Ben’s reply was a grunt.
‘She looked … small,’ Justin said thoughtfully. ‘And old. It’s a long time since we’ve seen her.’
Ben stared at the coffee in his hands, his mouth fixed in a firm, disapproving line.
Justin shook his head. ‘Well, aren’t you going to say anything?’
There was a pause. ‘What do you expect me to say? It has been a long time, and as far as I’m concerned, it could have been a lot longer.’
‘Come on, Ben. It’s been fifteen years. In all that time, haven’t you wondered how she is?’
‘No.’
Justin reached for another biscuit, to give himself time to think. They hadn’t had a good mother, but with their father out of the picture, she’d been all they had. Justin examined his own feelings. Time had eased his hurt. He didn’t hate Carol the way Ben seemed to. Ben had the most reason to hate her and time didn’t seem to have lessened that feeling. It should have. They weren’t kids any more.
‘I called her a few times. Just after we left.’
‘What?’ Ben sounded shocked.
‘Don’t get like that. All I wanted was to assure myself she was okay. And let her know we were. I assumed the argument would blow over eventually.’
‘Why?’
Justin shrugged. He didn’t want to say it was because he’d expected Ben would grow up. In this moment, anything he said would only make matters worse.
‘She never loved us. And I certainly want nothing more to do with her.’
That was no surprise. ‘Are you sure? This is the first time in years we’ve had any idea where she is. Maybe it’s time to—’
‘Not me. But you go ahead if you want to.’
Justin knew that tone of voice. Knew that Ben meant exactly the opposite—he would see any attempt by Justin to contact their mother as a betrayal. They never talked about her. His brother was easygoing in everything but this and Justin had learned long ago just to let it go, although he was surprised that, after all this time, Ben hadn’t softened. Not one bit.
Any further conversation was diverted by a buzz of noise and movement from the other end of the room. The firefighters were getting to their feet as the smell of hot food wafted through the hall. A trestle table was being set up and three people Justin assumed were locals were laying out big dishes of steaming food. That was enough for him to realise he was far more hungry than could be solved by a simple biscuit.
This small town, Wagtail Ridge, had an RFS station that was usually unmanned and a tanker unit that had been swung into action this week. The size of the fire had drawn Ben and Justin and their team from Tamworth, as well as volunteers from other nearby towns. This hall had been serving as rest station, mess and, when they had the chance, sleeping quarters for them all.
The brothers left their spot against the wall to check out the bounty.
‘I’m Deb. From the pub,’ the older woman introduced herself. ‘And this is Lou. We want to thank you guys for everything. I hope you like lasagne and burgers.’
‘Right now, that sounds like a five-star meal. Thank you.’ Ben turned on the charm. ‘I don’t suppose there’s a beer to be had as well? Happy to pay for it.’
‘I just checked with your commander,’ Deb replied. ‘He says it’s okay. My husband, Shane, has gone back to get some. Give us a minute.’
‘You are a lifesaver!’ Ben took his plate with enthusiasm.
‘You’re welcome.’
Ben went in search of a seat for the two of them. As Justin waited for his food, he had an idea.
‘Excuse me,’ he said to Deb. ‘I wonder if you can help me. There was an incident yesterday. A woman and a koala—’
‘Were you that firefighter? You’re a bit of a hero,’ Deb said. ‘I’ll slide a bit more of this lasagne onto your plate.’
‘Thanks. I’m starving.’ Justin hesitated, but decided there was no harm in asking. ‘I don’t suppose you know the woman?’
‘The video was so bad, I couldn’t tell,’ Deb said as she handed over his plate. ‘But I assume it was one of the people from the wildlife rescue group. Probably Carol. It’s the sort of thing she would do. Anyway, you could ask there.’
