‘I do. It’s the only reason . . .’ She trailed off and lifted her head. ‘I suppose I shall have to see to his funeral. There’s no one else – some uncle somewhere but we never met. His mother’s dead. She and his father split years ago and I’ve no idea where he is.’ Then, as if the thought had triggered the reminder, ‘And there’ll have to be an inquest into his death. I expect I’ll have to go to that too, as well as Matt’s trial. I’ll be a witness, won’t I?’

‘I expect so.’ He took her hands in his, exclaiming, ‘You’re freezing! Let’s go in. Think, love. We’ve got a fortnight in which to sort out all the stuff like that, and after that, a whole lifetime to order the rest of it – where we’ll live, how we’ll make our jobs work, what we’ll call our kids . . .’

Tilly stopped him there, standing one step higher so that her gaze was level with his, letting her eyes learn the lineaments of his beloved face.

‘Do you swear that, Connor Doyle?’ she demanded.

‘By the stars above, you suspicious wench, multiplied by all the galaxies you can’t see.’ He put his hand on his heart. ‘My troth to you, my love. Now, come on.’ He kissed her again and caught her hand, pulling her on up to the verandah. ‘Dinner.’

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all the staff of Penguin Random House for their part in the production of this work. In particular, publisher Ali Watts, my superb editor Amanda Martin and the truly attentive proofreaders who sieve out all the inconsistencies and mistakes.

Great work, girls, and thank you.

About the Author

Kerry McGinnis was born in Adelaide and at the age of twelve took up a life of droving with her father and four siblings. The family travelled extensively across the Northern Territory and Queensland before settling on a station in the Gulf Country. Kerry has worked as a shepherd, droving hand, gardener and stock-camp and station cook on the family property Bowthorn, north-west of Mount Isa. She is the author of two volumes of memoir, Pieces of Blue and Heart Country, and the bestselling novels The Waddi Tree, Wildhorse Creek, Mallee Sky, Tracking North, Out of Alice, Secrets of the Springs, The Heartwood Hotel and The Roadhouse. Kerry now lives in Bundaberg.

Also by the author

Pieces of Blue

Heart Country

The Waddi Tree

Wildhorse Creek

Mallee Sky

Tracking North

Out of Alice

Secrets of the Springs

The Heartwood Hotel

The Roadhouse

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