Time Will Tell (12 page)

They'd only been there a few minutes when David's white ute clattered over the cattle grid at the end of their drive and turned towards them. David stuck his arm out of the window, waved, and then indicated that they should follow him.

They turned into the next open gateway along and made their way up a rough track that wound through scrappy bushland, Emily being careful to keep far enough back so as not to be showered in stones from David's vehicle.

‘You're bound to get some great shots up here – it's beautiful; like an oasis tucked away.'

‘Hmm. Sounds lovely.'

‘And thankfully they seem to be out with the forecast.'

‘Fingers crossed.' As they shuddered and vibrated over corrugated sections, Emily was relieved to see in the rear vision mirror that Grace was still curled up on the back seat and hadn't been flung onto the floor. She was also glad they'd taken her car. Not that she liked the punishment her old Ford was taking, but she didn't want Jake getting into trouble with his hire car company. She cringed every time they hit a particularly deep rut or bounced over a protruding rock. She'd forgotten how rough this track was.
I need a ute.

‘You need a ute, Em,' Jake said.

‘Yeah,' she agreed.
Spooky.

Suddenly they emerged into a lush clearing. David drove around the edge and stopped near the far side against what looked like the opening to a forest. Emily parked and turned off the engine while taking in the scene; gorgeous tall gums surrounded by smaller eucalypts and a variety of native shrubs. They got out and Emily stared around her in awe. It was even more beautiful than she remembered.

‘Perfect or what?' David said to Jake, indicating the space with a wide spread of his arms.

‘Breathtaking,' Jake replied in a breathy voice.

‘How are you feeling?' Emily asked as she hugged Barbara.

‘Fit as a fiddle. Just needed a decent night's sleep,' she said brightly.

‘That's good to hear. It would have been such a shame to cancel the picnic. I'd forgotten just how perfect this spot is,' Emily said.

‘Well, it's very special to us, isn't it darling?' Barbara said, putting her arm around David's waist.

David looked at his wife with a dreamy expression on his face. It was like those looks the leading couple in a romantic scene in an action movie shared – like they were unaware of anything else going on around them; cars blowing up, people being shot et cetera. Emily almost giggled.

‘Jake, this is where David took me on our first date, and then a year later, proposed.'

‘Ah, well I have to get a shot of you both here then,' Jake said, camera already out and trained on them.

Seconds later he showed them the two photos he'd taken in the viewfinder. He'd perfectly captured their contentment and the beauty of the setting.

‘I'll print them out and send you copies when I get back.'

‘Thanks, we'll have to get that one framed,' David said, giving Barbara a peck on the cheek.

‘Actually, we still haven't seen any of the shots you took last time you were here,' Emily said.

‘Oh, I'd completely forgotten. They're on my laptop, but I left it back in Whyalla. I would have emailed some, but I figured you didn't have the internet at your place.'

‘You can send them to us,' Barbara and David said at the same time before laughing.

‘They're okay photos, but nothing like the real thing right here,' Jake said.

‘We'd still like to see them.'

‘Okay,' he said, making a show of exasperation. ‘I'll bring the laptop next time and subject you all to a boring slideshow. But don't say you weren't warned.'

Chapter Twelve

They emptied the vehicles and set up their makeshift campsite, and then Jake produced a bottle of sparkling shiraz. Before long, Grace was tucking into a bone nearby and they were all holding plastic flutes of fizzing liquid.

‘So what are we toasting to, other than wonderful friends, fine wine, good food, and lovely tranquil settings?' Barbara asked, holding up her glass.

‘You've about covered it, my dear,' David said, raising his glass and tapping it against Barbara's.

‘Actually, I have something else,' Jake said, looking at Emily.

She gave a small nod of assent.

‘In addition to Barbara's eloquent toast, I'd like to raise a glass to Emily.' They all held up their glasses and he continued solemnly, ‘To Emily and the great Australian dream.'

‘Oh my God, you said yes to buying the house! Did you? Tell me you did!' Barbara leapt up and down, spilling wine all down her arm.

