Eight seconds, p.25
Eight Seconds, page 25
The gentle tug on her hand wasn’t unexpected. Tom cushioned her as they landed on the blankets. She burst out laughing, breaking the awkward tension between them. Tom visibly relaxed and smiled, tucking strands of her hair behind her ear.
When her laughter stopped and Tom’s smile slipped, she reached up and gently kissed his eyelids before trailing a line of kisses down his stubbled cheek and onto his neck. With the blankets coating them with the familiar hint of leathery hide, there was still enough taste of the lake on Tom’s skin. The perfect combination.
Tom groaned quietly and found her mouth. This was the promise to continue what they’d started. She was more than okay with that, and he moved in relaxed sync with her. She moaned when his tongue lazily slid between her lips, and he chuckled at her reaction. Then his mouth began a journey of discovery and found her sensitive spots. Her hands and mouth followed a trail of their own. Heat pooled between her legs and sent tremors along her skin. It was her body aching for more from Tom. She looked forward to it one day.
The next hour dwindled while they discovered each other and committed it to memory. Erin could stay in this spot forever.
When the sun dipped a little lower, a cool breeze lapped over their private Eden, and Erin shivered.
Tom must have felt it too because he pulled away and sat up, still holding her hand, his chest heaving in time with hers. “Easy to lose track of time, isn’t it?”
His thumb caressed her skin in maddening circles, distracting her thoughts as she languished on the blankets. “It is. Thanks for sharing the day with me.”
Tom chuckled before groaning in frustration. “Erin, you know I’ve wanted this for a long time.”
She accepted his grimaced-laced smile with one of her own and knitted her fingers with his. “Me too.”
“You mean that?”
Erin smiled cheerily before admitting, “Yes, I do. From the first day you showed up to save me from those damn horses trampling me.”
Tom laughed and ran his hand up her arm. “Hmm … that long, hey?”
“Yes, and don’t pretend it was any different for you.”
The fading sun highlighted a cheeky glint in Tom’s eyes. “Okay, I’m not going to lie. I wanted you from the very first time I heard you laugh. You’re one of a kind, Erin.”
Heat suffused her face at the compliment, and she dropped her gaze from his probing one.
“So, you good with us working this out?” Tom asked, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
She looked up again. “I thought we were doing just that. Do you mean we have to repeat all this?”
Tom chuckled and tugged on her arm until she sat up. “Come on, girl, we better make tracks. You’ve got a big week coming up. Are you nervous about meeting your grandfather?”
At the reminder of what the next week would bring, she rose on unsteady legs and stretched out the kinks. She’d already told Tom everything while they’d swum.
“I’d like to meet him,” Tom said, ploughing a hand through his hair.
“And I’d love for you to be there.” She looked down as Tom gathered up the blankets, feeling lucky to have found him. She couldn’t wait to show him off. It felt right to start with the grandfather she never knew. She’d wait with bated breath to see how he and Katherine reacted to Tom’s presence, then introduce him to the rest of the family.
“Thanks. Now let’s saddle the horses,” Tom said, getting to his feet.
“Did you have any plans for tomorrow? Would you like to meet my dog, Lacey?”
“I’d love that. How about a hike near the dam? Dogs are allowed to swim there.”
Erin nodded as she reached for one of the horse blankets and draped it over Eve’s back. Then it was a matter of putting on their riding boots and helmets and re-saddling the horses. This they did quietly as the coming dusk brought out the new forest noises of another night approaching.
“Hey, Erin,” Tom whispered, “look up there.”
Tom pointed to the tree canopy. At first, she didn’t see anything. He put his cheek against hers and pointed a finger at what he wanted her to see. Her vision adjusted to the changing light, and a lump on a branch came into focus.
“A Lumholtz tree kangaroo,” he continued to whisper, “found only on the Tablelands. They’re rare and special.”
Erin knew of the species but had yet to see one in its natural habitat. She gasped when it moved, and a second one became visible beside it. “How lucky is this?”
