by Louise Guy
‘She won’t try and drive, will she?’ Sue’s voice was full of concern.
Damien took a set of keys from his pocket and rattled them. ‘I took care of that about an hour ago. I had a feeling something was off.’
‘Thanks, son.’ David clapped Damien on the back. ‘Nat’s lucky to have everyone looking out for her.’ He frowned. ‘It’s not like her to act like that in front of Amy. I hope she’s alright.’
Hannah shook her head. Her sister had acted like a prize bitch, almost spoiling Amy’s birthday, and her father was worried about Nat? Yes, she didn’t normally act that way in front of Amy, but she always tried to undermine Hannah. Tonight was another example. For now, she just wanted her gone. She turned to Phyllie. ‘You wait here and I’ll pop up and get Amy to come down and say goodbye. There’s no point risking a journey up those stairs.’
She did her best to ignore Phyllie’s eye-roll as she hurried out of the room to fetch Amy.
Following Nat and Phyllie’s departure, Hannah was pleased to find Amy and Skye chatting and giggling when she brought their pizzas to the media room. It appeared Nat’s little outburst hadn’t ruined their night. They were lying on the mattresses they’d prepared for their sleepover and Bear was fast asleep, his head resting against Amy’s outstretched foot. The way the dog attached himself to her you’d think he’d been living with them for years. It was quite special.
‘Pizza’s up.’ She put the tray containing the two pizzas and a bottle of mineral water on the coffee table the girls had pushed to one side.
‘We’ll never eat all that.’ Skye eyed the pizzas. ‘They look delicious. Thank you, Hannah.’
Hannah smiled. Skye was one of those kids you couldn’t help but love.
‘Thanks, Mum,’ Amy added. ‘And don’t worry, I’ll make sure Bear doesn’t eat any. He had his dinner before we came up here.’
‘You’re doing an amazing job with him.’
‘So he can stay?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Aunty Nat was acting strange, and I thought that was because you’d decided Bear had to go back.’
Hannah sucked in a breath. She could kill Nat. ‘Hon, Bear’s not going anywhere. He’s your dog now. Dad and I will help out, of course, but overall you’re responsible for him. We don’t buy a pet one day and take him back the next. You don’t have to worry, just enjoy him. He’s an Anderson now, whether he likes it or not.’
Bear opened one eye and gave a little yelp.
Amy and Skye laughed.
‘What was wrong with Aunty Nat?’
Hannah shook her head. ‘I have no idea. She mentioned a bad day, but that was no excuse for how she behaved.’
‘Next time you speak to her tell her to stay away from Bear and me,’ Amy said. ‘She must hate dogs or be jealous or something.’
Hannah opened her mouth automatically to defend Nat, but then she closed it again. Why should she? Amy was old enough to recognise that Nat’s behaviour was not only unacceptable but mean. The lack of a birthday present also hadn’t gone unnoticed. Where she previously would have told Amy not to think like that, tonight she didn’t have the energy. She didn’t owe her sister anything right now.
‘I’ll let her know. Now, why don’t you two put on one of the movies and enjoy the pizza? It’s still early, so you should have time to watch two if you want to.’
Amy grinned. Her usual eight thirty bedtime was not coming into play tonight. ‘Thanks, Mum.’
Hannah walked back downstairs, grateful to find her father and Sue had stacked the dishwasher before they’d left. It hadn’t turned out to be the relaxed family afternoon she’d been hoping for. She sighed, sat down at the kitchen counter and just as she reached for the bottle of Pinot Noir, her phone pinged. It’d better be Nat with an apology. She picked up the phone and swiped up to see the message. Nausea swept over her. The text was from Zane Fox.
We need to meet.
Chapter Twelve
Nat leaned her head against the side window as Damien drove the ten minutes back to Phyllie’s house. God, Hannah had overreacted. Amy knew she was only mucking around. As if she’d spoil her niece’s birthday. It was just like Hannah to take credit for a present she only bought because she lost the bet.
