The Start of Something New

by Stacey Nash

  She pulled away too soon, so Morgan mock pouted, dropping his paper bag onto the hospital’s moving bed-table.

  Hannah rolled her eyes towards her dozing twin. Towards her mother sleeping in a chair on his other side. ‘As if she’ll notice,’ Morgan said before peppering kisses along her jaw. Hannah moaned just like she had last night, right before he’d—

  ‘Hi Morgan.’ Mrs Burton’s voice was like a wet blanket, dosing them both.

  ‘Hi, there.’ He gave her his full smile.

  ‘Harris.’ Cooper’s voice sounded all croaky.

  Morgan pulled away from Hannah just enough to grab his mate’s right hand. He squeezed, but not too tight. ‘How’re doing?’

  ‘Good. Thanks to you.’ The youngest Burton didn’t look too good. His right hand was wrapped in bandages and he was still attached to an IV, not to mention the sound of that voice.

  ‘I’m glad Hannah and I were there.’

  Cooper looked back and forth between them then raised his left eyebrow. His sister rose onto her toes and kissed Morgan’s cheek. ‘You’d better get used to it.’

  Cooper narrowed his eyes at Morgan in warning then broke into a smile and tried to give them a thumbs up despite the bandage. Meanwhile, Hannah must have sniffed out the pastries, because she peeked inside the bag. ‘Are these to share?’

  ‘Yep.’

  She took out a danish and passed the bag to her mother. Before long they were all munching away while Cooper watched on.

  ‘Can’t eat,’ Hannah said around a mouthful of chocolate pastry. ‘His throat’s too sore.’

  Morgan winked at her. ‘I’d feel sorry for him, but we earned these by saving his arse.’

  Hannah laughed, and Mrs B sniffed from her seat in the corner. ‘I’m just so grateful you all made it out of that house.’

  A heavy silence ensued in which Hannah brushed up all the crumbs she’d left on the brown table, her mother stared at each of them in turn, and Cooper sat in his bed looking more serious than Morgan’s boss at the quarterly budget meeting.

  Morgan shuffled his weight, moving an inch closer to Hannah. ‘I can’t stay long. I’ve got to get back to work.’ He nodded towards her twin. ‘I’m glad you’re doing better, mate.’

  Cooper returned the gesture and his mother got up, walked around the bed and held Morgan by his biceps while she leaned up and kissed his cheek. ‘You’re a good man, Morgan Harris. It’s so nice to have you back in town.’

  He didn’t miss the way she glanced at Hannah, as if she were giving him her blessing.

  Hannah seemed oblivious to her mother’s message. ‘I’ll walk you out.’

  As they left the ward and walked down the corridor, Morgan noticed the way their steps fell on the same beat. The way her shoulder fit perfectly under his arm despite their height difference. At the front entrance she stopped to give him a kiss, which Morgan eagerly accepted.

  She looked at him for a long time, her eyes softening while they stood there. Finally, when it felt as though the silence had lasted forever, she whispered, ‘Thank you.’

  Then kissed him so tenderly he felt as though he were made of glass.

  Chapter 34

  A wolf whistle cut through the chilly air. Hannah pulled away from kissing the only guy she’d ever been in love with and shot her big brother what she hoped was a filthy glare. Jase loped across the hospital’s parking lot, his long arms and easy gait a sign of his good humour. Hannah had always been able to read his moods by the way he walked, and that morning was no different.

  He clapped Morgan on the shoulder and scooped Hannah into a twirling hug, crushing her ribs with his enthusiasm. ‘Morning, lovebirds.’

  ‘Burton,’ Morgan ground out.

  ‘Harris, smile a little. It’s a good day to be alive.’

  Morgan fake grinned.

  ‘Who did you just hook up with?’ Hannah stuck her tongue into her cheek as she leaned back against the metal handrail.

  ‘We-e-ell ….’ Jase reshuffled his weight, resting his left foot on the boot-toe of his right. ‘Wait—’ He eyed off her green shirt. ‘Whatcha wearin’, Han?’

  She slapped him with a grin. ‘Spill your news, already!’

  ‘I’ve just come from the accountant.’ Jase beamed.

  Hannah squinted against the bright sun. ‘Say what now?’

  ‘That Chinese buyer came back to me, and we’ve come to an agreement. I locked him into a signed contract right away. Exchanged just now.’

