Kirsty's Vineyard by Anna Jacobs

Author:Anna Jacobs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2022-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The house felt strangely quiet after Marlene had left. Even the phone didn’t ring. Kirsty kept busy but the silence seemed to echo around her and when it started to rain, just a gentle sprinkling of moisture, she went to stand by the window and watch it. It didn’t feel at all cold, though.

She hadn’t seen a drop of rain since her arrival, but Penny said it would start raining regularly soon, as they got most of their rainfall in the winter half of the year. Before then, they’d bring in the grapes.

The first raindrops were fat and sparse, plopping down on the silver-grey wood of the veranda and drying before the surface was completely dampened. Gradually the wood became wet, however, and it rained enough to darken the soil and drip off the trees. She’d never welcomed rain before, but here it felt good, made the air seem fresher.

By nine o’clock she was tired and since there was nothing she wanted to watch on the television, she decided to have an early night.

The old nervousness she’d felt when she first arrived seemed to have resurfaced and for all her tiredness, she had trouble falling asleep.

A couple of hours later she woke suddenly, staring into the darkness. Had there been a sound, or had she been dreaming?

Just as she was about to snuggle down in bed again, she heard something. Definitely not a natural sound. Senses alert, pulse racing, she sat up again.

It sounded like … No. It must be an animal of some sort. Only, there weren’t any large animals here, except for kangaroos, and they didn’t shuffle.

Her heart was pounding and she clapped one hand to her mouth to hold back a scream. She’d never felt so alone in her whole life.

The footsteps came closer and closer, and she saw a shadow pass her window. It was a man’s shadow, not her imagination.

What was she going to do?

She waited, nerves taut. The footsteps went past, moving away slowly, then came back. The shadow passed again, but this time it stopped and someone called, ‘Kirsty! Where are you?’

She didn’t answer, couldn’t have formed a word for sheer terror. Was this man going to break in? How would she defend herself?

He laughed a second time and called in a throaty voice, ‘Get back to where you belong, Kirsty Miller.’

The footsteps went slowly away again.

She waited … and waited. But there were no more sounds.

In the end she gave herself a talking-to. You can’t stay here. You have to check the house. It’s a moonlit night so you’ll be able to see if there’s anyone still around if you don’t switch on any lights inside.

Shivering, she slid out of bed. All she could find to defend herself with was a high-heeled shoe. She went barefoot, making no sound as she walked.

Opening the bedroom door was an act of bravery that had her heart pounding. She opened it a crack, ready to slam it shut again, but the corridor was filled only with moonlight and slivers of shadow too small to hide a man.

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