‘You know,’ Damien’s calm voice broke into her thoughts, ‘while the bet certainly helped give Hannah a push in the right direction about the dog, she had already decided that it was the right time for Amy to have a pet. Her wanting Amy to believe she’d changed her mind did have some truth in it.’
‘Whatever.’ Her sister always came out looking good. She probably weighed up the risk factor of every situation and worked out how to manipulate it in her favour.
‘What on earth is wrong with you tonight, my girl?’ Phyllie swung round from the front seat and stared at Nat. ‘It’s not like you to be so moody. Is it this new job? I can’t imagine it could be anything else as you’ve hardly left the house since you moved in.’
Nat sighed. ‘Something like that. I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘Fine, but don’t be so down on your sister. She had us over for what should have been a lovely afternoon. You have no excuse for behaving so badly.’
They travelled in silence for a few minutes as it began to rain, the swish of the windscreen wipers the only distraction.
They reached the house, and Damien jumped out of the car and ran around to open Phyllie’s door. He looked through to Nat, who hadn’t moved from the back. ‘Stay there. I’m going to walk Phyllie in and then I want a word.’
Nat sank back into the seat and closed her eyes. Her head swam a little as she did. It was probably a good thing that Damien had insisted on driving them home. The way everyone was acting you’d think she’d done something awful, not just stirred up her sister by pointing out the truth.
She blinked as the passenger door across from her opened and Damien slid in beside her.
‘Is everything alright?’
Nat’s eyes instantly filled with tears. His voice was so gentle and caring. Not accusatory like Hannah and Phyllie had been.
He handed her a tissue. ‘I’m here if you want to talk. I won’t say anything to Hannah or anyone else.’
Nat gave a little laugh. ‘You’re not the best at keeping secrets. Hannah found out you were the medical professional who attended to Phyllie over the goat incident within minutes of it being mentioned.’
Damien shrugged. ‘That was a bit different as it affected Phyllie and she was worried. She won’t expect me to know anything about what’s going on with you. Anyway, you don’t have to say anything, I just thought you might need a friendly ear.’
Intense gratitude flooded through Nat. Hannah was lucky to have him. The tears that had threatened began rolling down her cheeks as she thought of how badly she’d messed up. Nothing was going right at the moment. No job, no relationship, living rent-free with her grandmother because she couldn’t afford to live anywhere else, and now she was in debt.
‘I’ve got myself into some financial trouble,’ Nat admitted.
The small lines around Damien’s eyes creased with concern. ‘Can we help?’
The tears continued to flow. He hadn’t done what Hannah would have; she’d have demanded to know the details, whereas he’d simply offered help.
She shook her head. ‘No, I’ll need to get myself out of it. It’s just very stressful without an income.’
Damien nodded. ‘I attended a job at the Walton House Shelter yesterday. They were understaffed. You’ve worked there before, haven’t you?’
‘And hated it,’ Nat said. ‘But it might be worth talking to them; I probably can’t be choosy.’ She sighed. Part of her thought if she could just get back on the tables, she could turn things around very quickly.
Damien was studying her. ‘I know it’s none of my business, but are you playing the online poker tables?’
Heat rushed to Nat’s face. ‘Why would you want to know that?’
‘
Just curious. As much fun as they can be, they’re a quick way to lose money.’
‘You’re telling me.’
‘Poker’s the problem then?’
Nat shook her head. ‘It’s not a problem. I just need to get back to where I was. I got greedy and started playing the more expensive tables. The return is so much bigger when you win or place.’
‘But so is the competition. There would be at least four professionals sitting at each table. Winning is virtually impossible.’
‘That’s the thing. I did win to start with. I just need to work out what I was doing in those games and try and replicate it.’
‘Can I ask how much in debt you are?’
‘Fifteen grand. That’s not all poker though. I’d already clocked up five grand before I started playing.’
Damien’s face paled at her admission. ‘I’m sure Hannah and I can help you, but if you’re going to keep playing poker, it would be a hard sell for me to get her to agree.’
