Page 27 of Outback Hearts

‘So, what made you lot decide to do this?’ Davo asked, looking around the circle. ‘I mean, it’s not glamorous work. Why sign up?’

‘Money,’ Ratty said honestly. ‘Fossicking’s slow right now. Need cash.’

‘Same,’ Thommo admitted. ‘And learning building skills is useful. Can use them on the station.’

‘I wanted the change,’ Bec said. ‘Been working cattle for five years. Wanted to do something different for a bit.’

‘What about you girls?’ Davo looked at the three backpackers. ‘You could be on a beach somewhere. Why stay here?’

Amelia, Sophie, and Jill exchanged glances.

‘Because this matters,’ Amelia said finally. ‘We could keep travelling, sure. But this—saving something, building something, being part of something meaningful—that’s better than any beach.’

‘Plus, we’ve fallen in love with this town,’ Sophie added. ‘The people, the landscape, the community. It feels like home somehow.’

‘Even though we’ve only been here two weeks,’ Jill finished.

‘Two weeks or twenty years,’ Tom said from his chair. ‘If a place feels like home, it feels like home. That’s all there is to it.’

They talked deep into the night—about their lives, their histories, what brought them here. The station workers told stories of mustering and droving. The fossickers described life on the gem fields, the hope of finding that one perfect sapphire. The backpackers shared tales of their travels, the places they’d seen, the adventures they’d had.

And slowly, they became a team.

Amelia looked around the circle—at Davo’s easy grin, Bec’s quiet competence, Ratty’s weathered wisdom, Sophie and Jill’s familiar presence, Tom’s steady reliability. And somewhere in the darkness, she could hear Jake moving around the site office, still working, always working.

Tomorrow, the real work would begin.

But tonight, they were just people, gathered around a fire, sharing stories beneath outback stars.

And it was the start of something special.

Chapter Six

The alarm on Amelia’s phone went off at five-thirty the next morning, and for a moment she couldn’t remember where she was or why she’d set it so early. Then it all came flooding back—the pub, the project, the proper work starting.

She sat up carefully, trying not to wake Jill and Sophie in the cramped van. Through the window, she could see the old Royal Hotel silhouetted against the lightening sky, and her stomach did a nervous flip. Today they started for real. No more planning and talking. Actual construction work, with a professional builder who expected them to know what they were doing.

‘You’re up early,’ Jill mumbled from her sleeping bag.

‘Couldn’t sleep.’

‘Nervous about working with Jake?’

‘Terrified,’ Amelia admitted.

‘He’s not that scary,’ Sophie said, her voice muffled by her pillow. ‘Just very... focused.’

‘Exactly. What if I mess up? What if he realises we’re completely out of our depth?’

Jill sat up, hair sticking up at odd angles. ‘Then he teaches us properly, and we get better. That’s literally what he’s here for, Amelia. Stop overthinking it.’

By six, they were washed, dressed in work clothes, and making coffee on the camp stove. Alex emerged from his caravan looking more energised than Amelia had seen him before.

‘Big day,’ he said, accepting a mug of coffee. ‘Ready?’

‘No,’ Amelia said honestly. ‘But we’re doing it anyway.’

Jake’s truck appeared at six-fifteen, pulling up beside the pub with a trailer loaded with scaffolding and tools. He climbed out looking professional in work boots, canvas trousers, and a faded shirt with the sleeves already rolled up against the coming heat. Practical, Amelia thought, although gorgeous was the word that came to mind.