by Des Hunt
Luke got a shock when he walked into the restaurant—his mother was there, sitting at a table with all the others. He had trouble recognizing her at first: the red colour had gone from her hair, and the large nose stud had been replaced with one that he could hardly see. Yet the spiky hair remained. So, too, did the love in her eyes when she looked up and saw him. She threw the chair back and rushed at him, swooping him into a hug.
‘Luke! Luke! Luke!’ she squealed. ‘Are you all right?’
He nodded, not trusting his voice.
She released him enough to study his face. ‘Yes,’ she decided. ‘You look all right. Are you surprised to see me?’
‘What do you think? When did you get here?’
‘Late last night. We had to come through Brisbane as we left at such short notice.’
‘We?’
Alice smiled. ‘Kev’s here as well. Beth organized our flights a few days ago. We were due tomorrow, but when you were kidnapped we changed bookings and came straightaway.’
Luke looked up and saw the smiling face of Kev Thomas. Everyone was smiling. Not just the group at the table, but the whole restaurant. It seemed that they all knew who he was and what was going on.
Alice returned to her seat between Ellie and Beth, while Luke took the one left for him between Lora and Ham. Immediately Lora took his hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.
A waitress appeared to take their orders, which gave Luke the chance to adjust to the new situation. For the first time in his life, his mother and father were sitting at the same table. It didn’t matter that they weren’t next to each other. He knew they would never fully reconcile their differences; just them being in the same room was miracle enough.
‘So, Luke,’ said Beth after they’d ordered, ‘I bet you didn’t expect to see Alice and Kev here.’
Luke shook his head. ‘Why are they here? Why didn’t you tell me they were coming?’
‘It was going to be a surprise, but that Chizza animal messed it up. I wanted them here to see how to run our new business.’
‘Gran’s starting a tourist place for oldies,’ said Lora.
Beth shook her head and glared. ‘Wrong! We’re all starting a business, and I won’t have this talk about “oldies”. It’s for people who have reached the best years of their lives—the golden years.’ Then her face spread in a big grin. ‘The ones who have plenty of money and nobody to spend it on but themselves.’
Luke looked at Alice. ‘Are you giving up the café?’
‘Already have! I’ll be too busy setting up our own one for the oldie—for the golden ones.’
Everyone laughed.
The conversation continued, with people giving their opinions on what should be offered in a tourist venture for ‘golden ones’. Ham suggested types of food, Ellie talked of service, Beth about electric minicars, Alice about clothes, and Kev went on about farm tours while Lora took notes. The only one who didn’t contribute was Luke. He was happy just watching and listening to the others. Especially Alice. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her so excited about the future. And with the sensible guidance of Beth and Kev, he felt sure it was going to work.
He smiled to himself as he thought back to how the whole thing had started: a possum crossing the Three-oh-nine and Alice swerving to avoid it.
What would have happened if the possum had not chosen that exact moment to cross?
Luke didn’t know, but he was mighty pleased that it had.
Praise
Praise for The Moa Cave
…a real page-turner avoiding obvious plotlines and neatly capturing modern-day “tween” sensibilities.—NorthSouth
Praise for A Friend in Paradise
This is an exciting read that is so very New Zealand you can just about smell the bush.—New Books
Praise for Frog Whistle Mine
Des Hunt has once again woven his magic in this delightful novel…which transcends the generation gap.—Wanganui Chronicle
Praise for Where Cuckoos Call
This home-grown ecological thriller is proof-positive there is more out there to entertain younger readers than just that prep-school wizard Harry.—Wairarapa Times-Age
Praise for Shadows in the Ice
…the dramatic New Zealand landscape [is] a powerful force in its own right.—Sunday Star Times
…a rip-roaring finale that would make a fantastic film.—The Dominion Post
Praise for The Tooth
…the perfect book for when it’s too wet to go outside and dig up a pterodactyl.—Tearaway
…good yarns with strong science themes featuring believable boys.—The Dominion Post
Praise for Whale Pot Bay
She cried the night after we finished reading it…‘I miss Whale Pot Bay!’—Coffeegroup
Praise for Cry of the Taniwha
It will keep you up all night…impossible to put down.—Greymouth Evening Star
Copyright
HarperCollinsPublishers
First published 2010
This edition published in 2010
by HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1, Auckland 1140
Copyright © Des Hunt 2010
Des Hunt asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
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National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Hunt, Des, 1941-
The crocodile nest / Des Hunt.
ISBN: 978 1 8695 0828 9 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978 0 7304 4550 0 (ePub)
[1. Fathers and sons—Fiction. 2. Australia—Fiction.] I. Title.
NZ823.3—dc 22
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