Ask Me to Stay (12 page)

‘Tea? I was on a train for half the day, I’ve been stuck in a car with your brother for over an hour, and I just lost a year of my life thinking a goose was going to latch onto my neck. Bugger the tea, I want wine.’

Cal put his hand up. ‘I’ll have scotch if you’re offering. I was stuck in the car with her, you see. My nerves are frayed.’

Sam turned towards the kitchen. She called over her shoulder, ‘Neither of you fool me. I can tell you had a great time.’

‘It’s the adrenaline,’ Olivia said. ‘It’s made our eyes all bright.’

Cal looked about the hallway. ‘Where are your shoes?’

‘On the porch.’

Cal narrowed one eye. ‘Not anymore they’re not. Everything’s got to be brought inside. They’re Boo’s now.’

‘What?’ Liv’s laugh was short. She crossed to the narrow window beside the door and peered out. When she spotted something outside, her back straightened. ‘What the hell? That bird’s going for my suitcase!’ She dove for the door handle and wrenched the door open. Sunshine and rich country air barrelled past her tiny body. ‘Hey!’

Cal covered his smiling mouth with his hand as Boo looked up from the cab of the ute. Standing atop Liv’s red suitcase, he shuffled his feet and flexed his wings. Then he began his approach. In a blur of feathers, Boo toppled from the car and charged along the path. Up the porch step. Right towards Liv’s bare feet.

Olivia yelped and slammed the door.

Cal scratched the back of his neck. ‘Did you see your shoes?’

Very slowly, she turned. But her response was interrupted by Sam’s voice from the kitchen.

‘I’ve only got Vodka and orange!’

‘Where’s your husband-to-be?’ Liv asked, rolling the ice around in her glass. The three of them were sitting at the small breakfast table in the far corner of the kitchen. It was cozy. Potted herbs cluttered the window sill and an enormous wooden chopping board dominated the benchtop. It looked handmade, and Liv wondered how much more she would find by the resident carpenter. A faded old rug in the middle of the room broke up the old linoleum with a rectangle of colour. Dozens of cupboards claimed two of the walls and a corkboard hung beside the refrigerator. It was loaded up with children’s drawings, design sketches, bills and photographs. Many more photographs cluttered the fridge and freezer doors, as well as a magnetic Scrabble game being played out of reach of tiny hands.

Sam shifted in her chair to check the clock on the wall above the door. ‘He’s been fixing up the back porch at Dean’s today, but I’m expecting him any minute. I can’t wait for you to see him again – he’s fantastic.’

Liv looked over her glass and smiled. ‘He better be.’

Seated to her right, Cal eased back in his chair. ‘You wouldn’t be jumping in front of Sam, would you, and drawing your sword?’

She rolled her eyes.

It was strange seeing Cal again; seeing him all grown up. Most of her childhood memories involved him. He’d been her loudest supporter and yet simultaneously, her conscience. For a time in her life she’d caused constant trouble and drama, and Cal had always been there – whooping or lecturing, buoyant or stern. Gangly, ever-exasperated, perpetually dirty or dishevelled from whatever adventures he and Ethan had found. That boy was nothing like the long, lean man who took up so much space beside her now. This Cal was proportioned, muscular and clean. His dimples had stuck around, but his skin had cleared up, his voice had dropped and he’d learned how to dress at last. Gone were the band shirts and the tattered jeans; in was a semblance of style. Country style, granted. But a marked improvement. His close-cut hair was as black as Sam’s, his eyes were as brown as rich soil, and his wide smile was as cheeky and alluring as ever.

Sam heaved a theatrical sigh. ‘Don’t start with your half-language again, the pair of you. It drove me crazy then and it’ll do it to me now. Speak in full sentences or I’ll set my goose on you.’

‘A threat I’ll likely never hear again,’ Liv said.

Cal grinned. ‘Until the next time she threatens you.’

‘Well, of course.’ Beneath the table, Liv’s fingers found the slight bulge in her shorts pocket. She wondered if her phone could have rung without her hearing it, and was tempted to check.

But bedlam distracted her.

Three sharp horn blasts and Samantha was out of her chair and running through the house.

Unthinkingly, Liv followed. Sam dragged open the front door and assumed what was clearly her regular position. Seconds later two pairs of shoes flew through the doorway. One hit the wall and clattered to the ground. Then there were men. The first to pitch himself into the house was of average height and build. A child’s hand was clutching his brown curly hair, and a little body was tossed over his shoulder. It could only be Dean Foster.

The second man had to be the tallest person she’d ever shared a room with. His hair and limbs were longer than his brother’s, his chest not as wide and his neck not as thick, but the family resemblance was obvious. Ethan charged into the house, closed his arms around Sam and lifted her into the air. She squealed, delighted, before she was silenced by a kiss. When he set her down his attention was redirected outside.

