Down Outback Roads (20 page)

‘He’s a sweetheart. You’ve nothing to worry about. Here, you sit on this chair and I’ll take him outside where he belongs.’

Ewan’s grin couldn’t get any wider. Freckle had found the perfect place to hide out.

Tish counted to three and practised her deep breathing. Her mother had only been at Marellen for two hours, but it was long enough to string her nerves bow-tight and cause her head to ache. She wiped her hands on her pink-and-green striped apron and forced her expression to clear. Darby had been shooting her increasingly worried glances, and she had to appear as though his grandmother’s visit was pleasant. Tish lifted the lid on the pot boiling on the stove and used a fork to check how much longer the potatoes would need to cook.

Ewan, Kree and her mother sat in the white wicker furniture on the verandah watching the last of the sunset. Darby and Braye had already eaten and she’d sent them into the garden to play before bedtime. The more she kept them busy and away from her mother, the better. Braye had already sent her a death-stare when his grandmother had rebuked him for answering a question she’d asked Darby. Tish also couldn’t be sure the peas that had rolled across the table to land on her mother’s lap hadn’t been deliberately flung off Braye’s fork. He’d been all wide-eyed and apologetic innocence, but
there’d been a flash of a grin when her mother had gasped and leaped from her chair.

Tish blew out a deep breath and checked her French knot remained in place. She wore the pearls her parents had given her for her eighteenth birthday and her best white linen shirt and tailored pants but still disapproval had twisted her mother’s lips. And going off the firm set to Ewan’s own mouth, Tish knew he’d somehow worked out why her mother was here.

Tish collected knives and forks from the cutlery drawer and glanced towards the telephone, where Travis’s number was on speed-dial. Contented warmth crept into her cheeks. As if she would be going anywhere now Travis had kissed her.

Yesterday afternoon, when the working bee crowds had dispersed, the two of them had strolled around the park making a water-wise garden plan. With a few key native plants, and a change in the mulch used, the park would provide year-round colour, as well as attracting birds and insects. Tish had also suggested the creation of a sensory garden that both locals and tourists could enjoy. Busy compiling a mental list of fragrant plants like lavender and geraniums, she hadn’t noticed they’d strolled to a secluded corner where a deciduous liquid amber tree towered. Tish had looked through the orange and red canopy to the cloudless sky and then met the serious hazel eyes of the man standing close beside her.

Their kiss had been everything she’d dreamed of. Tender. Giving. Loving.

The secret and empty space that had always existed within her heart had filled with joy. Travis saw the real her and loved her anyway. Stretch marks, chipped nails, and a desire to be more than a trophy wife wouldn’t ever cause him to reject her. And her beautiful boys wouldn’t come between them.

She placed the cutlery on the bench and realising she needed the serving spoon inside the working dishwasher, pressed the pause button and opened the door. As steam billowed out, she remembered too late that steam also set off the smoke detector. She grabbed the hot metal serving spoon and slammed the dishwasher door shut. The piercing shrill of the smoke alarm cut through the kitchen. She dropped the serving spoon on the bench, blew on her burnt fingers and grabbed the nearest tea towel to wave beneath the smoke detector in an attempt to disperse the steam.

Ewan pushed open the kitchen door. ‘Need a hand?’ he said above the din.

She passed him the tea towel. Three waves later and the smoke detector siren stopped.

Tish smoothed hair from off her face. Between the steam and her energetic tea towel waving, her French knot hadn’t a hope. She released the rest of her hair.

Ewan crossed to the stovetop to lift the lid on the potatoes before the pot boiled over.

‘I’m guessing these are done? Shall I mash them?’

‘Yes, please. I’ll put on some more peas and then duck away to kiss the boys goodnight. Thanks for getting them into bed.’

‘No worries. So, how are you doing?’

‘Good, considering this is only day one.’

Ewan hugged her.

‘Hang in there. She can’t stay forever.’

