The Start of Something New

by Stacey Nash

  Johnson: ‘Good. Let’s start with Trevor Gunn.’

  Cooper: ‘Gunny’s a dickwad who just wants his payday. If I hadn’t followed—’

  Hannah’s phone trilled with an incoming call. She silenced it. Not quickly enough to avoid breaking her concentration.

  Johnson: ‘What about the explosion?’

  Dear God. What had Coop gotten himself into?

  ‘What explosion?’ Cooper asked.

  Hannah exhaled with relief. Their voices dropped then and she couldn’t hear all that well anymore. The station’s phone rang and the woman on the counter picked up, her perky voice drowning out the sergeant’s questions even further. There hadn’t been an explosion anywhere in town that Hannah was aware of. Nothing that Coop would know about, unless he meant that noise just before she’d found his unit alight.

  A polite ‘ahem’ drew Hannah’s attention to the receptionist peering over the top of her purple-rimmed glasses. The woman asked, ‘Can I help you?’

  Hannah realised that she had pivoted to the very edge of her chair, and was leaning forward with her ear towards the interview room. Flushing, she shuffled back to sit properly and drew in a deep breath of stale, musty air.

  Police stations almost smelled worse than hospitals.

  Vibrations tickled the leg where Hannah’s phone sat. Upon seeing Morgan’s name, she smiled at the receptionist then answered the incoming call.

  ‘Hi, honey.’

  ‘There’s that sweet voice I’ve been dying to hear. Wanna do dinner tonight? We could hit the Fat Buddha or maybe the Red Diamond.’ A smile coloured his voice, which dropped to a sexy gravel, ‘Or we could just stay in and order room service.’

  The receptionist looked back to her computer screen. Hannah focused on Coop, still deep in conversation with the copper. ‘Ooh, tempting. It’ll be Coop’s first night home though. Do you want to come to mine instead?’

  ‘Excellent idea. How’s he doing?’

  ‘He looks good, but … I’ll fill you in later.’

  Morgan paused and Hannah glanced up to see her brother weaving through the desks to join her. ‘I can’t wait to see you.’

  ‘Ditto.’

  Cooper stopped right by her, shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and looked down at Hannah, waiting.

  ‘Tonight,’ Hannah said into the phone.

  ‘Tonight,’ Morgan responded.

  Cooper grimaced. ‘Sappy.’

  Hannah ended the call. ‘Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Coop.’

  Neither spoke as they walked back to the hospital where the ute waited. Hannah climbed in, and after the door slammed behind her twin, she started up the vehicle. They were cruising along Louth Road when Cooper said, ‘I’ll get off light if I testify against Gunn.’

  Hannah watched the road.

  ‘They’ve been after him for a while. If the case goes to trial and I speak, Johnson said I should get off the arson charges.’

  ‘Arson?’

  ‘Apparently I suck at making pipe bombs.’

  ‘Holy hell, Cooper. That’s what started the fire? You’re lucky you didn’t blow yourself up.’

  He fell silent then. The gates of neighbouring farms passed the window and finally Hannah slowed, turning into Burton Park’s gravel driveway.

  ‘I needed my tools, li’l sis. Business was failing, work was limited—still is. Gunn cut me a deal. Said he could get them back if I helped him with a few jobs.’

  Hannah blew out a breath.

  ‘Nothing criminal. Just using my trade knowledge to help build shit. I was a gullible sap.’

  They pulled up by the barn and Hannah cut the engine, then turned to look her twin in the eye. ‘I love you, Coop, but really?’

  He rolled his neck. ‘I feel like shit already, okay? The family name …’

  ‘You never cared about it.’

  ‘Well, maybe I do now.’

  Before they piled out of the car, Kate appeared on the front verandah, wiping her hands on her gingham apron. She greeted them with a grin and opened her arms, and Coop stepped into her embrace. No one had spoken of what would happen when he was discharged; their mother had merely made plans as if there were no other option but for her son to return to the family home.

  Hannah climbed the wooden steps. ‘Morgan’s coming for dinner tonight.’

  ‘Lovely,’ Kate mumbled from inside Cooper’s hug.

