“I’m sorry.” Hone’s throat tightened, hearing his cousin’s grief. He got it. He truly did, but June was trying to kill Cassie when none of this was her fault. She hadn’t dumped Manu. They hadn’t had a relationship. Cassie had said it and Manu had confirmed they were nothing more than friends. Cassie slept curled in his arms, not his cousin’s. “I’ll help.”
“No, you need to say with Cassie. My brothers will help me.” He swiped his hand over his face, exhaustion like a feather cloak draped over his shoulders. “Don’t look like that. None of this is your fault. You and Cassie are good together, and I’m happy you’ve found someone.”
“There’s a car coming. I think it’s the neighbor, but I want to check.”
“I’ll inform you when we find Ma.”
“Okay.” Hone hung up, his heart heavy. None of them would win. June’s actions had already ripped the tribe apart, and he had no idea how they’d recover.
Outside, a late-model car pulled up and a tall, slim man dressed in business clothes stepped from the driver’s side.
“Dad!” The kid ran to him, and Hone’s shoulders relaxed on seeing the joy and relief on the man’s face. He loved his kid. “Cassie likes playing dress-up too. She wears a pink wig. I told her I make a good cowboy.”
“Yes, you do, son. Thank you for picking up Dillion and ringing me. My ex…” His expression tightened as he spoke to Cassie. “She would have used this to change our custody schedule.”
“It was no problem.”
“Can I come and visit again?” Dillion asked.
“As long as you ask your father first,” Cassie said. “Get your father to call me to make sure I’m home first, okay?”
“Okay.” Dillion took a huge bite of his cookie. Cute kid.
“Hi,” Hone stepped forward, his hand outstretched. “I’m Hone Taniwha, Cassie’s boyfriend.”
“He might as well piss on her,” Emma whispered to Jack.
His buddy barked out a laugh, and Hone glared at them both, thankful that neither of the human adults heard.
“Matthew Jamieson,” the man said.
For a businessman, he had callused hands. Maybe he worked on his farm during the weekends instead of hiring people. Christmas trees, Cassie had said.
“Thanks again. Nice to meet you all.”
Cassie, Jack and Emma started to unload the vehicle, and Hone jogged over to help them, while keeping an eye on Matthew and his son. The man was a good father, and it was obvious the kid adored him. When they drove away, Hone heard the kid’s excited chatter about running away, and the father telling him he could only run away if he was with him. Strange thing to say, but it made sense.
“Hell, did you girls buy out the shops?” Jack asked as they dumped parcels and bags on the new kitchen counter.
“No, we left stuff for other customers,” Cassie said without missing a beat. “We didn’t want to be greedy. The beds and other furniture will arrive tomorrow afternoon, so tomorrow night you can sleep in a proper bed instead of on the camp bed in Hone’s spare room. We should have a barbecue to celebrate. I’ll buy one in the morning.”
“No, ours survived the fire,” Jack said. “Everything in the garden shed was okay, so I’ll bring out the mower, my garden tools and the barbecue tomorrow morning.”
“We should visit your swimming hole. The weather forecast is for another humid day,” Emma suggested.
“Can you guys sort out the packages?” Cassie asked. “I need to start rehearsing for the next vineyard show and work out which songs to sing. I have to make a few phone calls to the States later and want to reread the contract Kevin sent me.”
Crap. “Can I help with anything?” Hone asked.
“Yeah, how are you at contracts? I need a fresh set of eyes to tell me I’m not imagining things. Kevin has clauses in there I don’t like.”
“I can do that,” Hone said, thankful his father had insisted on him taking business classes and finishing a degree before he joined the firm fulltime.
“We can all read it through, if that would help,” Emma said.
“Have at it,” Cassie said, pointing at a pink folder. “There are two copies in there. I’ve taken notes and made a list of what I want, but not many of the matters are addressed in the contract.”
Hone growled. “He trying to rip you off?”
