At that moment Georgie stumbled into the kitchen mumbling something about coffee. She stopped when she saw the man at the door and her eyes widened. “Brandon!” Her shriek was loud enough to startle a whole flock of cockatoos. She flung herself into the man’s arms.
The shock on his face would have been comical if not for the grief that quickly followed it. He buried his head into Georgie’s neck.
Understanding filled Amy. The prodigal son had returned.
She swallowed hard as the emotion threatened to overflow again and made herself busy cleaning the coffee mugs. Such a coward for him to return when Beth was no longer here to greet him, to discover why he’d stayed away so long. He’d been a constant ache, an emptiness in his mother’s heart for over a decade and Amy had hated seeing the devastation in Beth’s eyes when she spoke about it.
Amy tempered her instant dislike of the man. Beth would have been thrilled he was back, would have welcomed him with open arms, a cup of tea and a batch of her famous scones. When the siblings separated, Amy held up a mug in question to Georgie who nodded.
“Did you just arrive?” Georgie asked.
“Got in last night. Darcy picked me up. What’s with the blue hair?”
She grinned. “Felt like a change. Darce didn’t mention you were coming. I thought he hadn’t got hold of you.”
“Called his boss,” Darcy said as he strolled inside with barely a glance at his older brother.
Brandon stiffened. Talk about cutting the tension with a knife. Amy didn’t know the full story, only that Brandon never came home, but Georgie always said he was the greatest thing ever. She’d bragged about him being in the army and fighting overseas. Though Amy understood the sentiment, in her experience, army life made people lose their humanity. Darcy obviously didn’t share Georgie’s high opinion. Hoping to distract them all, she asked, “Who wants coffee?”
With three affirmative answers, she poured the drinks, placing milk and sugar on the table for them to help themselves. As she placed a mug in front of Brandon she said, “I apologise for the misunderstanding. I’m Amy.”
“Brandon.”
“Amy’s our guest liaison officer,” Georgie told him.
Brandon raised an eyebrow. “What guests?”
“A lot has changed since you were last home,” Darcy said.
Georgie rolled her eyes. “We opened six campsites over by the shearers’ quarters this year. People can book in advance and spend a few nights here. It’s a way of diversifying our income.”
“I suggested that years ago.”
“Yeah, well Dad’s stubborn like you,” Darcy growled.
Amy cleared her throat before the brothers could snipe at each other further. “Does anyone want breakfast? I could cook porridge or some eggs and bacon?” No one had eaten much the night before.
“Can I have porridge?” The quiet question came from the doorway where Lara stood, still dressed in her Wonder Woman pyjamas and clutching a well-loved teddy bear, her chocolate brown hair sticking up in all directions. With her was Bennet, the family blue heeler, who trotted over to sniff at Brandon. His tail wagged a couple of times as Brandon patted him.
“Sure, honey,” Amy replied. “Take a seat. Would you like a hot chocolate too?”
The girl nodded and made a beeline to her father who pulled her onto his lap and held her tightly. “How are you today, pumpkin?”
“Sad.”
Georgie reached out and squeezed Lara’s knee. “We all are.”
As Amy poured the oats into the pot, Lara whispered, “Who’s that man?”
“He’s your uncle, Brandon,” Darcy responded.
She glanced over in time to see a flash of guilt cross Brandon’s face. The remorse made her soften a little towards him. Her father didn’t know the meaning of the word, but at least some military men could feel. It couldn’t be easy coming home because his parents died.
“Do those cockatoos ever shut up?” Ed, the youngest brother flopped into a spare seat at the table. “Hey, Bran.”
Amy placed a mug of coffee in front of him and gave the hot chocolate to Lara. “Thanks, Ames.”
She smiled. She’d met Ed when she’d first started at the station and he’d been visiting his parents. A sweet guy who had spent most of his time with his mother in the kitchen, or star-gazing with Bill at night. He’d mentioned on multiple occasions that wrangling animals was not for him.
