Luke parked the Ute by the house on Drovers. "Well, here we are."

Rose smiled. "I've kinda missed this place."

Luke laughed. "We'll be seeing a lot of it now."

"I'm glad," Rose said opening her door. "Come on, kids, let's go find Mum."

"Mommy, Mommy," Kaleb crowed. "And Alex?"

"And Alex," Luke agreed, reaching into the back seat to undo the buckles on his seat. "Come with me."

Rose took Kana into her arms and waited for Luke to come to her side of the Ute. Grasping his hand she lead the way to the veranda. They could hear laughter and conversation from behind the house.

As they rounded the corner, Rose smiled. Five women leaned towards each other and then away, laughing and moving their hands. She recognized Jodi, Tess and Kate. The older woman was the lady from the truck stop. Moira, if she remembered correctly. But the fifth woman was a stranger. She had to be the cousin Alex had mentioned.

Luke's grip on her hand had tightened and she stopped to look at him. "Are you okay?"

He swallowed and then nodded. "I just don't know what Jodi's going to say when she sees me. We didn't leave on the best of terms."

"Do you still love her?" Rose had to ask. It was something she had been wondering since they had come back to Gungellen. Did he really love her or was she just someone to replace the beautiful Jodi.

"No, I don't think I ever did. Besides, I have you now and you're enough for me forever and ever." He leaned down and kissed her softly.

Rose felt the burden rise from her shoulders. She had nothing to worry about. He was hers and always would be.

Kaleb had seen Stevie and now stretch out his arms, calling for her. Luke let him go and he scurried to the veranda, clambering up the steps.

"Mommy, me miss you," he said, pressing his face against her legs.

Stevie smiled at the boy and pulled him onto her lap. "Hello, Kaleb."

Rose and Luke stepped up onto the veranda and moved to stand by Stevie and Alex. Kana reached for Stevie. Alex took Kaleb and Rose lowered Kana into her mother's lap.

Stevie smiled at Rose and patted the seat beside her. Rose squeezed into the spot and looked at the others. Luke sat on the ground and leaned against Rose.

"Rose, you remember Tess, Kate and Jodi," Stevie said.

Rose nodded. "Hi."

The three murmured greetings.

"And this is Moira Doyle and Regan McLeod." Stevie indicated the other woman.

Rose smiled at them. "It's good to meet you."

Moira smiled. "You've grown a little since I last saw you."

Rose laughed. "I guess. Hopefully in more than just height, I hope."

The older woman studied her. "I believe there is much more wisdom in you. And you young man." She turned to Luke. "You take care of this girl. She's special."

"I will, Moira."

"What did he do to make you fall for him?" Jodi asked, a smile spread across her face. "Besides looking so darn cute."

"Actually, I got him to fall for me," Rose quipped.

Tess laughed. "You are so much like your mother."

Rose laughed and leaned into her mother. "She's taught me well." She pressed a kiss to Stevie's cheek. "Besides, Luke needs me."

Luke snorted. "Yeah, right. What have you been up to, Jodi?"

"Oh, the usual. Chasing cows, occasionally men, sometimes boys."

Luke laughed. "Yeah, the usual."

"So, Jodi, tell me about his new overseer at Killarny," Stevie said.

Jodi frowned at Alex. "What did you say to her?"

Alex raised his hands. "Just that you liked him. What else could I say?"

Jodi rolled her eyes and Rose smiled. Jodi hadn't changed much in the last few years. She seemed a little tougher and her hands were red and chapped. Her nails hadn't been looked after in a while and the edges where ragged.

"So, tell me about Rob," Stevie pressed.

"Did someone say my name?" A quiet voice spoke from the edge of the porch.

"Ummm... maybe," Jodi stuttered.

"Rob, hi," Alex said. "Do you need something? And did you know I was here?"

Rob shrugged. "The local grapevine. Someone mentioned you were back at Wilgul. I went there but it was empty. I figured you'd come to see Tess."

"You figured right." Alex let the wiggling Kaleb down. "Everything alright at Killarny?"

"As right as it can be. Sandra's being herself."

"Bitchy, you mean," Alex said.

