Chapter Eleven
The trip to Narrabri had been successful. They’d come home with the tractor parts, Gran and Pop, and a load of luggage.
“I swear we buy a new suitcase in every city we visit.” Pop had shaken his head as Liam and Sebastian squeezed the four large suitcases into the boot at the airport.
Everyone was at the farm, and the welcome-home celebration was in full swing.
“Well, we’re home for a while now, so you don’t have to worry.” Gran’s smile was satisfied. She patted Sebastian’s shoulder as she walked back into the house. “Thanks for getting us today, love.”
Sebastian stayed out on the verandah with Garth and Liam. Liam had tried to talk farm with Pop but Pop put up his hand, much to Sebastian’s relief.
“No, Liam, we’ll do that in the office tomorrow. This is a party.” Pop lifted his beer and took a swig. “There is nothing in the world that beats a good cold Aussie beer.”
Gran came back out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron. It was as though she’d never been away. “Don’t you go drinking too much beer, Harry Peterkin.”
She looked at Sebastian and winked. “You make sure your grandfather behaves, won’t you, Seb? He overdid it in the German beer halls, and I almost had to carry him back to the hotel myself.”
“That, I’d like to see,” Liam said with a chuckle.
“And who’s going to make sure I behave?” Sebastian asked, sharing a conspiratorial look with Pop. There hadn’t been a cross word since Gran had got off the plane at lunchtime and hugged him close.
Maybe she truly was happy now that he was back at the farm.
Maybe I’ve grown up a bit, too. Learned a bit of patience and tolerance since I was last here.
“Isabella will,” Liam said, nudging Sebastian with his shoulder. “I think our Seb’s a bit smitten by the Italian beauty.”
“Isabella? Is that the girl who’s helping out at the wedding?” Gran asked. “Con’s daughter?”
“Yes, she’s coming over in a while. I thought it would be nice for you to meet her, seeing as she’ll be taking over the kitchen in a couple of weeks. I invited Con, too.”
Gran and Liam shared a smile.
“Here’s Bella!” Ned and Jemima’s Gwennie ran down the steps and waited until the bright yellow Citroën was parked before she ran over to open the door.
“Bella’s won quite a few hearts out here already,” Liam said drily.
Sebastian put his beer down on the table and headed towards the steps. Even though Gran lowered her voice, he still heard every word clearly.
“Maybe that’s what our Seb needs. A love interest to convince him to stay here.”
He clenched his hands as he walked down the steps. That’d be right. Gran didn’t think he had the staying power unless there was an enticement.
Nothing has changed.
…
“Do you want me to help you get the things out of the boot?” her father asked as he climbed out of the driver’s side. The trip from town had been interesting, to say the least. Isabella’s legs were still like jelly. Dad had overtaken cattle trucks and semitrailers without a care in the world.
It’s a wonder we’re still alive.
“No, I’ll get them. You go over and say hello.” She walked around to the back of the car and opened the boot. “And I’ll drive home so you can have a wine or two.” She grinned back at him as he gave her the thumbs-up. He’d been like a kid at Christmas since she’d passed on Sebastian’s invitation.
“Wonderful. I haven’t see Harry and Helena for a couple of years.” He headed off towards the group sitting on the verandah while Isabella got the carry bag from the boot.
“Let me take that for you.” Sebastian reached over for the insulated bag, and she handed it to him.
“What is that incredible smell?” he asked.
“Just a little something I brought along for dinner.” Isabella smiled when he inhaled and closed his eyes.
“That aroma takes me right back to Italy.” He grinned at her and her heart did a funny little flip. “Gran believes in wholesome country cooking. The only herbs she uses come from a jar.” He sniffed again. “I can smell real garlic, oregano, and—”
“And fresh tomatoes. Dad has a lovely little garden behind the café. Wait there and I’ll get the roses from the back seat.”
“Roses?” His mouth fell open. “You brought roses?”
