Red Sand Sunrise

by Fiona McArthur

  ‘Thank you, Sylvia. It’s been ten months now.’

  ‘How is your little boy?’

  ‘We’re getting there. My sister’s good with Adam.’

  ‘Callie says you might be looking at doing some building? Your father was an amazing carpenter. I always remember the pride he took in that workshop of his.’

  Callie’s eyes flew to Bennet’s as the heat ran up her cheeks. There was a brief flash of mocking humour on his face before he looked back at her mother, but Callie was too embarrassed to be amused.

  Had her memories of Bennet been lying between her and Kurt all these years and she hadn’t realised? Was it her fault too that her marriage had withered and died? She thought she’d blocked out their childhood romance but seeing Bennet at the door made it all come rushing back in technicolour detail.

  Thankfully Bennet had carried on the conversation with her mother because Callie’s cheeks felt hot.

  ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever be a master builder, but I do enjoy the feel of wood shavings under my fingers.’

  Callie stared fixedly at her feet but she felt his glance. A little dig at the past? She guessed he had the right.

  ‘Do you have the time?’ Sylvia glided around, assembling teapot and cups, her face alight.

  ‘Lucky it’s been slow on the veterinary front since I came back.’

  Sylvia waved him to a chair at the table and poured him a cup of tea, organising refreshments with new purpose. Callie hung back outside the circle of easy conversation, fighting the memories that crowded in despite herself. She diverted her mind forcibly. Joined the conversation.

  ‘But you’re getting enough veterinary work?

  Their glances collided and he looked away at a point over her left shoulder.

  ‘I’ve started to help the bloke up at Longreach with the stations nearer to me than to him, but I need to drum up some business of my own. Might have to get a couple of litters of puppies and drop them off at the school down here. Get the kids to take them home. Find some work that way.’

  Sylvia laughed and it was so good for Callie to hear the sound it was almost worth the confusion in her own mind. In fact, Sylvia seemed more animated than Callie had seen her since her arrival. She decided to ask Bennet over as much as she could while her mother was well enough. If there was awkwardness between him and Callie then they’d both just have to get over it.

  She watched Sylvia clasp her hands. ‘And now Blanche has you working on Callie’s medical centre.’

  Callie shook her head. ‘It will always be Blanche’s medical centre, Mum.’

  No smile from Bennet. ‘Blanche said she was setting it up as a trust. In memory of Victoria. Giving it to the town. I’m supposed to email Blanche some ideas tomorrow.’ He glanced at Callie. ‘So can we have a walk around after this? I’ll need to start on the drawings.’

  Half an hour later Bennet’s vibes stayed coldly official as he walked beside her. It was like being escorted to the local cop shop by Sergeant McCabe for a misdemeanour. She didn’t like it one bit. She was a professional woman, not a chastised child.

  ‘How old is Adam now, Bennet?’

  ‘Six. He’s a good kid.’ He stopped and turned to face her, but she still couldn’t read his expression. ‘Why isn’t your husband here to support you?’

  Rumour usually flew like the wind around here and she’d told Blanche about Kurt yesterday. Not that Blanche would bother talking about Callie’s private life.

  ‘We’re not together. He’s decided to start a family with someone else. I’ll file for divorce as soon as I can.’ Twice in two days she’d said that. She needed to look into it but she had a sinking feeling she couldn’t do paperwork without a year living apart at least.

  ‘What about your practice?’

  She shrugged. ‘I’m selling it. Moving back here to be with Mum.’

  His face softened. ‘Your mother’s lost a lot of weight since I saw her last. Is she okay?’

  Callie swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. ‘No. She has advanced breast cancer, metastases through her body. She’s declined treatment.’

  He froze, then shook his head with a muttered curse. ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ He sighed and started walking again. ‘She’ll be glad to have you here.’

  The subtext said that he wasn’t, and Callie couldn’t help but feel a little stab of regret. But she had enough on her plate – boy, did she ever – without guilt about Bennet and lost opportunities.

