Page 32 of The Dairy Farmer's Daughter

Justin's heart and head pounded as he drove up the dirt driveway to the Montgomerys’ house. Pulling up next to Freya's car, he was greeted by Denver. As he closed the car door, he bent down and scratched the dog's head, hoping he would receive as friendly a greeting from the residents inside.

The door swung open, and he looked up to see Freya standing in the outline of the doorway, the light from insideshining around her silhouette, throwing a dark shadow across her face. He took his time climbing the stairs, practising what he would say in his mind.

"This is a nice surprise." Freya reached for him and he moved into her embrace. He held her tightly, breathing in the scent that was so perfectly her.

He wanted this. He wanted her, but the news he brought could change everything. What would she say? How would they all react? His chest tightened uncomfortably.

After a long time, he pulled back. “Is your father home?”

She nodded and looked at him with questioning eyes. “What’s wrong, Justin?"

"I have news. News I need to tell all of you."

He watched as she swallowed, then held the door open for him to come in.

Her father greeted him with his usual friendly handshake and waved him onto the couch. They sat and exchanged niceties while Freya rounded up her sister and mother.

Justin declined the drink Mark offered, thinking once they heard his news, they may not want him to stay.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense," Nina said when they were all gathered.

Justin took a deep breath before sharing his news. "I spent today with someone who has made an offer to buy Boyd's farm."

He was met with raised eyebrows and open mouths. He continued, "It's a property developer from Noosa. They are very interested in buying it."

The silence was deafening. He could see their faces falling as though this was the worst news they could have received.

"I appreciate you telling us this,” said Mark. “Are you going to accept the offer?"

"There are still some details to be looked at before they can finalise the offer, so I honestly don't know. But I wanted to behonest and open with all of you. From my perspective, it would be easier for me to sell the farm and use the money to invest and help my family."

"But a property developer—they'll turn it into a housing estate." Freya's voice was quiet but serious.

"The region is growing, Freya." Nina turned to her daughter. "People need somewhere to live."

"But they need the dairy farms too. What's going to happen when they all close, and this land becomes housing? It'll be just another suburban jungle like down the range."

"Emerald Hills will still be here, sweetheart," her father said. "We're not going anywhere; you're making our business too profitable for us to have any reason to sell."

Mark turned back to Justin with eyes full of understanding. "Thank you for telling us. We appreciate your honesty and openness. My offer to lease the farm is still good. I'd love to be able to buy it, but I'm sure what the developer is offering is more than we could ever afford."

The figure that Stephen had mentioned was more than most people could afford. It came with a lot of digits. Justin would be set up for life; he could stop working if he wanted to. His whole family could. The developer still had to dot some i's and cross some t’s, but they had already done substantial research and planning. Stephen suggested that they had had their eye on Maleny for a long time, just waiting for a suitable property to become available.

It was hard for Justin to wrap his head around. Boyd had been dead for less than two weeks, and there was already an offer of lease on the table from Mark, and now this purchase offer.

He tried to avoid listening to the niggling whispers in the back of his mind.What would Boyd want?

Nina stood and opened her arms to him. He hugged her briefly and thanked her for understanding.

"I'm here if you need to talk about anything." Mark shook his hand.

Greer wished him luck before Freya walked him to the door and down the front stairs. The silence between them was almost unbearable. He wished she'd say something. Anything.

When they reached his car, he lingered at the door, wanting desperately to fix this, to touch her and tell her everything would be okay.

"Thank you for telling us." She regarded him with huge brown eyes overflowing with something he didn't want to see—disappointment.

"Everything was going so well." He reached his hand out to stroke her cheek. “We've only just begun."

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