The man stopped at the edge of the dam, his hands on his hips. ‘You all right?’ he asked. Hayley stared at him. Seriously? When would it be all right for a woman to be knee-deep in a dam with a stuck donkey?
‘Not really, no,’ she said. ‘My donkey’s stuck in the mud and I can’t get it out.’ Hayley wondered if maybe he could talk and help at the same time; her wet clothes weren’t getting any less uncomfortable. ‘Can you give me a hand?’
‘Hang on.’ He turned and walked away.
He came back from the ute with a long length of rope, and Hayley gaped as he strode straight into the water. Clearly he had no issue with mud and cold water. ‘I don’t keep the cattle in this paddock for this reason. It’s a bog pit.’
‘I’m not sure how it got over here. I had it in the shearing shed but it escaped.’
‘The fence is probably down somewhere. We had a big storm a week or so ago and I haven’t been over this way to check if there was any damage.’ He secured the rope, tying it around the animal before sloshing back out of the water to the vehicle. ‘I’m just going to back up so there’s enough tension to get some traction—you better move out of the way,’ he said, indicating she should stand up on the bank.
Hayley had no reason to believe he didn’t know what he was doing, but she worried about the rope ripping off the donkey’s limbs in the process. Much to her relief, as he backed up the ute slowly, the donkey clambered and splashed about in the water until it managed to exit the dam, with little grace but successfully nonetheless.
‘Thank you,’ Hayley said as their rescuer came back down to the dam, where she’d just caught the rope of the troublesome donkey. ‘I’m not sure what I would have done if you hadn’t arrived when you did.’
‘No worries. Luke Mason,’ he said, introducing himself.
‘Hayley Stevens,’ she smiled, wiping her hand on her muddy shirt before extending it towards him.
He slipped his sunglasses off his face and hooked them on the front of his buttoned work shirt before taking her hand in his. Two blue eyes held hers, the colour intensified by the suntanned skin that crinkled attractively around them. The flash of white teeth wasn’t helping her concentrate either. Pull yourself together. ‘Thank you.’
He grinned. ‘You already thanked me.’
God. ‘I’m just really grateful.’ And acting like an idiot!
‘So, how’d you end up with Errol?’
‘Who?’
Luke nodded his head towards the donkey. Errol? ‘You know him? Wait…him?’
‘Everyone knows Errol, and yeah, it’s a he.’
‘Well, maybe you can tell me how I ended up with him. Someone in a red truck left him tied up to my front fence.’
‘That’d be Alfie Provost. He’s been trying to get rid of Errol for the last two years.’
‘I saw the ad on the noticeboard at the grocery store and called to enquire yesterday, and this morning there he was. I didn’t even tell them my name.’
‘It’s not hard to figure out. You’re the only newcomer.’
‘How do you even know that? I only arrived three days ago.’
‘Word gets around. We knew weeks ago the place had been sold.’
So much for keeping to herself.
‘Well. Thanks again,’ she said, then winced. Stop thanking the guy. She made to move away but then remembered she wasn’t sure how to get the stupid animal back home. ‘Ah. I didn’t actually see any gates…I’m not sure how to get him back through the fence.’
‘You lead Errol and I’ll take the ute for a drive along the fence line and see where its down. That way I can fix it while I’m here.’
‘I’m sorry to be a nuisance.’
‘Nah, it’s okay. It has to be fixed anyway.’
He waited until she’d got the wet, bedraggled donkey moving before climbing into his ute and driving slowly towards the fence.
Left alone, Hayley found herself processing the whole ridiculous fiasco in between coercing the reluctant cause of the whole thing into walking forwards. Way to meet the neighbours. She plucked at the damp, muddy shirt and gritted her teeth against the disgusting sensation of walking in wet clothes. The hot water better be working by the time she got home.
She saw the ute stop and Luke walk around the rear of the vehicle to take something out. By the time she’d begged, pleaded and threatened Errol to reach his side, he was already busy dragging a large branch off the sagging fence.
‘Found the problem,’ he said, coming up to take the rope from her hand and carefully lead the animal over the loose wire for her. ‘There you go.’
‘Thanks. I’ll try to figure out a way to make sure he doesn’t get out again.’
