Finally Chloe spoke up. ‘Are you her brother or her dad?’
‘What the hell has that got to do with anything?’
‘Everything actually.’ The girl’s tone was practical rather than aggressive. ‘If you’re her father, you might have some right to a say. But seeing as you’re only her brother, you probably need to mind your own business. She’s a big girl. She can make her own choices. Just sayin’.’
Rick looked at them both in turn. Julia was nodding. Goddamn it.
Time to find out more about this Chloe, he decided. Someone had to protect Julia if she wouldn’t do it herself.
‘So, where are you from, Chloe?’
The girl’s face shut down. ‘Melbourne.’
‘Where in Melbourne?’
‘South-east.’
‘You got family there still?’
‘Nope.’
‘Where do they live then?’
‘Here and there.’
‘And what brings you to Gippsland?’
‘This job.’
‘Didn’t you like the city?’
‘Nope.’
It was like getting blood out of a stone. Bizarrely, Chloe reminded him of his mother with that fixed stare. It had been impossible to get anything out of Elsbeth too if she didn’t want to talk.
‘So, why head east rather than north?’
‘Dunno. Seemed like a good idea.’
At least he’d got most of a sentence that time. Things were improving. He tried again. ‘How’d you get onto this job?’
‘Tess De Meares.’
‘You know her?’
‘Nope.’
‘So how did you hear about the job?’
‘I told you. Tess.’
He noticed Julia was leaning forward listening intently.
‘Did you meet her when you applied for the position through her agency?’
‘Kind of.’
‘Have you done this sort of work before?’
‘Nope.’ Chloe glared at Julia. ‘I thought you said I had the job?’
Julia seemed startled. ‘You do.’
‘So why’s he,’ the girl pointed her fork at Rick, ‘interviewing me all over again?’
‘I’m not,’ said Rick. ‘I’m just trying to make conversation.’ It didn’t sound convincing even to himself.
‘Really? Well, it sounds more like an inquisition to me.’
Julia jumped in. ‘I think all Rick’s trying to do, Chloe, is get to know you better. After all, you will be working over at the Grange, which he owns. So he’s entitled to know a little about you.’
It was Chloe’s turn to look startled. ‘Geez, I didn’t realise you owned the joint. Your sister said you live out there.’ She waved towards the lake. ‘And you’re some kind of hotshot artist.’
‘I do live on the island,’ Rick said. ‘And I’m a sculptor. But I also farm a few properties for the family company.’
‘Right.’ Chloe looked at him with what might be respect. ‘So, you make things out of mud, play around with cow shit and you’re as rich as the Queen? Now, why didn’t I think of doing something like that?’
He couldn’t help but grin. The kid certainly called a spade a spade. ‘Well, not like the Queen – she’s pretty loaded – but we’re doing alright. We make enough to employ someone like you to help out with the cleaning.’
Chloe grinned and her whole face lit up. Beyond the tattoos and face metal, the girl was really quite pretty. ‘Well, boss, I mightn’t be able to mix it with the cows but I can clean. And by the sounds of all that mud and shit, you need me.’
Rick laughed again. ‘We sure do.’
He glanced at Julia and was perplexed to see that she was looking anxious. Maybe he’d been too intense with Chloe? Did Julia want him to back off?
‘Julia, is something wrong?’
She looked up at him quickly. ‘No, nothing at all.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’ Her voice was as sharp as a whip crack.
He narrowed his eyes and wondered.
Chapter 20
Julia had no idea how she was going to keep these two apart. Chloe couldn’t even answer simple questions about her past without sounding like she was hiding something. Rick would be expecting her to stay at the Grange, like they’d previously arranged, so she needed to come up with a plausible excuse to keep Chloe here.
The girl had disappeared with the empty plates into the kitchen and Julia could hear her moving around as she cleaned up.
‘Rick?’
‘Hmmm?’ He was looking through his notebook for some reason.
‘I’m going to let Chloe live here.’
