Lily had worked on five of Violet’s events – three birthday parties, one retirement soiree and a wedding – which was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, she was extremely grateful to have the added income and thrilled that Violet’s business was really beginning to take off. But on the other, each party took her away from her sewing machine – especially the wedding, as they were always so much work. As well as helping to set up the various venues and being a general dogsbody, Violet also asked Lily to take photos of the decorations and table settings at each event to add to her growing website.
Finally, in the third week of July, Johnno and his crew arrived bright and early at the old Beckett store to start work. It was a day Lily had circled on her calendar in red, as well as a handful of stars. Apparently he was in big demand and booked up for months, but was going to squeeze her into his schedule in between jobs, and the only reason he was doing that was because he was doing Mac a favour. Lily was thankful for it, even though she wasn’t generally one for pulling strings, because now everything seemed like it was finally beginning to come together.
Darren Johnson was the type of guy who inspired confidence. He always met Lily’s questions with a smile and was more than willing to put down his hammer and outline what exactly was happening with the reno. Johnno had told her that he had made the first applications to the heritage committee concerning the structural changes to the rooms, and that they had inspected the rooms and given him the go ahead, although he still needed the official paperwork. As far as Johnno was concerned, it was all systems go!
***
Flynn did the only thing he could and that was keep himself busy and eye-deep in work. Last week he’d hired a couple of farmhands to help bring the flock of pregnant ewes down from the top paddock. He put them in the paddock closest to the house where there was a small sheep shed on the western fence and several clusters of old gums dotted around the boundary and dam. He wanted to keep an eye on the girls as there had been several warnings from graziers over the past couple of weeks that something was going around the area killing new lambs. No one had caught a look at what was doing the killing but the general consensus was that it was a small pack of dogs.
So far Flynn had counted thirty-two live lambs, including a set of twins. He never tired of watching the little lambs standing on wobbly legs next to their mums. Every lambing season brought a few tragedies, but so far there’d only been a couple of stillbirths and one ewe lost, although her lamb was very much alive. It took time to hand rear a lamb; they needed a bottle every couple of hours for a few weeks.
Time was something Flynn didn’t have that much of so he’d given Jennifer O’Reilly a call and crossed his fingers that she’d take the little guy on. Jennifer, who lived over by Moonlight, was an animal lover in her sixties, and a bit on the eccentric side. Any stray kitten, bird, dog, lamb or joey would find its way there. Jennifer would patch them up, feed them, and find them a home. Thankfully, she was more than willing to take the orphaned lamb. Flynn had wrapped him up, grabbed a bag of sheep milk replacement formula and headed over to the other side of town. He was greeted with a hug, Jennifer exclaiming that the lamb was a ‘darling little thing’ and that she knew the perfect family that needed a new lawnmower. By the time Flynn had left her place, full of tea and orange cake, the lamb had already been fed once, was wearing a bright red knitted jumper and had been christened Winston. It had been a weight off Flynn’s mind and he smiled as he drove home: after a shaky start, Winston may have just won the jackpot.
Flynn had spent the morning pottering about the sheep shed and helping birth another lamb. He had just finished double-checking that the paddock fence was dog- and fox-proof when Mac’s ute wound its way up the driveway. He stretched his back before ambling over to the car.
‘Hey,’ he said with a nod.
Mac pulled himself out of the ute. ‘Hey yourself. You’ve been ducking my calls for more than a week now. I thought I’d better come out and see if you were still alive.’
‘Well, as you can see, I’m fine.’
‘Not very convincing, mate. So, you want to tell me what the hell’s going on?’
Flynn stared at him for a second, considering if he wanted to get into this. ‘Nothing, I’ve just been busy with work, that’s all.’
Mac stared back. ‘Don’t bullshit me, Flynn.’
Flynn hesitated for another second. ‘Listen, I could do with a coffee. Want one?’
‘Sure,’ Mac said, falling into step with his friend as they headed towards the house.
Flynn was silent as he moved about the kitchen, putting on the kettle and hunting out a couple of mugs.
‘You’re stalling,’ Mac said.
