The Dairy Farmer’s Daughter (Heart of the Hinterland #1)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

T he light shining from the house beckoned Freya Montgomery home with the promise of a refreshing shower and a hot coffee. The sun was just peeking over the mountain range as she slogged through the rain-soaked mud back to the house. Bird calls, combined with the unmistakable bellowing of cows, became an animal symphony.

Even in the dark, she knew the way home from the milking shed. She knew exactly where the path turned and where the paved steps began. She had been travelling this track her entire life, as a baby in her mother’s arms and now as a grown woman working the dairy farm and business with her family.

Denver, their ever-faithful dog, climbed the stairs and reached the terrace first. He slurped water from his bowl before plonking himself down by the door. His tail thumped on the floorboards and his jowls almost seemed like they were grinning.

Freya reached down and scratched the Kelpie’s head. "Good boy, Denny."

Letting the dog return to stand sentinel at the front door, she yanked off her muddy boots and thick, waterproof jacket. She opened the door and stepped inside the warm house. A fire was blazing in the hearth, and the welcoming smell of brewing coffee filled the air.

"Freya?" Her sister, Greer, was crouched at the fridge, the door wide open. "Did you eat all the blueberries? I wanted to make muffins."

Freya padded softly over in her thick woollen socks and joined her sister on the floor. "I had to hide them from Dad. I saw him eyeing them off last night." Freya reached her arm into the refrigerator, pushed aside a loaf of bread, and pulled out a large plastic container of plump berries.

"Thanks. I really didn't want to make scones again." Greer took the punnet and the women stood up.

Greer hunched her shoulders and pinched the tip of her nose with her fingers. "Sis, you know I love you, but you stink. Please get out of my kitchen."

Freya stepped closer and drew in a long breath. "Don't you like my perfume? Eue de Bovine?"

Greer squirmed and pushed her away.

"Geez, I'd have thought you'd be used to the smell after all these years," Freya said.

"You guys do the milking, I do the cooking. That's the agreement." She wagged her finger, but the smile on her face was the same spirited one she used whenever they played their sister-squabble games.

Freya wrapped her arms around Greer, rubbing the smell onto her sister’s clothes. "And we all love your cooking, Sis." She planted a big sloppy kiss on her cheek before letting go.

“Morning, girls.” Their mother, Nina, entered the room and came over to kiss both her daughters. Freya inhaled her mother’s floral perfume as she hugged her, the smell adding another level of comfort to the embrace.

“How did the milking go this morning?” Nina asked her.

“Good. Dad's waiting for the vet to come and preg-test the heifers." Freya made two cups of coffee as she continued chatting to her mum and Greer worked around her, busily baking.

The cows at Emerald Hills were milked twice a day, every single day, even in winter when the temperature in Maleny dropped close to zero. Even then the cows would still line up in front of the shed, waiting for their meals, milking, and daily check-ups.

“There you go.” Greer placed a plate with four pieces of toast spread with a thin layer of Vegemite on the table for the women.

“Thank you, darling.” Her mother’s voice was full of affection and gratitude. The women sat down and took a piece each.

"Will you have time to help us set out the food for Boyd's wake today?” Nina asked Freya.

"I've got a few things on. Updating the website is doing my head in. I can’t figure out the back-end coding. I think I need to call in an expert."

Greer sat next to her and sipped her coffee. "I thought you were the expert. You know all that technical stuff - that's what you're paid for."

"Hey, I'm the marketing department, not IT. I can do social media in my sleep, but HTML codes are practically a different language." She bit into her toast and let the yeasty taste of the vegemite fill her mouth. "What time does the funeral start again?"

Nina glanced at her watch. "The funeral is at one at the church. We'll need to set up the tables and food before it starts."

"Okay.” Freya nodded. “I still think it's good of you to do all this for Boyd."

"Well, his son didn't seem very interested. If we'd left it up to him, I doubt there would be a funeral at all." Nina shrugged.

"Who is this son? Is he coming today?" Greer leaned forward. The girls knew so little about their neighbour, even though he had lived next door to them his entire life.

"His name is Justin. He's about Greer's age," Nina said. "I've spoken to him a couple of times about the plans and have invited him. He didn't say for sure whether he would come or not."

“It’s his dad. What kind of person doesn’t want to go to their own father’s funeral?” Greer screwed up her face.

"Do you remember him at all? Has he ever been back?" Freya asked. She had heard the story that Boyd's wife had only lived with him on the farm for a few years. The marriage had fallen apart, and she had taken their young son to Brisbane when he was only four years’ old.

"He was a sweet-natured child, but we didn’t see them much. I tried to be neighbourly to his mother, Barbara, but I had a toddler of my own and was pregnant, and there was so much going on here, with Bill starting the factory and everything. Dairying is a hard life—you know that. Not everyone is cut out for it."

"But he never came back? Not even for a visit?" Greer asked.

Nina shook her head. "No, Boyd was alone until the day he died. Poor man. He put his farm ahead of everything, even his own health. He literally killed himself by working too hard."

The girls nodded in agreement. Over the years Boyd had grown frailer, but when people had tried to help him, his pride got in the way and he waved their generosity off.

"We have to make sure Dad stays healthy and takes more breaks. He's not getting any younger," Freya said. She and her father both shared the same love of the land and animals. He had tried to send her away to the city, but it hadn't suited her, the hustle and bustle. She had returned to Maleny after university with a business degree and a plan to help the growing family business.

Freya swallowed the last of her toast and stood. "I better get going so I can help you then. You know people will show up early for a yarn."

"They sure will. Thanks for all your help organising this, girls. I really appreciate it," Nina said and kissed each of them in turn.

"No problem, Mum. What's family for?" Greer smiled. "I'll be up soon, but first I'm going to change into something that doesn't smell like I've been cleaning out manure."

Freya laughed. "Good idea. That wouldn't be very nice for the customers."

Out the window, the sun was shining its golden rays over the hills, warming the dew from the grass and promising a glorious day ahead on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.