Only Hope (Gold Hill)

1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Six Months Later

Hope shivered as her feet hit the narrow track down the embankment. Sliding against the wet leaves underfoot, her boots found last minute purchase in the soft mud as she skidded out onto the main track around the lake. Hit it at the wrong time of the week and in the wrong weather and the lake path would be clogged with tourists. Arrive, like Hope had, on a dreary Wednesday afternoon in late autumn, and it was perfect. She knew that if she saw a single soul at all, it would be another local, who’d nod a pleasant hello before they’d both go on to enjoy the solitude. Right now, she could see no one but little brown wood ducks.

Shrugging her shoulders against the frigid breeze she set off at a fast pace, dying to blow out the cobwebs. The lake walk was a sacred ritual after a bad day. Not that today had been truly bad, just the midway frustrating kind of work day that hit her the wrong way sometimes. Because why on earth did people think that they could just- nope. She stopped herself before she got caught in her own spiralling thoughts. Instead she remembered why she was here - the quiet peace of the lake - and how intensely lucky she was to live here at all.

Gold Hill was her dream come true. She’d known it the second she’d arrived, packed and ready to move in, sight unseen. The tiny town clung around the edges of a small valley in rural Victoria, the houses gleaming like seashells amongst the dark trees. The main street was a collection of Gold Rush architecture, all narrow stone shopfronts, now servicing the many hundreds of tourists who rushed in from Melbourne on weekends. On weekdays though, it was a quiet country town. To Hope it was the best of both worlds: the peace and beauty of the countryside, and the good coffee and wine bars of the city. Her favourite part of all though, was the lake.

It was small, as far as lakes went; you could walk around the whole thing in under an hour. The track wound slowly up and down the side of the embankment and close to the water’s edge, through gentle forest and a small field filled with plump white geese. There was a collection of luxury holiday homes along the western corner and a small coffee shop that opened on weekends, but otherwise nothing except the water and the whisper of the trees.

As she walked she began to warm inside her jacket, though her cheeks still stung with the bite of sharp moisture in the wind. It wasn’t quite rain, but it wasn’t not rain; a particularly Victorian weather speciality she’d found. It had been just over two years since she’d moved down from Sydney and the shock of going from the relatively mild temperatures to Gold Hill was still fading from her bones. She grinned to herself. It was probably eleven degrees out and it wasn’t even winter yet. If she could tell the girl she was three years ago that she’d be revelling in the cold and excitedly anticipating the real chill to sink in, the Hope who’d been reclining on a beach every weekend would have kicked sand in her face.

She sobered slightly, as she remembered that year, as reason upon reason to move away had stacked up until she’d all but fled. If bikini-clad Hope had known what was coming, she’d have thrown herself on a plane months earlier.

Rounding the corner she found herself jerked from her downward spiral by two strangers in her sight. It wasn’t unknown for tourists to visit mid-week, and it wasn’t like Hope knew everyone in town; Gold Hill wasn’t quite that small. But these two - standing facing each other on the small jetty out over the lake - were out-of-towners for sure. For starters, the man wore a sharply-fitted business suit despite the cold and muddy ground underfoot. The woman was more appropriately dressed, in a long navy wool coat and dark green wellington boots over black leggings. As Hope grew closer she recognised the gleaming label on the boots. Practical enough but thoroughly overpriced. These were boots made for women off viewing thoroughbred horses or purchasing vast country real estate, and preferably being photographed while doing it. Definitely a tourist, then. Besides, Hope would absolutely know if she’d seen this woman before.

She was stunning. Even fifteen feet away Hope could see it. Her dark brown hair was gleaming and luxurious despite the sleek bun holding it back against the breeze. There was an elegance to the lines of her body, even wrapped up tight the way she was against the cold. She held herself like a ballerina, upright and taut. Her skin glowed pale in the damp air, her chin held high. As Hope drew nearer she caught the words on the breeze, as clear as if she stood between them.

“Come on, Alison,” the man said, his tone firm, broaching no argument. “It’s all public knowledge by now anyway. You may as well profit from it.”

“How did you find me?” The woman’s voice was sharp and haughty. “Who sent you here?”

“That’s hardly relevant. What matters is that I’m here-”

“Yes. And threatening me.”

