‘Hey,’ she said quietly.

Lynda didn’t turn. ‘Hi,’ she answered. ‘Just getting some morphine and more antibiotics into Will. Then he should be able to get out to the lounge.’

Zara went around to the other side of the bed and sucked in a breath. Will had deteriorated even since last night. His eyes seemed more sunken and his face was ghostly pale and beads of sweat covered his forehead. She took a sponge and wiped it gently over his face. Her beautiful brother looked like a breathing corpse. How did this happen so fast?

‘Do you want to get up, Will?’ she asked. ‘Maybe it’s better if the boys come down here?’

‘I want to get up,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure I can, though.’

‘Does it hurt too?’

He nodded. ‘Back and legs. And my head.’

Zara glanced at her mum. Head? Maybe, along with the infection, that was why he’d gone downhill so quickly. The cancer may have spread. They’d known this could happen.

‘Will, honey,’ Lynda said, squatting down to his eye level. ‘Let’s get the boys down here, yeah? You’ll be much more comfortable and then you’ll be able to enjoy their company more.’

Zara could see he wanted to argue. To get up. To not let this beat him. But he was tired and didn’t have the energy.

‘Okay,’ he whispered.

Zara went back into the kitchen. ‘Can you guys grab your chairs and go and sit with him in the bedroom? He’s not up to getting out of bed.’

‘Sure we can,’ said the one Zara thought was Ash. ‘Oh, and by the way, did you know there was a white station wagon parked next to your front gate? There were three people in it, but I didn’t recognise them.’

Zara shook her head. ‘I saw a station wagon out in the parking bay on my way out here. Thought they were tourists.’

Karl put his hand on Zara’s arm. ‘You okay? You’re sounding tired.’

‘I’m glad I came out last night. I wasn’t going to. It’s crazy! Yesterday Mum and I were pulling sheep out of a dam and now this has happened. Not even twenty-four hours later! He’s so much worse than yesterday. I guess infections do that. And, yes, I am tired.’

Karl leaned forward and gave her a hug. ‘You look like you could do with one of these.’

‘So could Mum,’ she said against his shoulder. It was nice to be hugged, even if it was just for a moment. ‘You might get a bit of a shock when you see him,’ she said as she pulled away. ‘And I don’t think you’ll be able to stay for long.’

‘Thanks for the warning. We’ll make sure we don’t,’ Jock answered.

They filed off towards Will’s bedroom and Lynda came out, tears in her eyes. ‘He wants us to call the doctor.’

‘Shit, really?’

‘Yeah. He must feel awful. I know there’s a morphine pump they can put in so he can self-administer. I don’t know how it works but it’s measured doses. I’ll ring James and see if he can come out later. I don’t know whether Will can have it with the infection or not.’