Chapter 6

Sally waited for Sol to reply to her text. She’d deliberately left it an extra day because she didn’t want him to think that she was going to drop everything and find the notes for him. She was busy too, or she wished she was—the frequency of appointments had deteriorated along with the weather. Plus she’d spent two days telling herself that he was a man, and she had no interest in him, that way.

Blake Curtis had done such a huge number on her self confidence Sonia was probably right; she would end up old and lonely like Aunt Aggie. Maybe she’d still be in the house and take over the haunting when Aunt Aggie moved on to wherever ghosts went.

Despite what she’d told Sol about creaking and banging pipes, she had no doubt that Aggie still had a presence in the house. Nothing to be scared of, just a comforting sense of Aunt Aggie looking out for them.

That was another reason she should have known Blake wasn’t for her before he flaunted bimbo girl in her face, the night she’d caught them together. He’d laughed the one time she’d foolishly mentioned Aunt Aggie still being in the house. Rolled up the sleeve of his very expensive business shirt, looked at his Rolex and made a hasty exit.

She should have known then, or maybe one of the other dozen times when Blake had ridiculed her, disparaged her profession, and turned his nose up at the house. He’d never been meant for her, but she was too scared of being lonely to admit it to herself.

Pride comes before a fall. The words hung in the air around Sally and she looked up with a smile.

‘Yes, Aunt Aggie, they sure do.’ And that was exactly why she wasn’t going to fall for the charms of a bumbling research student who wore strange clothes.

No matter how good looking he was. As she walked slowly upstairs, her phone rang.

Sonia. She ignored it for the first few rings, still cross at her sister for what she’d done. Finally she gave in and pressed answer.

‘Sally?’

‘Yes.’

‘Woops, she’s still shitty with me.’ Sonia’s voice was muffled but Sally heard what she said. ‘Are you there, Sal? What’s the weather like. Has it improved?’

‘If I say no, will you stay away for longer?’ Sally knew she was being a cow, but Sonia shouldn’t have placed that ad.

‘Probably.’

Sally paused at the top of the stairs and looked out the window in the little alcove where Aunt Aggie had loved to sit and read. The moon was full and the stars were strewn around the sky like glittering diamonds. It was a beautiful, crisp and clear winter night. ‘Well, yes then, it’s teeming down rain. Broken every rainfall record ever made. The sea is huge and the storms haven’t stopped since you left.’ She stamped on the wooden floor. ‘Hear the thunder?’

‘Oh, come on Sal. You must be missing me. Aren’t you lonely?’

‘Nope.’

‘So how did you get that guy with the sexy voice to pretend he was in bed with you the other night?’

Sally almost disconnected, but she kept her voice firm and calm. ‘Pretending? There was no pretending about it.’

Sonia’s giggle was the last straw.

‘In fact, I need to know when you’re coming back, because Sol’s moving in. I guess I need to check that’s okay with Rosie and Taj.’

She nodded and satisfaction filled her. That had shut her sister up.

‘Sal?’ Rosie’s voice replaced Sonia’s. ‘What’s happening there? Sonia just held the phone out to me, she’s lost for words. What did you tell her?’

Sally crossed the fingers of her spare hand. ‘I’m pleased you’re there, Rosie. I wanted to check with you that it’s okay for Sol to move in.’

‘Sol, who’s Sol?”

‘My friend from the other night.’

‘Sure, you can sub-let any of the rooms, that’s not a problem. As long as you don’t mind having someone else in the house.’

Anger tugged at Sally’s calm.

Why was it that everyone thought she was incapable of getting a man and holding him!

Any guilt at telling Rosie a porky disappeared like a puff of smoke up the chimney. She’d kept the fire going since Sol had lit it for her. ‘No, Sol’s moving in with me.’

Stunned silence. ‘But didn’t you just . . . um . . . meet him?’

‘Yes. Love at first sight. And how long did you know Taj before you got together.’

‘That was different.’ The voice was indignant. Great, now she had Sonia and Rosie offside.

‘Okay, as long as it’s okay for him to move in. Thanks, Rosie.’ She kept her voice bright and breezy and cut Rosie off before she could speak. ‘Tell Sonia to text me when she’s coming home. I have to go. Sol’s at the door. Byeee.”

