Cassidy giggled. I was still trying to get used to her doing that.
“Here’s to Xavier.” I raised my beer. “Without you, mate ...” I nodded at him across the table, “I’d never have got the new machinery parts that’re coming in. Now, I can do overhauls of a heap of equipment—quad bikes, tractors, trucks. The place will be running like brand new.”
Xavier waved me off. “It’s an investment in family and Cassidy’s happiness.” He kissed the top of her head. “Worth every cent.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Rose said, raising her water glass.
We all looked at her as we raised our glasses. Rose hardly ever spoke at these dinners. She used to barely sit down at them. She’d always been welcome, but maybe Frank had made her feel otherwise. Now, Frank was rotting in a wheelchair, demanding the electric chair every day from what we’d heard. Thank Christ Australia didn’t have that option, or that bastard’s daily torture would be cut too short.
Rose had joined us for dinner every Sunday for the past two months. She’d claimed Frank’s chair as her own, and not one of us complained or questioned that. Tonight, she’d already been seated before the rest of us were. Maybe she’d finally realized she was part of this family. She always had been.
“Is there any more good news?” Mitch asked.
I was helping myself to more potatoes when the room went quiet.
Everyone’s eyes moved to the doorway.
I turned and felt my world tilt sideways.
A woman stood there. Late fifties. Silver-blonde hair. Eyes I’d know anywhere.
My mother.
Edith.
Who’d been dead. Or missing. Just fucking gone. For twenty years.
The serving spoon clattered from my hand onto my plate.
Twenty years of believing she’d died. Or had been murdered. Twenty years of pretending I hadn’t missed her. Twenty years of being raised by fucking Frank instead.
And there she was, standing in the doorway like she’d just gone out for milk.
Beside me, Sapphire went rigid. Across the table, Mitch had gone pale. Declan stood so fast his chair scraped against the floor. Cassidy made a small, broken sound.
“Hello,” Mom said quietly. Her voice was exactly as I’d remembered it from childhood. Soft. Warm. Unsure. “I know this is a shock. I’m sorry for the dramatic entrance.”
Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.
“Who’s that?” Sapphire whispered in my ear.
But I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe.
Rose stood calmly and walked to Mom, pulling her into a brief embrace. “It’s about time,” Rose said. “Come in. Sit down.” Rose led Mom to the chair she hadn’t sat in for over twenty years.
“What the hell, Rose?” Mitch’s voice was rough and accusatory as he glared at her. “You knew Mom was alive?”
“I knew.” Rose waited for Mom to sit down, then she patted Mom’s shoulder. “Someone needed to let her know that you kids were all right.”
“All right?” I snapped. “We thought she was dead. Or that she’d abandoned us. Twenty years, Rose. Twenty fucking years.”
“Language.” Rose raised a finger at me, then eyeballed Declan. “Sit down. All of you need to listen. Let Edith explain.”
I turned my gaze to Mom, starring at this woman who was my mother but also a stranger. I’d been twelve when she’d left. Twelve years old, and suddenly she was just gone. Frank had told us she’d pissed off because she couldn’t hack Koolaroo anymore. I’d believed that. I’d lived with the knowledge that her own kids weren’t enough to make her stay.
Mom’s tired eyes scanned around the table, landing on each of us in turn. “I never wanted to leave.” Her voice trembled. “You have to believe that, but ...” She swallowed hard. “When I told Frank I was leaving and taking you kids with me, he made it very clear what would happen if I tried.”
“He threatened you,” Sapphire said, slipping into detective mode.
