‘Not really,’ she said, looking out through the windscreen. ‘It seems like a really peaceful spot.’
‘Yeah,’ he said, nodding. She saw him swallow hard before giving her hand a gentle squeeze and pushing open his door.
Kenzie followed suit, walking across to the gate that gave a small squeak as he pushed it open. She counted fifteen headstones as they weaved their way across to the far side.
Ewan came to a stop. This grave stood out from the others around it—newer and a lot bigger. It was well maintained, as was the whole cemetery, looking as though it had only recently been mowed.
Arran Campbellwas engraved on the large slab of dark grey granite. A wide-brim, Akubra-like hat was etched in the top corner and there was a photo inside a glass dome frame of a handsome-looking man in his mid-twenties wearing a hat similar to the one engraved. He looked like a younger version of his father—the same shaped face and serious expression.
‘I wish he was still here,’ Ewan said quietly after a few minutes.
Kenzie slipped her hand into his once more and offered what little comfort she could. She wasn’t sure what to say—she hadn’t known his brother, and it didn’t really feel right to talk about how young he was when he passed. It was just … sad. Such a waste of a life to have died so young.
‘I used to come up here all the time,’ he said, lifting his gaze to look off into the distance. ‘I always felt closer to him back then … which is probably stupid. But it’s strange, because now, I don’t feel him around here anymore,’ he said, then cleared his throat quickly.
‘It’s not stupid,’ Kenzie said softly. ‘I think that must have been very special to feel him around.’ She bit her lip, debating whether to continue. ‘Maybe he’s not around as much now because he knows you don’t need him like you did back then?’
He sent her a swift glance and his lips turned in the slightest curve, then he looked back down at the headstone once more before turning away. ‘We’d better get back to Poppy.’
‘Yeah. Although she probably hasn’t even realised we’ve been gone,’ Kenzie said.
As they walked back towards the car, Ewan took her hand in his and she glanced over at him. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah. It was just something I needed to do. Thanks for coming with me.’
‘Sure. You can stay longer if you like? Poppy’s fine with your mum.’
‘Nah. He’s not here anymore. That’s all I wanted to know.’
Kenzie couldn’t work out if that was a good thing or not—he was suddenly extremely hard to read—but she definitely got the feeling he wasn’t going to talk about it, so she left it alone.
They passed a few of the older headstones, and Kenzie noted the dates and names. ‘These are all McDonalds,’ she said, stopping beside two small graves and feeling her heart break at the ages on the headstones of the twins who’d died only three days after they’d been born. She tried to imagine their little cradles, briefly set up in the nursery room, and swallowed hard. It suddenly hit her that everyone in this cemetery would have, at one time, lived in the old house. All these generations of the one family, here together.
‘Yeah, it was originally their family cemetery. Arran’s the only Campbell. We figured he loved this place so much, it only seemed right that he stayed here. Dad’ll probably do the same.’
‘It’s a nice gesture, being part of a place that’s so special forever. I can understand why people do it.’
‘Yeah. It means a lot to my parents.’
When they reached the car, Kenzie tipped her head back and searched his face briefly for a moment, seeing it soften, then leaned forward and kissed him. It wasn’t a kiss to ignite the passion that seemed to always be simmering just below the surface, but a silent message that she was there for him in whatever capacity he needed her to be, and she hoped he could feel her strength pour into him. He didn’t have to feel alone anymore.
She didn’t know the complete story of what really went on when Ewan was growing up, but she’d seen enough of Callum to realise that Ewan would have shouldered a lot of the blame on those broad shoulders. And that was a lot to handle for anybody.
Kenzie and Floss sat outside under the shady golden elm in the backyard the next afternoon, after Floss had called the main house to invite her and Poppy over for a playdate with her boys.
Floss and Joe’s place was only a few hundred metres from the main house and, although notably smaller, Kenzie thought it had just as much character and charm. Built from the same sandstone bricks, it had a front verandah with timber posts and beautiful ironwork. Off to one side, it looked as though an addition had been made to the original square main house.
They sipped cold drinks as they watched the children play on the trampoline and climbing frame. The sound of carefree chatter and the occasional ‘Look at me’ called out overthe gentle breeze in the treetops and birdsong that sounded around them.
‘It’s just so … peaceful here.’ Kenzie sighed.
‘It can be,’ Floss agreed. ‘But wait until there’s a muster. The dust and flies and cattle bellowing just out there in the stockyards are not terribly enjoyable.’
‘I thought all that would be done in the yards further down the road?’
‘That’s the feedlot. Mostly the cattle are trucked in from other places to finish off there, but we still have our own cattle and breeding programs here on Laire-Mor and they use the cattle yards here for all the usual things: drenching, branding, vaccinations.’
‘There’s just so much going on here. The feedlot, the trucks, the breeding program, the vineyard,’ Kenzie listed off.
