Love on the Rocks

Love On The Rocks -- 28

This story contains sexual situations between males. If material of this nature offends you then you should not read this story. If you are under 18 years of age you are probably not legally allowed to read this story. This story is purely a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons living or dead, or to events that may have occurred, is purely coincidental. The author claims all copyrights in this story and no duplication or publication of this story is allowed (except by the web sites to which it has been posted) without the consent of the author.

It was early when I woke, and two things happened simultaneously. I remembered how much I loved this gorgeous, cosy man sleeping spooned against me, and I realised I needed to piss. But I was driven by an overwhelming desire to wrap my arms around him and kiss his neck, and I was powerless to stop sliding my morning wood into his warm depths. As always when Ty and I were physically connected, everything in my world was perfect.

Involuntarily, my hips started to move and in less than a minute, I was fucking him again. He woke slowly, not sure at first what was happening but ... being the bright boy he is ... he cottoned on quick. Though still not fully awake, he worked my cock like a champion. I reached around and felt for his dick, and smiled as it pulsated in my hand.

This was not the time for "making love"; we needed to be wide awake for that. Besides, we were so in tune now that it was OK to use one another in this way to get off. My solitary wanking days ended when I found a guy who understood my sexual needs and was happy to be the vessel whenever those needs consumed me, just as I had a willing hand, mouth and ass whenever this beautiful man had seed to sow.

We moaned and groaned, panted and grunted our way to orgasms that hit us about 20 seconds apart. Ty made a nasty mess of the sheets, while I make a nasty mess of his insides. We lay and caught our breath, still joined at cock and ass. Eventually I slipped out of him and immediately grabbed his shoulders and turned him to me. I clutched him and kissed him, and when the kiss ended, we acknowledged that we both had to pee! We made it a `mate piss', standing either side of the bowl and crossing swords.

I sent him back to bed and trotted off naked to the kitchen to make our breakfast. I pulled it all together, put it on a tray and headed back to the bedroom. Ty was sitting up in bed, resting against a bank of pillows. I put the tray between us and we ate.

It was the end of the week and the weather was promising. For once, we had nothing much to think about except Ty's laundry from Melbourne and maybe some hot afternoon sex. Best of all, Lachlan and Ellie were arriving back from Stanthorpe and would be home in time for dinner.

After breakfast, we showered together and decided we'd spend a chunk of the day in bed. For a while, Ty read the papers and I continued my novel. We played with each other's cocks for a while, nothing serious. Then we had lunch in bed and somewhere around 2pm, we were horny again and before I knew it I was on my back, my legs wrapped around Ty's waist as he fucked me into the middle of the following week.

We showered again sometime around 3.30, and then went for a walk along the beach with Scruffy. Several times along the way, Ty was stopped by fans out enjoying the sunny weather, and each time he was gracious and generous with his time. I expressed some amusement when he was asked to sign the breast of a very pretty early 20s girl and when she went on her way, he assured me it was a semi-regular request. And just for the record, he felt the same way about doing that as he did about judging talent quests. What the fuck did it have to do with the music?

Back home, Ty did his best to set the table while I got the closest I could to having a "Hill family roast" underway. The leg of lamb and the vegetables weren't a worry, but I knew I'd never master Dot's gravy.

At around 7, the doorbell rang and Ty was quickly on his feet to greet Lachlan and his future wife. Back slapping, cheek kissing and cork popping followed, and Dot and Frank's first and second born enjoyed some quality together while Ellie helped me get organised in the kitchen.

"So how did it go, meeting the in-laws?" I asked with a smile.

"Aren't they the sweetest parents in the world?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool," I agreed. "I thought the whole `out of wedlock' thing would be a problem but apparently not."

"It didn't even come up," Ellie assured me. "From the way Lachie was preparing me, I was expecting God- fearing Christians, but they're just really nice people. A bit old-fashioned, yeah, but like you say, cool."

I took a deep breath and decided that Ellie was now one of us. "In one fell swoop, they were confronted with Ty and me, and the fact that Scott is gay too. You and Lachlan would have been a pushover!" I laughed.

"Mate!" she smiled. "They think you're the best thing since sliced bread. Mind you, the G' word didn't actually come up. You're Tyson's best friend' and `lawyer'! Is that denial?"

"Nah," I assured her. "They know the score. They're just protecting Ty. Where Ty's career is right now we have to be very careful, so it's kept very close."

"Yes, Lachie explained it all to me," Ellie replied. "I'm cool, just so you know. My family and friends know about Lachie, and they know he's Tyson's brother. That's all they know. I've gotta say it Mike; you two are the perfect couple, you know?"

I looked at her in surprise. "We are?"

"Sure you are. Like, you're just so right together. I recognised right away how you just complete one another. It's beautiful to see, something for Lachie and me to aspire to."

"Oh, I think you're well on the way," I smiled, as I wrapped my arms around her.

Our moment was ended when Ty called out from the lounge, "There are hungry Hill men out here, dying slowly from malnutrition!"

Ellie looked at me and I winked. "When I looked this morning, you had a bit of stored fat!" I called back. "I'm sure you'll survive for another 15 minutes."

