by Jennie Jones
Ryan? They thought she and Ryan were—‘We’re friends,’ Edie said quickly. ‘Just friends. And I’m as eligible as he is, actually.’ She pointed that out before Ornery had the opportunity to call her a spinster.
‘What about your theatre pals?’ Ornery asked. ‘I believe most of them are gay.’
She might as well have said Martians.
‘Are they coming to town?’
‘I work with a healthy mix of people from all walks,’ Edie said, with a smile. ‘And yes, they’re coming to town and can’t wait to meet all the friendly country people I’ve told them about.’ So shove that beneath your purple tassel hat.
Ada Ormond wrinkled her nose. ‘I expect you get worried, kissing all those strangers on stage.’
‘Actually, Mrs Ornery—I don’t.’
‘What did you call me?’
‘Oh look, Ada,’ Mrs Tam said, pointing at the stock feeders. ‘There’s Gary, out polishing the horse. Didn’t you say you needed a twenty-kilo bag of bird-seed? I’m sure Gary will drop one off at your house if you ask him nicely.’
Ornery produced a rare smile. ‘I’d almost forgotten,’ she said and headed for Gary, pulling her shopping trolley bag behind her.
‘Don’t take any notice of her,’ Mrs Tam said, patting Edie’s arm.
‘Why do you put up with her, Mrs Tam?’
‘Because she needs a friend, dear. She’s lonely.’
Edie wasn’t convinced, although her heart shrank at the thought of not giving poor old Ornery enough appreciation.
‘Like I once was,’ Mrs Tam said.
Edie contemplated this. When had Mrs Tam been lonely? ‘I’m sorry to hear this. I didn’t know.’
‘Oh, don’t worry, dear. Why should you know anyway? You’re so busy, and you’re hardly ever here.’
Edie felt unsettled again. Had she been gone for so long that she didn’t know anyone anymore? Didn’t understand the depths in people; didn’t know anything about them, such as the things that now made them happy that hadn’t before?
She had an unexpected and unpleasant thought about herself being the oddity. Is that why the town committee was reluctant for her to produce Who Shot the Producer in their town? Was it not Edie’s town anymore?
That out-of-place feeling swamped her. Everyone might have changed and she hadn’t known it.
‘I’d best get on,’ she told Mrs Tam. ‘I’ll be in touch about the jobs. And thanks again.’
She checked her list then looked across the street at the raised wooden walkway. She hardly ever focused intently on the area outside Kookaburra’s hotel in case the memory of the disastrous kiss stung too hard.
‘Gemma!’ she called as she saw Ryan’s older sister and Josh’s wife outside her Cuddly Bear Toy & Gift Shop further down the walkway.
Gemma Rutherford née Munroe waved back, a wide smile on her face. Gem was bold and vibrant with her white-blonde hair cut in an arty bob and her silver bangles and coloured scarves.
Edie picked up her pace. She did have friends in town, even if most of Swallow’s Fall women were older than her.
‘How’s Ryan?’ someone called out from Barton’s Hardware as she trod the steps to the walkway.
Edie smiled. ‘Back at the house doing his own thing. Stuff he wants to do. Anyway—I’m buying a car!’
She headed on.
‘How’s my brother?’ Gemma asked after Edie had hugged her.
‘Do people think I’m staying for good?’ Edie asked with a querying frown.
‘How can they if you haven’t made up your own mind?’
‘I never had plans to stay forever.’
‘So why are you here,’ Gem said, ‘living in your country manor and opening a theatre?’
Edie didn’t want to go into why she was here. ‘Do you think Ryan’s at my beck and call?’
‘Yes.’
Edie started.
‘Well, he is,’ Gem said. ‘That’s what he’s here for.’
‘What do you mean?’ Edie asked, and wondered if he really had come to town after learning Edie was back home.
‘Healing,’ Gem said. ‘Same as you. That’s why you’re both here.’
‘Have you been doing your tarot again?’ Edie asked, with part legitimate interest and some trepidation—in case the answer involved a scenario where she gave Ryan another concussion. Gemma was into all these tarot and fortune-telling and crystal healing matters.
