Page 43 of Jillaroo from Jacaranda

It felt damn good, making her so happy. ‘That’s why it tastes so good.’ He forked another couple of pieces of roast beef from the platter Leah had placed there, followed by a scoop of roast potatoes.

‘Hungry, bro?’ Leah said, brows raised as she stared at his hefty second helping.

‘More like making a pig of myself, but I don’t care. This tucker is way too good not to eat more of it.’ And he was speaking the absolute truth.

‘Have you ventured into town yet, Rose?’ Leah asked.

‘Only to grab a few groceries.’

‘Well, there’s this really cool little bookshop slash gift shop I reckon you’d love, and the lady who owns it is so quirky. It used to make me think I was stepping into Narnia.’ Leah took a sip of her orange juice. ‘You should check it out next time you’re there.’

‘Hey, yeah, I forgot about that place,’ Ty said between chewing.

Rose’s eyes lit up. ‘Cool, I might head in tomorrow and do just that.’

After dinner, they worked together to clear the table and clean up the kitchen. His sleeves rolled up, Ty took care of the rinsing while Rose and Leah packed the dishwasher and wiped down the benches. It felt good, like they were a family who’d known each other forever. As he hung the tea towel back over the oven door, he caught Rose’s eye over Leah’s shoulder, and they shared a fleeting moment filled with so much longing, and so much promise, it left him wishing she was his always and forever. And that feeling stayed with him as she said goodnight and he carried himself upstairs. If only life, and love, was that easy.

CHAPTER

13

The following morning, bright and early, Rose drove the thirty minutes to town in search of the shop Leah had recommended. Passing one farmhouse after another, each broken up by long stretches of wide-open paddocks dotted with horses and cattle, she felt a familiarity with the landscape that made her feel less alone. Slowing to fifty as she neared the township, she came to a stop at a pedestrian crossing where an old couple crossed arm in arm, taking one measured step at a time. She found herself sighing softly as she waited. One day, she wanted an enduring forever love like they clearly had.

Continuing down the main street, she took her time, enjoying the quaint rows of shops. Counting three pubs in total, she chuckled – trust a country town to have more drinking establishments than cafés. Although tiny, it had everything a person could want – butcher, post office, bakery, bank, real estate office and chemist, as well as a massive rural supplies store. Finding an empty spot at the end of the parking lot, she pulled in and killed the engine. A strong gust of hot wind whipped her hair around her face as she climbed out. Tucking it behind her ears, she traipsed across the street, the sunshine warming her bare shoulders and her long summery dress swishing around her ankles. It didn’t take her long to find the shop Leah had mentioned, tucked away between the newsagency and butcher.

Libraries and bookstores were her favourite places, and she wouldn’t have guessed there’d be either in a town as small as this one. Now she’d finished her edits, she was looking forward to an escape between pages written by another, and she was sure she’d find the perfect read behind the red-bricked fascia. Reaching for the brass handle, she tugged the door open to the jingle of bells. The scent of the rows and rows of books and myriad candles and oil diffusers greeted her, as did the cheery elderly lady sitting behind the counter, her glasses perched at the tip of her nose and her long, silver hair swept over one shoulder. Rose could just imagine the woman skipping through fields of flowers singing John Lennon’s song, ‘Give Peace a Chance’.

‘Welcome, my dear.’ The woman popped a bookmark into the book in her hands and placed it down on the counter. ‘Can I help you with anything in particular?’

Rose returned the lady’s warm smile. ‘Not really, I always like to let the book choose me.’

‘Oh, how wonderful. Well, in that case, enjoy browsing.’ The wide sleeve of her top swayed as she swept her hand from one side of the bookshop to the other. ‘My name is Delilah. Just yell out if you need me.’

‘I will, thank you, Delilah.’

Wandering past the stands of yummy-smelling candles and trinket-style gifts, Rose went in search of her newest treasure. Leah had been right; it sure as heck had a Narnia-like feel.

Strolling up and down each of the six rows, she patiently waited for the spine of a book to catch her eye. The store was much deeper than she’d first thought, with so much to choose from. It made her feel like a kid in a lolly shop. It was on the very last corner that one jumped out, literally. Starting, she looked to the floor. The bold title stared up at her: Don’t Settle for Happily Never After – How to heal after a break-up. Bending, she picked up the hard-cover book and flicked through it. Usually, she was one for fiction, and this was a self-help book, dedicated to healing heartbreak. How could she ignore the sign that this was what she needed right now?

Heading up to the counter, she passed it over. ‘I’ll take this one please, Delilah.’ Digging the cash out of her wallet, she paid.

Delilah handed her a brown paper bag with her chosen book cradled inside. ‘Relationship troubles are the pits, aren’t they, dear?’

A little confronted by the woman’s frankness, Rose tucked her wallet back into her handbag. ‘Yes, they sure are.’

Delilah reached out and patted her hand. ‘You’re a beautiful woman. The right man will see that and do everything he can to never hurt you.’

As odd as it was hearing such kind words from a stranger, something about Delilah made her feel comforted. ‘That’s so sweet of you to say, thank you.’

‘My pleasure, treasure.’ She waved Rose off. ‘Bye for now.’

Stepping outside to the jingle of the door, Rose tucked the book into her handbag as she made her way to the independent grocery store. On dinner duties tonight after offering to cook for Leah and Ty, she had a small list of things to grab before heading home to kick back and get stuck into her new read.

Back on the road, she changed through the gears as she put distance between herself and the township. Watching the white lines passing beneath her, she wished in some weird way that each kilometre her Colorado swallowed up was actually creating a distance between her past and her present. How much easier would it be to hurdle into a new period of her life without dwelling on what could have been. Her mind weaved between feeling like she belonged here to feeling like she should be back at Jacaranda Farm, trying to sort her life out. Was she just running away from a mess she would only return to, or was she going to set her life on a new path? She hoped and prayed it was the latter.

Deep in thought, while doing her usual trick of overthinking everything, it didn’t take her long to get back to the cottage. She curled up with her new book the minute she’d unpacked the groceries, and the pages flew by as she delved into the world of self-discovery and healing. The author’s tone was soothing, and every chapter rang so true, as if the book was written just for her. It helped her to clarify what she was feeling and to compartmentalise the chaos in her head into some sort of order she could more easily work through. So engrossed was she that Leah’s breezy voice had her jerking her head up.

‘Hellooo! Rose? Are you in there?’