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When the 25th of February finally arrived Jess, Jen and Alex left for Sydney to pick up the bus and their guests. Jess and Jen were travelling back up in the bus with the boys and Alex would take the car home. Logan was working and Jeremy had a party to go to so they would meet them all back at the restaurant later that night. They collected the bus and drove to the airport, Alex would help load things up and also pack anything else into the car and then head straight back while Jess and Jen took the boys on a bit of a sightseeing tour home.
Tim was the first one they saw; it's not hard considering he is the tallest member of Home Free. He smiled and walked over to Jess, hugged her and kissed her cheek before turning to Jen and doing the same. Austin ran over and picked Jen up, spinning her around and suddenly kissed her lips. Jess gave them a weird look and Tim shook his head before whispering to her that he'd explain later. Some people in the airport recognised them and by the time they were all off the plane there was a crowd surrounding them and begging for photos. Jen and Austin were holding hands as they walked to the baggage carousel and as they walked behind them Jess asked Tim what the heck was going on.
"Like us, they've been talking all month now. And obviously decided that they were going to 'date' while we're over here." Tim shook his head and took Jess' hand in his. She tried to hide the fact that she looked down and blushed but he noticed and let go.
"It's fine, I just wasn't expecting it. I want you to hold my hand." she smiled and took his hand again. Tim chuckled to himself when they heard Adam and Rob whistle.
Chris was talking to Allan and Heather about the plans for the next month. Jess thought to herself that Heather would appreciate not having to organise food for the six men for the next two months. She turned slightly as they walked and saw Heather had started to relax slightly and she took that as confirmation of her thoughts. Tim noticed her expression and raised an eyebrow as he brushed a strand of hair from her face. She just shook her head, letting the hair fall back into place where it was and smiled playfully at him.
"I was just thinking that Heather will enjoy a break, this should be a holiday for all of you. I am going to make sure that you all have fun. All ten of you." She kissed the back of his hand as they all stopped at the carousel.
Austin and Jen had already collected three of the bags. Jess let go of Tim's hand to walk over to Heather and pulled her aside to talk to her. They had arranged a party for Allan's birthday the next day and she wanted to make sure that she had ordered the right meat. She also wanted to know what Heather usually organised for them to eat. She wanted to give them the best that Australia had to offer and they were all going out for dinner that night. A little seafood place that Jen had found the week before that served fresh lobster and crab as well as oysters. Heather had been excited and said that the boys would love it. When the men had collected all the bags they loaded them into the bus and car and left for the first stop on their trip home.
The beauty of a 4am arrival meant that the boys weren't tired because they had slept on the flight and they could get to Katoomba to watch the sun rise over the mountains. Austin and Jen took a million photos of themselves as well as the group with the sunrise in the background, all of which had over 100 likes on social media. When the sun was starting to move higher in the sky they left and headed back towards the coast to their next stop. Jen had called in a favour and got them breakfast on the Hawkesbury River. While they were having breakfast, Rob asked about the different things to do in the area and Jess said that she would bring them down for the day to sightsee and tour the wineries. Austin and Jen sat as close as possible to each other all morning. Tim sat up the front of the bus with Jess and they all talked and sang on the drive to the Hunter Valley where they we stopping for lunch and to spend some time visiting the gardens.
Tim held Jess' hand as they walked through the gardens and when they came to the creek he sat down on the bridge and she put her head on his shoulder. She tried to hide the jealousy that crept through her as she thought of the video for Summer In The Country and how Tim had sat in the exact same way with Jenika. He looked into her eyes and brought his lips down to meet hers. She couldn't escape the feeling that he knew what she had been thinking about. Austin and Jen walked over as Tim was about to get up and continue walking so the four of them sat talking for a while until Jen gave Jess and look that screamed 'privacy please'. She then stood up and held her hand out for Tim's and they walked around to the willows on the other side of the lake where there was a large swing. Tim waited as she sat down and then started to gently push her back and forth as they talked.
Seeing Rob, Kelsey, Adam and Erika, Tim called out and told them to come and join them in the clearing. Chris and Melissa walked over with Austin and Jen and Allan and Heather had collected the picnic things. As they all sat around eating and laughing, Austin decided that this was another perfect moment for a picture and he told everyone to bunch in close.