‘I have.’ Gem smiled in an I’m-not-saying-more manner. ‘So when do I start painting your scenery flats?’
‘Would you really do it?’ Thoughts of tarot vanished as appreciation for Gemma took over. She hadn’t even had to ask. Gem was a brilliant artist. She’d painted a Tree of Life on the brick wall of the stock feeders and got a lot of national attention for it.
‘Of course,’ Gem said. ‘I spoke to Sammy just now. We can handle that, so cross it off your list.’
‘You are fantastic!’ Edie leaned forward and kissed Gem’s cheek, which brought another bright smile her way.
‘It’s pretty straightforward,’ Edie continued, ‘since most of the play takes place in the sitting room of a country rectory in some quaint old village. I didn’t have proper painted flats when I produced the play in Sydney, so it’s going to be fabulous to have three walls and not just a plain backdrop.’
‘Sounds easy. Just let me know what you want, and I’ll get Josh to knock up the plasterboard flats for you.’
‘Really? Oh, Gem, thank you!’
‘What did you think we’d all do? Leave you to it and not help out?’
‘I wasn’t sure.’ Edie wondered whether to say something about feeling like a stranger in her hometown, then decided against it.
‘What was Ryan doing before he came to town?’ she said instead.
‘Wondering what to do with the rest of his life, I imagine.’
‘Why do you think he left the army?’ He’d been a free man for almost two months.
‘He’s not saying. But I have an opinion.’
‘Which is?’
‘I’m not saying.’
Which was typical of Gem.
‘Healing,’ Gem said, gauging Edie with a calculated expression. ‘You and Ryan need it. Leave it with me, I’ll sort you both out. Don’t worry about things, Edie.’
Edie bristled, unsettled again. ‘I’m not worrying.’
Her mobile beeped with a message. She pulled it out of her jeans pocket, foolishly hoping it might be Ryan saying he’d missed her and was coming into town right away to pick her up early—and hold her in his arms just because he had to or he’d die.
But it was from Viv.
Hi, sis. Bought some fabulous pants for when they saw this boot off my leg. Sorry I had to rush off earlier. Speak soon. Love you. xx ps STOP WORRYING ABOUT ME
She pocketed the phone and sighed, then smiled, bearing it in a way only a Dazzlepants could.
Everyone close to her kept telling her to stop worrying. But she couldn’t tell anyone how she felt. Right this moment she had a dozen kinds of heart pangs snapping in her chest because she was an oddity with a heavy hand and no car, who apparently wasn’t needed.
Marcus was inveigling his way into the Sydney theatre world with a view to produce the play she’d auditioned for then make it into a movie, utilising all the talent in Australia, and was planning to build his own post production studio while he was at it. If he continued to be disparaging of her, she might never work again. She’d be left as the woman in charge of the amateur Little Theatre in the barn at the back of Jindalee House, writing and producing quaint but melodramatic plays. A has-been. Her very life was her career. What the heck was she going to do without it?
5
Reality Check
Ryan had most of the tools he needed to build Edie’s stage except for a circular saw and Jamie Knight, a local master builder, had offered to lend him one.
He secured the saw then closed the rear door of his four-wheel drive parked in the driv
eway of Silver Bells House. ‘Thanks for this, Jamie.’
‘If you need a hand, let me know,’ Jamie said. ‘Although I’m up to my neck designing a belfry renovation in an old church at the moment and the build is going to be a nightmare.’
‘No worries,’ Ryan told him. ‘Josh said he’d help out. Edie wants it raised and pitched. It’s going to cover a fair area at the back of the barn, so I’ll need Josh to come over once I’ve got the frames built.’
‘Just be thankful she didn’t ask you for a fly tower,’ Jamie said. ‘Had to renovate one of those for a country theatre once. Tricky job.’
‘Do me a favour, mate, don’t mention it to Edie.’ If she knew Jamie had built one, she’d want one. No doubt to fly in the dead body from above the stage. ‘Nick said he’d let Edie have the lumber at cost. It’s the only upfront expense she’s got. She’s going to borrow all the props and whatever.’
‘She’s getting you for nothing too,’ Jamie said on a grin. ‘How is she?’
