Page 90 of A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage
“Did I hear someone mention wine? I thought you were never going to offer.”
Vicky recognised the tall, rangy man in glasses coming down the stairs — the scorekeeper at the cricket.
Lisa followed him. “Hi, Vicky.” She gave her a warm hug. “You’ve sort of met Ollie before, haven’t you?”
“Well, only from a distance.”
“Ah — then it’s nice to meet you properly.” He extended his hand to grasp hers. “Though I’ve heard all about you from Arthur. You’ve been very kind to him.”
“He’s a lovely old man.”
“Oh, ah — he is that.” He grinned at Tom, exchanging a high five. “Evening, mate. Everything okay?”
“Fine. Yourself?”
“Better when Uncle Jack gets round to opening the wine.”
“Now then, it has to breathe,” Jack protested. “You can’t hurry a good red wine. Here we go.”
He filled the glasses waiting on the sideboard, and passed them round. In the soft rays of the setting sun streaming in through the window, they glowed like rubies.
“It’s a Shiraz from Hunter Valley.” His eyes danced with mischievous laughter. “It’s a lively little wine, with a touch of berries and spice.”
“Oh, get along with you.” His wife shook her head in fond exasperation. “Mr Connoisseur.”
Vicky took a sip of the wine. “It’s delicious,” she approved.
“There now!” He shot Pam a look of happy triumph. “She knows her stuff, this one.”
“Is the little one asleep?” Pam asked as Lisa set the baby monitor on the sideboard.
“Fast asleep. She won’t wake for a couple of hours yet.”
“Good. Well, sit down, everyone. Dinner’s ready.”
Tom held out a chair for Vicky. She glanced up at him as she sat down, and he smiled — that smile that made her heart skip. It was a reaction she couldn’t control — every time he looked at her she felt as if she was going a little crazy.
The dinner was delicious — cool cucumber soup, followed by pork-and-apple pie with vegetables, which Vicky guessed were homegrown.
“Tuck in,” Jack urged. “I like to see a lass with a good healthy appetite.”
Tom’s glance flickered towards her, smiling with a secret amusement, and she felt that faint blush of pink rise to her cheeks again. He appreciated her appetite too — though not necessarily her appetite for food.
“So how was Australia?” Ollie asked.
“Big! And they’ve got spiders you wouldn’t believe. Every time you go to the dunny... !”
Pam rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Jack — we don’t need to hear the details of your dunny adventures while we’re eating.”
He chuckled. “You had a few yourself. But it was an eye-opener, and no mistake. Running a herd that size, and coping with those conditions...”
“Is there still a drought problem?”
“There’s always a drought problem.”
Soon the men were deep in discussion of silage and carrying capacity and irrigation systems. Pam turned to Vicky.
“Tom tells me you’ve done some renovations to Molly’s place. It certainly needed it.”
