by Camryn Eyde
“On it. Aimee, get clean towels and the baby blanket. Joey, call the doctor. He was invited, so maybe he’s already on his way. Justine, get her on some towels and on the bed.” Everyone stood there nodding at Sally thinking her orders sounded fair and reasonable. “Now, people!”
As Aimee ran down the hall, she could hear Sally shouting, “Danny! Find the bloody pastor! We have an emergency wedding to perform.”
Aimee chuckled at his distant reply of, “What the hell are you on about?”
“Oh crap,” Aimee said as she spotted the look on Amber’s face when she delivered fresh towels to the bedroom where she was changing. Her off-white wedding dress was soaked in a curious liquid, and the tendons in her neck were taut and ready to snap. Her mother was sitting beside her brushing her sweat-drenched hair from her face.
“Put them here,” Justine said, indicating the dresser across the room.
Aimee did so, but not without having to avoid a cameraman. “Seriously, mate, you gotta go,” she said, shoving at the man covering the wedding for next years’ success stories of Romancing the Farmer. “Justine, tell your minion to leave,” she added when the man refused to budge.
“Dave, get the hell out. Australia doesn’t need to witness this.”
“But—”
Joey finally made it to the room after hobbling up the hall and grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck, shoving him towards the door. “Amber? Honey. Are you okay?”
Amber grimaced and groaned.
“I’m thinking no,” Aimee muttered.
Sally bustled into the room with an assortment of equipment and took control. She had lifted Amber’s dress to her waist and cut off her knickers before Aimee had a chance to escape. She’d witness thousands of lambs being birthed, but the sight of her soon-to-be sister-in-law’s private areas looking like something out of a Freddy Kruger movie was revolting. “Oh, Christ,” Aimee muttered before rushing from the room, leaving Sally, Justine, Joey and Amber’s parents to deal with the carnage of childbirth.
“Where’s the emergency?” Danny said, running down the hall with a flustered old man behind him.
“In there.” Aimee thrust a thumb at the room and delighted in Danny’s curse word of choice when he found what was going on.
“Pastor, marry these two, and hurry the hell up. This little bub is waiting for no one.”
Aimee smiled as she leant against the wall listening to the harried clergyman rush through the wedding vows over the top of Amber’s increasing groaning, screaming, and vitriolic insults at Joey. The moment Amber screamed ‘I do’, a baby’s wail filled the airwaves.
“It’s a girl,” Justine said, as she joined Aimee in the hall. “A beautiful pink little girl.”
Aimee grinned. “Does that mean I win the bet?”
“That depends on the weight,” said a man’s voice, joining them as he exited the bedroom after Justine. Amber’s father, a portly greying man with a penchant for a wager, smiled at Aimee. “I won.”
Aimee shook her head at Harold. “There’s no way she’s heavier than seven pounds. Amber is tiny.”
“My family breed them big. You just wait, young lady, she’ll be eight pounds or more, and then I’ll soon be enjoying a nice nip of fine scotch.”
“You wish.”
“Just to remind you, anything less than eighteen years old is a waste of my time.” Harold patted Aimee on the shoulder and walked back into the bedroom to meet his new granddaughter.
Justine rolled her eyes and returned to the room.
***
Introduced to online shopping by Justine and Aaron, Aimee was in the homestead office a few hours later looking for the perfect bottle of scotch for Harold when Joey shuffled in grinning.
“Well, here’s the proud dad,” Aimee said, returning his goofy smile. “How’s Amber?”
“Enjoying a well-deserved rest,” he said as he eased himself into another chair. “The little one is sleeping too.”
“And her name is…?”
Joey hesitated for a moment. “Bridget.”
Aimee’s hand came to her chest. “Mum would have loved that.”
Joey nodded. “I think so.”
“Here you two are,” Sally said, walking into the office. “Joey, the pastor wants a word before he leaves. Apparently you’ve yet to sign your marriage certificate.”
