Page 37 of A Vineyard for Two

‘Not bad, is it?’

She turned to see Brookes leaning against the doorframe with a bottle of water in his hand. Even in the cool air, sweat dripped down his cheek and his skin glowed. Harper had to look away.

‘It definitely has potential.’

‘Potential?’ He raised an eyebrow.

‘Ok, so it completely transformed the place. I can picture how amazing it’s going to look in eight days, but there’s still so much that needs to get done before then.’

‘I had a closer look at everything when you left yesterday and the majority is cosmetic work. Tyler and Zoe are going to come tomorrow to give us a hand. Between the four of us, if we split the jobs up, we can get quite a bit done in a twelve-hour day.’

She no longer doubted it, especially with his unwavering enthusiasm.

‘We should take a break,’ Brookes declared. ‘When was the last time you went to the national park?’

‘Girraween?’

‘Yeah.’

‘I don’t know. Six years ago.’

‘Let’s go. We’ll walk and have lunch.’

‘Brookes, there’s too much work.’

‘It’s only a couple of hours. We’ll make it up tomorrow.’

He was persistent, and she didn’t put up too much resistance. In the end, she decided a trek in Girraween National Park wasn’t such a bad idea.

EIGHTEEN

‘You look like you’re ready for a marathon rather than a bush walk,’ Brookes laughed when she got into his Hilux. She was a little disappointed Rover wasn’t with him, but dogs weren’t allowed in the national park.

‘I’m unfamiliar with the conditions,’ she said.

‘Not much has changed. Busier maybe, but not much else,’ he said as they pulled out of the driveway.

‘Did you have any luck with the cameras at the tavern?’ Harper asked once they were on the New England Highway heading south.

‘Just as I thought. They were sitting dusty in the back storeroom. They’d never bothered to install them.’

‘I guess not much has changed about the lax security.’

He murmured something under his breath that she didn’t catch, but she didn’t ask him to repeat it. Instead, she looked out the window as they passed and spotted the well-known Ballandean pyramid in the distance. The owner of the land had put it up on their property, and now it was a tourist attraction from afar.

Harper really didn’t feel like talking and was happy that Brookes didn’t put too much effort into making conversation as they drove. They turned right off the highway towards Girraween, passed a few signs advertising the local wineries and finally towards the National Park.

The park was busy, and that suited her just fine. She felt safe with Brookes, always had, but knowing there were lots of people around gave her some level of comfort, especially since the area was a dead zone for phone reception.

‘Any preference to the trail?’ Brookes said.

‘This one,’ Harper said.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Trust you to choose the easiest one.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘That’s going to be a forty-minute round trip. Hardly worth the effort.’

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