  Hannah scooted past them to reach the front door. She found Jase in the dining room with papers sprawled around him. They’d all spent more time in the last few weeks huddled around the giant timber table than they usually did in an entire year, but times had been desperate. These days, Hannah wasn’t the only one constantly checking the finances.

  ‘Slacking off already, Jase? It’s barely midday.’

  The elder Burton scratched his forehead with a pen. ‘I’m running figures. I think with the loan and everything else …’

  ‘Our inheritance?’ Hannah pulled up a chair. ‘Yes?’

  ‘I trust you, Han.’

  ‘Are you saying what I think you are?’ A grin stretched Hannah’s mouth and she jumped up, planting a kiss on Jase’s forehead. ‘I’ll put the order in tonight. The price per barrel still hasn’t budged since I first started looking. I’m thinking if we switch the bulk of the farm over to jojoba we’ll see an excellent pay-off.’

  Jase scratched his forehead with the pen again. ‘One stipulation.’

  Hannah paused, frowning. ‘Yeah?’

  ‘I still want a small crop of cotton to keep us ticking until the two-year pay-off.’

  ‘Of course. Of course …’ Hannah flipped over a notepad and started sketching paddock plans. ‘What if …’ She shaded in Lone Tree and all the back paddocks, less the sheep areas, but kept a quarter of the property blank—all the paddocks fronting the road. ‘Historically speaking, Burton Park is one of the biggest players in the local cotton industry. So what if we keep these areas—’ she circled those front paddocks, ‘—in cotton to show our continued support, but also for history’s sake.’

  ‘The front gates will be surrounded with bolls. I like it.’ Jase grinned. ‘Pop would approve.’

  Hannah returned her brother’s smile. For the first time in ages everything felt as if it was moving in the right direction. The farm was back on track, Morgan was in her life again, she might even call Elsie, and most importantly of all, her family was tighter than ever.

  Chapter 36

  Two months later, Morgan sat on the swinging bench under the wide verandah at Burton Park. In his hand was a steaming mug of something chocolatey Hannah had insisted he needed. She hadn’t been wrong either—the stuff tasted like liquid Tim Tams.

  As he looked out over the tilled fields, he smiled to himself. If anyone had tried to tell him he’d wind up back in this dust bowl he would have told them to go to hell. Yet here he was, soaking in the country air with no intention of ever leaving. Unless Hannah decided sometime in the future that she needed a sea change. But for now, Mindalby was home and his heart resided at Burton Park.

  He’d handed in his resignation to Beyond Blue when his tenure had ended, and he was making headway towards opening his own private practice. He’d signed a lease to operate out of the community centre until he outgrew it. With mental healthcare plans in place, many of his previous clients could continue to use his services free of charge—he’d waive the gap. Life couldn’t get much better.

  The front door opened and Hannah shouted back through it, ‘They’ll be here any minute!’ Then she edged it closed. As she lowered herself beside him, the bench swung back with her weight, and Morgan slotted his arm over her shoulders. She smelled like roses and lavender and, under all that, the land. Snuggling into his side, she pressed a kiss to his lips, one he took deeper.

  A blasting horn killed the moment, and Morgan raised his middle finger in the direction of the sound without breaking away from his girl.

  ‘Can’t you do that where I don’t have to see it?’ Ja
se bellowed.

  Hannah smiled against his lips and Morgan pecked her one last time then pulled away to shout back, ‘Can’t you be somewhere else?’

  ‘I’m trying, Harris. Believe me.’

  Hannah settled back in under his arm and Mrs Burton jostled through the front door, her arms loaded with blankets and baskets and was that a giant—he looked at the speckled thing more closely—gramma?

  ‘It’s a bit late for contest entries, isn’t it, Mum?’

  She turned a smile on her daughter. ‘No, honey. These are for the raffle. I promised I’d donate one of my best.’

  ‘And the food?’

  Mrs Burton blushed just like her daughter. ‘They’re for … well, never you mind.’

  ‘Come on, Mum, or we’ll miss the wife-carrying race.’

  Morgan’s drink trickled down the wrong pipe, and he spluttered then coughed. Hannah smacked him on the back.

  ‘You gonna enter, Burton?’ Morgan laughed. ‘You’d probably win with Mrs B on your team. She couldn’t weigh more than a watermelon.’