As I expected, that shut him up; he'd be pinching his midriff and asking his brother if he looked fat? I turned to Ellie and said, "OK, we have 15 minutes. If we're any longer, they'll eat Scruffy."

Ty and I had left George a few voice mails, just checking in to see how he was doing, but so far we'd not heard back. The roast dinner was good, but it made us all quietly miss our confidante and supervisor.

Over the meal, we talked about Ellie's introduction to farm life, the imminent start of Scott and Simon's big adventure, Ty's experience on `The Next Big Thing' and surprisingly, Lachlan's plans for he and Ellie.

They had decided that farm life was worth a shot and they'd discussed with Dot and Frank the possibility of moving back home and living at the farm, while Lachlan found work and Ellie prepared for the birth of their baby. They had arranged to move back to Stanthorpe as soon as Ellie completed her degree and graduated, towards the end of the year.

And, amid their sincere thanks for housing Lachlan since he was returned injured from Afghanistan, they told us they thought it was probably a good idea for them to move into Ellie's flat and give us some peace.

Ty and I were genuinely surprised. We both said the right things about how happy we were to have them live with us and they said the right things about not being in our way. I sensed that Lachlan and Ellie really didn't want to debate it, so I changed the subject. We talked about George and his sister Hazel, and about Lachlan's visit to check up on my brother Steve later in the week. But I could tell Ty's mind wasn't quite on track.

How well I knew -- and understood him -- now. No question he loved me. But his family was moving away, and family was so important to him. Dot and Ty had returned to the farm, Scott was about to head overseas, and Lachlan and Ellie were going to be moving to Stanthorpe. As Scott would say, Ty had crackled the sads.

We finished the night with cheese, coffee and liqueurs, and suddenly Lachlan and Ellie were on their way to Ellie's flat. Their farewell was happy enough, but Ty left me to see them out.

We all hugged and as they started making their way down the stairs to their car, Lachlan turned around and asked, "Is Ty OK?"

"Yeah, of course," I replied. "Why?"

"I dunno. I just got a strange vibe from him when I said we were gonna move back with mum and dad."

I hesitated for a moment and Lachlan jumped in. "You can level with me, Mike. Nobody knows him better than you do."

I smiled. "It's not the fact you're going back to Stanthorpe," I said. "I reckon it's the fact you'll be in Sydney until Ellie graduates, but living somewhere else."

"We can't stay with you guys forever," Lachlan said cautiously. "You two have your own life and the Hills have been crowding it for a long time. We didn't want to overstay our welcome".

I couldn't help the laugh. "Mate," I sighed, "do you know how happy Ty is when his brothers are around? Now you're all disappearing on him. But you've gotta do what's right for you. I'm only saying this `cos you asked."

"Are you saying you really do want us to stay here with you guys?"

"I'm just telling you how I'm reading Ty," I answered cautiously. "If you stay here, you can sublet Ellie's flat and save whatever rent you're paying for a few months."

"What about you though, mate?" Lachlan asked.

"As long as I've been with Ty, he's had family around him," I replied. "If he's happy, I'm happy. I love being part of a family that works! When you said you were moving to Ellie's I just figured you wanted your own space, but yeah, I'd love it if you and Ellie stayed here with us."

Lachlan looked at Ellie, and she smiled, before stepping forward and giving me a hug. "We love it here with you guys, Mike," she said. "Like Lachie says, we didn't want to just take advantage of your hospitality. But if you really mean it, and you think it would make Tyson happy, we'd love to stay. But we'd have to pay board."

"Ty will never let you pay board," I scoffed. "This is family. He gets so much pleasure sharing his good fortune with the people he loves. We know you'll be heading back to Stanthorpe at the end of the year, but it would be great to have you around til then."

"Settled then!" Lachlan said, as he too gave me a hug. "We'll stay at Ellie's tonight, pack some stuff and move back tomorrow. We'll put the flat with an agent at the end of the week."

I gave them the thumbs up as they walked to their car, and I waved as they drove away. Back inside the house, Ty was cleaning up after dinner, trying to be cheerful but heavy of heart I suspected. I decided to play it cool.

"We'd better freeze some of the food in the fridge," Ty sighed. "We'll never get through it all before George gets back, just the two of us."

"Nah mate," I said dismissively as I stacked the dishwasher. "We'll need the chicken pieces for the barbeque tomorrow night, and all the vegetables too."

"There's too much for just us," he laughed.

"Well, there's four of us, so probably just enough."

"Four of us?"

"You, me, Lachlan and Ellie."

"Since when? Are they dropping in to make sure I'm OK?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, they'll just be ready when dinner's served."

"I don't get it ..."

"Well, they'll move all their stuff from Ellie's to here in the afternoon and then by the time I get home from work, they'll be famished. You will be too. So we'll have chicken and vegetables."

"But ..." he trailed off. "You mean they're gonna stay here?"

"Yup."

Ty's face lit up. "How did you manage that?" he asked, as he grabbed me around the neck and kissed me.

"I'm a lawyer!" I laughed. "I threatened them with legal action if they walked out on me and left me to deal with all your high maintenance superstar shit by myself!"

"They're coming back?" he beamed.