‘What?’ He tucked the book away in a shirt pocket. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have any room.’
‘We’ve cleaned out the boxroom out the back.’
‘But that’s just plain stupid. Charlie’s got a room ready for her in the Grange’s staff quarters.’
‘Where she’ll be on her own a lot of the time. She’s going to stay here.’ Julia could feel her chin jutting out.
‘But –’
‘Bluey dropped off her bag this afternoon. She’s all unpacked. It’s done.’
Rick frowned. ‘But what about us?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We won’t have … you know, time to ourselves.’ He waved his hands around.
She grabbed at his fingers and clasped them tight. ‘Yes, we will. I’ll come to your place.’
She’d thought it all through. She mightn’t be able to keep Chloe from working at the Grange, but it was only a couple of mornings a week, and Rick would be outside working. Plus, her need to get to know her child was even overriding what she felt for Rick right now. She wanted to know all about their daughter. Everything she’d missed out on. What had happened to turn her tiny baby into this brash, aggressive young woman?
Rick was leaning forward, frowning. ‘But you’ll have to learn to drive the boat so you can get over to the island.’
‘No problem. You can teach me.’
‘But –’
‘Rick, it’ll be fine. We’ll make it work.’
‘But why? Surely you want your own space too? And the cottage is so small. Besides, she’s only the cook.’
Her heart was screaming if you only knew, but she forced her face to remain composed. ‘She’s only young and I’d like to help her. Plus I don’t think it’s healthy her living at the Grange by herself.’
‘Hardly by herself. Charlie comes and goes.’
‘She’s staying here.’
Julia hoped he’d get the message. He might share her bed but he wasn’t running her life. Plenty of other people had done that in the past: her parents, Rupert, even Elsbeth Halloran. She wasn’t giving anyone else, not even Rick, the opportunity to do the same now. And then there was also the little matter of self-preservation …
Julia could hear Ernie laughing in the kitchen. From their jubilant roars, it seemed Chloe had finally managed a sponge cake that hadn’t sunk in the middle.
‘Julia,’ called Ernie, ‘could you come and take a photo of this wonderful achievement!’
She grabbed her phone, raced into the kitchen and took the shot. ‘I’ll get this framed and put it up on the wall,’ she said proudly.
Her kitchen staff were both grinning. It was their second week of all working together and things were going great. The cafe was humming.
The only downside was that Chloe was still refusing to open up when Julia tried to encourage her to talk about her life with Sylvia. It was extremely frustrating. Every time Julia asked Chloe a question, she replied in monosyllables.
‘So what was it really like living with Sylvia?’
‘Okay.’
‘What did you like doing?’
‘This and that.’
It was as if the girl wanted to punish Julia while at the same time expecting to be part of her life now.
‘How did you know my name?’
; ‘Sylvia left me a note. I got it after she died.’
The girl was a study in nonchalance, no sign of grief. What sort of upbringing had the child had, for goodness sake?
‘Do you know why she didn’t tell you about me before that?’
‘Nup.’
‘How did you find me?’
‘I did an online search for your name and this newsletter thing popped up. Said you’d given up working in a law firm to start the cafe, so I guessed it was you.’
Ernie’s Neighbourhood House newsletter. How incongruous that the article that had brought her first customers had also delivered her daughter.
Julia knew Sylvia had moved away from the house in Horsham because she’d gone there once, when the temptation to see her daughter had become too much. Chloe would have been about five. She’d told Rupert she was visiting some old friends, and then she’d parked outside Sylvia’s house and sat there most of the day. But around four o’clock it became apparent Sylvia and her daughter didn’t live there any more; an Indian family did. Julia had driven away shattered, but knowing deep in her heart it was probably for the best. She didn’t know what she would have done if she had seen Chloe. Probably something stupid, like snatched her off the street. Then what would she have told Rupert? He’d never known her terrible secret.
