Free Trouble in Nirvana by Elisabeth Rose

couple of years later, they’d invited her to their wedding. Nirupam’s doing, she suspected. Danny wouldn’t have bothered. Again she was struck by the love. It hovered in the air between them as a tangible force. Inseparable then and inseparable now. Lucky people. Lucky child.
    She’d felt out of place and uncomfortable despite the friendliness of the celebrating guests and the welcoming hugs from the bride and groom. She’d hung back and watched her brother marry the girl he would always love. Watched and remembered this happy, besotted man as a meek, quiet child cowering in fear of their father as he raised his fist. Watched with tears in her eyes and was glad he’d survived, glad he’d found this girl, the love of his life.
    Nirupam broke into the reverie. “Tom hardly ever comes over but he’s been here twice since you arrived.” She kept her eyes focussed on the earring in her hands. Her expression gave no hint of any extra meaning behind her comment. She winced and placed her palm against her belly. “Kicking.” A tiny smile lurked.
    “I’m so envious.” Primrose quickly put her own hand on the bulge. A firm lump moved vigorously under her fingers and disappeared. “I’d love to have a baby.”
    “You will, one day.” The pale blue eyes regarded her for a moment. “You should ask Fern to do your cards.”
    “Maybe.” Did it make any difference knowing what was going to happen? Or thinking you knew. If the cards told her she would meet her soul mate within the year would she be more likely to recognise him as such when he appeared? Doubtful. Unless the cards gave her a name, time, and date she’d wouldn’t trust her judgement of men any more than she could at the moment. Primrose sat back. “I think Tom was checking on my painting.”
    “He’s nice.” The casual remark was like a slap in the face, snapping her out of the maudlin haze of self pity. He’d done nothing wrong. All the mess was in her own head. She was an overflowing toxic waste dump and he’d copped the spillage.
    “Yes, he is nice.” And nice looking. But she mustn’t let a slow-burning lopsided smile and a sexy work-hardened body distract her. “Why is Danny selling land to him?”
    The worried look flitted across her face. “We need the money. I’m sorry he didn’t ask you but, well...”
    Primrose smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine. Danny’s right. I never had anything to do with this place. But aren’t you self sufficient here? I thought the idea was to grow your own food.”
    Nirupam put one earring down and picked up another. “Yes, it was. But it’s very difficult. The drought hasn’t helped. Birds eat the fruit and we can’t afford netting. Plus we need money for rates and electricity, and we don’t always earn enough. For a while it was all right because we still had some of the inheritance money to draw on but it’s all gone now.”
    “Do the people who stay here contribute?”
    “Not all of them. It’s harder to get the dole nowadays. Danny lets everyone come regardless.”
    “You mean you’re always supporting a whole lot of useless people?”
    Nirupam nodded. “I agreed with him at first. The idea was everyone would work on the land and contribute in kind. Give what they could. But now there’s the baby. And everything’s getting more expensive. I’d like to have a home for just us.”
    “Of course you would! Is Danny getting the best possible price for the land?”
    “I suppose so. It’s Danny’s business.”
    “Have you discussed asking everyone to leave?”
    Nirupam shook her head. “It goes against everything Danny wanted to do.” She looked Primrose in the eye. “I think he’s always been trying to build a substitute family for the one you never had.”
    “Ours wasn’t very good.” There was no denying that as families went theirs was pretty woeful. A drunken abusive father, a weak-willed mother keeping the horrors at bay with prayer and Valium. Primrose bit her lip.