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Let people believe what they will. It was more readily accepted than the truth would have ever been.
“Morning, Williams,” Albie said.
“Not, uh, not looking for any more workers by chance, are ya?”
“No,” Albie replied. “Sorry.”
Not that he’d hire him even if he was.
“Shame,” Williams said, squinting at the sun. “Say, could you perhaps keep an ear out for anything, maybe put in a good word.”
He would do neither.
“You could perhaps try the church,” Albie said. He didn’t like Williams at all, but he would never be as callous or cold as the likes of McAllister. Albie’s father raised him better than that. “Maybe old Father Michael might need some ground maintenance work done. Or the school yard.”
Williams nodded as if that was a good idea and went on his way. They watched him hobble off.
“You’re nicer than he deserves,” Percy murmured.
“I’d like to think so, yes,” Albie replied with a smile.
“Percy? Percy Collins?”
Both Percy and Albie turned to find a woman with a small child at her side. She was well-dressed, a fine dress and hat, a purse in her hand. She had curls of blond hair around her ears and very familiar blue eyes.
“Marie?” Percy asked.
“Oh, it is you!” she cried, her eyes shining.
Percy collected her in an embrace, and Albie remembered the name Marie.
Percy’s sister. One of them, at least.
She pulled back and dabbed tears from her eyes as she took him in. “Look at you,” she said. “I’ve missed you. Where have you been? Where did you go when...” She dabbed at more tears. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I found myself here,” he replied, then he looked at Albie. “This is Albie. He’s my... partner. Business partner,” he added quickly.
And damn, if it didn’t give Albie’s heart a stir.
Partner.
He held out his hand and gently took hers. “So nice to meet you. I can see the family resemblance.”
Her smile was familiar too, but she quickly turned back to Percy. “You’ve clearly done well for yourself,” she said. “Look at you. Oh, Percy.”
“We have,” Percy said. “Done well for ourselves. Cattle, mostly. Sheep, and the best stock horses around,” he explained for people now watching. “How long are you staying in town for?”
She looked back down toward the train station. “We’ve only stopped momentarily, on our way to Sydney,” she said. “Young Thomas here needed to stretch his legs. The ticket master said just ten minutes.”
Percy looked at the boy and tousled his hair. He had a nephew...
“We best walk you back,” Albie suggested, giving Percy some time with his sister.
They strode ahead, arms interlocked, and it warmed Albie’s heart to watch. They saw them to the platform where they exchanged mailing addresses and promises to write.
“Echo Creek,” she said, reading the name.
“That’s us,” Percy replied. “The men from Echo Creek.”
