Rose's Vintage (29 page)

Mark staggered slightly under the force of the woman's embrace. ‘Isabella … What? How? I thought you were in Barcelona?'

‘I flew in this morning, and the news of your fantastical win was all over the papers. I had to come and congratulate you. Mark, it is amazing. I am so proud of you. I knew you could do it. You are the hero.'

Standing only a few steps away, Rose couldn't help but hear everything. The smell of the heavy perfume that had followed Isabella's entrance made her feel queasy and her head spun.

So this is her. Isabella. Mark's wife. Fuck.

Suddenly sober, and feeling as deflated as a week-old party balloon, Rose knew that whatever flirtation she and Mark had going on paled into insignificance beside Isabella's claim. It also didn't help that the Spanish woman was terrifyingly elegant and composed, making Rose suddenly feel like a dishevelled, self-conscious teenager.

She turned away, blinking back tears, and found some glasses and plates to clear up. Operating on autopilot, she began to attack the debris of the party. A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance and Barnsie, who'd been tied up near the cellar door, began to howl at the sound. The air had become heavy, and clouds scudded over the formerly bright night sky.

Dan came up to her and gently took a glass from her hand. ‘Oh, love, I can see you're upset. It's Isabella, isn't it?'

Rose nodded dumbly. ‘Sorry, Dan, I can't
…
' She turned and fled to the barn, hardly registering the fat raindrops falling on her bare arms and splattering on the gravel. Barnsie, who'd been released from his tether, followed her in. She hadn't the heart to send him outside. She collapsed on the sofa, burying her face in the dog's damp fur.

CHAPTER 29

P
eering out of the window the next morning, Rose could see that the sky was a blameless pale blue, as if the storm had washed it clean and hung it out to dry. There was a hollow feeling in her stomach as she remembered the party and Isabella's unexpected entrance. She'd thought Giles breaking up with her had hurt, but this was a kind of pain unlike any she'd ever experienced. Until last night she hadn't admitted to herself that she was in love with Mark, but now she could feel her heart – and her hopes and dreams – breaking into a million little pieces.

Her head pounded from the wine she'd drunk and her mouth and mood were as foul as a parrot's cage. There was only one thing for it. She tugged on her running shorts and a singlet, threaded her hair through a visor and laced up her shoes. The going would be muddy but she wasn't going to let that stop her.

Rounding the path that led to the cellar door she came upon the desecrated scene of the previous night's festivities: empty bottles scattered over the tables and littering the lawn, and a handful of cold sausages abandoned in the grease on the barbecue. She'd see to it all later; hopefully Astrid would help too. Now it was time to run – to run away from her disappointment, run until it couldn't keep up with her.

As she reached the top of the hill, she looked down on Trevelyn Cottage and wondered what would happen to it now. Vera and Violet were out of hospital and on the mend, but as the house was so badly damaged by the fire, they had gone to stay with some relatives instead. Rose ran down and picked her way along the weed-strewn paths through the vines and stopped in the veggie patch. It was overgrown, but she could see peapods of a decent size scrambling up a trellis and some baby tomatoes just starting to turn scarlet. She resolved to come back later on if she had time and give the patch a good weeding. She wanted to do something to help out her absent neighbours. She had to keep busy. Anything to take her mind off Mark and Isabella. She choked back a sob.

Turning back up the hill between the two properties, she hastened her stride. The late night meant that she had slept in, and no doubt the hungry hordes would be waiting for breakfast back at Kalkari. Regardless of how she might be feeling, she still had to feed everyone.

Sure enough, there was a clamour coming from the kitchen as she kicked off her mud-clagged trainers on the back verandah. She heard whistling, and walked in to find Jake frying up eggs and bacon while entertaining Leo and Luisa with silly faces and noises. He was pretty chipper this morning, she thought. There was no sign of Mark or Isabella.

‘Doing me out of a job there, hey?' said Rose, trying to put a brave face on things. She was too proud to let anyone see her misery, particularly Jake.

‘Well these two monkeys were starving, and so was I for that matter.' He smiled at her through his floppy dark hair, then expertly flipped the eggs over and slid them onto plates. ‘Coming right up, guys.'

‘What's coming right up?' asked Mark as he walked into the kitchen. His hair was newly washed, hanging in damp tendrils, and he looked fresh-faced and rested. He avoided Rose's eyes. ‘What a party, hey?' he said to no-one in particular, grabbing a slice of toast and slathering it with butter and Vegemite. ‘And how are you two rascals doing?' he asked, ruffling Leo's hair with one hand as he held the toast in the other, and then stealing a kiss from Luisa. ‘I've got a surprise for you.'

‘What? What?' cried Luisa.

‘A surprise?' Leo was curious.

‘Yep, come on. Help me put these things on a tray and we'll take them upstairs.'

‘Upstairs?' asked Leo.

‘Yes, mate. That's where the surprise is.'

Mark loaded up a tray with eggs, toast and juice and beckoned the kids to come with him.

Rose's heart sank. Any tiny hope she'd been clinging to that Isabella hadn't stayed, that there was still a chance for her and Mark, was cruelly dashed.