Ryan shrugged. ‘She’s okay. She’s fine. You know—she’s Edie.’
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you, Ryan Munroe.’
Ryan turned to smile and greet Jamie’s wife.
Kate was a fashion designer and always looked carefully casual yet stunningly fashionable. Not that Ryan ever knew what was deemed fashionable, but Kate had it, whatever it was. Same as Edie.
‘I’m worried about you, Ryan,’ Kate said. ‘You’re living in the same house as a beautiful, creative whirlwind and you don’t take any notice of her.’
In fact, he’d been taking too much notice. He’d reached out for her when he first arrived three weeks ago and she hadn’t noticed. She’d told him she thought of him and prayed for him. So he’d kissed her, but only her cheek. He hadn’t wanted to shock her or seem too forward by heading for her mouth.
‘That’s not true,’ he said. Edie was constantly in his head. ‘I drive her around. I’m building her stage.’ He supposed in some ways he did all that so he could stay close to her. Not because he’d promised Ethan he’d watch out for her, but because he was drawn to her. She was like his starlight in a dark sky.
‘What’s new with the play and the plans?’ Kate asked.
‘Not sure.’
‘Don’t you two talk while you’re in the house?’
‘I moved into the barn.’
Kate’s eyebrows rose.
‘Thought it best. Don’t want people gossiping.’
Jamie swallowed a laugh. ‘You think it’s going to make a difference?’
‘Don’t laugh,’ Kate told him. ‘Ryan’s doing the right thing for Edie.’
Ryan had no idea what the right thing for Edie might be but he smiled anyway. ‘She wants to rope you all in for help. I’m going to be her stage manager. She’s in town now, coercing volunteers for crew roles.’
‘I’ve already told Sammy I’ll do costume design, and make them too if necessary. Tell Edie, would you?’
‘Will do.’
‘I’m going to organise a girls-only night at Kookaburra’s,’ Kate continued, ‘so we can have a really intimate chat about secret women-stuff.’ She tucked her arm into Jamie’s. ‘We’re going to get sloshed and talk about you men.’
What would Edie say about Ryan? She might not even think about talking about him.
‘Well, thanks again. I’ll take care of your gear.’ He slapped the back of his vehicle, nodded farewell and headed for the driver’s door. ‘How are the kids?’ he asked, turning as he remembered to ask.
‘Wonderful but not here,’ Kate said, a sigh in her voice.
‘Too damned grown-up now,’ Jamie said. ‘Raphael’s in Portugal, setting up a business. He spends half his time there and half in Canberra these days.’ Jamie slung an arm around his wife’s shoulders. ‘And Kiki’s on a manufacturing fact finding mission.’
‘My heart explodes every time I think about how much I miss my fashion designer daughter.’
‘You’re coping all right, Katie,’ Jamie said in a caring tone. ‘Don’t forget you’ve still got to look after me.’
Kate smiled up at him lovingly.
Ryan kept his features set, but inside him, something snapped. Around here everybody’s world was full.
How come Kate Knight, fashion guru, smart business owner and all-round glamorous woman had managed to settle down here and Edie couldn’t see that she was capable of doing the same? What was the pull of the city and the theatre lights and the parties? The kid she’d been would have scoffed at such things. It had to be the excitement. The adrenaline. He should understand that, and he was proud of her. He just didn’t want that excitement anymore, not after what he’d experienced the last decade. The only rush of adrenaline he got these days was when she did the hair-fling thing. But Edie still had so much she wanted to do.
It wasn’t until she turned twenty-two that he’d viewed her differently to his young, adventurous mate and had seen the woman she had become. Encountering that awareness punched him in the gut and he backed off, which had been easy since he’d been in the forces for nine years by then and was hardly ever around.
He said his goodbyes to Kate and Jamie.
Ten minutes later, as he turned onto All Seasons Road driving into town, he got a text message from Edie saying Gary Waterman had given her a lift home as he was doing his delivery rounds. So Ryan did a U-turn and headed back to take the turn-off to Jindalee Lane.
Gary had no doubt gone puce and rigid having Edie sitting next to him in his truck. Edie had no doubt talked the entire journey, just to ease Gary down from his fascination with her.
