Page 38 of Outback Secrets

He nodded. ‘A truckie came in for a few beers. Asked if he could bring his puppy in while he ate, and it was a quiet night, so I said it was fine. We had a good chat, seemed an okay guy. He and the dog were staying in his truck in the parking bay just out of town. At least that’s what he said. Anyway, he went to the bathroom and never came back. Didn’t pay for his meal and didn’t take the pup. I figured she was payment for the meal. We’ve been together ever since.’

‘How old is she?’

Liam’s brow scrunched a moment. ‘Must be coming up to eight years.’

‘So it wasn’t that long after you arrived?’

‘No.’

‘I have to say, you’ve really turned The Palace around. I remember it being a bit of a dive when I was a kid. You said you didn’t think about owning a pub when you were growing up, so what the hell drove you to buy ours?’

Liam leaned back in the chair a little. ‘Will it sound crazy if I tell you that it was kind of a spur of the moment decision?’

‘A little.’

‘During my road trip around Australia, I was always quite taken with the old pubs in each of the towns. Locals told me stories of times when they were really happening places, yet so many of them seemed rundown, if not deserted. Then, when I drove into Bunyip Bay and saw the For Sale sign out the front, I thought … why the hell not? At first Arthur thought I was a drunk having a laugh, but when he realised my offer was deadly serious, he made me sign the contract and skipped town before I could change my mind.’

Henri smiled—that sounded right; it was always hard to sell businesses in rural areas. Especially those attached to ancient buildings that needed a lot of upkeep, which definitely described The Palace.

‘I’d always been fairly handy,’ Liam continued as if reading her mind, ‘so I knew I could do a lot of the renovation work myself, and it felt like a fun project.’

‘Weren’t you planning on going back to America? What did your family think?’

‘To be honest … I wasn’t sure.’ He took a quick breath. ‘Things hadn’t been easy before I left, and I was ready for a change.’

There was something in his tone that told Henri she shouldn’t ask what exactly hadn’t been easy, but Harriet, Frankie’s niece, arrived beside them with a tray before she got the chance anyway.

‘Hey, guys, here’s your coffees,’ she said.

Henri did a double-take. ‘How are you old enough to be working here? What about school?’

Harriet rolled her eyes. ‘I just finished Year Twelve. I’m heading to Perth for uni after Christmas, but Mum said I needed to do something in between. It was either help her and Angus on the farm or work here with Aunty Eff. I didn’t want to break a nail, so I’m staying with her and Logan for a bit.’

Henri laughed, her eyes drifting to Harriet’s perfect rainbow manicure. ‘What are you studying at uni?’

‘Psychology. I want to work with teens with eating disorders,’ she replied, before heading back into the kitchen to collect their breakfasts.

Liam grinned as he stirred sugar into his coffee. ‘Someone clearly doesn’t like farming.’

‘It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.’

‘You said you always wanted to fly, but you seem to enjoy farm work as well?’

‘Oh, I love it. That’s why I’m an agricultural pilot. A massive part of my job relies on my knowledge of farming. I need to know about chemicals, how they work, the dangers of using them and how to apply them efficiently and safely. Crop-dusting takes up a good chunk of my time, and that and mustering are my favourite parts of my job.’

‘Would you ever consider giving up flying and working on the farm?’

‘You haven’t been talking to my mother, have you?’ she asked, her stomach clenching.

‘No, I’m curious, that’s all.’ He picked up his mug and took a sip.

‘With two older brothers, farming at Bungara would never have been a real possibility for me even if I wanted to. And I could never afford to buy my own farm.’

‘Shouldn’t you have just as much right to the family farm as your brothers?’

‘Maybe, but I never wanted it anyway and Mum and Dad knew that, so it didn’t matter.’ Henri wrapped her fingers around her mug; even though she wasn’t cold, she sought comfort from the warmth of holding it. If she didn’t fly, she had no idea what she’d do with her life and that was a scary thought.

Harriet returned with two overflowing plates of eggs, bacon, beans, grilled tomatoes, hash browns, mushrooms and sausages. They thanked her and picked up their cutlery.