Chapter 26
Kayden
Two months later
The dining room smelled like Bella’s roast lamb and rosemary potatoes, and the conversation around the table was non-stop.
Sunday night dinners had become a thing over the past two months.
All of us gathered around the big table, passing dishes around, sharing stories, while we put back together what those two bastards, Frank and Bob, had tried to wreck.
Sapphire’s hand warmed my thigh under the table, and I covered it with mine.
“So,” Mitch said, reaching for another dinner roll. “I think it’s time for a good news round-table. Who wants to start?”
“Me!” Charlie said, fast enough that Mitch shot her a sideways grin. Mitch’s arm was slung over the back of her chair like usual. The two of them fit together as if they’d always been built that way.
“The feedback from the Dinosaur and Gourmet glamping trips is incredible,” Charlie said, nodding at Bella.
“We’re booked solid through to Christmas.
I’ve had to turn people away. And ...” She paused dramatically.
“I’ve had confirmation that the massive skull we found is going to Queensland Museum.
They’re displaying it with my name on it—Dr. Charlie Macintyre. ”
“‘Bout bloody time. You go, girl!” Cassidy said.
“Well done, Charlie. You deserve that.” I raised my beer.
“Tell them the best bit,” Mitch urged.
She frowned. “I thought that was the best bit.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, well, tell them the other bit.”
“Oh, right. Well, I hate to speak ill of Doug, but he was wrong, and I was right. That dinosaur isn’t an Australovenator Wintonensis or the same species as Banjo. This is a whole new species, and it’s yet to be identified.”
“Does that mean they’ll name it after you?” Declan asked.
Charlie laughed. “That would be cool, but no, I don’t think so.”
Mitch raised his beer. “A toast to my brilliant paleontologist!”
We raised our drinks. “Cheers.”
As Charlie’s face flushed pink, Mitch watched her like she’d wrangled a prized bull. I knew that pride well. It was exactly how I felt about Sapphire.
“While we’re talking about Doug,” Sapphire said. “Aria’s hacker friend, Cole Tanner, has been able to track down who Doug owed money to. The men have been arrested for illegal gambling, so that means Doug’s daughter is no longer in danger.”
“Oh, that’s great news,” Charlie said. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. That was Aria’s doing.”
“Anyone else have news?” Mitch asked.
“I’ll go next.” Declan leaned forward, grinning.
Bella was beside him, and I caught her reaching for her water glass with hands still red and scarred from those burn blisters.
She was using them like nothing had happened, though.
Tough as nails, that one. The two mafia bastards who tried to kill her and Declan found that out the hard way.
Their bodies are forever entombed in that tunnel in the diamond mine.
Nobody goes into that old section, and if they did, they’d have no hope of finding those bodies under the tons of equipment and rubble on top of them.
A few weeks ago we’d told Sapphire about those two mafia assholes and what they did to Bella.
Sapphire just smiled and said she wasn’t a cop anymore.
And with that we all agreed that we’d never talk about them again.
I’d already reduced their car to dozens of parts, so it’s never going to be found either.
“I got the all clear from the insurance company this week,” Declan said.
“And I’ve secured two mining teams, experienced professionals, eager to work.
The diamond mine is officially operational again.
” He glanced at Xavier. “Thanks to your generous donations, we have the main lift running again, and we’re already pulling stones from the original seam.
Good quality, too. The miners are thrilled.
Some of them worked the mine before Frank fucked everything up.
They never thought they’d get those jobs back. ”
“That’s bloody good work, Dec. Well done,” Mitch said. “‘Bout time Koolaroo started paying its way.”
“Hell, yeah.” Declan nodded. “It’s so good not to have to juggle the books all day to pay the debts. Finally, this place is running the way it should’ve been run all along.”
Declan’s face lit up. Just like he did every time he looked at Bella.
“Speaking of Koolaroo running better …” I set down my fork. “Cassidy and I have ordered a thousand head of weaners. They arrive next week. It’s the biggest shipment of cattle Koolaroo has seen in a decade.”
Sapphire squeezed my thigh under the table.
Cassidy leaned forward, and Xavier whispered something in her ear that made her scowl and smile at the same time. She elbowed him in the ribs without looking. “We’ve hired six new stockmen, and they’re not green for a change, so thank God, I won’t have to waste time training them.”
“That’s because we can finally pay a decent wage,” I said.
“Yeah. Gus was damn happy with his pay rise,” Cassidy added, “and the nice bonus we paid him after that cattle run last week.” She turned to Xavier, barely containing a smile. “He deserved it after having to rescue your ass after being bucked off so many times.”
