Chapter 44

CHAPTER

44

The rain that began to fall was surprisingly gentle. Brian helped Sally stand and guided her to his car. She looked totally broken by grief, and Bree’s heart went out to her. Vicki walked with her grandmother, holding her hand, and standing close by as she slumped into the front seat of Brian’s car.

Before getting into the driver’s seat, he joined Bree and Matt.

‘I am so very sorry. I knew she was struggling, but I didn’t realise it had gone this far. I can’t think how—I’m sorry.’ Brian shook his head, his own pain written clearly on his face. ‘This is the first time I’ve seen her cry since the day of the funeral. I think she’ll be willing to get some help now.’

‘I hope so,’ Matt replied. ‘And if there is anything I can do to help, I’m here.’

‘Thank you.’

‘I won’t stop her seeing Vicki when she’s ready. But not yet. Vicki is going to need some time to get past today.’

‘Thank you. You are a good man, Matt. Kim knew what she was doing when she chose you. Vicki is a lucky girl. And don’t worry about this lawsuit. I’ll make sure it’s dropped.’

Matt dismissed his concerns with a wave. ‘I just want to see Sally recover, so she and Vicki can be close like they used to be.’

Brian looked at his wife and granddaughter and Bree almost felt the wave of sadness and love that washed over him. She wanted to hug him, but instead offered to drive Sally’s car back to the Ridge, to be picked up later. Brian accepted gratefully.

Matt called Vicki over and made sure she was safely fastened in her car seat. He looked at Bree as if to say something, but she smiled and raised a hand before getting into Sally’s car. Anything that Matt needed to say to her could wait. They were in no hurry and right now, his daughter needed him.

Before they pulled out of the campsite, Bree glanced at her phone. As she’d expected, there was no signal. Now that Vicki was safe, her thoughts had returned to the farm, to Sky and the outcome of her labour. She was going to have to wait a while longer for that.

The rain was falling more heavily as the little convoy made its way out of the mountains. Brian and Sally turned towards their home, leaving Bree to follow Matt and Vicki towards the Ridge. They were about halfway home when, on the seat beside her, Bree’s phone pinged several times. The road was clear of traffic, so she risked a quick glance. The first thing she saw was a message from Mike, in the form of a photo. She checked the image and a smile spread across her face. She wished Matt would drive a little bit faster.

Darkness had fallen when the two cars pulled up in front of Matt’s house. Bree locked Sally’s car and held out the keys to Matt. As he took the keys, his fingers closed around Bree’s hand.

‘Thank you.’ He didn’t mean the keys.

Bree shook her head. ‘I care about Vicki—and you.’

‘And she—we—I care about you too. Very much.’ Matt looked down at their clasped hands. ‘One thing today has taught me is that it’s time to get past grief and live again. Time for Sally—for all of us.’ He looked up again, his eyes holding hers with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat. ‘For me. Especially for me.’ He lifted her hand and kissed it. It was the briefest of kisses, but it held the promise of a wonderful, love-filled future.

In the car, a sleepy Vicki started to stir.

‘Will you come inside?’ Matt asked.

Bree shook her head. ‘You and Vicki need some time together. Just the two of you. And besides, there is something I have to do.’

He tilted his head slightly, one eyebrow raised in question.

‘You know Sky, the alpaca who was carrying twins? She went into labour this afternoon. That’s why I asked Nan to send Mike to The Gums.’

‘And?’

‘I now have twin female crias. Mother and twins are both doing fine.’

‘That’s good—’ Matt began, then faltered. ‘You were with me when you should have been there for the birth. It was such a big thing for you.’

Bree smiled and shook her head. ‘I was exactly where I should have been. They didn’t need me. You and Vicki did.’

‘We did. We do.’ There was a whole world of meaning in those words.

‘But now I need to get out there to relieve poor Mike and see the twins. And you need to take your daughter inside. Give her my love when she wakes up. Let’s talk tomorrow.’ Bree kissed him sweetly on the lips, then turned to walk back to the shop, where her car was parked.

The shop was in darkness. So was the cottage behind it. Bree hopped in her car and drove as quickly as she could to The Gums. She found a place for her car among those already there and headed to the stables, where the lights were shining in the darkness. There were more people there than she expected. Nan and Mike were leaning over the stable door, watching something inside. Maggie was with them and, surprisingly, Anna Prentiss and Shea were still there, looking equally as fascinated by the occupants of the stall. They all grinned widely as she approached.

She leaned on the stall door. Inside, Sky was happily dozing, her nose inches from two small brown shapes lying in the deep straw. Sensing Bree’s movement, the alpaca looked up.

‘You did real good, girl. Real good.’

Sky gently nuzzled her babies and closed her eyes again.

‘They’re all fine,’ Maggie assured Bree. ‘The little ones were standing and suckling. They’ll need some watching, but everything looks good.’

‘I don’t think any of us are going to argue about spending time watching over them.’ Bree wondered if Matt was going to tell Vicki about the twins. Hopefully tomorrow she could invite them out to see the crias. She could imagine Vicki’s face when she saw them.

Bree sighed deeply. She’d had many dreams the day she walked out of her parents’ firm. She had dreamed of these twins, but until today, she’d never really been sure it would end well. And none of those dreams had included the man and the little girl, who now seemed to be in every one of her thoughts for the future.