On Monday morning Bea raced from Fiona Maxwell’s office to her car. Her tiny umbrella was no match for the icy sheets of rain coming at her. Once safely inside the car she removed her sodden coat and then scrambled around in her handbag for something to dry her face and hair. At the bottom of her cavernous bag she found a grubby-looking bandana. It would have to do.
Once she’d dried off a bit she turned on the engine and got the demister going. Her little car was all fogged up—just like her brain. She should be happy, or relieved at least. After forty-five minutes in Fiona’s office and a lengthy discussion with Tim from the ATO, they’d managed to come to an agreement about her tax bill. The ATO was going to let her pay it in instalments. One payment immediately of five thousand dollars, which was as much as she could realistically afford, and the rest in quarterly payments. By the end of next year her debt would be paid.
So she wasn’t going to be dragged off to prison for tax evasion, be made bankrupt or any of the other terrible fates that had invaded her dreams for the past couple of nights. But now that the immediate problem was solved she had to work out what she was going to do with her life. Once she was back at Honey Hill House she would do the figures to be sure, but as things stood right now she couldn’t see how she could make the B&B work. She couldn’t open without a proper kitchen and now she couldn’t afford to renovate it. Maybe if she could get a job here … she laughed out loud. There were no jobs in Dulili. She was part of a scheme to bring new people and new businesses to the town to create jobs. Maybe she could get a job in Orange? Somehow that didn’t seem likely. She doubted the local travel agency would be looking to take on a new consultant and it wasn’t even as if she had recent experience. Perhaps she could do something else. But what?
Her head was spinning with ideas of jobs she might be capable of when the kicker hit her. If she wasn’t going to turn Honey Hill House into a B&B she was breaking her agreement with the Dulili Project Committee and thus she couldn’t stay in the house. Her heart sank. It really was over.
The drive back to Dulili took all Bea’s concentration. The rain beating down in Orange followed her all the way home. Visibility was poor and driving safely was the only thing on her mind. It wasn’t until she turned into the gumtree-lined dirt road that led to her house that she allowed herself to think about the pain of leaving here. It had been only a couple months since she and Joe had dragged all her possessions out of his mate’s truck, but it felt like a lifetime ago. She’d been happy here. Had dreams. Made friends. Fallen in love.
Fallen in love?
No. It was too soon for that. She didn’t love Mitch. Not yet. But if she stayed, there was the potential for that. If ever there was a man she could let her guard down with, it would be him. Was him. She’d told him more about herself in the last few days than she’d disclosed to some of her closest friends. Being with Mitch was easy. It wasn’t just the physical attraction, powerful though that was. He made her feel more like herself than she had in a very long time. When they were together she was happy. It was as simple as that.
But there was no way forward for them. She couldn’t stay and Mitch leaving the farm wasn’t an option either. Evelyn and Geoff couldn’t manage the property without him and, besides, the farm was in his blood. It was part of him and she would never ask him to give that up. In any case, she was in no position to be asking him for anything. They’d slept together once—okay twice, although the shower session had nothing to do with sleeping—and that really was it. And now she’d have to be satisfied with that because she couldn’t let it go any further. She didn’t know how long it would take her to sort out the move back to Geelong, but she doubted she would be here longer than a couple of weeks. It wasn’t fair to either of them to confuse things by continuing to sleep together.
She pulled up outside the house and for a moment contemplated not going in. Mitch had made her promise to call him the moment she got home. He’d wanted to come to Fiona’s office with her, but she’d refused. She was determined to sort her financial woes out on her own. But now she knew what was what there was no sense in delaying the inevitable. Perhaps she should head up to Mitch’s place and tell him the news right now. That way everything would be settled and she wouldn’t have a dark cloud looming over her head, figuratively speaking of course. The literal dark clouds above her showed no signs of abating. But the need to dry her hair and change out of her damp clothes was even greater than her desire to tell Mitch her mixed bag of news. She’d clean herself up and then call him. He’d been vague about his plans for the morning, saying only that he had stuff to do but would be around should she need him. Now that she thought about it, tearing up to his place wasn’t the best idea anyway. The likelihood of finding him there at eleven in the morning was fairly remote. He could be anywhere—out in the paddocks, in town buying supplies, or any number of other places. She’d stick to the plan and call once she was in some warm clothes.
As she emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, hair freshly blow-dried and body warmly wrapped in a thick cable-knit cardigan, she was surprised to hear a car pulling into her drive. She peeked out the kitchen window to see Evelyn’s four-wheel drive parked behind her hatchback. Damn. Normally she loved Evelyn’s company, but she wasn’t prepared to have the ‘I’m sorry but I’m leaving’ discussion just yet. She wondered how much Mitch had told his mum about her predicament. If he hadn’t said anything maybe she could avoid the whole conversation. Of course she’d need to tell Evelyn soon, but she wanted time to prepare exactly what she was going to say.
