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city had steadily increased. She wanted Tish home, not because she loved her only child, but because she couldn’t let her grandsons become ‘uncivilised’. Sure, the boys were getting close to the age when they would attend school, but the small, one-teacher school at Allington would suit them fine. And yes, they didn’t attend pre-school, let alone know their alphabet, but they enjoyed their monthly visits to the bush mobile that visited Allington Hall to provide a pre-school experience. It was important the boys grew up within the warmth of a close-knit community and in a placewhere they could climb trees and get their hands dirty. For rarely speaking Darby, it was also crucial he remain surrounded by people who understood and didn’t judge him.
    Tish flicked the kettle on again. She wasn’t going anywhere. She’d found out who she was in the red earth country beyond the kitchen window. She’d found a peace and self-acceptance she couldn’t have achieved in the privileged and glossy life her mother had planned. A wild and unruly pumpkin patch would simply never be allowed to take over the manicured garden of a Mosman mansion. Sure, she’d also discovered loss and pain out here, west of the Blue Mountains, but it was where she belonged. And where her sons belonged. The outback would also ice over before she took the boys away from Ewan. It would break his heart. The twins’ unconditional love had brought him back to life and there was no way she’d allow him to again disengage.
    Fergus hadn’t been the only one who’d died that tragic summer night.

    Kree set her near-empty teacup on the floorboards beside her. Perched on the verandah steps of the Tylers’ weatherboard farmhouse, she straightened her denim-clad legs so her bare feet could make the most of the sunshine.
    She breathed in the floral scent of daphne in bloom and looked out over the bush view before her. Used to a backdrop of snow-capped mountains, it remained a novelty to be able to see until the landscape dropped below the blue horizon. Ewes and their white, newborn lambs idled beneath spreading gum trees and if she stared hard enough she could also make out the grey shapes of kangaroos. She’d already fallen in love withthe odd-looking animals with their doe-eyes and long tails that bounced when they hopped.
    Her eyes closed as she wiggled her warm toes. Seth had arrived safely at Sally’s and from their long, daily phone calls she knew the trauma of his ordeal had faded. His survival story had had its fifteen seconds of media fame and journalists no longer called. He’d met some other American gappies and was out more often than he was in. Now, all she needed was to stop thinking about Ewan and life would be back under control.
    China suddenly shattered on stone.
    Her eyes flew open. ‘Freckle? Fudge? What mischief are you causing now?’
    Freckle’s only answer was to leap onto her lap and press puppy kisses to her face. Fudge stood close to her shoulder and bleated. Ears ringing, Kree gently pushed the red-heeler pup away so she could collect the mug that now lay strewn on the pavers.
    ‘Okay, I get the message, break time’s over.’
    After only ever drinking ice-tea, enjoying a hot tea for a morning smoko was an Aussie habit she would be taking home to Colorado. That and eating the small sponge cake squares covered in chocolate and rolled in coconut called lamingtons. Fudge bleated again. Kree eyed off her shiny little nose that was wet from where she’d stuck it into the last of the lukewarm tea.
    ‘So, you’re the culprit, Fudgy.’
    Fudge stamped her tiny foot.
    ‘What’s wrong? You can’t be hungry. You drank twice your body weight in milk for breakfast.’
    Kree checked playful Freckle wasn’t within trippingdistance and headed for the front door. She’d put the broken cup in the bin then see if any pink and grey galahs were visiting the claw-footed bath that served as a nearby paddock trough. So far this morning, no