It was impossible to resist his sleepy smile. She smiled back, her heart beating faster. “Morning. The others have already had breakfast and are getting ready.”
He shifted to sit and checked his phone in the swag next to him. “Right. I thought the cockatoos would wake me.”
A flock of cockatoos sat in a tree on the other side of the house, but their screeches were loud even here. She wasn’t surprised they hadn’t woken him. He’d slept little in the past couple of days.
As he stood, she shifted back to give him room. He slipped his feet into a pair of shoes and examined the swag. He sighed. “I should pack this up so it doesn’t get in the way of any photos.” He bent over and pulled out a couple of poles and pegs and rolled it up. He tucked it under his arm. “Have you eaten?”
“Yes. Lara arranged it for me.”
“Sorry I wasn’t there. I know it’s difficult for you not knowing anyone.”
They were all so considerate. “It’s fine. The others were welcoming.”
Across the yard in the shearers’ quarters, the men sat on its porch chatting. As Tess and Ed reached the house, Dot drove up and waved.
“Any news?” Ed asked.
Dot shook her head. “Salvatore’s gone to ground,” she said. “I’ll tell you as I hear more.” She grabbed her bag out of the back seat. “Tess, I brought a couple of dresses so you could choose.”
Tess frowned. “Dresses?”
“For the wedding,” Ed said. “I figured you wouldn’t have anything to wear.”
How incredibly kind. She squirmed. “I don’t want to intrude. I can stay inside and read.”
“You’re not intruding,” Ed said. “The more, the merrier.”
They headed inside where Georgie had spread makeup and hair products on the kitchen table. “Hey, Dot. Just in time.” Faith, Amy, and Lara wore summer dresses, and their hair was tied back in ponytails.
“Tess, you can get ready with us,” Amy invited.
She glanced at Ed, unsure.
“I need a corner of the table for breakfast,” Ed said.
“Well, hurry,” Georgie said. “This should be a girls only area.”
Tess caught Ed’s flinch before he replied, “Too much oestrogen here for me, anyway.”
Amy pulled him into a hug. “You’re always welcome.”
He squeezed her back. “Thanks, Ames.” He gestured for Tess to sit next to Lara and made himself a coffee and toast. Next to Tess, Lara bounced in her seat. “No more sleeps, no more sleeps.”
Tess chuckled at her enthusiasm. “How long have you been waiting?”
“Months,” she said. “Amy and Brandon got engaged in May.”
It was July. That wasn’t a lot of time to organise a wedding. Dot and Faith hovered around Amy, doing her makeup while Georgie poured glasses of champagne. Where were all the extended family, aunts, and cousins?
It wasn’t her place to ask, but she was curious. “Do you have cousins coming?” she asked Ed, as Georgie handed Tess a glass of champagne.
“No, this is us.”
Such a small family. At her sister’s wedding she’d met cousins and second cousins for the first time. Of the two hundred people attending, she was related to two-thirds of them.
“Granny and Grandfather died,” Lara added, her voice trembling.
Georgie hugged her. “But they’re here in spirit.” Her eyes glistened, and Tess wished she hadn’t asked.
