It was amazing how quickly the hill had emptied. Emmett shone his torch along the verandah of the building, spotting Reggie huddled near the corner with her three young children. What was she doing? He raced over.

  Her baby was strapped to her chest, but the twin three-year-olds were gripping the verandah railings tighter than he’d seen them grip onto their stuffed Bluey toys.

  ‘You need to get into the hall!’ He was yelling louder than he’d ever yelled to be heard over the rain on the tin roof that sounded like bullets from a machine gun. The twins’ wailing and screaming couldn’t even compete.

  Tears were coursing down Reggie’s face as she tried tugging on the waist of the twin closest to her.

  ‘They won’t let go and I can’t carry them with Noah.’

  Only the baby’s screwed-up face gave Emmett any indication that Noah was crying. Emmett crouched, the rain blowing in cold on the side of his face. He peeled fingers from the railing, transferring them to cling to his uniform instead then scooped up the scared children into his arms.

  ‘Let’s go.’

  He ushered them into the hall, prompting Reggie down the hallway and into the storage room beneath the stage. There, the sounds of the storm were masked by the children’s cries instead of the other way around.

  ‘Where do we go?’ Reggie asked, standing in the doorway. Emmett scanned the room that was crowded with wet bodies, shelves and props. He recognised so many townsfolk gathered together but no Piper, who he knew would want to give Reggie a hand. The people behind him pushed at his back, desperate for shelter. He pointed to space near the wall to their left.

  ‘Let’s get you settled in there.’

  Gloria bustled over with a couple of towels in her arms. Who knew where she’d found those. ‘Reggie, dear, pass me Noah and I’ll get him dried off.’

  Emmett pried little fingers from Reggie’s coveralls as Gloria took the baby, leaving Reggie free to embrace her twins. They were all safe with Gloria.

  He headed out the door as Maddie came through.

  ‘Have you seen Piper?’ she asked.

  Dread formed a quick lump in his gut. ‘I thought she’d be with you.’

  ‘I lost her in the chaos.’

  Thunder shook the ground beneath them. A loud crack echoed through the empty hall. That had to be a tree. His dread mounted into panic. Where was Piper?

  ‘Stay here, I’ll find her.’ He threw the words at Maddie as he raced back out of the hall. ‘Piper!’

  ‘Emmett?’ Mayor Briggs was now standing at the door on the car-park side of the hall, waving in the last of the rain-soaked community members.

  ‘Have you seen Piper?’

  The mayor’s eyes widened and he shook his head. They shone their torches out into the rain. Had she run to the car? But she hadn’t driven down. She was catching a lift home with him. He ran a hand down his side. His keys were still in his pocket.

  Lightning flashed again and Emmett gasped at the giant gum tree lying across the car park’s entry. The wind blew the rain out of his line of sight as a figure darted up to the fallen tree. Piper.

  Terror iced his veins.

  ‘Stay here.’ He threw his medical bag at Mayor Briggs and took off into the rain.

  He’d been wet before but as the wind tossed the water at him every which way, it soaked into any dry crevice he had left. It didn’t stop him though.

  ‘Piper!’

  He reached the spot where he’d thought he’d seen her disappear and swore. She was crouched at the head of a man pinned by a giant branch of the tree.

  Piper looked up, blinking at the torch light he had on her.

  ‘Emmett, help me.’

  He shifted the torch beam to assess the situation. The man was lying on his stomach and the branch of the tree was across his shoulders. Piper had turned his face sideways and Emmett saw his forehead was red with blood. Shit. It was Harry Flinders, their annoying neighbour, whose favourite time to mow was when Emmett had just finished night shift.

  ‘Shit!’

  ‘We’ve got to get the branch off him!’

  Emmett crouched down to Harry’s face. ‘Harry! Where’s the pain?’

  ‘My head and leg.’

  Emmett ran the torch light down the elderly man’s body. His left leg was twisted at an angle it shouldn’t be and there was a noticeable bow in the shin made prominent by his wet pants glued to him. Shit. ‘Any chest pain?’

