Her hands were shaking. She was under no illusions about the danger of the situation she’d been in.
‘No problem. Do you want to drive while I make my calls? I’ll programme the sat nav for you.’ It might take her mind off the worries of the moment.
She nodded. ‘Yeah. Thanks.’
‘On the right, remember.’ Reece tried to make a joke of it, but he was too tired to even see whether she got it or not.
‘I remember. Get in, before I decide to leave you behind.’
He’d dozed fitfully in the car. As soon as he’d made his calls and there was nothing left to do, his body seemed to shut down, taking what it needed. Sara knew all about that kind of exhaustion. After her mother had died last year, finally losing her battle with cancer, it had been weeks before she’d been able to sit down without going to sleep. Gran had said she had slept off all her tears, gently making it clear that she disapproved of such a strategy, and in hindsight she might have been right.
The sat nav beeped in an indication that she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Sara nudged Reece gently, and he woke with a start, suddenly alert. ‘Is this your house?’
‘Uh?’ He relaxed back into his seat when he saw where they were. ‘No. This is my sister’s house. Back up a bit, will you?’
Sara manoeuvred the heavy vehicle into the mouth of the driveway, stopping when Reece shook his head. ‘Her car’s not there, she must be over at my place. I’m just down the road a little way.’
‘Down the road a little way’ turned out to be more than four kilometres. Reece indicated an opening in the tall bushes that flanked the road, and Sara steered into it, the SUV dwarfing the small shiny runaround already parked outside the house.
‘Here we are.’ He grinned, stretching the kinks out of his back and shoulders. ‘Hopefully, Kath’s got the kettle on.’ He opened the passenger door and almost fell out of the car, regaining his footing quickly. At his command, Trader suddenly woke from his repose and scrambled past Sara to follow Reece.
The house seemed far too big for one but, then, there was more space out here. There were large windows, a covered porch, and trees and bushes that were unfamiliar to Sara. It wasn’t like home. From what Simon had said, it wasn’t really a home to Reece either. Just a place to camp out until Reece’s permanently itchy feet became too much for him and he upped sticks and moved on.
It was nice, though. An oasis of shade and weatherworn colours, which made up in charm for what it lacked in grooming. Reece fitted in here perfectly.
‘Ah!’ He was standing in the open doorway. ‘I can smell fresh coffee.’
‘Only because I brought it with me.’ A woman’s voice sounded from the hall. ‘When did you last go shopping for food, Reece?’
He rolled his eyes and winked at Sara. ‘I’ve been working.’
‘Yeah, and what’s your excuse the rest of the time?’ A blonde, pretty woman dressed in shorts and a T-shirt joined him in the doorway.
Reece shrugged. ‘No clue. Playing?’
Kath jabbed one finger at his ribs and Reece caught her hand, chuckling. Trader sensed that it was time to let off a little steam and threw himself against Reece’s legs, demanding attention.
‘Come inside.’ Kath had broken away from Reece and was advancing on Sara now. ‘Don’t mind my brother, he’s got no manners.’ She grabbed Sara’s hand and led her past Reece into the house. ‘No coffee either, but at least I can do something about that.’
Kath stayed long enough to pour the coffee and unload the contents of two large shopping bags into the refrigerator. Then she took a last swig from her mug, professed herself delighted at having met Sara and apologised for having to run.
‘Later, sis. I’ll come by and pick Trader up this evening if that’s okay.’ Reece rose from the sofa and gave his sister a brief hug. ‘Thanks for everything.’
‘I just wish we weren’t going away tomorrow. Perhaps I can stay behind a few days, Joe and the kids can manage on their own for a while …’ Kath fisted her hand against Reece’s chest. Sara could never have done that with her own brother, and suddenly she envied Kath the careless gesture.
‘Don’t start trying to tear yourself in two again.’ Reece held up an admonishing finger and Kath shrugged and nodded. ‘If you can run some of that excess energy out of Trader this afternoon while we get sorted, that’ll be fine.’
‘Right. Later, then.’ Kath grinned cheerily at Sara, and Trader followed her to the door with an air of almost palpable joy.
‘At least Trader’s found someone who’s got their priorities straight.’ Sara smiled, nodding at Kath as she jogged to her car, Trader trotting obediently behind her.
‘Yeah.’ Reece grinned. ‘Cattle dogs can be a bit of a handful if they’re not trained and exercised properly. Trader’s ancestry is part dingo.’
‘Yes, Simon told me. He said you helped him to train Trader.’
‘Yep. He didn’t have a clue where to start.’ Reece shot her a quizzical look.
‘No, he wouldn’t. We didn’t have pets at home. Too much mess.’
‘That’s a shame.’
‘Yeah.’
Reece seemed to be waiting for Sara to elaborate, and when she didn’t, he collected the empty coffee cups and put them into the dishwasher, leaving her to stare aimlessly out of the window. This sitting in one place, waiting to find out what someone else was going to do next, was the downside of being rescued.
‘Right, then.’ Reece obviously had a plan, even if she didn’t. ‘I expect you’ll want to wash off some of that dust.’ He turned, without waiting for her assent, and disappeared into the hallway. The only option available was to follow him.
‘This is your room.’ He flung one of the doors open and walked inside. ‘The shower’s through there, and Kath’s left some things for you, so I hope you’ll have everything you need.’
The room was bright and welcoming. Clean, cool shades of cream and green that just demanded you stay a while and relax. On the wide bed was a small pile of clothes, neatly folded. Next to it were towels and a small wicker basket containing soap, shampoo, toothpaste and some packages wrapped in paper. A large bunch of flowers sat on the table next to the bed, strange, brightly coloured blooms mixed with others that were more familiar to Sara.
This was a safe place, an oasis, where she could wash off the dust and sweat of the road. She couldn’t accept it. She needed to stand on her own two feet. Make her own decisions.
‘This is my guest room. It’s yours for as long as you want it. At least until Simon gets out of hospital.’
From what Reece had said, that was going to be more than a week. ‘I really can’t impose. I’m very grateful for everything you’ve done already …’
‘And what? Do you know anyone else here?’
No one. Apart from Simon, Reece was the only person who even came close to being a friend. ‘I can book into a hotel. Near the hospital.’
‘What, with Trader? Even if you find somewhere that’ll take him, he’ll get bored and tear the place apart.’
He had a point. ‘Perhaps you wouldn’t mind taking him. Just for a while, until I get something sorted.’
Reece rolled his eyes. ‘Right. So I get to do a full day at the surgery then come home and take him out for a couple of hours