Page 35 of A Vineyard for Two

Back in the first room, she dusted the furniture and the walls. Once that was complete, she gave the walls another wipe down with the damp cloth, followed by the furniture, before using the dry one to get rid of any moisture that could damage the wood. When she was done, she grabbed a vacuum and went over the carpets. A bunch of fresh flowers and bedsheets would finish the look and make the place even more inviting. It wasn’t much, but she felt a sense of accomplishment. Going for the easy wins to start with would make this project seem more achievable. Harper repeated the process in the next room.

Her thoughts drifted to Brookes, and she paused to look out the window and as if right on queue he was crossing the footpath carrying a toolbox in one hand and hammer in the other, with Pete trailing behind him, his gaze fixated on the screen of his phone as he walked. Where had he come from? She hadn’t even heard him pull up earlier and how in the world had three hours already gone by?

Brookes looked up and waved at her. She waved back and stepped away from the window, annoyed that he had seen her looking at him. The last thing she wanted to do was give him the wrong idea. She had to go downstairs. It would be rude not to. She gave them a few minutes, got her bearings and went down, hoping that Georgia would be here shortly.

‘Hey Pete,’ Harper said.

Both Pete and Brookes turned around from the wall they were facing.

‘Harper, so the rumour mill is true,’ Pete said, coming up to her and they embraced in a hug. ‘How’s life treating you?’

‘As well as you can imagine. We’ve got our work cut out for us here.’

‘Incredible property. Hugh knew what he was doing.’

‘I’m not sure we do.’

‘Everyone in town is excited and talking about bringing back Christmas in July at Mathers Vineyard. It was always the most memorable one and since it stopped, what, I’d say five to six years ago, it’s been a missing event,’ Pete said.

‘Other venues host it too,’ Harper said. How in the world had word spread so fast? They’d only found out about it a few days earlier and the entire town was now aware.

‘Yeah, they do, but it’s not the same. This was the original one. Hugh had a talent for making it magical.’

‘We’ll do our best to do the same,’ Brookes said.

She smiled lightly, but the anxiety of what they were undertaking grew inside her again. She’d been foolish to think that the clean-up she did upstairs had any significant impact on what they were doing here. ‘What happened to the structural engineer?’

‘Something came up and he had to reschedule. Pete used to work in construction. He can confirm which wall we can knock out and which one should stay. And with Tyler’s tips from this morning, we should be fine.’

‘I better leave you to it. Don’t want you tearing down the wrong wall,’ she said. ‘And I think I hear Georgia’s Mustang pulling up.’

‘Good to see you, Harper. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again at some point.’

Outside, the refreshingly cool air hit her immediately. She made her way towards the driveway where Georgia was getting out of her yellow Mustang.

‘Anything I can help with?’

‘If you can get the bag out of the passenger seat. I packed up some leftover curry and orange almond cake.’

Harper did as asked and as soon as she grabbed the bag, the aroma of the meal hit her, and her stomach grumbled. ‘This smells delicious.’

‘How are things going?’

‘I’m just not sure how this is going to work.’

‘Rome wasn’t built in a day. You have ten days and the foundation is already here. I believe in you. The town believes in you.’

‘That’s what makes me worry even more. The fact that everyone seems to know about this arrangement.’

‘Well, you know how it is. News travels fast in small towns. Nothing gets kept a secret. One person tells another, before you know it, it’s multiplied, and you’re the odd one out if you don’t know everyone’s business.’

‘That’s pressure we don’t need.’

‘You’ll be fine. Let’s go inside before this food gets cold,’ she said and looked over at the Hilux parked by the other side of the drive. ‘Pete’s here too?’

‘Brookes is getting him to assess the structure. Seems he wants to tear down more walls.’

‘Oh dear.’