“Sit down a sec,” he said to his sister, patting the coffee table beside him.
“What?” Sally asked once she sat.
“I just wanted to let you know that Amber and I have decided to name our little girl after mum.”
Sally’s hand pressed against her chest like Aimee had done. “You named her Bridget?”
Joey nodded. “Bridget Aimee Turner, actually.”
Aimee blinked. “You named your daughter after me? Why?”
“Because you’re the strongest, most resilient, determined woman I know.” Joe leant forward and touched Aimee’s knee. “You’re a hero and a woman who knows her heart. I’m sorry for everything that happened last year. I was an arsehole, and because of that, I nearly lost you all.”
“I’m sorry for being an arsehole, too,” Aimee said, covering her brother’s hand.
Joey turned to Sally and gave her a smile.
She raised her hands. “I didn’t act like an arsehole, so I’m not apologising. But it’s good to see the knock on your head has made you see sense, though,” Sally said, trying to be teasing, but the tears shining in her eyes betrayed her. Joey’s rehabilitation wasn’t over, but the hardest battle had been fought.
“I love you both, more than anything.” He smiled at them. “Well, almost. I think my baby girl has succeeded you both.”
“As it should be,” Sally said, patting her brother on the arm. “And speaking of daughters, or sons for that matter, Danny and I…” She took a deep breath. “We’re pregnant.”
Aimee’s jaw dropped and Joey frowned.
“You’re happy about it?” Joey asked.
Sally nodded. “It wasn’t planned, but…I think this is the start of a new beginning for us. I think we’re all getting a second chance. Don’t you?”
Aimee nodded. “Yes, I think we are.”
The truth behind Danny’s funk and Sally’s erratic moods had come out after the fire levelled the property. Joey, while unconscious when it happened, made up for lost time when he did find out and punched Danny across the jaw. Weak from his incapacitation, the hit was more like a light tap on the face, but the sentiment behind it was significant. The couple had been driving into Roper Creek monthly for marriage counselling to get their relationship back on track. The one thing the fire had done in their favour was to remind them how much they didn’t want to lose their family.
The fire had cleaned the slate for their entire family’s future. Aimee had decided to continue into a Ph.D. by finally deciding to run her own breeding experiment on the farm. Justine had given up her city life, but had brought her love of horses with her, and thanks to Dreamer, was already on the way to breeding quality horses to train and sell. Aaron was training for the Australia Youth Equestrian team and had given Robbie a new outlet in the process. Both boys were now travelling the horse circuit, only Robbie’s skills were better applied in the rodeo ring.
The family group smiled at one another, enjoying the renewed bond they had once shared. It was snapped a moment later when Aaron and Robbie came bursting into the room.
“Kite is having a baby!”
Mayhem ensued, and a little after midnight, new life was once again welcomed at Yarrabee Station. The new filly, Hope, had opened her eyes to see her future family gathered around her with smiles and tears in their eyes.
###
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank four extraordinary ladies who took time out of their lives to help make this story better for the world to enjoy.
To Sue, a new, but essential friend, thank you for offering to read through my story around your very hectic and emoti
onal time. I owe you a significant debt of gratitude. To fellow author and friend, Tara Wentz (go check out her stuff), thank you so much for your last minute acceptance of my beta request. You are a pleasure to chat with, an honour to know, and I look forward to collaborating with you again in the future. To Fiona, an amazing and highly entertaining individual who has quickly become the best fan ever. Your generosity is unsurpassed…except by your impressive ability to talk fluent okka. You’re a grouse sheila. And to the woman that has supported my writing since day dot, Lyn the-ever-amazing Gardner. She’s a phenomenal writer, an outstanding editor, but more importantly, my beautiful friend. We’ve both come a long way since our fanfiction days, and we have many more roads to travel. Did someone say: Road trip!
Lastly, to my poor, neglected friends and family. Thank you.
Writing can be a lonely endeavour, but you guys make it worth it.