Wild Flower (7 page)

‘That’s terrible.’ Dewei’s smile had become a frown as he listened. ‘How can I help? You know I’ll do anything I can.’

‘That’s why I’m here.’

Wade gripped her hand tighter as she sought more breath. But before she could form a sentence, Dewei spoke.

‘If it’s money, Mei-Hua, you don’t even need to ask.’

At Dewei’s words, Dianella’s dark eyes brimmed.

‘So you’ll help?’

‘Of course,’ Dewei assured her. ‘Family first, Mei-Hua.’

Dianella exhaled with relief. Inside Wade’s grip on her fingers unfurled.

‘Then Borrie’s home will be safe. She won’t be able to get a bank loan, so I knew I’d have to find the money to keep the nursery going.’

Dewey nodded approvingly. ‘Borrowing from family is the Chinese way.’

‘I’ll repay every cent,’ she promised.

Dewei frowned again. ‘There’s something I don’t understand. Why is your mum able to sell the nursery without your consent?’

Dianella gave a rueful laugh. ‘No one can stop my mum doing anything she wants to do.’

‘That’s not what I mean.’ Dewei drummed his fingertips on the table. ‘The nursery purchase went through about the time our father died, right?’

Dianella nodded. ‘Mum had a generous divorce settlement, but when we went back to Australia that got used up fast. She bought the nursery later, with the money from our father’s estate.’

Dewei snapped his fingers. ‘Then I’m correct.’

‘Correct about what?’

‘Our father didn’t leave any money in his will directly to your mother,’ Dewei told her. ‘He left it to her in trust.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Dianella gasped.

‘I do,’ Wade said grimly. ‘Go Native Wildflower Nursery belongs to you.’

Chapter 6

Many tricks have been discovered since …
About Orchids: A Chat—Frederick Boyle, 1893

‘Go Native Wildflower Nursery belongs to you.’

Wade’s words had rung in Dianella’s head all the way home to Albany. She’d barely noticed their night flight from Singapore to Perth, and then the shorter one from Perth to Albany.

Wade had sat solid and reassuring in the plane seat next to her. They’d come back business class, she’d been too shocked to argue when he’d upgraded them. He seemed a lot more comfortable too; his long legs sprawled out as he slept.

But even as he slept he’d held her hand.

Before they left Singapore Dewei had confirmed the arrangements in their father’s will. Dianella had always assumed he’d left everything to Dewei following the tradition of leaving an intact estate to his son. Her Singaporean dad had been old-fashioned in that way, conservative. That hadn’t been the case at all. Her father had provided for her generously, but he’d left control of the money in her mother’s hands.

‘Do you want me to come in with you?’ Wade squeezed her shoulders. They stood outside the hotel with a harbour view in Albany where Diana was staying. In the most expensive room, no doubt, in spite of pleading poor.

Dianella’s stomach lurched. ‘Thanks, Wade, but this is something I need to do myself.’

‘Okay, I understand.’

When Dianella knocked on the door of her mother’s hotel room it flung wide.

‘Where have you been?’ Diana demanded, tying a sarong around her bikini. She appeared to have been sunning herself on the patio outside. The sliding door was open. ‘You’ve been gone all weekend. I’ve been to Go Native but I couldn’t find you, and Borrie’s giving me the silent treatment.’

Dianella took a deep breath. Did her mother really think she could make ruthless demands and no one got hurt? ‘Borrie’s pretty upset with you, Mum. And so am I.’

‘It’s not my fault!’ Diana pushed back her blonde hair. Her gold and turquoise bracelets jangled. ‘I’ve told you that already. Gary and I need the money from the sale of Go Native urgently.’

Dianella planted her feet. Nerves squirmed in her stomach like worms in a garden bed. ‘Well, you’re not going to get it.’

‘Dianella!’

‘I’m not going to let you do this, Mum! You’re not selling Borrie’s home!’ Dianella’s voice shook but she steadied it. She had to be strong. For Borrie, crying while she watered the garden. And for herself. ‘The other day at the nursery you said I never complained. It’s true, I never did. I never complained when you took me away from Singapore, the only home I’d ever known. I never complained when you left me here in Albany to go off with Gary. I never complained when I was an inconvenience and you didn’t want me around. I never complained when you forgot my birthday, and missed school concerts, and didn’t know who my friends were. I never complained because I had Borrie.’

From deep within her Dianella dragged up a breath. ‘I’ve found out the truth, Mum. Go Native belongs to me.’

Her mother clutched the sarong to her chest.