  ‘No,’ he wheezed. ‘I just can’t push against the branch. She’s firm.’

  The rain suddenly eased but the strength of the wind seemed to double. Emmett’s eyes met Piper’s. ‘I’ll lift the branch, you drag him out as quickly as you can.’

  Piper nodded and placed her hands under Harry’s armpits as Emmett moved to lift the branch with two hands. He couldn’t get a good enough grip. Snapping off leaves and twigs, he narrowed the width of the branch as much as he could.

  ‘This is going to hurt, Harry. Be strong.’

  The man held his head as high as he could and gave a nod.

  ‘One, two, three!’

  Emmett gave a roar of exertion as he lifted the heavy branch and Piper pulled Harry’s arms as hard as she could. Harry slid on the wet grass and Piper somehow kept her footing even as the old man’s yell of pain cut through the wind. Emmett’s arms shook but he didn’t drop the branch until they were clear.

  Piper had Harry rolled over as the rain started up again. Wordlessly, Emmett and Piper slung an arm over their shoulders and helped him stand. He let out another groan of pain as the trio headed down the slope.

  Neither Emmett nor Piper stopped until they were in the doorway of the storage room.

  ‘Make way!’ Emmett called over the noise and the people closest to them parted until they could get over to the camping stretcher Stef had set up on the far wall.

  ‘I’ll grab some blankets,’ she said once Harry was lying down.

  Emmett grabbed Piper’s shoulders, examining from her head to her toes, making sure she was intact, that adrenaline wasn’t masking any injuries.

  ‘Emmett, I’m okay. I’m not hurt.’

  His breathing remained quick. ‘You crazy-brave woman.’

  He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. Her chin tilted up and he crushed his mouth against hers, desperation mixing with relief. Her lips were so soft. They were kissing him back with a ferocity that had him running his hands up to clasp her face. She gripped his shirt, spurring him on, and his tongue stroked hers as their mouths parted, slanting. She tasted so good. He wanted more.

  A clap of thunder shook the hall. There were screams and gasps. Piper jumped, breaking their contact. Emmett was breathing hard. The candles around them flickered when a strong gust came through the door. Emmett couldn’t make out the expression on Piper’s face, leaving him in the dark in more ways than one. He didn’t like it.

  ‘Close the door!’ Mayor Briggs bellowed.

  ‘Emmett, give me a hand, would you?’ Stef said.

  Piper took a step back out of his reach and Emmett turned to help his partner with the blankets. When he glanced over his shoulder, Piper was across the room.

  Chapter 14

  With the door closed against the raging wind, muffling out some of the thunder, everyone found some floor space among the racks of old costumes and shelves full of props. Maddie grabbed Piper’s hand and pulled her down to sit on an old suitcase. Gloria handed her a blanket and someone passed her a candle in a cup like the ones she’d seen people holding on the hill, waving them along to the Christmas carols they’d been singing. It felt like only moments ago they’d been on the outside stage. Now they were huddled beneath the inside one.

  Piper had been right that the room was big enough to fit most of the town in it. Well, those that had been at the carols. It was a bit of a tight fit, though, and she was glad that the cool front the storm had brought with it had quickly overtaken the stuffiness of the room. Piper looked across the crowd to where Emmett was crouched next to Harry, his fingers pressed to the man’s wrist, measuring his pulse against the tick of the hand on his watch that lit up part of his face. He’d kissed her. Piper’s own pulse raced at the memory of his lips against hers, the scratching of his stubble against her chin, his hands cradling her face like she was something precious to him. More precious than just Carter’s little sister. Urgh. The title was like a knife cutting straight through the memory, destroying all that was good about it. Did the kiss mean he saw her as more than his old best friend’s sister? She touched her lips, wishing the kiss had happened in different circumstances—ones where they didn’t have to stop.

  ‘You okay?’ Maddie asked, bumping her shoulder against Piper’s.

  She sighed. ‘Yeah, just facing reality, I guess.’