“Didn’t you ask for champagne and roses?” She threw him a cheeky grin. Keeping him on his toes was fun. “The champagne’s in the bag.”
“Where the heck did you find fresh roses in Spring Downs?”
“It was hard but where there’s a will there’s a way.” She wasn’t going to tell him that the idea had come to her when she’d been in the IGA and the delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables—and flowers—had come while she was talking to the order clerk. “And don’t get your hopes up, boyo, they’re not for you. They’re for your grandmother, as a thank you for having us both visit.”
She laughed when he put on a pretend pout. “And what do I get?”
“You get the pleasure of my company.”
“So still not a date?”
“Nope.”
Once she’d taken the roses from the car, Isabella put her arm through Sebastian’s and they walked across the lawn together.
“Gran. Do you remember Isabella? Bella, this is my grandmother, Helena.” Sebastian introduced her when they reached the verandah.
Isabella was surprised. Considering Helena had grown-up grandchildren, she looked younger than she’d expected. She was tall and slim, with fair skin and blonde hair pulled back into a braid.
Helena held out her hand. Her skin was soft, and her perfume was a modern one that Isabella recognised.
“Welcome, Isabella. And I’m sorry I don’t remember you, but I did work with your mother on the CWA. She was a wonderful cook, and we used her skills mercilessly. We should get you to join us.”
“Oh, I’m only here for a visit, Helena. Although I did meet quite a few of the CWA ladies in the milk bar yesterday.”
“Oh, I thought you’d moved back to live with your dad.”
“Oh no. I’m just here for a visit.” Isabella was taken aback by the glance that Helena shot at Sebastian. It contained disappointment and something else she couldn’t put her finger on.
Helena took the bag from him. “Oh thank you, Isabella. You didn’t need to bring anything.”
“I thought I’d do a sample of one of the dishes I’m considering for the wedding. Then you can all tell me if it suits what you have in mind.”
“It smells wonderful, and it’s lovely to have you here. Come on in. The girls are out the back talking weddings.” She put her arm around Isabella’s shoulder as they walked onto the verandah. “Seb, you can bring this in, pour us a drink, and then come join us.”
“Yes, Gran.” He caught Isabella’s eye and grinned.
Lucy, Angie, and Jemima were at a large table poring over a magazine.
“Oh, you’re here, Isabella. Look what we found!” Excitement filled Lucy’s voice.
“Gran bought the magazine at the London airport,” Jemima explained.
Isabella crossed to the table and looked down at the glossy magazine. It was a double-page spread of photographs and an article on the top restaurants of England. Lucy pointed to the picture in the bottom right corner. “Look, it’s your restaurant. The Three Ducks!”
“Your restaurant?” Helena stared at her. “How can it be your restaurant?” Her brow was wrinkled in a frown.
Isabella laughed. “It’s not my restaurant, but when I leave here I’m going to work there as a sous chef.”
“Well, how special is that! Harry and I had dinner there the week before last.”
“What a coincidence!” Angie exclaimed.
Lucy looked at Jemima and then at Gran. “It’s not the one you were telling us about before you left, was it, Gran? The one that’s near where you grew up.”
Helena’s eyes sparkled. “It is, and when we went to look at the old house we decided to stay in town and have dinner there. It’s an absolutely beautiful place, and the food was divine.”
“The old house?” Isabella asked.
“Gran grew up in London,” Lucy explained. “Notting Hill. Just like the movie that Julia Roberts was in. But her family had a country estate near Windsor Castle.”
“I loved that movie. And I didn’t know that you were from London, Helena!” Angie exclaimed. “Liam never mentioned it.”
“So how did you get to Spring Downs?” Isabella asked. “It’s a long way from London.”
“I love the story.” Lucy jumped in. “It’s a lesson for all of us, if only we’d known it when we were wondering whether to come home.” She put her hand on her heart and fluttered her eyelids, much to the amusement of the others. “True love!”