She hugged him back. ‘Are you sure? She still hasn’t said when she’s leaving. She just keeps saying it depends …’

Ewan released her. ‘I have a feeling it depends on your answer about moving to Sydney.’

Ewan’s voice was casual but from the glitter of his eyes she knew he’d do anything to keep her and the boys where they were happiest.

‘She can stay for forever and I still won’t change my mind. This is where the boys belong and this is where we’ll stay.’

Ewan nodded, jaw tight. ‘My money is on her leaving sooner rather than later. Freckle’s inside puppy-piddles can be our secret weapon.’

Tish giggled. ‘Rather that than any of Braye’s secret weapons. I’m sure after the pea incident tonight, he’s thinking of more ways to divert her attention from Darby.’

‘And then there’s another secret weapon we haven’t mentioned. A secret weapon who’d follow you to Sydney to bring you home, if he had to.’

Tish blushed.

‘Don’t worry,’ he said, as he pulled out the drawer to find the potato masher. ‘Everything will be okay.’

Tish located the frozen peas in the freezer compartment of the fridge. The worry contracting her chest lessened and she breathed easier.

Ewan was right. She had to relax. Everything was going to be okay.

‘Leticia, thank you, the meal was simple but filling.’

Ewan met Kree’s eyes, his expression deadpan. Hazel really was a piece of work. It was a mystery how Tish could have turned out to be the gentle and compassionate soul she was with a mother like Hazel. The dinner Tish had slaved over had been far from simple.

Agreement flickered in Kree’s gaze before she looked away. For once, he wasn’t threatened by her perceptiveness.

Hazel waved away dessert as Tish placed four crystal goblets of chocolate mousse onto the table. ‘Darling, you know I don’t eat chocolate.’

‘Just as well I do,’ Ewan said with a smile to ease the tension, and drew two of the goblets towards him.

Kree laughed. ‘You’re as bad as Braye.’

‘Yes,’ Hazel said, lips pursed. ‘I noticed he had a large helping of ice-cream at dinner.’

‘Sorry, that was my fault,’ Kree apologised. ‘I served the boys’ dessert. You can tell I don’t have kids, I believe them when they say they don’t have enough.’

Hazel didn’t join in with the laughter. ‘I asked Darby what his favourite ice-cream flavour was and he didn’t answer me.’

Beside him, Tish gripped the handle of her spoon harder. ‘He mightn’t have heard you.’

‘I’m sure he did,’ Hazel said. ‘He was looking at me. It was while you were making my tea.’ She frowned. ‘I thought as he got older he’d talk more.’

‘Darby’s fine,’ Kree answered. ‘When asked a question he sometimes just needs more time to answer.’

Hazel’s frown deepened. ‘Are you sure? I thought he might be, well, you know … not quite all there in the head.’

Ewan put down his spoon as the sweetness of the ice-cream soured. Hazel had reached a new low. Her own grandson wasn’t beyond the lash of her criticism. How could a grandmother say such a thing about her grandchild? And even if what she was suggesting was true, it shouldn’t stop her accepting and loving him. Hazel would be leaving tomorrow, even
if he had to drive her to Sydney himself. Tish covered his tense hand with hers. ‘It’s okay,’ she said softly. But before she could reply to her mother, Kree spoke without looking at Hazel.

‘I can assure you, Hazel, Darby is a smart little cookie.’

Ewan had no trouble understanding her words but Hazel leaned forward.

‘What did you say?’

Kree repeated her words but again didn’t face Hazel. Hazel leaned forward even further and inclined her head. Impatience hardened her mouth. ‘Speak up, Kree.’

Kree turned to Hazel, her smile gentle. ‘I said Darby is a smart little cookie – but like his grandmother, he sometimes doesn’t catch everything people say. If Tish was making tea, the kettle would have been boiling and the background noise would have made it hard for Darby to process your question.’

‘What makes you think
I
can’t hear?’ The sharpness of Hazel’s question could have cut through glass.

