Nothing was said until they were both sitting at the table eating.
"I don't trust him. Can't be too much different to his old man surely."
"You don't know that. I vote you at least give him a chance and find out for yourself." He took another bite of his sandwich. "Might get a shock, a pleasant one too."
Sami scowled. She kept shooting quick glances Tibby's way but he sat happily eating and drinking not saying anything else, letting her stew over her words.
Sure Mason was super cute and all but he had to be watched. He was after her property and it wasn't going to happen. Not now they were free from the dark cloud of the bank and debt collectors at long last. She took a deep breath and finished her tea.
"He has to prove himself to me before I'll let my guard down then." She glared at Tibby. "And for your information, I'm only doing this for you, alright? I don't care if we don't get on. I'm used to keeping to myself."
"Don't worry me none. I like the guy already and he doesn't have anything to prove to me."
"Well, he does to me. Let's get going, we have work to do." Sami pushed up out of her chair. She grabbed a hat from the back of the door and stomped down the stairs, annoyed with herself for agreeing to be nice. Garth would be pleased if nobody else would be. He liked the neighbour and was keen to go and have a look around.
It might be a good idea to play nice. They had to live next door anyway and in a rural community word got around like wildfire. If she strutted into the community big noting herself, and gave the impression she was hard to deal with, it could turn sour for them in the long run. They'd had enough grief to last a lifetime without turning the townsfolk against them before they had settled in.
Sami was on the last of the fencing when Tibby brought the subject up again. "Um, Mason is having his annual get together soon. I was going to go over and see how his cellar is coming on. Maybe you and young Garth would like to join me."
Sami looked over her shoulder at him without speaking. She turned back to the wire she was straining and gave it another turn. Without looking she held her hand out for the fencing pliers. He slapped them into her hand. When the knot was secure she dropped them on the ground and sighed before turning around.
"Look, I know you like the guy and all but..."
"Hold it right there, missy. I'm asking you to come over as a neighbour for a bloody look around and a drink. I never said to sell your soul to the man for God's sake. Go over and be friendly." He pulled his hat from his head and wiped his arm over a moist brow before jamming it back on. "It's what we do down this part of the country. We go and support our mates and neighbours. Good excuse for a get together and all. You might meet some people your own age."
"Sorry, I can't help but be defensive." She screwed up her face and clenched her hands together. "This is hard, you know. I'm not used to having anyone do this kind of thing. It was live or die out in the bush but whatever it was we had to do it on our own because we never fitted in. This is foreign so you will have to give me a chance to get used to it."
"Okay. Not a problem. It's really very easy you know. Relax and go with the flow and you might surprise yourself. Now let's get the truck loaded and we can go and move some of those new mums to be closer to the house."
Sheepishly Sami obliged and loaded the gear up. She sat quietly on the ride back to the house, half through guilt and half through fear. The ball was in her court, that was obvious but if Mason wanted to put the pressure on she worried he would find a way to force her to sell. It made playing sociable a bit hard in her book.
Chapter 9
The sound of sirens piercing the afternoon calm greeted them as they drove up toward the house.
"Not a noise we hear often out here." Tibby slammed on the brakes. "Shit, something's wrong over at Mason’s."
He pushed open his door and jumped from the vehicle, running to the fence line. Before he was through the wire, Sami was beside him.
Her heart was thumping and a cold hand of dread grasped at her gut. She pushed past Tibby and slipped through the fence. The flashing lights of the ambulance lit up the afternoon sky as she ran down between the vines. Medics were running up toward her and she realised Mason was crouched down in the grass over Garth.
"No, Garth." She ran forward, fell to the ground beside her unconscious brother and reached for him. Strong arms grabbed her and pulled her back. Sami kicked and screamed, beating her hands against the chest of the man holding her tight.
"Sami, stop it. Damn it girl, stop. They need your help, stop fighting."
Fear radiated from every pore of her body as she stood beside her brother. The medics had an oxygen mask on him and were trying to talk to her.
"What medication is he on?"
"Um, Ventolin, he should have it in his pocket," Sami replied.
Mason wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close, preventing her from getting in their way.
"Let me go."
"No. Sami, he doesn't have it with him. I looked for it when he started to struggle breathing and called the ambulance when I couldn't find