‘I can come and take a look at it after I finish this if you like.’
‘Oh no, I couldn’t get you to do that. We’ve already imposed too much.’
‘Nah, it’ll be right. I’ll probably beat you there at the rate old Errol moves.’
Hayley gave a small unamused grunt in response. It was going to be a slow walk home and she didn’t have time to waste standing around arguing when clearly the man had decided he was coming around.
‘This isn’t a very good start to our relationship, Errol,’ she said after they’d been walking a while, stepping over sticks and negotiating the thick green pasture grass. ‘Why would you try to escape? You didn’t even stick around long enough to get to know me.’ She looked back at the donkey, who seemed to be wearing a rather bored expression. ‘I know I don’t have much of an idea what to do with you,’ she admitted, ‘but I’m sure we can figure it out. There’s always Google, you know. Or Luke.’ Or not, she added silently. She couldn’t keep running to other people for help every time something went wrong. She was going to have to start learning how to do things for herself. The last twelve months had been a big learning curve—who knew there’d been so many everyday mundane things that needed taking care of? Things she’d never really thought much about because Paul had been there to do them.
She’d had amazing neighbours. She’d barely had to lift a finger. Max from next door would mow her lawn for her, despite the fact she’d told him she’d do it herself, or get a lawn service in. He’d just shake his head and wave off her protests saying that he had his mower out, and it wasn’t any more trouble to do her tiny yard while he was doing his own. At first she’d just been grateful that it was something she didn’t have to worry about, but after a while she began to feel helpless. She knew they didn’t mean to make her feel that way at all—quite the opposite, they were just trying to help—but one of the things brewing in the back of her mind about moving had been that she wanted a fresh start, so she could reclaim her independence. She needed to. Somehow along the way she’d lost something…other than her marriage. She’d lost part of herself. She needed to start taking control of her life again.
As they neared the house, Hayley felt a tiny glimmer of victory. She tied Errol to a post inside the stall and peeled off a chunk, or biscuit as she’d discovered it was called, of the hay to keep him occupied until she could sort out a way to keep him secured.
Hayley was just tugging out an old rusted gate from behind the shed when she heard a car pull up. She dusted her hands on her already disgusting jeans and went to greet her neighbour.
‘You made it back, I see,’ he said, nodding at the donkey eating hay contentedly as though he were the perfect animal and hadn’t just almost drowned in a muddy dam.
‘Yes, thank goodness.’
‘This’ll be fine to hold him once we fix the gate,’ Luke said, indicating the old shearing shed. ‘But he’ll need his own paddock to graze in through the day. If you fence off some of the bigger paddock behind the shed, that’d be perfect.’
‘Okay. I’ll look into finding a fencing contractor. I don’t want him roaming around the rose garden near the house.’
‘No, probably not the best idea,’ Luke agreed dryly.
‘I found this old gate behind the shed. I’m wondering if we could use it to replace the dodgy timber one he managed to push through?’
‘Should do the trick,’ he said, inspecting it. ‘I’ll have a scratch around and see what I can find to put it up.’
He came back a few minutes later with some tools and Hayley blinked in surprise. ‘You carry all that stuff with you?’ ‘You have to,’ he said, moving past her to drag the gate into position. ‘Something’s always breaking down or needing to be fixed when you’re too far from the house to go back.’
‘Like a boy scout. Always prepared,’ she said.
‘Something like that.’
‘Can I do anything to help?
‘You can hold that end of the gate for me if you like.’
Hayley stepped closer and took up position where he showed her, glad she had something to do instead of stand and watch him…work, she added quickly. She was only watching him work. He worked very well in those denim jeans. Would you stop it? What was happening to her? She didn’t normally ogle men. She had absolutely no desire to find a man, and she doubted she’d even know what to do with one anyway. She firmly ignored the helpful suggestions her overstimulated mind offered at this thought and cleared her throat. ‘How long have you lived around here?’ That’s good. Nice, friendly conversation.
‘All my life. Born and bred. What about you? Where did you grow up?’
‘Mainly in Sydney. We moved from the central coast when I was about nine, so pretty much most of my life.’
‘So what makes a city girl want to buy a place like this?’ he asked, squinting up at her as he continued attaching the gate to the post.
