Page 74 of Sugarloaf Ridge Lies

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Hey,” she soothes. “What you feeldoesmatter, Jerry.”

My heart squeezes tight at her concern.I could’ve done with having you around a lot earlier in my life, girl.

“I think I love her.” I grumble. “She’s under my skin. I can’t get her out of my head. Liv is different, you know?”

“Does she know how you feel?”

I’ve never said those three words to anyone, but given more time with Liv, I wouldn’t have been able to stop them coming out. “It’s kinda beside the point, now. She doesn’t wanna talk to me. She wants space.”

“Oh, Jerry. I can’t even imagine.”

I rake my hands through my hair. “You might think I’m crazy, but her being pregnant doesn’t change how I feel about her. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I’d take that on.”

Daynah tilts her head. “You would?”

I shrug. “I mean, that’s if she’d have me.”

Silence stretches between us.

“Jerry, as hard as it might be, for now, you have to give her time.”

How much time?

“Finding out you’re pregnant can be a real shock. I’m guessing it’s something she wasn’t expecting, either.”

Pirate whines at my feet. It’s as if his brown eyes are begging me to move my arse outside. He hates being cooped up. I push my seat back. Pirate jumps onto my lap. I ruffle him behind the ears.

Daynah stands. “Maybe we should go outside. Work off some of this cake.”

A three-legged dog in my arms, I stand and hug my sister. She holds on tight, squishing Pirate between us.

“Best birthday ever,” I whisper in her ear. “Thank you.”

We spend the next couple of hours working the land. Despite some of the work being outside her physical capabilities, Daynah puts in one hundred and ten per cent, only giving up when I tell her she’s going to hurt herself and the threat of Finn wanting to cut my balls off for letting it happen. After lunch, an exhausted Daynah retires to the couch for a nap.

Like some kind of creep, I watch my sister sleep. It was almost a year ago that I found her, and I still have the occasional nightmare which takes me back to that day we nearly lost her on the operating table.

I tuck the wool blanket up closer to her chin and press a kiss to her forehead. She’s more precious to me than she’ll ever know.

“I love you,” I whisper.

It’s the first time I’ve allowed myself to say it.

There’s just this itch in my chest, to say it to someone else.

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