by Karly Lane
‘I’ll have my people talk to your people,’ he agreed, but smiled as she kissed him again.
‘I love you, Georgie.’
‘I love you too,’ she answered, and his teasing melted into a look so tender that she felt tears once more swell and overflow, falling on his face and mingling with their kisses.
Epilogue
Stoney Creek Station had never looked more beautiful. It was three months since Michael’s accident and life had been a blur of activity.
They’d just renewed their wedding vows before family and friends and were now mingling with guests on the lawn, having transformed Stoney Creek into a magnificent reception venue, complete with large white marquees and elegant white tables.
Sipping her champagne and watching everyone enjoy themselves, Georgie tensed slightly as Derrick Matthew approached her.
He took his time surveying the scene before him as he stood quietly by her side.
Georgie quickly tossed down the remainder of her champagne, feeling a need to fortify herself against whatever it was Derrick had on his mind.
‘I understand there’s a shared past between us. I know about your father and buying his property some time ago,’ he started stiffly. ‘It was pointed out to me that my business dealings could have been conceived as slightly … aggressive.’
Georgie felt a surge of anger beginning to swell inside her but forced herself to remain silent. Not even Derrick was going to spoil her wedding day, even if it was her second.
‘I can’t apologise for that. It’s how I do business, how I’ve got where I am today. However, I do apologise for any pain it may have caused you and your family,’ he finished imperiously.
If he expected her to fall at his feet in gratitude, he was in for disappointment, she thought indignantly, but she grudgingly realised it must have taken a lot for this arrogant man to extend this version of an apology. She was very proud of how far she’d come. Not so very long ago she wouldn’t have accepted any kind of apology from him.
She’d worked hard to let go of her anger over the past. She’d forgiven her dad. Laid that part to rest. Forgiving herself had been a little harder—she still wished she could take back some of the things she’d said in anger and grief, but she was getting there.
‘Thank you, Derrick,’ she forced out politely.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start.
‘I also have something for you. A wedding gift,’ he said, withdrawing an envelope from his pocket.
She smothered a sigh of exasperation. Typical—when in doubt, hand over money. After all, money was what made the world go around!
She accepted the envelope graciously. ‘Thank you. You shouldn’t have,’ she added, hoping it didn’t sound as hollow as it felt. She didn’t want his bloody money.
‘Aren’t you going to open it?’
Forcing a smile to her stiff lips, she put down her glass on the nearby table. ‘Of course,’ she murmured. Yes, let’s count it all out so everyone can see how generous you are, she thought savagely.
She opened the envelope and paused, a frown crossing her face as she discovered it was not cash as she’d been expecting.
Withdrawing the paper tucked inside, she began to read and felt the forced smile slip away to be replaced by stunned bewilderment. ‘But this is …’
‘The deeds to the land I bought off your father. It’s yours. Worthless really, but you never know, between you and Michael you might be able to do something with it,’ he dismissed lightly.
Tears blurred her vision and a great emptiness in her heart suddenly began to fill. Raising her eyes to his, she blinked uncertainly before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. ‘Thank you so much,’ she said, her voice husky.
He seemed taken aback and slightly flustered, but a smile tugged at his mouth as he backed away, mumbling an embarrassed, ‘More than welcome,’ before disappearing into the crowd.
‘I think you scared him off,’ a soft voice whispered into her ear.
Turning, she buried her face against Michael’s chest as emotion overwhelmed her.
‘I see he gave you the wedding present.’
She saw his eyes were full of tenderness and his smile blurred as she blinked rapidly. ‘This was your doing?’ she accused lightly.
He shrugged. ‘They wanted to know what to buy us for a wedding gift.’
‘Just like that? A property isn’t something most people give as a gift,’ she said.
‘It’s no big deal for him.’ His expression turned serious and he gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. ‘The deed is in both our names, but I’m going to have it transferred into yours, so you know that it will always belong to you and no one can ever sell it out from under you again.’
Laughing and crying at the same time, Georgie placed a hand against his cheek.
‘No. I want this to be ours, something we share.’
She closed her eyes as he kissed her, and with the sound of happy laughter and music in the background, she finally felt like she’d found home.
Acknowledgements
I’d like to give a huge thanks to my wonderful editor, Julia, who has worked with me since my very first book ten years ago. Where has that time gone? This will be the last full book we work on together and the end of an era. Thank you for helping shape my stories into the books they’ve become.
Special thanks to Kaitlin, Jess and Lyn for being my tireless readers and brainstormers.
It seems fitting that this story will be published in this anniversary year as it was originally written around the time I first became published and has evolved and grown as a story, much as, I’d like to hope, I have as a writer.
When I first sat down to write this book, I, like Georgie, was holding on to the hope of reclaiming a place that held many treasured childhood memories for me. After coming back to this story a little older and wiser, I realised I’d figured something out: that sometimes holding on to the memories of a place distorts the reality of it. Memories are very powerful things, and sometimes when we go back to treasured childhood places and see them as they are now, it can be painful to realise they’re not as we remembered.
As much as I’d still love to buy back my grandparents’ farm, I realised after visiting it not long ago, for the first time since I was a kid, that so many of the memories I held so dear had passed on with my grandparents. The place had changed too much. Often it’s the people in those places that make the memories so incredibly powerful. Sometimes letting go and accepting that our memories are far more precious than the actual places is what makes those memories so special.
While I’m still happy to give Georgie her happy ending (and I have to admit, I’m a little bit jealous of that), I can’t help but wonder if she ends up discovering the same thing I did … although I suspect with Michael by her side she’ll probably be too distracted to notice!
As always, I’d like to thank all our amazing farmers who work so hard to keep this country going. They’ve been doing it tough for such a long time and I can’t imagine the strength it takes to continue to get up each morning and keep doing the best with what they’ve got during this unrelenting drought.
Below are a few of the organisations that provide assistance to our farmers and are making a difference. These organisations also deserve a huge thank you for working tirelessly to support our farmers and their families.
Another way we can all help is to visit small towns in rural Australia. These communities are doing it tough too. When farmers are hurting, their local communities also feel the effects. Take a weekend trip and stay overnight in a rural community. Eat at their local restaurants and pubs, stay in local accommodation, buy your fuel there and visit local attractions in the region. This will all help keep small towns afloat until it rains and we can rebuild and regrow.
If you can, please help.
Rural Aid has a number of great initiatives for donating money, fundraising and volunteering.
Rural
Aid: https://www.ruralaid.org.au/
Buy a Bale: https://www.buyabale.com.au/
Farm Army: https://www.farmarmy.com.au/
Aussie Helpers: https://aussiehelpers.org.au/
The Naked farmer: https://www.thenakedfarmerco.com.au/
For help and to talk to someone:
The Royal Flying Doctor Mental Health Outreach Program: 1300 887 678 seven days a week (24-hour service)
Lifeline on 13 11 14
Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
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