‘It’s wicked.’ Setting the jar carefully aside, Tilly stooped to pull bok choy and lettuce from the soil. ‘You want some radishes too? I’ll just rinse these off and find a bag. Can you stay for a cuppa?’

‘Anytime.’ He followed her housewards. ‘So, how’s the campaign for Sandstone Springs going?’

She grinned. ‘Deviously. I’m wooing his stomach, Sophie his brain, and Luke’s out with him now hopefully finding plenty of birds. Turns out he’s a twitcher too, which is a stroke of luck. The idea is to make him love the place so much he’ll want to go to bat for us.’

Connor gave such a shout of laughter that it brought Matt out of the shed. Tilly grimaced to herself and reluctantly waved, calling, ‘Cup of tea, Matt? I’m just putting the kettle on.’

Chapter Twenty-two

Binboona had lived up to Sophie’s hopes, providing a smorgasboard of birds for Graeme’s viewing. Most of the dinner talk concerned birds, and Graeme willingly agreed to deliver the black cocky chicks to a suitable home, providing the mail plane would accept them as freight. After the meal he and Sophie retired for a private word in the office, leaving the others in the kitchen.

Luke, once again wiping up, said, ‘He’s a good bloke. Think he’ll go for it?’

‘Fingers crossed.’ Tilly swiped suds from the splashback. ‘There were a pair of Gouldians on the basin again this morning. Did he say?’

‘Yep. They were the icing on the cake, because we saw just about everything else today from fairy wrens to jabirus.’

Matt, at the table behind them, looked up from his chessboard and snorted. ‘Birds! You think he’s gonna spend a million bucks on the place because of birds?’

‘Having them can’t hurt,’ Tilly said lightly. ‘Luke, when is Jane coming?’

‘The boss is okay with it?’

‘Of course. I’m hoping that I can get Mum up for a visit after Jane’s gone, but it’ll take a while to organise things her end.’ Sophie wouldn’t object, and the more Tilly thought about it, the more she realised that she wanted it to happen. ‘So if Jane’s visit is close, I might write tonight.’ She wouldn’t phone – Elaine would say no automatically and then not budge on the decision – but if Tilly laid it all out and let her think about it, she might agree.

‘I’ll ring her later and let you know,’ he promised, polishing a pot. ‘She only had one more exam to go last time we spoke. That was a smashing dinner tonight, Tilly. Can your mum cook?’

‘She taught me.’

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’ His blue eyes were suddenly hopeful. ‘Maybe she’d cook on days when you don’t – do you think?’

She laughed. ‘You probably couldn’t stop her.’