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He turned to Phyllis. “Okay. We’ll drop in after breakfast.”
CHAPTER2
Afew hours later Josh drove the boys to the outskirts of Bindarra Creek. He turned off MtIngalls Road and kept driving, and his thoughts turned to the night he’d met both Amanda and Kristy.
Kristy both excited and frightened the hell out of him. She had also been Amanda’s best friend. Since meeting Amanda ten years earlier he’d only seen Kristy at their wedding – when she’d walked away from him the night before – and then at the boys’ christening and Amanda’s funeral. Kristy had visited them many times, but he’d avoided her for years. His work provided the perfect excuse because something about her made him feel unhinged.
Amanda had kept him up-to-date on Kristy’s business adventures – though he didn’t remember anything about Christmas trees, it was all horses – and that’s where their conversations about Kristy started and ended. Up ahead he spotted a sign,Cedar Point Blues, and above that sat another sign. He pointed to the lopsided Santa sign with an arrow pointing upwards:Christmas Trees at Mistletoe Lane.
After a burst of giggles from the back seat, Jaiden cried out, “Santa’s wonky.”
Josh drove up the lane guided by the small wooden Santas pointing up the road. When he reached the top of the hill, he struggled to find a car space. The carpark was swarming with people carrying Christmas trees and large boxes.
In minutes he and the boys were walking towards the small cottage which overlooked a few paddocks. The outer paddocks had a few horses grazing but the centre one was empty. Curious, he kept walking ahead.
His attention was drawn to the activity in the far paddock. A group of riders rode into the paddock in one long line. Their horses trotting together, one after the other in unison, the female riders were dressed in jeans, white t-shirts and black boots gleaming bright in the late morning sun. This horse and rider team moved as one, united in their pace. The small crowd queuing for Christmas trees stopped to admire them, some moving closer to the fence line for a better view. Josh and his sons did the same.
“That’s the local polocrosse team,” murmured the stranger to his left. “They have an exhibition match here the night before Christmas Eve. It’s a first. You should come. They’re a great side, they won the Winston cup this year.”
He didn’t know about the Winston cup but he marvelled at their synchronised movements. When the last horse reached the half-way mark across the paddock a lone rider appeared at the rear. She seemed to be issuing instructions. She stood up in the saddle and the horses changed direction in that one movement. The woman was tall, lean and with well-defined muscles which were hard to miss in her skin-tight jeans and white t-shirt. Stunning, thought Josh.
She controlled the horse with one hand holding the reins as she lifted her other arm and signalled to the other riders to turn.
Josh leaned closer to the rail.
Hold on.
Despite her riding helmet he recognised the dark hair snaking down her back from a ponytail.Kristy Holloway.
He held fast to the fence while his eyes studied every movement Kristy made. The team rode to the top of the paddock and performed a slow trot in front of the crowd. There was a slow clap of appreciation. As she drew closer Josh held his breath.
“She’s so good. Hey Kristy! Way to go, girl!” called out the stranger.
Kristy kept her head forward, in line with the other riders as they passed by.
He slowly released his grip on the fence and watched her progress. The team took one final trot around the perimeter of the paddock before riding back down the lane from where they started.
“Wow, Dad, did you see that?” asked Blaydon.
“Are they going to do it again?” chimed in Jaiden.
Josh grabbed both their hands. “Not sure. The lady at the back was your Aunt Kristy, you know, Mum’s friend who you met at the funeral. I’m sure she’ll have all the answers.”
Jaiden pulled on his arm. “Aunt Kristy? Let’s stay, just in case they come back.”
He’d like nothing more and made a mental note to watch that polocrosse game, maybe include Phyllis and Roger and make it a family affair.
They stood and waited for a bit as the crowd dispersed back to the Christmas cottage.
The cottage itself was a mirror image of Amanda’s parents’ home, a small double frontage workers cottage clad in weatherboard with a wooden verandah at the front. The grey paint and white trim now looked a dull olive colour. The house looked tired and dated.
Leaning upright against the front of one half of the house were about thirty Christmas trees waiting to be collected. Down the side were twenty cut trees lying uncovered, one on top of the other, next to two water tanks. One old boy limped about helping people select their trees and sometimes assisting in carrying them to their cars.
Josh wracked his memory trying to think of the latest news Amanda had told him about Kristy’s business venture. Josh could only vaguely recall Amanda asking him for advice because Kristy was thinking about growing Christmas trees. He hadn’t realised she’d actually done it.
His accountant’s brain ticked into gear. Josh counted roughly fifteen couples in the shop and at sixty dollars a tree, adding in a rough guess of twenty dollars extra spent on decorations in an hour. How many trees would Kristy sell in a day and over how many days? He’d love to sit and work it out.
He looked about trying to map the property in his head.
