Berry kept telling herself that she should fix up her old room at the house and move in, but she enjoyed being able to escape back to the B&B after another day of solitude, joining Andrea for a chat over a hot chocolate. But she also knew that there was more to it. As the night drew in, the atmosphere of the house began to change. Berry realised that she was being fanciful, but she couldn’t seem to shake the mood. It was fine during the day as she kept busy with music pumping through the entire place, but at night … well, that was different. Winding down meant you had more time to think, and even worse, remember.
The renovation was scheduled to begin the next Monday, so Berry decided it was time she took stock of the land that comprised Stone Gully Farm. Up until now, she hadn’t gone much further than the old orchard and the dam. The farm consisted of several other large paddocks, a winter creek and, of course, the large quartz reef that cut across a corner of the property. As a kid she used to follow the creek that wound around the base of the reef. It was unfortunate, at least that’s what her grandfather used to say, that the reef was there because it made that bit of land almost useless. But he’d then follow it up by saying you had to work with what you had and that was that. Berry had always liked collecting bits of pretty quartz, so she would just nod to her grandad and say nothing.
Berry spent much of her day walking along the boundary fences and checking the state they were in. For the most part she was surprised that the majority of the fenceline was okay. There were some sections that needed work, but on the whole it was better than she expected—until she came to the fence that they shared with her closest neighbours, Tarantale Downs. A large gum had crashed down on a section of the fence and had managed to flatten the whole thing. It looked like it had only happened fairly recently. Berry stood for a moment and then another as she tried to work out how the hell she was going to fix it. The tree was huge and she had no idea of where to begin.
The fence being down wasn’t really a problem for her but she realised that it could be for Nate and his horses. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through until she found his number. He answered after two rings.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi Nate, it’s Berry McCalister. I’m sorry if I’ve interrupted you.’
‘No, no it’s fine,’ Nate said quickly. ‘What can I do for you?’
Berry had barely finished telling him about the fence before he offered to come to meet her.
It was only about ten minutes before Berry saw Nate’s ute bumping its way down the paddock towards her. Nate gave her a wave through the windscreen as he pulled up by the fence.
‘Hey,’ he said as he got out of the car and motioned towards the fallen tree. ‘I can see we’ve got our work cut out for us.’
‘Yeah, it’s huge, isn’t it?’ Berry said as she glanced back to the gum before turning back to the newcomer who had stepped out of the ute after Nate. ‘Hi, I’m Berry.’
‘Oh, sorry—this is Justin. I dragged him along to give us a hand.’
Justin gave her a smile and a nod. He was younger than Nate but almost as handsome. Berry frowned at her own thought. She had no business toying with the idea of handsomeness, especially when it came to Nate. She was smart enough to know how vulnerable she was.
‘So, do you go to school around here?’
‘No, I wasn’t very good at it,’ Justin said with a shrug.
‘More to the point he didn’t put enough effort into it,’ Nate said.
‘Hey, are you my dad or something?’
‘Lord no, it would be a twenty-four–seven job keeping you out of trouble,’ Nate laughed as he nudged Justin’s shoulder with his own. ‘Justin is one of our stable hands at Tarantale.’
‘Oh, I see,’ Berry said, and then after pausing for a moment, continued. ‘So, any ideas on how to get rid of the tree and fix the fence?’
‘We’ll repair it, you don’t have to worry about this,’ Nate said with a smile. ‘I’ll grab a couple more guys and we’ll take care of it.’
‘Thanks, but don’t you want me to help or at least pay for some of the fence?’ Berry asked with a frown. ‘I mean, it’s only fair that I contribute to getting this sorted.’
‘Have you ever used a chainsaw?’
Berry bristled a little. ‘No, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give it a go.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean that to sound like how it came out,’ he said and Berry caught Justin rolling his eyes behind Nate’s back.
Berry stared at him for a moment to gauge if he was actually telling her the truth. She raised a questioning eyebrow and waited for the next words out of his mouth.
He took a step closer and looked her in the eyes. ‘Look, I’ll take care of it but if you want to come down and help, you’re more than welcome. I’ll teach you how to use a chainsaw and mend a fence, okay? I didn’t mean to make it sound like you weren’t capable.’
