Dan cursed under his breath as he hit his hand against the doorframe.

“Are you sure you should be doing that with your broken finger?” Rowena peered from the lounge.

Dan and Austin were manoeuvring the large dining-room table out to the shed. It had belonged to Dan’s grandparents and weighed a ton. “It’s okay,” he said. Rowena had already asked him the same thing several times. In fact, his hand was throbbing. He’d been fencing all morning and now he’d stirred up the pain again by shifting the table.

“I could phone Tom or Bruce to come and help,” Rowena said.

“We don’t need help. We’re nearly out the door now.”

“We’ll have to go back. It won’t fit this way,” Austin said.

Dan gritted his teeth, partly from the throbbing in his hand and partly from irritation. Austin’s tone was commanding, which, amazingly, might work on Rowena but Dan took offence to it. The older man was capable of carrying the table but not very astute at thinking through the actions needed to take it through the hall and out the front door.

“Put it down for a moment.” Dan bit back the swear words that had nearly slipped out as his hand jarred with the force and sucked in a breath instead.

“It’s too wide,” Austin said.

“We’ll have to tilt it slightly but it will fit.” Dan bent to grip the table again.

They finally moved it to the shed with only minor murmurings from Rowena as they knocked over a newly potted plant on the front verandah.

Dan drove with them to the church. The air in the little building had heated up over the week and the two pedestal fans and the one in the ceiling weren’t having much effect. They rehearsed the ceremony quickly and Dan hoped tomorrow’s service wouldn’t take too long or half the guests would melt in their seats.

Austin was having a final conversation with the minister when Rowena grabbed Dan by the arm.

“Do you think Austin could stay the night at your place?”

“Why?”

Rowena fanned her face with the papers she clutched in her hand. “Call me old-fashioned but he can’t stay with me on the night before the wedding.”

Dan would have found that funny if he hadn’t been concerned about Paula’s reaction. “We’ve just said goodbye to a pile of visitors and I don’t think Paula’s up to it.”

“Austin won’t be any trouble and there’s not really anywhere else close. I suppose he could stay at Dara’s.”

Dan was torn. He didn’t feel up to making polite conversation with Austin while he and Paula were barely speaking.

Austin was shaking the minister’s hand.

“It’s only one night but…if you can’t manage it.”

“No,” Dan said. “He can stay. It shouldn’t be a problem.”