Page 61 of Outback Hearts

That evening over dinner at the Creek Hotel, the Morgans’ questions began.

‘So, what happens after this project?’ David asked. ‘You return to England, start your architecture degree?’

Amelia exchanged glances with Jake across the table. ‘I’m not sure anymore. I’ve been thinking about staying in Australia. Doing my degree here.’

‘Amelia,’ Patricia said carefully, ‘we supported you deferring for this experience. But why here—’

‘Mum,’ Amelia interrupted gently. ‘I’m choosing a different university. I’m going to study Construction Science and Management.’

‘But Hull University was always the plan,’ Patricia said. ‘And Australia is such a long way from home.

Amelia’s eyes met Jake’s.

David was quiet, considering. ‘Are you sure you want to be away long-term?’

‘I watched you today,’ Amelia said to her father. ‘When Jake showed you the foundation work, you lit up. You loved understanding the engineering, seeing problem-solving. That’s what I feel every day here. That joy of making something work, something beautiful and functional that will last. Why is it acceptable for you to love engineering but not for me to love my work in Australia?’

David blinked, clearly not expecting that argument.

‘Amelia has a point,’ Jake said quietly. ‘Engineering and architecture are two sides of the same discipline. If anything, practical building experience makes someone a better engineer. She’d understand implementation in a way pure theorists never do.’

‘And this is what you really want?’ Patricia asked Amelia. ‘Not just excitement from a temporary project, but genuine career commitment?’

‘Yes,’ Amelia said firmly. ‘This is what I want.’

Her parents exchanged one of those long-married-couple looks that communicate entire conversations.

‘Then we support you,’ David said finally. ‘Your mother and I—we wanted you to have security, prospects, a respectable career. But watching you today, seeing how you’ve grown, how competent and confident you’ve become—this is clearly right for you. So we support you.’

‘Really?’ Amelia felt tears threatening.

‘Really,’ Patricia confirmed, reaching across to squeeze her daughter’s hand. ‘We support whatever makes you happy.’

‘Thank you,’ Amelia said, her voice cracking.

‘Though we do have one question,’ David said, his tone shifting slightly. ‘There’s clearly something between you two. Are we going to discuss that?’

Amelia blushed crimson. Jake maintained professional composure, but his neck was red.

‘We’re colleagues,’ Amelia managed.

‘Who look at each other like you’re the centre of each other’s universe,’ Patricia said dryly. ‘We may be old, darling, but we’re not blind.’

‘It’s new,’ Jake said, stepping in to save Amelia. ‘We’ve maintained professional boundaries throughout the project. But yes, there’s—we care about each other. We’re planning to see where it goes after the opening.’

‘And you’re good to our daughter?’ David asked directly.

‘I try to be,’ Jake said honestly. ‘She deserves someone who sees how remarkable she is. Who supports her ambitions. Who respects her completely. I hope I can be that person.’

‘That’s a good answer,’ David said, satisfied.

The opening was scheduled for Saturday at four p.m. Friday was last-minute preparations—final cleaning, furniture arranged, decorations added, every detail perfected.

Jill commenced work and hired more staff—two kitchen assistants, three cleaners, and a bartender. The guest rooms were ready. The dining room was elegant. The bar was properly equipped. It looked like a real hotel, functional and beautiful and ready to welcome guests.

Friday night, the crew gathered for their last meeting before the opening. Seventeen people who’d started as strangers and become family.

‘Tomorrow we open,’ Alex said, emotion thick in his voice. ‘Tomorrow, we show Garnet Creek and the wider world what we’ve accomplished. I want to thank each of you. This was impossible. Everyone said so. But you made it possible. You believed when others doubted. You worked when others quit. You built something remarkable.’