"Away with you." She smiled and continued packing carry bags with cleaning supplies. "Rooney talked your brother into helping clean tomorrow. Mind you, I think Tam had more to do with it. Hard to say no to that one."
"I can't wait to meet her. It's a shame I was so late tonight."
"Just like her mother she is, in temperament anyway. Spitting image of her father to look at, though. No doubting who he is either," Essie said.
"I never said otherwise," Rooney said as she pushed open the kitchen door. She walked over and wrapped her arms around her big brother, kissing him. "How’s the new job working out?"
"Good, I really like the hospital. You can get lost in the city." He took a bite of chicken, savouring the rich gravy that Essie had slathered all over it. "So, is my niece asleep already?"
Rooney dropped down on a stool beside him and leaned her elbow on the counter, resting her head on her hand. "Yes, she was exhausted. It was a big drive down here and she was a bit nervous about the move too. After raiding the cookies Essie made, she met Kate and ran ragged around the farm after her until dinner. Then she crashed before I could bath her."
"Sounds like you when you were little." Russ took the coffee Essie handed him. "Thanks."
"She is very like me. Some days I wonder how Mum coped with me and my moods. I was so damned stubborn and determined to have my own way. It's the only thing that stops me coming down too hard on Tam when she digs her toes in."
"I can't wait to meet her." He looked into her cool blue eyes. "When are you going to tell Stevie."
Russ was aware of Essie looking in their direction, waiting to hear what Rooney had to say. She was part of this family and had as much right to know what was going on as the rest of them. He speared a piece of roast potato with his fork and watched his sister’s face as he put it in his mouth.
"I don't know. Honestly, I just don't know how I'm going to face him." She picked at a stray lock of hair and tucked it behind her ear. "I have to find him first, though."
"I thought Tory would have told you all that. Boy wants to keep you to himself, if you ask me," Essie said. "Stevie is easy to find anyway. Just go to the police station."
Russ looked up. "What are you saying, Essie?"
"He joined the police force. Doing well for himself too. Pretty much runs the place from what I hear."
"Stevie is a cop?" Rooney's voice shook with disbelief. "Are you kidding me? He was the worst kid in town. It's amazing he never ended up with a record."
"Don't go thinking I've turned into a know-it-all but I reckon he did it to prove he could be better than what your father thought him to be."
Russ shared a glance with Rooney. "What exactly do you know that you’re not telling us, Essie?"
* * *
"Your father took it upon himself to go and visit Stevie when you ran away. I guess he thought he would know where you were. Seems he gave the poor boy more than a piece of his mind, if you get my meaning." Essie wiped her hands on her apron as she spoke.
"Dad took it out on his hide, didn't he, same as he did to me?" She gripped her hands together waiting for what she knew was the answer. Deep inside, Rooney had wanted him to hurt as she had been hurt, but the adult woman she was cringed at the thought of her father bashing her boyfriend. He was a hard man with a heavy hand. She still had the scars on her butt from his leather belt to prove how mean he could be.
"Yes, he did. After that, Stevie took it upon himself to prove to your father he wasn't the kid he thought he was. He went back to school at night to get his HSC. Joined the police force and made a name for himself. Still the determined little brat he always was too, by all accounts." Essie grinned as though she knew all the secrets. "Pity those poor criminals who think they are cleverer than the police. They don't stand a chance against Stevie."
"Poor bastard." Russ shook his head. "So now you know where he is, when are you going to do it?"
"When I feel the time is right and don't go trying to push me, either of you. This is my business and I'll do it when I'm ready." She slammed her hands on the counter and stormed from the kitchen, annoyed at being put on the spot. It was easier to think of Stevie being the one who didn't have to pay the price of being caught in the barn. Easier to hate him for the way he left her to fend off her father by herself. That way she could blame him for how hard it had been by herself, trying to study and raise a toddler when all she wanted was to run to his side for support.
Deep down, Rooney knew he would have worried about her. Anyone would run from her father, he brought out the fear in everyone at some stage. Stevie had every reason to be scared.
But the sight of him running out of the barn buck naked with his jeans in his hands had wrenched at her gut, leaving her with an emptiness she’d found hard to fill. Until Tam was born. Then she was too busy to miss what she didn't have.
Now she was back, the thought of seeing him again was thrilling and terrifying at the same time.
Rooney
