‘I have more good news,’ she told her brother. ‘The cattle numbers might not be as dire as your estimates. We’ll wait for the sales, but they look more generous than we hoped for.’

‘That is good news.’

‘And in breaking news, Big Jim came across to help at muster with his own vehicle. He didn’t want wages, he said, because of the support I’d given Jessamine and the twins.’

‘What did Mum say?’ They both knew Stella didn’t accept help easily.

‘She surprised everyone. She said thank you.’

Jock’s eyebrows went up, but Hana didn’t look too startled.

Ava went on. ‘He came to the barbecue with Jessamine and the twins, which we combined with Dreamtime Station’s. Poddy and Lorenzo’s son, Leo, took to each other like a house on fire, but it might have been the beer.’

Hana laughed. ‘Sounds like my brother.’

Ava smiled. ‘You’ll like Leo’s wife, Aimee. I think you and Jock and Leo and Aimee will be the next social set. They’re fun people.’

‘And Lorenzo?’ Hana glanced at her husband with a little smile.

Ava held back her own. ‘I think Mum’s found some happiness. He certainly admires her.’

Jock frowned.

‘I told you,’ Hana said. ‘It’s perfect. I think they’ll be very happy.’

And in the devastation of the last month, someone needs to be, Ava added silently. She just had the last of her own devastation to complete.

Ava knew Zac had only two night shifts left before he flew back to Sydney, and there was a chance that even back at work she might not see him. Tonight she would see if she could arrange one last meeting because she couldn’t quite let go.

Four hours later, on presenting herself to the night supervisor’s office for her ward allocation, Ava didn’t know whether to be excited or horrified to be sent down to help in the emergency department straight off. However, with maternity being unusually quiet, she had no choice, which meant she couldn’t be a chicken.

She tried to settle her pounding heart as it thumped with a foolish hope that things had changed and Zac simply hadn’t had a chance to tell her, no matter how sensibly she admonished herself to stop.

Her ID card wavered a bit as she held it over the scanner and she blew out a breath as she slipped through the staff entrance to emergency. Skimming the large open area quickly, she zoomed in on him. There he stood, side-on, talking to a patient. Her heart sped up and she growled at herself, Easy.

She hung back a little just to savour the tilt of his head, the breadth of his shoulders, the flash of his smile as he joked with the man on the gurney.