‘The beach is tomorrow, honey. We’re off to Selina’s house now.’
‘Can we play with her guinea pigs?’
Clem nodded. At this point of the day, she was prepared to use any distraction necessary while she talked to Selina.
Spencer felt an ache in his chest as his laptop chimed with another email. He didn’t have to open it to know it was the real estate agent following up on the calls Spencer had avoided.
Was it pride, rather than common sense, keeping him from being happy for Ian and Louisa? The offer made by the familywho were determined to purchase South Giddi Giddi had been ludicrous.
Dolly trotted into the study with a squeaky toy and proceeded to gnaw on the blasted thing until Spencer took his head out of his hands and eased out of the office chair.
‘Point taken, pooch. Let’s head out and check the bees.’
It was better than grouching around in his own company, which even Dolly was sick of now.
Spencer’s phone rang when he was checking the first of the hives.
‘A man could die of thirst waiting for you to invite him around for a beer,’ Jeff said when he answered. ‘Hope you weren’t partying without me on Thursday night?’
Spencer laughed. He’d gone to bed before the clock struck midnight, although he’d lain awake through the early hours of the New Year, sifting through the mistakes he’d made and vowing not to repeat them in the year ahead.
‘Just me and Dolly, pondering the big questions.’
‘Remind me never to invite myself around to your place for a new year’s bash, sounds depressing. I’m guessing it’s all go with the theatre production at the moment?’
Spencer tapped speaker and put his phone in his top pocket so he could keep working while he talked.
There was an easy rhythm to the hives in the summer holidays, when it was just him, the bees and his beagle, and the glorious sunshine.
‘Yeah, things will ease off when the play’s done.’
‘Thank God for that,’ Jeff said. ‘Every surface of our house is covered in fabric and seven million spools of cotton, and heaven forbid if I move the cut-out pieces and don’t notice if one slipped under the side table.’
Spencer laughed. ‘Probably a nice change from your wetsuitsclogging up the laundry, dirt bike gear spread across the garage and water-skiing ropes commandeering the shed.’
‘Whose side are you on? At least it’s not as bad as last year, when Mia was sewing late into the night. Best thing she ever did was convince Leearna to lend her a hand. But seriously, man, how’s things?’
Jeff’s cautious tone made Spencer realise he’d probably jumped down his friend’s throat the last time the topic came up. He thought of the breadth of this question, how many things in his life were in turmoil.
‘Bit shit, actually,’ he said slowly, sitting on a log beside the hives. ‘Someone’s made an offer on the farm, and Ian and Louisa are thinking about heading back to Canada.’
‘Maaate,’ Jeff said, and Spencer heard the engine of the cray boat slow. ‘That’s some heavy shit right there. I never thought they’d throw you out like that. Unbelievable!’
Dolly trotted over, nose to the ground, and Spencer reached across to scratch her as she sniffed her way past. ‘They’re not exactly. They want to give me Belle’s side of the property, but I can’t accept that. Not when they’ve got a buyer offering well over market price for the whole place.’ Spencer’s voice cracked and he swiped at his eyes angrily. ‘The bank’s not interested in loaning me enough to buy South Giddi Giddi at market rate, not in my current role. I’m not going to screw them over with a piddly offer, and I’m not letting them give it to me, not when they could have enough money to travel business class for the rest of their retirement. They’ve already done enough for me, I don’t deserve hand-outs.’
Clem’s words rang in his ears, and he winced, recalling the horror on her face when she’d confronted him about Belle’s death. ‘Especially after I helped their daughter die.’
A strangled sound came down the phone line and Jeff’s voice swirled with anguish. ‘That’s a load of crap, who the hell saidthat? Have you been on the online forums? Those crazies and whacko keyboard warriors don’t know shit about the reality of it.’ Jeff swore softly, and mumbled under his breath. ‘Wish I could get my hands on those arseholes. Send me the link and I’ll blow up the site, tell them exactly what they can do with their righteous, high-horse ideas—’
Spencer appreciated his friend’s anger, which was uncannily similar to Addison’s reaction.
Jeff wasn’t too far off the mark. Back when his loss was so raw, and his guilt all encompassing, Spencer had made the mistake of scouring online forums about VAD. It hadn’t taken long to find the opposite end of the argument, and Jeff had been there to mop up the mess when he’d sunk into a dark place, paralysed by guilt.
‘Have you talked to anyone about it?’ Jeff asked.
‘You of all people should know I don’t talk about Belle,’ Spencer bit out, his voice sounding more like a growl than he intended.
‘I know, mate, but before you bite my head off, maybe you should talk about her more. Maybe this is a topic you can’t avoid.’
