Chapter Twenty-Nine
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Beth lifted her head and, after a moment of déjà vu, rolled over and groaned. Had this mattress always been so uncomfortable?
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up, then winced when she got a whiff of herself.
Looking down at the work uniform still clinging to her frame, she realised two whole days had passed since she’d showered.
Disgusted, she clambered to her feet and set about finding some fresh clothes.
She’d had her chance to fall apart and wallow.
Today, she had stuff to do. This property wasn’t going to put itself on the market, the perfect place in Townsville wasn’t just going to fall into her lap, and her boss at Dream Home Builders wasn’t going to call out of the blue and ask her to come back.
She was going to have to work for all of it.
Thinking wistfully of her quiet corner in the DHB lunch room, she resolved to email her former employer as a first priority. She could really do with feeling invisible again.
Life had been simpler in Townsville. No chance of heartbreak.
Crouched over her open suitcase, she snagged a clean pair of shorts just as a knock on the front door echoed down the hall.
She froze, wondering whether it was Ellie or Noah who’d come—because who else would bother?
‘Hello? Is anyone home?’
Her heart thumped in her chest as she stood. She didn’t recognise the voice.
‘Beth? It’s Olive. Flo’s sister.’
Olive? Beth hadn’t even met her. What on earth was she doing here?
Cringing at her crumpled two-day-old outfit and—she sniffed her shirt—god, her stench, she dropped her shorts back in the suitcase, quickly changed her top and sprayed on some deodorant, then went to answer the door.
Pulling it wide, she found an older woman standing on her doorstep, a sturdier, healthier-looking and slightly younger version of Flo.
‘Um, h-hi, Olive. What … what can I do for you?’ She wanted to kick herself immediately—the woman had just buried her sister! But it was too late now; the moment for offering condolences had passed.
Olive smiled kindly, making Beth want to weep at her resemblance to her sister.
‘It’s nice to finally meet you, Beth.’ Olive offered her hand. ‘Florrie talked about you a lot, so I feel like I know you!’
‘She did?’ Beth briefly put her hand in Olive’s.
‘Of course! She was pleased as punch when you decided to stay in town.’
Shoving her hands into her skirt’s pockets, Beth nodded, realising belatedly that the moment called for something more than her murmured, ‘Oh.’ She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder.
‘Would you like to come in? I don’t really have anything to offer you, though.
I’ve just moved in and haven’t stocked the kitchen. ’
‘Oh, no need. I won’t be long, but I do need to talk to you, if that’s okay.’
‘Sure.’ Stepping back, Beth let Olive inside, then led the way through to the living area.
With every step, her anxiety spiked. What on earth could Olive have to say to her? Did she expect Beth to talk about how she’d found Flo, dead in her chair? Because Beth refused to relive that moment.
‘I’m sorry,’ she blurted, turning to Olive when they reached the camping chairs that Noah had left for when they took breaks. ‘About your sister, I mean. I’m sorry for your loss.’
‘Oh, thank you. That’s kind of you.’ Olive eyed her, clearly curious as she lowered herself into a chair. ‘I was surprised, actually, not to see you at the funeral. I know the two of you were close.’
Beth ducked her head and looked away. ‘We, uh … we were, but I had to work. I-I couldn’t get it off. I’m sorry.’
Olive shook her head. ‘No, I’m sorry. I worded that badly. You don’t owe me an explanation or an apology. I just …’ She reached out and covered Beth’s hand with her own. ‘It’s never easy to lose someone we care about and I know funerals aren’t for everyone.’
Beth nodded, but despite Olive’s apparent understanding, she could not bring herself to make eye contact.
‘So,’ she said, hoping to hurry this meeting along, ‘what did you need to speak to me about?’
Olive reached into her oversized handbag. ‘I’ve been sorting out Flo’s things and came across this.’ She took out an envelope that she handed to Beth. ‘I think it’s fairly obvious that she meant for you to have it.’
Beth’s name was written on the envelope in cursive. She flipped it over and saw that it was sealed. ‘Do you know what’s in it?’ she asked, looking up at Olive.
‘No, although she did leave a letter for me, too.’ Olive frowned and appeared to consider her next words carefully. ‘Apparently, she knew her time had come.’
‘What?’ Shock overshadowed Beth’s curiosity. ‘You mean, she knew she was dying? And she didn’t say anything?’
Nodding as she reached into her bag again, Olive pulled out a tissue and dabbed her eyes.
‘She hadn’t wanted to burden anyone with news of a stage-four cancer diagnosis.
’ Throwing her head back, Olive chuckled softly.
