Noah’s eyes went wide. ‘Both your parents are gone?’
She bit her lip and nodded, trying to maintain her composure.
‘Bloody hell, Beth, I’m so sorry.’
Hauling in a deep, unsteady breath, she let the words pour out of her. ‘I was only five when Dad died. A workplace accident, I think—at least from what I remember. Once he was gone, our lives changed. Mum refused to settle anywhere for long. We’d travel from town to town, from state to state, and never hung around in any place for more than a year. I changed schools countless times, which meant I was constantly working to develop friendships, but those I did make were impossible to keep. In the end, I just gave up.’
Noah gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze and she tried to smile, to let him know she was okay.
A lone tear tracked over her cheek and she wiped it away. ‘Mum was all I had, you know? She wasn’t perfect, but if I didn’t have her, I would’ve had no one. Which is why I stuck by her, even once I was old enough to make my own decisions. I moved when she wanted to move and followed her wherever she wanted to go, just like I always had. So when she died, I felt this enormous sense of relief, you know? Because I was free to stay in one place. I didn’t have to roam aimlessly around the country anymore. I could finally make my own choices and build the life I’d always wanted.’
A moment of silence passed and a crease formed on Noah’s brow.
‘So that’s why you want to buy your place in Queensland?’ he asked softly. ‘It’s the first home you’ve ever known?’
Meeting his gaze, she nodded. ‘Exactly.’
A moment of pure understanding passed between them.
‘What about your dad? Do you remember much about him?’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t remember what he looked like or sounded like, but I do know I always felt safe and happy whenever he was around.’
‘Did that change after he died?’
‘You could say that.’ She grimaced. ‘I hated the instability that came with moving around all the time, and Mum was always so sad. She refused to talk about Dad and whenever I asked about him, she’d just clam up. Eventually, I stopped asking.’
Sighing, she looked up at the darkening sky. ‘You know, I don’t have a single photo of him because Mum got rid of them all. I don’t think she could bear being reminded of everything she’d lost. She never got over losing him.’
‘Jesus,’ Noah breathed. ‘That’s a lot for a little kid to deal with.’
‘Yeah. It really was.’
They stared off into the distance, each lost in their own thoughts.
‘Well,’ Noah said, finally releasing her hand, ‘we make a sorry pair, don’t we? And now our dinner’s probably cold.’ He threw a chip in his mouth and nodded. ‘Yep. Positively frosty.’
Beth laughed. ‘Mmm, just how I like my deep-fried foods.’
They ate in comfortable silence for a while—the chips more lukewarm than frosty—but Beth didn’t want their conversation to end. For the first time ever, she’d opened up to someone and the accomplishment made her feel brave.
‘Can I ask a question?’
‘Of course. Shoot.’
‘Why did you complete a roof carpentry apprenticeship only to end up working on the farm? Not that there’s anything wrong with that,’ she rushed to add, realising how that may have sounded. ‘I’m just curious.’
‘No, I get it. Doesn’t make sense, right?’ He propped his elbows on his knees. ‘I grew up helping my grandfather in his workshop. He loved making furniture. Made my gran a dining table once and you would’ve thought he’d given her a basket full of puppies.’
Beth smiled, imagining an old lady blissfully happy because the gift she’d received had been made by the man she loved.
‘As a kid, I was at my happiest when I was with him in that workshop. Most days, I’d be off running amok with Ellie and Caleb, but whenever I needed downtime and just wanted to chill, I’d head to Grandpa’s shed. Even now, the smell of sawdust and furniture oil takes me back.’
Nostalgia softened his features. ‘My older brother, Ethan, on the other hand, loved the farm. He followed Dad around like he was tethered to him, soaking up everything he could possibly learn about raising cattle. Everyone assumed he’d be the one to take over from Dad one day, and I’d already decided I wanted to follow my passion for woodworking, so when I left school, I started the apprenticeship. Four years later, just as I was finishing, Ethan married a city girl and they moved to be closer to her family. So I guess you could say that was the end of that.’
‘The end of what?’
‘My career in the construction industry.’
