Chapter 2

‘Theresa Ashbree, get off that step-ladder,’ Noah commanded.

‘Seriously? I’m less than two feet off the ground,’ his wife said, turning in his arms to glare at him. ‘And don’t call me Theresa. It makes me sound like a nun.’

‘A nun? You mean one of those women God has set apart to serve humanity? Well, we wouldn’t want you to be mistaken for one of them. Your role is much nobler than that, Tess.’

‘Shut up, Noah. You are so full of it.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ he said, tangling her silky black hair through his fingers. It behaved like a living creature with its own tactics for binding the two of them together, but Tessa shook it free before he could get properly ensnared. The oriental elegance of her slender frame made him feel like he was holding something far too refined for his calloused farmhands.

‘Why don’t you go and take your health and safety audit out to Skinny Paddock instead?’ she said, stepping down from the ladder. ‘There’s a bit of iron sheeting from some old shed sticking out of the ground—’

He kissed her to stop her talking and she melted into his embrace, dropping the new curtains, forgotten, onto the floor.

‘Oh!’ she exclaimed a second later, pulling away.

He felt the blood drain from his face. It was far, far too early … but she grinned.

‘He liked that,’ she said, her face lighting up like sunlight on fresh snow.

Together they looked down at her growing abdomen, then she took his hand and placed it on the side of her baby bump, and he gasped as he felt something brush against his fingers. A real person. Just there. Moving and alive and made of human.

‘No more ladders for you, Tess, seriously,’ he chided, but his attempt at a stern tone was undone by his inability to hide his smile when the baby moved again.

‘Now look who’s being overprotective. You’re such a bully,’ she complained, hooking the curtains with her foot and flicking them up to avoid bending over. She dumped them in his waiting arms so he obediently reached up to hang them in the window. He didn’t even need the ladder.

The last time these curtains had been changed was when he was just a kid. Lainie had nicked the plastic sword he’d been given for Christmas and he’d been trying to steal it back when she’d caught the tip of the blade in her old pink curtains and torn them right down the middle.

He and Lainie had enjoyed many good childhood adventures in this room, but now it was time to move on. Tessa had redecorated pretty thoroughly. Back when it had been Lainie’s, the walls had been covered with maps of Middle-Earth, Westeros and Skyrim. With a shelf full of show-jumping trophies, a huge bookcase and a generally messy accumulation of Pop Vinyls, it had taken his wife a long time to clear everything out. Lainie had even kept the monster truck he’d made out of Lego. He’d snatched it out of his wife’s hands as she’d started to break it up. Tess had just smiled, put the truck up on the new shelf, and told him he didn’t have to help anymore. Noah had been incredibly relieved. He knew Lainie wouldn’t have cared about the clear out, but it still felt like it was a betrayal. Lainie’s aunt, Lily, who had generously moved into the farmhand’s cottage to give him and Tessa the house, had assured them that Lainie would feel honoured that her room would soon become home to the new baby.

His eyes lingered on the view from the window where the low hillside blocked his view of the untouched bush beyond. What he had assumed for years was all state park, he now knew was in fact owned by Lily and Lainie Gracewood. The cleared area they farmed was only a small section of the whole property, and the remaining portion would never be cleared if he had any say in it. His name might not be on the title, but he belonged to the land, body and soul. It was his true home, and he was born to serve it. There was a precious secret cradled in the heart of those untamed hills. A dangerously addictive secret. Even now, he yearned to drop everything and go back to Eden and tell Lainie about the baby, and yet knew he wouldn’t. Not now. Eden called to him too strongly. The last time he’d gone to visit her he’d only intended to go for a day or two. It had turned into a week and a half. By the time he’d returned, his mind was so out of sync with the world that he had shown up naked at the door at four am, serenading Tessa at the top of his voice. It had taken a few days for him to adjust before she had let him go into town. Lily hadn’t stopped laughing for a week, but Tess had been very quiet. The sort of quiet that meant she was terrified and didn’t want him to know. When he’d pushed for an explanation, she’d admitted she was worried he would be lost to Eden the same way they had lost Annie and Lainie. And deep down, he knew her fear was not unfounded. How easy it would be to just let this world go. No more chores, no meetings, no struggling to wake up in the cold and dark to start the day’s work … no worrying about whether the next sales would be enough to keep the bank off their backs. Far too tempting. So he had promised himself he wouldn’t leave her again unless it was urgent, especially in her current state.