His hand cradled her neck and gently massaged it. “Nah, I think I’m luckier.”
Erin leant back into his bulk and smiled. A mere six months ago, her life was a trap with no way of escaping. A dead end with no solution. She’d had the courage to take one step and instigate some change.
Was she on the right track now? One could never be sure or complacent. But one had to keep finding the right path that could lead to that elusive happiness.
She was on the job and didn’t hesitate to turn around and give Tom a long and lingering kiss before the saddled horses got too restless.
“Hey, Grandad,” Erin said, stepping into Grace’s living room.
Larry arrived four days ago, and it’d been a whirl of activity after work to spend as much time as she could with him. Katherine had left to go home the day before, vowing more visits.
“Well, if it isn’t the world’s most beautiful granddaughter.”
Erin laughed and gave Larry a good hug. Then she swallowed the lump in her throat like she did every day since meeting him. She’d experienced a sense of things falling into place when his arms had wound around her for the first time and squeezed. A sense of coming home. Of feeling like she was in the right place. The familiarity of family, despite the many years lost. Nothing could dull it.
Erin took a step back and took another good look at him. With so many wasted years, she wanted to commit everything to memory. With her grandfather staying with Grace and Peter and his arrival a secret from the rest of her family, she had no choice but to visit him at Grace’s house.
“Now, where’s that young man of yours?”
“He’s bringing in the goodies I baked last night. I’m feeling bad about how much cooking poor Grace is doing.”
“Now, you stop that, Erin,” Grace called out from the kitchen. “Larry and I have had the best catch-up these last few days. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Hi, everyone,” Tom called from the kitchen where he deposited the Esky full of homemade sweets.
“Dinner in about half an hour,” Grace announced from the kitchen.
Erin turned to her grandfather and asked, “So, what have you been up to today?”
“What? Other than talking and eating too much?”
Erin took hold of his sun-bronzed hand and squeezed it. Every vein stood out on his hand as his heart proudly pumped blood around her tough and wiry seventy-year-old grandfather. He was such an energetic and spirited man that she had trouble thinking of him as old.
“Actually, Grace brought me up to speed on how she’s been officially recognised as Australia’s first woman to compete against men in open bull riding.”
Erin froze.
“I knew she’d done a stack of rodeos in WA back in the day, but I thought women could only ride steers and broncs. I lost track of her antics when she left to come here.”
“What?” Erin demanded attention. “What did you just say?” Her voice might’ve risen a fraction.
“Ask Grace.” Larry shrugged. “Apparently, she’s recorded in the Australian Women’s Hall of Fame for being the first woman to compete against men in open bull riding.”
Erin spun around and was confronted by Grace, Peter and Tom, all looking baffled. “Why has no one told me this?”
“I thought Tom told you,” Grace said, pleading ignorance.
“Hey”—Tom’s hands rose in protest—“I told you she was a remarkable woman, and you should ask her.”
Erin tried to unjumble her thoughts and rearrange her tongue to speak again. She stuttered at first, “So … so, let me get this straight. If I googled you, your name and what you’ve done would appear alongside some of the most remarkable women in Australia in the Hall of Fame?”
Grace shrugged.
“And in all this time I’ve known you, no one saw fit to at least mention this monumental detail. I mean, you told me about poddy calves and steers and bronco riding, but—” Flustered, Erin pounced on a framed photo she spotted months ago. “This”—she pointed to it—“this is you, isn’t it?”
Grace nodded.
“And all this time, I thought it might’ve been Peter.” Erin took a moment to study the grainy photo. It showed a rider coming off a ferocious-looking bull. The bull was huge, and she could just make out a number thirteen branded into its rump. She took a closer look at the rider and studied the tall shape of Grace as she slid off the bull’s back. Who would ever contemplate such a thing? Erin rubbed her arm when goosebumps appeared.
“I suppose Grace hasn’t told you the lark about the fake boobs, either,” Peter asked.