Rose tried not to laugh. She had heard about Sandra from Stevie and Alex and she was already not impressed with the woman. As Alex and Rob talked farm she took the chance to study the overseer. She could see why Jodi liked him. He was tallish with dark hair and a nice face. Not someone you would immediately remember. He looked well built, though it was hard to tell under his jacket. But it was his eyes that intrigued her most. They were black but they seemed void. It was like he had suppressed all his emotions. Even when he glanced at Jodi and she flashed him her flirty smile, nothing changed.

Jodi shrugged and picked up some of the dirty glasses to bring them inside. Rose reached for the empty juice pitcher and followed her in.

"I can see why you've fallen for him," she said as they entered the kitchen. "He's handsome."

"And mine," Jodi muttered. "If I can get him to tell me the time of day."

"So what's his story?" Rose leaned against the counter and watched as Jodi ran water into the sink.

"I don't know," Jodi said. "He won't tell me anything. Sometimes I wonder if he knows I exist."

"I think he knows," Rose said. "He sees you. Maybe he's afraid of loving people. He does seem kind of cold."

"I thought the same thing." Jodi washed a glass and Rose grabbed a towel to dry. "But he found a stray dog and held it with great affection until we found its owners. And he has this box. He never lets anyone look at it."

"Has he been married before?" Rose put the glass away and reached for the next one. "Maybe his wife died or left him."

Jodi shrugged. "Maybe. How badly did Kane hurt Stevie?"

Rose sighed. She knew this question would come up. "Badly. She lost a baby just before we called Alex. It was the first time he hurt her that badly. And then when Kane heard me talking about leaving, he went after me. Stevie hit him to protect me and that's when he went nuts. I had never seen him so angry."

Jodi touched her shoulder. "You must have been so scared."

Rose nodded. "I don't know what I would have done if Luke wasn't there. He stopped Kane from killing her. Jodi, do you still like him?"

"Luke?" Jodi chuckled. "It was just a flirting thing between us. He's good for you. Actually, I should say, you're good for him."

"Thanks," Rose said. "He is a wonderful man. And a great mechanic."

"How is he at running a station?" Jodi set the last glass in the rack.

"He's better with sheep then cows. Which is a good thing since Wilgul only has sheep. That's what Kane and Stevie decided to raise."

Jodi nodded. "Well, I've got to get back to work. It's good to see you, Rose."

Rose smiled and went back out to the veranda. Moira and Regan had wandered off, Alex was gone and she could see Kate walking towards the yards. Luke was taking Kaleb for a walk and Kana was a sleep in Stevie's arms. Stevie and Tess sat side by side on the whicker couch. Rose touched Stevie's arm as she passed and Stevie smiled.

"I'm going to go walk with Luke," Rose said.

Stevie nodded and turned back to Tess.

"She's gorgeous," Tess said as Rose went around the corner of the house.

"Yes, she is," Stevie agreed.

Rose smiled to herself. She always found it strange when people said she was beautiful. Most of the time she was covered in dust or sheep dung. And she couldn't remember the last time she had used makeup or dressed up. Yet still they thought she was beautiful. It was just another thing she had inherited from her mother. The ability to turn heads even when she was a mess.

Luke turned and saw her. His eyes lit up and he reached out a hand for her. Rose hurried to take it and together they followed Kaleb down to the horse yards.

Rose leaned against Luke and he snaked his arm around her waist.

"Are you happy?" he asked.

Rose nodded. "Yes. I'm happy. How strange is that? I've been here for four hours at the most and I can say I'm happy. In the three years we lived with Kane, I don't know if I ever was happy."

"I know what you mean." Luke pressed a kiss to her head. "It's like we belong here. Something about this place calls to you, even if you've only lived here a short time."

Rose had to agree. This place was somehow in her blood. And not just Drovers and Wilgul, but the whole place of Gungellen. Something about it just felt like home.

Pulling Luke to a stop she reached up and kissed him. He kissed her back and held her against his chest for a moment.

"Welcome home," he whispered.

She smiled. "Let's stay here always."

She felt him nodded and turned to see what her brother was up to. Kaleb stood outside the horse pen and watched as two horses chased each other around.

"It looks like my brother has found his home," Rose murmured.

Luke smiled and kissed her again. "I think we all have."