Her father would never agree to her plan if he knew, Sydney thought as she watched him through the kitchen window. Excessive gambling right after her mother had died had lost him the large portion of the Killaroo land he was now striving so desperately to earn back.
But short of embezzling from the bank where she worked, gambling was the only plan she could come up with. It was a wild, perhaps even dangerous scheme, but it could work. She had a fine mind, with a penchant for mathematics, and if she had never actually gambled herself, she could certainly learn, she told herself.
She and her sisters were sitting at the kitchen table of the place that had been her home all her life, the homestead of her family’s sheep station in New South Wales. The kitchen of Killaroo was a place of warmth and happy memories. She could still remember her mother, so loving and beautiful, busy at the stove. It was a place where family crises, big or small, were worked out. Now they had gathered for the biggest crisis they had ever faced.
Her eyes were drawn back to the window and her father beyond, bent over the old tractor, trying to fix it one more time.
Illness and age had diminished his once tall, lanky frame, and suffering had marked his craggy face. Over the past twenty-six years of her life, there had been countless times when she had run to him with her problems. His strength had been her support. His gentleness had eased her tears. His advice and warm humor had gotten her over the toughest times, when the humiliation her stutter was causing her threatened to swamp her. If she was in any way a success today, it was because of him.
Now it was her turn to help him.
With renewed resolve, Sydney turned back to her two sisters. “So we’re agreed?”
“Right. We’ve got to keep our individual goals in mind, but if one of us needs help, the others will come running,” Manda said. “We’ve got to remember this is a joint project. We all must succeed.”
Addie nodded in agreement. “But what about Dad? It’s important to keep this a secret. There’s potential danger in all our plans, and we can’t worry him.” She made a face. “You two have it a hell of a lot easier than I do. He’s bound to hear what I’m doing.”
“Do the best you can,” Sydney said. “And if you need help, ring us.”
“I’ll be on the move, so I’ll check in often,” Addie said. “And since I’ll be closest to home, I’ll keep an eye on Dad.”
“Good,” Sydney said. “Be sure and let us know if anything changes with him.”
Manda drew a deep, shaky breath. “Lord, I’m scared. What if we blow it?”
“I’m scared too.” Addie said softly.
Sydney couldn’t stand the fact that her two younger sisters might be frightened—Addie, who looked so fragile but in reality was as strong as the sun that shone over Australia, and Manda, who viewed life as one long grand adventure. She reached for her sisters’ hands and clasped each one tightly. “We all are,” she said. “But we won’t fail, because we can’t.” She smiled with an effort. “This isn’t another one of Manda’s trips to the sea. This dream has to become a reality.”
As she held her sisters’ hands, Sydney felt the warmth and strength flowing between the three of them. To an outsider, it might appear that the odds were against them. After all, one million five hundred thousand dollars was an enormous sum of money for three young women to earn in such a short period of time. But an outsider would be reckoning without their love of their father and for one another. They would succeed.