When she went to Cape Ashe Stud to check on Autumn on Saturday afternoon, Claire had briefly wondered if she could secrete herself there. But with Chris in the main house, his parents in their home up on the ridge and staff coming in and out of the property all day, it was much more likely that Claire would be sprung. Her heart gave a little lurch as she realised there would be even more activity at the property this week with wedding preparations in full swing. She should have told Chris that the equine quarantine meant the event couldn’t go ahead, she thought. Shutting down the venue was a surefire way to derail a wedding. Any cartoon villain worth her salt should have known that.
Another missed opportunity.
Besides, Thorne Hill was the only place aside from Cape Ashe where Claire had ever felt truly happy. She had loved growing up there. Even when her parents’ conversations had grown terse and her father had started drinking more, it had been her sanctuary, the one place she always felt at ease – until she was sent away to school and the life she had loved was ripped from her.
It now made more sense to her that Scotty had bought the place. It was an incredibly beautiful property and it deserved to be in the care of someone who saw that beauty, who understood its potential instead of bemoaning its limitations the way Jim always had. She hoped Scotty would be happy there, him and Nina and the children they would have one day.
She had retreated to Thorne Hill because she needed time to get her head together. She needed the space and tranquillity of her childhood home to try to find peace within herself. Claire had hoped that coming back to Thorne Hill would help her finally say goodbye to her past – all of it.
Had it worked? She didn’t quite know yet. She was still in love with Scotty – that hadn’t changed – but she’d accepted that it made no difference. She’d missed her chance with him. It hurt to admit it and it probably always would. But Claire hoped it would hurt less in time. Maybe the pain would become something she could live with.
‘Off you go, Tank,’ she said to the watchful dog. ‘Go home. Where’s Scotty? Find Scotty.’
Tank took off in the direction of the house as fast as his three stubby legs would carry him. Claire watched as he grew smaller and smaller in the distance, feeling a little guilty. She knew Scotty wouldn’t be at the house. His and Nina’s joint bucks’ and hens’ party was set to start in an hour. Scotty would be at the beach by now.
And soon, so would she.
Flaming bamboo torches lit the path through the dunes to the beach, but Claire would have found her way without them. The cacophony of music and merry voices mixed with the scent of barbequing meat and drifted into the night sky in a cloud of muggy sea air. The whole town seemed to have converged on Bindallarah Beach for Scotty and Nina’s party. The sand was a writhing mass of people. The golden glow cast by the torches illuminated Santa hats and tinsel accessories on those who had clearly decided the event should do double duty as a Christmas party.
Claire paused at the bottom of the path, taking in the scene. She saw Nina right away, wearing a stunning beaded kaftan that sparkled as it caught the light. She was also wearing a tiara, a sash that proclaimed her the ‘Bride-to-Be’ in swirly pink lettering, and what looked suspiciously like penis-shaped earrings. Surrounded by a gaggle of women no doubt quizzing her for every detail of the wedding, Nina was smiling, but Claire thought she detected something guarded in her expression.
Nearby, she saw Chris Shannon with his wife, Amber, and Scotty’s parents, Mike and Janine. Claire wondered who was looking after their little boy, Matty, when it seemed the entire district had turned out for the party. She saw Vanessa and Gus, who was swirling her wine around in her glass as ostentatiously as a sommelier.
But she didn’t see Scotty anywhere.
Claire made her way hesitantly towards the party. Vanessa saw her approaching and waved. Claire headed in her direction, but she hadn’t taken more than three steps when she felt a strong hand close around hers.
‘There you are,’ said a deep voice. ‘I’ve been looking for you.’
Claire turned to see Alex, smiling warmly. Her heart sank a little as she realised she could add his name to the list of people she was fated to disappoint.
‘You have?’ she said.
‘Yeah! You kind of vanished off the face of the earth after our date on Saturday.’
Claire winced. She had completely forgotten to let Alex know she was heading for the hills. Her head was all over the place, but that was no excuse for rudeness.
‘I was hoping we could hang out again,’ he went on. ‘Was it something I said?’
Alex was joking, but Claire realised it kind of was something he had said. At breakfast on Saturday he had told her, You were Scotty’s girl – everybody knew that. Nina’s revelation about the timing of Scotty’s proposal may have been the catalyst for her bush sabbatical, but Alex’s offhand remark had stirred something in Claire – something long buried. She saw now that she had been thinking of herself as Scotty’s girl for years, even though they weren’t together, whether she deserved to or not. She’d expected Scotty to miraculously know that she might want him back some day – and to just wait patiently until that day arrived, no questions asked.
‘Hey, Alex, on Saturday you said you wanted to be honest so that there were no misunderstandings,’ Claire said. ‘Can I
