Page 1 of Whispers of Sweetwater

CHAPTER 1

Admiring the countryside around her home, Brianna Steele paused and stole a breath. She’d been happy-dancing from the second her bare feet had touched the cool timber floorboards of the little Queenslander cottage, and all the while she’d kept wanting to pinch herself. Her big day was finally here. The very one where she’d step out of her comfort zone, and away from those she loved, to stride into a role she’d been dreaming of, working towards, for years. Having counted down the past fifty-nine sleeps, she couldn’t believe that as of one minute past midnight she was officially a small-business owner. A sole operator. Somewhat in charge of her own destiny. By golly she hoped she’d made the right decision, buying a mobile vet practice in a township she knew practically nothing about. But hey, it had been going for a steal with the owner keen to retire so he could travel around Australia with his wife. And now she’d signed on the dotted line, it was all up to her – she could choose to sink or swim, and she was going to embrace the latter with the unbridled passion both sets of her parents had instilled into her.

Finding herself overcome with a myriad of emotions – accomplishment, excitement, apprehension, sadness – she tried to put on a brave face. Nestling against her mum, she looked out over Riverstone Ridge as it spread out beneath the vast expanse of an emerging blue sky in a mesmerising tapestry of horse paddocks, blossoming golden wattle trees and restored outbuildings. Standing within the beating heart of the property that had been her home for the past seven years, she relished being wrapped in the tender embrace of her biological parents, Logan and Nina. If it hadn’t been for them – and the haven this place had given her away from the despair of her adoptive parents going their separate ways just a week after she’d turned twenty-two – she wouldn’t have made it through her university degree. The fact that Max had chosen Melbourne to call home, while Ruby had gone to Perth, made it almost impossible to see either of them, especially given the added pressure of chasing her veterinary dream. Phone calls had sufficed. Just. Maybe, next year, she’d have time, and money, to visit both of them in person.

Focus on the here and now, Brianna Rose!

Sniffing back tears, she swiftly landed in the present by enjoying the warmth of the early-morning sunshine caressing her with its glow, and watching how the rays of golden light somehow held the three of them in this eternal moment. One she wished she didn’t have to walk away from to become her own boss after six months of working alongside the local vet. But independence called. And at twenty-nine, it was high time she pulled her big-girl boots on, nice and tight. Of course, she knew her mum and dad would give anything to have her stay right here, in their township of Huntingvale. They’d already made up for so much lost time since she’d accepted them back into her life when she was twenty-one. But now she had to carve her own path. With that almost overwhelming thought, a sob rose, but she swallowed it down while quickly reminding herself of the adventures that awaited her in the township of Sweetwater. From the week she’d spent there, alongside seventy-one-year-old Bill Garrettson, learning the ropes before he packed up his vet bag for the last time, it had seemed like a sweet little place, with friendly people. So, squeezing her loved ones a little harder, she enjoyed the sensation of her dad’s brawny arms enveloping her with the same protective love that had guided her through the hurdles of young adult life, and the smell of her mum’s botanic-scented freshly shampooed hair that gave her deep comfort, as if she recalled it from when she was a newborn, blissfully unaware she was about to be adopted. She felt for her Mum, barely fifteen, having to make such a heartbreaking decision.

She unravelled herself before she chickened out of leaving, and the way her dad’s smile reflected her own, with a mixture of pride and sorrow at her departure, made her heart squeeze even tighter.

‘Well, you two, I guess I’d better hit the road,’ she said with a wobbly smile. ‘I’ve got four hours of driving ahead of me, and that’s without loo and fodder stops for me and my four-legged sidekick.’

‘Yup, true that, you best get going, kiddo.’ Logan paused, his thumbs hooking into his belt loops. ‘Just make sure you remind yourself how you’ve worked super hard to get where you are, so don’t let anyone undermine that.’ His fatherly advice was delivered in a gentle tone. ‘And also remember that your mum and I are only a phone call away, day or night, okay?’

