Home Before Sundown (27 page)

Bella woke early and slipped from her bed, then pushed open the French doors that led to the verandah. The morning was beautiful, not too hot outside yet. She could hear corellas and cockatoos calling to each other in the trees along the creek, and closer to the homestead, apostle birds chattered in the grevilleas.

It was the start of a typical summer's day at Mullinjim and these were the sounds of home, the sounds she loved. She thought about the decision she'd made last night to stay here and a new sense of determination settled comfortably inside her. Despite her uncertainty about where she stood with a certain neighbour and despite another night of tossing and turning, she knew she'd made the right choice.

Crossing to the verandah railing, she leaned forward, resting her forearms on the flat timber as she looked out over the sun-bleached paddocks that sloped to the creek. The storms had laid some of the dust, but another long hot day would soon dry everything out again. The country needed proper rain, days and weeks of drenching, wet-season rain.

Meanwhile, she would have to make another check of the dams and water troughs. She would probably take the ute, although if she left early enough, she could ride Striker and that would be fun.

Even better fun to ride Sassy.

The sudden thought of her old horse caused an odd little jolt inside Bella. With everything that had happened in the past week, she'd almost forgotten Nikki's phone call and the news that Sassy was for sale. But now that she'd made the brave decision to stay on Mullinjim –
no matter what –
it made sense to reclaim the beautiful, sleek, intelligent horse she'd loved, the horse she'd so desperately missed.

It made perfect sense.

Fabulous sense.

Of course there was a chance Sassy had already been sold. Who wouldn't leap at the opportunity to own such a beautiful animal?

But if, by some fluke, she was still free, Bella knew she wanted her.

If she closed her eyes she could hear the drum of Sassy's hooves and she could feel the rhythm of her long, sure stride. Could even hear the familiar snort of greeting that the horse had always given her.

There'd been a time when Bella had felt so close to Sassy that the horse had almost felt like another member of the family, and now she was gripped by a sudden, overpowering urge to ring Nikki Browne. Unfortunately it was a bit too early – the sun had barely risen.

Waiting till a respectable hour was agony, and at the very first chance, before her mother or Luke appeared for breakfast, Bella dashed to the phone, praying that Nikki would answer.

‘Yeah?' The voice at the other end was yawning and sleepy.

Another yawn sounded in Bella's ear as she greeted Nikki.

‘Oh, hi, Bella.' The girl's voice softened with sympathy. ‘How are you feeling today?'

‘Not bad, thanks. I hope it's not too early for you, but I'm ringing about Sassy.'

‘Oh.'

There was an ominous ring to the single syllable and even though Bella hadn't eaten, her stomach felt heavy. Nervously, she asked, ‘Is there any chance Sassy's still for sale?'

‘Um, actually, no . . . Sorry. Not . . . really.'

The heaviness shifted to Bella's chest. ‘Do you mean she's been sold?'

‘Yeah. 'Fraid she was.'

Bella knew her disappointment was unreasonable, but a queasy weight pressed under her diaphragm, making it hard for her to breathe. ‘Who bought her?' She
had
to ask.

‘Well, it's a bit of a long story.' Nikki sounded defensive. ‘You see, Sassy was passed in at the auction down at Hughenden and then I made an offer––'

‘You, Nikki?'

‘Well, yeah. Why not? You said you weren't interested.' Nikki's voice was tight now and even more defensive.

‘It wasn't so much that I wasn't
interested
,' Bella said lamely.

‘Well, you told me you might be going back to Europe.'

‘Oh, yes.' Bugger. She had told Nikki that, that hadn't she? ‘You're quite right.' Bella grimaced, remembering.
But that was before . . .

‘To be honest I was really proud of myself,' Nikki went on. ‘I managed to get a loan from the bank.'

‘Oh? Well done.' Bella suspected she was coming across as indifferent, even bitter, but she couldn't manage enthusiasm when her mind was already racing ahead, trying to calculate a counter-offer.

‘But then I made the mistake of mentioning it to Gabe,' Nikki said.

The mere mention of Gabe sent shock exploding like a firecracker in Bella's face. ‘What's Gabe got to do with Sassy?'

