Love on the Sweeping Plains

1

Tori Christensen banged on the glass sliding door. It rattled under the pressure, but no one came.

The dazzling morning sun beat down upon her back and moisture gathered in the dip between her breasts. Her reflection glared back at her and she knocked again, pausing before shading her eyes and squinting to see through the pane.

‘Hello!’ she shouted.

Nothing. Not a shadow, nor a murmur from inside. Glancing around, she registered the sign above the door that read Cedar Creek Plains Vet Surgery in faded red ink. Surely they were open.

She glanced at her wristwatch. Shit. Maybe not. It seemed later but it wasn’t yet eight o’clock. They’d been driving for hours.

The two tiny animals she cupped in her other hand didn’t make a sound. She shook them, hoping for a miracle. When had they stopped squeaking? Hiccupped sobs rose from the little girl beside her who gripped her skirt.

Tori thumped on the glass harder until the crunch of boots on loose gravel behind her caused her to swirl around, her heart hammering hard in her chest.

A tall, lanky man carrying a bulky camera on his shoulder raced towards her across the carpark, fumbling over his undone shoelaces. If he didn’t fall over his own feet, the size of the camera would topple him at any moment.

Tori released a breath. It wasn’t Todd. Of course it wasn’t. Thank goodness. She was being ridiculous peering over her shoulder like a nervous ninny.

But who was this guy carrying a movie camera? And where was his pet?

As he reached her the man manoeuvred the camera off his shoulder, fiddling with a couple of buttons before positioning the equipment back in place. He loomed the lens so close to her face she veered backwards.

‘Who are you?’ And, just in case, she asked, ‘Did Todd send you?’

Mirabelle howled louder and tugged on her skirt.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a shadow move inside so Tori knocked again, rapping until her knuckles hurt.

The glass panel slid open. Phew. She jostled on her feet, ready to race inside but the figure stepped forward into the daylight and she stopped.

Zac.

It took a moment for her brain to catch up. Zachary Coleman. Her mouth opened and shut, her eyes blinking a few times too many.

He was still here. The quintessential country boy and lad next door. Her first kiss.

Embarrassment and shame washed over her as if it was yesterday. Heat crawled up her neck and she flushed.

Of course, Zac was the town vet. That was all he’d ever wanted.

And now he here was in front of her. And she needed a vet.

How strange she’d ended up here first. She’d never contemplated making a mad dash to the surgery before arriving in town. Damn pets. How was she to know they might croak it on the trip?

Neither had she thought coming home would erase all memories of the past, had she? No, but she hadn’t expected them to be thrown up in her face so fast. Welcome home, Tori.

‘Victoria?’ He’d always called her by her full name. Always so polite. And she loved the way it rolled off his tongue.

Zac’s brow creased in confusion.

He hadn’t changed. Same blonde tousled locks that he wore too long and maybe a few more lines around his eyes and across his forehead. But he still resembled the boy she remembered. Focusing on his face, she saw his lips move. Those lips transported her back in time and she remembered the feel of them against hers and how much she’d enjoyed it.

Oh God, a thrill raced straight through her.

‘Is this the first contestant? I was told they weren’t arriving until this afternoon…’ came a muffled voice from behind the lens.

‘What?’ Zac turned his attention to behind her and lifted one hand to place in front of the camera, preventing it capturing the unfolding scene. ‘No,’ he said.

Undeterred, the cameraman shifted position to avoid Zac’s hand and kept shooting.

‘What are you doing here?’ Zac asked her.

A good question. It brought her back to earth.

The guinea pigs!

‘Can you save them?’ Tori held up the duo of what she hoped were not lifeless furry bodies.

‘Oh, you have a sick animal. Of course, come on in.’

Why else would she rock up to the vet surgery at this hour?

Zac ushered them inside towards a consulting room. Mirabelle was sniffling but trailed behind, followed by the camera guy.

Zac slammed the clinic door shut and blocked him out. ‘Man, that’s not the deal…’ the cameraman yelled.

