Chapter 36 - Life

“Alright, mate?” Cam said when Lucy’s tired looking face opened the door. “Your daughter and my wife have kicked me out, so…wanna hang out with us?”

Lucy opened the door fully and chuckled at the sight of her friend loaded up like a pack horse with a bag slung over each shoulder and a baby carrier in each hand. “I’d love to, but first, I need to go and size up a job.” She reached out and took the carrier from Cam’s left hand.

“A job?” Cam pushed her way through the door, bashing bags off each side of the entryway.

“Morning. Coffee?” Nicole asked, smiling at the sight. “We all need coffee, right?”

Placing the carriers down next to each other, Cam shrugged off the bags. “Yes, you’re a life saver!” She turned to Lucy. “So, this job?”

“Oh, well I started doing some odd jobs around the town. Most of the cabins just need a little tidy up here and there, and I’ve developed some skills over the years with doing up my old cabin, and some work on this one.”

Cam took a seat on the comfortable settee, peeking into each cot to check that both Noah and Darcy were still content. “Ah, right. And what’s today’s job?”

“The old mill, up on Creek Road. The owner wants to sell, but it needs a bit of work. Leaky roof on the main building for a start. Bit of a bigger project than I’ve taken on before, but…” She shrugged with a grin. “Nothing I can’t deal with.”

Nicole placed mugs of hot coffee in front of them both and took a seat next to where Darcy lay sleeping. “She’s so beautiful, Cam.”

Cam’s face lit up. “Takes after her Mum.” They both peered in at the sleeping baby, with her tuft of chestnut hair poking out at all angles.

Rain and Summer burst into the room, screaming and running with Wynter chasing them.

“Mom, Wynter is a scary monster!” Rain screamed while her little brother continued to chase them, laughing as he almost caught Summer.

Nicole stood up and quickly grabbed her son, lifting him into the air and kissing his cheek as she brought him back lower. “Hey mister, what’s all this noise, huh?”

“Wyn a monster.” He smiled and followed it up with a “Roar!”

Pretending to be scared, Nicole gasped. “Oh my, you are so scary, but you know what I think?”

He shook his head but stared intently and waited for the answer.

“I think that this scary monster might want to be a nice monster, and try to be a little quieter so that Noah and Darcy can sleep, what do you think?”

He looked down at the scene in front of him and nodded. “Okay, Mommy.” His legs kicked to be put down.

On his feet, he toddled over to the carriers and looked inside. “Hello.”

“Why don’t you go with Lucy? I can keep an eye on these two,” Nicole suggested as Wynter ran off to find his siblings and create havoc again.

“That would be fun,” Lucy agreed.

Cam placed her cup down on the coaster and turned from Lucy to Nicole. “You probably have enough to deal with without me dropping these two on you.”

“I’ve already got three, another two really isn’t going to be a problem.” She nodded her head towards the bags. “And I assume you are fully loaded with all the supplies…go on, I’ll be fine here, and with you to help, Lucy will be home quicker, so really it’s for selfish reasons.”