Ryan tilted his head as he thought about her. All that glossy auburn hair. If things had been different, what would their kids look like? They’d be tall. Three sounded good. Three chances of getting it right. Not that this would be fair on the first kid, but the third might get a decent upbringing.
His thoughts turned gritty. He’d been the third kid. He’d grown up okay, thanks to his mother, and Gem to some degree, being the forceful, knowledgeable older sister. His father had been something else altogether.
He didn’t waste his thoughts on his father anymore. He’d had more of an upbringing from the men he’d served with in the army.
That brought his mind around to the goal he had. Not Edie, although he’d like it if she was around to help him with this challenge. He wanted to do something for the families of the men and women who’d worked in the same environment as him. Especially their kids. They paid a price for their parents’ trauma. He had so much to figure out, but he had the bones of an idea in his mind. The ex-forces personnel he couldn’t help were those who hadn’t yet got over the bad stages—the alcohol, the bar fights, the arrests. The anger, the divorces, the homelessness. He wasn’t qualified to do anything more than sit with them and talk or not talk; the latter was more likely. Nobody liked talking. Especially about those they’d lost. Ryan had never liked going to work on anniversary days. He preferred his silent salute and thanks to those who’d paid the ultimate price.
His phone rang. He checked the caller ID and hit Answer on the hands-free unit. ‘Josh. How are you, mate?’
‘Stage building necessities,’ Josh said without preamble. ‘I understand they’re grander than they originally were. I bet she thinks a raised, pitched stage is a doddle.’
Ryan found a grin. ‘I got the darling Ryan routine.’
‘I’ve had darling Josh all month, mate.’
‘I’ve made a start with what we’ve got, and I’ll do most of the build. You’re working, I’m not.’
‘Any more thoughts on what you might do after the play’s over?’ Josh asked. Both Gem and his brother-in-law knew he was at some kind of crossroad; hanging around, waiting for the next best thing to happen. But he hadn’t spoken to either of them about his reasons for leaving the army. Gem would worry herself into a knot if she knew he’d given it up so he could have a normal life. She’d have a row of eligible wives lined up before sundown. Incl
uding Edie. But Edie wouldn’t want to be in that chorus line.
He considered his answer for Josh, and decided it might be best if his sister got the news from her husband rather than from her younger brother whom she liked to push around. ‘I’ll probably head off after Edie’s play.’ He ought to go now, before he got further embroiled in Edie’s life and in her world, which he’d never be a part of.
‘Really?’ Josh asked. ‘Thought you were, you know, trying to get another date with the hottest actress in town.’ He laughed, and Ryan needed to change the subject before Josh made some comment about the fall and the damned lamppost.
‘How are the twins?’ he asked. ‘Meant to take them off your hands this school holidays and take them for a tramp around the countryside or fishing or something, but haven’t got around to it with everything else going on.’
‘Don’t worry, they’re in Cooma most days on athletics training.’
Ryan’s niece and nephew had taken after his sister. They were heavily into tobogganing in winter, skiing whenever their parents got time off from their businesses to take them to the slopes, plus track sports, and soccer—their favourite pastime. Just as it had been Gem’s once.
He ended the call with his brother-in-law and frowned at the road ahead, trying not to feel wrapped up in the countryside around him. There was a contentedness in Swallow’s Fall that was pinning him down when really he needed to pull up sticks.
But was Edie a no-go area? It wasn’t a good idea to linger on that thought, but it was in his head and he couldn’t shift it. Had there been a reciprocal zap of attraction between them during that damned silly argument in the kitchen? Her eyes had watered when she asked why he didn’t like her.
He swung the car onto Jindalee Lane and pulled up beside the barn. Even if Edie and he got it together—should there ever be a second try-out and should they get through it without argument—she wouldn’t be truly happy. She was used to doing her theatre thing. If he didn’t open the retreat for the kids and family of ex-forces personnel, what would he do? Follow her around? He’d be in her way. He couldn’t see himself settled with the theatre lifestyle anyway. Not seeing her in the day due to rehearsals, and not spending time with her in the evenings due to seven-thirty curtain up on whatever show or play she was starring in.