He took the two creatures from Tori. They were tiny in his large hands and he placed them on the examination table with care. Mirabelle moved in closer beside him and peered up with those large round almond eyes of hers. Wet trails made their way down her dirty cheeks and she stifled a further sob before rising on her tiptoes. She was so small she couldn’t see over the table. Zac paused, watched her and then dragged over a chair and lifted her up.

‘Are these your pets?’

The little girl in her fairy outfit nodded. ‘Are they sick?’

‘I don’t know. Let’s have a look.’

The door opened a tiny crack and the camera lens snuck in; the man’s legs visible underneath.

‘Get out!’ Zac yelled and Tori jumped.

‘Who is that guy?’ she asked.

Bent over, he glanced up through his long floppy fringe. The gaze that seared into her asked a thousand questions. Tori balanced from foot to foot, uncomfortable with his scrutiny.

‘It’s a long story,’ he answered and went back to work.

‘I think,’ and this time he addressed Mirabelle, ‘these guys went a little too long without water. So, I’m going to give them a big drink.’

‘Oh, thank goodness. They’re going to be okay, aren’t they, Zac?’

Mirabelle inched closer and leaned her elbows on the table to watch his every move. Tori did too and propped herself against the hard bench.

Once the guinea pigs were hooked up to some fluid, he said, ‘I think they’ll be okay. They’ll need to stay here for a few hours for observation. Are you in town long?’ This question was for her. He rose up tall and waited.

‘Um, yes, maybe. I’m staying at Nanna’s, of course. I’m so grateful. Thank you, Zac. We’d all be very unhappy if these little critters hadn’t made the journey with us.’ She stroked the curly, dark hair of her daughter as she spoke, avoiding Zac’s eye. ‘When should I come back and collect them?’

Tori tried to focus on the detail of what Zac was saying. Instead, she became intensely aware of every detail around them. Where Zac put his hands. His Adam’s apple as it bobbed when he spoke. How he scratched the itch on his back. The clean medical smell of the surgery. It’s too bright whiteness. The sterile instruments lined up on the side table in the room and the timbre of his voice. And suddenly the room was suffocating her. This town had that effect. She hadn’t been back for five minutes and already it was getting to her. Already she was morphing back into the young woman she once was. The young innocent girl that had once lived in this town.

And fled.

Zac chatted to Mirabelle allowing Tori to get lost in her daydream. Every now and then he furtively glanced up as if checking she was still there. Fair enough, she deserved that. In the middle of a sentence, Mirabelle turned to her. ‘Mummy, can we take Puddles?’

‘Mummy?’ the words slid off his tongue. She jerked her head up and held her chin too high. Defensive perhaps?

Yes. Circumstances had changed and so had she.

‘Yep. This little rascal is Mirabelle, my daughter,’ and she clasped the girl’s hand.

Time for them to go. She needed to let her erratic heart calm the hell down and pull herself together. She tugged her daughter towards the door. ‘We can’t thank you enough…’

Zac strode ahead and reached for the door handle. For a crazy moment she thought he was preventing their exit. Did he want her to stay? Ridiculous. He turned the knob and moved aside to let them go first.

The doorframe wasn’t large and Tori’s hips brushed against his hand. A rush of warmth spread to her erogenous zones. She glanced up, fearing he could tell. Zac continued to watch her. Did he hold his breath?

Before the door had fully opened, the guy jumped up from the plastic waiting-room chair, camera in position, the red light on top flashing.

Her eyes on him, Zac shrugged. ‘It’s a reality TV show.’

2

Tori parked her car off to the side of the long drive to her nan’s B & B. She let the dust settle and focused ahead, on the house. Tears pricked her eyes and a funny excited flutter went crazy in her tummy.

She hadn’t been home for years. So many, she’d lost count. Long before Mirabelle, four years old, had been born anyway.

The place appeared the same; worn, but welcoming. Her nan’s house was rusty red and it contrasted against a vibrant