Where the Heart Is

Chapter 19

CHAPTER

19

While Addy took a stroll, Mila called her grandfather.

He picked up on the sixth ring, like he had no intention of answering her call. ‘Mila. How are you?’

His standard greeting made her smile. ‘Good, Gramps. You?’

‘Not bad. I’m getting a coffee in town.’

For someone who’d once told her he couldn’t understand why young people wasted money on buying barista-made coffee from a café when they could just as easily make it themselves at home, this was almost as shocking as learning Addy had spent the night in his bungalow.

‘You’re getting a coffee in town?’ Her scepticism made it sound like he was running up Main Street naked, and she heard a subdued chuckle.

‘I haven’t been in town for a while, thought I’d take a walk. Get something to drink.’

‘Clearing your head, huh?’

He’d have a lot to think about, with Addy landing on his doorstep after so many years.

‘I’ve always taught you to be blunt, young lady, so if you’ve got something on your mind, say it, and stop implying you know what I’m thinking.’

She chuckled. ‘Okay. Let’s just say it was a shock to see Gran get out of your car earlier, then to learn she’d spent the night.’

‘It’s not like that,’ he muttered, sounding gruff and adorable at the same time. ‘It must’ve been an ordeal for her, dealing with a broken-down car, then discovering the first door she knocked on was mine.’

‘Wow,’ Mila mouthed silently. Not only had Gramps been chivalrous in offering Gran a place to stay, when he had every right to slam the door in her face considering how she walked out on him, but he was thinking of how she must’ve been feeling. Incredibly sweet.

‘You’re right, Gramps, she seems a bit discombobulated. It must’ve been tough on her.’

And you —but she wisely kept that to herself. Her grandfather couldn’t abide pity.

‘You two are okay?’

After a long pause, Gramps cleared his throat. ‘Yeah. Though your grandmother wasn’t the only one who got a shock when I opened that door, but it was nice to see Addy after all these years.’

Better than nice, considering the nostalgia in his tone. Where she’d expected animosity if the two of them crossed paths at her wedding, she heard nothing but cautious optimism in Gramps’s voice and it gave her hope.

Not that she was under any illusions they’d reconcile—not after all this time—but it would be nice for some of her family to be civil enough to have regular catch-ups. Her parents were a lost cause—she was closer to the town butcher than to her folks. But Addy and Jack had been her world growing up and it pained her to see them separated by years of unresolved issues.

‘Do you know how long she’s staying?’

‘Not a clue,’ Gramps said, sounding annoyed. ‘I’m not her keeper.’

‘Just asking,’ Mila said. ‘Are you picking her up later?’

‘No. I thought you could drop her wherever she needs to go.’

‘At your place, you mean, considering that’s where her stuff is?’

She didn’t understand her grandfather’s abrupt change in mood.

‘You two sort it out,’ he said, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. ‘I’ve got to go.’

Jack hung up, leaving her staring at the phone in consternation a moment before she caught sight of Addy striding towards her with purpose in her step.

‘My darling girl, I’ve had an idea,’ Addy said, her smile wide.

‘We rarely get to spend time together and seeing as I’ve come all this way, why don’t I stay a while?’ She pointed over her shoulder. ‘That farm-stay cottage looks charming from the outside so why don’t I be your first guest? What do you think?’

Mila would like nothing better than to spend quality time with her grandmother. But Jack was lonely and had been for a long time, and from the sound of his voice earlier—and what he’d said about Addy going through an ordeal—he obviously still cared for her.

What would happen if Gran spent longer at Gramps’s bungalow rather than being stuck all the way out here?

Mila didn’t expect them to rekindle their marriage, but it would be good for them to have a chance to resolve their differences and part more amicably this time around. Besides, it would be nice if the two people she was closest to in the world could visit her and coexist harmoniously.

‘I’d love to spend more time with you, Gran, and I will, but I’m sorry, you can’t stay at the cottage.’

Addy’s shoulders slumped. ‘That’s a shame.’

‘Yes, it is. The wiring’s not sound yet and the plumbing isn’t done, plus it needs to pass a building inspection before it’s habitable. I can’t run the risk of anyone staying there, even you, if it could jeopardise the farm-stay project in the future.’

She made it sound convincing, even the part about the inspection, because she knew her gran would probably suggest she live in the unfinished cottage and shower in the main homestead.