Grace chuckled from the kitchen, and Larry added, “This sounds like a Grace thing.”
“I wasn’t there, but I’ve heard it retold a few times. Come on, Grace, better share with them what a larrikin you really were,” Peter suggested with a laugh. “And we need to do something to wipe the scowl off Erin’s face.”
Erin relaxed and allowed herself a laugh. “I suppose I was only employed to record her medical recovery. Nobody told me to expect so much more. Certainly nothing about wearing fake boobs.”
“When did this happen, Grace?” Larry asked.
“Good God, it was on one of those show runs. Such a heap of fun. I was forty-six when I pulled the fake boob stunt, and I should’ve known better. But it was such a crack up.” Grace laughed at her memories as she put a lid on the pot and turned the stove down.
Grace started to wash some lettuce for a salad, and Erin left the grainy photo to help.
“It was about 2000, and the show run started in Brisbane and finished in Cairns.” Grace shivered like a cold draught had passed over her. “It can get bloody windy and cold in some of those southern towns, especially when you’re bunkered down in a horse float in only a swag. But still, the bunch of friends who did the circuit with me each year were a great lot to be around. We all got on really well. We used to go out for dinner somewhere when we arrived in a new town and did a lot of drinking, soft drink for me, dancing, joking and laughing. We lived by the attitude ‘go hard or go home’.”
Erin smiled, not doubting Grace’s partying ability at all. “How many towns and stops are we talking about?”
Grace paused at washing the lettuce. “Well, after Brisbane, there were towns like Warwick, Toowoomba, Roma, Taroom, Bundaberg. It was at the Gin Gin Show where the fake boob stunt happened.”
Tom took a seat on a stool at the kitchen island bench and rested his elbows. “Why am I not surprised that Grace was the party animal?”
When Grace laughed some more, Erin looked across at Tom. It’d been a long time since she’d let her hair down, and she would be well out of practice. Maybe a little encouragement and advice from Grace might help her come out of her shell. She shook her head and brought her attention back to the story.
“It wasn’t hard,” Grace continued. “I’m allergic to alcohol because it sends my body into toxic shock. So, I relied on my great dancing and singing skills. Also, my great arm wrestling skills. It was easy to down a huge competitor if they had some drink in them.”
“Only a woman like Grace,” Larry added. “Let me guess, Erin, she hasn’t told you how she pretended to be a male rider so she could compete against men?”
“What?” Erin spluttered. “You did that?”
Grace’s laughter rang through the kitchen and living room. “That’s a story for another day. I know I’ve rambled on about a lot of things, Erin, but that one just hasn’t come up yet. I shouldn’t brag about it.”
“Jesus Christ. It’s going to take the rest of our lives to unravel who the real Grace is.” Tom added, giving Erin a wink.
“Hey, back to the fake boobs before I forget what really happened and start making it up,” said Grace.
Everyone laughed and Erin revelled in the contentment of being around these special people. It felt natural, and she didn’t have to be someone else to fit in.
Erin took over the salad-making duties so Grace could tell her story. But competing as a male? She wanted to hear that story and would bring it up one day.
“I bought the fake boobs from a novelty shop and put them over my bra. Then I put on a stock collar, as they call them, that tucks into the front of a riding jacket. I buttoned it up and rode over to the ring. I remember riding past two blokes, Ronnie and Geoff, who were standing by, and I told them to ‘keep an eye on us; you don’t want to miss anything’. They assured me they would be watching. Then I rode over to the judge’s wagon and Father Paul was there. He used to love following the shows around and helped with the scoring. When the judges rang the bell for my ride to start, I rode away from the wagon with my back turned, so they didn’t see me unbutton my jacket.”
Peter chuckled, obviously knowing what was coming.
“After the first jump and as the course changed, my jacket opened up, and all you could see was me jumping with these huge hooters showing. I could hear the announcer spluttering words, and as I cleared a last jump, I heard him say, ‘I think she’s having fun with us’.”
Larry and Tom cracked up with laughter, and it was hard for Erin not to join in.