Perhaps she should give Chloe some space before trying to find out all about her past. Let the girl get used to her. She obviously had trust issues – just like her father.
The man himself came into view on the verandah. He took off his boots and hat, and walked in the door with a big smile. He stood there, legs apart, battered hat twirling in his big hands, broad shoulders encased in a blue shirt, jeans stretched tight across his muscled thighs. The man was too delicious for words. She wanted to jump right into his tanned arms.
He shoved a thumb in the direction of the kitchen. ‘Seeing as those two seem to have things under control, do you think you could spare some time to come out with me after you close up tonight?’
Julia nodded, wishing they could leave right then. ‘I’m all yours.’
‘Great. I’ll pick you up in say,’ he glanced at the clock on the wall, ‘an hour?’
She gave him a huge smile. ‘I’ll be ready.’
‘Ready for what?’ asked Chloe, walking out of the kitchen carrying her now filled sponge.
‘None of your –’
‘I’m going out with –’
Rick and Julia stopped and frowned at each other.
‘One at a time,’ said Chloe, smirking.
‘I’m going out with Rick tonight,’ Julia explained.
‘Where to?’
‘None of your fucking business,’ said Rick.
‘RICK!’ squeaked Julia.
‘Well, it’s not!’ He jammed his hat back on his head, his brow wrinkled with irritation. ‘The girl doesn’t need to know everything.’
‘The name’s Chloe, if you don’t mind!’
Julia grabbed at Rick and pushed him out the door. ‘I’ll see you in an hour.’
‘If lover-boy’s taking you out,’ said Chloe, ‘can I take your car to go help Montana organise her dog school?’
Rick swung back. ‘Of course you can’t take her car!’
‘Well, actually, Chloe’s driven it before,’ said Julia quietly.
‘When?’
Chloe answered before Julia could. ‘The other day – I drove it into town. Awesome ride.’
Rick looked stunned as he stared at Julia. ‘But didn’t you say that car was Rupert’s pride and joy?’
‘The bloke in the picture?’ Chloe asked.
Julia felt the heat of a full-blown flush stealing up her neck. Before she could answer, Rick said, ‘What picture?’
‘The one she keeps in the sunglasses-holder, along with the note.’
‘What note?’
Julia wanted to melt into the floorboards. ‘Just an old photo of Rupert and me, plus a letter he wrote me.’
Chloe laughed. ‘A letter with lots of lovey-dovey words. And you’re kissing in the photo.’
Julia was getting cross. ‘You shouldn’t have been reading my private things.’
‘No, you shouldn’t,’ weighed in Rick, although he was frowning at Julia rather than at Chloe.
‘Yeah, well, the sunnies-holder just dropped open and the stuff fell in my lap. What was I meant to do?’
‘Put it back!’ Julia said, at exactly the same time as Rick.
‘And that’s what I did!’
After she’d read it. They were never going to win this argument.
Julia turned her back on her daughter and concentrated instead on Rick. Suspicion and trust warred in his expression, which made her cross all over again. Rupert had been her husband, after all.
She glanced at her watch and said, ‘Rick, I’ll meet you at the front gate in forty-five minutes.’
He nodded and, without another word, pulled on his boots and strode off.
‘Julia? That note …’ Rick began tentatively as he changed the big tractor up a gear. They were down by the river, mowing grass for hay. Julia was perched on a jockey seat to the left of the cab and slightly behind Rick, bouncing up and down in rhythm with the irrigation check-banks as the tractor wound its way around the paddock.
‘It was nothing.’
‘A photo and love letter’s hardly nothing.’
‘Rupert was my husband, Rick.’ How she wished she’d burned both the letter and photo now.
‘Are you still in love with him?’
His voice was low and the question was asked in an offhand tone, but Julia sensed the insecurity behind the words.
Had she ever been in love with Rupert? She’d admired him. Was fond of him. But love? Probably not.
‘No,’ she said, but she could see that despite keeping his focus on the mower behind and the route upfront, Rick’s mind wasn’t at ease.
