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‘You didn’t give me one.’

‘I must have left it in the kitchen,’ she said. ‘Talk about forgetful!’

Cy glanced at Tarni as they approached the homestead; she leaned forward and exclaimed.

‘Oh, how pretty. I didn’t expect such a beautiful house and garden way out here.’

Cy smiled; he’d always loved the homestead that Aunty Suzanne had made into a beautiful showpiece. The sprawling house was built from large sand-coloured bricks. The red iron roof rose to a peak high above a single-story building, fronted by a veranda held up by rough-hewn posts. The lawn had always been lush and green, and it looked like Dee had restored the colourful gardens he remembered from his childhood. ‘Here we are.’ Cy smiled as they turned into the driveway of Wilderness Station. Dee and Ryan were waiting on the front veranda. It was like coming home.

Chapter 31

Wilderness Station

Tarni

Tarni tipped her head back to the morning sun and enjoyed the warmth bathing her face. The air was redolent with the sweet fragrance winter roses as she sat with Cy, Dee and Ryan under the pergola at the back of the homestead.

‘We could almost be in an English country garden,’ she said. ‘It’s every bit as beautiful as Cy described. I noticed that Ellie’s planted roses at the end of each row of the mango trees at their place too. Neither place is anything like I’d imagined.’

‘I did the same at our macadamia planation at Byron Bay,’ Dee said. ‘I’d really love to come out to Kane and Ellie’s place and see what you're doing. It seems ages since I was on the east coast working with macadamias.’

‘I’d love to show you the process with the seeds,’ Tarni said. ‘We’ll set a date.’

Tarni had slept well and felt well for the first time in a week or more. Angus and Wyatt, Dee and Ryan’s adorable twins, had gone down for their morning sleep. Ryan and Cy were having coffee before heading out to drench at the yards. Dee and Tarni were going to take lunch down later in the morning, and Tarni would get to witness the workings of a cattle station firsthand.

Tarni and Dee had hit it off the moment they met. Tarni couldn’t believe how much they had chatted and shared already; it seemed she had known Dee for ages. They had a lot in common, and Dee had asked pertinent questions about what Tarni was doing at the farm.

‘I started experimenting with hybrids when I was over at our farm,’ Dee said. ‘My life changed suddenly when Ryan's dad left half of Wilderness Station to me. I pretty much packed up and left the farm, and came here. We clashed at first, and the requirement that I stay for a set length of time looked pretty unlikely at first. Now that’s a long story for one night over a couple of bottles of wine.’

‘I’ll look forward to it. Have you studied biology?’ Tarni asked.

‘No, would you believe my degree is in business management? I was managing our nut farm—’

Ryan interrupted. ‘And from all accounts, doing a very good job,’ he said.

Dee bumped her husband with her shoulder. ‘He’s my biggest fan club,’ she said. ‘But it’s only because I took over the books for the station, and he gets to watch TV at night.’

‘Aw, that’s not fair,’ Ryan protested.

‘I’m just winding you up, sweetie.’ Dee reached out and held Ryan’s hand. The love between them was plain to see. Tarni was envious, but grief didn’t wash over her for a change.

‘How did you cope moving here?’ she asked Dee. ‘Was it hard to adjust to the remote location?’

Cy sat back with a smile on his face. Tarni couldn’t believe how much more relaxed he was here. He was definitely in his element. He chuckled. ‘Tarni, if you settle up here after the job at Kane’s place is done, I’ll take you for a drive to a remote station. It’s only a couple of hours to Darwin from here.’

‘I only get there about every two to three months,’ Dee said. ‘It’s a huge production getting the twins packed up for the trip, plus the gear we have to take, not to mention trying to juggle feeding both of them between shopping. I was sorry we didn’t get to Dru’s barbeque for Kane and Ellie before they left. The family haven’t seen the twins since we were in hospital. Fortunately, I love being a stay-at-home mum.’

Ryan stood and leaned down and kissed Dee. ‘Okay, we’re going to head down to the yards now. Lunch about one, love?’

Cy stood and nodded. ‘See you both down there. Don’t you overdo it, Tarni.’

Tarni frowned, and Dee looked at her curiously as they walked back inside with the tray of mugs and the leftover cake.

Dee crossed to the coffee machine. ‘I could go another coffee, how about you?’

‘That would be great,’ Tarni said. ‘Thank you.’

‘Since I stopped breastfeeding the twins, I’m almost addicted to coffee again. I was one of those good mums who didn’t drink coffee, drink alcohol, eat peas, all that stuff. But the little loves still had colic and sleepless nights.’