by Janet Gover
The rows of seats on the lawn were starting to fill with people. As she watched the guests take their places, Kayla noticed there were some very strong resemblances. Several of the men were tall, with dark, wavy hair. The women, and a couple of the girls, had rather large noses with a pronounced bump in the middle. This didn’t make them ugly, it just showed they were family. The exception to the rule was, as always, Pascale. Her friend was as beautiful as ever as she found her seat. She wasn’t working today, she was a guest. She was family.
And what a family it was. Four generations had come to witness the ceremony. All related to the bride and groom. And speaking of family …
Kayla looked at the homestead where Liz and Mitch were standing, their heads close together. Her sister was—and this was something of a shock—wearing a cream skirt and top. Her newly-styled hair was waving a little in the breeze and there was a hint of colour on her lips. She looked ten years younger than when Kayla had returned to Willowbrook all those months ago. The look of defeat was gone from her face, and the hardness from her manner. She was smiling again. Kayla didn’t have to think very hard to figure out why.
Mitch looked very handsome. Although he wasn’t dressed like a stockman, he looked like one. From his tanned, lined face to the strength in his body and the way he walked, everything about Mitch said he belonged on the land. Belonged to the land. It was something that he and Liz shared and always would. As Kayla watched, Mitch bent his head and whispered in Liz’s ear. Her sister smiled up at him, and even from where she was standing, Kayla could see the love that wrapped the two of them together in their own private world.
Kayla felt a twinge of envy. She had never felt anything like that. She glanced across at the marquee where the wedding guests would shortly be celebrating with drinks and canapés. Lachie wasn’t catering this event. After last time, he’d vowed he would never leave Sydney again. The bush, he said, was unmitigated hell and he wouldn’t work on another Willowbrook wedding. She hadn’t seen much of him since then and she thought they had both probably started to move on. They would continue to work together professionally and they’d still be friends, but their romance was over. Strangely enough, Kayla wasn’t bothered by that.
The last of the guests was seated now, and the marriage celebrant nodded at Kayla. Ken winked at her from his place, standing with camera in hand, ready to capture every moment. It was time. Kayla walked halfway to the house, until finally Liz and Mitch noticed her. She nodded and they walked up the steps onto the homestead veranda. There they separated, Liz to the bride’s retreat, and Mitch to the groom’s waiting room to tell the occupants that it was time.
Kayla caught the eye of the musicians standing discreetly to one side. The delicate notes of harp and flute filled the air as the guests stood and turned with expectation to see the happy couple.
They were possibly the loveliest couple Kayla had ever helped down the aisle.
Despite his age, Julien Bonet held himself straight and tall, cutting a dashing figure in his dark suit with its dark red bow tie. His grey hair was combed into place with almost military precision. But what caused Kayla’s breath to catch was the way he looked at the woman by his side.
Marie Bonet was obviously the one who had gifted her offspring with large noses. Her grey hair was thinning, but for this event it had been carefully combed and curled. The hand lying on her husband’s arm was almost painfully thin and sometimes, Kayla knew, that hand would shake as age and illness took its toll. But as Marie looked up at her husband of sixty years, Kayla could see the beautiful girl who had captured a dashing young man’s heart.
The two gradually made their way to the bower, where, to celebrate their anniversary, they would renew their wedding vows in front of their family, including the great-niece who had planned the ceremony to perfection. Kayla was so pleased Pascale had chosen Willowbrook for this. It meant she had accepted Kayla’s decision to move out of the city and back into her old family home. Now there definitely was a tear in Kayla’s eye.
As she watched the scene unfold, she felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Willowbrook Weddings was rapidly becoming a success. She had enough events booked over the next few months to put the venture on a sound financial footing. Not only the wedding venture, but Willowbrook itself. Liz and Mitch had started to put the stud back on the map and Deimos was attracting bookings. Soon there would be mares and foals grazing in the paddocks that had become too bare.
Movement at the corner of the homestead caught her eye and she turned in time to see Liz and Mitch slip away. As they disappeared around the corner, Kayla saw that they were holding hands.
CHAPTER
68
The two figures walk up the gentle slope. Their hands are locked tightly together. It has rained recently and the grass is green and smells fresh. The summer is over and the worst of the heat is gone. Autumn is a beautiful time of year.
