Page 82 of Somewhere Only We Know

The two of us watched as Daisy did her usual sprint down the driveway to catch the school bus. I had an awful feeling that he’d be the one in need of a good sense of humour by the end of today. I already regretted my promise to her and cursed Andrea for putting me in this position.

Chapter 29

Australia

By mid-afternoon, the harvest was finally in. The last batch of grapes had gone into the press, with a few crates stacked in the yard beside a wooden trough.

I hadn’t been able to relax all day and had been checking my phone regularly. I’d sent Daisy a text reminding her of her promise to message her father but hadn’t received a reply. Even more concerning was that Jono hadn’t said a word about Daisy’s antics. He didn’t seem distracted, or angry, or worried. I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps she’d reneged on her promise and he was still in the dark.

If that was the case, he’d be asking questions soon enough. The school bus should have been dropping her back here within the next hour or so, and when she failed to return he’d remember that she’d hinted that she might be late and would want to check up on her.

For the time being, a party atmosphere had taken over at Ruby Creek and Jono seemed to be enjoying himself. Nora was back from visiting the new baby and had come in to work especially to tend the bar, and the wine was flowing. I’d contacted as many of the pickers as I could reach to invite them back to celebrate with us, and with them and Jono’s assorted friends and family, the picnic tables outside Ruby’s Bar were the busiest I’d seen them. Country and western music played from speakers and people were wolfing down platters of cheese, olives and fresh bread as quickly as Jono’s cousin, Tara, and I could ferry them out from the kitchen.

I paused from my catering duties for a breather under the shade of the porch and Jono joined me, a mischievous sparkle in his eye.

‘I have a special job for you.’ He held out a hand to me. ‘Would you like to kick off the foot-stomping?’

‘The what?’ I asked, taking his hand automatically.

‘Foot-stomping time!’ cried one of the pickers, drumming his hands on the table.

A cheer went up and everyone trooped across the yard to the wooden trough, which had been filled to the top with grapes.

‘It’s a Ruby Creek tradition.’ Jono indicated for me to take my shoes off. ‘We stomp the last of the grapes and give everyone some of the juice in a bottle to take home as a memento.’

‘You are honoured,’ said Nora slyly. ‘Andrea got first stomp last time.’

‘Don’t ruin my mood, Nora,’ Jono said lightly. ‘I’d rather not think about last year’s harvest, if it’s all the same to you. Let’s enjoy the moment, shall we?’

He looked over his shoulder briefly towards the drive. ‘Shame Daisy’s not back yet, she loves this. Never mind, she can join in when she arrives.’

‘When are you expecting her?’ I asked, hoping he’d know what train she was coming back on.

‘Late, which was as much as I got out of her this morning,’ he said with a grin. ‘Now, are you ready?’

He helped me into the trough, and everyone cheered again. The grapes were slippy underfoot. I’d expected them to pop in their skins, but instead my feet slid over them, and I lurched sideways. Jono caught hold of me to steady me and I held on tightly to his hands, facing him.

‘What do I have to do?’ I said, giggling.

‘Clue’s in the name, Maggie,’ he teased. ‘What d’you think you do?’

‘Stomp,’ cried Nora, ‘just bloody stomp!’

I did as she said, stamping as hard as I could, marching up and down on the spot, squishing the grapes with my feet. The juice was sticky and it was trickier than it looked to stay upright, but it was a lot of fun, and the way Jono’s strong hands tightened around mine to stop me from slipping only added to the experience.

‘Feels good, doesn’t it?’ Jono said with a grin.

‘Very good,’ I responded. ‘But please don’t let go.’

He met my eye. ‘I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe.’

My heart had speeded up; whether from the exertion of the task or from his proximity to me, I couldn’t be sure, but I was very much enjoying the sensation. How long had it been since I’d felt safe, I wondered, and how long could I make this feeling last?

‘Everything okay?’ I asked.

I’d washed my feet, put my shoes back on and taken a couple of fresh beers to where Jono was leaning on the fence, looking out across the valley. The shrieks of the two Swedish girls who’d jumped into the trough after me made us both smile. Everything’s great.’ He tapped his beer bottle against mine. ‘It’s been a good day.’

In the distance, a few grey clouds hovered over the horizon. It was the first time I’d seen anything but unbroken blue sky since I’d arrived in Ruby Creek.