  They turned into the old saddlery and the conversation became business focused. Gradually they relaxed and unconsciously fell into their old banter.

  ‘You’re using your brains again, Callie,’ he teased, when she couldn’t keep the tape measure straight. ‘Some people just know how to use their hands.’

  She blushed and they both pretended that his words didn’t bring back memories.

  They talked about what Callie wanted versus what Bennet could achieve, and as had happened in the past, there wasn’t much difference.

  She slanted a glance at his profile. ‘So you can build a floor, pull walls out and put them in. Even fit bathrooms?’

  Bennet rubbed the underside of his chin with his thumb. He’d always done that when he was thinking.

  ‘I can plan it and build most of it. I’ll get in some young blokes from around here to help out with the manual stuff for a few days. Or the girls if the boys are out at muster camp to speed things up.’ He waved the electronic tablet he’d been sketching on.

  ‘We’ll get tradesmen in from Brisbane for the specialist stuff like electrics and plumbing. Quicker that way, and Blanche wants it done yesterday.’

  Callie had to laugh. ‘I can believe that. She’s roped me in and I’m trying to do the same to Eve.’

  Bennet gave her a quick look from under those dark brows. ‘Eve? I hear a half-sister came to the funeral.’

  She thought about Eve and even she could hear the smile in her own voice. ‘Yes, Eve. The other one couldn’t make it.’ The smile fell away as the reason she was here flooded back.

  Bennet cast her a look and for a brief moment she saw the understanding. He lifted his hand to touch her shoulder but stopped before he got there.

  She straightened her neck. It was okay, she could live without Bennet’s sympathy, but she did regret the distance between them.

  Think about something good. ‘Eve’s a midwife, and if all goes well she might be working here while we set up and get established.’

  He looked away for a moment. ‘Must be strange. I hear you two seem pretty friendly considering the angst her family has caused yours.’

  ‘Her mother. Not her family. It was all a long time ago. So, strangely it’s not like that. And Mum has always been amazing about it.’

  She accidentally brushed against him, just a light shimmer of her fingers on the back of his hand as they measured a wall. She couldn’t deny the frisson. Bennet jumped back as if she’d burned him and snapped shut the cover of his tablet.

  ‘I think I have enough to sort out preliminary drawings. Say goodbye to Sylvia for me. I want to get home to Adam.’

  Callie watched him spin around and stride away, and tried not to think about the young man she’d poured her heart out to all those years ago. What had she expected? She’d been the one who walked away.

  EIGHT

  Sunday morning a week later, Eve looked out over the Brisbane River as she listened on the phone. She’d known Sienna wouldn’t like the idea of Eve relocating to their father’s town.

  ‘You’re going back to live there?’

  Eve sighed. ‘Not for a while, but Callie’s setting up a medical centre and she needs a midwife. I’ve said I’ll go for at least six months.’

  ‘You’re going to the outback?’ She could hear the disbelief in Sienna’s voice. ‘What about your birth centre work? Your lovely flat and friends?’

  ‘It’s western Queensland. Not the moon. And it’s not for a couple of months yet.’

  A Ci
tyCat ferry shot across the middle of the Brisbane River and, looking out of her kitchen window, Eve knew she’d miss the water. But she didn’t need Sienna to tell her that.

  Sienna was still disbelieving. ‘You’d leave your tai chi class?’ There was a pause, then, ‘I know you.’ Sienna’s voice flattened. ‘Did something happen at work?’

  Eve closed her eyes. ‘That was two weeks ago.’ It felt like years. ‘But anyway, I am over high-risk for a while.’ She tried not to get lost in thoughts of a baby who would never know her mother. She’d never known her father and she wished she had. She wanted to know her new sister. ‘Callie’s in for a tough time. Her mother’s dying and I want to help.’

  There was silence from Sienna until, ‘And you would be a help, with your experience.’ Eve heard her sister sigh. ‘In all of it. Dying mothers included. I didn’t help you much with ours.’

