'But it was crucial, yes?'
'Yes,' Rob agreed. 'Kiribali could see how far away Cloncurry was, and they couldn't reach us in time, because of the floods. So he took out his hunting rifle…'
The music was boisterous. The bouzouki players were really going for it. Rob drained the last of his champagne.
The two men walked back towards the wedding party. As they did, Lizzie came running over, laughing and singing. Rob leaned down and tenderly stroked his daughter's shining hair; the little girl giggled and reached for her father's hand.
Gazing at the father and the daughter, strolling hand in hand, smiling and alive, Forrester felt a stab of sharp emotion: the usual grief and regret. But his sense of loss was touched by something else, something much more surprising: the faint and fleeting shadow of happiness.
