Chapters (48)
- Cover
- Praise
- About the Author
- Also by Tricia Stringer
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgements
- Excerpt
- One
Olive’s sharp gaze flicked from one to the other. “What did you say they went to Adelaide for? Your mother told me she wouldn’t help with the church trading table but she didn’t mention Adelaide.”
Laura shrugged. One of the things she’d enjoyed about living away from home was that she didn’t have to constantly inform everyone of her movements. “It was a last-minute thing, I think. Something about farm paperwork.”
Olive frowned. “What paper—”
Her words were lost in the distant tooting of a car horn.
Laura led the way outside to the sight of Graeme’s ute pulling in beyond her grandmother’s car at the back gate, with the dogs barking excitedly from the tray. The ute had barely stopped when Graeme leaped from the front seat. “Bree’s come off her bike. She’s hurt.”
Through his open door they could see Bree propped in the passenger seat. Laura and Kate gave a collective gasp. It was Olive who strode along the path. “How bad?”
Laura gripped Kate’s arm and they followed.
“Her leg got caught on some wire. I reckon she’s hit her head when she’s come off the bike,” Graeme called. He strode to the other side of the ute and opened the door. “Thought it best to wrap the leg and bring her here.”
“Very sensible.” Olive nodded as she joined him and leaned into the ute as Laura and Kate arrived on the driver’s side.
Laura gasped again at the sight of her sister’s pale face and ripped and blood-soaked jeans. The top of her leg was wrapped in a dirty towel, which also had a patch of something dark that Laura assumed was more of her sister’s blood.
Bree frowned. “Hello, Granny. What are you doing here?”
“Just checking up on you all and lucky I did. What’s happened?” Her voice was calm.
Bree’s frown turned to a wry smile. “Had a bit of an accident.”
“I can see that. We’re going to get you inside and patch you up.” Olive looked across to Laura. “Come round and give Graeme a hand.”
Graeme, who’d been known to lug bags of grain under one arm, looked affronted. “I can manage her, Mrs King.”
“I know you can carry her but I want Laura to keep pressure on that wound until we can see what we’re dealing with.” Olive glanced across the top of the ute. “Kate, we’ll need the first aid kit and more towels. And clear that mess off the kitchen table.”