“I’m not sure that we’ll be going to Sydney.” Paula pulled the cup closer, concentrating hard to stop the annoying tears that threatened to overflow again.

“Why ever not? I will be in Adelaide with Austin. Dan will be finished harvest. There’s no reason for him not to take you.”

“It’s not Dan.” Paula fiddled with the handle of her cup. “The doctor says my blood pressure is up a little and he wants me to wait to book tickets until he sees me again next week.”

Rowena lowered herself into the chair across the table from Paula. “What does that mean exactly?”

“Nothing. Lachlan says he wants to check it again next week.”

“You must look after yourself, Paula. It’s a busy time of year for Dan. I hope he’s not expecting too much of you. He hasn’t called me out as much as he used to.”

“I like to keep busy and Lachlan hasn’t told me not to do anything. Evidently everything else is fine. He’s just being cautious.” Paula tried to keep her voice light. Somehow she managed to dry up the tears before they overflowed. She decided to change the subject. “Do you and Dan have wills?”

Rowena eyed her closely. “What prompted this?”

“I’m not being morbid. It’s just that I don’t have a will and now that I’m married to Dan, we both should look at it. Dara was telling me about the succession planning Chris and his family had done. Now with a baby on…”

“You should have a will, of course,” Rowena cut in. “Dan and I have ours. Dan’s will need to be changed now that he’s married but there’s no rush. I wouldn’t bother him with trivial matters at the moment. He’s very busy. Wait till harvest is finished.” Rowena jumped to her feet. “I have some extra meals in the freezer – I was going to send them home with you. Were you planning on going anywhere else? I’ll package them now. Dan needs feeding up while he’s working such long hours.”

Paula stared after Rowena in stunned silence. Damn the woman. She always made Paula feel as if she wasn’t looking after Dan properly. She loved her husband dearly but it rankled the way Rowena treated him like a little prince at times. Only minutes ago it was Paula’s health that had been in question and Dan was being accused of not looking after her. It made her head spin the way Rowena changed tack all the time. She’d spoken so fast Paula could barely keep up.

“Here you are.”

Rowena pressed a package into Paula’s hands. It was solid and Paula could feel the cold through the newspaper.