At the top of the hill, the lone tree casts a gentle shadow over the small graveyard and two stone crosses that are already showing signs of age.
Liz is holding a bunch of tulips.
‘They’ll never notice that I borrowed these,’ she says, with a mischievous grin.
She places flowers at the foot of each cross, then turns to Mitch.
He takes both her hands in his.
Although a month has passed since Mitch came third in the King of the Ranges competition, they haven’t hurried this. There’s been an unspoken agreement between them. They have been riding together every day and working side by side at Willowbrook and at Mitch’s place. They have eaten together and they have laughed together. There may have been tears too, but no one else will ever know. They’ve planned a future for Willowbrook and for Deimos, but none for themselves. Until today.
They have taken the time to get over the hurt of the past.
They have taken the time to fall in love again.
Liz reaches into the pocket on her skirt and pulls out something small and shiny. She places it in Mitch’s hands. It’s a gold ring. The sort of ring a teenage boy would give to the girl he loves. It’s as shiny as it was fifteen years ago and it still fits when Mitch slips it on her finger.
‘Lizzie, I love you. You are my best friend and I cannot imagine a life without you. I promise to laugh with you, cry with you and grow old with you. I will love you when we are together and when we are apart. I will laugh with you when you are happy and comfort you when you cry. I promise that I will never let you down. With these words, and with all of my heart and soul, I marry you and join my life with yours.’
Tears prick her eyes as she remembers his vows. The words he spoke fifteen years ago now have deeper meaning. She and Mitch were children then. Today they are adults, and understand more about love than they did all those years ago.
‘Mitch, I promise to love you in good times and in bad. I will love you when life is easy and when it’s difficult; when being in love is simple, and when it’s not. I will dream with you, work with you, celebrate with you and walk beside you through whatever our life together may bring. I take you as my husband—my love and my life, today and always.’
The look on Mitch’s face tells her that he remembers her vows too. As she finishes speaking, tears roll down her face. Mitch kisses them away, and then he pulls her into his arms and kisses her with enough love to wash away all the lonely years.
They look down the hill to Willowbrook homestead, where the celebration is continuing. Faint music drifts up to them. The lights have come on and the place looks lovely. The soft evening colours enhance the graceful lines of the house. It is beautiful again, loved and cared for and echoing to the sound of laughter.
‘Do you want to go and join the wedding?’ Mitch asks.
‘No. I don’t think they need me there tonight.’
Their hearts begin to beat a little faster at the promise of what lies ahead.
‘As you wish, Mrs Saunders.’ Mitch is smiling as he takes her hand.
Together Mitch and
Lizzie walk down the hill, towards the creek and the fallen tree that bridges two halves of the same dream.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
While researching and writing this book, I was able to spend a lot of time in the Upper Hunter Valley, in and around Scone. Despite the ravages of drought, it is a beautiful part of the world. The people I met were warm and welcoming, and very happy to answer my questions about horses, history, mobile phone coverage, event competition rules and a thousand and one other things. My particular thanks go to George, Rosemary, Jon, Mary, Barry and Susie for telling me their stories and welcoming me into their homes.
Special thanks also go to the BelleBrook Country B&B—my home away from home and the perfect place to write a book.
Writing is a solitary occupation, but I never feel lonely. Not only do I have all these characters talking to me in my head, I am also blessed with wonderful friends, writers all, who know exactly what I am trying to do and how those successes and failures feel. Thank you, Jean, Jenny and Rachel for such supportive long lunches, and much love to the wonderful women of the Naughty Kitchen—Alison, Immi, Sheila, Ruth, Jeev and Kate—for always being somewhere out there in cyberspace whenever I need you.
I would also like to thank the wonderful team at HarperCollins, who have been a dream to work with, even when we are on opposite sides of the world. To my agent Julia—what can I say. You rock!
I’m not sure why my husband always appears at the bottom of this note. He shouldn’t. Without you, John, I’m not sure how on earth I would ever write a book. I love you.
And to you, dear reader, I want to say thank you for coming with me on this journey.
Janet
ISBN: 9781489294296
TITLE: THE LAWSON SISTERS
First Australian Publication 2020
Copyright © 2020 by Janet Gover
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