‘Hold on. I don’t want you saying anything to Hannah. You can hardly ask her to give me money without explaining.’
Damien was deep in thought. Nat loved him for the fact he seemed to be genuinely considering how he could help her. ‘Damien, I can’t take your money and certainly couldn’t ask you to be deceitful with Hannah. She’d never forgive either of us if she found out. The best option is for me to get a job and pay it off slowly.’ This was the most sensible option, of course, but not necessarily one she intended to carry through.
‘Hopefully, the swimwear business will start to make some money for you soon. From what Phyllie said you’ve been working long hours on it.’
She saw the question in his eyes. He’d seen right through her but was too polite to ask her outright if there actually was a swimwear business. She reached for the door handle. ‘I’d better get to bed. Tell Hannah I’ll drop in and bring Amy’s present with me. I still can’t believe I turned up empty-handed. A big fail on my part tonight.’
Damien opened his door and walked around to meet Nat. ‘I’ll come in and call an Uber. And don’t worry about tonight, you’ve got a lot on your mind, and I get that you’re stressed. The one thing I’d suggest is that you go into the house, get on to the poker site and deactivate your account. It can be addictive, and I’ve read stories about it ruining people.’
Pity you didn’t mention this when you introduced me to the site. The bitterness in Nat’s thought was unfair, she knew that. For a start it had been Matt, not Damien, who’d suggested online poker. Damien played poker for some light entertainment and an escape from everyday life. Neither he nor Matt could have anticipated she’d have a problem with it, but, to be fair, neither had she.
Damien’s words stayed at the front of Nat’s mind for the next few days after admitting her situation to him on Saturday night. Get on to the poker site and deactivate your account. It can be addictive, and I’ve read stories about it ruining people. Yes, but for every story of someone being ruined, there were stories of it being life-changing for others. And she’d done so well at the poker night and initially online. She must have changed something in her game. That was probably the issue, she realised as she drove through the leafy streets near Phyllie’s house on her way back from the supermarket. She needed to go back to basics. Get back on the free tables and check her strategy and stick to it. But even if she refined her game play, she still had the issue of being fifteen thousand dollars in debt and having no money to add to her poker account. She’d thought this through and decided she’d try one last approach before seriously considering looking for a regular job.
Nat climbed out of her car and took the shopping bags from the boot.
‘Need a hand with those?’
She turned to find Leon standing a few metres behind her. She shook her head. ‘No, I’m good, thanks.’ Her heart rate quickened as she took in his lopsided grin. She took a deep breath, doing her best to ignore the attraction she felt towards him. ‘You’re not looking for your escaped goat again are you?’
Leon shook his head. ‘No, just going for a walk. Want to join me?’
‘Yes, I’d love to.’ The words came out of Nat’s mouth before she had a chance to bite them back. Yes, she would love to, but Phyllie’s words came flooding back to her: Imagine if you did what you’ve done to many others – dated him for a few months and then dumped him. That might be the last I’d ever see him.
‘Actually, I can’t, sorry.’
Leon raised his eyebrows in question. ‘It’s just a walk, Nat. No big deal.’
Not for him, perhaps, but Phyllie was right. Her track record was terrible and right now, when she was unemployed and sinking further into debt, it was best to keep to herself. While he might not be offering more than a walk, if it turned into something else, she’d have Phyllie to answer to. It was best to be friendly and keep him at a distance. ‘I forgot that I’ve got a few things to do for Phyllie.’
Leon pushed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. ‘No worries. Another time, perhaps?’
Nat nodded and watched, disappointment filling the pit of her stomach, as he continued on down the road. She wondered if there would be another time.
She turned with her shopping and made her way towards the house. She planned to talk to Phyllie that night and had decided to make her favourite dinner. Hands full, she stopped at the front door, surprised to find it ajar. She smiled, thinking of Phyllie’s constant reminders to ‘keep the bloody door shut so that blasted goat doesn’t waltz on in’. Still, it saved her having to put her shopping down to unlock it.
