The day seemed to drag on. Stevie was awaiting Alex's visit and he had told her the girls had arranged to come too. They had decided that missing one day of farm work wasn't going to kill them; they would just pretend it was a Sunday. She sat in her cell most of the morning, thinking about Alex and how amazing it would have been if she were free.
She knew with absolute certainty that they would be in a relationship – he loved her like she loved him and she was overwhelmed that things had to be this way. She wanted to turn back time she wanted to change the past, to take back all the mistakes she made with him. If she could have changed it, then they'd have been together now. The past was a stubborn bugger it wouldn't change for anyone.
While Stevie was stuck in the past, the girls back at Drover's were tortured by the present.
"How do you think she's doing?" Kate asked.
"I think she's tough. She'll be fine," Regan answered. She believed that. She had to. And she knew Stevie more than any of the other girls, at least in an emotional way, because she had been the shoulder that Stevie leaned on when she had a problem she couldn't handle alone.
"Yeah," Jodi agreed. "She can handle anything. Besides, Alex said she was doing really well."
All of them were seated at the kitchen table eating breakfast. They were heading to the prison as soon as everyone was ready.
Before another word was uttered the phone rang, Jodi got up to answer it she was the only one that had finished eating. She was surprised to find that it was Sandra Consella on the other end.
"I did it," she confessed the moment Jodi answered.
"You did what?" Jodi replied in total confusion.
"I killed Harry!"
Jodi's breath caught and by then the girls were all looking at her. For a moment she wasn't sure what to say, which was odd because Jodi never shut her mouth. A moment later she found her voice. "But Stevie's in jail!" she said it like Sandra didn't know.
"I was thinking about it, and I have to tie up all the loose ends, so I can…"
"What?" Jodi screamed. "You can't do anything. You have to go to jail and replace Stevie. I'm calling the police." Jodi hung up and dialled 911. The other girls had crowded her by then, when they listened to her side of the conversation.
"What's going on?" Regan demanded.
"Sandra killed Harry!" she said as she waited for someone to pick up. "She just said… hello. I need the police. I have a confession to a murder that my friend's in jail for."
A few minutes later she hung up the phone. Both confusion and relief washed over Jodi as she explained the full conversation to the others. Then she dialled the number to Alex's motel in the city. He was overjoyed when she told him what had happened and hung up the phone and headed straight to the prison.
Stevie was called into the visitor's room twenty minutes later. A smile appeared on her face the moment she saw Alex sitting there. He stood when he saw her coming and embraced her; she noticed there was something different in the way he held her. And when she looked up at him she knew for sure there was something.
"I have the best news for you," he smiled happily.
She smiled wondering what it was. The first thing she thought of was if he had left Fiona. She liked seeing him happy, even if she didn't understand why.
"We're going to get you out of here!" he stated.
Stevie's smile vanished. She didn't want false hope she knew that if she began to believe she'd get out and it never happened, she might not survive in there. She had to shield herself from that; she had to know that she could get through the next 15 years in prison.
"Please don't do that," she pleaded. "You have to survive out there and I have to cope in here. Whatever idea you have in your head is not going-"
"No," he shook his head refusing to lose his smile. "Jodi got a call this morning from Sandra confessing. The girls are sorting it as we speak. I'm not sure how long this is going to take, but hopefully they'll give you another trial and you'll be out by the week's end."
"Are you sure?" she was too scared to believe it.
"I wouldn't lie about that," he promised. "I'm going to take you home soon."
She laughed as the tears filled her eyes. He was right, it was the best news he could give her. If he left Fiona it would be even better. She wanted to know about that but she felt the timing was inappropriate.
"I love you," he whispered hugging her again. He pulled back to look at her and ran his hands through her soft red curls. He loved the feel of her hair and the texture of her soft skin. Before he could kiss her, he saw the girls approaching and pulled back. She was surprised by his sudden reaction until she saw them too.
She wasn't sure what was going on between them, but she knew that it couldn't become public until both of them had discussed it. That couldn't happen until she was out of jail.
She girls hugged her, like they hadn't seen her in ten years – it had been over a month since they'd seen each other. They chatted for a while and when Alex and Stevie passed looks across the table, it didn't go unnoticed. It was the first time that Jodi realised there was more than friendship growing between the two of them. She had always hoped they'd see it, but now she was sure they did. It was so obvious.