“What it contains. I remember thinking I was a genius coder, but I imagine it will be simplistic.”
“Why don’t you look?”
“We’re baking.”
She rolled her eyes. “We’re done.” At his nod, she placed the tray into the oven, and Ed set the timer.
“OK. I’ll be right back.”
Tess understood his curiosity. The thought of going through those trunks was like a constant niggle at the back of her mind, and her ears strained for the sounds of a car engine. Her gaze checked the time as often as Ed glanced at the folder.
He returned with a laptop, and slid the CD into the drive. With his attention fixed on the screen, Tess put the kettle on, and got the butter, jam, and a can of whipped cream from the fridge. Faith would appreciate coming home to afternoon tea on the table after working all day. The men didn’t finish on the farm until sunset.
It was a little way she could thank them for taking her in, even if it had been Ed’s idea.
A bass beat came from the laptop, one Tess recognised from an old eighties song, and Ed giggled in glee. “I’d forgotten I set it to Queen.”
She came around to watch the screen. Ed played a game where a pixelated tractor gobbled up sheep and all the while, the music gave a background beat. “Did you do that?”
He nodded. “It’s not bad for a self-taught fourteen-year-old.” He laughed as what appeared to be lightning hit his tractor and he died.
Admiration grew. “That’s fantastic, Ed.”
“I spent hours coding it. Dad threatened to take the computer away from me—he didn’t like technology—but because it was for a school assignment, he couldn’t.” He grinned. “I didn’t tell him the assignment was to create something simpler.”
Just like he had last night showing her the stars, his face lit up with excitement, and he vibrated enthusiasm. This was what he should do, not feel guilty he didn’t enjoy farming. “Do you still code?”
His smile disappeared. “No. I couldn’t get a job after uni.”
Tess frowned. Ed didn’t strike her as someone who would just give up. “But you could have done it in your spare time.”
He sighed and pursed his lips. “I submitted a game I designed to a distributor, and they told me it was unrefined and basic.” He shrugged. “Kind of killed my joy.”
She could understand, but, “It was just one person’s opinion.”
Ed shrugged as a car pulled up outside the house, and two doors slammed. Moments later, Lara burst through the door, dressed in her yellow and brown uniform, and dumped her school bag to the side. “I’m home. What did I miss?”
Tess chuckled as Lara lifted her nose and sniffed. The oven’s timer beeped.
“Perfect timing, La La. Scones are ready.” Ed got them out of the oven.
“Awesome.” She poured herself a glass of water as Faith came in behind her.
Faith smiled with a shake of her head. “Lara, school bag.”
“Right.” Lara picked up the bag and disappeared with it down the corridor.
“How was your day?” Ed asked.
“Great. I’m getting more clients all the time.” Faith sat at the table with a sigh. “I’ll have to hire a receptionist to take phone calls. Advertising at the caravan parks has brought in so much work. There are a lot of grey nomads who don’t have up-to-date wills.”
Tess frowned. “Grey nomads?”
“Retired people who travel the country in their caravans,” Ed explained.
She liked the image. What an adventure, having nowhere you had to be, no expectations, and nothing you had to do.
Lara came back in and helped herself to a hot scone, tossing it from hand to hand and then onto the plate. “So what did you do today?”
