The small farm her gran lived on had proven a perfect spot for everyone to unwind from a stressful year. There wasn’t much to do in the town except visit a museum and a couple of restaurants. The cosmos and sunflowers that covered the grasslands and farms weren’t in season in autumn so they stayed put most days.
Ella helped her gran clean out the barn and some of Uncle Stan’s belongings which they took to a charity. Sunday afternoon, she lazed back on a deck chair in the back with Pauline and Andrea on their own ones while Carol had taken a hike down the road—she had to have her daily walks. The sun was surprisingly warm and she closed her eyes and drank it in like a lizard. Tomorrow, they would head on home to the rat race. Without having her weekends to relax, Ella dreaded getting back to the routine. Maybe she should have listened to Ross when he’d voiced his concern about her doing too much.
Ross. How could she face him again? But she didn’t have it in her to cut him off totally.
He hadn’t messaged her once in the last few days—probably hadn’t even noticed she’d gone away. She wasn’t going to chase after him. Couldn’t. The ache bloomed in her. How crazy that she missed him so much and it had only been two weeks since she’d seen him. When had she started to pine for his company? Had his love confession done something to her? Maybe she should contact Dirk. That would get her mind off Ross, wouldn’t it?
A faint scream pierced the air. Did she imagine it? She opened her eyes and stared at the deep blue sky, then promptly closed them again when the sun’s glare caused them to water.
“Ella.” Andrea stood above her. “I heard a scream. Where’s your gran?”
Ella sat up, her heart hammering. “Um, she went to check the tractors. The farm manager is away for a few days and she wanted to make sure…” She bolted up. “I think I should look for her.”
She reassured herself it was probably someone shouting in the distance and nothing to worry about, but she’d better check. Andrea followed her and they walked around to the barn where several of the tractors and ploughs were stored. Her gran owned a sorghum farm and was in the process of selling it off. She didn’t often do much of the work anymore at her age, but enjoyed sticking her nose in the business from time to time. Why she’d chosen a Sunday afternoon to check on the tractors, Ella couldn’t understand. They searched the barn and then Andrea pointed at a pair of shoes sticking out from behind a tractor wheel. Ella recognised her gran’s leather boots.
“Gran.” She ran toward her, expecting her unconscious or even worse. Her gran peered up at her and gave a strained smile. “I think I broke something. I can’t move.”
“Where. What’s sore?”
“My leg. My back. My arm. I don’t know.” She groaned.
Andrea called an ambulance and they knelt down by her gran to comfort her.
Within an hour, she’d been attended to in the hospital emergency room. She had a bruised coccyx and was on forced bed rest for four weeks.
“Nothing broken,” the doctor said. “But it’s a very painful injury and she needs to take care. Especially at her age.”
Carol came to take them home.
“What did you fall on, Granny?” Ella asked as they carried her onto her bed.
“There was a tractor part on the ground and I slipped and fell on top of it.”
“Well, I’m so glad you’re okay.” Ella covered her with a blanket.
“I don’t feel okay at all. And I’m spitting mad. The farm manager’s only coming back on Wednesday. Who’s going to check up on things?” Gran’s eyes still held a spark but her face betrayed deep weariness.
Ella bit her lip. “I’m staying. Carol will drive the others back but I’ll take off a couple of weeks from work. I have enough leave.”
“No, you can’t do that.”
“Why ever not?” Ella towered above her, hands on hips.
“What about The Album and your business?”
“It can wait. You’re more important.”
Her gran responded with a hand squeeze and eyes closed. She drifted off to sleep shortly after, the pain medicines having kicked in. Ella watched her eyelids flutter and the steady rise and fall of her chest, and smiled. Somehow, the thought of looking after her gran seemed much more exciting than going back to everything waiting for her at home. Maybe being away from Ross would take those confusing feelings away once and for all.