Page 10

‘Oh wow, Nan, I do love you heaps.’ James wrapped his arms around Sandra’s legs as they waited for the lift to arrive. Ellie grinned over his head at her mother. ‘You used the magic word, Mum.’

Sandra chuckled. ‘You used to love your presents too.’

Emma smiled as they waited to get into the lift. ‘Do you think we’ll all fit in? At the rate they’re all growing we’re going to need a second lift when we come to visit Dru and Connor.’

‘When they grow, my love, we won’t have to carry bags of clothes and strollers and toys,’ Jeremy said. ‘I’m pleased that Dru and Connor organised lunch here today. I haven’t seen Connor for ages.’

Worry rose in Ellie’s chest; she’d spoken to Dru on the phone a couple of times since Dru had shared her worry, but without asking outright, she hadn’t been able to get any indication if Dru had spoken to Connor.

It wasn’t any of her business. She knew that couples went through their ups and downs, and Connor was a hard worker, and he had a very stressful work-intensive job with his security firm. Dru mentioned in one of the calls that Connor was in a complex investigation with Greg, his former colleague. Greg and Connor had been in the Federal Police together before Dru had met him; they’d met when Connor had been hired to investigate a diamond theft at the mine in the East Kimberley where Dru had worked as an engineer.

Greg lived out in the bush at Wyndham so she could understand that Connor would often be away in Western Australia. Even though they had an office in Darwin where Connor met clients, Greg had preferred to remain a hermit in his shack at Wyndham where he had the most incredible array of computers. They had built a solid reputation and were always busy. His work was complex and Ellie hoped that that was all that was taking up his time.

She was going to check Dru and Connor out surreptitiously today and see what their interaction was like. She’d kept her word to Dru, and not mentioned a word to Kane or her sisters.

As much as she loved her sister, and Connor as well, their relationship wasn’t any of her business. If they were having issues, it was up to them to sort it out, and she and the rest of the family would be there to support them if needed.

‘Pingggggg!” James made a high-pitched pinging sound when the lift slowed before it stopped at the top floor of the apartment block. The real ping followed immediately.

‘I knew we were here. I beat the ping. I beat the ping.’

Sandra ruffled his hair. ‘You are such a clever little man, James McLaren.’

‘I wonder if Ruby’s here, I like playing with her.’

‘Of course, she will be,’ Ellie said. ‘It’s not a kindy day. You know that.’

Dru must have heard the lift arrive because the front door was open. Even though they were in a secure block, she was still super-conscious about safety after her experiences in Dubai and Darwin before she and Connor got married. Dru had taken a long time to recover; she was fine with the family, but as she had always been since they lost their father when she was in her teens, Dru could be a bit of a loner.

Connor had been great for her and had pulled her out of her introspection, and Ellie knew that he would never let her sister down.

She hoped he wouldn’t anyway.

‘Come in,’ Dru called from the balcony. ‘We’re out here. Oh, and Ryan rang. He and Dee can’t make it, unfortunately. Something about a pump problem somewhere.’

‘That’s a shame, but we saw them yesterday. They called in on their way back from Darwin. They’d been to buy a new pump for the house water, so I hope it’s not that one,’ Kane said.

Ellie walked through the apartment marvelling at her sister’s efficiency. The minimalist space was always so clean and tidy, with everything in its place. She tried hard at their new house out on the farm but there were always toys scattered around the floor, piles of clothes for folding, and Vegemite finger marks always on the kitchen cupboards and fridge, no matter how many times she seemed to wipe them.

When she reached the living area that led out onto the deck, Mum was hugging Dru. She stepped back and frowned. ‘Have you lost weight, Drusilla?’

‘I always know I’m in trouble when you call me Drusilla.’

‘You’ve lost weight.’ Sandra followed her arms. ‘But your baby bump has grown.’

‘I think the baby is going to be a big one. He’s taking all the food I eat,’ Dru chuckled but to Ellie, it sounded forced.

‘Where’s Connor?’ Sandra asked looking around.

‘He got called to a meeting in Casuarina with Greg and their client,’ Dru answered. ‘I figured you could all stay for dinner as well as lunch if you wanted to see him too.’

‘Oh, you should have changed the day,’ Sandra said. ‘We could have come tomorrow.’

‘No, it would’ve been too hard for Ellie and Kane.’

‘That’s right, we leave Monday, Mum. And we can’t stay late, Dru. We’ve got a heap to do, and the horticulturist is arriving in the morning.’ Dru met Ellie’s eyes and she noticed Dru had more makeup on than usual. She couldn’t see her sister’s eyes through her dark glasses, but she suspected Dru had been crying.

Damn. That didn’t bode well.