‘I understand,’ Addy said, disappointment lacing her tone. ‘Not to worry.’

Mustering her best cajoling tone, Mila said, ‘I would love to spend more time with you though, especially when I’m under all this stress from the aborted wedding.’ She laid it on thick. ‘So why don’t you stay longer at Gramps’s place? I’m sure he won’t mind, what with the bungalow being empty all the time anyway.’

She’d always wondered why her grandfather, a confirmed recluse since Addy left him fourteen years ago, would build a bungalow on his land. He never had anyone come to stay and if her parents ever returned from their travels, he had two spare rooms in his cottage. Not to mention the fact her parents would probably stay with her at Hills Homestead if they ever stopped travelling long enough. They hadn’t been home once since she’d bought the farm so the likelihood of them dropping by was minuscule.

Addy’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘He never has anyone to stay?’

‘Not that I know of, and I’d hear, considering the grapevine in this town.’

‘Hmm …’ Addy murmured, absentmindedly, and for a second Mila could’ve sworn her gran had asked out of jealousy. ‘I’ll ask him if it’s okay.’

‘Great idea.’ Mila enveloped Addy in a quick hug so her grandmother couldn’t see her triumphant expression. ‘I can’t wait to see more of you.’

Mila hoped Jack shared the same sentiment.

* * *

Fate gave Mila a helping hand in playing matchmaker for her estranged grandparents. As luck would have it, she couldn’t give Addy a lift to Jack’s courtesy of an emergency meeting with her farm manager.

As Dazza approached, she didn’t like his sombre expression. He’d already given her a heads-up about a potential problem with one of the paddocks when he’d texted her to meet a few minutes ago, and by the looks of it, the news wasn’t good.

‘How bad is it, Dazza?’

The sixty-year-old who’d been Jack’s right-hand man for a decade wrinkled his nose. ‘Even though we undertook adequate paddock preparation last spring before sowing, somehow the weed is spreading.’

Mila’s heart sank. Because lentils grew slowly and couldn’t compete with a variety of weeds, maintaining good weed control was essential for a healthy crop. If her current crop had been damaged … she couldn’t contemplate the additional financial strain that would place on her.

‘Can we control the spread?’

Dazza paused before nodding. But his hesitation, combined with the worry in his eyes, told Mila the truth before he spoke.

If calm, unflappable Dazza was worried, she should be too.

‘You know we avoid sowing lentils in paddocks with a history of bad broadleaf weeds, and I thought Paddock 2 was clear. But the clovers and bedstraw are particularly resistant …’ He shrugged. ‘Maybe we should’ve delayed sowing and used a pre-emergent herbicide to ensure eradication? Regardless, we have a problem now.’

Mila had never cried in front of Dazza, despite the bad news regarding her crops that he’d delivered over the last year, but she could’ve easily sunk to her haunches in the dirt and bawled. ‘Is there any chance of controlling the spread?’

Sensing an incoming meltdown, Dazza patted her shoulder in reassurance. ‘I can try a post-emergent product to control those pesky broadleaf weeds, but I’ll need to be careful as some of our lentil varieties are sensitive.’

‘Do whatever it takes,’ Mila said, swallowing her rising panic. The cost of running a farm was never-ending and with her finances already stretched to breaking point … Damn Phil for reneging on their arrangement.

‘If it’s any consolation, I’ve seen worse,’ Dazza said, his smile laconic. ‘Leave it with me.’

‘Thanks, Daz. We still on for our weekly meeting later?’

He nodded. ‘I’ve got all the updates ready. See you then.’

As her farm manager strode away, the tears Mila had been battling while Dazza delivered the bad news burned the back of her eyes.

Yet another reason to lament her aborted marriage. Over the last year or so, she’d had Phil to lean on when farming life got tough.She’d offload at the end of a hard day, and he’d never fail to cheer her up. That had been a highlight of their friendship, his ability to make her laugh, and she knew his easygoing personality had been one of the reasons she’d thought a marriage between them might work.

But with Phil off chasing a romantic dream with his new woman, she couldn’t rely on him any longer. She hadn’t just lost a financial solution to her problems when he cancelled their wedding, she felt like she’d lost a friend too.

Which was silly, considering they were still neighbours—but the last thing he needed was her encroaching on a new relationship.

What about Sawyer?

She ignored the thought because offloading to Sawyer about her problems, knowing he’d want to help, would only make life harder when he ultimately left.