Page 134 of The Me I Left Behind

“Maybe.” She laid her head on Poppy’s shoulder.

Freya sat on the other side of the bed. “Don’t mind saying you gave us a bit of a fright. What was that dream about?”

Lilly shook her head. “Maybe later.”

“Alright.”

She wound her arms around Poppy’s thick waist. “Stay a minute?”

Poppy nodded against her, smoothing Lilly’s hair with a free hand. “Always.”

“Nate. Tell us about Ballymore,”Poppy said later that evening, after they’d finished tea and kitchen cleanup. They’d settled in the O’Brien’s casual family room, finishing their meal with cups of tea and conversation. The television was on in the background.

Freya turned down the sound. “We usually watch the evening news after tea, to stay up on the weather and other goings on in the area but let me turn that sound down for now.”

“Whatever works for you, Freya. We don’t want to interrupt your routine,” Lilly said.

“But Idowant to know about Ballymore, Nate,” Poppy pointed out.

“Of course.” Nate shifted in his seat. “It’s a family station. We’ve been running cattle and sheep over this land for nearly one-hundred-and-fifty years. The O’Briens claimed it in the late 1800s, and we’ve been on the land ever since.”

“How much land?” Poppy inquired.

“About eighteen-thousand square kilometers, give or take.”

“Whew!” Poppy said. “That’s a fair piece to muster up cattle and sheep on.”

Freya smiled. “We manage.”

“I bet there are stories here,” Lilly said.

“Oh, for sure.” Nate laughed. “Maybe we’ll get into some of them later this week.”

Freya turned to the television. “Oh, look. Mind if I turn this up? Looks like there is news about that chopper that went down in the Northern Territory a couple of days ago.” She turned up the sound.

“No problem.” Lilly fussed with Leo while she listened.

The television anchor droned on….

“We have an updated report on the missing helicopter that went down in the Northern Territory earlier in the week. After locating the crash scene by air this morning, a rescue and recovery team hiked into the ravine to search for survivors. One crew member and one passenger were on board the chopper, with both found deceased at the site of the wreckage.”

“Oh no. Those chopper accidents are never good,” Poppy said.

“Territory up there is rough.” Nate scooted to the edge of his seat, listening. “They’ve been trying to find ‘em for a few days.”

Lilly bounced Leo on her knee, smiling at her boy.

The anchor continued. “The helicopter pilot, Jack Roberts, owned an adventure excursion company out of Melbourne. His passenger, a business partner from the states currently living in Brisbane, was Maxwell Oliver. Mr. Oliver leaves behind a wife and three children in North Carolina, U.S.A.”

Lilly lifted her gaze and stared at the television set. “What?”

Poppy turned toward her, wide-eyed. “That your man?”

“Leo’s dad?” Freya echoed.

“I… I think so. What was said, exactly?”

Freya moved across the room to sit next to Lilly. “He said the man’s name was Maxwell Oliver. Is that your Max?”