Whispers At Wongan Creek

by Juanita Kees

  ‘No. You?’

  Elliott shook his head. ‘I had hoped to hear from her yesterday.’

  ‘Is there something wrong?’

  ‘Well … you know about her mum’s illness, right?’

  ‘Yeah, she mentioned it.’ And it still hurt that she’d think he wouldn’t stand by her through it if she had it too.

  ‘She had her tests last week, so I was hoping she’d ring me … or you. You know, since you two are close.’

  Travis grimaced. ‘We’re not close.’

  Elliott eyed him squarely. ‘That’s a shame. Maybe you should ring her.’

  ‘She made it quite clear what she wanted when she packed up and left, mate.’

  It pained him to say the words when he still cared so deeply. How many times had he picked up the phone to call her, only to press the red button to end the call before it finished dialling?

  Elliott shrugged. ‘Just saying.’

  ‘I heard, thank you. See you later. I promised Casey a ride on the merry-go-round. I had wilder horses in mind to ride, but Doc Benson wouldn’t clear me for the rodeo this year. I don’t think he realises how hard my head is.’ Travis grinned.

  ‘You’re not the only one who’s bloody hard-headed,’ muttered Elliott.

  ‘What’s that, mate?’

  ‘You heard me. Here, Casey …’ He handed her a shiny dollar coin. ‘The first ride is on me. Choose the wildest horse for your uncle.’

  Casey giggled. ‘They’re all the same. Some just go higher than others.’

  Elliott ruffled her curls. ‘Don’t lose those boots when you go on the jumping castle.’

  ‘I won’t.’

  ‘Let’s go, sweet pea. We might catch the next round if we hurry.’

  Travis took her hand and led her towards the merry-go-round. He didn’t want to think about Heather or the empty void his life was without her. She’d made her choice. He had to remember that.

  They waited in line for a few minutes until the ride cleared then Travis put Casey up on the saddle of a unicorn. He took the horse next to her on the outside. She giggled as his legs still touched the floor even as the merry-go-round moved and the horse reached its highest point.

  Travis loved hearing her laugh again. It would take a while for her to push back the memory of the day Tracy was taken, but at least she was getting there knowing she was safe and that the threat had been removed.

  She had fewer nightmares and was sleeping better. The kids who’d teased her at school had stopped taunting her when Miss Turner told them Casey had a daddy who was going to adopt her, and if she heard them calling Casey awful names again, she’d remove party pies from the school canteen menu and make them all eat celery sticks.

  As the horses turned and the tinny showground music tinkled, he looked across at the queue of people watching along the fence line. His heart skipped a beat as he spotted Heather leaning on her arms on the fence. She gave him a little wave he wasn’t sure how to return.

  Chapter 23

  Heather smiled at the picture Travis and Casey made on the merry-go-round. Her heart melted a little more. She saw the moment he spotted her, took in the look on his face before the carousel turned and she got a view of his back.

  She remembered that back well. The last time she saw it, it was naked and hot under her hands. How had she ever thought she could live without him? Not when the sight of him had her blood roaring through her body and her lips eager for his.

  Travis the lover was sensational. Travis the man equally hard to resist. Would he take her back? Or would he move on? Could he forgive her for being weak and running away?

  ‘Took you long enough. I was hoping you’d show up.’

  ‘Excuse me?’ Heather turned to look at Harry, comfortably seated in a wheelchair next to her, the bright green plaster cast on his arm covered in black marker pen drawings she suspected was Casey’s art work.

  ‘What were you thinking leaving our boy like that?’

  Heather sighed. ‘You know, sometimes I think you’re faking your memory loss, Harry.’

  ‘My what?’

  ‘Never mind. How’s the arm healing?’

  ‘Better than that bloke’s heart.’

  Heather rolled her eyes. ‘Are you behaving yourself for Elliott?’

  ‘Yes, but he’s not as pretty as you.’

  ‘Okay, flattery wins.’

