‘Oh!’ Flo’s chin trembled and her eyes welled. ‘You sweet girl! You’ve no idea how much I would love that.’
Beth had thought Flo would like the idea, but a reaction like that could only be the result of loneliness.
Crouching beside Flo’s chair, Beth took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Rubbed her thumb over the paper-thin skin and tried not to think about what her life would be like when she was Flo’s age. Would she still be lonely? With no family to speak of and spending Christmases alone?
Perhaps.
But maybe it didn’t have to be that way.
When Flo blinked tears from her lashes, Beth felt a surge of affection for her.
‘You know what?’ She waited till Flo lifted her gaze. ‘I think we’re more than neighbours now. Maybe even more than friends.’
With a tilt of her head, Flo offered a teary smile and patted Beth’s cheek.
Beth rubbed her lips together, knowing she risked rejection, but since coming here, she’d been taking small steps to be braver. And this was a step she desperately wanted to take.
‘Flo, I was thinking, I mean, would you like to … be my aunty?’
‘Oh!’ Flo’s hands shook as tears cascaded down her cheeks.
Beth blinked and realised she was crying, too. ‘It’s just that Mum and Dad are gone and I never got to meet Pru. Your family have all moved away, so … I was thinking, maybe we can be each other’s family?’
Flo took Beth’s face in her hands and kissed her forehead. ‘I’d love that, sweet girl. I’d love it very much.’
After that, Beth opened up to Flo about her childhood, how difficult she’d found the constant moving, and how happy she’d been to stay put in one place for the last four years.
‘Tell me more about this decision to stay in town, then. Are you really only staying to oversee the renovation, or is there more to it?’ Flo’s eyes glinted with mischief. ‘That strapping young Brennan boy doesn’t have anything to do with your decision, does he?’
Beth cast a wry look at Flo despite the heat that flooded her cheeks. ‘You’re bringing him up a lot, you know. I’m beginning to think you’ve got a bit of a crush.’
Flo laughed long and loud.
‘If you must know,’ Beth answered haughtily, ‘Noah did influence my decision, but not in the way you’re so clearly thinking.’
Flo continued to chuckle, but Beth ignored her.
‘He made me realise that I’d be running away because I’m scared of the risks involved.’
Flo nodded, all hint of amusement disappearing. ‘Fear can be useful. In small doses, it can stop us from acting too rashly. But if we let it take control, it keeps us from achieving what we truly want.’
She stared across the room, apparently lost in her memories, then blinked and looked at Beth. ‘Take it from someone who once let fear keep them from the one they loved. Don’t let it rule your life. It will only lead to loneliness and misery.’
Momentarily struck dumb by the pain in Flo’s words, Beth eventually whispered, ‘You lost the one you loved?’
A sad smile streaked across Flo’s lips and was gone. ‘That’s a story for another time.’ She glanced out the window as Noah pulled up across the street in his ute. ‘Ah.’ A cheeky grin further disguised her sorrow. ‘Saved by the strapping young man.’
Beth lips curved into a wobbly smile, still saddened by what Flo had shared. ‘He might be here to see you, you know.’
He wasn’t, of course. Beth had arranged to meet him at the house to discuss an issue with the plumbing.
Flo chortled. ‘Ah, sweetheart, you never fail to brighten my day. Now, off you go. Aunty Flo’s suddenly grown weary of your company.’
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
On New Year’s Eve, Beth whipped up a delicious pad Thai, which she and Ellie enjoyed in the private lounge room of the B&B with a bottle of wine.