‘I wanted a change of scenery. I came here for a weekend once and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. When I saw it online for sale, it was like a sign or something…’ Her words trailed off as she saw him watching her thoughtfully. He probably thought she was some city slicker jumping into something without a second thought. He actually wouldn’t be too far off the mark. It had been a very spontaneous decision, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow it was meant to be. What were the chances that this property would have just been placed on the market literally the day before she started looking?
‘Are you a big believer in fate?’ he asked, momentarily throwing Hayley.
‘I don’t know…I haven’t been in the past,’ she admitted. ‘What about you?’
He gave her a lopsided smile and Hayley felt something shift inside her. For the briefest of moments she felt a flash of recognition, something so familiar that her heart actually ached, then it was gone.
‘My grandmother is a big believer in all things fate and destiny. Me? Not so much. I personally think we make our own choices and choose our own path.’
‘Your grandmother sounds fascinating.’
‘She’s a character—a bit of a legend around these parts.’
‘Does she live nearby?’
‘She’s your next-door neighbour,’ he said, smiling. ‘The Masons are one big happy family. All three generations are currently living there together.’
His dry remark made her smile. ‘In the one house?’
‘It’s a pretty big house,’ he admitted, ‘but no. Thankfully there are enough houses that we can all have our own space.’
‘So, how many of you are there?’
‘My parents, Gran, my brother and his wife, their kids and me.’
‘Wow. That’s a lot of people. Do you like living there with your family?’
‘Sometimes it feels a bit crowded, but mostly we all do our own thing, except for Sunday lunch—that’s always up at the main house with everyone. Not what you’re used to, I take it?’ he asked, looking around. ‘Aren’t you going to get lonely here all by yourself?’
‘How do you know I’m living here alone?’ she asked, more curious than offended.
‘Word’s got around, you bought this place on your own. No sign of a husband or significant other spotted by anyone,’ he shrugged.
Hayley stared at him gobsmacked. They’d all been piecing together her life story?
He glanced at her surprised face and quickly back-peddled. ‘No one meant anything by it. It’s just kind of a big deal when we get newcomers to the area. People get curious.’
‘Oh. Sure. I can understand that.’ Well, sort of. ‘I don’t mind being alone. I work from home, so I’m used to the quiet.’
‘What do you do?’
‘I’m a writer.’
‘Yeah?’ he said, kinking an eyebrow in interest. ‘What do you write?’
‘Fiction.’
‘Romance stuff?’
‘Ah, no. Although there is usually a bit of romance thrown in. I write a series based on a female detective.’
‘Sounds good. I might have to look for your books.’
Hayley smiled politely; that was usually the standard reply from people who hated reading but didn’t want to risk offending her by saying so. She didn’t take it personally. ‘There we go,’ he said, standing back to admire his work.
‘That should keep old Errol in. You might have to make sure all your gates are kept shut, though—if he does get out, at least that way he won’t be able to wander as far again.’ ‘I wasn’t expecting a donkey to land on my doorstep or I would have made sure I had a safe place to keep him before he turned up.’
‘Yeah, that’s a pretty low act even for Alfie.’
‘Do you know where he lives? I think I’ll go around there and have a chat to him.’
‘I don’t think it’ll do you much good. Alfie’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, if you know what I mean, but he can be a shifty old bastard when he wants to be. Look, if you really don’t want the donkey, I can organise to get rid of him for you.’
‘Get rid of him how?’
‘He’s getting on, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to have him put down.’
‘Put down?’ Hayley stared at the man, horrified. ‘Because he’s inconvenient?’
‘Because he’s had a pretty crap life up there with Alfie and his tribe of feral kids and you don’t want him, so it’s doin’ the poor bugger a favour.’
‘I didn’t say I didn’t want him,’ she said, glancing across at the now quiet animal chewing contentedly on his hay. ‘I just wasn’t prepared for him. He can stay. I’ll just have to get his yard sorted out first before I start on anything else around here.’
‘Okay,’ Luke said with a shrug, no doubt confirming his theory that she was indeed some kind of crazy city person. ‘Well,’ he said, tapping the top railing of the newly installed gate, ‘I guess I better get out of your hair so you can go back to whatever you were doing.’