‘I know, Dad, thank you.’ Brianna knew it was hard for both of them to see her flying the nest, especially since they’d had her in their lives for much less time than most families were given. And with this awareness, she turned to her mum, masking her rush of instant homesickness – heavens, she hadn’t even left yet. ‘Everything’s going to be hunky-dory, Mum, and before you say it, I promise I’ll text you as soon as I get there.’

‘Thanks, my love – you know me, I won’t sleep unless I know you’re there safely.’ Sniffling, Nina brushed a dark strand of hair from Brianna’s face. ‘Be safe, think smart, and have lots of fun in between being the best damn vet Sweetwater has ever seen, okay,’ she added with a nod, her touch remaining as delicate as her smile.

‘I will. And I know I’ve already said it, but again, thank you for everything you and Dad have sacrificed to help me through uni and to this point in my life,’ Brianna replied with a catch in her voice before quickly clutching them both once more. ‘I couldn’t have done it without you.’ She breathed in the familiar scents of what had quickly become home – horse, leather, soil and unconditional love – as she again tried desperately not to cry.

‘More than anyone I know, you deserve this, sweetheart.’ Pulling back a little to hold her gaze, Nina gave Brianna’s shoulders a tender squeeze. ‘Now, go get ’em, my smart, funny, brave girl.’

‘I’ll do my best, Mumma Bear.’ Brianna grinned and nodded. ‘Righto then, I’ll see you both soon.’ Although what with her dad juggling his policing duties at the understaffed Huntingvale station with helping her mum around the property, she knew it might be a little longer than that.

With a final wave, she turned and made her way to her trusty old Hilux dual cab. It had recently been made hers by her dad, who had overhauled it mechanically and bodily, and boy oh boy it was amazing what a lick of paint had done. From dull white to an electric blue – she loved that he’d chosen her favourite colour.

One whistle in her sidekick’s direction, and Sherlock, her loyal border collie, shot from the shade of the tack shed and bounded after her, his black-and-white coat shimmering in the sunlight. As soon as she opened the passenger door for his fast entrance, he leapt up and onto the seat with practised ease, his intelligent eyes meeting hers as if to say, I’m here for you, no matter where this road takes us. Smiling at her bestie, she shut the door, strode to the driver’s side, slipped in before she could run back to her parents for another hug, then revved the vehicle to life.

Along with the grunt of the diesel engine, a symphony of cicadas and the static hum of the local country-music radio station serenaded her departure. Up ahead, the winding dirt track flanked by fields of golden wheat swaying like ocean waves sent ripples of excitement and nervousness within her. Bumping along the one-kilometre driveway, she dared one more glance in the rear-vision mirror and gave her parents one final wave before she turned a corner, disappearing from their view, then rolled down the windows to let the fresh country air rush in. The balmy breeze carried with it the whispers of the place that held so many happy memories. Ones she would hold in her country-loving heart forever.

‘All right, Sherlock, it looks like it’s just you and me now,’ she said, glancing at her companion, his ears perking at the sound of her voice. ‘You’re seriously way too adorable, buddy, but you already know that, right?’

With a short sharp ruff in reply, Sherlock held up his paw in anticipation. It was a gesture she knew all too well. But this time it wasn’t for a little helping of whatever she was eating, especially when it was hot chips. This time around, as if he knew the ins and outs of what was ahead of them, it was in support of their new adventure. And that made her heart melt. Little did her four-legged companion comprehend just how much his constant, unconditional camaraderie meant. If only the blokes who’d tried to woo her at university had learnt the art of loyalty, gentleness, respect. If only they had been more like Sherlock – or more like the always steadfast, always gentlemanly Logan Steele, the man she was so proud to call her dad. Then her admirers might have found her to be less – how had one of them put it? – frigid. Ew. Neanderthal. In less than a minute he’d reinforced why she’d sworn off the male sex in favour of her career. None of the guys she’d encountered had been bothered to get to know her, instead making it obvious all they really wanted was a romp in the sack. And when she didn’t oblige, it seemed to make them want her all the more. Most of them just seemed to want what they couldn’t have. And as for the others, they were either already snapped up by various lucky women, or in extremely happy same-sex relationships.