‘Well . . . I simply said something very briefly the other day at the funeral. I told Gabe that I'd bought her, et cetera, and blow me down if he didn't ring the next day and make me an offer.'

‘
Gabe
?'

Bella couldn't have been more stunned, or
stung,
if a bullet had arrived through the kitchen window and lodged in the centre of her chest.

‘He wants her for Sarah and Ellie,' Nikki said.

‘Is that what he told you?'

‘Sure. It figures, doesn't it?'

‘Not really.'
No way. Gabe wouldn't do that.

‘Well, that's what he said.'

‘He actually told you he was buying Sassy for his sisters?'

‘Yup.'

Bella was so shocked she was shaking. She liked to think she was above jealousy, but the thought of Gabe's sisters enjoying Sassy was like a poison dart. How could he do that? He knew Sarah and Ellie couldn't possibly love Sassy the way she did. They would spoil her, treat her as a pet, the way they'd spoiled George Clooney. They'd probably rename her Lady Gaga and plait her mane with pink satin ribbons.

‘Nikki.' Bella's grip on the phone was white-knuckled. ‘Please don't let Gabe have Sassy. I think – no actually, I'm
certain
I can make a better offer.'

‘Bella, I'm sorry, it's too late. Gabe picked her up yesterday afternoon.'

Bella reached for a stool as her knees gave way. ‘You're joking.'

‘Of course I'm not joking. Anyway what's your problem? How was I supposed to know you were keen? You said you were going away.'

‘I'm not now,' Bella said weakly.

‘Gabe made an offer too good to refuse.'

‘How – how good?'

Nikki sighed. ‘Well, if you
insist
on asking, he gave me eighteen thousand for her.'

Bella gulped. This was twice what she'd paid for the horse four years ago.

‘I had no idea you were in the market,' Nikki added impatiently. ‘Did you expect me to ring you again so you and Gabe could have a bidding war?'

Gabe should have rung me
.

This realisation sent nasty chills through Bella. How could Gabe do something so underhanded and hurtful as to buy her favourite horse without any discussion?

For his sisters?

At the funeral he'd seemed concerned and kind, and she'd foolishly put all her faith in their short conversation.

We need to talk . . .

She'd been dreaming of a super-happy make-up reunion. Now Gabe's purchase for his sisters proved how very wrong she'd been and she was struggling to hold herself together.

‘Sorry if I snapped,' she told Nikki dispiritedly. ‘It's not your fault.'

Bella felt drained and defeated as she said goodbye. In a few short days she'd lost her dad and now it looked as if she'd also lost Gabe. He wouldn't have done this if he felt about her the way she felt for him.

She might have phoned him to give him a piece of her mind if her mother hadn't chosen that moment to wander into the kitchen in a floral cotton dressing-gown and flip-flops.

‘Morning, dear,' she said as she headed straight for the kettle.

‘Mum.'

Her mother turned, looked at her and frowned. ‘Bella, what is it? What's happened?'

Bella swallowed. ‘I've just been on the phone. I was trying to buy Sassy back.' Without waiting for a response she hurried on. Even though she felt gutted and totally lost, she needed to find the strength to fight for Sassy. ‘There's still a chance, but I need to act quickly. Can I – ah – borrow the chequebook?'

It was no surprise that her mother's frown deepened. ‘This is a bit sudden, isn't it?'

‘Yeah, it's out of the blue. But I only just found out about Sassy and there's this small window of opportunity.' For all Bella knew, Gabe's sisters might already be home on Redman Downs, saddling up Sassy.

‘I'll make sure I pay it back, Mum. I'll earn the money.'

‘How much do you need?'

Bella grimaced. ‘I'm not exactly sure.'

‘Come on, Bella, give me a ballpark figure. You must have some idea.'

‘Maybe twenty grand?'

Her mother's blue eyes widened as she whistled.

‘Mum, please. It would mean so much to me to have Sassy back here.'

‘Where is she now?'

‘On Redman Downs.'

‘Really?' For an uncomfortable stretch of time Bella suffered her mother's raised-eyebrow scrutiny. ‘I haven't liked to ask. Are you . . . on good terms with Gabe . . . now?'

