The Falls

by Cathryn Hein

  ‘No, Lucas,’ said Dom steadily. ‘I love her.’

  The urge to say something smart, like ‘God help her then’ rolled through and disappeared. Lucas couldn’t. His father might be an arsehole, but there was no mistaking the truth in his admission.

  ‘So now what?’

  ‘We wait for his next move. He might calm down yet, although I doubt it. Albright doesn’t like losing.’ He nodded towards Merlin’s paddock. As if sensing their scrutiny, the ram looked up and released a guttural baa. ‘Don’t tell anyone where he is. Once Albright’s learned he’s no longer being kept at Falls Farm he’ll be on the hunt. Literally.’

  ‘He’ll be safe here.’

  Dom placed a hand on Lucas’s shoulder. ‘Thanks, son.’

  Lucas shrugged the touch away. They might be thawing as men, thanks to the women in their lives, but that was going too far. ‘This is for Vanessa, not you. And I’m not your son.’

  Deliberately, he turned his back and stalked towards the forge.

  It was some minutes before the Mercedes’s engine started and purred out of the yard.

  Teagan spent Sunday clearing wild tobacco and an infestation of moth vine from a particularly weedy gully behind Claudia and Mouse’s paddock. Work kept her from thinking too hard or hanging around the house, where every crevice seemed to echo her humiliation back at her.

  Her apologies to Ness and Penny had been waved off as un­­necessary, but that hadn’t made Teagan feel any better. Nothing seemed to, and it was beginning to frighten her. Each time she sat still, dread that she might lose the precious happiness she’d been glimpsing of late would wrap cold tentacles around her heart and lungs and leave her breathless.

  It was almost six when she trudged back up to the house. The birds were beginning to move and chatter. Saffy bounded beside Teagan as she navigated the slope. For a weak moment, as she pushed through the scrub around the creek, Teagan harboured the fantasy that she might find Lucas waiting at Claudia’s gate, but the track was empty, the horse and pony elsewhere, and the dog remained her only company.

  Just as well. Her stupid heart would only interpret his arrival as something more than it was and Teagan didn’t need any more let-downs. She managed plenty of those on her own.

  Her aunt was pacing the verandah with a tumbler of something in her hand that was definitely not a Sunday kir royale. Straight vodka from the colour. Perhaps gin. Dom was propped against a verandah post, arms crossed, watching her.

  Ness reached the end of the verandah and whirled around. ‘He’s a feeble-brained, tiny-penised prat. Productive afternoon, darling?’

  ‘Um, yes.’

  ‘I could’ve told you that,’ said Dom mildly as Ness clomped back towards him, each step a petulant stomp on the timber boards. She was wearing Blundstone boots, thick socks and one of her fifties-style button-through dresses that showed off her small waist and impressive décolletage. Little wonder Dom was mesmerised.

  Teagan looked from him to Ness and back. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘There might be a problem with the farm’s public liability insurance,’ said Dom.

  ‘What sort of a problem?’

  Ness answered, halting with her weight on one hip, arm across her belly, and tipping forward as she waved her tumbler. ‘The sort that doesn’t cover dangerous animal attacks.’

  ‘Dangerous animal attacks? But Merlin’s a ram, not a Rottweiler!’

  ‘Exactly,’ she spat. ‘Stupid, petty, pathetic, tiny-penised man.’ She gave a theatrical shudder. ‘Oh, how I loathe little men.’

  Teagan blinked and wondered exactly how much her aunt had had to drink. This was not the calm, kind aunt she knew. Ness fairly radiated fury, yet instead of appearing red-faced and unattractive, she was magnificent. Breasts heaving, titian hair flying, and with a regal outraged beauty that, impossibly, rocketed her already sky-high sex appeal into the stratosphere.

  She shot a glance at Dom, who was gazing at Ness with a mixture of indulgence and amusement. He didn’t appear to be taking things as seriously as Ness. Then again, these weren’t his finances at stake.

  ‘But he did only break his ankle, didn’t he?’

  ‘It’s quite a bad break,’ answered Dom. ‘Apparently he’s in the middle of a major acquisition and his absence is problematic. There are fees. Loss of income. The total could be significant.’

  Teagan’s heart began to thud. ‘How significant?’