‘Go Native is mine. The money you used to buy the property was left to me in Dad’s will.’

‘You were a child,’ Diana said swiftly. ‘It was up to me to invest that money.’

‘Invest it, yes. And you made a good investment. Go Native has done well, thanks to Borrie. But it isn’t yours to keep.’

Suddenly Dianella seemed to grow two metres tall.

‘You’re not going to sell Go Native Wildflower Nursery. I won’t let you.’

Diana staggered as if she’d been struck and sank onto the double bed. ‘How did you find out?’

‘I’ve been to Singapore.’ It had been quite a trip, in more ways than one.

‘Your Chinese family told you about the will.’ Her mother’s body sagged. ‘I guess I knew you’d find out sometime. I should have told you myself.’

‘Yes, you should have told me.’ It was a huge injustice to try to hide.

‘I always meant to tell you, but things got a bit desperate for me.’ Diana released a sigh. ‘I’m sure Gary is having an affair.’

‘What? He’s cheating on you?’

‘All the signs are there. The late night phone calls, the texts, the emails. Extra travel. I’m pretty sure.’

‘Oh, Mum. I’m so sorry.’ Dianella sat down on the bed and propped her arm around her mother’s shoulders. Inhaled her Chanel Number 5. No matter what had happened between them, she hated seeing her mother so unhappy.

‘That’s why I wanted to come up with the money to save Gary’s business.’ Her mother gave a crooked smile. ‘Insurance, I guess.’

Dianella’s heart squeezed. She’d never sell Go Native Wildflower Nursery. It meant too much to her and Borrie. ‘Maybe there’s still some way I can help.’

‘That’s sweet of you.’ Diana rubbed the corner of her eye, leaving a smudge of black liner. Suddenly she appeared older, more lined. Less perfect. ‘I probably need to face facts and handle my problems by myself. I’m sure that’s what Borrie would say.’

Shifting on the bed, she turned to face Dianella and took both her hands between her ringed ones. ‘About leaving you here in Albany. I assumed you’d be happier with your grandmother, that she’d raise you better than I could. I know I haven’t been much of a mother to you.’

‘A mother is a mother.’ Dianella’s voice shook again. This time she didn’t try to hide it, or the tears that brimmed her eyes. ‘There were lots of times I needed you. I wanted my mum, no matter how hard Borrie tried.’

‘I thought you loved living here. You and Borrie seemed to have so much in common. Gardening, wild flowers.’

‘Don’t get me wrong.’ Dianella wiped her eyes. ‘I love Albany. I love Borrie. And I love wild flowers. Especially orchids. But I still missed you.’

Closer than she ever had before, her mum hugged her. Beneath the Chanel No 5 Dianella could smell a comforting, half-forgotten scent of her mother’s sun-warmed skin.

‘Oh, Dianella, I’m sorry. I’ve made so many mistakes. I never wanted to stay in a small town. I wanted something more exotic. I travelled all over the world, but I missed what grew in my own backyard.’

Dianella blinked back more tears. They seemed to come from a hose that wouldn’t turn off. ‘Bloom where you’re planted, that’s what Borrie says.’

Diana sighed. ‘Putting down roots is important in a family. Borrie always knew that. I left it all to her, and now I envy her, in a way. I can’t ever make it up to you. But there’s something I can do.’

She stood and crossed to the coffee table. From her handbag she retrieved a yellow envelope and handed it to Dianella.

‘What’s this?’

‘It’s the deeds to Go Native Wildflower Nursery. The house and the land. It’s in my name at the moment, but I’ll have that changed, to yours. Gary and I will get through this rough patch with our cash flow problems. We can tighten our belts.’ Bangles clanked as Diana patted her flat stomach. ‘Good for the waistline.’

Dianella clutched the envelope. She’d expected a tantrum, threats, a fight, even a court case.

‘Thanks, Mum,’ she managed to whisper through the choke in her throat. ‘I got so angry when you came to the nursery and told us you needed to sell. I guess it must have been hard for you to do that. I’m sorry I lost my temper. How I spoke to you that day was out of line.’

‘A lot of emotions have been bottled up for a long time. You inherited a temper from your grandmother and me after all. ‘Her mum’s eyes crinkled at the corners, like Borrie’s, then turned serious. ‘I always loved you, Dianella, in spite of all the mistakes. I want you to know that.’

Dianella threw aside the envelope and hugged her again. This time she let the tears flow. ‘I love you too, Mum.’

