“We do fine without all those tourists swarming over the place,” he muttered.

“It’s very peaceful here.” Keely sucked in another breath of the fresh morning air. All around her, young leaves reflected the light in brilliant greens fluttering above the subdued browns of their trunks.

“It is at the moment. I like this time of year. Lucy used to say the vines were holding their breath, preparing themselves for the birth of their grapes.” He smiled. “She was the creative one. You’ll see pieces of her work around the house.”

“The wall hanging in the bedroom?”

“Yes, ‘Margaret River Magic’ she called it. It won several awards and she had many offers from people wanting to buy it but she always said she’d made it for us.” His voice softened. “I’m glad we kept it.”

“It’s an amazing creation. She had a lot of talent.”

“Yes…” A distant buzzing sound took his attention.

Keely followed his gaze to someone sitting on a machine moving between the rows down near the river.

“Looks like Flynn has shattered our peace.”

“What is he doing?”

“Slashing the mid-rows. The weeds love the sunshine just like the vines.” He sighed. “No time for peaceful pauses when Flynn’s around. He’s always doing something.”

The group of birds she’d seen outside her window on the first morning rushed up the space between the vines beside them.

“What are they?” Keely asked.

“Guinea fowl. We have them to keep the garden weevils out of the vines but they spend most of their time in the house garden. Here they are actually among the vines and he’s probably scared them off for a week.”

Keely watched the last of the perfectly groomed birds bolt back towards the house.

“I’d better get back to it,” Euan said. “Will you be okay by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine, thanks for showing me around.” Although not ready to run a marathon, she was feeling much better. She wasn’t going to spend the day lying around. The trackpants were beginning to get grotty, there was the bag of things she’d brought from the hospital and she was running low on underwear. “Would it be okay to use your laundry? I need to do some washing.”

“Of course. You have the run of the place. Make yourself at home. I’ll be back later in the day.”

* * *

“Thanks for holding the fort, Hugh.” Euan shook the hand of his long-time friend. Like Euan’s, Hugh’s face had weathered since they’d first met. He’d joined Levallier Dell back in the days when Flynn was young and the expanding business had become too much for Euan and Lucy to manage alone. His knowledge of local conditions and his vine management skills had made him an invaluable part of Levallier Dell.