  ‘Enough to wipe out my investments,’ said Ness, a sudden note of despair in her voice.

  ‘It won’t come to that, I promise.’ Dom moved towards her. He plucked the tumbler from her hand and held it out for Teagan to take, before cradling Ness to his chest. He buried his face in her hair, his voice soft. ‘I won’t let Albright hurt you. You’re safe. Nothing to worry about. I’ll take care of it.’

  ‘You can’t. You’re up to your eyeballs as it is.’ She sniffed and let him hold her for several moments longer then stepped back, carefully flicking away moisture from beneath her lower lashes. She sniffed again and straightened her shoulders. ‘I’ll call Timoteo. I can trust him. He’ll know what to do.’

  There was a long tense silence that made Teagan wish she’d come in the back way. She shuffled towards the door but neither seemed to notice.

  ‘So you’ll trust him but not me?’

  Vanessa’s gaze dropped. ‘That’s not what I meant.’

  ‘If only that were true.’ Dom sighed and rubbed at his forehead. ‘I don’t know what more I can do to prove myself to you.’

  ‘Dom, don’t. Please.’

  This intimacy wasn’t Teagan’s to witness. As quietly as possible, she opened the screen door, catching the last of Dom’s words as she closed it carefully behind her.

  ‘I know you’ve been through a lot. I know things haven’t worked out in the past, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work this time. I care about you, Nessie. More than you can imagine.’

  Teagan felt her throat thicken at the heartfelt sincerity of his words. She’d always considered Dom’s attraction to her aunt as a bit of a joke. That, like most men of his ilk, she was simply another challenge to be conquered, but his words revealed it went so much deeper than that. He actually loved her.

  How wonderful that must feel.

  She found her mother in her room, carefully folding underwear into a monogrammed Louis Vuitton overnight bag that Ness must have loaned her. It took a few seconds for the implication of her activity to dawn. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘Packing a few things.’

  ‘Why? Where are you going?’ A few weeks ago she’d never wanted to see her mother again. Now the thought of her leaving appalled Teagan.

  Penny put down the nightdress she was about to fold and sat on the bed. ‘Your father called this morning.’

  At the mention of her father, panic set in. ‘You can’t go back to him, Mum. You can’t.’

  Penny looked up in surprise. ‘I wasn’t planning to. Not unless he gets help and changes.’

  ‘Then why this?’ Teagan pointed at the bag.

  ‘I was so upset after Graham called, and with all the stress Vanessa is under thanks to that awful Callum, that Dom suggested this might be a good time for me to take a few days’ rest at the Wellness Centre.’

  ‘You’re going to get coffee enemas?’

  ‘I hope not!’ Penny screwed up her nose. ‘I won’t be letting anyone near my bottom, thank you very much.’ At Teagan’s expression she smiled. ‘But I will enjoy a massage and facial. Dom said I could also talk to the counsellors if I wished. He said all the centre’s services and facilities are open to me.’ She looked away, thoughtful. ‘He’s a good man inside, I think. And he adores Vanessa.’

  That much was now obvious, but Teagan wasn’t sure she liked the idea of her mother booking in to the Wellness Centre. Massages and facials were fine. She even felt a twinge of envy over such indulgence, but the centre’s use of non-conventional therapies bothered her. Teagan believed in science, not
wishy-washy new-age ideas based on anecdotal and untested evidence. It was false hope. She’d seen the damage that could do, and her mother was susceptible right now. As for enema-wielding naturopaths . . .

  ‘I’ve never been pampered before,’ said Penny a little wonderingly, as if the idea was something alien and amazing. ‘Graham used to scoff at beauticians and things, and I never really had the time when you kids were growing up. Then after your brother left we never had the money.’ She picked up the shirt again and began smoothing the folds. ‘It’ll be nice to do something just for me.’

  Teagan joined her mum on the bed and draped an arm around her. ‘Then I hope you have a wonderful time.’

  ‘Why don’t you come with me? Dom said he’d be happy to accommodate both of us.’

  ‘It’s a nice idea but I have to work.’

  Her mother regarded her knowingly. ‘Yes, and undoubtedly you have more important things on your mind. Lucas Knight perhaps?’