Flynn leant against the kitchen bench. ‘Yeah, I know. I guess I was hoping you’d just drop the whole thing and we could move onto something interesting, like which horror movie we should hire next.’
Mac chuckled and shook his head. ‘Yeah, like that’s going to happen. So, come on – what’s up?’
‘Charlotte dumped me.’
‘Aha. Sorry about that, but I didn’t know it was serious.’
‘It wasn’t. We just hung out when it was convenient.’
‘So, if that’s the case, why does it matter?’
Flynn shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I guess it blindsided me a bit, that’s all.’
‘Do you love her?’
Flynn glanced quickly at Mac. ‘No, no, I don’t. It’s just …’
Mac sat down on the nearest stool and leant his arms on the counter. ‘Oh, I get it now. It’s because she left you?’
Flynn looked down at his hands while he considered the question. ‘Yeah, I suppose that’s it. It’s pretty stupid, isn’t it?’
‘No, it’s not. Your mum left, and your grandma was as mad as a snake afterwards. These things can leave scars on people, mate.’
‘I looked for her you know.’
‘Who, your mum?’
‘Yeah. But it’s pretty hard to find someone when they have a twenty-year head start,’ Flynn said with a grim smile.
‘What would you have done if you’d found her?’ asked Mac.
‘Oh you know, asked her some questions. Like, why did you go, who’s my father and why the hell didn’t you take me with you? I’ll probably never find out the answers now.’
‘Maybe one day …’
Flynn shook his head. ‘It’s too late, anyway. Maybe she thought she was doing the right thing; maybe it was the only option she had. But there’s a point where you finally have to go, fuck it, I don’t care anymore. I haven’t gone anywhere – if she wanted to see me … well, she knew where I was.’
‘Flynn—’
‘It’s alright – I have to let the past go and just get on with it,’ said Flynn, turning around and busying himself with making the coffee. ‘Granny always said Mum left because she couldn’t handle having me, so what would be the point.’
‘Yeah, which is complete rubbish. Come on, we all know what your grandmother was like – I bet your mum ran away from her, not you.’
‘I know, I know. I guess that sometimes it still gets to me.’
‘And you never commit to a relationship because you’ve got abandonment issues,’ Mac added bluntly.
Flynn plonked the coffee mug in front of Mac. ‘Been reading Violet’s magazines again, have we?’
‘No … well, maybe. All I’m saying is, next time you’re interested in a girl and you think she could be the one, maybe try to do things differently. Don’t assume that she’s going to leave you, and don’t end it before she has a chance to. If a real relationship is what you’re after, then at some point you’re going to have to take a gamble – on her and yourself.’
Flynn sighed. ‘Yeah, but that’s the hard bit.’
Chapter 8
What was left of July disappeared in a flurry of dust and old wood as Johnno and his crew tore out the old kitchen in the back of the shop. Added to that, Lily was run ragged between finalising s
ome new dress designs for the store, trying to finish Holly’s flower girl dress and helping out Violet, who had back-to-back events in the first two weekends of August. She enjoyed setting up the events with her sister and marvelled at how Violet always knew what each space needed to make it pop. Every one of her events was beautiful, fun and totally unique.
For once, Lily felt confident and in control of her life; the betrayals of a few months ago had finally begun to heal. Life was moving forward and beginning to fall into place and her days were on the whole smooth and uncomplicated – so she should have known that it wouldn’t last.
Lily was upstairs hauling out a box full of musty fifty-year-old newspapers she’d found when Johnno appeared in the doorway.
‘Hi. Do you need a hand with that?’
Lily looked up and gave him a quick smile. ‘No, I think I’ve got it, but thanks.’
Johnno grinned at her; she had to admit he had a pretty devastating smile. Lily got the feeling that if he put his mind to it, most of Violet Falls’ sisterhood could quite easily be in peril. There was a certain appeal when a man leaned casually in front of you with a three-day growth, sandy blond hair, overalls and a grin.
‘It’s after five, so the guys and I are about to head off for the day.’
‘Gosh, I didn’t realise it was so late, already,’ Lily said as she put down the box.
