Friday 16th August.
Z A C
Addie was the sort of beautiful that you would see on the understated girl in a bad lifetime film. The girl that was cast as the best friend beside some tall, blonde pageant queen but the viewers were obviously looking at the secondary character and wondering why she wasn't in the spotlight because she was so gorgeous that surely she should have been the one that was caught in a dramatic love triangle.
We walked upstairs once we got back to the farm, arms full of her belongings. Which in the grand scheme of things, wasn't a lot. She was still wearing a large T-shirt and shorts so small that I couldn't see them at all until I was a few steps behind her. It was hard not to stare but I wasn't a creep so I watched my feet until we hit the landing.
"Same room that I stayed in last weekend?"
"Yep," I nodded and gestured in the direction of the spare room that I'd prepared for her. No one had slept in it since she had, but I put down fresh sheets and cleaned the en-suite anyway. "You can do whatever in here. Hang photos or add decor. Make it personal if you want."
We stopped at the threshold and she looked around. "I don't have photos or personal stuff but thanks."
Of course she didn't. "Alright, well, you go ahead and settle in. I have to get outside fix a few of the hinges on the stable doors."
She looked me over, fast, lashes fluttering as she nodded and gave me one of those tight lipped smiles that I think she believed were full and convincing. It was always tempting to ask her how her sister died, it obviously wasn't something they had seen coming and it was tragic enough to give her nightmares so horrific that she screamed the entire house down. As much as I wanted to know, I wouldn't ask her.
I closed her door and headed downstairs, passing the sitting room where dad was in his armchair with an old album in his lap. He wasn't looking through the photos, just staring out of the window at the vast rolling hills and landscape. Most of what could be seen belonged to him. Something that he worked hard for his entire life but no longer seemed to appreciate the same way he did when mom was alive.
"You alright, pops?"
He flinched and his focus came back to the present. Smiling, he stood up and nodded.
"Need anything?"
"Na na," he said. "Just doing some thinking. How's this morning's work coming along?"
"Yeah not bad. I'm just about to head down and fix those stable doors. Uh Addie is upstairs sorting herself out and settling in. She might be down at some point, just mentioning it."
"Oh of course," he nodded and we wandered through into the dining area on the other side of the passage. Blake, the housekeeper, must have done one of her thorough sanitising wipe downs with the disinfectant. It stunk of citrus, the sort that stung the nostrils. "Kind of her to help Raine out with her wedding."
I nodded and stepped out of the French doors and onto the deck to find Blake getting morning tea organised for the staff. There weren't a lot of staff. Me, Hallie and Kev, the horse trainers and their son, Cain, who helped out with the basic's like cleaning the stables and feeding the horses and laying grass seeds. Whatever odd jobs that needed to be done.
"Zac," Blake was setting items from a tray and onto the table. Items like milk and sugar and cups. Her frail hands had a slight tremor and her shoulders were hunched as she leaned over and set it all out. "Does the new guest have food allergies?"
"Oh," I looked into the house but saw no one else besides dad who shrugged as if I'd been seeking for the answer from him. "I don't know. I'll ask her." I thought for a moment and then added, "she likes the scrambled eggs, a lot."
"I'll keep that in mind." She winked. Dad and I had a coffee together, not much conversation passing between us. After, I cleaned our cups out and went back to the back door.
Before I walked off to carry on with the day, I took note of dad still standing at the dining room threshold, that distant gaze skimming over the rolling hills, deep in thought. It aged him. The way that he seemed to slip off into another world, arms folded, chin tipped up and no focus in his stare, it made him seem old and delirious. Which scared me because he'd never not been strong and aware and it was hard to watch him go from active and fit to dottery and vulnerable.
"You sure you're good, pops?"
"Yeah son. Go on and head off. I'm fine."
"Do you— uh— wanna come down and see Lavender? She's coming along nice."
He almost seemed to think about it for a moment and I felt hopeful until Addie side stepped out from behind him and stood on the deck between us.
"Morning, sir," she smiled. Her hair was damp now, falling down to her back, leaving little damp patches on her white tank top. She was wearing jeans too, which was a first. But it didn't change the desire I had to stare because they fit her curved hips like a second skin.
"Ah good mornin darlin," dad grinned.
"Thank you for letting me stay here for a little while," she said and tucked her damp hair behind her ear.
"Stay as long as you want darlin. We've got enough room. Can I give you a job to do each morning?"
"Oh. Of course."