  ‘That’s great news.’ Morgan pressed his lips to Hannah’s temple. ‘I’ve got to get back to work.’

  A chorus of ‘see you laters’ echoed around the room. After he’d walked away, Hannah returned her attention to Jase. ‘So, how much?’

  ‘Well,’ Jase said, leaning back against the other handrail to better face her, ‘Less than Ardmax, but enough to cut even. It’s sold, bub. That’s what matters.’

  Hannah crossed her arms over her chilly chest. Twelve degrees was far too cool to go without covering up. Jase looked down at her and his grin faded. ‘You need to get more clothes on.’

  He grabbed his woollen jumper from behind his neck and dragged it off then pulled it down over Hannah’s head.

  ‘That’s great.’ She melted into the warmth, grateful for his sacrifice, even if it did mask the scent of Morgan’s shirt.

  Hannah pushed off the railing and turned to go back inside. ‘We’ve still got a mile’s worth of bills to pay, and we might need to dip into the loan money to settle them.’

  ‘Ouch.’ Jase grimaced. ‘I didn’t realise it was that bad.’

  ‘It’s that bad.’

  They walked through the brightly lit corridors to Cooper’s room, where their mother was fussing over their brother. Jase tugged on Coop’s toes. ‘Not giving Mum a hard time are you, mate?’

  A smile ghosted across Cooper’s face as he slowly shook his head.

  Hannah looked at the faces around the room, and suddenly feeling sappy, threaded her arm around her eldest brother. ‘I love you guys.’

  Jase snorted. ‘Someone got laid.’

  Hannah stomped on his toe. ‘I mean it. I’m sorry we’ve all been fighting, and I hope everything can go back to—’ she paused, remembering their recent loss, ‘—normal.’

  ‘Hey, yeah.’ Jase looked at their mother. ‘Sold the processed bales.’

  Kate’s eyes brightened. ‘When?’

  ‘Just now.’

  ‘Wonderful news.’

  Trying to smile through cracked lips, Coop reached for the mug of water. Kate beat him to it though, then held the green plastic to his lips.

  The next half hour passed with them exchanging jabs and laughing like they hadn’t in weeks. Midway through joshing Hannah about her outfit, it all got too much for Cooper. His eyes slammed closed, his smile slipped, and just like that, he dozed off with the echo of laughter on his lips. Hannah turned to Jase.

  ‘We’d better get back to the farm. There’s so much to do and shit—’ she covered her mouth when her mother dished out a look. ‘Sorry, Mum. My ute’s out of fuel. Think you can spot me a tank?’

  Jase clicked his tongue. ‘I keep telling you to hook that thing up to diesel.’

  ‘Can you give me a hand without the I told you so?’

  Jase beamed down at her. ‘Not today, sis.’

  Hannah huffed and looked at their mother. ‘Are you coming home?’

  ‘Not just yet, honey. One of you can come get me later.’

  Hannah took one last look at her twin before exiting the room then widened her eyes at Jase. ‘Shake a leg, princess.’

  Jase scoffed. ‘Who you calling princess, Mrs Harris?’

  Hannah’s jaw dropped as she spun around. Jase’s phone rang from somewhere in his pocket; grinning, he fished it out and pressed answer.

  ‘Jason Burton.’

  The smile fell from his face, and Hannah’s stomach clenched. Surely enough had gone wrong for this one little family.

  ‘O
kay. Yeah—yeah she’s here with me.’ He glanced at Hannah. ‘Where’s your phone?’

  ‘In the ute with a flat battery.’

  He shook his head and kept listening. ‘Sure. We can come in now if that suits?’

  Dread crept up Hannah’s spine and settled at the base of her neck.

  ‘See you soon.’ He ended the call and slid the phone back in his jeans pocket.

  ‘Who was that?’

  It wasn’t until they reached the main entrance that Jase turned to her. ‘That was Penny Fordham. She wants us to go into her office to talk about Pop’s will.’

  ‘Oh. He had a will?’ Hannah veered off towards Jase’s car. She hadn’t given wills or bequests a moment’s thought. But it made sense, since he’d had a funeral plan.

  ‘Yep. She apologised for taking so long to contact us.’

  ‘It’s only been a week.’

