‘Be safe,’ she whispered, as she had so many times when they were small. This fire wasn’t dangerous to the men her sons had become, but that had never been what the words meant to her.
Justin’s card had said that he—they—were based in Tamworth. So what were they doing here? Fighting a fire, of course, but not one so big it needed men brought from other areas. Unless … In previous years, the bad years, the RFS had spread its resources to cover as many danger areas as possible. That’s why the small fire station had been built at the Ridge. Maybe the twins were now based there.
The blast of a car horn drew her away from her thoughts. She pulled further to the side of the road to let the car behind pass, then increased her speed. There was one person who would know. She knew everything.
Fifteen minutes later, Carol parked in front of the post office.
‘Hello, Carol. Have you been to check out the fire site?’ Val was sorting mail behind the counter.
‘I have. Luckily there was nothing for me to do there.’
‘I imagine our handsome new firefighters had everything under control. They seem such nice lads. I baked some biscuits for them last night, but they were gone this morning before I could deliver them. It must be hard for them, living in makeshift quarters like that.’
‘Yes. I suppose it is.’
‘They’re identical twins, you know. Absolutely identical. I don’t know how anyone can ever tell them part. I’ll bet they were terrors at school when it came to missing classes and switching roles.’
Carol could have told her that although they had caused their teachers no end of frustration, each of the boys had always had his own personality. Justin more sober and quiet. The steady leader of their little group of two. He’d always looked out for his younger brother. And while they were identical, Justin’s eyes had always held the weight of responsibility, making him look much more than fifteen minutes older than his brash and flighty brother. Ben’s eyes had always been looking for trouble. He had always been quicker to laugh and to cry. Quicker to anger … and slower to forgive. If he ever decided to forgive.
Maybe he could now. He was no longer a boy. He was a man who’d seen more of life than just a small outback town. Both of them had. Maybe they could understand better now. Maybe one of them was even—
The thought crashed down on her while Val chattered on seemingly without needing any interaction from Carol.
Maybe one of her boys was a parent now himself? Or even both of them. She might be a grandmother and not even know it. The thought almost made the earth shift beneath her. If she was a grandmother, she was as bad at that as she had been at being a mother.
‘… not that I would ever want to interfere, but it does seem worth a try. What do you think?’
‘Sorry, Val.’ Carol shook her head. ‘I got lost there a little bit.’
‘I said we’ve invited the firefighters to talk to the knitting club about bushfire safety. Not that we all haven’t been taught it before. But we’ve also invited Anna Prentiss to come. I mean, they are such handsome young men. And she’s all alone. You never know what could happen. You could come. You’ve never been to the knitting club. We’d love to have you.’
‘Thanks, Val. I’ll think about it. I have to go …’ Carol turned and almost fled the post office. She didn’t think she could handle any more of Val right now.
As she darted down the steps to the street, she heard Val call after her, asking why she had stopped by. Did she need anything?
Carol had what she’d come for. As for what she needed now, she had no idea.
CHAPTER
10
‘She was there. Again.’ Ben’s voice was clipped and tense.
‘Who was?’ Justin kept his eyes on the road as they drove back towards the Ridge.
‘Our mother. I guess you didn’t see her.’
That wasn’t strictly true. Justin had seen the car and guessed who the driver was. He’d been a distance away, and wanted to give Ben and their mother a chance to meet. Just the two of them. In the hope it might make things easier. Obviously, that hadn’t happened. ‘Did you talk to her?’
‘No. I did not. She got in the car and drove away again. Best thing, too. I don’t want to talk to her.’
‘Don’t you think it’s time to forgive her? I think it would be good to talk to her, at least.’
‘You want to talk to her, you go right ahead. I don’t care. Just as she never cared for the two of us.’
‘Come on, brother. That’s a bit strong.’
‘Is it? Think of all the times she wasn’t there for us. Think of how she lied to me—to both of us—for seventeen years.’