  ‘Up yours, Harris.’ Jase ducked into his twin-cab and started talking with Cooper who sat in the back seat. His mother climbed up into the passenger side and spun around to face Hannah’s twin. ‘How’s community service, honey?’

  ‘Two hours down, ninety-eight to go,’ Coop droned.

  Kate faced the front, the window glided down, and she stuck her head out.

  ‘See you kids later tonight. Have fun now.’

  ‘Oh, we will,’ Hannah mumbled while holding a wide smile and waving at her mother.

  ‘You bet we will.’ Morgan swept her into his arms and kissed her like he intended to take her to their bed, which he absolutely did.

  When they finally broke apart Hannah snuggled into his side again. ‘I can’t believe he only copped hours for his part in the fire. Sheer luck really.’

  ‘Yeah well, he had a clean record other than the riot, and he does come from a well-respected family. Did he ever tell you the whole story?’

  ‘Mmm.’ Hannah found his hand and threaded it through hers. ‘He got in with the scum of town, who cut him a deal. They totally bailed on him after the fire, and well, you know how Johnson found evidence of him constructing a pipe bomb in his house?’

  Morgan caressed her thumb with his. ‘Yeah. Stuffed-up recipe caused the fire. Guess his chemistry skills were rusty, even after making all those letterbox busters back in school.’

  ‘Uh-huh, well that bomb was for god only knew what and in return, the dodgy dude was gonna steal Coop’s tools out of the gin.’

  ‘Coop sure got the raw end of the deal. Constructing an illegal weapon.’ Morgan frowned.

  ‘Well, the other bloke had a record. Hence the jail time when Coop caved and told all. If he hadn’t been at the riots …’

  Morgan pressed a kiss to her temple and Hannah squeezed his hand. His lips traced the side of her cheek, finding her pulse point which he kissed again. Hannah moaned. Her hand disentangled from his and walked its way up his chest to cup his jaw. Morgan swooped in on her mouth, kissing her in the way she loved best.

  It was past time they went back to bed.

  ***

  Not a single parking space was left on any of the streets surrounding the showground. Hannah had to circle the place three times before she fluked one, and even that was almost two blocks away.

  ‘I’m so glad the cotton festival’s going ahead,’ Elsie said from the backseat. ‘When it looked like being canned I was worried it would dampen the community spirit, what with everything else going on.’

  ‘It should be a fun night.’ Hannah climbed out of Morgan’s car and folded her seat down to let her friend through. Elsie stepped out far more elegantly than Hannah would’ve found possible and brushed the crinkles from her skirt.

  ‘Thanks so much for inviting me to come with you.’ She offered Hannah a small smile. ‘I hope Morgan didn’t put you up to inviting me.’

  ‘What?’ Hannah shot him a raised eyebrow. ‘Why would he do that?’

  ‘I wouldn’t.’ Morgan levelled a look at the blonde. Whatever was going on there Hannah felt completely lost. She craned her head back, glancing up at the giant slingshot just as some poor soul was flung through the air only to be yanked back in. Screams and music and laughter danced on the air as Morgan took her hand, weaving his fingers through hers.

  Happy people trickled in and out of the showground, their arms overflowing with all the goods of the festival. Music played in the distance; close by, someone commentated on the loudspeaker, but their fuzzy voice made words indecipherable. It could have been dog trials or it could’ve been wood chopping. Maybe it was something else. Hannah didn’t really care.

  What she did care about was those around her. Neither Morgan nor Elsie were people she would’ve been at the cotton festival with last year. If she’d come at all. Yet here she was, with a heart overflowing with love and affection and friends with whom to share it.

  ‘Is that Cooper?’ Elsie pointed to a table set off to the side of one of the smaller pavilions. Through the crowd Hannah could just make out her twin sitting at a long table with three other men, stuffing one meat pie after the next in his mouth while the crowded cheered.

  ‘Unfortunately he’s not as couth as the rest of us.’

  Elsie laughed. ‘I don’t know. I like a man who can eat.’

  ‘The most pies in Mindalby?’

  They wandered around the cotton festival, checking out the exhibits and competitions, looking at the livestock and cakes. Finally in the section that housed all the fair rides, they bumped into Hannah’s brothers. Although he still looked slightly green compared to the giant yellow duck under his arm, Cooper grinned when he saw them.

