AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her car was parked below, in front of the abandoned farmhouse.
He stood frozen, torn. He wanted to see her and make sure she was okay, and he wanted to turn tail and head the opposite direction. He’d had no idea she was so close. He’d imagined her in town, at Fig Tree Lodge or the motel, one of them suddenly having a vacancy. Not next door.
The driver’s side door of Lena’s car flew open, and Copper leapt out. A second later, Lena stepped from the vehicle, her back to him. His logic brain told him he needed to get the hell out of there before she turned and saw him at the top of the hill or—more likely—Copper got wind of him. But his body wouldn’t cooperate. He stared as she lifted her arms straight up in the air, linked her fingers, and stretched.
He imagined coming up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, burying his nose in her dark, tousled hair before kissing the side of her neck.
Had she slept in her car? Were those the ‘other accommodations’ she’d found?
His heart did something weird in his chest, a painful ballooning. It was longing. He was so screwed. He wanted to go to her, but there was nothing to say.
I’m sorry I ignored your messages.
You’re right: my life is small.
I’ll never deserve you.
Instead of making his way down the hill to her, he turned around. He ran back to his fence, climbed over it, went past his shop and the gum tree and out to the lane. He ran the opposite direction, away from Lena.
* * *
He couldn’t gether out of his head.
Not the rest of that day. Not that evening.
When he woke in the pre-dawn light, she was there in his thoughts before he’d even known he was having them.
All the things he’d filled his life with before felt suddenly empty—filler, distraction. What was he doing it all for? Who cared if he ran every day or ate eggs instead of cereal? Who cared if he worked four hours or seven?
No one.
He’d told Lena he didn’t want to do the kinds of things she wanted to, but she’d opened him up to possibility. She’d made him want something different, something more. She’d made him wanther.
Wanting her and deserving her were two different things, though. If he was going to be worthy of having her, he needed to make a change. He needed to try and keep trying. He knew exactly what call he needed to make.
19
JOLLY
DECEMBER 24
Lena had no idea what to expect from the Bindarra Creek Christmas Eve picnic. After convincing Hunter she was up for the task of caretaking, even on her own, she’d spent the week working alone at the Gill farm, cleaning, cleaning, and doing more cleaning. She could only distract herself with scrubbing and dusting and mopping for so long, and she’d already more than reached that limit.
What she needed to see were some friendly faces—even if they mostly belonged to strangers. Anything to keep her from thinking about the way she’d imagined she’d be spending her first Christmas in another country and the reality. Carissa had made her promise she wouldn’t spend Christmas Day crying, but odds were she probably would.
The flyers she’d seen posted around town when she’d done supply runs promised fun, festivity, and frivolity—plus free food, a visit from Santa, games, and the grand opening of the new splash pool. The picnic sounded like it was mostly for families, but she didn’t care. She and Coppy were going. The three ‘F’s were exactly what they needed.
She eased her car into a shady parking spot, clipped Copper’s leash on, and then hopped out. “Ugh, it’s already hot, Coppy.”
The whole week had been warm, and living at an old farmhouse with no air conditioning meant she and Copper had made daily visits down to the rock pool to cool off. Sometimes there were kids there, too, but she hadn’t seen Heath once. Given how things had gone down at Carols by Candlelight, she knew she wouldn’t see him at the picnic either. He might as well have ceased to exist in real life, though he certainly populated her thoughts, especially during the long, too-warm nights when she couldn’t sleep.
Copper’s tongue was lolling by the time they reached the entrance to Lette Park, and she kicked herself for not having brought any water for either of them. She’d have to find a water fountain. Or else buy some bottled water.
Lette Park was a beautiful community park—the grass green and lush, with a smattering of shade trees. Beneath the trees there were picnic tables, all of which had been spoken for—covered with red or green gingham tablecloths, surrounded by coolers, and spread with food for larger family and friend groups. People had brought their own shade umbrellas, pop-up tents, and canopies. Everywhere she looked, there were children running or riding bikes or playing soccer and cricket, of which she had exactly zero understanding. At one end of the park, there was a sand volleyball court, hosting what looked like a serious tournament. At the other end, on a rotunda, a band was playing Christmas carols. The entire park with filled with the buzz of laughter and chatter.
Lena’s heart gave a twinge. It had been a lonely week and seeing so many people enjoying each other’s company made her feel even more like an outsider. At least on the abandoned farm, it hadn’t been so obvious that she didn’t know a soul. “That’s why we’re here, right Copper? To meet people?” She smiled down at her pup, and he looked up at her, his tail sweeping across the grass. “Let’s go!”
They made a tour of the park taking in the sights, and she was equally charmed and baffled. It was like nothing she’d ever seen in the States, certainly not to celebrate Christmas. Besides the picnics and the wafting smoke from the barbecues, there was a climbing wall, a bouncy house, a dunk tank, and a dart board. But it was the face-painting booth—and a familiar face standing nearby—that caught her fancy.