‘I did. I rang the Bakers last night. It's official.'

‘And you didn't phone me straight away?!' Barbara said, accepting a paper serviette from David and dabbing at the spilt wine.

‘You went home feeling unwell, remember?'

‘Oh yes, but I would have got off my death bed to hear this news! Oh, well done!' She hugged Emily tightly with one arm, careful not to spill more wine. ‘I'm so proud of you,' she added more quietly.

‘Thanks. Let's just hope I've made the right decision,' Emily replied.

‘Oh you have. You have. Ooh, I'm so excited for you.'

‘Congratulations Em,' David said, finally able to get a word and a hug in.

As much as Emily enjoyed their enthusiasm, what she enjoyed even more was Jake enveloping her into a warm embrace and planting a kiss in her hair behind her ear.

‘It's going to be great,' he said before letting her go.

Finally things settled down and they were able to focus on organising lunch.

Afterwards they all relaxed back into director's chairs and waited for their overfilled stomachs to feel more comfortable and the barbeque plate to cool down.

‘I've eaten way too much,' Emily said, patting her tummy.

‘That was amazing. Thank you,' Jake said.

‘Thank
you
for the lovely wine,' Barbara said.

‘Pleasure was all mine.'

They'd only had the one bottle, being careful to not be over the limit to drive. Despite only having a short trip back on quiet roads, Barbara, David, and Emily were all taking extra care.

The recent deaths of two young locals just weeks apart had been a sharp reminder to the whole district that drink driving kills. Wattle Creek's only police officer now drove around with his breathalyser as much as was humanly possible, desperate to stop the senseless loss of life occurring on his patch again.

But as Barbara and Emily had discussed at length, there was probably little point to all his efforts; these things always seemed to come in threes. There would be another fatality. Just when, where, who, and exactly how, was a mystery.

Besides which, it was the middle of the day, and they'd all laughed over the fact that since they'd turned thirty, alcohol with lunch made them just want to curl up and have a nanna nap.

The sparkling shiraz had been the perfect accompaniment to the kangaroo steaks David had brought; the slightly gamey, marinated flavour working well with the peppery red.

Barbara and David had initially been a little reluctant to tell Jake it was kangaroo, but he'd picked it straight away; the colour, strong scent, and slightly denser texture of the raw meat.

They'd also had slices of grilled potato, pumpkin and zucchini, and a bowl of Barbara's egg salad. It was a particular hit with Jake, and they had all laughed at his insistence on cleaning the remnants from the bowl with a slice of bread – white bread.

As gourmet as their barbeques were, Barbara, David, and Emily had made a pact that the bread could only be white – the old-fashioned type; squishy, fully processed, and lowest in nutritional value. It reminded them of their childhoods.

Jake had been delighted. ‘Haven't had white bread for ages!' he'd exclaimed. ‘I'm too brainwashed by nutritional facts to buy anything other than bread full of grains,' he'd added as he'd gleefully grabbed two slices and put them on his plate.

David explained that they didn't normally eat anything but wholegrain either, but that their white bread thing was a deliberate attempt to subvert the whole nutritional do-gooding and gourmet barbequing craze, which they had otherwise fully embraced. White bread was their last connection to times gone by and down-to-earthness, Barbara had proudly concluded, with Emily nodding solemnly in agreement.

‘That's bloody brilliant! I love it!' Jake had said, grinning broadly.

Emily had been watching carefully for his reaction, and had been pleased when he seemed to get the joke straight away. He really did fit in well. And having him there meant she didn't feel like the fifth wheel the way she often did when out with Barbara and David.

‘Well, I hope you've all left room for pavlova,' Barbara announced loudly, her voice bringing Emily back to the chatter around her.

She looked at the eskies. She couldn't remember seeing a pavlova or a container large enough for one.

‘Not here,' Barbara said with a laugh. ‘It would have shattered on that bloody track and I wasn't having all my efforts wasted. No, back at the house – it's almost on your way anyway. You're not rushing off back to Whyalla, are you Jake?'

