Chapter Thirty-Four

The heat baking his skin, the dust swirling around his boots, the silence enveloping him was exactly as Jarrah remembered. He hadn’t believed in magic all those years ago, but he was no longer a lost kid searching for his place in the world. He was a grown-ass man searching for the woman he loved.

He tipped back his hat and took in the Wishing Tree. He’d finally enjoyed some long-overdue celebrations with his family and hugged every last one of the ungrateful yobbos until they were sick of him. He still wasn’t sure what had brought him here, but what better way to kick off his next great adventure than at the same place he’d begun the last?

His eyes slid to the gap in the scrub that had hosted one of the most intense moments of his life. Even now he could feel her pulsing around him as she clung to him and groaned in his ear. He’d relived that night and every other night they’d shared over and over until it’d nearly driven him insane.

He tore his gaze away and picked a path through the maze of roots and rock leading to the pile of offerings that grew with each season and each visitor passing through Wingarra. The offerings glinted in the mottled sunshine piercing the whispering canopy high above him. The trinkets had looked like treasure when he’d been a kid. Only now did he understand their true value. His gaze found the wad of bills the eighteen-year-old him had tucked inside the broken windscreen of a toy truck. The 145 dollars had been exactly half of the savings he’d left with on his quest to the big city.

Jarrah chuckled and shook his head. At the time, his idiotic teenage brain had figured money could secure any wish. All he’d wanted back then was to get as far away from his heritage as possible. How fucking stupid he’d been. The Wishing Tree had taken all of thirty seconds to show him exactly where he belonged. It took him another ten years to finally accept the damned tree had been right all along.

He removed his hat and peered up at the being who’d watched over everything and everyone he cared about. “I finally get it, but I’ve got a pit stop to make first.”

With a nod, he resettled his Akubra and turned toward his Land Cruiser only to stop dead in his tracks.

“Mum said I’d find you out here.”

Mum. The word erased the decade they’d been apart. Jai Carter had been the fourth Harper boy and both his brother in arms and partner in crime. “So the rumors are true. Was wondering when I’d hear from you.”

Jai chuckled and pushed off the Cruiser’s tray. “If I’d known how smart you’d become, I wouldn’t have punched you in the face that often.”

Jarrah rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the smile curving his lips. Charlie had called with news of a huge shake-up within Carter Industries ten minutes before he’d boarded the charter flight to Baroona. Apparently the entire board had been stood down and a new president named. The president had assumed the role of CEO until a replacement for the freshly unemployed Dean Manningham was found. “And if I’d realized what a power-hungry arsehole you’d become, I would’ve punched you in the face more often and a lot freaking harder.”

“Guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree after all.” Jai’s laughter quieted with every step he took. By the time he’d closed the distance between them, his smile had vanished, and he looked to be carrying the weight of his legacy on his back.

Jai glanced over his shoulder in Wingarra’s direction before shrugging. “I never thought I’d make it back home.”

Jarrah nodded. “Me neither.”

Jai removed his hat and extended his hand. “Thank you for giving me the chance I needed to make my move.”

“You took your fucking time.” Jarrah clutched Jai’s hand and studied his long-lost brother. From the outside looking in, Jai’s childhood had been as privileged as anyone could imagine. Only the Harpers knew what Jai had endured.

With each silent second, everything that had come between them faded away, and they were two scrawny teenagers from different worlds standing in the middle of nowhere all over again. With a mutual curse, they tackled each other and traded insults before shoving apart.

Jai slapped his hat back on his head and glanced over Jarrah’s shoulder at the Wishing Tree.

Jarrah followed his gaze. “How’s that wish coming along, El Presidente?”

Half groan, half curse, Jai’s sigh echoed through the silence like a plea to their ancestors.

Jarrah burst out laughing and slammed a fist into Jai’s shoulder.

Jai didn’t even bother retaliating. Instead he turned and stared off in the Big House’s direction. “Do you think she’ll ever forgive me?”

Jarrah shrugged. “If anyone’s got a shot, it’s you.”

Jai slowly nodded before hitching a thumb over his shoulder at the Wishing Tree. “How about your wish?”

Jarrah chuckled and shook his head. “Working on it.”