Chapter Twenty-Two
Garth pushed the gate closed behind Liam and Seb as they led the last of the straggling cattle into the back paddock.
“Thanks, Liam. Appreciate the help, Seb.” He lifted his hat and wiped the sweat off his brow. Even though they’d left moving the cattle until late afternoon, the heat rose off the parched dry earth in shimmering waves. The cattle gathered immediately around the dam, and Liam nodded slowly.
“That looks like a damn fine idea to me. Want me to grab some beers and we’ll meet you down at the back dam for a swim?” he said.
Garth shook his head. “Got some things I need to do. I’ll take a rain check.”
He was aware of Liam and Seb’s quiet conversation as he called Jack and strode over to his ute parked on the other side of the fence. He was grateful for the help that the guys were giving him lately, but he found it too hard to spend time in their company. He’d lost count of the number of times he’d knocked back Helena and Harry’s invitation to come over for a meal.
Garth clenched his jaw as he started the ute. He couldn’t get damn Lucy Bellamy out of his head, no matter where he went. He was surprised she hadn’t even come home for the long weekend. As he drove along the track he wondered how the hell he could get over Lucy once and for all.
It was time to make a move, or he’d be mooning about for the rest of his life. The property was suffering, the house was a mess, and his emotions weren’t much better. He’d been an arse, and it was time to go and see Lucy and sort it out once and for all.
He missed her like hell, but he had to get over the fact that she didn’t want him.
Garth threw his work boots into the laundry, and they landed with a satisfying thud. Seb and Liam hadn’t mentioned Lucy once today. There was something going on.
But it’s none of my business.
He headed for the shower and stripped off his filthy work clothes and threw them on the floor. Every damn room in his house had a memory of Lucy. Sometimes he thought he was losing his mind. Whatever he was doing, she filled his thoughts. He’d spent time in the garden trying to get her out of his mind, but every time he turned the hose on, a picture of her in one of her silly T-shirts replaced the view in front of him.
He stood under the hot water, letting it wash away the dirt and soothe his feelings. He’d fallen for Lucy, but she’d made it quite clear from the outset that she was not staying.
More fool him, he hadn’t listened. Now Garth forced himself to step back and think about what he really wanted. Was it being here on the farm and living out in the Pilliga Scrub? How important was that to his future? He had enough money in the bank to start afresh. He could put a manager in if need be.
Where did he want to be? Could he be happy if he stayed here, without Lucy?
A resounding no crashed through his thoughts.
Garth thought of the nights Lucy had spent in his bed and the fun they’d had working in his garden. The joy on her face as she’d planted the tiny seedlings and watched them take root in the soil. The feeling that had filled him when he’d held her in his arms.
Garth accepted he didn’t want to be here without Lucy. The farm was nothing without her.
Maybe they could make a go of it if they were where she wanted to be. In the city, where she could work in the career she loved. There were plenty of engineering opportunities in Sydney, and he had a lot of contacts. He’d have no problem finding a job.
He’d hurt Lucy when he’d argued with her in the car, and regret spiralled through him.
Garth turned the shower jets off and reached for a towel. He crossed to the window, and as he stood staring out at the paddocks, he came to a decision.
He loved Lucy Bellamy, and he would do anything to keep her. If she wanted him. That was what he had to find out.
No matter what it took. No matter where he had to live. No matter what he had to lose, nothing was as bad as losing her.
Liam and Seb shared a satisfied look when Garth turned up at the dam with a six-pack and a request for them to keep an eye out on the property while he went to Sydney to see Lucy.
“She’s bloody miserable, mate,” Liam said as he took the beer that Garth held out.
Garth quirked an eyebrow. “So she talks to you lot?”
“Gran called her the other night and wouldn’t take any excuse about why she couldn’t talk,” Seb added. “I don’t think she’s doing too well back in the city, is our Lucy. Last time I saw her, she was complaining about the traffic and the noise.”
“And too stubborn to admit she’s wrong. So don’t give up too easily.” Liam looked pleased when he heard that Garth was leaving first thing in the morning.
“She’s been at the office every day for three weeks, keeping herself busy,” Seb said with a frown. “But she was cranky when I said good-bye.”
“Persevere, mate.” Liam lay back, and his voice was soft as it floated over the water. “I’ll bet twenty bucks that she’ll come back home with you.”
“I wish I was so sure.” Garth stared into the distance as the setting sun sent a flare of purple into the evening sky. His future depended on it. If Lucy didn’t want him, he didn’t know what he’d do.
…
Just on sunset the following day, Garth stood in the narrow foyer of an old apartment block at the back of King Street, Newtown. He wrinkled his nose as the sour smell of beer-soaked carpet and mould assailed him. Seb had warned him that Lucy’s apartment was in a dodgy part of Newtown when he’d called him for her address.
God, if he’d known she lived in such a dive, he would have been down here weeks ago. It wasn’t safe for a woman to walk alone in this part of town. He’d passed a pile of syringes on the footpath as he’d looked for her apartment building, and he’d been offered two drug deals between parking his ute and reaching the main street.
The noise of the weekend traffic was so loud, he could barely think, and it had been a pleasure to step into the building where the noise lowered to a muted roar. God, if Lucy preferred living down here in what she had called a civilised environment, maybe there wasn’t a chance for them. Maybe they were two different people who were just sexually compatible?
No. If he believed that, he wouldn’t be here. He pushed open the glass door at the bottom of the steps and walked up to the third floor and stood outside the door marked Apartment Nine. Garth took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock.