Chapter 1 #3
Sure, he was handsome—enough to be snapped up by the TV producers— with those dark grey eyes, wavy hair that always looked a few weeks overdue for a cut, and a smile he seemed to share freely with everyone but her.
He had no trouble asking Hazel about the library’s book club, or telling Mia’s mother-in-law how much he loved her cooking, so why was he always so stand-offish around her?
Agatha Angelino leaned over the table, gesturing to the men at the barbecue. ‘Such a lovely boy, Spencer. Always brings me roses when his garden is in full flush, and the freshest honey I ever tasted, and look at how sweet he is with those kiddos. Jeff and Bernard could take a leaf from his book.’
Indi and Reggie, along with Hazel’s daughter Alma, had ditched the dining table in favour of the backyard jungle-gym, and as they watched, Spencer miraculously offloaded three fish sliders to the fussy youngsters, making them laugh as he handed the food over.
‘Those ladies on TV will go bonkers over him. I’m surprised a smart girl like you didn’t get in first, Clem.’
Clem shrugged. ‘I’ve known Spencer for almost three years now, and I can count the number of conversations we’ve had on one hand. At first I thought he was shy, but now I think it’s just me.’
‘You’re making a mountain out of a molehill,’ Hazel chipped in.
‘He’s a perfectly nice guy. If I was into the tall, tanned and brooding type, I might have had a crack myself.
Last pregnancy, my libido flat-lined the entire nine months, but this time around, my hormones are out of control, and the whole heavily-pregnant-single-mum situation is scaring off the only half-decent guys on the dating apps.
I can almost see the appeal of a dating program, where nobody knows your entire backstory. ’
‘Ha,’ Mia said, joining them with a fresh jug of lemonade. ‘Maybe you should broaden your taste from tortured, artsy guys. Especially after that double bass player! Have you heard that story yet, Clem?’
Their laughter filled the backyard and Clem clamped her hands over Harriet’s ears.
Hazel’s hit and miss dating history wasn’t fit for an eight-year-old’s ears, and Clem quickly steered the conversation to a child-friendly topic.
‘Thanks again for your baklava recipe, Aggie. Wait till you hear how I’ve used it in the new menu. ’
Her friends’ enthusiasm about the concept of baklava donuts had Clem eager to make another batch when she unlocked the cafe the following morning.
She ran through the ingredients list while she switched on the stereo, unstacked the chairs and flicked on the heater.
First light was just hitting the horizon, casting the softest glow over the paddocks on the outskirts of town.
Mornings were Clem’s favourite, and in the middle of autumn, the sunrises over Sunny Cross Farm were particularly spectacular. The first customer of the day pulled up just as the sun peeked over the tree line.
‘Look at that sky,’ Courtney said, admiring the view as she ordered takeaway coffees.
‘Oh, and I’ll grab a picnic hamper for our builders.
They’ve worked so hard to keep the farmhouse reno on schedule, and after the rave reviews from Janey’s new neighbours, I’m hoping some of your delicacies will provide the boost they need to finish strong. ’
Clem flushed with pleasure, and relayed the order to Kev in the kitchen. Several tourists filed in, and while Courtney waited for her coffee, she chatted with the visitors.
‘Did you hear that? She’s recommending the scones and slices,’ Sebastian said. ‘What a legend.’
‘If we could just attract fifty more die-hard customers like that, we’d be set,’ Clem agreed.
Sebastian nodded, working the espresso machine. ‘We’ve got great food, and darn good service. We just need more foot traffic.’
Clem passed him a carton of oat milk, thinking of the packed tables she’d seen at the bustling cafe in the main street.
‘And why don’t we win any of the catering contracts?
Somehow, Brew Haven keeps expanding. Did you hear they’re planning a beer garden?
They’ve already got a bigger premises, a central location in the heart of Penwarra and nine staff to our team of three. ’
Sebastian passed her the coffees Courtney had ordered. ‘But we’ve got more heart, better food and much better karma. And wait till that paddock is full of sunflowers again, that’ll draw the crowds.’
Clem glanced over the empty tables, including her grandfather’s favourite, the one in the corner overlooking the land that had been in her family for generations.
It didn’t look like much on a chilly April morning, but come summertime, the paddocks would be ablaze with cheerful yellow sunflowers, just like they’d been in her grandfather’s heyday.
‘You’ll have customers coming in from all corners of South Australia when that paddock’s in full bloom,’ Seb went on.
‘And don’t forget our new vegan-friendly menu.
Your smashed avocado, pea, mint and plant-based fetta concoctions taste much better than the bland fare Marco Grubb offers at Brew Haven. ’
The cafe was quiet all morning, and Clem’s worried gaze kept tracking to the large north-facing windows as she swept up.
