Moonlight Plains by Barbara Hannay

plane crashes in North Queensland back then. Two more won’t make much of a story. I’d rather see you write something about Luke’s renovations.’
    This was getting tricky. Sally deliberately avoided eye contact with Luke.
    ‘Maybe you should come out and see the place some time,’ he said casually.
    Zap!
    Sally stared at him. It was quite possible she was gaping as flashes of shock zigzagged under her skin. His suggestion was so totally unexpected it caught her wrong-footed. She tried to cover her shock with a smile, but it was a very shaky attempt.
    Kitty, on the other hand, was beaming. ‘What an excellent idea. You’d love Moonlight Plains, Sally. And you could take Jess. She’d love it out there too.’
    A cautious glance in Luke’s direction showed that his face was deadpan.
    ‘Think about it, anyway,’ he said casually, with the hint of a shrug.
    It was clear he was opening a door, a very surprising but enticing door . . . Sally couldn’t be sure if he was just being friendly or if he’d changed his mind about the story. Or was there more to it, some other clue she hadn’t picked up?
    ‘I’ll certainly give it some thought,’ she said.
    Luke was watching her carefully now, as carefully as she was watching him, and she wondered what sort of messages their searching glances were sending to his inquisitive grandmother.
    ‘You must take Luke’s phone number,’ Kitty enthused. ‘Luke, write it down for her.’
    ‘No need. Here’s my phone.’ Sally whipped it from her shoulder bag and handed it to Luke, making only the briefest eye contact.
    It was impossible to read his thoughts as he keyed in his number, but she knew it was likely that this whole exercise was nothing more than a charade to keep his grandmother off his back.
    One thing was certain – she wouldn’t return to Moonlight Plains unless she and Luke laid down some crystal-clear ground rules.
    Kitty lay with her eyes closed. Sally had left to visit her grandmother in the secure wing and Luke had said his goodbyes, and Kitty was exhausted.
    She’d put far too much energy into willing those two young people together, but now that she’d achieved her long-cherished hope, she was afraid it might backfire on her. Sally seemed as interested in the war story as she did in Luke’s restoration, and the girl’s curiosity plus her journalist’s instincts could stir things up . . . things that Kitty wanted to leave buried and forgotten . . .
    I’ll have to play my cards close to my chest . . .
    As she at last drifted off to sleep, however, it wasn’t Luke and Sally who floated into her vision. It was Ed . . . and Bobby Kowalski . . .

11
    Moonlight Plains, 1942
    After Ed left the homestead, heading off with a lantern to light his way through the pitch-black, rain-lashed night, Kitty had to keep busy. She lit a fi re in the kitchen stove and hung the airmen’s flying jackets over the backs of two wooden chairs to dry. She set their neatly folded helmets and goggles on the dresser, then decided to heat water.
    She wasn’t at all sure about the dos and don’ts of caring for injuries like Bobby’s, but she would try to give him a few sips of well-sugared tea. And perhaps a little arrowroot biscuit soaked in water.
    She had left a kerosene lamp burning low on the dressing table in the bedroom, and when she returned, she was very surprised to find Bobby awake.
    ‘Hey there, sleepy head,’ she said.
    Bobby stared at her for a long moment and then his mouth twisted in a lopsided grin. ‘I don’t know how I got here, but I guess I should move over, and make room for you.’
    ‘Don’t you dare move,’ Kitty chided gently. ‘You’ve hurt your chest, and I want you to lie very still while I clean you up.’
    Setting a cup of tea and a bowl of warm water on the marble-topped bedside table, she sprinkled a washcloth with drops of lavender, then soaked it and wrung out the excess. Gently, she bathed Bobby’s face and neck,