‘DAD’S RANCH IS totally cool, Mom.’
‘Oh, honey. How lovely to hear from you.’
Erin was sitting in a small pavement café eating breakfast—fresh melon and mango with yoghurt. Yesterday she’d checked her cellphone a thousand times. At least that was what it had felt like. She’d been desperate to hear from Joey but she’d been worried that Luke would consider her a fussy mother hen and so she’d held back from phoning.
‘How are you?’ she asked now.
‘I’m great.’
‘So you’re having a good time?’
‘Yep.’
‘Was it fun in the plane yesterday?’
‘You bet. Dad’s an awesome pilot. An’ he let me work one of the controls.’
‘Holy sh—smoke.’
‘I could see all the rivers and mountains and the roads and the rooftops and everything.’ Joey giggled. ‘An’ guess what?’
‘What?’
‘I’m going to ride a horse this afternoon.’
‘This afternoon?’ Erin’s heart took a dive, which was silly—she knew that sooner or later Luke would have his son on the back of a horse. ‘Well…wow, Joey. That—that’s neat. Are you scared?’
‘Nah. Well… I might be a little scared.’
‘Are you going to wear a helmet?’
‘Um. I don’t know. My horse is called Raven.’
‘That’s a pretty name, but Joey, you make sure you wear a helmet.’
‘Raven’s a mare, Mommy, and her coat is shiny and black. And guess what—Dad bought her just for me.’
‘Goodness! A horse just for you? Aren’t you lucky?’
But what about the helmet?
Erin knew she was overreacting but she couldn’t help imagining the horror of her little city-bred boy falling from the back of a horse. She cringed as she pictured his head smashing into hard red dirt, his foot wrenched from a stirrup, his tiny body broken by trampling hooves. ‘Joey, is Luke—is your father there?’
‘Sure.’
‘I—I’d like to speak to him, please.’
‘Okay. Bye, Mommy.’
‘You take care now. I love you, baby.’
‘Erin?’
Luke’s cool voice sent heat spiking through her.
‘Oh, Luke, hi.’
‘You want to speak to me?’
She gulped. ‘Joey tells me he’s going to start riding lessons today.’
‘Yes. You got a problem with that?’
‘I just wanted to—to—You are going to make sure he wears a helmet, aren’t you?’
Thank God. ‘I’m sorry if I sound fussy, Luke, but Joey’s still so little.’
‘He’s plenty old enough to start riding. The pony I’m putting him on has worked with children before. She’s perfect. And I’ll be watching the boy every minute he’s on her back.’
‘Yes… I’m sure you will.’
Luke sighed. ‘I wish you would trust me with Joey.’
‘I do trust you.’
‘Forgive me for not noticing.’ Lowering his voice, Luke said, ‘If you jump on the phone every time you think up a new thing to worry about you’re going to make the boy nervous.’
Erin gasped. Luke had virtually accused her of pestering him. How dared he? She’d restrained herself admirably last night and she hadn’t initiated this call now.
‘I don’t need a lecture on how to communicate with my son.’
‘Maybe not, but I’d appreciate it if you gave the boy space.’ Luke’s voice was calm yet merciless. ‘I’d like him to have the chance to make up his own mind about me and my home and my lifestyle.’
‘I’m giving him a chance. A big fat chance.’ Erin’s voice was choked with sudden fury. ‘I’m giving him two whole months.’
And, because she couldn’t stomach another smug response, she disconnected and snapped the cellphone shut before Luke could reply.
For three whole days there were no more phone calls between Sydney and Warrapinya. During that time Erin met Candia Hart, the diminutive, bubbly and super-successful Australian fashion designer. She visited art galleries and fashion houses, as well as jewellers, and she invested in some Australian gemstones. She particularly loved opals.
Then, to her surprise, Candia rang and invited her to dinner at her home. ‘I’d love you to meet my husband, Andrea,’ she said. ‘Can you come on Saturday?’
Erin was elated. She hadn’t really expected people as high profile as Candia and her famous racing-car driver husband, Andrea Conti, to be so friendly and hospitable.
Three nights later Joey called again.
‘Are you having fun on the ranch?’ she asked him.
‘You shouldn’t call this place a ranch, Mommy. It’s a station. But there’s no trains. Just humungous big trucks with carriages called dogs with hundreds and hundreds of cattle in them.’
‘Sounds exciting. What have you been doing?’
‘I’ve been to school.’
‘Oh, come on, Joey, don’t tell stories. I know that’s not true. There aren’t any schools at Warrapinya.’
‘There’s a school here, Mommy. I did home school with Brad and Clint and Jason. Over the Internet. It’s totally cool.’
‘Who are Brad and Clint and Jason?’
‘They’re my cousins.’
She heard the deep rumble of Luke’s voice in the background.
‘They’re my second cousins,’ Joey corrected. ‘And they’re so cool, Mommy. You should see how good they are at horse-riding.’
The wistful note of admiration in his voice sparked a twinge of anxiety in Erin. Joey’s sheltered ultra-urban life in Manhattan, where trips to Central Park provided the only encounters with nature, must seem terribly tame compared with this wonderful outdoor adventure.
‘They do barrel racing and calf riding,’ Joey said. ‘But Dad won’t let me.’
Feeling faint, Erin asked, ‘How—how old are these boys?’ Was Joey mixing with teenagers?
‘Brad’s eight and Clint’s seven, I think. Jason’s only five.’
‘Five?’ Somehow she managed not to shriek. But good grief, if she’d known there would be little boys Joey’s age performing outrageous hair-raising rodeo stunts she would have…she would have…
What? Insisted on accompanying Joey to Warrapinya? No, of course not. That wasn’t feasible. She didn’t want to go there and Luke would resent her presence. He and Joey needed space.
Remembering that and Luke’s warning that she mustn’t make Joey worried, she finished the conversation rather quickly, keeping her farewell brief and upbeat.
Erin’s anxiety about Joey lingered. On Saturday, when she was preparing to go to Candia and Andrea’s for dinner, she felt more uneasy than ever. She decided that she really must make a call to Warrapinya to put her mind at rest. Only then would she be able to relax and be a pleasant dinner guest.
A woman’s voice answered. ‘Oh, hello, Erin. We haven’t met, but I’m Jenny, Luke’s cousin.’
‘You must be the mother of the famous Brad and Clint and Jason?’
‘Yes. I’m afraid so.’ Jenny seemed surprisingly apologetic. ‘I’m so sorry the boys set your son a bad example.’
‘What do you mean? What example was that?’
On the other end of the line there was a soft sound, somewhere between a groan and a sigh. It sounded almost guilty. ‘You haven’t heard from Luke?’
‘No.’ Fighting panic, Erin closed her eyes and her hand gripped the receiver so hard her fingers hurt. ‘What’s happened? Can I speak to Joey?’
‘No, I’m afraid you can’t. He’s not here.’
Oh, God. Erin felt as if she’d been dangled over the edge of a very high precipice.
‘There’s been an accident,’ Jenny said. ‘Luke’s flown Joey in to the hospital in Townsville.’