  ‘Eleven days.’

  Jase unlocked the twin-cab via his remote, and with a heavy heart Hannah stepped up into the passenger seat. She’d missed her grandfather every day since he’d been gone, but his passing hadn’t really felt final. Not in the way that it felt right then.

  ‘Wait. Do we have to go right now? I’m not exactly dressed for it.’

  ‘So what?’ Jase said.

  Hannah looked down at her shoddy outfit. A man’s jumper coupled with dirty jeans wasn’t exactly the sort of thing one wore to that kind of meeting.

  ‘Come on. If it’s waited this long, it can wait a few more hours.’

  ‘You’re fine, Han. Stop stressing.’ Jase swung out of the carpark, and in three minutes they pulled up out front of the only lawyer’s office in town. As they walked inside, Jase approached the front desk and told the receptionist who they were. She ushered them right through to a small meeting room out the back where Ms Fordham sat at the round table, paper covering the space in front of her. She rose when they walked in and shook hands with Jase then Hannah.

  ‘Take a seat.’ The white strip of hair at her widow’s peak bobbed with her nod. ‘This won’t take too long. Are your mother and brother coming?’

  ‘No,’ Hannah answered. ‘Cooper’s in hospital. Mum’s with him.’

  Penny scrunched up her face. ‘Hmm. I really shouldn’t proceed without them. Umm …’ She flipped through her papers, then looked up at them.

  ‘Oh, look. I don’t foresee any issues, so let’s just go ahead.’ She poured three glasses of water and gestured towards them. ‘Help yourselves.’

  Hannah folded her hands in her lap and peeked at Jase from the corner of her eye. All straight-backed and serious-mouthed, her brother appeared just as nervous as she felt.

  ‘Abe had his will with us for quite some time. After Stan died, he issued us the honour of executing. I’m sorry it’s taken me a week to get to you. With things the way they are around town, I’ve been a little tied up. Now let me see …’

  She fingered through a pile. ‘Ah, here we go.’ She took another sip of water.

  ‘I, Abraham Jonathon Burton, bequeath my property and all holdings referred to in appendix A, in equal shares to my daughter-in law, Katherine Burton, and my three grandchildren, Jason Abraham Burton, Hannah Louise Burton, and Cooper James Burton, under the proviso that the lands remain in the family for the duration of their lives. If any one of them chooses not to be a part of the family business, they will forfeit their share to be divided equally among the other parties.’

  Hannah chanced a glance at her brother, who sat there stoically.

  ‘The balance of the estate is to be transferred to the Burton Park testamentary trust. To be used solely for the benefit of the property known as Burton Park.’ She glanced up at them. ‘In this instance, the balance refers to your grandfather’s life insurance and any other assets he may have accumulated.’

  ‘Life insurance?’ Hannah reached for Jase’s hand and squeezed it.

  ‘What about the house?’ Hannah asked.

  Penny flicked to a new piece of paper. ‘That’s included in the holdings.’

  ‘How much?’ Jase asked.

  Penny frowned. ‘All up, I don’t know.’

  ‘No, I meant the life insurance. How much is the payout?’

  She licked her finger and flicked through the pages, extracting one and bringing it to the top of the pile. ‘One hundred thousand.’

  Jase whistled. Hannah’s breath caught.

  This could be just the windfall they needed to get Burton Park’s finances and future back on track. Guilt sliced her heart the moment the thought passed. Pop was worth more than a chunk of money even if it was a chunk they needed.

  The rest of the meeting passed in a bit of a blur until suddenly Hannah was shaking Ms Fordham’s hand and Jase’s hand was on her elbow guiding her out the door. They climbed in the car and Jase set off. It wasn’t until they were halfway up Burton Park’s long drive that Hannah recalled her empty car.

  Laughing, Jase hung a U-turn. ‘We totally forgot Mum too.’

  Hannah tapped her fingernail against the door lock. ‘What do you think we should do?’

  ‘First, we’ve got to talk to Mum. Turns out the farm is hers too. And to Coop, since he’s already forfeited his claim, whether he wanted it or not. But that insurance money …’ He cut a glance her way.

  ‘And all his rules.’

  Jase laughed. ‘He’s an old bugger. It could settle the debts and set us up to plant out Lone Tree paddock with jojoba.’

  ‘I like that.’

