‘Jed, it’s Nancy.’

‘Is everything okay?’ Nancy’s voice sounded . . . odd. Cold seeped into Jed’s hands, her feet, her heart. There had been a car accident. Mattie! Or maybe the hospital had called Nancy rather than tell Jed dierctly that Sam had . . . had . . .

‘Jed, darling, don’t panic. Everything is fine. It’s just . . .’

‘Just what?’ asked Jed.

‘I picked up the photos Clancy took in the hospital last week. The ones of Sam.’

‘I’d love to have one,’ said Jed quietly, sitting suddenly, her legs unwilling to keep her upright.

‘Yes, of course. I’ll get copies made.’ Nancy sounded distracted, totally unsure. Nancy who always knew about everything. ‘Jed, I don’t know how to say this . . .’

‘Say what? Nancy, what is all this?’

‘I think . . . I’m pretty sure . . . and Michael says he’s sure too . . .’

‘Sure of what?’ demanded Jed.

‘Sam’s eyes are open in one of the photos. He’s looking at you. And he’s smiling.’

Chapter 12

Pumpkin Fruitcake

This cake is rich, moist and very, very good.

125g butter, 210g brown sugar, 2 eggs, 225g mashed pumpkin, 2tsp vanilla essence, 500g sultanas, 260g SR flour

Line a large tin with two layers of baking paper. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs one by one; then pumpkin, vanilla, fruit, then the flour. The mixture should be quite moist, but if it seems too dry (which it may be if the pumpkin is dryish) then add a little cream.

Pour the mix into the tin; bake at 200°C for 1 hour, or till it’s brown on top and a skewer comes out clean.

GIBBER’S CREEK, 1979

JED

She left a note on the door for Blue and Joseph. Back soon. Help yourself. Sauce on stove, spag ready to be cooked on the table, fruit salad and ice cream in the fridge. Everything is okay. Will explain when I get back. This was desperation. Imagination. She could not let Sam’s parents even begin to hope till she had more information.

‘Stay,’ she said to Maxi. Maxi crouched, head on her paws, and whined. Jed sighed. ‘Okay, hop in. But you’re going to have to stay there for a long time.’

Maxi looked as if she understood perfectly. What else had she to do at her age but sleep in the car, she seemed to be saying, when the older woman whose smell she trusted totally had taken charge of the household puppy?

Maxi clambered in, then rested her head on her paws. And suddenly Jed was deeply glad the elderly dog was there. Maxi had been her companion all through her anguish since Sam’s accident: sleeping on the floor by her bed, or by Mattie’s. Every mealtime, when Maxi wasn’t hoping for a splattering of sodden toast from the high chair, Jed would find a furry head resting on her feet. Dogs understood. Not the details, perhaps, but the important bits: how to love and be there when those you loved needed comfort.