Chapter 39
Brodie drove up the long driveway to Hollyhock Farm, slowing when he spotted Lettie in one of the fields. There was someone else with her. It looked like one of the workers. As he pulled his Land Rover over to the side onto the grass verge he realised it was her uncle. Brodie was relieved to see he was helping her make lighter work of the heavy job. He opened the door and let Derek jump out. ‘Come along, let’s go and offer Lettie some help.’
They were spreading the seaweed Lettie must have collected that morning but neither of them hadn’t noticed him yet. He let Derek go to her, hoping it would be less of a fright to see the dog than if he called out to her. He saw her still, then slam the fork into the ground and open her arms to greet Derek.
‘He found you then.’ Brodie quickened his pace and joined them. ‘Hello, Mr Torel.’
‘Ah, you’re the vet, aren’t you?’ Brodie nodded. ‘My niece has been telling me all about the fire last night and how you rescued my brother’s animals and I wanted to add my thanks to hers. It was a brave thing to do and we’re all very grateful.’ He smiled. ‘Have you come to help us?’
‘I have.’
Lettie beamed up at him, her arms around Derek’s neck as she cuddled the happy dog. She stood. ‘Good to see you. Finished work already?’
He raised his arm and showed her his watch, pointing at the face. ‘It’s 6p.m.’ Brodie took in the trailer that still seemed about one-third full. ‘You’ve not been doing this since this morning, I hope?’
Lettie shook her head. ‘No. It was so heavy when it was wet that after a couple of hours I thought I’d leave it to dry out a bit before carrying on. Then Uncle Leonard arrived and we did an hour unloading and spreading it, before he went back to his farm while I had to meet the insurance assessor for the barn. Then he came back, helped me rearrange the inside of the other barn so that I could accommodate the animals properly in there.’ She wrapped her arms around herself. ‘I still can’t believe what happened last night.’ Looking up at him, she added, ‘It frightens me to think what might have happened if you weren’t here.’
His arms ached to hug her. He stepped forward and wanted to comfort her but didn’t want to annoy her uncle by being too familiar, so thought better of it. ‘Don’t think that way. I was here and everything is OK.’
‘Yes,’ her uncle agreed. ‘Everything turned out fine in the end, so there’s no need to upset yourself about it.’ He looked at his watch and passed his fork to Brodie. ‘Well, I should be getting back to my herd and will leave the pair of you to finish up here.’
‘Thanks so much for helping me today, Uncle Leonard, it really was very kind of you especially when I know how busy you are at your own farm.’
‘Nonsense,’ he said kissing the top of her head. ‘What are family for if not to help each other out.’
When he had gone, Brodie pushed the prongs of the fork into the soil and opened his arms to hug Lettie. ‘You really must try not to worry about last night.’
She stepped forward into his arms and Brodie felt her warm breath against his chest. ‘I’m exhausted from all this physical work,’ she said quietly and sensed it took a lot for her to admit as much. ‘I don’t know how I would have managed to do this alone after loading the seaweed onto the trailer earlier, and Joe helped a lot with that.’
‘Joe?’ He hoped his surprise wasn’t obvious.
‘Yes, he came down to the beach and brought me breakfast, which was kind.’ She looked up at him and smiled wearily. ‘Even though I had already eaten before I left, but it was thoughtful of him. Then while I ate he continued loading the seaweed for me.’
Brodie was glad to know she had been helped, even it was by Joe.
‘I don’t know, Brodie. I seem to wake up tired. Everything aches, all the time. I feel like I’m in my seventies rather than my twenties. I’m not sure I’m suited to getting up at dawn and working until dusk. Maybe I’m just not cut out for this way of life.’
‘Don’t be so hard on yourself.’
‘It’s true though,’ she argued. ‘I’m beginning to think that Dad might be right, especially with what happened last night and how close the farm came to being burnt down.’
Concerned to hear her sounding so defeated, Brodie took her by the shoulders, held her away from him and looked her in the eye. ‘Now you listen to me. What happened last night could have happened to your father, or anyone else. And as far as what I did, I know you would have been able to get those animals out of the barn too.’
She puffed out her cheeks and shook her head. ‘That’s the point though, Brodie. I wouldn’t have had the strength to pull those cows outside. They’re too heavy for me.’ She let out a sob. ‘If you hadn’t been here, they would have died. I know they would. They were too frightened to come out on their own accord.’
He wasn’t sure if she was right but didn’t argue. Enfolding her in his arms again he hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head, soothing her as best he could. ‘Try not to torture yourself about it. Everything worked out fine and that’s all that matters, isn’t it?’
‘I suppose so,’ she eventually agreed.
‘Tell you what, why don’t you go inside and make us a cuppa while I finish spreading this lot for you. You seem a bit overwhelmed today, but that’s not surprising after the day you’ve had.’
She looked up at him for a moment before relenting. ‘I am actually. All right. I’ll do that. Thanks, Brodie.’
‘No need to thank me, just get that kettle on.’ He picked up the fork and began spreading the seaweed, waiting until she had walked several metres away before stopping and watching her leading Derek back to the farmhouse. Her shoulders were slumped and she looked as if she was carrying far too much worry. He needed to find a way to help her out with the farm. Time was ticking and it wouldn’t be long until her cousin returned and she would find out whether or not she could keep running the farm. He could tell how much it meant to her and didn’t want anything to get in the way of her dreams for the place.
He wondered if there was a way to help her. He began working again while he gave the issue some thought. Maybe he could contact her brother, Zac?
Or, he mused, maybe he should go and visit her uncle. Almost as soon as the thought had popped into his head, Brodie pushed it away. Lettie would not want him to go behind her back even if he was trying to help her.
He cleared the trailer and loaded the fork into the back of it, then drove the pickup and trailer back to the yard wishing there was something he think of to help her long term.