Hope froze still. She was barely ten feet from where the jetty met the shore. The couple were staring at each other so intently that neither seemed to have registered her presence. The words threatening me seemed to hang in the air and only now could she hear the undertone of panic in the woman’s voice atop the rigidity in her posture.

“Oh, come on, let’s not be dramatic now.” The man shifted the bulk of his hefty build minutely closer, proving the woman’s accusation while refuting her words. Hope made the decision in a heartbeat.

“Alison!” Her voice was effusive as she stepped up onto the jetty and moved towards the couple. Both heads snapped towards her, two sets of eyes zeroing in on her intrusion. “I’m so sorry I’m late,” she breezed, crossing the length of the battered wooden boards over the water to reach the pair. Meeting the woman’s startled eyes - cool, grey, stony - she lightly grasped her shoulder and leaned up to press a friendly kiss to her icy cheek. “I thought we were meeting at the cafe until I remembered it was closed.”

The woman, Alison, flinched slightly at her touch but as she drew back she didn’t hesitate.

“I got waylaid,” she said smoothly, shooting a sharp look at the man looming behind Hope. Hope turned, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear - so small, so blonde, not a threat - and smiled warmly.

“Nice to meet you,” she said, her tone careless and light. The man had lost his glower. His mouth smiled back, with a hint of teeth, and Hope could see the flare of irritation in his eyes as he examined her. It felt like being watched by a dog on a chain, deciding whether or not to lunge. The hair on the back of her neck went up. “I hope I’m not interrupting,” she said with exaggerated politeness, “but if we’re going to get our walk in, we’d better get going before the rain kicks in. My husband said if the weather turns bad he’ll watch our progress and pick us up.” She held up her mobile phone with a little smile. Man, protector, tracking us.

“I must be going then,” Alison said to the looming man immediately. He stepped back, the message clear. He was letting them go, but he wasn’t happy about it.

“I’ll be in touch,” he said with chilling blandness. Alison slipped her arm through Hope’s, steering them both firmly down the jetty.

“That won’t be necessary,” Alison said.

“Bye!” Hope gave a friendly little wave over their shoulder, not liking the feel of the hulking presence behind their backs. She could feel the tension radiating off the other woman’s body as they set off on the lake path. She fought the urge to march away at top speed, feeling quite sure that if they appeared to be running, the man on the jetty would pursue them. Instead she forced herself to keep a casual pace, Alison’s arm in hers like they were close friends, all but holding the other woman back from fleeing. “What a gorgeous day for a walk together,” she said lightly, to break the tension of their absurd position. She hoped they looked like two chatting friends, rather than two stiff strangers as they walked on, pinned in the gaze from the jetty.

A shaky breath escaped the woman at her side.

“Quite,” she said tightly as they reached the open meadow, the geese huddled down in the grass against the weather. A second later, Alison tugged her arm loose without breaking her pace. “What on earth possessed you to do that?” she asked, turning her head to examine Hope. Her accent was Australian, but clipped enough to show an expensive education.

Hope looked back at her new walking companion. She was startlingly beautiful up this close, somewhere in her forties, her eyes stormy and her full lips blanched from the cold, or the stress of whatever the fuck was happening right now.

“You seemed scared,” Hope told her. “I’m not leaving a frightened woman alone with some creepy dude in the middle of a lake with no one else around.”

Alison breathed in sharply.

“That was rather stupid of you,” she said shortly. “You may have put yourself in the middle of a dangerous situation just now by intervening.”

“Did I?” Hope asked. “Or did I just look like a silly, completely unaware little blonde?” She shrugged one shoulder at Alison, batting her eyelashes to complete the picture.

Alison narrowed her eyes as she seemed to take Hope in all over again.

“I think you probably pulled it off,” she said. It didn’t sound like a compliment.

“Who was he?” Hope asked. She wasn’t remotely keen to be in any kind of danger, but she also didn’t want to leave this woman exposed, despite how prickly and closed off she appeared. Hope knew defensiveness when she saw it; underneath the sharpness was a crystal clear vulnerability.

“Who are you? ” the woman snapped back. She looked faintly furious, like Hope had trespassed on her privacy rather than going out on a limb to help her. Hope stared back at her. She couldn’t repress the slight prickle at the back of her neck and turned to glance behind them. The man was gone, but just where he’d gone was unclear.

“I’m Hope,” she said simply. Alison appeared to choke slightly.

