The Peppercorn Project (11 page)

‘Did you and Dan go to school together?’ Leah asked.

Isabelle was glad Leah hadn’t made any comment about her stay-at-home mum status. Plenty of other women thought poorly of Isabelle for choosing to stay at home and run the household instead of using her nursing degree. The reality was, with Dan’s income, Isabelle hadn’t thought she needed to work. What she hadn’t realised until after Dan had died was they’d been living well beyond their means with no budget. A mistake she was now paying for.

‘If you asked my parents, they’d tell you Dan was the proverbial boy from the wrong side of the tracks,’ Isabelle said. ‘He grew up in Queensland and didn’t finish high school. He got a sponsorship with Rip Curl to surf when he turned sixteen, which included a job in Torquay at their head office. He climbed the ladder quickly and moved into a management position at Quicksilver before Mietta was born.’

‘How did you two meet? Do you surf as well?’

Isabelle laughed and shook her head. ‘I can barely stand up on a board. It sounds bad, but I met Dan during schoolies week. A group of us stayed in Lorne, and one day the girls persuaded me to watch a surfing competition. I was mesmerized by this one guy. He was mad! He’d choose the biggest waves without any sense of danger. We were introduced, and by the end of the week decided we were madly in love with each other.’

‘Oh, that’s so sweet,’ Leah said.

‘Yeah, well that’s when it got messy. I was never a one-night-stand kind of girl, but there was something about Dan’s sassiness and the way he kissed me. I lost my common sense and virginity in one night. I fell pregnant with Fletch the first time we had sex. Both of us were young, naive, and didn’t think we needed contraception. For some crazy reason when Dan found out about the baby, he promised to stick by me. Which he did. Until the day he died.’

A lump formed in her throat and she swallowed a mouthful of water. She wasn’t going to cry today. Why did all the good memories get bullied into submission by the tragic ones at the most inopportune of times?

‘I take it your parents didn’t approve of your relationship?’

Isabelle smirked. ‘Not. At. All. I don’t think they ever forgave me for embarrassing them, and they never welcomed or accepted Dan. He could never be good enough for them. He didn’t seem to care, but it made family functions awkward.’

‘Where do your parents live?’

‘Geelong, but they spend most of their time travelling around the world – taking a different cruise to a different country every year.’

‘It sounds like they’re in a position to help you out financially.’

Isabelle made a strangled sound in her throat. ‘My father told me he spent my inheritance on my education, and that I threw it back in their faces when I fell pregnant.’

‘Whoa! Ouch. I’d be furious if my parents didn’t help me out when I needed it most.’

Isabelle shrugged. What else could she do? The one and only time she had asked her father for help he’d paid off one of their credit cards, and then for the next six months had belittled Isabelle for her lack of financial acumen. It had made her feel like a child, and she’d vowed never to ask him for help again.

‘But surely they must love Fletch and Mietta?’

‘In their own way, I guess they do,’ Isabelle said. ‘And to be fair they were good in the weeks after Dan died. But when we hit the three-month mark and I found out I was going to lose the house, they backed right off.’

‘They should have helped you. That’s what parents
do
.’

Isabelle gave a sad smile. ‘Not my parents. To be honest, I don’t care. I don’t want their money.’

‘What about Dan’s family?’

‘Dan was adopted, and when he turned sixteen he decided he wanted to find his birth mother. He found her, but she wanted nothing to do with him. In the process, his adoptive parents, Wayne and Rowena, couldn’t get past what they felt was a betrayal. Rowena died of ovarian cancer before Mietta was born, and I haven’t heard from his dad since. I only found out recently he remarried and lives somewhere in Far North Queensland. He didn’t even come down for Dan’s funeral.’

Shock swept across Leah’s face. ‘Are you kidding me? He didn’t come to his own son’s funeral?’

‘By the time Dan moved to Torquay and started his life with me, Wayne no longer considered him his son. He’s met Fletcher and Mietta, but doesn’t have anything to do with them, except for a Christmas card every year, and a ten-dollar note in a card for their birthdays, on the few occasions he remembers. I haven’t even let him know we’ve moved.’

