She plunged another plate into the hot water and gave a brief wistful thought to having a dishwasher. Once again she was dreaming. They needed to spend money on the dodgy plumbing first. At least she had managed to get Dan to say once and for all that they would stay at Wood Dell. She’d get the money for the plumbing somehow.

She glanced at the clock again, mentally organising her day. Dara had offered several times in the last few months to show Paula how she made her delicious pasties but Paula hadn’t been able to face cooking in the early stages of her pregnancy. She badly wanted to learn how to make the savoury pastries, which were great lunch box fillers for Dan, who loved them.

The shearers had liked them as well. Paula had bought a variety of food from Dara to add to the cakes and biscuits Rowena had dropped in and the food Heather had provided, but if Dan was going to spring shearers on her from time to time, Paula knew she had to improve her own cooking skills.

Even more exciting, this afternoon she was going to collect the pup she had picked out from the Browns. She had a few nervous butterflies in her stomach when she thought about it. She hoped Dan would like a new dog. She’d gone ahead and arranged it without his knowledge. Tomorrow was his birthday and she wanted him to have the pup on the day. She still wasn’t quite sure how she was going to hide it till tomorrow morning but she’d think of something.

Paula parked in Dara’s yard. She was just about to knock on the back door when it burst open.

“Hello, Paula,” Chris mumbled through the piece of toast clenched between his teeth. He jammed his hat on his head and snatched the toast from his mouth. “It’s been a busy morning. We had extra guests last night. I’ve got to get out to the farm. Dara will be glad of your help.”

“Always happy to help.” She smiled as he dashed past her, piled into his ute and drove off.

His family owned a farm on the edge of town. When Paula had first moved to the district, he and Dara had been thinking of selling up this old bank that they lived in and moving on to find work somewhere else. Chris didn’t have a passion for farming and his father and brother ran the farm. They only needed him at the busy times. Like Dara, he was a good cook and enjoyed company. Paula had devised a business plan for them and she got some pleasure from the knowledge that it was working well. With the income from his farm work and now the cafe, shop and B & B, Chris and Dara were making a comfortable living.