  ‘Where’s your prize from sideshow alley, li’l sis?’ He pulled the oversized duck out from under his arm while regarding her empty hands. ‘Looks like I win this year. Or did you not want to show Harris up?’

  ‘I don’t need to shoot crooked to prove I’m a man.’ Morgan grinned at him.

  ‘Shoot crooked? You gotta shoot straight, man—that’s where you’re going wrong.’

  Morgan squeezed her hand as if to warn her he was deliberately riling Coop. ‘Those things are all rigged. If you won, you were more off centre than a—’

  ‘A failed cotton gin,’ Jase supplied.

  Coop tossed the duck at Hannah and she caught it out of the air. Elsie hadn’t said a word, and when Hannah checked to make sure her friend was doing okay the other girl’s undivided attention was pinned on Cooper.

  ‘What are you guys up to now?’ Hannah asked. ‘Wanna grab something to eat with us and find a quiet place to sit?’

  Cooper moaned. ‘I’ll be in the sitting, but please, no food.’

  ‘Not even a pie?’ Jase heckled, and Coop held his stomach.

  ‘Come on, you big baby.’ Hannah took her twin by the arm. ‘Let’s find somewhere to sit and maybe the real men can grab you a sick bag when they get our dinner.’

  Jase laughed.

  ‘I might need a hand, Elsie. He gets pretty worked up when he’s overeaten.’

  Cooper didn’t even bite; he just let the girls lead him away.

  They found a sunny spot near the grandstand, where the ground sloped slightly upwards and the grass underfoot was bright and green. It didn’t take long for the other two to return, laughing and mucking around like they had back at school. Since the fire they’d both settled back into their old friendship like no time had passed at all.

  Morgan handed out cups of hot chips, and Jase tossed everyone but Coop a can of fizzy drink, then he plonked on the ground between Hannah and Cooper. ‘You’re gonna have to man up if you want in at the farm, brother.’

  ‘What’s happening with the farm?’ Elsie asked.

  ‘Other than Harris moving in? What’s life like living with your girl’s mother?’ Cooper pinched one of Elsie’s hot chips.

  ‘It’s worth it.’

  ‘You’ve
gone soft, Harris,’ Jase quipped, but Morgan ignored him and drew Hannah in for a passionate kiss which made her brother groan.

  ‘Since I’ve moved into Jase’s place I’ve been helping out a bit on the land,’ Cooper explained to Elsie. ‘It’s not a bad gig.’

  ‘What about your trade?’

  ‘Doin’ that too.’ Cooper looked out over the showground where people were starting to gather around a stage. ‘But I’m thinking of politics.’

  Hannah spluttered, spraying orange fizzy drink into the air.

  ‘What? It’s not that crazy. Burtons have always been involved.’

  ‘Pop was a councillor, sure, but really, Coop?’

  He sat up straighter. ‘Yes, really. Who knows? I could be mayor like Pop.’

  ‘You mean the founding mayor, Bartholomew Burton. Was he our great-great, or great-great-great-grandfather?’ Jase laughed.

  ‘ ’S not funny,’ Coop said around a mouthful of Elsie’s chips. ‘I’m gonna nail that job one day.’

  Hannah dragged her fingers over the patch of clover by her knee. ‘Those jojoba plants arrive next week. We might just put you to work planting them out.’

  ‘Busy,’ Cooper said. ‘I’ve got a job at the commune.’

  Morgan plucked a wild daisy from the tiny space between them and passed it to Hannah. Admiring its tiny black-edged yellow petals she slipped the flower into the cover of her phone where it would be pressed flat, then leaned forward to brush a kiss on Morgan’s rough jaw. ‘I love you.’

  ‘I love you, more.’

  The coloured lights of rides shone against the twilight sky, and Hannah’s heart felt full. She’d finally crawled out of the embers and learned that family alone wasn’t enough. Everyone needed love and friendship in their lives, and she was no exception. Besides, family wasn’t always connected via blood. This town and these people—they were her family.

  Thank you for reading The Start of Something New. I hope you enjoyed it.

  If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage stacey-nash.com, follow me on Twitter @staceynash, or like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/StaceyNashAuthor/