‘I was just wondering … would you like to go out to dinner sometime? I mean, that is, if you’re not seeing anyone.’
Lily shook her head automatically. ‘No, I’m not seeing anyone. Um, I hadn’t really thought about it …’
‘Hey, no pressure. Anyway, have a think – it’s just dinner,’ Johnno said with a smile.
‘I will. And thanks.’
He gave her a wide smile before turning away. ‘See ya tomorrow.’
‘G’night.’
Lily was lost in her thoughts as she headed home. She hadn’t dated anyone since coming back to Violet Falls – romance was probably the last thing on her mind. And of course, there was that promise she made to herself: to be smart about her next relationship. But then, this wasn’t a relationship; Johnno had only asked her to dinner.
She walked up the wooden steps to the verandah and let herself in the front door.
‘Hiya – we’re in here!’ Violet called out from the kitchen.
Lily hung up her coat on the old hall stand and walked down the hallway. She stepped into the kitchen and saw her sister and Holly sitting at the small table, grinning back at her. ‘What’s up?’ she asked.
‘We’re celebrating!’ Holly said, jumping up from the table and skipping over to give Lily a hug. ‘Look, we’ve got cupcakes and pink lemonade.’
Lily dumped her bag on the floor and hugged her niece back. ‘Really? What exactly are we celebrating?’
‘A number of things,’ Violet said. ‘First of all, I got a call today from Holly’s teacher.’
‘Uh-oh, now how many times have I told you not to light a bonfire in the quadrangle, sweetie?’
Holly giggled as she grabbed Lily’s hand and led her to the table where a plate of pale pink cupcakes with silver sprinkles sat. ‘I didn’t, silly.’
‘Well, that was my first thought too,’ Violet said with a wink. ‘But according to Ms Potter, Holly is doing remarkably well and is a pleasure to have in the class.’
Lily bent down and tapped Holly on the nose. ‘Sounds like you’ve got a very clever teacher.’
‘Secondly, Holly has also been accepted into Moonbeams and Stardancers.’
‘Hey, that’s fantastic, kiddo – that’s the dance school you wanted to go to, right?’
Holly nodded. ‘Yep, Kylie and Amber go there too – it’s the best.’
Lily looked back to Violet with a smile. ‘So we do have a lot to celebrate.’
‘Sure do – I just landed the Anderson wedding as well.’
‘That’s great,’ Lily said as she reached over to give Violet a hug. ‘And huge. Congratulations.’
‘Thanks. Yep, this wedding is going to be big, but we’ve got nine months – we’ll pull it off.’
‘Of course we will. So, does that mean I can have a cupcake?’
‘Indeed you can. To celebrate we’re having backwards dinner, starting with dessert,’ Violet said.
‘Yay!’ Lily and Holly said in unison as they both snagged a cupcake.
‘So, anything interesting happen to you today?’ Violet asked.
Lily licked a bit of the pink icing before she answered. ‘Hmmm, Darren Johnson asked me to dinner.’
Violet’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘Ooh, and you said?’
‘That I’d think about it,’ Lily said with a smile. ‘I don’t know. Johnno’s really nice, but I guess I hadn’t looked at him in that light before.’
‘Well, from what I gather, he’s a straight-up kind of guy and everyone in town likes him.’
‘Yeah, I guess.’
‘He’s got his own business, and let’s not forget he isn’t exactly hard on the eyes,’ Violet added with a wink.
‘I know, I know, you’re right. It’s just that it came out of the blue – I suppose I wasn’t expecting it.’
‘You don’t like him?’
‘No, it’s not that. He’s just different to the type I would usually go out with.’
‘Hey, I don’t want to sound mean but maybe that’s a good thing? You need someone you can depend on and who actually looks out for you for a change.’
‘I guess. Anyway, I’ll think about it. I like Johnno, I just hadn’t ever thought about him in that way before.’
***
Lily walked into the bakery the next afternoon and lined up with a sea of hungry people. She bit back a sigh. This was going to take longer than she thought. Maybe she should just skip lunch? As if in answer, her stomach growled in protest. Yeah, who was she kidding – she was starving, and she’d already skipped breakfast.