  There was no hiding Teagan’s longing. This was the woman who’d nursed her, treated her cuts and grazes, scared away the boogieman when Teagan had bad dreams. Their relationship hadn’t always been smooth, but she was still her mother.

  Penny squeezed her hand. ‘He’s a nice boy. Very handsome.’

  ‘Too handsome. And far too good for me.’

  ‘Nonsense. No one’s too good when it comes to my daughter. And don’t you forget it.’

  The hug they shared after those words was the warmest Teagan could ever remember.

  *

  In the years since her arrival at Falls Farm Vanessa had never felt alone or lonely. Even if no one dropped by she had Saffy, Merlin and the other animals, the musical birds and a feeling of peace. She was safe here, beholden to no one. Independent. A woman in charge of her own destiny.

  Callum had shattered that.

  She’d slept badly Sunday night. Not helped by how much gin she’d imbibed. Vanessa enjoyed a drink, but she was usually careful never to overindulge. Classy women didn’t lose their wits to alcohol, and she’d built her life on being classy, charming and smart. Now that over-inflated little egotist was threatening to take even that away from her.

  Vanessa exhaled and resumed her assessment of her finances. It would be imprudent to sell the Andorra warehouse, it was too lucrative. The Provençal rental property would pain her greatly to lose. She and Didier had shared their most romantic moments there, in the days when they were happy. The view of Chateau Lacoste was spectacular at sunset. Which was why the villa was rarely vacant, even in the winter months. She checked her other holdings, calculating worth against earnings and sentimentality.

  She sighed deeply and pressed her fingers to her temples. The commercial properties generated too much income, the other rentals held too many memories. Vanessa didn’t want to relinquish any of them, but if she didn’t make a decision she could lose Falls Farm. Out of all the places she’d lived, it was here she had sunk the deepest roots.

  She wondered why that was. Dom? Bunny? The village with its dilapidated bowling club and struggling businesses but brave spirit? The picturesque landscape? She rolled her chair back and, crossing her arms, walked to the office window.

  Merlin’s yard and paddock were empty. He was a goaty old thing, but she delighted in his unique cunning and determination, and it was unfair that the animal should suffer for doing what came naturally. Everyone knew he was territorial and it wasn’t as if she hadn’t posted notice. There was even a sign on the gate proclaiming ‘Beware of the ram’. A joke, admittedly, but the warning was still there. Yet it was counting against her. According to Callum’s weaselly solicitor – another detestable little man – the sign was a clear indication that she knew Merlin was dangerous.

  Dom promised the lawsuit threat was just that, a threat, and when she’d called Timoteo earlier, he’d agreed. The man was flexing his muscle, trying to put one over her. Give him time to calm down, then offer without-prejudice cash compensation and let that close the matter. A reasonable suggestion, but Vanessa couldn’t shake the fear that Callum, in his pathetic pugnacity, wouldn’t be satisfied. The man wanted vengeance.

  Over a sheep and a woman who’d done nothing more than be polite.

  Petty little tiny-penised twerp.

  With a last forlorn glance at her computer screen she left the room to wander the empty house. It was nearing twelve. Teagan would be home soon. Perhaps they could drive to the old pub at Wilmington, enjoy a meal in the beer garden. The day was lovely and Vanessa craved distraction.

  Blanche was on one of the cane chairs, preening herself. She paused to stroke her head. ‘Getting yourself ready for Teagan?’

  The cat allowed herself to be rubbed before returning to her concentrated licking.

  Vanessa stepped out into the sun. Except for the last few patches where Betty and Wilma’s cage had been positioned, the yard was yellow with dandelions. Bright and happy, the way Falls Farm should be.

  The skirt of her summer dress swished around her knees as she walked the trail to Claudia and Mouse’s paddock. They were at the back, grazing contentedly, tails flicking against flies. With the bush background, redolent with bird calls, the scene was peaceful. The air scented with eucalypt.

  In all the places she’d lived overseas, nothing was like this. Not Provence, not Tuscany or Venice, not even Sicily, which she’d adored. This was home.

