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A vibrant mural of a river raging through the gorge in the national park with a red-tailed black cockatoo soaring high in the blue arc of sky covered the whole wall.

“Oh wow,” Violet murmured to herself. It must be the national park. She could have camped out there. As she walked back to the ute she thought about the past two nights, and realised she’d enjoyed the time she’d spent at Joe’s farm as much—maybe more—as she would have enjoyed camping at the river.

Billie popped the bonnet open and climbed out as Violet walked back to the ute.

“Great mural,” she said.

“It is. It’s a beautiful spot.” Billie looked over the engine and shook her head. “Makes me glad I came back home for a while.”

“So, the verdict?” Violet asked.

“Without putting it on the computer, it’s hard to say exactly what’s wrong, but I’d put money on it being the gearbox. I think you’re up for a new one, a gearbox that is; it is the model they’ve recalled. Sorry to tell you that just before Christmas and while you’re on your holiday.”

“Oh no, what will I do? There’s no point ringing the NRMA, is there?”

“I’d suggest you ring the dealership at Tamworth and inform them that they need to send a truck out here to pick it up and fix it. The dealership in Sydney I dealt with was difficult to work with, but you might have more luck in Tamworth. The bad news is the gearboxes have to come from China. You’ll be pretty lucky to find one in Tamworth, or even in Australia with the number of recalls.”

Violet’s face fell as she stared at the car. “I guess I made a bad choice.”

I’m good at doing that, she thought to herself.

“I didn’t look into it enough before I bought it. I just wanted to get a new car fast and get going.”

Something else she could blame Brian Bailey for. And then she realised she was being stupid. She should’ve done more research into buying a car.

“I just expected that something you’d buy this year these days would be reliable.” Violet shook her head, thinking of the battle ahead.

“You’d be surprised,” Billie said, as they walked back to her ute after she locked up Violet’s car and handed the keys back. “I’ll drop you back into town.”

“Thank you. Can I shout you a coffee if you won’t let me pay you for your time?”

“I’d love a coffee. I was going to head down to the Levonis’s cafe after I dropped the pots off. Be good to have company and you can tell me all about how you ended up near Bindarra Creek.”

Chapter 13

Violet

Billie leaned back in a chair and pushed her empty cup to the centre of the table. “It’s been good having someone to chat to. I hope it all works out for you. Will you stay out at Joe’s farm?”

“I think I’ll have to. There’s no accommodation in town.”

“There are a couple of farm stays out on the Tamworth road, but you’d be stuck out there without transport. If Joe’s happy to have you there, then stay there,” Billie said.

“He’s been very kind to me.”

“Like I said, a good guy. I met him a few months ago when I first came back to town. You were lucky you broke down where you did.”

Violet told Billie the story of Joe rescuing her on the back of a white horse. “The universe was looking after me. For a change.”

Billie chuckled. “Sounds like something out of a romance novel.”

Violet shook her head. “Nope, not for me. That’s the last thing I need right now. I’m off men for a long time.”

Billie pulled a face. “Tell me about it. Sounds like we need to have dinner together one night, and share war stories.”

They swapped phone numbers, and Violet promised to let Billie know how she went with her ute. “If we don’t catch up at the pub, I might see you at one of the Christmas events.”

Violet nodded. “I saw the Carols by Candlelight banner. Are there other events?”