warned. ‘And I promise I'll take very good care of her.'

‘Okay. All fine with me. I'm sure she'll love being a proper farm dog rather than a house layabout.'

‘Brilliant. Say hi to Jake. I won't bother you on my way out.'

‘I will. You have fun, Gracie. I'll miss you,' she said, ruffling the dog's ears. ‘And be careful.'

‘Don't worry, I know how much she means to you.'

‘What was that all about?' Jake asked sleepily, hoisting himself up on his elbow.

‘David's come down to look over the sheep and thought Grace might enjoy some time out with her mum,' she said, hanging up her robe and climbing back into bed. The sight of Jake's bare chest made her tummy flutter.

‘I wouldn't have minded going out with him. I'd like to see what goes on with sheep.'

‘I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities. But not today. You're staying right here with me.'

‘All right. You're the boss,' he said wearily, and snuggled back down.

Emily sighed at seeing his chest being covered up and picked up her book again. It was the first day they hadn't made love since he'd been there. But the day wasn't over yet… She forced her attention to rereading the line of her book for the third time.

She was just drifting off when she felt Jake moving beside her. Her heart leapt with anticipation as he sidled up to her and began nuzzling her neck.

‘How interesting is that book?' he whispered after running his tongue around her lobe in the way they had discovered drove her crazy. An exhilarating shudder ran the full length of her body.

‘Not
that
interesting,' she said with a seductive smile as she snapped the book shut and tossed it on the floor.

That afternoon Jake insisted he felt up to cooking an early dinner, since they hadn't bothered with lunch. They decided on lamb shanks for a quicker version of Sunday roast, and opened a bottle of red wine while it cooked.

‘I feel so much better,' Jake announced over dinner.

‘That's good. You look better. Are you still planning to go to Whyalla tomorrow?'

He'd mentioned an eleven-thirty a.m. meeting for the Civic Centre project. Emily had offered to share the driving – she didn't want him driving all that way and back alone, given he wasn't one hundred percent well. She also had her own reasons; the office still needed a chair and a lamp. It would be good to go and do some browsing.

‘I'd better show up or else they'll think I've abandoned them.'

The problem was that Emily also wanted to bank the insurance cheques as soon as possible. She felt uneasy about having cheques for such large amounts hanging about in her handbag. Unfortunately, Whyalla didn't have a branch of her bank. She also needed to do some washing.

‘I can't really go if I'm to get the cheques banked,' she said.

‘Are you sure? I would actually feel better with a co-pilot, especially after today,' he said. ‘And I really should be at that meeting. If you got to the bank right at nine-thirty when they open, you'd be back here by ten – leaving just enough time for me make it to my meeting.'

‘That might be cutting it a bit fine,' Emily said. The drive to Whyalla would take ninety minutes, and she hated rushing of any sort, especially when Jake's professional standing relied on her getting back on time. ‘And, anyway, I need to do two loads of washing while the weather's fine. They're saying tomorrow is the only dry day for maybe the next week.'

‘Hmm,' Jake said thoughtfully.

They were both silent for a few moments.

‘Right,' Jake finally said. ‘I think I have a solution. You give me the account details and I'll pop into town and bank the cheques. You can do the washing while I'm away, and then I'll pick you up. How would that work?'

‘Perfect,' she said, beaming at him.

‘It's probably high time I was seen in town. People will be starting to think I don't exist,' he added with a chuckle.

‘We were in the pub the other night, remember? The whole town will know all about you by now. And what they won't know they'll make up. Are you sure you're ready to start mixing with the wolves?'

‘What are you calling me, a chicken?'

‘Not at all, but don't say you weren't warned,' Emily said, looking at him with a knowing expression.

‘Don't worry. I've lived in a small town before, remember?'

They took the bottle of wine and went and sat on the concrete out under the verandah in the warm evening to watch the last of the lightning.

*

‘So, how was the village?' Emily asked when they turned onto the bitumen main road the next day. She'd stayed silent until now, to let Jake concentrate on navigating the dirt road that was still wet and slippery from the rain.

‘Good. Pity I was in such a hurry, though.'

‘Really?'

‘You're right about everyone knowing who I am – well, that I'm your
friend.
Lots of people wanted to stop and chat. I caught up with Nathan and he very briefly introduced me to Doris from Mitre 10. She seemed a good old stick, though I swear she was flirting with me. And she's probably old enough to be my mother!'

‘I don't mind, as long as she gets us a good deal on our hardware.'

‘Nathan apologised for not having had us over yet. He said that Sarah's doing training in Adelaide for the next couple of weeks
and he's heading over to join her for the weekends. He asked me to tell you.'

‘So you didn't get interrogated?'

‘No. Everyone was very friendly. I can understand your concerns – you've lived here for ages and been on the wrong end of gossip. But everyone I came across was lovely. And I don't think you need to worry about them thinking you've moved on too quickly.'

‘Oh? Why do you say that?'

‘Two old ladies came up to me and one of them said they hoped I was sticking around because you deserved some happiness after, quote, “what that brute of a husband put you through,” end of quote.'

‘Oh. Wow. That's nice of them.'

‘So maybe you've been judging the locals a little harshly?'

‘Hmm. Maybe.' She still remembered how it had felt to have people whispering about her.

‘It's understandable. You went through a lot. Perhaps you just heard what you were expecting to hear.'

‘I didn't imagine some of the things that were said to me, Jake.'

‘No, but perhaps you
interpreted
what was said differently to what was intended. That's easily done when your nerves are frayed.'