‘You okay?' asked Jake, seeing her stricken expression. ‘Uh-oh. The return of the estranged wife put a spanner in the works, huh?'

Rose didn't answer him. There was nothing to say. She could hear Luisa's excited laughter coming from upstairs.

Mark reappeared in the doorway. ‘Rose, can I have a word?' he asked. ‘I've got something over at the cellar door that I'd like to ask you about.'

‘Sure thing,' she said, feeling like she was heading to the executioner. They headed out of the kitchen and onto the back verandah, away from the kitchen window. Once they were out of earshot of the house, Mark stopped, a look of contrition on his face.

‘Rose, I'm really sorry about last night. Believe me: I had no idea that Isabella was going to turn up like that. But she is the kids' mother and until recently it was her home. I couldn't just kick her out. You and me, well, it's just really bad timing. Oh, Rose, I wish things were different, I really do, but right now I can't get involved. It's not fair to get you involved either. I've got so much stuff I need to sort out. I hope you understand.'

Rose nodded. She'd been expecting this. She really had no right to try and convince him otherwise.

‘Look, Rose, the kids adore you. Everyone here likes you. Even Dan can't stop singing your praises. Between you and Astrid, you've really brightened things up around here. Kalkari is a much happier place to be. Please stay – oh look, I'm making a hash of this …'

She took a step back, putting as much distance between them as she could.

‘I don't know, Mark. I need to think.'

‘Okay,' he said, ‘I'll respect your decision. I know I'm asking a lot of you.'

She turned away from him and walked towards the barn. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her cry.

Isabella wasn't the only new arrival at Kalkari that day. Before the Jimmy Watson win, Jake had managed to track down a source in the west of the state, and had been promised his special delivery would be on a truck within the week. ‘The kids are going to be so excited,' he'd said as he'd explained to Rose what he was planning. ‘I feel like a big kid myself.'

‘Quick, Leo, Luisa, come and see what we've got,' he called into the house as a big livestock truck crunched its gears up the drive.

‘What is it, Jake?' asked Leo as he followed him, racing around to the winery, Astrid, Rose and Luisa falling in behind.

‘Whaddya think?' he asked, proudly indicating the creamy, pint-sized four-legged animals that were now skittering out of the truck, bleating and trotting around in the vineyard, checking out their new surroundings.

‘What on earth are they?' asked Astrid.

‘Woolly weeders!' he said, sounding very pleased with himself.

‘What?'

‘Babydoll sheep. They're going to graze in between the vines, keep the weeds down and add their own personal brand of fertiliser straight to the soil.'

‘Crikey, mate!' exclaimed Dan as he came out of the shadows of the winery, scratching his head. ‘Are
ewe
joking? Ewe – geddit?' He guffawed at his pun. ‘The boss know about this?'

‘Yup. Sure does. Got the go-ahead last week.'

‘Aww, they're so cute,' said Astrid, gazing at them.

‘Now, no grabbing one for a nice lamb roast, Rose,' he warned. ‘These cost us a pretty penny.'

‘I wouldn't dream of it. They look far too cuddly to cook,' said Rose.

‘Can we pat them, Jakey?' asked Luisa.

‘Well, I'm not sure how tame they are, but once they've settled in, you can have a go. Gonna need to train Barnsie up to keep 'em in line.'

Leo's eyes shone at the prospect. ‘Can I help too?'

‘Sure you can, mate. You're gonna be my right-hand man,' said Jake.

‘Well I never,' said Dan, shaking his head. ‘Never thought I'd see the day. So we're sheep farmers now too, hey?'

‘You'd better believe it. These babies are gonna more than pay their way.'

CHAPTER 30

R
ose was walking over to clear up some of previous night's mess when she saw a car heading up the drive. Not recognising it, she stopped to see who it might be. Perhaps it was the irrigation people arriving early. Jake had mentioned something about them at breakfast, but Rose hadn't really been paying attention. Her mind had been on other things.

The car came to an abrupt halt, wheels spitting gravel as it turned in a large arc. An elderly couple emerged. The woman had faded blonde hair streaked with grey and wore a tweedy green overcoat, teamed with a loudly patterned silk scarf knotted at her neck. The man was dressed almost identically, although he sported a checked deerstalker instead of the scarf. They looked like they'd stepped straight out of an alpine postcard.

‘
Grüß Gott!
We are looking for Astrid.' the woman said. ‘Have we come to the right place?' The woman's accent was unmistakeable.

‘Hello there! Yes, you certainly have come to the right place,' Rose said. ‘Welcome to Kalkari.'

‘Oh good. We have travelled so far. I am exhausted,' the woman replied.

‘Of course, you must be. Astrid's out at the moment with Luisa, but they should be back by lunchtime. Come this way and I'll get you something to drink while you wait,' replied Rose. ‘Sorry about the mess here – we had a bit of a party last night. Kalkari won a big award.' She shepherded them to the bench under the she-oak, hastily removing several of the empty bottles that had fallen beneath it like so many dead soldiers. The woman raised her eyebrows before settling herself on the bench, but said nothing.