  ‘And we could repay the loan money.’

  ‘Or use it to double the jojoba crop without risk.’ Hannah rubbed her tired eyes.

  ‘It is what the old man would have wanted.’

  As they drove back to town Hannah felt there’d been a change in the wind. Things were looking up for her family, and for Burton Park. Whatever the change brought their way they’d be stronger for what they’d faced these past months.

  Chapter 35

  The dirtiest smell in the world wasn’t clumps of mud stuck to your boots after working soggy fields. It wasn’t fly-blown sheep either. Nor was it Jase or Coop, stinky after a day of hard work under the summer sun. It wasn’t even the smoke of burning buildings. No, it was hospital. That sterile chemical stench that clung to the air and felt as though it seeped from the white concrete walls, it was so pervasive. But the cleanest smell came from newly turned paddocks, from the land after a summer storm, or from the river swollen with fresh rain. Hospitals, they smelt like air pollution.

  Four days of that smell were more than enough for Hannah. Perched on the edge on the thin bed, she watched the corridor as she waited for Cooper to return. The other beds in the ward remained empty, just as they’d been for the duration of her brother’s stay. She scrolled through the photos on her phone, smiling at the selfies Morgan had snapped of the two of them the previous morning.

  Hard-soled shoes slapping against the tiled floor had her glancing up, but it wasn’t Cooper. Sergeant Johnson strode purposefully into the ward, wearing just his blue shirtsleeves even though it was less than ten degrees outside. A shiver rippled along Hannah’s arms just looking at the short sleeves on his thin uniform.

  He gave a curt nod as he approached Cooper’s bed. ‘Hannah.’

  ‘Sergeant.’

  ‘Is your brother around?’ He shuffled the overloaded belt at his waist, eyeing the lone visitor’s chair. Sitting was probably impossible with all those gadgets.

  ‘Umm …’

  With perfect timing, Cooper moseyed towards them with the hem of Jase’s jeans scuffing the floor and a jumper slung over his shoulder. His wet hair clumped in unruly curls. He pointed at the cop’s back and mouthed, ‘What’s he want?’

  Hannah shrugged. Johnson swung around, his attention locking on Hannah’s brother. ‘I need you to accompany me to the station, Mr Burton.’

  Coop’s expression tightened.

  ‘Are you arresting him?’ Hannah asked. ‘You can’t just take him.’

  ‘I
t’s fine,’ Coop said. ‘I’ve been discharged.’

  Johnson nodded. Cooper tugged Jase’s favourite woollen jumper over his head. Hannah frowned, looking between them. ‘Show us the warrant.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Cooper repeated, grabbing his bag of belongings.

  Johnson stayed silent.

  Hannah pushed up off the bed, springing to her twin’s side. ‘He can’t just take you without a warrant.’

  ‘I said it’s fine, Hannah. I want to go with big blue here.’

  ‘Then I’m coming too.’

  ‘You don’t have to.’

  ‘Please, Coop? I want to.’

  Shrugging, Johnson beckoned for them to exit the room before him.

  Cooper complied. Hannah followed, wondering what on earth this was all about.

  They sat in the back of the police cruiser together, Cooper staring resolutely ahead while Hannah watched her brother curiously. It seemed ridiculous driving a few blocks to reach the station. They did it though, in silence. Then Coop climbed out, before the sergeant could open the door for them. Thank goodness. She’d have felt like a criminal otherwise.

  Inside the station, a lady glanced up from the front desk, surveying them over her glasses. Hannah tried to smile; it felt all kinds of wonky though.

  ‘Ms Burton. You can wait out here.’ Johnson pointed towards a row of hard seats lining the wall.

  She eyed the chairs, eyed him, eyed her brother.

  ‘It’s fine, Hannah.’

  ‘It’s obviously not fine, Cooper.’

  ‘Bloody hell. Just sit down.’

  Johnson led Cooper away then, around the edge of the desk where the receptionist sat typing at breakneck speed, and towards a table at the back of the open room.

  Hannah’s fingers found her phone in her pocket and she pulled it out, but then voices carried above the hum of the reverse-cycle air-con. She strained to hear what they were saying.

  Johnson: ‘If you cooperate this will be better—’

  Cooper: ‘I wanted to talk to you anyway. Tell the whole story.’