‘Sure.' Just in time, Bella stopped herself from snapping. If she wanted her mum's support, she had to sound reasonable, even though her insides were breaking into bleeding chunks.

At last her mother shrugged. ‘Twenty thousand sounds very steep to me, but we haven't bought a horse for quite some time and you've been looking after the books, Bella. You know more than I do about our finances at the moment. Sassy's certainly a very good horse. If you think we can afford her, I trust you.'

‘Thanks.' Bella rushed across the room to deliver a swift hug. ‘I need to get cracking.' She had to reach Redman Downs before Gabe set off for work. ‘I'm not sure how long I'll be, but I'll check the water troughs as soon as I get back.'

The next few minutes were a whirlwind, but it helped to have a mission. In no time, Bella was belting along the track with a Mullinjim chequebook on the seat beside her and a horse trailer rattling behind the ute. Inside she was a mass of despair and anger, and on top of everything waves of panic rippled.

How could she live without Gabe?

Last time she'd seen Gabe, at the funeral, she'd been sure she'd read hope and promise in his eyes, and she'd been quietly confident that everything was going to be okay between them.

Gloriously okay. Better than okay.

She'd never dreamed . . .

Ahead of her, a kangaroo leaped out of bushes and onto the track. Bella braked and shoved her fist on the horn, nearly frightening the roo out of its skin.

‘Sorry,' she muttered as the terrified animal flew off into the scrub. ‘I'm upset with bloody Gabe. Not you.'

But then she realised she was shaking and a moment later she was weeping as well. Losing her dad had been terrible, and losing Sassy would hurt, but now she knew, with a terrible, devastating certainty, that losing Gabe was worse than anything she'd experienced or could possibly imagine.

Oh, dear Lord, how could she find the strength to fall out of love? After a lifetime?

Perhaps she should turn back and protect her lacerated heart, give up the idea of Sassy.

Problem was . . . somewhere, despite the depths of her despair, Bella hated the fact that she was crying. She'd always hated crying and now she was shocked by her weakness.

Yes, she was broken-hearted, but she would only deepen her misery by giving up Sassy.

There was no question. She had to continue on to Redman Downs and she had to secure her horse.

Her
horse.

And she couldn't let Gabe see her like this.

Horrified by the very thought, she abruptly wiped her face on her shirtsleeve. Then she found a water bottle and splashed at her eyes. She turned the ute's fan on high and held her face in front of the vent, letting the cool air blast over her red eyes and nose.

After a bit, she angled the rear-vision mirror down to check her reflection and was relieved to see that, although she felt dead inside, she almost looked normal.

Right
. It was time to toughen up. Time to shove her heartbreak to one side and to dredge up her justifiable anger. Time to get this horse deal done and dusted and to get the hell home again.

As Gabe dialled Mullinjim's number he felt as if he'd been waiting all his life to make this call. He held his breath as he listened, anxious for someone to pick up.

‘Hello. Virginia speaking.'

His disappointment was momentary, but he flicked that aside. ‘Morning, Virginia. Gabe here. I was hoping to catch Bella.'

‘You're in luck, Gabe. She's already on her way to your place.'

This was unexpected good news.

‘
And
she's bringing the chequebook,' Virginia added.

Gabe's grin morphed into a frown. ‘Excuse me?'

‘To buy Sassy.' After a beat, Virginia said, ‘At least that's what I thought she was planning to do. I've got that right, haven't I?'

‘Ah . . . ' Gabe gave his bare chest a puzzled scratch. ‘Yeah, sure.' He spoke smoothly enough, despite a sickening realisation that Bella seemed to have her wires crossed.

Damn it
. He knew gossip out here travelled faster than a bushfire. He should have warned Nikki Browne to keep quiet.

Sassy was supposed to be a surprise. And not a nasty one.

‘So Bella's coming over here to buy the horse?' he clarified.

‘That's what I thought she said. It's a good idea now that she's decided to stay on here.'

Gabe's heart bucked against his ribs. ‘She has?'

‘Yes. Isn't it good news?'

His pulse drummed. ‘That's definite?'