Page 33 of Wedding Bells By the Creek

‘Just smile and enjoy it.’

When they arrived at the school an hour later, with boxes of food and cold drinks, Helen discovered that her companion was right.

More than a dozen men were busy unloading timber and prefabricated panels from the back of a large truck. She was surprised to see a young woman helping direct operations.

‘That’s Sarah. Pete’s fiancée,’ Ellen told her.

‘Ladies, can I help?’ It was the man she’d seen at the pub that morning, smiling at her again as he took a box of food from her hands. ‘Nice to see you again. My name is John. Where do you what these?’

‘I … um …’ Helen stammered.

‘Over there, under that tree where there’s a bit of shade,’ Ellen said, coming to her rescue. ‘There are a couple of folding tables in the back of Jack’s ute over there. You could help with those if you like.’

‘No worries.’

John flashed Helen another broad smile as he vanished in the direction of a row of parked cars. Helen felt herself blushing. It felt … nice. She looked over at the cluster of men on the building site. Ed wasn’t there. A part of her sagged just a little with disappointment.

‘There you go, ladies.’ John had almost run back to them, a large folding table clutched firmly in his hands. He quickly assembled it in the shade of the tall gum tree.

‘Could you possibly grab the Esky for us,’ Ellen said sweetly. ‘It’s in the boot of the car and it’s a bit heavy for either of us to carry. There’s water and ice inside.’

‘Of course.’ Their helper set off on the next errand.

Helen started to unpack the boxes of food.

‘Where do you want this?’ John was back.

Catching Ellen’s eyes, Helen hid a smile and indicated a spot next to the tree. ‘Just there would be fine.’

With the Esky duly in place, John was back at Helen’s side. ‘Now, what else can I do for you?’ He winked again.

‘I think, John Sanderson, you need to get back to work!’ Ellen said with mock severity.

‘Yes, ma’am.’ The man touched the brim of his hat to Helen, and set off back to join the labouring men.

Helen started to laugh.

‘See what I meant,’ Ellen said happily. ‘And it looks like he’s not the only one. Although something tells me this one will be a little more welcome.’ And she slowly moved away.

Helen’s brow creased. What was the younger woman talking about? Then she looked up to see Ed walking towards her. Her heart skipped a beat. He was dressed for work in faded blue jeans and an old T-shirt. A sweat stained baseball cap hid his hair. But Helen still thought he was the most handsome man she had seen in a very long time. Especially when he smiled, as he was right now. Smiling at her.

‘Hello,’ he said as he approached. ‘I heard you and Tia went shopping. I’m glad to see you’re catching up on lost time. I hope it went well.’

‘Yes. It did. We had a lovely time …’ Helen’s voice trailed off as her mind threw up images of driving back into Coorah Creek and seeing Ed and his wife kissing outside the pub. She turned away to move some food boxes about, anything to avoid looking at him.

‘Helen. I was looking for you. I wanted to talk to you. About Steph.’

‘There’s nothing to say.’ Helen didn’t turn around. ‘Your wife came back. I’m very happy for you.’

‘It’s not like that. I didn’t know she was … I was … am … in the middle of filing for divorce. The lawyers have to put notices in the papers. She saw one. That’s the only reason she came back.’

That might have brought her back, but there was a lot more to Stephanie’s return than just that. Helen didn’t say the words, she just shook her head slowly. Then she tuned back to Ed.

‘Whatever the reason, she’s your wife. That’s all there is to it, really.’

A deep sadness seemed to shadow Ed’s eyes. He took a slow deep breath. ‘Yes. She is.’

They stood there for what seemed an eternity before Ed spoke again. ‘I was going to ask you … well, the puppy. Bentley. He’s ready to come home. Do you want to come with me when I pick him up?’

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