“The funniest bit,” Grace continued, “was seeing three older women staring at me with a look of shock on their faces. I heard one say, ‘She doesn’t know’. I was embarrassed for them, except it was so funny. When my ride finished, I rode past Father Paul and said to him, ‘I guess I won’t be going to heaven now’.”
Grace paused, lost in her thoughts as a serene look came over her face. “I’ve never forgotten Father Paul’s reply. He said, ‘Yes, Grace, you will, because heaven needs people like you’.”
“Aww, that was so sweet of him.” Erin wiped away a stray bit of moisture from her eyes. She wasn’t sure if it was from too much laughing or the thoughtful comment from the priest. No wonder Grace never forgot his reply.
“When I rode out of the ring, Ronnie and Geoff and quite a few of the other spectators were in fits of laughter. I know they referred to me as ‘the old bag on the grey nag’, but they all agreed if there was ever a title for the biggest larrikin of them all, it belonged to me.”
Lights from an approaching vehicle lit up the inside of the homestead.
“They’ve arrived,” Peter said.
Erin ignored the new arrivals, not sure who else Grace had invited for dinner. She was still trying to get around the fact that she finally understood why Grace was so loved and treated so special. Not forgetting she was also famous. With the salad made, dinner was close to being served. She took the lid off the pot and inhaled the delicious aroma of curry. She’d ignored the hunger pangs making noises in her stomach for the past half hour, but now, with the promise of food, she was more than ready to eat.
When the chatter and laughter quietened down, Erin looked up.
Larry walked to the stove and tugged on her arm gently. “Grace spoke to your parents and invited them to dinner tonight.”
Huh? Mum and Dad? She hadn’t seen them for a couple of weeks but kept in touch by phone. A shudder jolted her to attention when the news penetrated her skull. “Here? To see you?”
“After we spoke about how to approach this, I didn’t want any of the blame to land on your shoulders. If there was a further fallout, it had to be with me, not you.”
Suddenly light-headed, it threatened to land her on her face.
“Hey, are you okay?” Tom entered the kitchen and wound his arms around her. “I didn’t know about this either.” He tightened his hold and braced her.
This was too sudden. She hadn’t prepared herself, and neither had she said anything to her parents. They weren’t going to take this secrecy well, and her heart plummeted at the angst about to be created between them.
She looked at her grandfather and the sad lilt to his mouth. Gently releasing herself from Tom, she went to him. “Oh, Grandad, are you sure about this?”
Larry took a deep breath. When he released it, the look of weariness on his face frightened Erin.
“Sure as I’ll ever be.”
CHAPTER 36
Present Day
“Rosemary, Brian, a pleasure to meet you.”
At Peter’s welcome, Erin turned towards the front door. “Mum, Dad …” she spluttered.
But her mum only had eyes for Larry. She walked over to her father and stood hesitantly in front of him. On wobbly legs, Erin retraced her steps back to Tom and his embrace, giving her mum space.
“Oh, Dad, I’ve been such a fool.” Rosemary wrapped her arms around the proud old man and shed tears on his shirt. Larry patted her back with his large hand, trying to comfort her, unable to keep his tears at bay.
When Rosemary took a step back, she looked into her father’s face and said, “Dad, I’m so, so sorry for everything. I’m so ashamed—” she whispered through her tears.
Larry nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as emotions struggled to stay confined.
“Please forgive me, Dad.” Rosemary tightened her hold again and shed more tears.
Erin gulped as she watched the scene. The reunion looked so painful.
“I never stopped loving you and Mum, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you both.” Rosemary hiccupped and wiped her face with her sleeve. “I don’t even know where to start.” She rested her hand against her chest before scrunching it closed. “I’ve kept everything so tight inside here.” She tapped against her chest. “But it’s time I told you what happened, isn’t it?”
Larry nodded and swallowed at the same time. This was the reason the fallout occurred. They had to return to that moment and make it right, or they would never move forward.