  Dragging her eyes from Emmett, Piper took in those around her. The Christmas cheer was gone. Multiple children were crying, some sobbing, being hushed by parents who wore looks of defeat. People were huddled together, shaking, crying and clutching blankets to them like they were a lifeline. Mayor Briggs kept glancing upwards, as if the storm was going to come straight through the roof. Next to him, his wife was muttering, tears tumbling down her cheeks. Piper strained to hear and caught her murmurings of a ruined Christmas. Her heart hurt. She knew the magic of Christmas. Felt it every year, but none more than the ones she’d had with Emmett and his mum sitting at their table. She wanted to laugh at herself for ever thinking she could make do with a low-key Christmas. But fate had known this and that’s why she’d landed in Rush Creek—the town that did Christmas like nowhere else.

  Piper stared down at the flickering flame of the candle. The town needed the magic back.

  A song popped into Piper’s mind, one the choir hadn’t sung yet. One that captured everything the town seemed to have forgotten as soon as the rain hit. One she’d been practising. With a deep breath, she opened her mouth and started to sing.

  ‘O holy night, the stars are brightly shining.’

  All around her people stopped talking.

  ‘It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth …’

  A child stopped crying. Then another one.

  ‘Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared, and the soul felt its worth …’

  Everyone was looking at her. Mouths turning up instead of down.

  ‘A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!’ Her voice rose with confidence as Maddie squeezed her hand. ‘Fall on your knees; O hear, the angel voices! O night divine …’

  She pushed on. A single voice in the storm.

  Emmett held the straw to Harry’s lips so he could take a sip before he settled back on the makeshift bed. Silence fell around him and then he heard it. The most beautiful voice. He followed the direction of everyone’s heads to the singer, but he already knew it was Piper. He recognised her voice from home, but none of those times had been like this. He swallowed hard.

  The way her voice bounced around the room like its acoustics had been built for this, the way her face glowed in the candlelight … who was he kidding? He was completely and utterly in love with her.

  One by one, voices added to Piper’s, but he couldn’t shift his gaze. He wanted to march over there and kiss her all over again, but this time, he wouldn’t let her go. Not until he’d told her exactly how strong his feelings for her were. That he didn’t think of her as Carter’s little sister. Not anymore. That he loved her because she was thoughtful, kind, beautiful and funny. She was everything good in his life. She was home.

  But now was not the right time. He’d wait until they got back to his place and she could see what he’d done for her, see how much he cared.

  It was going to be a long night.

  The mood in the storage room continued to rise as someone unearthed a guitar and the singing continued. When the clock struck midnight, no one turned into a pumpkin, but the music wound down and calls of ‘Merry Christmas!’ filled the room.

  The storm eventually stopped but the community didn’t venture out until the first strands of daylight broke as the hands of the clock passed four thirty. Piper had managed to grab a couple of hours of uncomfortable sleep with her head resting against the blanket that had been wrapped around her shoulders.

  Stepping out into the dull light of the early morning, she gasped at the destruction. The huge gum tree that had fallen, pinning Harry, wasn’t the only one brought down. None of the shade tents that had been standing along the top of the slope were in one piece; picnic rugs were torn up; chairs were scattered everywhere, including on the roof of the hall and up trees that were still standing; and bits of soggy gingerbread houses floated in puddles. A few of the windows in the main area of the hall were broken and down the street, the devastation continued.

  Maddie linked her arm through Piper’s as tears welled in her eyes. ‘Our town.’

  Piper swallowed hard. ‘I’ve never been in a storm like the one last night. We’ll clean it up.’

  People milled around them, crying out as they took in the scene, but the Christmas spirit still hung in the air. An ambulance pulled up on the road and Emmett and Stef helped Harry to it.

  Mayor Briggs grabbed a random milk crate and stood on it, clapping his hands to draw everyone’s attention. ‘Right, people, Christmas is on hold until we make our beloved Rush Creek safe. We need chainsaws and trailers. Someone call Billy and get the gates to the dump open. Grab some gloves, people!’

  A box of gloves was thrown from the back of the ambulance and passed around. Piper pulled out a pair, snapping them onto her hands as Maddie shook out a garbage bag.