  Dom had said the same last night as they’d sat on the verandah watching the sun fall. Teagan and Penny were inside, preparing a simple dinner. They’d all sensed the change between her and Dom. Until this crisis, Vanessa had never let him in. Never let him see her vulnerability. To him she was without fear, a woman who could take care of her own problems. Their relationship was a tease, nothing to be taken seriously even when her heart sometimes yearned for more. Her inner peace had been too hard-earned to let herself be beholden to another man. But Dom kept surprising her, not just with his offers to help but his understanding. His words that sounded so heartfelt, so honest. The way he held her. His hurt at her lack of trust.

  This wasn’t a man who wanted to possess an asset. This was a man whose feelings came from somewhere deep. A man who might truly love her.

  A man she didn’t know how to trust.

  As word spread about Callum, the driveway at Falls Farm became almost as busy as the main road. Monday was relatively calm, but Tuesday cocktail hour saw the yard shunting cars like an inner-city taxi rank.

  Bunny was always welcome, mainly for her ability to cheer up Ness with new epithets for Callum: Cockless Callum, Callum the Cocksucker, and Teagan’s favourite, Callum All-dim instead of Albright. Tony from the newsagency arrived bearing an inflatable sheep to keep Ness company until Merlin returned home. Mark Dunkerton popped in regularly – usually on the tail of Bunny – as did Gus from the IGA, who, being a former farmer, thought the whole thing ridiculous. Peter Somersby sent flowers and a recording of himself singing a hilarious ditty called ‘I Am Merlin, Hear Me Bleat’ to the tune of Helen Reddy’s ‘I Am Woman’.

  Others, like Col, were received coolly by everyone except Ness. While the events of Friday night had nothing to do with the Wellness Centre’s expansion, the Falls Farm crew were cognisant that whatever Dom was for, Callum would now be against. Col, thanks to his sycophantic relationship with Kathleen, partnership in the Fuckuppas, and easily manipulated nature, was an obvious recruit to spy. A suspicion validated by his many inquiries as to Merlin’s whereabouts. The answer was the same no matter who asked: Merlin was incarcerated in a secure location for his own and others’ safety.

  Although he must have been busy himself and usually spent weekdays in the city, where it was easier to monitor his North Shore holdings, Dom had shifted operations to his office and apartment at the Wellness Centre, allowing him to spend more time at Falls Farm. Despite the intimacy between them on Sunday night, Ness had returned to her normal charming but arm’s-length treatment of Dom. Teagan could see the hurt and confusion on his face whenever he
thought Ness wasn’t looking, and felt a pang of sympathy for him.

  Penny was due home on Tuesday, but by Wednesday there was still no sign of her leaving the Wellness Centre. Teagan began to fret that she’d suffered something awful during one of Dom’s weird therapies, but he promised her that was far from the case. Penny was having a wonderful time. The counsellors had advised that, given her issues, an extended stay would be appropriate, and Dom was happy to let her have it.

  ‘Can I visit?’ Teagan asked him on Thursday, when he informed her that Penny was staying until the end of the week.

  ‘No. We don’t allow it. It’s important for our clients undergoing the type of counselling and therapy that your mother is having to work through their issues without interference.’

  Teagan crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. ‘What, exactly, are these therapies?’

  Dom didn’t bite. ‘Why don’t you book yourself in and find out?’

  She turned away. ‘Thanks, but like I said before, not my thing.’

  At the sound of a bang, they both looked towards the kitchen where Ness was mixing a jug of sangria. That lunchtime, Teagan had arrived home to discover Ness once again pacing the verandah in a fury. Scrunched in her fist was a printout of an email from Callum’s solicitor stating that one of Dom’s companies had paid compensation for the damage to Callum’s Maserati. The demand for Merlin’s destruction, however, remained.

  Which part of the email upset Ness the most Teagan couldn’t determine, but since its arrival her aunt’s manner towards Dom had bordered on frosty. Teagan couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. Even she could see Dom’s actions were dictated by his deep care for Ness. When Lucas called by that evening, Teagan used the excuse that they needed to check on Claudia to give the couple time alone.

  She left her arms loose on the off chance Lucas might want to take her hand while they walked, as he had on other occasions, but the moment they stepped off the verandah Lucas had shoved his fists into his jeans pockets and there they remained. She tried not to read anything into it but it was hard not to. Last week he would have held hands naturally. But that was before she’d made an idiot of herself.