Now Keely forced herself to look up as Euan turned away from the door. She went to speak but he cut her off.

“You use the phone here to ring your parents. I’ll be back in a minute.” He crossed the room and went through the door that led to the rest of the house, shutting it firmly behind him.

Keely sat staring at the phone on the wall. She wasn’t looking forward to making the call. Perhaps her father would answer. He was much easier to explain things to than her mother.

Ten minutes later Euan returned and Keely was still sitting on the couch.

“Couldn’t you contact them?” he asked.

“Yes, I got through.” She kept her head lowered, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes. Her mother had fired frantic questions at her and protested at Keely’s lack of concern for them in not ringing. They were all so worried about her, she’d said. Keely had barely had a chance to get a word in until her mother had suggested she wanted to jump on the next plane. Then Keely had protested, reiterating that she was safe, and made an excuse she was due to take her pain relief.

“Mum’s going to ring me back tonight. I hope you don’t mind. I’ve given her your number so I’ll be staying one more night.”

Euan stopped in front of her. “I thought you’d stay for several days…in fact, as long as you like.”

The tears rolled down Keely’s cheeks and she bit her lip, annoyed at her weakness.

“You poor thing.” He sat on the couch beside her. “You’ve had a rough time. You probably need your mother right now.”

His kindness only made Keely feel worse. A loud sob escaped from her lips.

Euan put his arm around her and hugged her tight. “I’m not very good at being a mother but you’re most welcome here.” He patted her arm. “If you can put up with a strange old boy like me,” he said.

Keely looked up at his wrinkly smile and forced a smile onto her own face.

“Thanks, Euan,” she said. “You’ve already been a big help.”

Over his shoulder, she was surprised to see Flynn watching them through the glass. She went to speak but he walked away.

Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

“These vines are our backbone. We’ve had some excellent results from all our varieties but these are our chardonnay grapes, from which we produce our finest wine.”