“So tell us, please? We want to know. There’s nothing like a real-life romance.” Angie looked at Isabella and she nodded.
“Gran and Pop met on a kibbutz in Israel.” Lucy looked at Helena who had a dreamy look on her face. “Harry, was a fine strapping young man, a young Australian farm boy from Western New South Wales, and Helena was the pretty social butterfly from Notting Hill in London.” Lucy put her hand on her heart. “They fell in love at first sight.”
“We did.” Helena smiled at Lucy. “How many times did you sit at my knee and listen to this story, Lucy?”
“Oh, dozens. But I still see the way Pop looks at you, and it makes me all warm and gooey inside. I always said I wouldn’t marry until I found a man who looked at me like that.”
“And you found one in your own backyard.” Helena pulled Lucy in for a hug. “I’ve missed you grandchildren while we’ve travelled the world.”
“And we missed you, too. And I did find Garth, even though I couldn’t see what was in front of me until we went through all sorts of angst.”
“I missed Harry so much, when he went home to Australia I followed him to see this Pilliga Scrub he went on about.” Helena added for Isabella and Angie’s benefit. “And I fell in love with the land, too.”
“That’s a beautiful story.” Isabella swallowed down the ache in her throat. “It’s not often that you hear about a love match like that. But I’m a career girl, and it will be a long time before I’m looking for a soul mate.”
Helena smiled and nodded. “You often don’t have the chance to choose when love finds you.”
“Cupid and all that,” Lucy added. And to add to the mushy atmosphere, Angie sniffed a tear back.
Discomfort filled Isabella. All this emotion was a bit too up close and personal for her. She felt like she’d walked into the Hallmark channel. She rubbed her hands together. “Okay, let’s go back to the kitchen, and you can show me the ovens.”
Jemima waved an elegant hand from her chair.
“You don’t need me there,” Jemima said. “I don’t know one end of the oven from another.”
“Maybe, Isabella can give you some cooking lessons while she’s here.” Helena’s voice was dry. “Sometimes I worry about Ned and those poor children.” She turned to Isabella. “Jemima is more interested in her horses than learning how to cook.”
“I’m doing okay.” Jemima’s voice held amusement. “No one’s starved yet.”
Angie and Lucy followed Helena and Isabella as they went back to the kitchen.
“The preparation space looks adequate,” Isabella said briskly. As she glanced over at the benchtops, she was surprised to see Sebastian in the doorway, his expression intense.
“Great, here’s Seb with our drinks.” Helena waved him in.
Once the drinks were passed around, he didn’t stay. Lucy took Isabella on a tour of the whole kitchen area. The walk-in pantry, the laundry with its huge chest freezers, and the old concrete tubs in the corner of the back verandah were all discussed for the wedding reception.
“We can fill these with ice and keep a lot of the salad stuff cool on the morning of the wedding,” Helena said, but Isabella was only half paying attention, wondering why Sebastian had taken off so quickly.
“It all looks perfect,” Isabella said with a nod. “It’s almost as good as a commercial kitchen.”
“When we have the harvesters here, we have to feed a couple of dozen workers at a time. We took that into account when we redid the house a few years ago.”
“Come on, that’s enough work. Let’s go back out in the cool breeze,” Lucy said. “I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding everything.”
“And you’ll have plenty of help, too,” Helena said.
Isabella walked behind Lucy and her grandmother as they stepped out onto the verandah.
“So what do you think of Seb coming home, Gran?” Lucy’s voice was quiet, and Isabella paused to let them have a private conversation.
Gran’s reply was quiet, but Isabella caught it. “That boy won’t stay here, but he has to realise that for himself.”
Isabella was thoughtful as she walked to the table and sat down beside Jemima. It sounded as though Sebastian really was the odd one out in the family. She shrugged; she felt sorry for him, but she had enough problems of her own with Mum and Dad. She wasn’t going to get involved in another family’s issues.
There was no such thing as a perfect family. She’d learned that firsthand.