By three a.m., the SES was searching the paddocks along the road, and the contract shooters had their spotlighted utes scouring the back paddocks. Jemima grabbed Ned's arm as they finished the circumnavigation of the last wheat paddock.
"Come on. We'll go back to the house and have a break. You can't go on like this all night."
He shook his head. "I'm not stopping until I find her."
Jemima knew the voice of reason would win out. He'd kept in touch with Angie back at the house every fifteen minutes.
"It will be the most logical way. There's a coordinated search being set up."
Finally, he agreed, and they headed back to the front of the farm. It was lit up with spotlights, and Ned shook his head when he saw how many utes were there. A tented stand had been set up at the back of the house on the lawn, and tears pricked Jemima's eyes. There were at least a dozen women there, making cups of tea and handing out sandwiches. Her eyes widened as she spotted the three Mrs. Sykes, all helping out.
The heart of the country, she thought. The people who live on the farms and in the towns. There was nothing like it, and they all pitched in when one of their own was in need.
Ned slumped in the front of the ute and put his hand over his eyes. "Where now? Where will we look next?"
"Did you search the house in case she was hiding?"
"I did."
"Come and we'll get a cup of tea and then meet with the sergeant." The white police Pajero with the blue numbers on the top and hood was parked at the gate.
As they walked across to the house, Jemima stopped dead. She put her hand on Ned's arm. "Ned, wait. Look!"
A little red kelpie wiggled out from under the hay shed wall, covered in straw.
"It's Rusty." Ned scooped the pup into his arms and ran back to the shed, with Jemima close behind him. "Where is she, Rusty? Take me to her."
The small dog ran to the stack of hay bales in the corner at the back of the shed and disappeared behind them. Ned called him, and he came from behind them, covered in loose straw again.
"Wait here with Rusty." Ned picked him up and handed him to Jemima before he walked across to the bales and pushed himself between them and the shed.
"Oh, Kelsey." Ned's voice shook.
"Daddy," came the plaintive cry from the back of the hay bales.
As they walked around the front of the shed, Jemima's heart clenched. Kelsey was covered in sticks of straw, and she rubbed her red-rimmed eyes.
"I only went in there so you wouldn't hear me crying, and when Rusty crawled in with me, I went to sleep." She looked at Jemima, and her lips trembled. "Don't you love us anymore? Are you sick of us? Are you going to leave us, too? I thought you were going to be my mum, but I don't want you to leave us like Mummy did. I want you to love us all forever." The last words hitched on a sob.
"There's no need to cry, sweetheart." Jemima walked over and put her arms around Kelsey.
"There is! I heard Daddy say you were leaving. Please don't leave us. Even if Daddy doesn't want you, we do." Jemima's heart broke as Kelsey buried her face on her shoulder and started to cry in earnest. "We love you, Jemmy. Can't you love us back?"
"Oh, sweetheart, I do love you." Tears filled Jemima's eyes. What have we done?
"Kelsey, wait." Ned's voice was firm. "I need to tell Jemmy something."
Jemima looked across at Ned as Kelsey held onto her as though she'd never let go. His eyes held hers, and she waited to hear what he had to say.
"Jemima, I made a huge mistake tonight. We all want you to be with us. As a mother and a wife."
In a tiny place in her heart, Jemima let the joy of his words take root, but she shook her head. She needed more than that; she didn't need to be wanted for how useful she was, no matter how much the kids loved her.
"Why?" She kept her voice soft. "Why do you want me to stay?" Her eyes challenged Ned's as she dug deep for the strength to resist Kelsey's plea.
Ned reached out and moved Kelsey gently away from Jemima. She frowned as he got down onto one knee. It was strange looking down at him. Kelsey stood beside her father with one hand on his shoulder and a wide smile on her lips as Ned took Jemima's hand and pressed his lips to her palm.
"I want you to stay because I love you."
Joy spiralled through her as she saw the honesty and love in his eyes.