‘I didn't imagine Steve and Grant snubbing me in Mitre 10 – they apologised for it the other day,' she said a little huffily, feeling the need to defend herself.

‘Well, you can let it go now. It's in the past. David said you've got a lot of friends around here, Em, so try to focus on that. It'll sure help when you're trying to get a business up and running.'

Emily felt a little stung, but she had too much respect for Jake to argue. He was certainly right about one thing. She'd seen businesses rise and fall depending on how people viewed the owners.
Maybe she had been a bit oversensitive. She'd been through a tough time. But that was behind her now.
Onwards and upwards.
She'd stop being so standoffish and get back to being how she'd been before leaving John.

She used to love escaping the farm and heading into town. Even with just a few things on her list her trips had the capacity to stretch into hours when people stopped her to chat.

It was as if most people on the street didn't have to do anything by a certain time. And, back then she hadn't either. The town seemed to run at its own pace – sort of like what some people on holidays called ‘island time'. It was one of the things she'd always loved about Wattle Creek. That, and everyone waving and being friendly, even the policeman.

By retreating from society and then keeping to herself, she could see that in a way she'd as good as snubbed the whole town, just like Steve and Grant had done to her. Yes, she had been hurting, and embarrassed about people judging her – thanks to some sound conditioning by Enid – but she was free now. And happy. So blissfully happy with the man beside her. She looked across at him and smiled.

He smiled back. ‘What's that look for?'

‘Just because I love you. And because you're so wise.'

‘Right,' he said a little quizzically. ‘And I love you too.' He patted her leg. ‘I feel a little bad that I was in such a rush. Those two old dears in the bank clearly wanted to chat, but I had to be a little rude to get back home on time.'

‘What happened?'

‘They were asking where I was from, how long I was staying and what I did in Melbourne. I'm trying to leave the building, shifting on my feet like I'm desperate for the loo or something, and they just kept firing questions at me.'

‘So how did you escape?'

‘I said I'd love to stay and chat but was in rather a hurry, and excused myself. I
might
have even agreed to go and have afternoon tea with them sometime. And to bring you.' He winced.

Oh.
‘Who were they?'

‘I have no idea,' Jake said with a laugh. ‘One was on a walking frame and one had two walking sticks. They said they lived right across the road.'

‘That would be the old Carrington sisters. John used to call them the smiling assassins. They're sweeties, but also the biggest gossips in town, even though they look like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. But they'll be useful for getting the word out when the gallery is about to open. And they love nothing more than an outing. I can see we're going to have to have a big launch and invite the whole district.'

‘Anyway, I hadn't been able to park right out front so I was a couple of cars down. So there I was, striding down the street with two old ladies chasing me. And, boy, you should have seen that frame and those walking sticks move!' Jake said with a laugh. ‘I practically leapt into the car and locked the doors. I half expected the one with the walking sticks to jump into the passenger's side, or at least start banging on the window. It was a close call, I can tell you,' he added, looking at Emily with wide eyes and a cheeky glint.

‘Thank God you made it out in one piece!'

They chuckled for a few moments.

‘So, I didn't expect to have to queue up in the bank. Don't they have the quick cheque-deposit system in South Australia?' Jake suddenly said. ‘I couldn't find it anywhere.'

Emily laughed. ‘Well, they do. In theory. It's hidden behind the pot plant in the corner.'

‘Oh?' Jake said.

‘Now, how would the gossip train be helped if people didn't have to go up to the counter? All sorts of dots are connected through
the most idle, seemingly benign, chatter. For instance,' Emily continued, ‘it is now officially confirmed that the handsome guy seen in town on Saturday night with Emily, Barbara, and David is in fact living with Emily Oliphant, because: one, he was driving her car and two, he was doing her banking. And because you printed your name on the deposit slip, there's probably a whole gang of people around town typing your name into Google as we speak. Not to mention analysing your signature for indications of character flaws.'

‘Haha, too funny,' Jake said.

‘Believe me, the CIA is not a patch on Wattle Creek residents when they put their minds to it,' Emily said.

An hour and a quarter later the highway divided into two lanes each way to signal the outskirts of the city of Whyalla. They continued through to the city centre, Emily checking her watch repeatedly, despite there being ten minutes to spare. Jake found a park behind the Civic Centre and they both got out and stretched their legs. Jake got his briefcase out of the boot, handed Emily the keys, pecked her on the cheek, and then bolted off for his meeting.

‘Good luck,' she called to his back before checking her watch again. Seeing that he would make it, she relaxed properly for the first time since he'd left for the bank that morning.

As Jake disappeared, she realised she was standing in front of his project. True to what she knew of his work, there was a great melding of old and new going on. The only hints of a new build were the cathedral-style windows high up in the new section, and the brighter, cleaner mortar amongst the stonework. Everything this end of Whyalla tended to have a bit of a red tinge thanks to dust from the nearby steelworks.

Standing before something that she knew to be Jake's work, Emily felt a surge of pride so strong she clasped her hands to her
chest. She was a little overwhelmed at the thought that with all the awards and huge projects he'd excelled at, he'd chosen to stay in little old Wattle Creek and build something as modest as her cottage.

When someone walked across the car park, called, ‘Hi,' and got into their car, Emily realised how silly she must look standing there gazing about. People were probably sitting inside their offices wondering what the hell she was doing.

She walked out onto the street and looked around. She didn't know this older part of the city at all. Her previous trips to Whyalla were always centred around the large shopping centre to the west. There the streets were mainly lined with plain brick semidetached houses dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. But here the buildings seemed to have more character. The two-storey hotel on the corner, especially, was quite lovely.