Leah shook her head. ‘I can’t believe it. I feel like I’ve led a fairy-tale life in comparison. Mum and Dad are happily married, and I’ve always felt loved and wanted. We were sent off to boarding school too – Walford, an all-girls’ boarding school in Adelaide – but I loved it.’

‘Is it only you and Rachel then?’

‘No, we have an older brother, Luke. He’s thirty-six. He works on the farm with Dad. He and his wife Penny and their two kids live in a house on the farm. Luke’s the quiet one. I’m the middle child. Rachel’s the bossy one. She might be the baby of the family – five years younger than me – but she likes to be in charge and keep us all in line. She was supposed to be called Lucy, but when she was born Mum was overcome with how pretty she was, and changed her name.’

‘Why?’

‘Don’t you know the story in the Bible?’

Isabelle shook her head. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Leah and Rachel were sisters. Rachel was the beautiful one. A man named Jacob met Rachel by the side of a well. Jacob wanted to marry Rachel but he was told he had to work for seven years before he could have her as his wife. On their wedding night, the girls’ father covered up Leah, the older ugly sister, and married her off to Jacob. Jacob was furious and had to work another seven years for his father-in-law until he was allowed to marry the one he was still in love with – Rachel!’

‘What a crazy story,’ Isabelle exclaimed.

‘Oh, it gets crazier,’ Leah said with a chuckle. ‘My sister got remarried two years ago – to Jacob King.’

Isabelle joined in the laughter. ‘What about you? No boyfriend on the scene?

‘I
wish
,’ Leah said with another laugh. ‘Unfortunately the pickings around Stony Creek are slimmer than Victoria Beckham.’

‘What about Matt Robertson?’ As soon as Isabelle said his name, a strange sensation flickered in her chest.

‘That’s a long story. When Matt moved here eighteen months ago he came with baggage, a dirty look whenever any single female went near him, and a sign above his head that screamed “stay away”. So that’s what I did. Of course everyone tried to set us up, but as sweet as he is, he’s not my type.’

‘Is he …?’ Her question remained unasked.

‘Still single, and says he has no intention of changing that status.’

‘What’s he like?’

Leah smiled. ‘Unfortunately you didn’t meet him at his best.’

‘You can say that again,’ Isabelle said.

‘Honestly, Matt’s not like that usually. You won’t find a more caring guy.’

‘You sure you’re not interested?’

‘Definitely! We’d drive each other nuts. We’re both happy being friends – good friends.’

‘I’ll bet there were plenty of other women lining up to meet him. He must have been one of the most eligible bachelors the town had seen for a while.’

Matt Robertson wasn’t Isabelle’s type either, but she had to admit Leah was right, he
was
hot. In his uniform, she imagined girls would throw themselves at him.

‘True. There have been plenty of young women who would have gladly slept in his swag, but in the whole time he’s been here he hasn’t shown any interest in anyone.’

‘Is he gay?’

Leah laughed like it was the strangest thing she’d ever heard. ‘Does he
look
gay to you?’

‘I don’t know – what’s a gay guy supposed to look like these days anyway?’

‘True. But I can assure you – he’s
not
gay. He’s a good looking guy who, for whatever reason, has decided he wishes to maintain his current bachelor status. He’s either too busy trying to catch criminals, is nursing a badly broken heart, or hasn’t met the woman of his dreams. Who knows?’

*

Four hours later Isabelle stood in the same spot in the school courtyard waiting for the bell to ring and release the kids. Over two hot chocolates and a muffin, she and Leah had cemented a firm friendship. Now, Isabelle stood fidgeting on the spot, hoping the kids had enjoyed their first day at their new school, and made new friends.

When Mietta bounced through the school doors into the sunshine, hand in hand with Zoey, Isabelle had no doubt she had made the right decision. The girls looked like a United Nations advertisement – Ebony and Ivory.

Fletcher was one of the last out. The smile he’d worn earlier that day was gone. Isabelle groaned inwardly.

‘How was your day?’ she asked when he came closer.

He dumped his bag on the ground and grunted. ‘Boring.’

Isabelle called out to Mietta. ‘Come on, honey, let’s go.’

