Page 4 of Outback Secrets

‘Surprise!’ Henri faux-smiled as she disentangled herself from Tilley’s arms.

‘Mum is going to lose her mind when she sees you. Are you home till Christmas or …’ She shook her head and glared at Henri. ‘This better not be a quick trip to tell us you’re working for Christmas. You know how hard Mum finds the festive season without Dad, if you’re not going to be here—’

Henri held up a hand. ‘Relax. I’m here till the day after Boxing Day.’ Hopefully by then she’d have her head straight again, because if not … No, that wasn’t worth thinking about. ‘I thought I might be able to lend Andrew and Callum a hand on the farm. They’re still harvesting, aren’t they?’

Tilley nodded. ‘Yeah, but they’re almost done. Don’t worry, I’m sure Mum will find plenty of jobs for you to do, and failing that, you can always come hang out at the shop.’

By ‘hang out’, Henri was pretty sure her sister meant free labour.

‘Speaking of Mum, I should probably head out to the farm before the bush telegraph alerts her to my arrival.’ She turned back to Ruby and Stella. ‘Lovely to see you both again. Good luck with the bunyip.’

‘Thanks,’ they said in unison.

‘I’ll call you,’ Henri told Frankie, giving her another hug. ‘I want to hear all your wedding plans.’

Frankie grinned. ‘Excellent. Chat soon.’

Tilley saw Henri out to Cecil, nattering the whole way about what was going on with the business, James, and their daughter Macy. She didn’t once ask if there was a reason Henri was home early, and Henri didn’t know if she was happy or annoyed about that. Weren’t big sisters supposed to be confidantes? Although they’d shared a bedroom growing up, the ten-year age gap meant they had never been close—not in the way Frankie and Simone were anyway.

‘I wish I could come out and see Mum’s face when you arrive,’ Tilley said as Henri climbed into the van. ‘But I’m bringing Macy out after school to ride her horse, so we’ll catch up then.’

‘Bye.’ Henri pulled Cecil’s door shut, snapped on her seatbelt and started towards home.

Ten minutes later, she slowed the van as the sign for Bungara Springs loomed on the side of the road and felt a familiar rush of love as she turned down their long gravel driveway. She jumped out and collected the mail from the mailbox her granddad had made from an old Esky, then smiled as she bumped over the cattle grid and scanned the flat, dry earth on either side. Leftover canola stalks poked forlornly out of the ground, indicating that these front paddocks had already been harvested. Although she spent most of her time in rural areas, there was nothing quite like this area. This farm. The place where she’d grown up. Tilley said their brothers were almost finished harvesting, but at least Henri would be able to help with the clean-up and machinery servicing.

Further on, she saw a harvester in the distance and some cattle in one of the home paddocks. She passed the sheds, where she’d spent many a freezing cold winter and sweltering summer day helping her parents, and then finally came upon the homestead, where her mum now lived alone. Callum, Andrew and their young families lived in other houses on the property, far enough away that Fiona couldn’t live in their pockets but close enough that she was available for babysitting at short notice.

A couple of brown kangaroos were grazing under an old gum tree just outside the fence that surrounded the house garden, but they bounded away as Cecil noisily approached.

Henri had barely emerged from the van, when she heard her mum’s voice and looked up to see her hurrying towards her.

‘Good golly, is that really you, Henrietta?’

‘Hey, Mum. Hope you don’t mind an early visitor.’

‘Are you crazy?’ She threw her arms around Henri, almost knocking her off balance. ‘This is the best surprise I’ve had all year. You’re still staying for Christmas, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, Mum.’

‘Well, then, let’s get you inside and settled.’

Henri grabbed her luggage and followed her mother inside, swallowing at the sight of her dad’s boots still sitting by the front door, his beloved dogs Max and Muriel resting on either side. She bent to pat the old girls, who once would have run out to greet her when they’d heard the van but were now tired and content to laze around.

‘So, what’s brought you home so early?’ her mum asked as they sat down in the big country kitchen with a cup of tea a few minutes later. The dining table felt enormous with only the two of them. ‘I thought you were working in the Riverina till mid-December?’

A lump formed in Henri’s throat and she took a sip of her drink before replying. Should she tell her mother the truth?

‘I … They … they overbooked pilots and I wasn’t needed, so I thought I’d come home and see if I could be any help here.’

‘Well, there’s always plenty of things to do on the farm—I can definitely use you in the garden—but we’ll make sure you’ll get some time for some fun too. And you’re not the only one who’s just come home.’ She grinned over the top of her teacup, clearly wanting Henri to bite.

When she didn’t, she added, ‘Mark Morgan has finally retired and is home to take over the family farm.’

Mark had been in Henri’s year at school and unable to hold down a conversation if it wasn’t about football; he had been snapped up by Essendon at eighteen.

‘Apparently, he’s nursing a broken heart because his WAM decided not to come with him.’

‘WAM?’

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