“ Hope?” she repeated. Her eyes were a little wide, her jaw jutting out like Hope was fucking with her.

“Yes,” Hope said slowly, unsure why every word she said seemed to irritate this woman. “Hope. I live here?” Alison sucked in a breath at that, but she didn’t say a word. When Hope stole another glance sideways, she saw a telltale glassiness to the woman’s slate-coloured eyes. She looked away, letting Alison take a minute to cry or not cry, or whatever emotion it was she was struggling with.

“Where can I take you?” Hope asked after a couple more minutes went by, nothing but the crunch of their footsteps and the quiet lapping of the lake against the shore.

“Take me?” Alison sounded flabbergasted. Any trace of tears had been forced away as she met Hope’s gaze, nothing but firmness in her expression. “I’ll be fine from here. Honestly, you can go now.” When Hope hesitated she stopped still. “Thank you,” Alison added begrudgingly. “I appreciate the… rescue.” She didn’t look especially thankful, dropping the word rescue like it was offensive. She looked haughty and resentful and, honestly, alarmingly hot. Feeling somewhat provoked, Hope couldn’t quite help herself.

“I never could resist a damsel in distress,” she said, meeting Alison’s frosty gaze head on. Alison’s gaze went sharper.

“I’m neither one of those things,” she said, her chin lifting defiantly. Hope’s stomach swooped slightly at the blaze in her eyes. “It’s quite clear you’re far more likely to fit into that category than I am, if wandering mindlessly into dangerous situations is something you make a habit of.”

“Mm,” Hope said noncommittally. “And yet here we are. Safely out of the grip of… whatever that was.”

Alison shook her head, her jaw set.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” She turned and walked on, darting an annoyed glare Hope’s way when she kept pace. “I’ve thanked you for your assistance.” Alison actively tried to dismiss her. “But please don’t follow me any further.”

“ Follow you?” Hope’s jaw dropped. “I’m just trying to get you home safely. ”

“That’s not happening!” Alison snapped. “What do you think you’re going to get out of this? A story? An interview? Is that what’s happening here? Are you a journalist?”

Hope frowned, entirely lost now. The woman before her was bristling with tension, her eyes accusing. “Oh come on,” Alison added sharply. “I’m not that naive. You just materialise out of nowhere, ready to whisk me away from a conversation with Jimmy Jenkins? Oh my god…” Her face blanched as she examined Hope more closely. “Are you with them? You said your husband was watching. Who the hell is your husband?”

“Alison,” Hope said slowly. She was starting to wonder if the woman was suffering some kind of psychiatric distress. She definitely sounded paranoid. “My name’s Hope. I live here in Gold Hill. I walk around this lake pretty much every other day. I don’t know you from a bar of soap, but I don’t enjoy seeing strange men frightening women in my town so I stopped to help. I’m not following you, and I’m not any kind of journalist and I don’t quite understand why you think I might be.” She tilted her head questioningly but Alison didn’t elaborate. “I also don’t have a husband,” she confessed. “I just wanted that guy to think we had backup so he’d leave us alone.” She took a breath. Alison didn’t look any less wary. “Can I… is there someone I can call for you? Someone you can trust?”

Alison stood still. She blinked a few times, like her vision was clearing. She looked at Hope again, as if this time she was actually seeing her. She swallowed, visibly .

“No,” she said softly. “I’m fine. Thank you. I’m almost home anyway.” With clear reluctance, she inclined her head toward the row of luxury homes up the embankment, facing out over the water. Hope nodded. She looked around them. There was no sign of the man in the suit.

“Are you worried he’ll be waiting for you?” Hope voiced her concern. Alison hesitated. She shook her head. “Can you… can you text me that you’re okay?” Hope asked. “I’ll give you my phone number?” Alison held still a moment longer. She shook her head again. Hope stifled a sigh, and nodded. It wasn’t her problem. This woman was an adult and she didn’t want Hope’s help. She watched as Alison took a slow deep breath.

“Thank you,” Alison said again. This time it actually sounded like she meant it. She raised her hand in farewell, and as Hope returned the gesture, she turned and headed up the slope. Hope watched her disappear behind the hedgerow without looking back. Then, her heart pounding slightly in her chest as she imagined the man in the suit waiting for her around the next bend, his watchful eyes filled with latent threat, she headed as fast as she could for the main road. For once, the solitude of the lake didn’t fill her with peace.