Georgie smiled at Lara buried between their arms. She stroked her hair. “We’re fine, La La.”
“We’ll tell you the whole story when we get inside,” Matt added.
Georgie glanced at Matt who was smiling at Lara with deep affection, and something in Georgie’s heart pulled. Matt would be a wonderful father. She could picture it clearly probably because she’d seen him with Lara as a baby. Though she wasn’t ready for kids yet, she had no doubt she wanted kids with him.
“Come on,” Brandon called. “Everyone will want to hear what happened.”
Matt pulled away and patted Lara on the back. “Let’s go, La La.”
Lara slipped her hands into theirs and together they walked into the kitchen where the others waited.
Amy strode over to her. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” she said as she hugged Georgie.
“Me too.” Thanks to Matt. She might not have considered the car coming towards them wasn’t the police.
“They were watching, waiting for the ute to leave,” Matt said. “They mustn’t have seen Georgie and I walk off.”
“How could they get so close without us hearing?” Brandon asked.
“They had a drone,” Matt said. “Must have been high enough that we didn’t see or hear it.”
Amy held up a bottle of water and one of beer. “Drink? Or something stronger?”
Georgie sank into a chair. She was hot and tired, and a beer would only make her more emotional. “Water please.”
“For me, too.” Matt sat next to her and handed her the plate of biscuits on the table.
“So what happened?” Faith asked.
Georgie let Matt tell the story since he was the one who had heard most of it.
“Dot thinks the guy who shot them had his own radio and was listening to us,” Matt concluded. “He must have heard Georgie radio the house and report the smugglers which is how they knew we were there.”
“Jerry spotted us and raised the alarm.” Georgie still wanted to smack him. She couldn’t imagine how Matt felt. She squeezed Matt’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
“How’s Dot?” Amy asked.
“Holding it together,” Georgie said.
“She’s pretty stubborn, but maybe you can all help her,” Brandon said.
Amy nodded. “We’ll do our best. She doesn’t like to get emotional.”
Brandon smiled and kissed her. “So we’ve got two men to watch for,” he continued. “This guy and Lee.”
Amy gasped. “Is Lee still here?”
Brandon gestured for Georgie to tell her story. When she was finished, she said, “I get the feeling he’s trying to protect us.”
“Even if he is, there might be a time when he has to make a choice,” Brandon said.
Georgie passed her phone around so they could see the photo of the murderer.
“I’ll increase the size and see if I can get a better image of his face,” Amy said. “Print a few copies if I can.”
The photo wasn’t great as the guy had done his best to hide his features.