Go figure.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to sigh her thoughts away as the white lines of the highway carried her further from Riverstone Ridge, the sun-drenched horizon luring her forwards. As she flicked the sun visor down, then turned up one of her favourite Waylon Jennings’ songs, ‘Good Hearted Woman’, visions of being Sweetwater’s resident mobile vet played in her imagination. The amazing opportunity, which had landed in her lap one sunny Sunday morning while she flipped through her dad’s newspaper, was now a blank canvas ready to be filled with endless possibilities. She hoped it was going to be smooth sailing, but at the same time she wasn’t one to wear rose-coloured glasses. Tough times were a given; it was how she reacted to such moments that counted. And reacting the best way was going to be easier said than done without her mum and dad nearby to give her sound advice.

Sidling closer to her, Sherlock nudged his nose against her hand, grounding her amid the whirlwind of change. She smiled at him, feeling the full spectrum of emotions mirrored in his kind brown eyes – the bittersweet farewell, the thrill of independence, and the boundless promise of the future. ‘I love you, buddy,’ she said, before breaking into the verse of the twangy country song, wholeheartedly and extremely off key.

As for Sherlock, he did his usual trick of amusingly howling along with her.

Three and a half hours later, with a toilet stop thrown in – a field for Sherlock and a public toilet block for her – along with a food scavenger hunt at an IGA, Brianna tried to unstick her teeth in a battle with a toffee lolly as she marvelled at the breathtaking landscape before her. All around, the endless expanse of the countryside stretched out like a patchwork quilt, with fields of green and gold flanking the ribbon-like road that led towards her new home. The ever-changing scenery, from flat paddocks to rolling hills, some with glimpses of the far-flung ocean, was a reminder of why she’d chosen this rural lifestyle alongside Nina and Logan over a city change with one of her adoptive parents. Her country-loving blood was why she felt so drawn to the land, and just knowing that made her feel even closer to the parents who had arrived in her life when she was barely twenty-one years old. At first she’d considered having nothing to do with them, but thank goodness she’d overcome her anger, because they had turned out to be the best parents, and she loved them with all her heart.

Gazing in wonder at the ever-shifting scenery flashing past her windscreen, her wide sapphire eyes took in every detail as the scent of tropical fruit blossoms and damp rainforest soil wafted through the open window, filling her with a heady sense of both freedom and responsibility. Long gone was the drier landscape of Huntingvale, and the rainforest was a refreshing change. As if sensing the imminent end to their road trip, Sherlock – his safety tether latched into the seatbelt – balanced his front paws on the armrest of the passenger door and hung his head out the window, ears flapping like little flags. His nose twitched in overdrive, greedily sampling the cocktail of new scents – damp earth, distant livestock, maybe even the whisper of ocean salt far ahead – and his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth, fluttering joyfully in the breeze.

Brianna’s gaze drifted from the winding road to the rolling paddocks that unfurled beyond the trees where vast, verdant fields were speckled with grazing cattle and majestic horses, their slow movements watched over by ancient paperbark trees. The Australian natives stood like sentinels, their bark peeling in elegant curls to reveal smooth trunks beneath, as if shedding the past to make way for the present. Something about their stature – stoic, towering, somehow wise – made her breath catch. These trees didn’t just exist. They endured. And she felt them, somehow. Felt them pulsing with a quiet strength that reached through the glass and settled inside her ribs.

And then she saw it for the second time in her life.

The welcome sign.

Sweetwater. Population 7876.

Her chest tightened as anticipation coiled inside her, ready to spring free. The letters on the sign weren’t just paint. They were a promise. A threshold. A new beginning. As if by a click of fingers, Sweetwater township materialised on the horizon like a mirage, a cluster of corrugated-iron rooftops and the outlines of weathered buildings, all etched against the midday sunshine. Leaning forwards in her seat, she felt something deep inside her shift as a quiet certainty unfurled.

‘Well, Sherlock,’ she murmured, her voice hitching slightly with emotion. ‘Here we are. Our new home sweet home.’