  ‘There’s something I need to show you.’ Harry pulled a fat yellow envelope out of the pocket of his flannel checked shirt. He opened it up and pulled out some old photos and letters, spreading them out on his lap, his arthritic fingers tapping the sepia images. ‘Found these when young Travis and I were looking for the title deeds to the farm. I’d forgotten about them. I remembered when I pulled the photos out.’

  He picked up one of a young woman in a vintage style dress and handed it to Heather. She took it and studied the girl’s pretty features. ‘She’s beautiful.’

  ‘Yes, she was. Do you recognise her?’

  ‘No. Should I?’ Heather looked closer but nothing about the woman’s face recalled any memories. ‘Who is she, Harry?’

  ‘Her name was Eileen. I was in love with her. A lovely Irish lass who came here as a nurse. We were going to get married but I was called up to fight in ‘Nam.’

  ‘What happened to her?’

  ‘She dumped me for John Bannister while I was away. She was pregnant, you see. Didn’t think I’d make it back from the war. Bannister was three years younger than me, Eileen the same age as him. It didn’t last long because even back then Bannister was a hothead. Not as bad as young Zac though, the bloody mongrel.’ Harry held the letter in his hand, the paper fluttering in his unsteady grip.

  ‘Did she leave him?’

  Harry nodded. ‘Long before the baby was born. Only stayed with him a month or so. She sent me a letter from Darwin a year later to tell me she’d had a baby girl and married a fellow countryman.’

  Unease crept up Heather’s spine and she shivered despite the heat. She looked at the photo again, taking in the shape of the young woman’s lips and eyes, the same high cheekbones her mother had. Harry handed her the second photo, the one of the woman and her baby girl taken around the age of three. The resemblance had her stomach tying itself in knots.

  ‘Recognise the baby?’

  ‘Harry, this is impossible … it can’t be. This can’t be my mother.’

  ‘Nothing’s impossible, girl. Not when fate has a hand in things.’

  He handed her the third photo and Heather’s blood ran cold. Her hands shook on the faded colour photograph. This one she knew. It was the same as the one her mother had sent to her parents when Heather was born. The first and last time she’d mentioned them and the only photo her mother had kept a copy of.

  ‘How did you get this?’

  Harry tapped another letter, this one written on powder blue paper but in the same handwriting as the other. ‘Eileen asked me to look out for you and your mum. She and her husband had gone back to Ireland. He didn’t want anything to do with the girl when she fell pregnant. He blamed Eileen. More fool him.’

  Numb, Heather stared at the photo and then at Harry. ‘Why didn’t you go back for Eileen?’

  Harry shrugged. ‘By the time I got back from ‘Nam it was too late. She seemed happily married and she didn’t want anything to do with me. I offered financial support but she didn’t want that either.’

  ‘Why didn’t you come looking for us?’

  ‘I did, lass. But I couldn’t find any trace of you. Your mother changed her name. In those days records were sealed so tight you couldn’t crack ‘em no matter how hard you tried.’

  Heather’s heart ached. There was so much she didn’t know, so much her mother never had time to tell her before she fell ill. So much they’d all lost. But this … it defied all logic.

  Harry tucked the photos and letters back into the envelope and pushed it back into his pocket. ‘You can read these another time. Fate works in funny
ways because Doc found you in the end when you weren’t even looking.’

  ‘I would have if I’d known.’

  ‘Course you would have. Don’t let that boy get away, Heather.’ He waved at the merry-go-round where Casey waved back at him. ‘Don’t let history repeat itself. Life is a funny thing. Every now and then it gives us a second chance.’

  ‘Harry, this is insane.’ Heather leaned down and hugged him. The impact of his revelation had yet to sink in and she had no idea what she would do when it did.

  Harry patted her back with the awkwardness of an old man not used to receiving or giving affection. ‘Not as insane as you think. Doc Benson traced you and your mum through the old Darwin hospital records. How do you think you got the job here in Wongan Creek?’

  Heather laughed. ‘I’d like to think it was through good references and excellent qualifications.’

  ‘Well, that too.’ Harry shrugged. ‘You can call me Poppy. Or Pop.’

  She kissed his forehead. ‘Poppy it is. I still think this is insane.’