Jess leant against Tim and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her onto his lap and just as the flash clicked she felt his lips touch her cheek. They spent another hour sitting around talking before heading to the shops where Tim bought Jess a giant teddy bear that held a rose and a box of chocolates and Jess bought everyone lollies from the Olde English Sweet Shoppe.
When they were leaving Austin suggested he and Jen take over the driving so Tim and Jess could sit and talk with the others. Jess sat next to Tim, but both her and Heather had pulled out their books and began reading. Their next stop was Seal Rocks where they would spend the afternoon swimming and walking. Both women sat leaning against their men and reading, looking up to join in the conversation when it interested them. Tim spent that part of the trip playing with Jess' hair and turning the pages for her.
She put her book down and looked up to talk to them all "So tonight, Heather and I have a surprise for y'all. We're going to the local sailing club for a seafood smorgasbord. We have a private room upstairs so we won't be disturbed by people and we can just relax and have a meal together. When we get to our next stop there are showers so once everyone is done with swimming or hiking could they please make themselves ready for dinner as we will be going straight there."
Austin spoke from the passenger seat, "What are the arrangements for sleeping?" Jess saw Jen wink in the rear-view mirror and smiled.
"Well, Austin, I thought you'd enjoy bunking with Tim in Jen's room, she and I will share my room. Doesn't that sound like fun?" They all laughed when Austin pulled a face. He knew she was joking and he then acted excited about giving Tim a makeover and pillow fights. "Honestly I hadn't really thought about who would be sleeping where. There are plenty of rooms and beds plus this table folds down into a double bed. We can work that out when we get back to Magunyah."
"That's really pretty. What language is that and what does it mean?" Erika asked.
"It means My Place in Tobwabba. They're the indigenous people in our area. We named the property and all the paddocks in their language. Of course the nickname for the property has always been 'Curata Retirement Village' because when our horses finish racing they all come to live on our property." Jess smiled as she showed Erika a picture of her dappled stallion, Jetson, who had just retired from racing and was now standing at stud. Tim looked at her phone and asked if that was 'Curata Gift' and she nodded. He chuckled at the horse's pet name and Chris asked if Jess ever called him George. She smiled and told him that she did quite often.
The sun was still high when they arrived at Seal Rocks. Jen and Jess ran straight for the water, closely followed by Tim and Austin. Soon they were all in the waves, laughing and having shoulder wars. Chris was always the judge and he definitely played favourites. It soon became a war of who could get Chris on their side and when he could no longer be bribed they gave up to sit on the beach in the sun. Jen took Austin, Chris, Mel, Adam and Erika hiking and Allan, Rob, Kelsie and Heather went for a walk along the beach. Tim and Jess walked out onto the rocks holding hands all the way. When they reached the end, they stood on the flat boulder that people often used as a diving platform. Tim turned to face Jess and placed his hands on her cheeks as he lent in and kissed her again. The waves hitting the rocks sprayed them with cold water but neither broke the kiss.
The walkers had returned and were organising showers when Tim looked back to the bus and suggested they wait a while. Jess nodded and, still feeling a little flustered, reached up to kiss him again. She then bent down and picked up a starfish that had been trapped in a hole in the rock next to them when the tide had gone out. Their feet were just covered with the now high tide, so she handed the starfish to Tim so that he could put it back into the water. When most of the group had finished showering Tim started walking back over the rocks, helping Jess step between the uneven surfaces.
They reached the sand and he crouched for her to climb onto his back and he then piggybacked her over to the bus. When they had all showered and dressed, Chris climbed into the driver's seat of the bus with Mel sitting next to him. Jess told him to basically follow the road until the came to the big round-a-bout in Forster where she would then direct him to Slipway. Jess started singing A Little Bit Of Everything and Austin joined her. Soon they were all singing and Tim even got up to dance causing all the girls to whoop and cheer. They continued singing until Mel told them they were at the round-a-bout. Jess got up and switched places with her to direct Chris and they were soon pulling into the carpark outside the restaurant. Alex, Logan and Jeremy were waiting outside for them and once everyone was off the bus they walked in and upstairs.