Mietta waved goodbye to Zoey and skipped over, handing her school bag to her mother. Isabelle draped both bags over her shoulders and the trio walked home. Fletcher refused to be drawn into conversation and dragged his feet the whole way. Mietta chatted non-stop about her new friends, her ‘amaaazing’ teacher, and all the fun things she would be able to do at her new school. The moment they arrived home, Fletcher stuck his nose in his phone, his thumbs tapping madly on the screen. When Isabelle asked, he said he was chatting to mates back home. His mention of home ripped at her already fragile heart. She stepped away, giving him the space he needed, not knowing what else to do. It was the first time he had given any indication of missing his friends or Torquay.

The next morning Fletcher flatly refused to go to school but Isabelle dragged the cover off his bed and forcefully got him up and moving. He sulked and carried on. In the end, she ignored him. If he wasn’t going to tell her what was so bad about school, then he’d simply have to keep going until he was prepared to talk.

She wished Dan was there to talk to him. When Fletcher got in one of his moods, he’d come home a different kid after a quick trip to the beach with his dad. Isabelle sighed. She couldn’t do anything about it. Fletcher would simply have to learn how to communicate with her.

It was three weeks since Isabelle and her kids had arrived in town, and Matt was starting to have concerns. Was she okay? He’d only seen her briefly in passing when she dropped the kids to school or picked them up. Sometimes he drove stealthily past their house, but despite the gorgeous weather the front door remained closed and there was no sign of Fletcher or Mietta playing outside. It was odd. He’d expected to see them all out and about.

Yet again Matt kicked himself for refusing to join the committee. If he had, he’d know everything about the Peppercorn families. He sighed. As much as he wanted to find out more about Isabelle and her family, he wouldn’t go digging. Rachel’s rules were that each family’s privacy was to be maintained. From the beginning, she was adamant the applications remain confidential unless the families chose to share the details of their circumstances themselves, which is what two of them had done.

Kuda and Rumbi had told people they’d left their entire extended family in Zimbabwe, hoping for a new start in Australia. They’d initially landed in Melbourne, but had struggled with anonymity and a feeling of displacement. Since moving to Stony Creek they’d made friends easily, and the townspeople had enveloped them and accepted them into the community. Kuda ran his computer business from home and was an active member of the local church. Rumbi volunteered at the school and had big plans to create a community library.

Andrew and Kim Bailey, the young couple with the twins, had hit the ground running too, and had been warmly welcomed. Andrew, who was a chef by profession, had been keen to have a career change. He’d been more than happy to get his hands dirty, slotting into country life like he was born for it. He’d made himself more than useful to a number of the local farmers and they loudly sang his praises. Kim was a hairdresser, and Matt had heard people were turning up to her home in droves to get their hair done, rather than travelling to Booleroo, as they’d done in the past. The couple were regulars at the pub, having found plenty of willing babysitters for their cute girls. With little family between them, they hoped the community could become the family they desperately missed.

The other Peppercorn family had ventured into the pub on a number of occasions, but there was something about Neil’s manner that rubbed Matt the wrong way. The couple were polite and quiet, their tribe of kids well behaved, but that didn’t mean anything. Sometimes the quiet ones needed to be watched. Their old sandstone farmhouse on the outskirts of town didn’t have enough bedrooms to cope with the number of kids – six with a seventh on the way – so two old caravans had been deposited next to the house. Each time Matt drove past it looked more like a junkyard, with cars and bits of machinery seemingly added to the collection daily. Neil was a mechanic, with a hobby for collecting old cars and doing them up. While there seemed to be a lot of collecting going on, there was little sign of any repairs occurring.

Matt stopped himself. He was doing it again – assuming the worst. They were probably a nice family. He simply needed to give them time and get to know them. Just like everyone constantly reminded him.

Those who had met Isabelle already loved her, and there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that she needed the most help. Matt still couldn’t get over the way the local women had turned out in droves to unpack her house and prepare meals for her – they hadn’t done that for any of the other families. Leah constantly went on about how nice Isabelle was, and how delightful her children were, but Matt was uneasy. Every time he’d seen her, she looked unhappy.