The jingling of the front gate chain caught his attention. He craned his neck around the window and caught sight of the corner of Liam’s ute as it pulled into the driveway. He smiled and began fastening the remaining hooks as quickly as he could. He hadn’t seen his brother since the wedding. Both his older twin brothers had finished their university degrees; Caleb had gone to London, while Liam had taken up contract work in the mining industry in Western Australia. He tried not to judge him too harshly for that. It was good work and it paid brilliantly. He’d work ridiculous shifts for several months at a time, and then come home for a few weeks for a break. This was his first trip home for a while.

Liam let himself in and entered the room just as Noah was finishing up. ‘Nice work, bro. Love the rainbows. Do you wake up every morning with cherubs flying out of your—Oh, hey, Tessa.’

‘Baby’s room,’ Noah grumbled, pointing to the bassinet in the corner while Tessa laughed much harder than was necessary.

Liam seemed chuffed at her reaction, and hugged her. ‘How are you, Tess? How’s my favourite nephew doing?’

‘Your favourite? What hasn’t Caleb told us?’ she asked.

‘Nothing. I expect many more to come, that’s all. This one will always be my favourite though.’ He smiled at her belly.

Liam had sung a victory chant when Noah had told him it was a boy—as if it was somehow his doing—but had been a bit miffed that they weren’t expecting twins.

‘We’re fine, Liam. When did you get in? And how was the trip?’

‘Arrived this morning. Trip was bloody long. Two days to get to Kalgoorlie for a one-day stopover, then another three across the Nullarbor and back to here. I love my ute but I’m thinking it’s finally time to leave her here, buy a new one for WA and fly between like everyone else does. I’ll miss her, though …’

‘A shiny new ute, Liam? Careful, you might start developing a taste for chai tea next,’ Tessa laughed.

‘Only if it comes with a twist of lemon,’ he replied seamlessly.

‘I’ll see what I can find for you,’ Noah said as they all headed to the kitchen, ‘but I think we only have river water.’

‘Water? Seriously? What’s happened to you? First you replace your twenty-first birthday party with a wedding, you don’t waste any time starting a family, now you only have water in your fridge? Are you sure you’re an Ashbree?’

Noah froze, panicked and speechless.

‘There’s always a tinny in the fridge for you, Liam, don’t worry,’ Tess interjected, distracting Noah’s older brother from noticing his overreaction.

Noah hadn’t told his family that Harry was his real father. His mother had kept it secret from them and he’d decided to respect her choice by not revealing the truth after she died. Lily had agreed. His mum, Sarah, was already pregnant with Caleb and Liam when her Guardian traits had become obvious. She had decided to honour her commitment to their father, David Ashbree, despite the powerful bond that she developed with Harry Doolan during the pregnancy. Even Lily had had no idea that Harry was Noah’s real father until the bushfire, when Noah himself had discovered he was a Cherub. Lily had advised Noah to talk to his mum about it, hoping she would admit the truth. Sadly, she’d decided to keep her secret instead. Both Harry and Lily had chosen to respect her decision at the time, but it had led to tragedy. How different would things be now if his mum had told him the truth from the start? Then again, what would the truth have meant for the rest of his family? They could never have been told everything. Even now, he had to keep secrets, and he hated it. He wished he could live like his ancestors did, when it was accepted that some stories were not to be shared with everyone. Ironically, that would have allowed him to be more honest with his family than he could be now.

Noah sat down at the kitchen table, content to let the other two bounce around the latest gossip. Tessa caught Liam up on the most recent local footy betting scandal, while his brother told stories of the colourful characters in the mining communities in the Pilbara. The industry was booming, and Liam was reaping the rewards. Noah remained relatively quiet. Eventually Liam left for home, after offering to help around the farm whenever he was needed. Noah was genuinely grateful. He and Tessa were helping Lily to run the farm in return for a share of the profits, but he was still studying Agricultural Science part-time online, and with Tessa now banned from heavy duties, the jobs were beginning to pile up. Any extra help would be welcome.

After his brother left, Noah helped Tess put the finishing touches on the nursery. They hung a mobile above the bassinet, which had four smiling, fat, winged babies that floated around each other. They glowed in the dark and played a happy tinkling lullaby. Tessa seemed to think they were hilarious.