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
Bree struggled up on her elbows. “Damn. I should be mustering.” Her face had colour again and she was sporting a red swelling below her left eye.
“Get her a cold pack for that lump, Laura.” Olive inspected her handiwork with the bandage one last time then, satisfied, she sat and took hold of Bree’s hand. “I think we could all do with a cup of tea now, Kate, then we’ll head in to the hospital.”
There was a thud behind them. Kate had plonked back onto a chair so hard it had rocked. She’d lost colour and her eyelids fluttered.
“Get her onto the floor.” Olive’s usual calm manner when giving orders had gone up a notch, like Dad when he was drafting the sheep.
“What’s happened to her?” Bree was propped up on her elbows peering over Olive’s shoulders.
“Keep pressure on that bandage,” Olive snapped and left Bree to go to help Laura.
Together they tipped Kate gently sideways, Laura taking her sister’s weight, and the two of them slipped gracefully to the floor. Well, Kate was graceful; Laura’s butt hit the ground with a thud that jarred through her.
“Fu—” She caught a glimpse of Granny’s glare. “Fritz,” she said meekly and rubbed her behind vigorously.
Olive shoved the fresh towel she’d had on standby for Bree under Kate’s head and slapped at her cheek.
Kate’s eyes opened. “Ouch.” She tried to sit up.
“Stay where you are. Put her feet up on the chair, Laura.” Olive was in drill-sergeant mode now. Then, like a miniature replica of the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk, she lifted her head and sniffed the air. “What on earth is that smell?”
“Oh no.” Laura leaped to her feet. “The cakes are burning.”
Seven
Seven
In Adelaide, Natalie was desperate to leave the Halbots’ apartment and get home. She didn’t want to think about Veronica but the more she tried to put the woman out of her mind the more her thoughts returned to her, like a tongue probing a sore tooth.
Milt picked up their jackets and the two of them were moving stealthily across the apartment when Bob let himself into the living room, pulling the bedroom door closed behind him. It had been late when he’d arrived the previous evening and Veronica had flung herself into his arms. Milt and Natalie had retired to the tiny second bedroom to give them some privacy. They’d changed and each climbed into the matching single beds and had tried to sleep. Later, after it had gone quiet out in the lounge, Milt got up and went out. Natalie heard Bob ask if he wanted a beer. Milt had said yes and she’d eventually fallen asleep listening to the sound of the two men talking quietly.