"I was wrong to tell you to go. I was crazy. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, but by sending you away, that's what I was doing. Losing you. I love you, Jemmy. I always will."
Jemima looked down at the tanned and strong hand holding hers, and her heart flooded with all the love she'd been holding back.
Kelsey took her other hand. "Can you love Daddy back? He's very nice, really he is."
"I know that already, darling." Jemima tugged on Ned's hand, and he stood up beside her. "And yes, I do love your daddy." She held Ned's beautiful brown eyes as she answered. "Would you mind if he kissed me?"
Kelsey shook her head and smiled. Ned lowered his head, and his lips took Jemima's in the sweetest kiss. A soft kiss she would remember for the rest of her life.
A kiss full of love. A kiss full of promise.
"Does that mean you're going to stay forever?" Kelsey's voice interrupted them, and Ned pulled away with a chuckle.
"No one can promise forever, sweetie." Jemima looked up and held Ned's eyes with hers. "But as long as humanly possible, I promise I will love you, all of you, and stay with you, and Gwennie and Ryan … and your daddy, if you all want me to."
Ned's eyes gave his answer, and Kelsey cried out, "Oh yes, Jemmy. We all want you to. We love you."
"We'd better go out and tell everyone that you've been found, young lady." Ned put his arms out and lifted Kelsey up while Jemima carried the pup.
The cheers that resounded around the paddocks that night would stay with Jemima always. She was home, and she was here to stay.
Epilogue
A month later, Jemima walked out of the doctor's surgery in Spring Downs. Ned had gone to Cartwright's store, and she'd had an appointment with Dr. Wenham. The old doc had been in the surgery since she was a child. Ned had insisted that she have a check up because she'd been so tired, but Jemima thought it was only because of the different sort of work she'd been doing the past six months.
She stepped out into the winter sun and pulled her coat around her. The stiff westerly wind blew straight down the main street, and everyone who was out there scurried into shelter as soon as they could. Wandering slowly down the street, she felt like pinching herself as happiness almost overwhelmed her. Her husband was chatting to Kev Cartwright in the door of the produce store, and his face lit up with a smile as she walked towards them. As she approached, he excused himself and hurried over to her, his smile replaced with a look of concern.
"Are you all right, darling? You look pale. Were the test results okay?" Ned put his arm around her and shielded her from the cold wind as they walked to the ute.
"They were. But Lucy's going to be surprised. We can't blame the pineapple for me not feeling right."
Ned frowned. "The pineapple? That was ages ago."
"Yes, but apparently when you have a tummy upset, the pill doesn't do what it's supposed to."
Jemima chuckled as Ned's mouth dropped open. "If the wind changes, you'll stay like that." She put her hand beneath his chin and gently pushed his mouth shut.
"You mean you're … we're … "
"Yep. I hope that's okay. Just as well we're married, isn't it?" Her words were muffled as Ned put his arms around her and kissed her, not caring who was watching them.
"I've got something to say about that," he said. "But after we tell the kids. I think this calls for a milkshake at Con's when we pick them up. What do you reckon?"
Jemima rubbed her still flat stomach. "I agree. Milk's good for pregnancy, so they tell me."
…
It was Saturday night, and Ned had sworn Jemima and the kids to secrecy. The pregnancy was to be their family secret just for a few days. As he drove back in through the gate-the special passengers safely in the ute-he was pleased to see that all of the guests had arrived. Liam's ute was parked beside Lucy and Garth's SUV. He'd refused to tell anyone why he was going to Dubbo, just tapping the side of his nose and saying, "You'll see."
"Ssh," he whispered to his passengers as they walked behind him to the house.
Jemima was standing with Lucy and Angie. Garth and Liam had fired up the barbeque. She wore those loose pants and a fitted T-shirt, and a surge of pride filled him to think that she was carrying his child. She looked up and caught his eyes, and as she smiled at him, happiness flooded through him.
"Nanny, Grandpa!" Gwennie was the first to spot his parents, but Kelsey and Ryan ran just as fast and reached their grandparents at the same time.