Lily checked her watch and saw that she’d landed right in the middle of the lunchtime rush. There was nothing for it but to be patient. The air was filled with the scent of freshly baked bread and coffee, which made her hunger pangs even worse. She glanced around the crowded shop and gave a smile to the woman next to her. Her gaze kept wandering until it latched onto the wide shoulders of Flynn Hartley standing a little in front and to the side of her. It was wrong to ogle but, heaven help her, she just couldn’t avoid it – the man was well put together.
As if sensing her stare, Flynn turned his head.
‘Hi, Lily,’ he said. His dark eyes warmed as he smiled.
Damn. Her stomach had that feeling she used to get when she was a teenager and he’d walk past her in the school corridors.
‘Hi, Flynn. Whatcha up to?’
Flynn’s smile widened. ‘Well, I’m getting lunch.’
Lily wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Of course he was getting lunch: it was lunchtime and they were in the bakery. She felt heat in her cheeks.
‘Ah, I meant in general.’ Nice save – not.
‘I’m just teasing,’ he said as he angled his body around to face her. ‘I’m actually in town picking up a new chainsaw – I managed to kill the last one. So I thought I’d treat myself to one of Helen’s chocolate éclairs while I was here. They’re the best.’
‘Don’t tempt me,’ Lily said.
‘Go on, you know you want one.’
‘You’re the devil,’ Lily said with a shake of her head.
‘How’s your day going?’ Flynn asked with a smile.
‘Hectic. Johnno and his team have started renovating the back of the shop and I have to help Violet measure up the community hall for the sixteenth birthday party she has coming up. Then drop back to the shop in case Johnno needs anything before zipping up to Bendigo to buy some fabric. I’m kicking myself – I went to Melbourne last week for a fabric shopping adventure and forgot to buy the lining for Holly’s flower girl dress.’
‘So you’re staying in Viol
et Falls?’ Flynn tilted his head to one side and studied her.
‘Yes, I’m going to open up a store that specialises in event dresses.’ Lily glanced away. She was having trouble meeting his dark brown eyes and just prayed she could rein in her inner giggling fourteen-year-old schoolgirl.
‘Sorry, event what?’
‘Dresses that you wear for events and big occasions – you know, special dresses, like the ones for weddings, engagements and formals.’
‘Right – got it.’ He leant a little closer. ‘I’m glad you’re staying.’
Lily’s stomach tied in a couple of knots as her eyes locked onto his.
‘So, what else have you been up to?’ Flynn asked.
‘Um, a lot of sewing, and I’ve been helping Violet out with some of her events. Oh, and I’ve been trying to get about fifty layers of old paint off the woodwork so I can repaint it.’
‘That doesn’t sound like much fun.’
‘I have to admit, it’s not one of my favourites.’
A voice suddenly broke Lily’s awkward focus. ‘Next! Who’s next? Flynn, is it you?’
He turned around and gave the slightly harassed woman behind the counter a grin. ‘Hey, Helen. No, Lily can go next – she’s a busy woman.’
‘Flynn, you don’t have to do that,’ Lily said.
He reached back and grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to the front of the queue.
‘Go on,’ he urged. ‘Before Helen serves someone else.’
‘Thank you.’
‘What will you have?’ Helen asked.
‘Um, a couple of salad sandwiches on rye, an apple juice and two cappuccinos, please.’
The woman gave her a quick smile as she hurried away.
‘You forgot a chocolate éclair,’ Flynn whispered close to her ear.
Lily tried not to focus on the sensation of his warm breath against her neck. ‘No, I didn’t.’
Trapped in the lunchtime crowd with Flynn standing behind her, Lily would have liked to say that she couldn’t wait to get out of the bakery, but the truth was she was enjoying having him that close. This was not the plan – the plan was to stay well away from addictively charming men. She should focus on her work and the errands she had to run, and that sweet, dependable Darren Johnson who had asked her out on a harmless dinner date. Anything else was just asking for trouble.
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