For a second he stared at her with puppy eyes and she had to admit it was hard to maintain her annoyance when someone that damn handsome was gazing down at her.
‘Okay, we’ll do that,’ she said grudgingly, slightly irritated at herself for being manipulated by a handsome face.
Nate grinned, and Berry wondered if he was aware of what he was doing.
‘Good, we’ll go back and grab some help and tools and be back in an hour or so,’ he said as he held out his hand waiting for her to shake it.
‘Fine,’ Berry said as she took his hand. She tried to ignore the warmth of his skin and the tiny buzz of electricity as they touched. ‘I’ll see you then.’
Back at the house, Berry was about to dive into a sandwich when there was a knock at the door.
‘Hello,’ the middle-aged man said with a brief smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He seemed familiar but she wasn’t sure why. He was tall with a lean face and his dark blond hair was silvered around his temples. ‘I’m one of your neighbours—Sam Tarant.’
‘Oh hi, I’m Berry. I know your son.’
‘Yes, he said he’d met you when you first arrived.’
‘That’s right, but I actually just left him.’
Sam Tarant’s eyes widened a little in surprise. ‘What, just now?’
Berry explained before she gave an embarrassed smile and took a step back. ‘Sorry, I don’t know where my head’s at. Please come in, can I make you a cup of tea?’
‘Thanks, that sounds good,’ Sam said as he started to follow her back towards the kitchen.
Berry noticed that he paused, took a deep breath and blew it out.
‘Are you okay?’ she said as she glanced over her shoulder.
He nodded. ‘Yeah, sorry. It’s just that I haven’t been in here for a long time.’
Berry indicated a stool by the kitchen bench. ‘Please, take a seat,’ she said before putting the kettle on. ‘Did you know my parents, Mr Tarant?’
He nodded again. ‘I was friends with your dad. You don’t remember?’
Berry shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, things from back then are all pretty hazy.’
‘Well, it was a long time ago and you were only a little kid.’
‘Coffee or tea?’
‘Coffee, thanks—just white and no sugar,’ he said. ‘So, I was a little surprised when I found out that you’d returned. Harlington is a sad place for your family, it must have been difficult to come back, especially by yourself.’
Berry smiled. ‘I’m fine. Really.’
‘Still, I suspect it was a bit daunting when you first arrived.’
‘Yes, I suppose it was. Although I’d have to thank your son for stopping by when he did. It really helped.’
‘So, do you mind if I ask what you are going to do with the place? I mean, I figured that you and your brother and sister must have lives in Melbourne.’
‘I guess we do. I’ve finished my Arts degree and I’m taking a break to work out what I want to do. That’s why I decided to come here and check out the house. One way or the other we have to come to a decision on what we’re going to do with it.’
‘I suppose that’s a hard decision,’ Sam said as he took a sip of his coffee.
‘It is. On one hand I feel that we should fix it up and sell it, but on the other … it was our home,’ Berry said as she pulled out the other stool and sat down next to him.
‘You’d have a lot of memories invested here.’
Berry sighed and gave him a smile. ‘I was quite young at the time. I do have memories of my parents and grandparents, but as I said before they’re a bit hazy. I remember feelings and snippets, like planting trees in the orchard with my mum or paddling over to the island with Jess. Although we only did that a couple of times because if Mum had found out she would have hit the roof.’
Sam Tarant chuckled. ‘I would have felt the same way if any of my kids had done something that dangerous. At least until I knew that you both could swim.’
‘Probably not as well as we thought,’ Berry admitted. She paused for a moment, gathering herself to ask the question foremost in her mind. ‘Did you know Dad well?’
‘Yes, I did. We’d hang out quite often. He was a dreamer, you know. Always looking at ways he could improve Stone Gully. Some of his ideas were solid while others … well, they were a bit out there.’
‘Mr Tarant, did you talk to him before … the incident?’
He was silent for a moment. ‘It was a long time ago, but I think I saw him a couple of days before. He was worried. I’m not exactly sure what about because he didn’t tell me. I can only guess that it had something to do with money.’
‘Why do you think that?’
