‘I … I don’t understand.’
Olive reached for Beth’s hand again and this time, gave it a squeeze. ‘I’m not sure it’s our job to understand. But I hope it helps, knowing that she was at peace with her time coming to an end. Or, if not now, then perhaps in time it will help.’
Beth smiled tightly but said nothing. She didn’t know Olive well enough to tell her that of course it didn’t help and never would. Plus, she didn’t think Olive would appreciate knowing just how irate Beth was with her dead sister.
Because shewasirate.Livid. Yet another person who had claimed to care about her had lied to her. Flo hadn’t trusted Beth with the truth. Hadn’t respected her enough to let her say goodbye. She hadn’t fought to stay, and that, more than anything, felt like a rejection. Flo hadn’tcared enoughto stay.
Which was why, once she’d seen Olive to the door and waved goodbye, Beth snatched up the envelope with her name scribbled on it and shoved it into the first box she saw. She couldn’t bring herself to destroy it completely, but she had no interest in reading Flo’s letter of excuses and apologies. Right now, all she wanted to do was move far, far away from all the memories she’d made here. And the first step in doing that was contacting the real estate agent in town.
Turning her back on the box she’d stashed the letter in, Beth gathered up the things she needed for a shower and headed for the bathroom.
* * *
Beth was in desperate need of food and toilet paper, so she had no choice but to make an emergency trip into town. She’d avoided the place since the day of Flo’s funeral, and although she’d timed her run so she’d arrive just after the general store opened, she scanned the street as she walked the short distance from her car to the shop’s entry. The risk of running into Ellie or Noah at this time of the morning was slim to none—Ellie would be cooking breakfast for her guests and Noah would still be herding cattle, or whatever it was he did at this hour—but on the odd chance either of them were out and about, she wanted as much notice as possible. Hopefully, she’d have enough time to duck out of sight.
Making it to the store without any mishaps, she headed straight for a stack of toilet paper and shoved a four pack of Sorbent into her shopping basket, but after moving along the aisle, she reconsidered, backtracked and switched it out for a two pack. No need to go overboard. With the house officially on the market, she’d decided not to hang around and had booked her flight to Townsville. She left in a matter of days, so two rolls of loo paper would do.
Ignoring the way her stomach dropped at the thought of leaving, she turned the corner and—‘Oh, sorry!’
‘Beth!’
‘Celia!’ She pasted on a friendly smile. ‘I’m sorry, I was daydreaming.’
‘Don’t be silly!’ Celia waved her hands. ‘Now, come here. It’s been too long!’
Beth willingly stepped into Celia’s outstretched arms and couldn’t help but melt into the hug. Who knew how long it would be before she was held like this again?
‘Oh, you sweet girl.’ Celia rubbed her back in a soothing gesture. ‘How have you been holding up? We haven’t seen you since—’
Beth pulled away, hoping to dissuade Celia from completing that sentence.
‘I’m okay.’ A beat passed before she added, ‘And you?’
All traces of sympathy vanished from Celia’s expression and her countenance grew sombre. ‘Things could be better, if I’m being honest.’
Beth’s brows rose as she speculated countless hypothetical reasons for Celia’s bleak response—all of them catastrophic—then her thoughts shifted immediately to Noah. Was he okay? She wanted to ask after him, but her tongue refused to cooperate.
‘Listen.’ Shaking off her melancholy, Celia brightened and gave Beth’s arm an affectionate squeeze. ‘We’d love to have you over for family dinner on Sunday. Are you free?’
‘Um, actually …’ Technically, yes, she would be free on Sunday, but she’d be on the other side of the country. ‘I’m … well, I’m flying to Townsville on Saturday.’
‘Oh.’ Surprise crossed Celia’s face before she could hide it. Then, clearly aiming for an expression of polite enquiry, she raised her brows. ‘Are you only going for a short visit?’
Beth hesitated, but before she could gather her thoughts and formulate a response, Celia, looking pained, waved the question away.
‘Gosh, don’t answer that! It’s absolutely none of my business.’ She paused. ‘Is there anything we can do for you before you go?’
Clamping her jaw shut, Beth shook her head, feeling terrible. Celia had welcomed her into her home and treated her as one of her own, and here Beth was, all but admitting that she planned to skip town without saying goodbye. She was a horrible, horrible person.
‘Well.’ Celia squeezed her arm again, looking almost too cheery. ‘We’ll see you again, I hope.’
Beth’s pulse thrummed in her ears as Celia moved off down the aisle, a rising sense of panic causing her blood to race through her veins.
‘Wait!’ she called out before she even knew what she was doing.
Celia turned back, her thoughts carefully masked with a schooled expression.
Taking a chance, or perhaps a risk, Beth closed the distance between them. ‘How’s Noah? Is he … okay?’