‘I once was an audiologist and still can’t help noticing how people listen. When the smoke alarm went off, you turned your head to the right to better hear the noise. When someone talks to you, you orientate your body so your good ear is closest to them, and you lip read.’

The slight tremble in Hazel’s bottom lip almost had Ewan feeling sorry for her, until she opened her mouth. ‘I’ve never heard anything so preposterous. As if I can’t hear. I’m not in my dotage yet, thank you very much.’ Hazel smoothed her hair off her brow as though satisfied she’d put the subject of her poor hearing to rest. ‘So, is Braye smart too?’

Kree slowly nodded. ‘He has an excellent memory for a five-year-old.’

‘Well, then, this makes what I have to say all the more timely. The boys’ brains can’t be wasted out here. They need a proper school.’

‘They will have one, Mum. I’m not moving to the city,’ Tish said, her voice low and firm.

‘Yes, you are, my dear.’ Hazel’s lips arced in a smile that didn’t even come close to reaching her eyes. ‘That’s what I’ve driven all this way to tell you. It’s your family duty to come home. Your father’s had a mini-stroke.’

There weren’t many things that could render Kree speechless, but the cold-hearted woman before her had robbed Kree of all words.

On all levels, the stunt Hazel had pulled was both inconceivable and incomprehensible. Why wasn’t she at her husband’s hospital bedside? Why hadn’t she told Tish the news as soon as she’d arrived, let alone when her father had had his mini-stroke?

Kree bit the inside of her cheek to stay silent. Family duty shouldn’t be a weapon or a trap. An individual had the right to live the life they were meant to live without their needs becoming secondary to the needs of the family. Her heart broke as she witnessed the desolation in Tish’s eyes and the desperate way she was clutching Ewan’s hand. From past conversations, Kree knew Tish adored her quiet, unassuming father and would want to be with him. But the boys’ happiness was also at stake, along with her own. Kree hadn’t missed the bliss on her face when she and Travis had come into the coach house from planning the park garden.

‘Hazel, Tish is not going anywhere she doesn’t want to go.’ Ewan’s words were edged in steel.

‘Oh, yes she is. Her father needs her. When he comes home, he will have to be cared for.’

Kree couldn’t remain silent any longer. ‘I’m sure he will, just as I’m sure Tish wants to help. But do Tish and the boys need to leave Marellen for this to happen?’

‘Of course.’ The press of Hazel’s lips warned Kree her social connection with Sally Willis would only buy her so much good will. ‘Their home is in Sydney.’

Tish spoke. ‘No, it’s not. Our home is here.’ Anger heated her words. ‘I can’t believe you’ve left Dad alone to drive here and bully me into moving to the city.’

‘What else could I do? Your father will require months of rehabilitation. He can’t feed himself or talk without his words slurring.’ Her marble-hard voice wavered. ‘Someone has to … organise everything.’

Kree suddenly knew what was going on. For all of Hazel’s flaws and selfishness, her husband’s mini-stroke had caused the walls of her personal kingdom to cave in. The layers of carefully applied make-up couldn’t conceal the sleepless nights or mask the nervous tension driving her. Scared and disorientated, instinct had brought her to Tish’s door, but then she hadn’t known what to do. Too proud and uncertain of how to ask for help she’d instead demanded it in the only way she knew how. Her obsessive and impractical push to have Tish and the boys come home was a bid to reinstate control over her suddenly out-of-control world.

‘Yes, someone has to organise everything,’ Kree agreed, sending Tish an encouraging smile, ‘and perhaps there is a way to achieve this without disrupting everyone’s lives? Tish can
return with you to Sydney. The boys will stay behind. I’m here for at least a week, and between Ewan and myself they will be well looked after. While she’s away, Tish can liaise with all the agencies your husband might need access to. Once a plan is in place, Hazel, your husband’s care won’t seem so daunting.’

Relief briefly softened Hazel’s eyes and Kree caught a glimpse of a faint resemblance between mother and daughter. But such a similarity soon faded as Hazel spoke.