She glanced at her watch and realised it was almost lunchtime. ‘Would you like a cold drink? I’m pretty sure we’ve earned one.’
There was a brief moment of hesitation, but maybe it was surprise, before he agreed. Hayley led the way into the house and showed Luke where the bathroom was to wash the grime from his hands, then she quickly changed out of her now damp clothing and tried to get as much of the muddy-water smell off her as possible.
Hayley took out some juice from the fridge, along with some crackers and dip. It wasn’t much of a lunch but it was all she had on hand. ‘I’ve only got orange juice,’ she said as he appeared in the kitchen. ‘Pickings are a bit slim at the moment until I get around to doing a grocery shop. Is that okay?’
‘Sure. That’ll be fine, thanks.’ He looked around curiously. ‘The last time I was in this house I think I was about seven. I came over with my gran to bring some fruit to the woman who used to live here.’
‘Really?’ Hayley asked. ‘What was it like back then?’
He lifted an eyebrow. ‘When you say back then, it wasn’t like a hundred years ago or anything. I’m not that old,’ he grinned.
‘I wasn’t thinking a hundred years…maybe fifty or so,’ she added, for some reason feeling comfortable enough to joke with a man she’d only met a few hours ago.
‘Well, to answer your question, young whippersnapper, it looked like an old lady’s house. She’d been living here for a long while and was a fair age when she died.’
‘Died…as in here?’
He gave a faint chuckle at her concerned expression. ‘No, in a nursing home. Her family sold the place and since then it’s had a few different owners.’
He followed her outside to the table under the shady tree, glass in hand.
‘Are you going to continue the place as a B&B?’ he asked, stretching his legs out as he sat down.
‘I’m not sure yet. Not at first. I think I just want to enjoy being by myself for a while, but maybe down the track a bit.’
‘One of the things people from the city often notice is how quiet it is out here.’
Hayley smiled. ‘It was one of the first things I noticed too, but I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m a writer, but my mind is never quiet. I’ve always got so much going on, plotting a new book, characters trying to get my attention to tell me their story…It’s never truly quiet.’
‘Wow, and I thought I had it tough never escaping my family and their constant dramas…’
‘He says, putting his glass down and stepping away from the crazy lady,’ Hayley chuckled as she sipped her juice.
‘You’re not the craziest person I’ve ever met. You haven’t met my family yet.’
‘They sound like my kind of people.’
‘They aren’t anyone’s kind of people,’ he warned her dryly.
‘I’m sure they can’t be that bad.’
‘Nah, they’re not. They’re a good bunch, most of the time. What about your family? Where are they?’
‘Mum and Dad divorced when I was in my teens, and Dad’s remarried and lives overseas. Mum passed away a little over ten years ago.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have any other family nearby?’
‘I have a few aunties and cousins floating about, but we’re not close.’
‘Isn’t that kinda lonely? I don’t think I’ve ever been without family somewhere nearby.’
She’d never had a big happy family living on top of each other, it had only ever really been her and her mum. There wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t think about her and wish she were still here. That kind of gap could never be filled. ‘I don’t think you necessarily have to be by yourself to feel alone. You can be surrounded by a whole city full of people and still feel lonely.’
He seemed to consider her answer carefully before slowly nodding. ‘That’s true, I guess. Is that why you moved out here? Because you were too lonely where you were?’
‘I guess. Partly. It could also have been some kind of reaction to turning the big three-o as well.’
‘Ahh, I see.’
‘What?’
‘I had a mate whose sister went through something similar when she turned thirty a couple of years ago.’
‘She moved?’
‘No, she took up belly dancing and travelled to India in search of her inner self or something,’ he told her. ‘Turning thirty somehow made her realise she hadn’t done everything she’d thought she’d do in her twenties.’
‘It does kind of sneak up on you.’
‘I didn’t really give it much thought, to tell you the truth.’
‘Maybe it’s different for men.’
‘Maybe. Although I have to say, Mum’s hints about settling down and producing grandchildren have increased noticeably in the last two years.’