She watched as Evelyn got out of the car, covered head to toe in wet-weather gear, sensible country woman that she was. As Bea raced to open the back door so Evelyn wouldn’t be kept waiting in the rain, she heard another car pull up. She pushed open the back door. ‘Evelyn. What a lovely surprise. Come on in out of the rain.’
Evelyn smiled and stepped inside, pulling off her gumboots the second she was in the door. She pulled out a pair of dry shoes from a plastic bag she was carrying and slid her stockinged feet into them. ‘Goodness, it’s coming down in buckets. Hope that roof of yours is leak free.’
‘So far so good,’ Bea said, as Mitch made his appearance on the back verandah.
‘Good, you’re here,’ Evelyn said as her son closed the back door behind him.
Bea looked from one to the other and raised an eyebrow. ‘Is this purely a social visit or do I detect something else going on?’
Mitch grinned. ‘No flies on you, are there?’
Bea shook her head. ‘Come on into the kitchen. I’ll put the kettle on.’
Mitch and Evelyn took off their wet-weather gear and hung it on the hooks in the laundry, while Bea filled the kettle.
‘It’s chilly in here. Do you want me to get the fire going?’ Mitch asked.
‘Yeah, I only just got back from Orange ten minutes ago, so I haven’t had a chance to do it yet.’
Mitch nodded and made his way to the living room. Evelyn took a seat at the kitchen table. Evelyn made small talk for a few minutes while Bea made a pot of tea, set out two of her good teacups and a mug for Mitch—she knew he wouldn’t appreciate drinking from the delicate heirloom china—and put out a plate of Anzac biscuits she’d baked the week before.
‘Right,’ said Mitch. ‘That’s all done. It’ll be toasty warm in there pretty soon.’
Evelyn added a little milk to her tea. ‘Pretty jug, Beatrice.’
‘Thank you. It belonged to my nonna originally.’ She looked up at Mitch. ‘So, may I ask, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning?’
Evelyn sat her cup down on its saucer. ‘Callum has told me a little bit about your predicament.’
Bea shot Mitch a furious glance, before looking back at his mother. ‘I’m so sorry, Evelyn. I wanted to tell you myself. I honestly had no idea this was going to happen.’
‘Hush now. There’s no need to apologise. Sometimes the unexpected happens in life. What we need to focus on now is a solution to your problem.’
Bea sighed. ‘You’re very kind, but I don’t think there is a solution. I’m not sure how much Mitch has told you, but it’s pretty clear to me that I can’t afford to open the B&B like I’d planned to.’
‘Callum hasn’t told me much. Just that you got an unexpected bill—something to do with your ex-husband—and that now you’re in a bit of strife with paying for the renovations.’
‘Well, I guess that’s it in a nutshell,’ Bea said.
‘Was Fiona able to help?’ Mitch asked.
‘Yes and no. Things have been sorted out with the tax office, so I need not fear being dragged away to prison,’ Bea said.
Evelyn reached over and patted her hand lightly. ‘I’m sure that was never on the cards, dear. We would never let such a thing happen.’
Bea smiled at her kindness. ‘Fiona helped me negotiate a payment plan with the ATO. I have to pay five thousand dollars right away and then I can pay off the rest over the next two years.’
‘That’s a start,’ Mitch said. ‘But I guess that still puts a dent in your savings.’
Bea nodded. ‘I’m afraid I won’t be able to pay for the renovations now. It’s just not possible.’
‘Ah, now that’s where we come in,’ Evelyn said.
Bea put up her hand to indicate for Evelyn to stop. ‘That’s so kind of you, really it is. But I’ve already explained to Mitch that I can’t accept financial assistance.’
Evelyn shook her head. ‘I completely respect that decision, Beatrice, and let me tell you it only makes me regard you in even higher esteem than I already did. But it’s not financial help we’re offering.’
‘Oh?’ Bea creased her brow in confusion. ‘What then?’
‘What if we could accomplish the renovation without you having to pay a cent?’ Mitch asked. ‘Would that be enough for you to get back on your feet?’
‘In theory that’d be fantastic, but I don’t see how …’
‘We’ve taken care of all the details,’ Evelyn said, the delight obvious in her tone of voice. ‘All you need to do is give us the go-ahead.’
Bea looked at Mitch. ‘I don’t understand. What’s going on here?’
‘I’ve made a few calls, been to see a few people and I think we can get your new kitchen built and the rest of the renovations taken care of without you having to spend any more money,’ Mitch replied.
‘What? How?’
‘People have offered to help out by doing the work for nothing,’ Mitch said.
‘Sort of like a town working bee,’ Evelyn chipped in.
‘Lots of people here have general carpentry skills. Farmers are a pretty handy lot. You said your brother was going to come up and do the plumbing, right?’
Bea nodded, dumbstruck for the moment.
‘Well, if he can do that we can take care of everything else. It’s not just labour people have offered. Alicia says she has heaps of leftover paint from when we had the working bee on the main street, which you can have, and she’s volunteered along with Caitlin to help you paint. Lachlan’s volunteered his services for whatever’s needed. Apparently he’s a jack-of-all-trades.’ He pulled a ragged piece of paper out of his pocket. ‘I’ve got a list of a dozen people here who’ve offered to help in some way. We’ve got an electrician, people who have experience with building and tiling. Pretty much everything you need.’
