Page 1 of Wedding Bells By the Creek

Chapter One

Would this train never move?

Helen Walsh leaned forward and stared out of the window at a flat, barren landscape. She stretched her legs, fighting off stiff muscles and tiredness after a sleepless night in an uncomfortable seat. Flying would have been so much better. But even if she’d had the money, there were no scheduled flights to her destination. Seventeen hours of travel had taken their toll. The train didn’t have a sleeping compartment. Not that a fold down bed would have made any difference to her sleepless night. This journey was the most important thing she’d done in more than a decade and sleep was never going to be part of it.

She felt a small shudder through her seat and waited hopefully for the scenery to start moving. She peered through the window, but the train stubbornly remained exactly where it was. According to the announcement, the train was being separated into two parts. A line of empty ore wagons that seemed to stretch forever was destined for the mine. Helen was in the town section, a mere two carriages and very sparsely populated. Not many people, it seemed, had any desire to get to Coorah Creek. Why on earth had Felicity chosen such an out of the way place to live?

Because she was running away. From you.The harsh voice in her head was brutally honest.

She blocked it out. That was then. This was now. The past was gone and she and her daughter were facing a new future. She couldn’t wait to see her again. It had been ten years, three months and seventeen days. Ten years of searching for her daughter … until at last her daughter had found her. A one page letter had appeared in her mailbox. A single short phone call had changed her life.

The train started moving forward at a snail’s pace, and then gathered a little more speed. It still wasn’t moving fast enough for Helen. A building came into view. Then another. Helen leaned towards the windows, straining to see the station ahead. There it was. Now she was desperate for the train to stop. She started gathering her things. Not that there was much to gather. One large and slightly battered black handbag, a magazine that she had failed to read during the long journey, and a brown paper bag with the remains of the meal she’d been too keyed up to eat. She rested the palm of her hand against the outer pocket of the handbag; the pocket that held a photo, now faded and creased after so many years of being shown to people.

Her breath caught in her throat. The moment she had so long dreamed about was almost here.

Helen was already on her feet when finally the train came to a stop. She was the only passenger left in her carriage on this last leg of the long journey. Moving down the aisle between the empty seats, she dragged her suitcase out of the luggage rack. It wasn’t heavy. Helen didn’t know whether she was here for a day or a week … or longer. She’d just thrown some things together and hopped on the train before anything could stop her. Before she could suddenly wake up and find this was all just a dream.

Her heart was racing as if she’d run a marathon as she opened the door and stepped down onto the platform. She forced herself to pull her suitcase down before she took a deep breath and looked around.

The railway station was tiny. The platform barely stretched the length of two carriages. The station building wasn’t even that long. A single doorway led through to some sort of waiting room or office. And that was it. From where she stood, Helen could see past the building to the surrounding area. Everything was dry and brown. The few houses visible in the distance looked very rundown. Perhaps even deserted. There were no cars moving on the road outside the station. As for people … Helen was alone.

No. Not quite alone. Further down the platform, a man began unloading some boxes from a freight carriage. The train driver climbed down from his engine and started checking whatever it was he had to check before locking up. Helen felt very conspicuous just standing there, nervously clutching her handbag.

She glanced down at the cheap watch on her arm. Was the train early? She didn’t think so. Maybe Felicity was just parking her car. Helen tried to hold on to that thought, but she could clearly see the gravel parking area in front of the station. It held just one car. Obviously finding somewhere to park was not an issue.

Her shoulders began to sag. Had she come all this way for nothing?

‘Excuse me … can I help you?’

Helen half turned to find someone standing beside her. It was the owner of the boxes, now stacked neatly on the platform. He looked to be in his fifties, about her age. He was wearing overalls stained with grease and oil. His hands were likewise stained and his face was creased and weathered by the sun. Her first thought was to shake her head and quickly back away. But what would that achieve? It seemed she did need his help. Saying yes might be a good way to start this new phase of her life.

‘My daughter was supposed to be here to meet me,’ Helen said quietly. ‘But I guess she’s running late.’

‘I know what kids can be like. Can I give you a lift somewhere?’

‘No. Thank you. I’m sure she’ll be here any minute now. She probably just got caught in traff…’ Helen let her voice trail off. Even to her, the excuse sounded ridiculous. Traffic? Here? Who was she kidding?

A wave of disappointment struck her like a physical blow. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. A long journey, a sleepless night on the train and now this. She swayed as exhaustion and sorrow sapped all the strength from her body.

A strong hand closed around her elbow.

‘Let’s get you out of this sun. Come over here and sit down.’

Helen had neither the strength nor the will to resist as the man led her to a wooden bench that sat in the shade of the station building, out of the harsh glare of the mid-afternoon sun.

‘Thanks,’ she whispered as she sank onto the bench. ‘I’ll be fine. I guess I’m just tired after the long journey. And it’s very hot.’

‘Of course.’ His deep brown eyes held hers for a moment, and she could feel his sympathy. ‘Let me get your suitcase.’

He seemed to take a long time. She knew he was giving her a few moments alone to compose herself, and for that she was grateful.

‘Here you go.’ He put her case down with surprising gentleness next to the bench. Then he just stood next to her, as if reluctant to leave. She was glad to have him there. He was a stranger, but anything was better than sitting alone on a deserted station platform in the middle of nowhere.

‘Thank you,’ she said quietly.

The sound of a car pulling up in front of the building was surprisingly loud. Helen lifted her head and started to get to her feet.

‘I think—’

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