Hayley gave a small smile. At least she and Paul hadn’t had any children to drag through a divorce. ‘I’m hearin’ ya,’ she murmured. That was one thing she wouldn’t miss—the annual Christmas dinner with Paul’s family and everyone asking when they were going to start a family. They’d be pleased now. The text she’d received from Paul and Lisa, on her birthday no less, letting her know that they were expecting a baby, had been the icing on the sad cupcake she’d bought to celebrate her thirtieth birthday, all by herself. They’d wanted her to hear it from them first. Which she supposed was them trying to be considerate of her feelings. If only they’d considered her feelings before sleeping together, maybe she’d have appreciated it a little more.
Hayley glanced up and realised Luke was watching her curiously. ‘My ex-husband’s family were big on wanting grandchildren too,’ she shrugged.
‘Ah, I see,’ Luke nodded knowingly.
‘Yes, now you know my deep dark secret,’ she said drolly. ‘I’m a jaded divorcee.’
‘I wouldn’t have necessarily picked you as jaded,’ he said, looking at her thoughtfully.
‘Give it time,’ she said dryly.
‘It wasn’t an amicable split, I take it?’
Hayley sipped her juice. ‘It was amicable enough, I suppose. Guilt apparently inspires generosity.’
‘Ah, I see.’
Hayley wasn’t sure exactly what he saw, and she didn’t push him to explain.
‘I can understand why you’d want to start somewhere new after a divorce,’ he said quietly. ‘It’s hard to move on when everything around you is connected to your old life.’
‘You sound as though you’re speaking from experience.’
‘I was in a pretty serious relationship with someone until about a year ago too. Till she decided she didn’t want to be a farmer’s wife. But I couldn’t move away to start over. It was hard at first with everyone watching to make sure I wasn’t falling apart.’
‘I’m sorry. It obviously hurt a lot.’
Luke gave an offhand shrug, but Hayley suspected he wasn’t one to reveal his feelings easily.
‘That’s life, hey? Anyway, I’d better get going. I have to help out in the bar tonight.’
‘You work at a bar?’
‘At our place. We have a microbrewery and restaurant. It’s a bit of a new venture for us. My brother and sister-in-law run it, using pretty much everything we grow ourselves, from the meat and produce for the restaurant to the hops and barley for the brewery.’
‘Wow.’
‘Yeah, we’re pretty excited about it. It’s only been open for a few months, but it seems to be going great guns.’
‘I’ll have to come and check it out one day.’
‘Yeah, you should do that. Let me know when you want to and I’ll make sure we reserve the best seat in the house,’ he said with an easy smile.
‘I’ll hold you to that.’
Hayley watched as the ute drove away and there was nothing left but the settling dust along the driveway. She turned and headed back inside. Maybe Errol getting stuck in the dam hadn’t been a complete disaster after all.
Luke Mason drove home on automatic pilot. His mind was still with the new neighbour he’d just rescued. Well, not that he’d rescued her, exactly, mainly her donkey. He gave a soft chuckle at the afternoon’s encounter. Hayley Stevens was the last thing he’d expected to find when he’d gone to investigate the strange noise he’d heard when he’d turned off the tractor engine.
He got a tiny flutter of something, a cross between excitement and interest, when he thought of her. Covered in mud, and clearly annoyed, she wasn’t anything like the woman he’d been expecting. For some reason he’d assumed a woman buying a property, with no sign of a husband, would be much older, a grey-haired countrywoman perhaps. He certainly hadn’t been expecting an extremely attractive woman from the city, his own age and a writer too.
In a small place like Lochway there wasn’t exactly a huge pool of eligible singles. It wasn’t the kind of place kids hung around in after high school. Farming was the only real industry and there were fewer farms—and farmers, for that matter—every year. His mother’s wedding reception centre brought new women to town, but only briefly. Bridesmaids were an entertaining option if he needed a fix of feminine company, but relationship-wise there was very little in the way of options out here. Not that he was looking for a relationship. God, just talking about Lucinda earlier had brought back a healthy dose of ‘no way, no how’. He was not a glutton for punishment. No, his next serious relationship was going to have to be pretty damn impressive to make him even think about going through all that again.
He parked the car and went back to work, his mind still on the woman with dark curly hair and big blue eyes.