Xavier’s jaw dropped. “Hey, it was only twice.”
Cassidy giggled. I was still trying to get used to her doing that.
“Here’s to Xavier.” I raised my beer. “Without you, mate ...” I nodded at him across the table, “I’d never have got the new machinery parts that’re coming in. Now, I can do overhauls of a heap of equipment—quad bikes, tractors, trucks. The place will be running like brand new.”
Xavier waved me off. “It’s an investment in family and Cassidy’s happiness.” He kissed the top of her head. “Worth every cent.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Rose said, raising her water glass.
We all looked at her as we raised our glasses.
Rose hardly ever spoke at these dinners.
She used to barely sit down at them. She’d always been welcome, but maybe Frank had made her feel otherwise.
Now, Frank was rotting in a wheelchair, demanding the electric chair every day from what we’d heard.
Thank Christ Australia didn’t have that option, or that bastard’s daily torture would be cut too short.
Rose had joined us for dinner every Sunday for the past two months. She’d claimed Frank’s chair as her own, and not one of us complained or questioned that. Tonight, she’d already been seated before the rest of us were. Maybe she’d finally realized she was part of this family. She always had been.
“Is there any more good news?” Mitch asked.
I was helping myself to more potatoes when the room went quiet.
Everyone’s eyes moved to the doorway.
I turned and felt my world tilt sideways.
A woman stood there. Late fifties. Silver-blonde hair. Eyes I’d know anywhere.
My mother.
Edith.
Who’d been dead. Or missing. Just fucking gone. For twenty years.
The serving spoon clattered from my hand onto my plate.
Twenty years of believing she’d died. Or had been murdered. Twenty years of pretending I hadn’t missed her. Twenty years of being raised by fucking Frank instead.
And there she was, standing in the doorway like she’d just gone out for milk.
Beside me, Sapphire went rigid. Across the table, Mitch had gone pale. Declan stood so fast his chair scraped against the floor. Cassidy made a small, broken sound.
“Hello,” Mom said quietly. Her voice was exactly as I’d remembered it from childhood. Soft. Warm. Unsure. “I know this is a shock. I’m sorry for the dramatic entrance.”
Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.
“Who’s that?” Sapphire whispered in my ear.
But I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe.
Rose stood calmly and walked to Mom, pulling her into a brief embrace. “It’s about time,” Rose said. “Come in. Sit down.” Rose led Mom to the chair she hadn’t sat in for over twenty years.
“What the hell, Rose?” Mitch’s voice was rough and accusatory as he glared at her. “You knew Mom was alive?”
“I knew.” Rose waited for Mom to sit down, then she patted Mom’s shoulder. “Someone needed to let her know that you kids were all right.”
“All right?” I snapped. “We thought she was dead. Or that she’d abandoned us. Twenty years, Rose. Twenty fucking years.”
“Language.” Rose raised a finger at me, then eyeballed Declan. “Sit down. All of you need to listen. Let Edith explain.”
I turned my gaze to Mom, starring at this woman who was my mother but also a stranger.
I’d been twelve when she’d left. Twelve years old, and suddenly she was just gone.
Frank had told us she’d pissed off because she couldn’t hack Koolaroo anymore.
I’d believed that. I’d lived with the knowledge that her own kids weren’t enough to make her stay.
Mom’s tired eyes scanned around the table, landing on each of us in turn. “I never wanted to leave.” Her voice trembled. “You have to believe that, but ...” She swallowed hard. “When I told Frank I was leaving and taking you kids with me, he made it very clear what would happen if I tried.”
“He threatened you,” Sapphire said, slipping into detective mode.
“He told me he’d kill me and my unborn child, and he’d kill Cassidy.” Mom’s eyes found Cassidy across the table.
“Wait. What? You were pregnant?” Cassidy said.
“We know you had an affair.” Declan’s lips were tight as he glared at her.
Mom sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, then nodded. “Yes. Frank’s note is true. I had an affair. The child—”
“How do you know about Frank’s ...” Mitch paused, turning his gaze to Rose. “You told her about the notes.”
“Rose has been contacting me for decades,” Mom said. “She told me to listen to that Avenging Angel podcast. So yes, I knew about the notes. Well, not all of them. But that note was correct. My daughter is not Frank’s child.”
“You chose her over us,” I blurted. Unable to contain my anger, I slapped the table.
“No. I didn’t choose my baby over you. I was forced to run.”
Cassidy blinked hard, like she was fighting tears.