Secrets of Sweetwater

Chapter 1

Admiring the countryside around her home, Brianna Steele paused and stole a breath.

She’d been happy-dancing from the second her bare feet had touched the cool timber floorboards of the little Queenslander cottage, and all the while she’d kept wanting to pinch herself.

Her big day was finally here. The very one where she’d step out of her comfort zone, and away from those she loved, to stride into a role she’d been dreaming of, working towards, for years.

Having counted down the past fifty-nine sleeps, she couldn’t believe that as of one minute past midnight she was officially a small-business owner.

A sole operator. Somewhat in charge of her own destiny.

By golly she hoped she’d made the right decision, buying a mobile vet practice in a township she knew practically nothing about.

But hey, it had been going for a steal with the owner keen to retire so he could travel around Australia with his wife.

And now she’d signed on the dotted line, it was all up to her – she could choose to sink or swim, and she was going to embrace the latter with the unbridled passion both sets of her parents had instilled into her.

Finding herself overcome with a myriad of emotions – accomplishment, excitement, apprehension, sadness – she tried to put on a brave face.

Nestling against her mum, she looked out over Riverstone Ridge as it spread out beneath the vast expanse of an emerging blue sky in a mesmerising tapestry of horse paddocks, blossoming golden wattle trees and restored outbuildings.

Standing within the beating heart of the property that had been her home for the past seven years, she relished being wrapped in the tender embrace of her biological parents, Logan and Nina.

If it hadn’t been for them – and the haven this place had given her away from the despair of her adoptive parents going their separate ways just a week after she’d turned twenty-two – she wouldn’t have made it through her university degree.

The fact that Max had chosen Melbourne to call home, while Ruby had gone to Perth, made it almost impossible to see either of them, especially given the added pressure of chasing her veterinary dream.

Phone calls had sufficed. Just. Maybe, next year, she’d have time, and money, to visit both of them in person.

Focus on the here and now, Brianna Rose!

Sniffing back tears, she swiftly landed in the present by enjoying the warmth of the early-morning sunshine caressing her with its glow, and watching how the rays of golden light somehow held the three of them in this eternal moment.

One she wished she didn’t have to walk away from to become her own boss after six months of working alongside the local vet.

But independence called. And at twenty-nine, it was high time she pulled her big-girl boots on, nice and tight.

Of course, she knew her mum and dad would give anything to have her stay right here, in their township of Huntingvale.

They’d already made up for so much lost time since she’d accepted them back into her life when she was twenty-one.

But now she had to carve her own path. With that almost overwhelming thought, a sob rose, but she swallowed it down while quickly reminding herself of the adventures that awaited her in the township of Sweetwater.

From the week she’d spent there, alongside seventy-one-year-old Bill Garrettson, learning the ropes before he packed up his vet bag for the last time, it had seemed like a sweet little place, with friendly people.

So, squeezing her loved ones a little harder, she enjoyed the sensation of her dad’s brawny arms enveloping her with the same protective love that had guided her through the hurdles of young adult life, and the smell of her mum’s botanic-scented freshly shampooed hair that gave her deep comfort, as if she recalled it from when she was a newborn, blissfully unaware she was about to be adopted.

She felt for her Mum, barely fifteen, having to make such a heartbreaking decision.

She unravelled herself before she chickened out of leaving, and the way her dad’s smile reflected her own, with a mixture of pride and sorrow at her departure, made her heart squeeze even tighter.

‘Well, you two, I guess I’d better hit the road,’ she said with a wobbly smile. ‘I’ve got four hours of driving ahead of me, and that’s without loo and fodder stops for me and my four-legged sidekick.’

‘Yup, true that, you best get going, kiddo.’ Logan paused, his thumbs hooking into his belt loops.

‘Just make sure you remind yourself how you’ve worked super hard to get where you are, so don’t let anyone undermine that.

’ His fatherly advice was delivered in a gentle tone.

‘And also remember that your mum and I are only a phone call away, day or night, okay?’

‘I know, Dad, thank you.’ Brianna knew it was hard for both of them to see her flying the nest, especially since they’d had her in their lives for much less time than most families were given.

And with this awareness, she turned to her mum, masking her rush of instant homesickness – heavens, she hadn’t even left yet.

‘Everything’s going to be hunky-dory, Mum, and before you say it, I promise I’ll text you as soon as I get there. ’

‘Thanks, my love – you know me, I won’t sleep unless I know you’re there safely.

’ Sniffling, Nina brushed a dark strand of hair from Brianna’s face.

‘Be safe, think smart, and have lots of fun in between being the best damn vet Sweetwater has ever seen, okay,’ she added with a nod, her touch remaining as delicate as her smile.

‘I will. And I know I’ve already said it, but again, thank you for everything you and Dad have sacrificed to help me through uni and to this point in my life,’ Brianna replied with a catch in her voice before quickly clutching them both once more.

‘I couldn’t have done it without you.’ She breathed in the familiar scents of what had quickly become home – horse, leather, soil and unconditional love – as she again tried desperately not to cry.

‘More than anyone I know, you deserve this, sweetheart.’ Pulling back a little to hold her gaze, Nina gave Brianna’s shoulders a tender squeeze. ‘Now, go get ’em, my smart, funny, brave girl.’

‘I’ll do my best, Mumma Bear.’ Brianna grinned and nodded. ‘Righto then, I’ll see you both soon.’ Although what with her dad juggling his policing duties at the understaffed Huntingvale station with helping her mum around the property, she knew it might be a little longer than that.

With a final wave, she turned and made her way to her trusty old Hilux dual cab.

It had recently been made hers by her dad, who had overhauled it mechanically and bodily, and boy oh boy it was amazing what a lick of paint had done.

From dull white to an electric blue – she loved that he’d chosen her favourite colour.

One whistle in her sidekick’s direction, and Sherlock, her loyal border collie, shot from the shade of the tack shed and bounded after her, his black-and-white coat shimmering in the sunlight.

As soon as she opened the passenger door for his fast entrance, he leapt up and onto the seat with practised ease, his intelligent eyes meeting hers as if to say, I’m here for you, no matter where this road takes us.

Smiling at her bestie, she shut the door, strode to the driver’s side, slipped in before she could run back to her parents for another hug, then revved the vehicle to life.

Along with the grunt of the diesel engine, a symphony of cicadas and the static hum of the local country-music radio station serenaded her departure.

Up ahead, the winding dirt track flanked by fields of golden wheat swaying like ocean waves sent ripples of excitement and nervousness within her.

Bumping along the one-kilometre driveway, she dared one more glance in the rear-vision mirror and gave her parents one final wave before she turned a corner, disappearing from their view, then rolled down the windows to let the fresh country air rush in.

The balmy breeze carried with it the whispers of the place that held so many happy memories.

Ones she would hold in her country-loving heart forever.

‘All right, Sherlock, it looks like it’s just you and me now,’ she said, glancing at her companion, his ears perking at the sound of her voice. ‘You’re seriously way too adorable, buddy, but you already know that, right?’