  Eve waved that away. Palliative care wasn’t Sienna’s strong point. ‘Red Sand is an amazing place. I found it more interesting out there than I expected.’ Well, a little more interesting, anyway. She re­adjusted the phone and her tone. ‘I’ll be fine. It’s time for a change. And I have a lot to offer.’

  ‘And your sanity to lose.’

  But Eve could hear the beginning of resignation in her sister’s voice, and she allowed herself to relax a little. Sienna could be terrifying when she bent her intellect to dissuading you.

  Get it all out. ‘I’m waiting for the building to be completed but I’ll go earlier if I’m needed.

  She heard the intake of breath. ‘Don’t they have a registered nurse?’

  ‘They do now.’

  ‘You’re rushing into this.’

  ‘No, I’m not.’

  ‘All I can say is, make a contingency plan. A date you need to return to work, for example, so your soft heart doesn’t strand you there.’

  Eve thought about the idea and decided it was a little calculating, considering she hadn’t given Callie a time limit. But maybe she could mention it.

  ‘I’ll think about it.’ Eve’s eyes followed a sleek regatta shell scull up the river. No doubt the girls at the rowing club would think she was mad too. And Ross, their coach, who she dated casually. But they’d really only been friends, no matter how much he’d wanted to change the status quo.

  ‘My boss will approve leave without pay for six months, and one of the girls at work might sublet my flat.’

  Sienna’s sigh drifted through the phone from Melbourne. Eve could tell she was tiring of the conversation. She’d always had a short attention span for other people’s problems, especially if the solutions she suggested weren’t fallen on with approval.

  ‘You’ll go mad in the outback. Get your friend to rent your flat and be back before Christmas. I might even fly to Brisbane and have lunch with you. Talk next week. Bye.’

  In fact they talked again the next night.

  ‘Callie asked me to phone you. Apparently we both need to be in Red Sand for the reading of the will on Wednesday.’

  A small huff of disbelief from Sienna. ‘There is no way I’m flying out to western Queensland for an inheritance I don’t want. If our biological father has left me anything, though it would more than likely be some debts, then you can have it.’

  Eve hated the way Sienna called Duncan ‘their biological father’. Eve had never seen it like that: there had been written correspondence and all those cards. She was trying really hard not to become annoyed. It was difficult when Sienna was being stubborn.

  ‘Apparently we both have to be there to answer some condition or Sylvia can’t settle the estate.’

  ‘Not my problem.’

  ‘Sienna.’ Eve was exasperated. ‘Sylvia’s dying. She doesn’t need you being difficult on top of her grief and neither does Callie. Just fly here. Please. We’ll fly to Longreach and drive down together. We can do it in a day if we leave early enough on Wednesday morning.’

  ‘I can’t cancel a weekday.’ Eve could hear the surprise in her sister’s voice and she almost smiled through her frustration. Sienna wasn’t used to Eve being forceful. It spurred her on.

  ‘If you were sick you’d have to. Melbourne will still run without you.’

  Sienna was not happy. She’d had a huge Tuesday as she tried to see two days’ worth of patients in one afternoon, and she’d been up after midnight with a birth that ended in emergency caesarean. Eve had been late to meet her in Brisbane and they’d almost missed their connection to Longreach.

  The only car they could hire was a bone rattler, because the one they had requested had apparently suffered from a computer meltdown.

  As would she very shortly if they didn’t get to this damn town.

  ‘Another half an hour.’

  She glanced at Eve in surprise. ‘Did I say that out loud?’

  Eve flashed her teeth in a smile. ‘No. But I could read the vibes.’

  Sienna closed her eyes on the barren red landscape with the standing termite mounds peering at her from behind scrubby trees. Counted to ten. How on earth could Eve be so bloody cheerful all the time?

  ‘So what are you so happy about?’

  ‘I can’t believe you are actually here. I seriously didn’t think you’d come.’

  ‘Don’t I wish I’d known that earlier,’ she said dryly and cast an exasperated glance at her sister. ‘She’s dying, Sienna. You have to come,’ she mimicked.

  ‘Sylvia is dying and you did have to come. I’m glad you did. That’s all. And aren’t you even a little interested in what our father wanted us to have or know from the grave?’

