Page 3 of Wedding Bells By the Creek

‘Not exactly. Tia keeps her trailer over at the mine. If she’s working late shifts, she sometimes likes to stay there.’

‘And she likes to be independent?’ Helen asked.

Max nodded. ‘Yes. She does.’

A room at the pub wasn’t what Helen had imagined, but that was all right. It was enough, more than enough, that she was going to see her daughter today. She would accept whatever conditions came with it. She was hardly in a position to object.

‘I understand. I’m sure a room at the pub will be fine,’ she said.

She felt his relief as he started the engine and pulled away from the station.

‘You’ll love the owners. Trish and Syd Warren. Really good people, both of them. Although Trish does love to gossip.’

A gossip? Normally Helen liked to avoid the gossips. Heaven knew she had been on the receiving end of their cruelty often enough. But the affection in Max’s voice as he spoke made her think that maybe this time it would be all right. In fact, maybe there was some gossip she would like to hear. About her daughter and this man sitting beside her. There was so much she wanted to know about how they had met. About their life. About the woman Felicity had become. The woman she didn’t know at all.

‘This is a very small town,’ Max said as he drove. ‘I am on duty or on call pretty much all of the time. The police station is only a couple of minutes’ walk from the pub, so even when I am on duty, I won’t be far away.’

‘What time does Tia get off work?’ Helen asked, proud of the fact that she said the unfamiliar name without hesitation. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing her so much.’

‘She got called in for a night shift,’ Max said, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the road. ‘You won’t see her until tomorrow.’

‘Oh.’ Helen tried to hide her disappointment. She had come all this way. To be so close and not see her daughter. It wasn’t how she had pictured this reunion.

Helen hadn’t noticed that Max had parked in front of a large two storey building, until he switched off the engine and turned to face her.

‘Helen, you have to understand that Tia is as nervous about seeing you as you no doubt are about seeing her. She’s had a tough life. She finds it hard to trust people or let them get close to her. You have to let her come to you when she’s ready.’

‘This visit was your idea, not hers, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes. It was.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s quite simple,’ Max said. ‘I love Tia and I want to marry her, but she won’t be ready for that until you and she have made your peace. So I’m really doing this for totally selfish reasons.’ He was smiling as he said it, but that couldn’t hide the hurtful truth. Her daughter really did not want to see her. She was doing it as a favour to the man she loved.

‘She knew I was arriving today?’

‘Yes, she did,’ Max said.

Helen felt as if her world was dropping away beneath her feet. Tiredness and emotion had sapped most of her strength.

‘Max, glad you’re here.’ A small grey-haired woman darted out of the building in front of them. ‘I just had a call. There’s an accident on the Mount Isa road – about fifteen kilometres out. Doctor Adam is already on the way.’

‘Thanks, Trish.’ Max quickly stepped to the rear of the car to collect Helen’s suitcase.

‘I’m terribly sorry,’ he told her. ‘Remember what I said about always being on call? I have to go, but Trish will take care of you.’

He jumped back into the car and in a few seconds was gone, leaving Helen feeling more alone than she had ever felt in her life. She put a hand to her sweating forehead, closing her eyes in search of a moment’s respite.

‘It is hot, isn’t it, dear? I know it’s almost March, but summer tends to linger out here, and people from back east sometimes struggle with the heat.’ The grey-haired woman patted her arm. ‘So, you come on in out of the hot sun. Let me get you some cold water. You’re Tia’s mother, aren’t you? I’m Trish Warren. Welcome to Coorah Creek.’

Chapter Two

‘Talk to you next week, Dad. Bye.’

‘Bye, Scott.’

The image on the computer screen vanished and Ed Collins clicked the application off. He reached out to stroke the grey tabby cat sleeping on a folded up old T-shirt on the end of his desk.

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