***

Wade pulled out his sunglasses. The Australian sun seemed brighter than it had before they’d gone to Singapore. Everything seemed brighter. He’d come to the rainbow coast and found a pot of gold.

Finally. The decision had been made. He could hardly wait to tell Dianella. In the US it had been the middle of the night and there’d been a whole lot of celebrating going on, but he hadn’t been sorry to miss it. He wanted to be right where he was, with Dianella Lee.

Yep.

Serious. Very serious.

He clicked off his mobile phone as a small figure in a pale blue mini dress and silver high-top sneakers came out of the hotel.

First things first. He had to hear how the conversation had gone with her mum. He grinned. There was that big protective bear in him. Dianella Lee brought it out, even though he knew she fought her own battles. He’d witnessed it the first time he’d met her, when she’d defended a tiny orchid.

Anxiously he scanned her face as she came closer. He couldn’t see her eyes behind her sunglasses, though he suspected she’d been crying from the pinkness of her nose and lips. He fought down the urge to kiss her better.

‘You didn’t have to wait for me.’ She tilted her head as she gazed up at him. ‘I didn’t expect it.’

‘I wanted to.’ His news would keep. ‘How did it go?’

Dianella held up a yellow envelope. ‘The deeds to Go Native Wildflower Nursery. My mum gave them to me.’

‘You’re kidding! Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.’

‘It was easier than I thought to stand up for myself. And for Borrie too.’ She pushed up her sunglasses and grinned. She’d definitely been crying, but her smile shone as bright as a rainbow through a downpour. ‘My mum and I are going to talk later to go through the details but I wanted to come and tell you, straight away. I feel two metres tall.’

Proud of her, Wade chuckled. It was never easy to confront a parent, even when you were an adult. Gazing at her, a huge burden had been lifted from those fairy wings.

‘Two metres tall makes you taller than me,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry to inform you that you haven’t become a giant. On the outside, anyway. Maybe on the inside.’

She giggled. ‘When you’ve developed the right computer software you can make me a hologram that’s bigger rather than smaller.’

‘No way. I prefer you fairy sized.’ He cleared his husky throat as the image of her small framed body silhouetted against the hotel bedroom window with the laser light shows going off behind it flashed into his mind. He’d always associate her with fireworks now. And orchids, of course. He held out his hand. ‘Funny you mention holograms. There’s something I want to tell you.’

After tucking the envelope carefully in her bag she slipped her tiny palm in his larger one. He squeezed it tight.

‘What’s happened?’ she asked, her voice full of excitement. She’d clearly sensed his. He liked that.

‘Let’s walk down to the harbour,’ he suggested, enjoying making it last. ‘We can leave the SUV here. I could do with a cup of coffee.’ It was still only late morning and he needed a muffin or some pancakes too. His stomach rumbled. Dianella always made him hungry, with the wafts of vanilla that floated around her.

Beside him she was practically dancing up and down as they headed towards the harbour and the old town jetty. Her silver high tops sparkled in the sun. ‘No way! Don’t keep me in suspense, Wade. It’s about your big business decision, isn’t it? Tell me what’s going on!’

‘I answered an important phone call. I wanted to tell you straight away.’ He took a deep breath. ‘You know that quotation over the till at Go Native, by the poet William Blake?’

‘Of course I do.
To see a World in a Grain of Sand, and a Heaven in a Wild Flower, hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, and Eternity in an hour,’
she chanted. ‘It’s Borrie’s favourite.’

‘Mine too.’ He grinned. ‘While I was working on the digital 3D compression software I kept coming across that quote on the internet. It became a kind of mantra. I’ve got the go-ahead for the camera software. I’m going to call it The Infinity.’

‘The Infinity,’ she repeated slowly. ‘You can hold it in the palm of your hand. It’s perfect!’

‘Perfect is the right word. The deal couldn’t be better. We’re going to be bought out but we’ve managed to negotiate creative control over the development of software.’

‘That’s exactly what you wanted!’

‘Yep. Things will happen fast. I’ll head back to California right away.’

In front of an old brig ship, Dianella had stopped walking, her silky black hair a halo around her head in the ocean breeze.

Her hand slid from his. ‘You’re leaving Australia?’

Wade’s brain buzzed. He turned to face her. There wasn’t much time to spare. ‘I want to set you up with a good laptop before I go. Let’s skip coffee and the harbour for now. Where’s the nearest computer shop? You only use that desktop in Borrie’s house, don’t you?’ It had looked as if it came out of the ark but he hadn’t wanted to criticise.