‘Look, I don’t know what went on in his head. If you had told me that he’d snap like that and hurt your mum, I would never have believed it. They were devoted to each other and because of that I jumped up and down at the time that the police had got it wrong. I believed an outsider must have killed your family because the Jordy I knew would never have raised a finger to anyone, not his own parents and especially not your mum.’
‘And yet that was the verdict.’
‘Yes, that’s true. I guess you never really know someone. Your dad was under financial pressure. Oh, he never told me the details. I guess it must have just been too much for him and he snapped. At least that’s what I tell myself—he couldn’t have been in his right mind. I don’t know if that helps but—’
Berry broke in before he could finish his sentence. ‘Actually, I think it does.’ He wasn’t telling her anything that she didn’t already know, yet somehow it seemed comforting to have someone else say it.
Sam looked at her. ‘I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. And your brother and sister. It was a terrible tragedy, but you have to remember sometimes things like this just happen—people reach breaking point. Back in our day no one ever talked about mental health, especially in rural areas; you just had to get on with it. There’s a lot of pressure on families to make ends meet, not being the son of a bitch to lose the family land, enduring drought, fire and everything else that gets thrown at you. Basically, from an early age you’re told to man up. At least I know I was and I bet your dad was the same. There’s more support available now but still there are people who don’t ask for help and think that problems and mental-health issues are seen as a weakness.’
‘You think my father was like that?’
‘I can’t say for sure but it would explain what happened. Because Jordy would never had done what he did if he’d been in his right mind. I think there must have been a culmination of things that just piled onto him until he broke.’
Berry stared at her coffee. She’d spent years trying to forget her tenth birthday, trying to reconcile the father she’d loved with the man who had destroyed nearly everything.
‘I’m sorry, I’ve just met you again and I take you back down into the dark past that you’re probably trying to forget.’
‘No. Thank you. I think you’ve made me understand what happened better. My uncle didn’t tell me the truth until a few years ago. Up until that point my brother, sister and I all knew that our parents had died, but not the circumstances.’
‘That must have been difficult.’
‘Understatement. For the second time my world was turned upside down,’ Berry said with a shake of her head.
Sam Tarant took another sip of his drink. ‘Listen, I know that you don’t know what you’re going to do with the place. I’m not pushing you one way or the other, but if you and Jess and Tom decide not to keep it, I’m more than willing to buy it for a decent price.’
Berry sat back, startled. ‘Why would you want it?’
‘Because you kids have been through enough. And, if I’m being honest, I could use the land. I guess, above all … because your dad was my friend.’
Berry nodded. ‘We haven’t come to a decision, but thanks. I promise I’ll keep it in mind.’
‘Good. And listen, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or Nate.’
‘Thank you, I really appreciate that. I was a bit worried about coming to Harlington but everyone I’ve met so far has been very welcoming.’
‘It’s a small town and generally people stick together. It’s been like that for generations.’
‘There’s something nice about that.’
‘Oh, one other thing,’ Sam said.
Berry glanced up and gave him a questioning look.
‘I’ll take care of the fence, you don’t have to put anything into it. Keep your money to fix up this place.’
‘That’s very kind of you, but I wouldn’t feel right about not helping to pay for the damage. I mean, the tree was actually on my side of the fence,’ Berry explained.
‘Think of it as a welcome home present,’ Sam Tarant said quickly.
‘Oh no, I couldn’t.’
‘If you feel that strongly about it, why not supply the guys with some refreshments. That’ll be enough and I figure they would appreciate the thought.’
‘Um … okay, I guess, but that still doesn’t seem fair.’
‘That’s all I’m willing to accept,’ Sam said before he drained the last mouthful of his coffee and stood up. ‘Thanks for the cuppa and let me know if you need anything.’
‘I will. Thanks again, Mr Tarant.’
‘Well, I hope we’ll run into each other soon.’
‘There’s a possibility,’ Berry admitted as she stood up and pushed the stool back against the kitchen bench.
‘Oh?’
‘Actually, Nate’s suggested he could teach me to ride. I’m keen to learn, so if it’s not too much trouble I think I’ll take him up on his offer.’
Sam Tarant gave her a smile. ‘It’s no trouble at all. I’m sure Nate will be looking forward to it. Right, I’d better be off—there’s no rest for the wicked,’ he said as he headed towards the front door.