  ‘God, no!’ She watched Eve’s face fall and she felt like the baddie again. How did Eve do that? ‘Wake me when we get there.’

  Sienna glanced at her watch and ran her tongue around her teeth. The tea she’d been given on arrival had been strong enough to stand a spoon up in and she normally drank weak Earl Grey. Yuck. She was so tired.

  The appointment was for twelve, to give them time to head back to Longreach before the last flight out – thank God for small mercies – and they’d made it with fifteen minutes to spare.

  Though, made it to where? That was the question. How on earth did a city girl like Eve think she’d be happy here? The place was practically a ghost town.

  Sienna had to admit, though, in other circumstances she might have got on with the half-sister, Callie, a sensible GP who appeared to be no fool, and their father’s widow, a kind-eyed, sparrow-like woman dignified in her contained grief.

  They were all seated around an ancient table that could have been made out of a tree a hundred years ago in a room at the back of Duncan Wilson’s pub.

  The solicitor, whose name she’d already forgotten, reminded her of those pitted anthills they’d passed; he had much the same shaped torso, a weathered face and officious stance.

  ‘Thank you all for coming.’

  Some came further than others, Sienna thought sardonically, but she appreciated him opening proceedings at the stroke of twelve.

  ‘This is the last will and testament of Duncan Simon Wilson . . .’

  Sienna tuned out, almost physically unable to listen due to a combination of engulfing tiredness and rebellion. Glanced around the room. She seriously wasn’t interested. Except for the drone of the anthill man this whole place was too quiet. She could just hear some kids playing in the distance. And now a truck reversing fairly close. Probably supplies for the pub.

  Her father’s pub. Which made her think, even if she didn’t want to, about the man she barely remembered. Even from the grave he managed to disrupt her life.

  ‘Is that acceptable to you, Dr Wilson?’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Damn. Microsleep. ‘I left Melbourne very early this morning.’

  ‘Of course.’ Anthill man repeated himself. ‘Duncan left the hotel in equal parts to his three daughters but the income remains the property of his wife, Sylvia, until her death. Your two sisters have agreed to offer the lease to a third party but we need unanimous permissi
on before we can proceed to the next stage.’

  That was all? ‘I could have given that over the phone.’

  ‘You had to come here to personally hear the conditions or the will would need to be confirmed in court.’

  ‘Surely you could have waived that.’

  ‘It was Duncan’s wish that the four of you meet. This was his way of encouraging that.’

  ‘Encouraging? Good word.’ And she’d bet he was laughing right now. ‘Fine, done. I agree. Can we go?’

  There was a strained silence and she could feel Eve squirm beside her. Sienna sighed and reminded herself these people were grieving; they’d done nothing against her and didn’t deserve rudeness.

  ‘Look, I’m sorry. I was up after midnight with a complicated case and at the airport at 4.30 a.m. I’m really not at my best today. I apologise for my bad mood.’

  The tension in the room lightened and the solicitor nodded, appeased.

  ‘I had hoped you’d at least have lunch with us before you headed back?’

  The way Sylvia asked made it impossible to refuse and Sienna made a supreme effort to lift her game after promising herself she’d kill Eve later.

  ‘Of course. Our plane doesn’t leave until 7.30. Thank you.’

  Lunch – fresh rolls with avocado – was surprisingly pleasant in the little beer garden out the back of the pub. The garden even had patches of green grass where it had been watered, lots of hardy roses, and a shady tree with tables and chairs. Sienna watched Eve as she fussed over Sylvia.

  ‘Your sister’s lovely.’ Callie’s voice broke through Sienna’s foggy thoughts.

  ‘Yes.’ Sienna stifled a yawn. ‘Eve’s been given the warm and fuzzy bone I don’t miss.’

  Callie smiled. ‘Perhaps that’s useful as an obstetrician – to be able to make clinical decisions at the right time. I’m sure you’re very good at what you do.’ Callie hesitated. ‘Last night? Were the mother and baby well in the end?’