‘That kind of thing was typical of Florrie. She never wanted to cause a fuss. And she rightly assumed I’d try to convince her to get treatment. ’
‘But why? Why wouldn’t she tell anyone?’ Beth’s shock was quickly dissipating, only to be replaced by anger. A rage brewed, deep down in her gut.
‘Well,’ Olive began, not seeming mad at all, ‘she said in her letter that she’d lived her life and was ready for the next great adventure.’
‘I … I don’t understand.’
Olive reached for Beth’s hand again and this time, gave it a squeeze. ‘I’m not sure it’s our job to understand. But I hope it helps, knowing that she was at peace with her time coming to an end. Or, if not now, then perhaps in time it will help.’
Beth smiled tightly but said nothing. She didn’t know Olive well enough to tell her that of course it didn’t help and never would. Plus, she didn’t think Olive would appreciate knowing just how irate Beth was with her dead sister.
Because she was irate. Livid. Yet another person who had claimed to care about her had lied to her.
Flo hadn’t trusted Beth with the truth. Hadn’t respected her enough to let her say goodbye.
She hadn’t fought to stay, and that, more than anything, felt like a rejection. Flo hadn’t cared enough to stay.
Which was why, once she’d seen Olive to the door and waved goodbye, Beth snatched up the envelope with her name scribbled on it and shoved it into the first box she saw.
She couldn’t bring herself to destroy it completely, but she had no interest in reading Flo’s letter of excuses and apologies.
Right now, all she wanted to do was move far, far away from all the memories she’d made here.
And the first step in doing that was contacting the real estate agent in town.
Turning her back on the box she’d stashed the letter in, Beth gathered up the things she needed for a shower and headed for the bathroom.
* * *
Beth was in desperate need of food and toilet paper, so she had no choice but to make an emergency trip into town.
She’d avoided the place since the day of Flo’s funeral, and although she’d timed her run so she’d arrive just after the general store opened, she scanned the street as she walked the short distance from her car to the shop’s entry.
The risk of running into Ellie or Noah at this time of the morning was slim to none—Ellie would be cooking breakfast for her guests and Noah would still be herding cattle, or whatever it was he did at this hour—but on the odd chance either of them were out and about, she wanted as much notice as possible.
Hopefully, she’d have enough time to duck out of sight.
Making it to the store without any mishaps, she headed straight for a stack of toilet paper and shoved a four pack of Sorbent into her shopping basket, but after moving along the aisle, she reconsidered, backtracked and switched it out for a two pack.
No need to go overboard. With the house officially on the market, she’d decided not to hang around and had booked her flight to Townsville.
She left in a matter of days, so two rolls of loo paper would do.
Ignoring the way her stomach dropped at the thought of leaving, she turned the corner and—‘Oh, sorry!’
‘Beth!’
‘Celia!’ She pasted on a friendly smile. ‘I’m sorry, I was daydreaming.’
‘Don’t be silly!’ Celia waved her hands. ‘Now, come here. It’s been too long!’
Beth willingly stepped into Celia’s outstretched arms and couldn’t help but melt into the hug. Who knew how long it would be before she was held like this again?
‘Oh, you sweet girl.’ Celia rubbed her back in a soothing gesture. ‘How have you been holding up? We haven’t seen you since—’
Beth pulled away, hoping to dissuade Celia from completing that sentence.
‘I’m okay.’ A beat passed before she added, ‘And you?’
All traces of sympathy vanished from Celia’s expression and her countenance grew sombre. ‘Things could be better, if I’m being honest.’
Beth’s brows rose as she speculated countless hypothetical reasons for Celia’s bleak response—all of them catastrophic—then her thoughts shifted immediately to Noah. Was he okay? She wanted to ask after him, but her tongue refused to cooperate.
‘Listen.’ Shaking off her melancholy, Celia brightened and gave Beth’s arm an affectionate squeeze. ‘We’d love to have you over for family dinner on Sunday. Are you free?’
‘Um, actually …’ Technically, yes, she would be free on Sunday, but she’d be on the other side of the country. ‘I’m … well, I’m flying to Townsville on Saturday.’
‘Oh.’ Surprise crossed Celia’s face before she could hide it. Then, clearly aiming for an expression of polite enquiry, she raised her brows. ‘Are you only going for a short visit?’
Beth hesitated, but before she could gather her thoughts and formulate a response, Celia, looking pained, waved the question away.
‘Gosh, don’t answer that! It’s absolutely none of my business.’ She paused. ‘Is there anything we can do for you before you go?’