  Harry chuckled. ‘What’s insane is that you haven’t run over there, hit the emergency stop on that damn merry-go-round and dragged your man off his high horse yet. He knows. I showed him the letters and the photos. It’s fate, I tell ya.’

  Heather laughed and hoped that Harry would remember all this in the next five minutes, grateful he’d remembered it at all. Even if he didn’t remember, she knew she’d found her home and her family. All she had to do was convince Travis. Looking at the dark expression on his face, she’d rather wrestle a two-headed hungry crocodile.

  The tinny music stopped and the merry-go-round slowed to a stop. She watched Travis and Casey make their way towards the exit. His long, jeans-clad legs ate up the distance as Casey skipped along happily beside him.

  A dark blue T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and clung lovingly to the contours of his hard muscles. And oh God, those arms … those beautifully sculptured arms that made a girl feel so safe and secure. Right now, she’d give anything to have them wrapped around her again.

  ‘He hasn’t given up on you. Be nice to him.’ Harry looked at her sternly. He spoiled the look with a twinkle in his eye.

  ‘I promise I will be.’ She turned as Casey came running up to her, her little boots sending up tiny puffs of red dust.

  ‘Heather! You came back!’

  Casey’s sweet face lit up with a smile. She threw her arms around Heather’s waist and squeezed hard.

  Heather hugged her back, but her eyes were on Travis. He’d lost weight, but the bruises had faded from his face at last. The tiny white scar near his eye a reminder of the close call they’d all had with Zac. At least there was one thing they could put in the past.

  ‘Heather.’ His nod was cool, his eyes unreadable.

  ‘Travis.’ Tangible strain rode in waves between them.

  ‘You two need to be alone. Try not to be idiots about it. Casey,’ said Harry. ‘Give us a push over there to Mrs E, would ya? I’ll help, but I can only do one wheel, so push straight.’

  ‘Okay, Harry.’

  Casey took the handles of Harry’s wheelchair. Heather watched them make slow progress to where the group of CWA ladies huddled together a few feet away, trying hard to pretend they weren’t watching and listening to every word.

  Bella stepped forward and with a wink and a thumbs up for Heather, took control of Harry’s chair. Mrs E clasped Casey’s hand securely in hers, chatting away cheerfully.

  Travis ran his thumb along the length of his nose and stared at his boots. ‘Subtle as a brick, our Harry.’ He folded his arms across his chest.

  Heather laughed. ‘Good to see he hasn’t changed.’ She placed a hand on his forearm where it crossed over the other. ‘Travis, I’m really sorry about what happened between us. My head was a mess after what happened with Harry.’

  He lifted his gaze to hers, the green almost emerald as he stared right into her heart. ‘You knew you could trust me. I’ve always been true to my word.’

  She stepped closer, pleased when he didn’t step away. With both hands on his forearms she eased them apart until he dropped his defensive pose. The barrier removed, she could feel the delicious heat of his body.

  ‘I made a mistake, Travis. I’ve never had anyone to talk to before. No one I could tell about the fear that built inside me. My whole life revolved around Mum. Any friends I might have had wandered away when things got complicated and Mum’s care took up all my time. Friendship is like love, it needs to be nurtured. I never learned how to grow either of them.’

  He stared over her head, the walls around him impenetrable, his hands fisted at his side. Her hopes began to fade.

  ‘I took the tests.’ Her words fell like rocks between them.

  ‘I heard.’

  Heather chewed her lip as his gaze came back to meet hers then travelled to her mouth. Her heart fluttered. ‘I got the all clear.’

  A small flicker of light in his eyes. ‘That’s great. I’m happy for you.’ His fists uncurled and he placed his hands on his hips. ‘You’ll be able to get on with your life then.’

  The weight of sadness and rejection built in her stomach. She only had herself to blame. She’d dumped him after the most amazing sex a girl could dream of having. After forming a bond of friendship and trust, she’d not trusted him with her own fears. She’d fallen in love and thrown it away.

  ‘Yes, I guess so.’ She swallowed the hurt and blinked against the burn of tears. She’d cry them later when she was far away from the place that had once felt like it could be home.

