Wow, again. She could picture Bella’s big day so easily—white-covered trestle tables on a homestead veranda. A ceremony beneath an archway of pale pink roses. Male guests with broad shoulders and suntans. Women in pearls.
‘So … how many bridesmaids are you planning’ She tried to sound casual, which wasn’t easy when she was holding her breath. Would she be sharing this honour with six bridesmaids? Hadn’t she read somewhere that a celebrity had eighteen attendants—all of them in purple silk?
‘Only one,’ Bella said calmly as she spooned fragrant froth from the inside of her glass. ‘It won’t be a big flashy wedding. Just family and close friends. I’ve never wanted a swarm of bridesmaids.’ She smiled. ‘I just want you, Zoes. You’ll be perfect.’
Perfect. What a wonderful word.
‘I’ll do everything I can to make the day perfect for you,’ Zoe said.
There was no question—she would try her utmost to be the perfect bridesmaid. She would research her duties and carry them out conscientiously. No bride had ever had a more dedicated wedding attendant. ‘So, do we have a date? Is there a time line?’
‘Actually, we were thinking about October twenty-first.’
‘Gosh, that’s only a few weeks away.’
‘I know, but Kent and I didn’t want to wait.’
How romantic.
Zoe supposed she’d hear the phrase Kent and I rather a lot in the next few weeks. She wondered, as she had many times, what it was like to be so deeply in love.
But then another thought struck. Leaning closer, she whispered, ‘Bell, you’re not pregnant, are you?’
‘No, of course not.’
‘Just checking, seeing you’re in such a rush, in case my bridesmaid’s duties involved knitting bootees.’
Bright red in the face, Bella slapped her wrist. ‘Shut up, idiot.’
‘Sorry.’ Zoe smiled. ‘Well, a tight deadline can focus the mind wonderfully.’
‘It shouldn’t be too hard to organise. Everything will happen at the homestead, so we won’t need to book a church, or cars or a reception venue, and the local rector is a good friend of the Rigbys.’
‘So you only have to buy a wedding dress and order a cake.’
‘Yes. Too easy,’ Bella said with a laugh, and then as they started on their sandwiches her face grew more serious. ‘I’ve made an appointment with Eric Bodwin. I’ll have to resign, because I’ll be living at Willara, but I was also hoping we might be able to arrange time off for you as well, so you can come out and help with all the last minute organising. I don’t want to burden Kent with too much of the leg-work. But I know the time off would eat into your holiday allowance—’
‘That’s fine,’ Zoe said quickly. ‘I’d love a week or so in the country.’ She was feeling a bit down at the thought of Bella resigning, but then she grinned. ‘As a bonus, I might have a chance to wangle a nice country romance of my own.’
Bella’s eyes danced. ‘Now that’s a thought.’ It wasn’t just an idle thought for Zoe. As a young girl, experiencing constant brief tastes of country towns before moving on, she’d developed something of a penchant for the jeans-clad sons of farmers with their muscular shoulders and rolling, loose-hipped strides.
‘Mind you,’ Bella said, ‘I’ve grown away from country life since I moved to Brisbane.’
‘But you’re looking forward to going back and settling down as a farmer’s wife, aren’t you?’
Bella gave her lower lip a slightly troubled chew. ‘It will certainly be an adjustment.’
‘I think it sounds idyllic,’ Zoe said honestly. ‘But then I probably have a romanticised idea of life on a farm. I’ve never actually been on one.’
‘Why don’t you come home with me next weekend?’ Bella suggested with a sudden beaming smile. ‘We could go together after work on Friday. It only takes a little over an hour. You can meet Kent and I can show you where we’re planning to have the wedding, and you can help me to nut out the details.’
‘Wow. That sounds wonderful.’
‘Actually, you know how hopeless I am at organising. I’ll probably hand you pen and paper and a list of phone numbers for caterers.’
‘That’s OK.’ No doubt it was pathetic, but Zoe loved to feel needed. ‘I’d love to come. Are you sure there’s room for me to stay?’
‘Of course I’m sure. We won’t stay with my dad. He hasn’t been well and he’d get in a stew about clean sheets and things. We can stay at Willara Downs. The homestead is huge and Kent’s a wonderful host. His parents live in town these days, but they’ll probably come out and you can meet them, too. They’ll welcome you with open arms.’
Again Zoe thought of all the times her parents had whizzed in and out of country towns when she’d longed to stay. She’d been constantly looking in from the outside, never really getting to know the locals.
Now, for a short time, for the first time, she would be an insider.
‘I’d love that. We can take my car,’ she offered, eager to help any way she could. ‘It’s so much easier than getting the bus.’
Already, in her head, she was compiling a list of her bridesmaid’s responsibilities.
Number one—she would support Bella and help her to stay calm through the next nerve-wrangling weeks. Perhaps she would also help her to address the wedding invitations, and then there would be a hen night to arrange … and a bridal shower …
It was going to be fabulous. She was determined to carry out every task to the very best of her ability. Her aim was nothing less than perfection.
CHAPTER TWO
THE next weekend, fifteen kilometres from Willara Downs, Zoe heard an unmistakable flap, flap, flap coming from her car’s rear tyre. Her stomach took a dive. Not now. Please, no!
But it was useless to hope. She’d heard that flapping sound too many times in her childhood—her dad had always been changing flat tyres on their bus. Now she knew with sickening certainty that she had no choice but to pull over onto the grassy verge and try to remember what to do.
It wasn’t fun to be alone, though, on the edge of an unknown country road at dusk on a Friday evening. Zoe wished she hadn’t been so convincing when she’d assured Bella she’d be fine to drive on to Willara Downs by herself, while Bella visited her dad.
Two days ago, Bella’s father had been admitted to hospital. Apparently, Kent Rigby had found Mr Shaw in a very bad state and insisted on rushing him in to Willara.
Understandably, Bella had been beside herself with anxiety and Zoe had dropped her in town.
‘Kent’s not answering his phone, so he’s probably out on the farm, but he’ll understand if you turn up alone,’ Bella had assured her.
‘And one of us will come back to pick you up in an hour or so,’ Zoe suggested.
‘Yes, that will be great.’
And so … after expressing the wish that Mr Shaw was much improved, Zoe had set off happily enough—at least she was driving her own car and she felt at ease behind the wheel. And apart from concern about Mr Shaw’s illness, she was dead excited about this weekend away and getting to meet Bella’s fiancé … seeing the wedding venue … being part of the planning.
The