Curious, Olivia stepped forward to see.

A little girl was lowering herself from the back seat of an enormous 4WD. She wore a white dress with a red lace trim and a thin belt. Her curly auburn hair framed her heart-shaped face and fell either side of her slim shoulders. In contrast to her pretty outfit, she wore soiled green gumboots. Nina pushed the car door closed and turned, just as the goose rounded on her and charged.

Up went a tiny index finger. ‘Boo! No!’

But the goose kept coming.

‘Oh my God!’ Liv’s hand flew to her mouth.

‘Just wait,’ Cal said.

A metre away from the seven year old, the bird slowed and raised from its forward crouch. With what Liv could only imagine to be excitement, it shook its tail feathers and fussed its wings against its side. The honking reduced to a sedate hoot. Nina reached for its extended neck. Her small hand stroked it, and her smile was dazzling.

Liv dropped her hand to her side. ‘Well, I’ll be damned.’

‘Nina sucks,’ said the boy on Dean’s shoulder.

Dean lowered him to his feet. ‘If your sister sucks then you suck.’

The eight-year-old grinned and pushed a fist against his father’s arm. ‘
You
suck.’

‘Then we all suck.’ He straightened. ‘Ro, this is Olivia.’ Rowan turned to look at her as Dean said, ‘She’s very special to Sam, and so she’s very special to us, you got it?’

Liv allowed herself to be scrutinised.

‘Do you like being outside?’ Rowan asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Are you useful? My dad’s always telling me to be useful.’

‘I’m pretty useful.’

Rowan thought for a moment. ‘Do you like Boo?’

‘Not one bit.’

Her final answer cinched it – she passed the test. He smiled at her then walked from the room. It had been like looking at Ethan from twenty-odd years ago; the same chaos of brown hair curled at the ends, the same long frame and angular face. The only difference was Rowan’s grey eyes – Ethan had brown.

‘Liv,’ Dean said, ‘you look fantastic. Welcome back.’ He crossed the hallway to hug her. When he stepped back he opened his arms wide. ‘You’re welcome to anything in this house. And whatever you don’t find here – like coffee, or milk or a sense of humour – you can find at my place.’

Ethan shoved his brother aside. ‘Move, idiot. Liv, what’s mine is yours. I’m thrilled you’re finally here. And I’m counting on you to get me married.’

Smiling, Olivia said, ‘Pardon?’

He nodded at his fiancé. ‘I love this woman like you wouldn’t believe, but planning a wedding isn’t one of her strengths. For God’s sake, make her find a dress. Make her pick a cake. Get her there on the day!
Pick
a day!’ He was grinning as he said this, as was everyone else in the room. ‘I’m not thinking she’s going to jilt me, but she might rock up in steelcap boots, you know what I’m saying?’

Sam stepped forward to playfully push his shoulder. He exaggerated the force of it before sweeping her into his arms again.

Warmth bloomed around Olivia’s heart. Seeing them together this way, witnessing the ease of their love – she doubted she would ever find cause not to give her blessing. Ethan’s Samantha was more alive than Olivia had ever seen her.
Complete
, Olivia concluded.

The welcome party was joined by Nina then. She stepped on the heel of her gumboots to ease each foot free, propped them right in the centre of the welcome mat, then moved to her father’s side.

‘Can I call you Livvy?’ was her greeting.

Olivia flexed her fingers against her thighs, anxious to make a good impression. ‘Sure.’

The child nodded. ‘My friends call me Neenz.’

Nearby, Ethan snickered. ‘I taught her that.’

Nina crossed to Olivia, curled her arms around Olivia’s leg, and squeezed. She looked up, said, ‘You’re important,’ – no doubt recycling what someone had said to her – then left the room to find her brother.

Olivia shook her head at Sam. ‘You know everyone will be looking at her on your wedding day, right?’

Sam laughed. ‘Suits me. Cal, quit stalling and get Liv’s bag, won’t you?’

‘But Boo—’

Ethan lifted his arm from Sam’s shoulder. ‘C’mon, we’ll gang up on it. Diversion tactics.’

They collected their shoes then eased outside.

Sam said, ‘I’ll show you where you’re staying.’

Olivia followed her down the hallway, Dean at her side.

She didn’t want to bring up bad memories, but she needed to know. ‘How have you been?’ She thought of Bree, the lovely, endearing late Mrs Foster, and wondered how her family had got on without her.

Dean nodded, understanding the depth of the question. ‘I’m okay. I miss her.’

‘Of course.’

‘But I think Ethan saved us. When he came back, he changed everything. He . . .’ Dean swallowed. ‘He helped a lot.’ Before Olivia could answer, he finished with a joke. ‘But he’s served his purpose, so now I’m fobbing him off to Sam.’

‘Damn straight,’ Sam said. ‘Now you two just need to help me figure out how to marry him in secret.’