Page 10 of The Winning Ticket

“I get that. Places like this always feel like you can’t move things around for fear of wrecking the look some overpaid interior designer was looking for. And why is everything always white?”

I nod emphatically. “Right?! You should see the bedrooms, everything is white. I’m a tradie. We get dirty! White does not go well with dirt.”

She throws her head back and lets out a throaty laugh, and I vow to keep making her laugh like this – anything to keep away the sadness she was feeling earlier.

Her long hair falls in waves down her back, grazing the tiles behind her. It’s so much longer than it was the last time I saw her.

She catches me looking at her and gives me a small smile while I clear my throat.

“So, what are you planning to do now that you’re back?” I ask.

She shrugs a little. “Well, work let me transfer to the Brisbane office temporarily. As I have no intention of ever going back to Sydney, I need to work out if I want to try and convince them to let me stay here for good or if I should try and do something else entirely. I don’t love marketing much, even though that’s what I got my degree in.”

“What else would you do? Is there something else you like better?”

“I don’t know. Maybe something with photography. I’ve enjoyed doing it as a hobby. I love taking photos of beautiful places. I even have a social media profile that I run, showing all the places I’ve been. I have a fairly decent following and have had a few small tourism companies pay me to promote their areas. Do you want to see?” The way she smiles, I can tell she is passionate about it.

I nod, and she pulls her phone out from where she’s tucked it into the top of her bra, but her smile dims a little after a moment, and she looks away while she puts the phone again, biting her lip.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I got into photography because of Richard,” she replies quietly, picking her nails again.

I watch her for a moment. “Regardless of how you discovered it, if it’s something you enjoy doing, you shouldn’t let that stop you,” I say, and she shrugs again.

“Maybe. What about you? Are you going to move back here now that you’ve got a fancy apartment to live in for free?”

I can tell she doesn’t want to discuss it anymore, so I run with the subject change. “How’d you know I don’t live in Brisbane anymore?”

“I do still talk to a few people, Jake,” she says with another laugh.

I do my best to hide the smile I felt threatening to take over my face at the thought that she has taken even a slight interest in my life since she left. “My mistake. I thought I was a man of mystery.”

She rolls her eyes but doesn’t respond.

“I can’t leave Stanthorpe and come back. My dad would disown me. He has been talking about retiring and letting me take over the business for ages. When I won this place, I had to promise that I wouldn’t up and leave him. He spent so many years waiting for me to graduate and start my apprenticeship with him. I wouldn’t feel right throwing all that away.”

She regards me closely before answering. “Is that what you want, though? Do you like living out there when everyone is still here?”

It was my turn to shrug now. “Honestly, I don’t really know what else I would do. I mean, it sucks not being as close to everyone here, but it’s what I promised my Dad I’d do.”

I’ve never really considered whether I like it out there. Since my early teens, it was just a given that the business was my future. But a five-minute conversation with my old high school crush has stirred up feelings I don’t feel like addressing now.

“So, how long will you crash with your parents for?”

She groans and tips her head back, causing her hair to brush the concrete behind her. “I have no idea. I have some savings but don’t want to muck around with getting a housemate. At least rent is cheaper here than in Sydney. I haven’t lived at home as an adult, and I doubt I’ll handle it long.”

Having grown up as an extended member of the Watkins family, I can understand that. I’ve rarely heard her father talk, and her mum is pretty full-on. There was a reason that Morgan had pushed Chris to get their own place so soon after we’d graduated.

“Well, hopefully, it won’t be as bad as you think. I know Mum would kill to have me back home, but I don’t think I could do it either. I stayed with her, Dave and the girls when I was back in town before, but now that I have this place for a while, she will have to deal with me coming for the occasional dinner only.” I say, referring to my mum’s second family, which is made up of my stepdad and three younger half-sisters.

“Do you know what you’ll do with the place?” she asks.

I open my mouth to respond but stop when Kylie crashes up the stairs and throws herself down beside Bri.

“Bri! Here you are! I missed you soooooo much! And it’s Jakey! This place is amazing!” Kylie says, her words slurred.

I watch her closely. Her eyes are glassy, and she sways even though she’s sitting. I’m wary of how close she’s sitting to the side of the spa, ready to jump up if she falls in.

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