‘What about the boys’ schooling? Your plan doesn’t cover their future.’

Kree dipped deep into her well of patience. ‘In all honesty, no fancy Sydney school will be right for Darby if it doesn’t meet his needs. Tish has the name of a Dubbo audiologist and speech pathologist who specialises in diagnosing auditory processing disorder. I can already tell you what some of their recommendations will be. Darby will need a quiet classroom with minimum background noise. He will also need one-on-one time to ensure he fully understands concepts. And what better place to provide this than the small school Tish has told me about at nearby Allington, which is filled with kids who have known him since he was born?’

‘And what about Braye?’

‘As for Braye, his individual needs will also be catered for by the flexibility of a smaller school. No surprise, he needs to frequently move to concentrate and this could prove distracting and hard to accommodate in a regular classroom.’

‘You have an answer for everything.’

Despite Hazel’s caustic words, her tone lacked its usual sting.

Tish stood, chin firm. ‘Right, Mum. We’re following Kree’s plan, whether you like it or not. I want the hospital
number so I can talk to Dad. Then I’ve another call to make and while I pack, I want you to tell me exactly what happened. We’re leaving tomorrow at seven,
sharp
, even if you don’t have your hair or make-up done.’

Kree crossed the moonlit yard between the machinery shed and the homestead. Ewan had waved her out of the kitchen after dinner, saying he’d do the dishes, as she needed to paint. Ray had always been so resentful of what he called her ‘hobby’, that Ewan had to repeat himself before she realised he meant what he’d said. Tish’s bedroom light was off, along with the light of the guest room where Hazel was sleeping. Kree didn’t envy Tish the eight-hour drive to Sydney with her, but something told Kree tonight the dynamics between mother and daughter had irrevocably changed for the better. Hazel hadn’t uttered a word as she’d nodded to Tish’s instructions. And Kree was sure Hazel’s narrow shoulders had lifted as though a weight had been removed as she’d followed Tish out of the dining room.

Kree stifled a yawn and climbed the verandah steps. In the dim light, she saw a broad-shouldered figure sitting in the wicker furniture to her left. She hesitated. She should head to bed, but after the high emotion of the day, they’d both need to debrief.

His smile flashed a white welcome in the gloom as she approached. ‘Get much done?’

‘Enough.’ She sat in the chair beside him. ‘It’s a big job.’

A puppy snore sounded and she realised Freckle lay tucked beneath Ewan’s arm.

He laughed softly. ‘For such a little pup, he makes a lot of noise.’

‘Tell me about it.’

‘Dinner was fun.’

Her own soft laughter wrapped around them. ‘I’m not sure fun is the right word. Maybe eventful would be more fitting.’

‘True. I never thought I’d see the day Hazel actually appeared human.’

‘Today was that day. I hope for Tish and the boys’ sakes she stays that way.’

‘I second that.’ He paused and when he spoke again his voice had deepened. ‘What you said earlier about Darby … that auditory processing stuff. Is he going to be okay?’

‘With the right help at school and perhaps some home speech pathology programmes, he’ll do fine.’

She could sense rather than see how her reassurance failed to ease his tension.

‘Why isn’t Braye the same?’

‘They are identical twins, so you’d think they would be, but it’s believed a link exists between chronic ear infections and auditory processing disorder. Tish said Darby had winters of sore ears?’

‘He did. Braye was only a toddler when I started taking him in the tractor so Tish could sleep after being awake all night with Darby.’

Kree peered into the shadows to assess his expression. Fergus would have been around when the boys were toddlers. Had Ewan taken on the responsibility of Tish and the boys long before the accident?

Ewan continued to speak, his tone so low she had to strain to catch his words. ‘So, there isn’t anything else that would cause auditory processing disorder?’

‘In Darby’s case, no.’

‘Not even … losing his father.’