She hit the disconnect button.

It was time to call Sol and put her plan in place.

She took a deep breath and went looking for the business card he’d given her the other night.

***

It had been three days since Sally had said she would be in touch. Time was running out and Sol was about to hit the panic button. Maybe he’d forget about this thesis before he went back to Sydney uni to finish off his vet studies. But one thing he hated was leaving anything unfinished. That was another reason he had to go back and finish his vet science work.

  One quick text to say she’d found the notes and would be in touch for him to pick up the notes from the house was all he hoped for; he’d trusted her and he had not expected her to let him down but it would still be a relief to receive her call, even though he was cross at her.

Well, not really at her; it was a combination of things that had put him into a bad mood, but Sally was bearing the brunt of it, because he couldn’t get her out of his thoughts.

He didn’t have time to find a woman attractive.

He didn’t have time to spend any time with a woman he found attractive.

But she was so damn attractive, and such a sweet person—once she’d gotten over the grumps on Friday night, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. And he didn’t have time to think about that.

The pressure was on him to get his thesis done, even though he knew that once it was done, he wouldn’t be doing any more study in that field.

Although a little voice nagged, it would be a reason to stay in touch with Sally. He pushed away the voice of doubt that always plagued him. He wasn’t good with women and this whole dating business. He’d been too busy studying for most of his twenties.

‘If I want to spend more time with her, I’ll ask her out,’ he told the voice of doubt emphatically. ‘What do you think I am? A nerd or something?’ He straightened his shoulders as he trudged through the muddy paddock. This last week had opened up a clear path for Sol but he hadn’t told anyone yet. Not the supervisor at the university, or his family.

Especially not his family. He could just see the eye rolls, and hear the “tut tuts” when he told them he was going to follow a different path for his career. The one he should always have followed. He was a grown man, and it was time that everyone around him realised it.

‘Hah, and you’re too nervous to ask out a beautiful woman,’ niggled the voice of doubt. ‘So how are you going to stand up to your biggest critics?’

‘I’m not nervous,’ Sol muttered as he picked up the bag of goat pellets and ripped open the top of the sack with more vigour than he’d intended.

‘Oh fuck,’ he said as the pellets scattered around in the mud and about a dozen goats came running at him.

As soon as he got this lot sorted and locked up, he’d call Sally back and organise a time to visit. And when he’d caught up on everything, he’d ask her out.

On a date. A real date. Nothing to do with the thesis.

 His phone beeped as the first goat hit him in the back and his legs went out from beneath him. He lay in the squelchy mud and dug into his jeans pocket for his phone as the cold seeped through to his legs. He squinted and smiled when he saw who it was from; scrolling down, his grin got wider as he read the text.

Are you free to catch up tomorrow? I have no clients, so come as early as you like. I have a favour to ask you.

Sol nodded. Not even the cold mud, or the goats nudging at him to get to the pellets in the mud could dampen his mood. He was going to see Sally again, and not only that she had a favour to ask.

Then all he had to do was finish the thesis, hand it in, enroll in his new course, go and visit his parents—maybe—and then he would be asking Sally out.

Life was looking good.

##

Sol tried to retrieve that good feeling later that night as he sat in the driver’s seat of his old Land Rover ready to put it in the shed for the night. There was no way it would start the next morning if the day was cold.

‘Come on, old girl. You can do it,’ he almost crooned. On the tenth turn of the key, when the motor refused to turn over at all, he slammed his hands onto the steering wheel in disgust.

Okay, so the universe was telling him that this was a bad idea.

Another point of contention with his parents. The Audi they’d given him for his twenty-first birthday seven years ago was sitting unused in the spare garage at their house on the harbour.

Gertie, the old Land Rover had been for when he was going to be a vet.

Forget Sally. Forget the thesis. Why finish it anyway? Just to prove to his family that he could see something through to the end?

He climbed out of the car, and grabbed his phone off the seat.

Sorry, Sally. Car troubles. Before he could think, his fingers flew over the keys of their own free will. ‘Don’t suppose you fancy a trip up to Peats Ridge tomorrow to deliver the notes. I’ll entice you with a nice lunch, and reimburse your petrol.