‘Not until the morning. And I would love pavlova if Emily's happy to stop in.'

‘Are you kidding? I would never pass up the opportunity to have pavlova – especially Barbara's,' Emily said.

‘I guess that's a yes then,' Barbara said, grinning.

‘Hang on a minute,' David broke in. ‘We've brought Jake here so he can take some photos. So you'll all have to wait – come on, mate,' he said, getting up.

Jake followed his lead.

‘Ah, very clever,' Barbara said. ‘Pretending you need to go off. And it'll be just long enough for us girls to have packed everything up.'

‘I'll stay and help,' Jake said.

‘No, you go, but don't be surprised if we don't lift a finger while you're gone,' Barbara said. She stretched out her legs and folded her arms across her chest, giving her husband a defiant look over the top of her sunglasses.

‘Quite all right my love; you just rest up and we'll deal with it when we get back,' David said, in a patronising tone. He patted her on the shoulder before striding off towards the edge of the clearing.

‘Righto, see you in a bit,' Jake said, sounding a little unsure. He waved before turning and setting off after David, his camera slung over his shoulder.

‘See ya,' Emily called, grinning. She loved watching Barbara and David's friendly sparring.

‘I like him,' Barbara said, sighing and settling back into her chair.

‘I should think you should
love
him. He is your husband.'

‘Not David, darling; Jake.'

‘Barbara!' Emily warned.

‘What?! I just said I like him; what's not to like?'

‘It's what you didn't say – and you know perfectly well what I'm talking about.'

They settled into silence.

‘Hey, did you hear about John being bought out of the family company?' Emily said a few minutes later. ‘Dad told me yesterday after you'd left. Apparently somewhere in the vicinity of three hundred grand.'

‘David did mention a rumour – I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure. Half of that should be yours.'

‘Don't I know it? But he'll have to live with what he's done. I'm not going to worry about it; it's done now. I just hope what goes around comes around.'

‘Me too, lousy bastard. Speaking of money – any joy on the job front?'

‘No – you'd be the first to hear. And you know Jake reckons it's going to cost around fifteen grand for the subdivision alone.'

‘That's a bugger. Well, our offer still stands.'

‘Thanks very much, Barbara. I really do appreciate it, but seriously, I couldn't. Anyway, I'm even more determined to do this on my own now.'

‘Good for you. And I totally understand about not wanting to borrow from friends – I'd be exactly the same. It's just that we want to help, that's all.'

‘Well you are – you do – just by being here and listening to me whinge and moan all the time.'

‘Sounds like you're just going to have to step up the jam production.'

‘Actually, Jake got a call from his sister just before we left. Apparently she sold the whole second batch to some little gourmet shop in St Kilda. Remind me to show you the picture of the gorgeous labels she made: Emily's Gourmet Homemade Apricot Jam, they said.'

‘She sounds lovely. Fancy doing that for you when you've never even met.'

‘I know. But then Jake seems nice; I guess it runs in the family. Hey, I totally forgot to tell you – I can't believe I forgot. Nathan came out looking for somewhere to live – eight o'clock in the morning yesterday,
Christmas morning
, if you don't mind! Was all casual and friendly, asking if he could rent a room, saying he'd leave me to think it over – no pressure, blah blah blah. And
then
, less than twelve hours later, he rings and demands to know if I've made a decision!'

‘I'm guessing by your tone you're not having him move in?'

‘No, as much as the money would be very helpful, I think I need to be alone for a while – just a gut feeling.'

‘Well, you've got to listen to that.'

‘I'm glad I had already decided before he rang. He certainly isn't one who likes hearing the word “no”.'

‘I thought he seemed quite nice at the funeral, but then I wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind to take much notice.'

‘He was lovely at the funeral. And he seemed nice as pie at Mum and Dad's that night. Not pushy at all,' Emily mused aloud.

‘Just goes to show, doesn't it?'

‘Yep. John seemed so nice when I met him too,' Emily said wistfully. ‘Why do people have to change?' she added, more to herself.