Kree’s heart bled. Not only did Ewan blame himself for killing his brother but also for his nephew’s learning difficulties. She leaned over to briefly touch his rigid forearm. ‘No.’

‘And the trouble he has with processing information is why he doesn’t speak much?’

‘Partly. I think it’s a combination of him naturally being quiet, of Braye talking for him and of Darby not feeling confident using his words. He does worry a lot, so perhaps he’s answered questions incorrectly, become embarrassed and now doesn’t want the same thing to happen so stays silent. But whatever the reason, it has nothing to do with you.’

When he didn’t respond, she took hold of his hand. After a long moment, Ewan squeezed her fingers. She returned the gentle pressure before slipping her hand free.

‘So do you think Tish will really leave if Hazel doesn’t have her hair done?’ she asked, lightening the mood.

‘Yes. She’s set the alarm in Hazel’s room for six o’clock. So, a word to the wise, stay out of Hazel’s way until she has her first coffee.’

‘Will do. You know, beneath all her huff and puff, I’m sure she likes you.’

Ewan smiled a half-smile. ‘I wouldn’t go that far. I still have the war wounds to prove otherwise.’

‘How did Fergus get on with her?’

‘Fine. He could sweet talk anyone.’

‘Except you?’

‘And Bill and Old Harry.’

‘Well, there you go. I have no doubt Hazel likes you. It’s backbone she’d admire, not pretty words.’

‘What about you? What do you admire?’

‘Honesty. Unselfishness. Kindness. Loyalty. And most definitely backbone.’

‘Not many things then?’

‘Not at all. I’m not hard to please.’ She grinned. ‘And I’m not even asking what you admire, because I know somewhere on the list would be “likes boys toys”.’

He returned her smile. ‘And you would be right.’

‘Remind me to have a word to Darby and Braye before they become a lost cause as well.’

Ewan chuckled. ‘I think you’re too late. Braye already wants a red ute with spotlights for his sixth birthday.’

Kree gave a mock groan before her thoughts sobered. ‘Do you think they’ll be okay with Tish gone? I’m guessing she hasn’t left them before.’

Ewan shifted on his chair, careful not to wake Freckle. ‘She hasn’t, but they’ll be fine if they can talk to her every day and if you’re here. They can’t wait to paint in the shed tomorrow. Thanks for helping out.’

‘You’re welcome. I’ll give Seth a call, too. He’s finishing up his landscaping job and might be able to arrive a few days early. I’m sure the boys will love him. Tish said Travis is also on stand-by, if we need him.’

‘I think he’s mostly on stand-by to fly to collect her the minute she’s ready to come home. It might have taken a while, but they’re finally together.’ Ewan came to his feet with Freckle still cradled in the crook of his arm. ‘Now, I’d better let you head off to bed. No doubt you’ll be in the shed early?’

She nodded.

He remained still for a moment and then turned away. ‘Sleep well.’

‘You too.’

Kree stayed seated. The husky emotion in Ewan’s voice when he mentioned Tish and Travis being together had caused her throat to ache. Ewan cared so deeply for his best mate and sister-in-law, and it was just another quality she admired in him. The list of characteristics she’d rambled off before had been no random list; it had been based on Ewan. And there were even more adjectives she could add to describe the Aussie country-boy who’d soon be only a memory, if she didn’t grab hold of him and never let him go.

A simple truth slipped through her. Tish wasn’t the only one subject to the constraints of family duty. She knew that the pain and injustice she’d felt tonight on Tish’s behalf also applied to her.

She’d been so focused on honouring her promise to her parents, she’d lost sight of where her own life was headed. She’d always believed her happiness came second to her duty. But she could see now her happiness had to be a new priority. There had to be room in her world for more than just Seth. She’d always be there for her baby brother, but without Ewan, her future stretched endless and bleak like a barren road.

Her heart and hormones had won. She no longer agreed with Ewan’s decision to keep their relationship platonic. She stood. And now she’d fight his decision to walk away.