‘So why keep the letter and photo so close to hand?’
Julia sighed. ‘They fell out of a book while I was packing in Melbourne. I stuffed them into the sunglasses-holder when I got in the car because every other space was full, and then I forgot they were there until Chloe found them.’
‘You can’t let Chloe ride roughshod over you, Julia. She’s just an employee.’
‘I don’t,’ she protested. ‘She’s just a kid. Kids these days have attitude.’
‘She’s got more than attitude. There’s something about her I just can’t put my finger on.’
Dread clutched at Julia’s stomach.
‘Chloe’s simply finding her feet,’ she cut in. ‘It’s fine, Rick. Don’t worry about it. You’ve got enough to handle with all this.’
She gestured towards the acres of knee-high silvery-green grass shining in the late afternoon sun. The paddocks seemed to roll on forever, with only an occasional fence to disrupt their evenness. She couldn’t comprehend how one man was going to get so much grass cut over the next week, and said as much.
Rick laughed. ‘It’s okay, I’ve got contractors coming in tomorrow. I just thought I’d get a start tonight since the weather’s so good. Besides, it’s an excuse to get you alone. We don’t seem to get much time together at the moment.’
Because of Chloe. The unspoken words hung in the air. How ironic, she thought, that Rick was envious of his own daughter and the time she was spending with her newly found mother.
She rallied. ‘So, how do you know when it’s time to mow? And what do the contractors do exactly? And where do you store all the hay?’
‘Whoa, whoa.’ Rick held up a hand. ‘One question at a time, sunshine.’
After flipping a lever and adjusting the throttle, he leaned against her, one arm draped over her leg, the other guiding the steering wheel, obviously readying himself for a farming lecture. A squint crinkled his eyes as he gazed with pride at his river flats. She gave an inward sigh of relief.
Off he went, explaining how the hay was cut, tedder-raked to throw the pasture open to the sunl
ight. Next came another kind of rake to line the hay up into windrows ready for the baler to make into rounds, squares or small bales. Followed by hours of carting the hay into a shed or an out-of-the-way place to be stored. Julia only took in the basics of his explanation, preferring instead to watch his passion, which exuded from every syllable. It was obvious Rick Halloran threw himself into anything he did one hundred and fifty per cent.
Suddenly, she realised he was waiting for an answer from her.
‘Did you take in anything I just said?’ he asked with an amused smile.
‘Yep. Cut, rake, bale and cart.’
He laughed. ‘That’s it. Although you missed the bit where I said you have to make wild passionate love in the hay before it’s baled.’
‘You did not say that!’
‘I thought it though.’
He cast another of his frequent glances out the back window to check the machinery and the cut pasture. Then he pulled on a lever to lift the mower and headed the tractor towards the gate.
‘Where are we going?’ Julia asked, worried she’d disrupted his work.
‘Teatime,’ was his answer.
Across the check-banks they went to the gate, where he pulled the tractor up beside his ute. He jumped down and helped her out of the cab, then opened the lid of a camping fridge secured on the ute’s tray. Out came a myriad of containers and boxes.
‘Fresh chicken and salad, and crusty bread straight from Jean’s bread-maker,’ he said. ‘What more could you ask for?’
‘Wine? Beer?’ she said, giggling. Really, the man was amazing.
‘Got that too.’ He pulled out a couple of bottles.
Of course he had. Julia shook her head.
‘Here’s a rug, and we head this way.’ Rick pointed towards a track off to their left. ‘Watch out for snakes.’
Julia’s heart thumped hard.
He clocked her horrified expression and added, ‘Better still, I’ll go first and make sure the way’s clear.’
‘Not only a romantic but a white knight, too,’ she said. ‘Just what I need in my life.’
‘That’s good. Because I plan to be in your life for a long while.’
Julia tried to smile, but that little voice in her head whispered, Until he finds out what you did …
Lake Hill Page 16
