Page 42 of Where the Wattles Bloom

She did worry he was neglecting his fatherly duties, but every now and then his ears would prick up, obviously hearing something she couldn’t, and he’d disappear for a while. Was it Blue and the puppies? Or was it that whistle of Lachlan’s she’d heard a few times now that had Red jumping to attention?

But he always returned.

The fact he got to sleep on the end of a warm cosy bed, instead of on the veranda with his missus and their kids, probably didn’t hurt.

If someone had told her last year that she’d be living in country Australia in an old shearers bunkhouse, sharing her bed with a snoring dog, she’d have laughed hysterically. But this was her life now and … it wasn’t half bad.

Until the end of November, anyway.

*

By the time she was driving in to work on Wednesday morning for her seven am start, Rowena was wondering why the hell she hadn’t gone for a tree change earlier. It had felt like a backwards step when she’d been grappling with the idea.

A defeat. Like she was putting her life into a holding pattern.

But, flying along the highway, pink galahs grazing on the sides of the road, golden puffs turning the bush yellow, Rowena felt infinitely lighter.

She’d done the right thing.

Sure, it was only temporary—five more months—but Rowena didn’t need to be her psychologist to know this change of pace was exactly what she’d needed. The bilious, slick swirling in her stomach that had been her constant companion in those months before she’d flipped out had disappeared. And going to work didn’t require half an hour of meditation and several mental affirmations.

Yep, she’d definitely done the right thing.

To get back to her old life—her endgame—she’d needed this stopgap. And she had Brooke to thank for that.

As fate would have it, the woman in question pulled into the hospital car park the same time Rowena did, taking the space next to hers. Her Pajero sported the local footy team bumper sticker and another one that said DEADLY in red, black and yellow.

‘Were your ears burning?’ Rowena asked as she exited the car and shut the door. ‘I was just thinking about you.’

‘Were you now?’ But Brooke seemed less interested in that than the vehicle that Rowena had emerged from. ‘Where’d you get the wheels?’

‘Oh.’ Rowena glanced at the heavy four-wheel drive vehicle. It was kinda old and ugly, but Lachlan had assured her it was safe and solid. ‘It’s one of the Blairgowrie vehicles. Lachy insisted my Mini was impractical for driving back and forth between town and the farm with the condition of the road and the lack of bull bar. He’s worried about the roos.’

Brooke blinked. ‘There are a couple of parts to that I need to dig into. One, the farm? And, two … Lachy?’

Heat rushed to Rowena’s cheeks at the speculation in Brooke’s gaze. Given it was another single-digit morning, the warmth was welcome, but she needed to clarify ASAP.

‘Yes, the farm,’ she said, hitching the strap of her handbag over her shoulder and heading for the hospital. Brooke fell into step beside her. ‘I went for a lamb roast and Reggie offered me the bunkhouse as an alternative to a hospital donga.’

A smile touched Brooke’s lips. ‘Did she now?’

Rowena kept on walking, ignoring the amusement in her friend’s voice. ‘Uh huh.’

‘That was very nice of her.’

‘I thought so.’

‘So … you and the lovely Lachy, huh?’

Innuendo laced Brooke’s voice and Rowena kicked herself for slipping on his name. ‘There’s not a me and Lachlan.’

Just because they’d slept together once didn’t make them a thing. But after almost a month in Acacia Junction, Rowena knew that wasn’t the way it worked out here. If there was even a whiff that she and Lachlan had been together, this town would have them as an item whether they wanted it or not.

And she didn’t. She didn’t need it for herself and she certainly didn’t want that kind of responsibility. Imagine being the one to leave town and leave their poor lovely Lachy brokenhearted like his second wife had done. Because in five months, she would be gone.

‘Not yeeeet,’ Brooke sing-songed.

Rowena rolled her eyes. ‘Not happeningggg.’