  ‘Why did you come back, Heather?’

  She dropped her gaze to her hands where they worried the brim of her hat. ‘I don’t know. I guess I hoped …’

  ‘What? That now you know you’re genetically perfect we’d welcome you home with open arms? Do you honestly think we didn’t love you the way you were? Wouldn’t have supported you when you needed it?’

  She swiped at her cheek where a tear escaped her lashes, couldn’t bring herself to look at him as her hopes shattered and her heart ached. She’d found her family but was losing the man she loved.

  ‘Instead you chose to walk away. And now it suits you to walk right back. You’re going to have to do better than that.’

  Heather dashed the tears away, smearing her mascara. She looked at the black streaks on her fingers then wiped them on her jeans. ‘You’re right. Again, I’m sorry. I’ll go.’ She turned to walk away.

  ‘Oh for God’s sake, Travis Bailey, swallow some of that damn pride before I shove it up your arse.’ Harry yelled from far enough away to be out of their space but close enough to intervene when needed. ‘I swear, boy, if my ankle was strong enough I’d come over there and tan your hide with my cane.’

  ‘Shut up, Harry,’ Travis shouted back.

  Heather felt the warmth of his hand encase her arm, stopping her from taking a step away. She turned her head to look at him, let her gaze travel over his face, committing each curve and contour to memory for later.

  ‘Do we mean anything at all to you, Heather? What do you want from us?’

  What did she have to lose? Everything she’d dreamed of, hoped for was already lost.

  ‘I don’t want anything from you. I want to give back to you, to the community of Wongan Creek, because without you, I am nothing. I’m just a lonely, miserable city girl living out each day until I die, which now is a hell of a lot longer than I expected to.’

  She turned and stood boot to boot with him, her chin raised stubbornly. ‘I want to watch Casey grow up, be there for her when she has to choose her first ball dress or go out on her first date with Benji or whoever else it might be. I want to sleep next to you every night and wake up to your charming personality in the morning.’

  ‘Ha! She’s got you there, mate!’

  ‘Shut up, Harry! And then I want to make love to you until you have no strength or desire to get out of bed to look for Harry’s sheep which aren’t ev
en missing.’

  ‘Oh my!’ Mrs E covered Casey’s ears, but she was too busy playing football with Benji to notice.

  ‘I want to drink my apple juice out of a doll’s tea set every night, maybe even my wine too. I want to have your babies and spend the rest of my life making up for being so stupid as to let you go in the first place. I love you, you … arsehole. Is that enough for you?’

  Travis’ hands fastened on her hips and he tugged her closer. ‘Could you say that again? Without the arsehole bit.’

  She raised her hands to cup his face. ‘I love you, Travis Bailey. I can’t imagine another day without you. I sat in my apartment with a bottle of champagne going flat and no one to share it with, and I realised I’d thrown away the greatest gift of all. You and Casey.’

  ‘So, let me get this straight … you only love me because of Casey.’

  Heather tugged hard on his ear.

  ‘Ouch.’

  ‘I love you because of you.’

  ‘That sounds terribly Irish.’

  She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. ‘Then let me speak a language you understand.’

  She kissed him until the stiffness left his spine, let her hands trail down his chest and brush his hips until his arms encircled her waist. His mouth softened against hers and he kissed her back until both of them were breathless. When his arms tightened around her and held her close, she knew she’d won.

  He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him. Pressing his forehead to hers, he said, ‘I might take a little more convincing.’

  She cupped the back of his head in her hands and kissed the tiny white scar at the corner of his eye. ‘I have a lifetime to try.’

  Behind them Harry let out a whistle and Robbie barked excitedly.

  ‘Well, I guess I’d better start designing a wedding cake,’ said Bella.

  Virginia Turner sighed. ‘Great. A whole new generation of Baileys to terrorise the classrooms.’ Her smile said she didn’t mind the challenge one bit.

  ‘Oh my goodness,’ murmured Mrs Everett, her hands clasped under her chin and her faded blue eyes damp. ‘I’d better order in more wool. I’ll have to start knitting booties and beanies soon.’