Dad pointed at the garden beds. "Water and check for weeds? It's getting a bit tough on my back to bend down and give it a thorough check."
Addie's brows shot up. "You're the one that maintains the garden beds?"
"You seem surprised?" Dad wandered toward the edge of the deck and held the railing, Addie stood beside him and I couldn't help but watch how her cheeks blazoned a dark red when she thought that she'd offended him.
"Not surprised just—"
"My wife used to tell me that it was her favourite thing about me. A man's man that had gentle tender taste in flowers. Her words. Odd thing to love about a man but it was an added bonus to have her approval."
Addie didn't say anything but she did watch him with a soft smile, listening and focused as if I wasn't even here. I couldn't tell if that was disappointing or if it made me admire her more.
"You have it," he turned to Addie and his grin was all knowing.
"Have what?" She asked.
"Green fingers. You'll take great care of those flowers."
It wasn't unusual for dad to speak in riddles and make observations that came out of left field and made little sense. But he wasn't often wrong and I could tell that Addie appreciated his confidence in her from the stunned smile that she wore as she looked out over the garden.
Without another word, he gave a gentle nod and winked at me before heading inside.
"Hope you don't mind being assigned a job within the first half hour of being here," I laughed and stood beside her.
"Of course not. I'm glad that I have something to do. I won't feel like a freeloader."
"So, flowers? You into them?"
She nodded. "Well, I had a ton of house plants back at home. Obviously Beverly Hills is a lot of city and pavements and roads. Yeah we have trees and some local gardens and that sort of thing but nothing like this."
Her lids closed and she inhaled a deep breath. I was transfixed by her beauty but more than that, how well she fit right here, among the green lawns and the tall trees and the slight breeze that tousled her hair. Even when she was wearing those little dresses, she didn't look out of place. It might have been forward to say, so I didn't, but she belonged in a place like this. And I hadn't even seen her in Beverly Hills before.
My bedside alarm clock blared on Saturday morning. The red digital numbers read four AM but I'd been watching them tick over since three. Part of me had been listening out for Addie. Her room was a while from mine but close enough that I could hear her last time. But nope, not a peep. I felt relieved that she hadn't been subjected to that horror again.
I shot out of bed, slung on a hoodie and pair of jeans and headed downstairs where it was dark and quiet. Outside, the air was still and the sky was clear. The horizon had a light blue glow to it, the sun was coming. I shoved my feet into a pair of boots on the back deck and made a slow walk toward the barns. This time of the morning might have been my favourite. So quiet, not too hot, a new beginning.
The gate that I'd oiled yesterday afternoon swung open with no resistance or squeak and I let it swing shut behind me. As I rounded the hay shed, I felt my heart fly into my throat when I collided with another person and she let out a blood curdling scream.
"Oh shit," Addie held her chest, breathing in and out while I did the same.
"Damn, what are you doing out here?!"
"I'm so sorry," she sounded breathless as she leaned her hands on her knees. "I was done with the gardens so I thought I'd come and help with the horses but I couldn't open the roller doors so I was gonna just sit for a bit and wait. I jus—"
"You're finished with the gardens?"
She straightened up and nodded, pointing in the wrong direction, again, assuming she was pointing at the house. "Yeah I watered and pulled some weeds and I was doing some research last night about good feeding nutrients for the different plants and I might get some next time we're in town. Or I'm in town. Doesn't have to be we."
I chuckled and noticed that she did have a slight sheen on her forehead. Her hair was pulled into a bun and she was wearing the same jeans that she'd worn yesterday and a long sleeve shirt.
"How long have you been out here?"
"A while. I couldn't sleep. So I thought I'd get a head start."
"Something wrong with the bed?"
"Nope. Just me."
I didn't think it was the bed. "You wanna talk about it?"
She scuffed her foot in the gravel and I noticed that she'd helped herself to the same boots that I lent her last weekend. I'd put them out for her for that reason. Mom bought them right before she died and wore them just a handful of times. Raine couldn't bring herself to wear anything that used to belong to her so I was glad that it didn't bother Addie. Better than a three hundred dollar pair of boots going to waste.
"There's not a lot to talk about," she shrugged after a minute and I followed her when she spun around and started back towards the barn. "I'm hurting. I'm doing my best to put one foot in front of the other and not let it consume me. The quieter it is, the more I think and that's not helping me a lot right now."
"Understandable."
I slid the barn door open with a heaved shove and we went inside after I'd switched on the lights.