After two weeks, he was troubled enough that he headed out to the Williams family farm to talk to Leah. She spent every Friday doing the books for her dad and they would be able to have a chat about Isabelle away from prying eyes and flapping ears.

By the time he pulled up in a cloud of dust, Leah was waiting for him. ‘Hey, stranger,’ she greeted him warmly when he stepped out of the car. ‘What’s news?’

‘Not much,’ he said, slamming the car door. ‘Same old, same old. Keeping the bad guys from overtaking the town.’ Matt laughed, but it was without mirth. Silence filled the gap, and he was unsure what else to say. He leaned against the bonnet of his car.

‘You’re looking serious. Do you want to come in for a cuppa? Mum’s been baking.’

‘I don’t want to interrupt you. I know you’re working.’ Matt lifted his hand to his head to shade his eyes and squinted at Leah.

‘Come and get out of the heat at least.’

Matt took three long strides and joined Leah in the shade of the wide veranda that wrapped its way around the homestead. She gave him a peck on the cheek and they settled down side by side on the front steps.

‘What’s wrong?’ Leah asked, leaning back and resting one elbow on the smooth bluestone step.

‘Why does anything have to be wrong?’

‘Why else would you be here?’

He waved a fly from his face. ‘Because we’re friends.’

‘Hmm, is that right?’ Leah folded her arms across her chest and stared at him. ‘We might be friends, but you’re not the kind who drives out here simply to pass the time of day.’

There was no trace of resentment in her voice and he was glad. She was a great girl, but for someone else.

‘I haven’t seen Isabelle around much,’ Matt said. ‘Is she doing okay?’

‘She’s
fine
,’ Leah repeated. ‘I think the first couple of weeks were tough on all of them, but the kids are back at school now, so I think Issie will get out more. I don’t think she knows how to fill her days. This move has been a massive change for her, in more ways than the physical location.’

‘Does she need anything? You know, any help with things around the house?’ Matt was a practical kind of guy and couldn’t stop thinking how rundown the little miner’s cottage was and how he might be able to help.

‘She mentioned wanting to get out in the garden, and I think Fletcher wants to re-paint his bedroom. Also, that carpet in the lounge has to go, it’s disgusting. So yes, I’d say there are plenty of things you could help with.’

‘Would she mind me asking?’

‘I don’t know. I’m still getting to know her myself. She’s very independent, but I reckon if she doesn’t want your help, she’ll tell you.’

‘Should I call her first? I don’t want to rock up and offend her.’

‘Jeez, Matt, I’ve never known you to be so hesitant.’ Leah paused and drew in a quick breath, her eyes wide with comprehension. ‘Matthew Robertson, don’t tell me you’re
interested
in Isabelle?’

There was no point denying it – certainly not to Leah. She’d spot his lie a mile away.

‘You
are!
’ she said, when he remained quiet. A grin lit her face.

‘I guess so,’ he admitted.

‘But you’re a sworn bachelor. That’s what you tell everyone.’

He let out a deep sigh. ‘I know. But there’s something about her, Leah. From the moment she pulled up outside the pub that night—’

Leah threw back her head and laughed as if he’d said the funniest thing. ‘I’d say you’re smitten.’

‘Well, it’s hard not to be attracted to her.’ He hated the fact he was blushing.

‘True, but plenty of girls have vied for your attention over the past eighteen months. What’s so different about Issie?’

Matt hesitated, unsure how much he wanted to admit to Leah. At first, it was Isabelle’s beauty that caught his attention, then after he met her it was her vulnerability and fragility that floored him. He’d been tempted to flee when he found out she was still grieving her husband, but he couldn’t deny his feelings. Something about Isabelle Cassidy kept drawing him in. He had no way of explaining it, but he badly wanted to get to know her. He wanted to know everything about her – what she liked, what she didn’t like, what made her laugh, what made her cry.

‘So do you reckon I should I offer to help?’ he asked again.

‘You didn’t answer my question,’ Leah said, with another grin. ‘What’s so different about Isabelle from any of the other girls?’

‘She’s special,’ he replied lamely.

‘Yes, she is,’ Leah agreed, staring at him with the look a mother usually reserves for her child. ‘And don’t you ever forget it.’