  ‘Let’s get to it,’ Maddie said, and Piper crouched down to grab a candle, snapped in two and covered in mud.

  ‘One down,’ she said, dumping it into the bag. ‘A million more to go.’

  ‘How many bags do you reckon we can fill in the next hour?’

  Piper raised a brow. ‘A Christmas clean-up competition? I love it. I’m betting five.’

  ‘Gee, not a lot of faith in our rate of productivity at four thirty in the morning. I’m going with seven.’

  ‘We’re aiming for seven too!’ Reggie called, her twins by her side and Noah again strapped to her chest.

  ‘We can beat that,’ Anita added. Her children were all holding bags as well. ‘We’re going all out for ten!’

  One by one, people teamed up and shouted out their goal. Piper’s heart fluttered with the warmth of belonging to something bigger than her.

  Maddie’s grin grew so big it almost fell off her face. ‘On your marks … get set … clean up!’

  Laughter rang out among them as they dived for the debris on the ground.

  When the Rush Creek community came together, it really came together. With everyone racing to fill their bags, the area around the community hall was clearing quickly. Once the ambulance had left, Emmett and Barry climbed onto the roof to get the broken chairs down. Piper sighed and forced herself to focus on the shattered glass she was sweeping up. The more things she picked up, the stronger her feeling of belonging became. She loved Rush Creek. It felt like home, something she’d craved since they’d left Euronga all those years ago. She’d chat to Cara tomorrow about the chance of her contract becoming permanent, but she needed to do something about her living arrangement. Living with a man she’d been in love with since they were children, with whom she now didn’t know where she stood, wasn’t sustainable. What did that kiss even mean? Was it just an in-the-moment thing or something more? Putting distance between her and Emmett might be the best thing until they could figure it out. The first day Tobias opened his real estate office after Christmas, she’d sign a lease for any house he had available.

  Chapter 15

  Once Barry had his feet back on the ground, Emmett folded the ladder that was leaning up against the giant gum tree. He was holding the ladder in a fireman’s grip and heading for Barry’s ute to stack it on the racks when the CWA’s Muriel Edwards pulled up in her LandCruiser with a five-burner barbecue in the back.

  ‘Emmett Coleman, put that ladder down and help me get this hot plate out so we can feed these hungry volunteers,’ she said as she slid from the driver’s seat. Muriel wasn’t known for her height and Emmett tried to glance through the driver’s door to catch sight of the rumoured pillow, but she shut it too quickly.

  Finding his reserve tanks of energy, he jogged the ladder over to Barry’s ute before returning to help Muriel with the set-up, moving on autopilot mode to get things done.

  By the time the smell of bacon crackled through the air, the sun was higher in the sky and his dying phone told him it’d just turned eight. The area around the hall was restored and the rest of the town didn’t look too bad either. But the smiles on the faces of his community warmed Emmett the most. And there was one smile he couldn’t help but seek out.

  Piper. She was towards the back of the group, chatting with Reggie and cuddling Noah while the twins played in a puddle nearby. It was Christmas, and after what they’d just been through, no one cared about a bit of mud if little kids were having fun.

  Two breakfast burgers wrapped in napkins were thrust in his face.

  ‘I have a feeling neither of you are going to feel like cooking when you get home,’ Maddie said as he accepted them. ‘And given people are dining and dashing, you might want to think about making tracks.’

  He caught her wink before she turned on her heel. ‘Thanks,’ he called after her.

  Covering the short distance to Piper, he held out the burger and she handed Noah back to his mum. ‘You ready to head home?’

  ‘More than.’ She smiled at him, but he could see the fatigue in it.

  They farewelled Reggie and walked in silence to his remarkably undamaged ute. Piper was quiet, chewing her breakfast as he scoffed his before the drive home.

  On the way, she stared out the passenger window. No talking, no music, not one single glance his way. Was she too tired? Or was it something more?

  By the time he pulled into the driveway, Emmett couldn’t take the silence anymore.