Brandon nodded.
A near death experience hadn’t been enough for him to contact her himself. Her eyes flooded again and she brushed away the tears.
“Want to talk about why you were crying?”
The ridiculousness of the question made her laugh. “Why do you think?” The annoyance was a far easier emotion than the grief and she gripped hold of it, using it to dry her tears. “I’ve spent the past few days listening to your parents’ friends share stories of them, reiterating what kind and lovely people they were. They treated me as family—” her voice broke and she swallowed hard. “Beth reminded me so much of my mum before she became an addict, and Bill was the type of man I always wished my father had been.”
“Major Hammond is uncompromising.”
An apt description. She often wondered whether he was the same with his soldiers as he was with his children. “How well do you know him?”
“I serve under him.”
Then he knew exactly what her father was like.
Brandon cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for the way I treated you last night,” he said. “The accident was a shock, and coming back here… has brought back a lot of memories.” He sat close enough for her to feel his body heat.
She shrugged, wiping her damp cheeks.
“I didn’t follow you because I was suspicious, but because I was worried about you.”
His confession made her turn to look at him.
“I realised when you left the kitchen that none of us have asked you how you’re coping with Mum and Dad’s death. Everyone’s been telling stories about them, but we haven’t asked you for yours.”
Her chest ached. It was kind of him to ask.
“I’d love to hear them,” he continued. “If you’d like to share.”
Amy pressed her lips together, fighting to control the emotions swirling inside her. “You knew them better than I did.”
He sighed. “I’m not so sure. We didn’t talk much.” The pain in his voice made her squeeze his hand. Maybe he felt as much of an outsider now as she did. He glanced at her and slipped his arm around her. “Why don’t you tell me your favourite memory?”
It felt right to rest her head against his shoulder. “The first time I came to the Ridge I thought maybe Georgie had been having me on.” She smiled. “I drove for ages before I saw the sign marking the driveway and it was close to sunset, so I was paranoid about emus and kangaroos.”
“It’s not so far out here when you get used to it.”
“No, it’s not,” she agreed. “Georgie said to go around to the kitchen door, and I heard eighties pop blasting out of the speakers.”
He chuckled. “Mum loved everything eighties.”
“She didn’t hear me knock, but Lara was at the table doing homework with Ed, and she let me in. Beth told me the men were caught up on something on the station and would be a little late, so I had to stay for dinner.” There’d been no refusing her.
“So you arrived expecting a job interview and got dinner instead?”
She nodded.
“That sounds like Mum.” Sadness tinged his amusement.
“Darcy, Bill and both station hands arrived about an hour later, filthy and wet, muttering about a bore. Darcy noticed me first and swore, apologising for being so late, but before he could shake my hand, Beth shooed them all out of the kitchen to get cleaned.” She chuckled at the memory. It was the most bizarre interview she’d ever had. “By the end of the night they offered me the job and a place to stay. I didn’t know what the job entailed, but I figured being surrounded by people like your family would be lovely, so I accepted.”
“Mum and Dad always had a way of welcoming everyone. If we ever had friends out to play, they never wanted to leave.”
“Retribution Ridge became home,” she said softly, and her chest squeezed. “When Bill discovered I’d never ridden a horse, he took me out the next day and gave me lessons, told me I could ride the horses whenever I wanted. Then Darcy and Matt said I had to learn how to ride a motorbike as well.”
“Can’t have you stranded out here,” Brandon said as he pulled her a little closer.
The weight lifted. “That’s what they said.” The evening was cool, but she was warm tucked into his side.