"I keep on thinking about the fact that it wasn't even this painful when I lost my parents. I mean, that was hard and I struggled but this is— this—"
"Margo was all you had left," I observed, watching her, reading her. For someone who didn't smile nor frown a whole lot, she had expressive features. It might have been her eyes. Her eyes said a whole lot more than her words did. "Losing your mom and dad wouldn't have been easy but you had someone. You had Margo. I'm not surprised that it's so much harder this time around."
She looked at me, said nothing, but looked at me with a glisten in her gaze that she blinked back as she smiled. It was a fuller smile than I'd seen on her before.
"You're sort of. . ." she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Great. I— well, it means a lot to me when you refer to Margo by name. Rather than just calling her my sister."
I leaned against the wooden bench top. "I appreciate the same thing when it's about my mom."
"What was her name?"
"Annie."
She smiled. "Beautiful name."
"She was a beautiful woman."
Addie nodded. "No surprises there after seeing you and Raine."
She blushed again. I'd never seen someone blush so beautifully before. It started at the apples of her cheeks and moved onto her nose. Of course, her chest was covered in blotches too but I didn't linger on that area.
"Thanks," I grinned at her unintentional compliment.
We decided to get started on the stables and just like last weekend, we took an end each and met at the middle. Her work was fast but she didn't slack at all. The main wash down had been done yesterday so all we had to do was sweep out some of the shit, feed the horses and check their hay.
When I was done packing up the hose, the sun was out and I wandered outside to find Addie standing on the gate, giving Lavender a brush. I stared for a moment because once Lavender was in the paddock, she was hard to get near the barn again. She galloped off as far as she could go and made the most of her free time. But there she was, still and calm while Addie murmured to her.
"I think she's a fan," I said, leaning on the gate. Lavender didn't even look at me, her eyes were slanted, half closed while she watched Addie. Incredible. "She doesn't let the rest of us have even half of her attention. Got a secret?"
"I wish," Addie said, still watching the foal as she ran a brush through her mane. "I don't know what the deal is. But she's sweet. So I'm not complaining."
We stood in silence for a while, the air felt warmer and the sun illuminated the sweat on both of us. Still, she managed to maintain her own sweet fragrance. I needed a shower.
"I might wander down to the car shed," I said. "Which, I heard you've offered up to Raine for her wedding."
Addie didn't look at me, but I watched her side profile turn upward into a guilt ridden grin. "I'll help clean it. Swear."
"Don't stress. It's a good idea. Might even get dad down to the paddock."
"Glad to be of service."
I smiled and started walking off.
"Can I come?"
I turned around and saw Addie peering at me over her shoulder. Damn, she was getting more gorgeous whenever I looked at her.
"Of course."
We headed straight over to a 1970 Buick that I'd almost finished restoring. It needed a new radiator and exhaust pipe but the exterior had been painted a crisp apple red and the interior had been replaced with black leather, softer than butter.
"Oh hang on," I told Addie and stepped over a few tools on the ground so that I could reach a passenger seat that was sitting beside an old Lancer. I dragged it over, dusted it off and gestured for her to take a seat.
"Thanks," she said, lowering herself into it. I nodded and popped the hood on the Buick. "Where does the painting get done?"
"A garage in town. I buy the paint, they do the work. I've come to know the guy well so he's happy to do it. Plus I fixed his starter motor a while back."
"So what does this go for when it's time to be sold?"
I leaned both hands on the car under the hood and mulled it over. "Well, it's in good condition. New paint and interior. Total engine restoration. The colours aren't original and the wheels won't be standard either so be looking between eighteen and twenty thousand."
Her mouth fell open. "What? That's insane."
"There's a big market for classic cars in good condition. Even in poor condition. People want em."
"So what condition do you buy them in?"
I lower my head, hiding a smile. I don't think someone has ever asked me as many questions as she does. I don't mind though. Her fascination is sweet.
"I get em pretty beat up. Usually not running. Rust buckets. That sort of thing. I restore em, save most of the profit and invest in the next project."
"Is the profit good? Like, once you've bought a new car and purchased everything that it needs, is there a lot left over?"
"Enough."
She screwed her nose up. "Those are invasive questions. I'm sorry. Your finances are private."
I chuckled and stood up straight. "You wanna go for a drive with me? In that?"
I pointed at the corner of the shed where the wall extended into a sort of enclosed space and she wouldn't have been able to see the car when she walked in. She spun around and saw the Austin Healy 3000 tucked and hidden.
"The convertible?"
I nodded and she stood up. "Yes please."