Would a field of sunflowers really be enough to boost their numbers?
She didn’t have time to attend fancy workshops on business management or expansion, but there had to be other ways to boost their bottom line.
Sebastian and Kev depended on her for their weekly pay packet. And then there was her babysitter, Isobel West, who was saving for university next year.
I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my doors open.
Later that week, when Spencer returned to the house as evening fell, smoke was curling from the chimney and he felt grateful for Ian and Louisa Brealy and the little touches that made his life smoother.
Spencer shrugged off his jacket and workboots. He’d stepped in nearly every puddle in the muddy dusk-lit paddock after school, but eventually he’d ushered a cranky ewe back through the storm-damaged fence.
How long the stubborn animal would be contained by his makeshift fencing remained to be seen; he just hoped tonight’s thunderstorms would provide enough of a deterrent until he was able to fix it properly. He dialled the Brealys’ landline to update them on the task.
As the phone rang, Spencer spotted the basket of neatly folded laundry—more of Louisa’s handiwork.
‘You’re too good to me, Louisa,’ Spencer told his mother-in-law when she answered, cradling the phone between his ear and his shoulder.
Louisa’s laugh came easily, her Canadian accent as strong as the day Spencer had met her.
‘Well, you were the one running around in the cold, chasing sheep and hauling branches off the barbed-wire fence. Ian feels terrible that he can’t get back out there yet, so we’re extra thankful for all your help. ’
Spencer clicked his tongue when he peered into the oven to find a bubbling casserole.
‘And what’s tonight’s delicacy? Lamb casserole? Looks like enough to feed an army in that crockpot, are you and Ian coming too? You could be here in the time it takes me to wash up and steam a few frozen veggies.’
The Brealys lived on the other side of the property, in a small brick cottage half the size of the house Spencer and his wife Belle had built as newlyweds.
‘Oh no, you enjoy that, we don’t want to intrude. Our Belle would have been horrified if we’d shown up on your doorstep three times a week. Just because you’re on your own, doesn’t mean you want to spend every evening with two chatty Canucks.’
Spencer knew it was no use arguing. Just as they had insisted they would live in the tiny brick cottage, even though there were two of them, leaving Spencer to rattle around in this big farmhouse by himself, once the Brealys set their mind to something, they weren’t easily convinced otherwise.
He thanked Louisa and was about to hang up when his father-in-law, Ian, piped up in the background.
‘What’s the latest on the contestant applications? Would’ve been hard narrowing those ladies down for the shortlist, if they’re as genuine as they seemed in their submissions?’
‘Hush now, Ian. He doesn’t need us throwing our oar in.
We’ve done enough pushing already. You’re lucky he didn’t up and leave when you shoved that Love on the Land application under his nose.
’ Louisa cleared her throat. ‘I’ll be putting you on a TV show looking for a new wife if you keep meddling in Spencer’s business. ’
Spencer smiled, listening to the older couple bicker.
He wouldn’t have considered the television show if it wasn’t for their encouragement, or the promise he’d made to Belle, and given he’d be bringing five potential new partners back to the farm they owned and had lived on for thirty years, their feedback on the process was crucial.
‘She’s going to have to get along with you guys, as well as me, if we’re going to make this work. ’
‘My vote goes for the orchardist,’ Ian called out.
Smiling, Spencer filled Dolly’s food bowl. Emily Brewington-Major had been the first applicant to catch his eye, and he hadn’t been surprised to hear she’d been Ian’s top pick too. There was something about the dark blonde almond grower from the Riverland.
‘Whoever you choose will be fine by us,’ Louisa said, with Ian still chatting away in the background.
They made their farewells, then Spencer got some vegetables on to cook.
While they steamed, he riffled through the mail he’d collected on his way in earlier.
He stuck the postcard from his mum and dad onto the fridge.
They were having a hell of a time exploring Western Australia and, amused by his television show news, they’d promised to call for an update soon.
He used his pocketknife to slice open the next envelope, finding a cream-and-black invitation inside. His hand stilled as he read the calligraphy, formally inviting him to next month’s opening ceremony of Love on the Land.
What would Belle make of all this? Would she think he was crazy for going through with it?
Spencer had promised her he’d open his heart to love after she’d gone, but the few dates he’d attempted had felt stilted.
At best, they’d been awkward; at worst, it had felt uncomfortably close to cheating. But a promise was a promise.
He was still staring at the invite when the carrots boiled over, hissing onto the hot surface.
With a deep breath, Spencer put the card back into the envelope and slid it under a pile of paperwork.
It might be an unconventional approach, but if the TV show side-stepped the awkwardness of traditional dating, it would be worth it.