She pushed it open with her foot and took the bags through to the kitchen, winding her way around the ironing board and iron that Phyllie had left in the middle of the living room, a skirt hanging over it looking like it had been half ironed.
‘Phyllie, are you here?’ Nat assumed she was probably in the bathroom. She would hardly go out halfway through ironing something and leave the door open.
There was no response.
Nat left the shopping bags on the bench and walked through to Phyllie’s room. She knocked, poking her head around the door when there was no answer. The door to the en suite was open, and Nat could see Phyllie wasn’t in there. She went back to the living area and switched the iron off at the wall. She could imagine the lecture she’d receive from Phyllie if she left the iron on when she went out.
Perhaps the goat was back and Leon hadn’t realised it had escaped. She hurried to the back door and flung it open, half expecting to find Phyllie pinned against the back fence by the goat. But other than a noisy miner splashing in the birdbath by the rose garden, the area was empty.
She went back inside. Perhaps Phyllie had ducked out to see one of the neighbours. Still, to leave the iron on and the door open wasn’t very smart. She unpacked the groceries, putting the perishables in the fridge, and returned to the living area. She switched the iron back on. She would finish ironing Phyllie’s skirt and then she’d start dinner.
She was packing up the iron, having laid the neatly pressed skirt on her grandmother’s bed, when the front door flew open and Phyllie hurried into the house.
‘What’s the rush?’ Nat called.
Phyllie stopped, her eyes wide as she stared at Nat. ‘What are you doing here?’
Nat laughed. ‘What do you mean? I live here, remember?’
Confusion flashed across Phyllie’s face for a split second, then she smiled. ‘I know that, I mean what are you doing down here? I thought you’d be busy working. You’ve hardly left that top floor since you’ve been here.’ Her eyes moved to the ironing board. ‘Although, that’s a good sign if you’re ironing something to go out in.’
‘No, I finished ironing your skirt. I put it on your bed.’
Phyllie laughed. ‘Why are you ironing my clothes? I’m sure I can manage that when I need them. Mind you, I hardly ever get that blasted thing out. I usually cheat and throw my clothes in the dryer for a few minutes. It gets the creases out.’
Phyllie’s forehead creased as she frowned.
Nat stared at her grandmother. Had she forgotten she’d been ironing? No, she’d probably just been in a hurry to do something. She was still in her gardening trousers so couldn’t have gone far. ‘Where did you go?’
‘What, just now?’
Nat nodded.
‘Down to the charity shop. It’s Joan Margaret’s birthday today, and Bev organised a cake for afternoon tea. I promised I’d go down and join them, but when I got there, the shop was locked up. I’m about to ring Bev to find out what happened. I’m praying that no one has had a fall or anything worse.’
She’d gone for a birthday celebration in mud-covered trousers? That was unheard of for Phyllie.
‘Were you in a hurry to get down there?’
‘Not particularly, why?’
Nat pointed at her trousers. ‘It’s just that you’d normally get changed for social events. Your blouse is nice, but you’re wearing your gardening trousers. And it’s Tuesday. Unless they’ve changed their opening hours, the shop’s closed today.’
Phyllie looked down at her legs, her eyes widening. She gave a little laugh. ‘Silly me, I thought it was Wednesday. And anyway, it’s only the op shop. No one dresses up to go there.’
Others might not dress up, but Phyllie certainly did. She always presented herself nicely. There’s no way she’d leave her house voluntarily wearing her gardening trousers. Nat realised there was no point discussing it further. Phyllie was looking distressed.
‘How about I put the iron away and start on dinner while you make your phone call,’ Nat said. ‘I’ve got a special treat for you tonight.’
Phyllie eyed her suspiciously. ‘Why?’
Nat laughed. ‘What do you mean why? Can’t I do something nice for my grandmother? After all, you’re letting me stay here rent-free.’