‘And the CWA ladies have offered to cater for a full weekend to help you feed the volunteers,’ Evelyn said.
Bea sat silently for a moment. She didn’t know how she felt about all of this, let alone what she should say. On the one hand she was enormously grateful to Evelyn and Mitch, and to all the people who’d offered to help. She couldn’t imagine something like this happening back in the city. One of the great things about living in a small town was how the locals all pulled together to help each other out. On the other hand, she was embarrassed that it had come to this. She’d come to Dulili to prove to herself she could be independent. Now it seemed she was a charity case.
‘I honestly don’t know what to say.’
Mitch grinned. ‘Just say “yes” and then we can start planning the logistics.’
She shook her head. ‘It’s not that I’m not grateful for the offer. I truly am. But when I came here to start my life over I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t depend on anyone else ever again. If I accept this offer, I’ll be breaking my promise to myself.’
Mitch opened his mouth to protest, but Evelyn shook her head at him. ‘I understand, Beatrice,’ she said. ‘And perhaps you’re right. Perhaps Dulili is not the place for you.’
‘Mum!’
‘Let me finish, Callum.’ Evelyn’s tone was firm, and Mitch acquiesced, albeit with a scowl on his face.
‘When you first applied for this house I told you that living in Dulili would be very different to what you were used to. You seemed to think you would cope with that, but it’s really hard to know whether country life is for you until you’ve lived it.’
‘It’s not that I don’t like it here,’ Bea said. ‘I love it. I want to stay, but I can’t accept charity. I just don’t feel right about it.’
‘You see? That’s what I mean. Small-town life is probably not for you. Because we’re not offering charity here. Helping each other out is part of who we are. It’s in the town’s DNA. When you move to Dulili you become part of a big extended family. Okay, sometimes it might be a dysfunctional family, but we’re family just the same. When someone in the town needs something we all rally together. That’s just how it is. If you don’t want to be part of that, I completely understand. It’s not for everyone. City folks are used to having their privacy and I guess the loss of that is hard for some to overcome.’
‘It’s not that. I love being part of this community, but … well, I feel like I’ve let you all down. Everyone here has already done so much for me. I can’t possibly expect people to give more.’
Evelyn shook her head and clicked her tongue. ‘Now that’s where you are wrong. The B&B is a large part of the future of this town. Some of the events the project committee have planned for the future depend on there being adequate accommodation in the town. The B&B is an integral part of that. Every bed counts. But even more than that, we’re hoping the B&B will draw tourists to the town all year round. Word of mouth is a powerful thing. It only takes a few people to have a good experience and to go back to Sydney or Melbourne and tell their friends to get the ball rolling. Every new person visiting this town provides a boost to our economy. Do you see what I’m saying, Beatrice? This town needs you. The only way you’ll be letting us down is if you leave.’
Bea chewed the inside of her lip to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes from falling, but she couldn’t keep the waver from her voice as she replied, ‘Yes. Since you put it that way I guess I really don’t have a choice. I’ll stay and I’ll gratefully accept all offers of help. Thank you both so much.’
Mitch let out a whoop, jumped up from his seat and hugged Bea tight before planting a kiss on her lips. A knowing smile settled on Evelyn’s face. ‘Time for me to get going,’ she said, placing her teacup gently back on its saucer.
Bea extracted herself from Mitch’s hold and stood up. ‘Let me get your coat for you, Evelyn,’ she said.
‘I’m parked behind you, Mum. I’ll have to move so you can get out,’ Mitch said. He looked at Bea. ‘I’ve got a ton of things I need to see to today. I’ve been a bit preoccupied the last few days. Can I drop by later?’
Bea nodded, grateful that she was going to get a few hours to herself so she could process the day’s events.
‘Great. I’ll be back around five. We have a few things to talk about.’ With that he kissed her cheek and headed toward the laundry to collect his boots and coat. Bea and Evelyn trailed behind. Mitch waved to them both as he headed out into the rain.
Bea retrieved Evelyn’s coat and hat from the laundry while the older woman slipped her shoes off and pushed her feet back into her gumboots. ‘Thank you so much for everything, Evelyn. Really.’
‘No. Thank you for staying. And not just because of the B&B. I haven’t seen my boy this happy since … well let’s just say for a long time.’
Bea’s mouth went dry. What had Mitch told her? She had no idea where their relationship—if you could call it that—was going. She wasn’t exactly ready to be talking about it with his mother. ‘Oh. I don’t know … um … I’m not sure …’
Evelyn laughed. ‘Don’t worry. You don’t have to say anything. Callum would be mortified if he thought I suspected anything. Maybe I’m wrong, but from the day you moved in Callum’s been more and more like his old self. Whatever’s going on between the two of you certainly agrees with him. I’m so glad you’re prepared to stay and give the B&B a go. None of us wants to lose you.’