Page 49 of Outback Hearts

Mick had started driving to town every evening to see Charlotte. They’d become inseparable—the energetic ringer and the quiet librarian, perfect together.

‘I’m staying,’ Mick announced one evening around the campfire. ‘When my contract here ends, I’m not leaving. Charlotte’s here. The library needs help. I can find station work nearby. I’m staying. I’ve already found a house to buy in town.’

‘That’s one,’ Brian said, having stopped by with supplies. ‘Told you people fall in love here.’

Davo and Emma were equally serious, making plans that extended beyond the project’s end.

‘She’s requesting a transfer to Emerald hospital,’ Davo confided to Amelia. ‘Be closer. We’d be thirty minutes apart instead of three hours.’

‘That’s wonderful,’ Amelia said honestly.

‘What about you?’ Davo asked. ‘You and Jake. When the project ends, what happens?’

Amelia considered this. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. The project had been all-consuming—six to nine months of work, then... what? Follow Jake wherever his next project took him? If he really wanted that.

‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘We haven’t talked about after.’

‘Might want to,’ Davo suggested. ‘Man like Jake doesn’t dance with you like that if he’s planning to let you leave.’

That night, lying in the van, Amelia thought about the future. About what came after the Royal Hotel was saved.

She’d put her architecture degree on hold for this adventure. Three months had become four, and would become six or seven by the project’s end. Her parents were confused but supportive, trusting her judgment even when they didn’t understand it.

Could she stay in Australia? The idea didn’t seem strange anymore. This place had gotten under her skin—the vast skies, the red earth, the stubborn resilience of outback communities. And Jake. God, Jake was here.

Chapter Eleven

Week five brought the breakthrough they’d been working towards.

The foundation work was complete—all new concrete piers poured, settled, and tested. The building was level, stable, and properly supported for the first time in decades. The engineering inspection came back with glowing praise: ‘Foundation work exceeds code requirements. Structure is sound for continued restoration.’

‘We did it,’ Jake said, reading the report with visible relief. ‘The hardest part is done.’

But there was no time to celebrate. With the foundation secure, they could finally move forward with the rest of the restoration. The real work was beginning.

That same week, Harriet posted on the Emerald Facebook community noticeboard. It was addressed to Garnet Creek residents but clearly meant for broader readership:

‘I opposed the Royal Hotel restoration when it was first proposed. I thought it was a waste of money, a foolish dream that would fail and leave us worse off than before.

I was wrong.

What I failed to see was that this project isn’t just about a building. It’s about a community coming together, young people bringing energy and vision, locals remembering why we fell in love with this place to begin with.

I’ve lived in Garnet Creek for seventy-three years. I’ve seen it thrive and I’ve watched it decline. The Royal Hotel project is the first time in twenty years I’ve felt genuine hope for our town’s future.

I encourage everyone to support this project however they can. Donate if you’re able. Volunteer your time. Spread the word. This is our chance to save something precious. Let’s not waste it.

Harriet Patterson.’

The post created a sensation. Within days, donations started arriving from across the region—fifty dollars here, two hundred there, some from people who’d never even been to Garnet Creek but were moved by Harriet’s words.

The Regional Community Foundation increased their commitment from forty to fifty thousand dollars.

A building supply company in Rockhampton donated materials at wholesale cost.

And most surprisingly, a heritage preservation trust in Brisbane offered a twenty-thousand-dollar grant specifically for the verandah restoration.

‘We’re actually going to make budget,’ Alex said, reviewing the numbers with Jake and Amelia. ‘Between donations, grants, and cost savings, we might even come in under.’