"Well, they never really went away mate!" I shot back. "But yeah, they're gonna stay with us until they move to your Mum and Dad's place."

"Y'know," Ty said as he shook his head. "That first time you opened your door at Grand Apartments, wearing those silly tighty-whiteys, I thought `fuck me upside down, he's cute'. I had no idea how useful you were gonna be as my lawyer!"

"Yeah," I chuckled. "Hold that thought until you get your next invoice from my office!"

"Really?" he asked, trying to sound shocked.

"Well, you're a big client. I'm just an employee. I have no say in the cost. And they charge like a wounded bull!"

"You're not fucking me over, are you?" he asked, accusingly.

I feigned offence. "Of course not!"

Ty put the plate he was holding on the bench. "But you are gonna fuck me, aren't you?"

I banged the dishwasher door closed. "You bet I am!"

I had most of his clothes off before we even reached the hallway ...

As I woke, I had an odd feeling. Something felt strange. I kept my eyes closed and tried to process what it was. No idea. I opened my eyes and the room looked normal. I looked sideways, and Ty was resting on his elbow watching me, a goofy grin on his face.

"Hey," he grinned. "I love you!"

I blinked a couple of times and yawned, "I love you, too. Why are you looking at me?"

"Same reason you creep me out when I know you're watching me!"

"I watch you because you're cute."

"That's why I watch you!"

I rolled on my side and propped myself on my elbow, facing him. "I don't like being thought of as cute," I said. "You're the cute one."

"What are you, then?"

"Handsome."

"I'm handsome too!" he chuckled. "According to Rolling Stone' and Who Weekly'!"

"Nah, you're cute."

"Cute works for me, handsome!" he replied, as he leaned in and kissed me.

"Go take a piss," I instructed.

"Nah, I'm good for now."

"Go take a piss."

"Why?"

"Because I'm gonna suck your dick and I don't want to lose the momentum half way through when you say `I need to take a leak'!"

"Be right back!" he shouted as he leapt from the bed and headed to the bathroom.

Later, we had a run along the beach and brunch at a waterside patisserie. We talked to Dot and Frank, and to Scott and Simon, and we did some washing. I had fun at Ty's expense when I challenged him to work out the settings and water levels, and washing powder ratio. He pretended to be miffed and challenged me to a game of pool. He settled the score by creaming me, as he and his brothers usually did when I tried to beat them at snooker.

Lachlan and Ellie arrived mid-afternoon and while Ty and I started out helping them move their carloads into the house, it didn't end that way. After a few box loads, Ty and Lachlan got comfortable on the bed and were on Ty's mobile talking to Scott.

"Lachie's really missing Scott," Ellie said as we returned to the cars.

"Yeah, Ty is too," I replied. "I think Ty's feeling it even more because he's big brother to both of them. He had to let go' when Lachlan went to war, and now he has to let go' again with Scott going overseas."

"He feels it that much?"

"You know how close they are," I smiled. "For years, they were either in the next bedroom, or sharing a room. Ty has this inbuilt need to look after them, like he always has. All of a sudden they're on their own and taking control of their lives. It's a gradual realisation for him."

"Ty's a really beautiful guy."

"Yeah he is," I grinned, before adding as a tongue-in-cheek warning, "And he's mine!"

"Deal!" she laughed. "You got the Hill brother that's perfect for you, and I got the one that's perfect for me!"

We got the happy couple settled back into their corner of the house, and Lachlan's suggestion of pizza for dinner was a good one. I threw together a quick salad and we spent the evening eating, drinking, telling jokes and arguing the carbon tax. Too much wine was had by the boys, and we all staggered off to bed around 1am.

Ty stripped and slid under the covers while I took a leak and brushed my teeth. By the time I hit the bed, Ty was on his back, fast asleep. I lay next to him, slipped my arm around his shoulders and he automatically repositioned himself to rest his head on my chest. And so we slept.

Again I woke suddenly, this time feeling a strange sensation on my abdomen. Ty's head was resting on my chest as usual, and after a few moments I realised her was drumming his fingers on my belly. That meant only one thing; he was thinking!

"Hey handsome!" he grinned when I opened my eyes.

"Hey back at ya," I mumbled. "What time is it?"

"Early."

"Why did you wake me?"

"I didn't wake you!"

"You were drumming your fingers, er ... why?"

"Was I? Sorry! Wasn't aware I was doing it."

"I think you must be thinking. You drum when you're thinking."

"Mate, I've had this fucking brilliant idea!"

I knew it. And for the next 10 minutes, Ty did his best to convince me that his latest light-bulb moment had merit. I had to admit, while many of his light-bulb moments turned out to be brain farts, this one was a corker!

I told him so and was about to kiss him on the smacker when the door opened and the middle Hill brother loomed large, dishevelled but cute in his boxer briefs and tee shirt.

"You guys drink too much!" he said accusingly, holding his hand to his forehead.

"You matched us!" I laughed.

"Wasn't me who insisted on opening the fourth bottle!" Lachlan shot back.

"Actually, it was!" Ty reminded him. "And because Ellie's not drinking, you actually had your share and her share. So it's you who drinks too much mate!"

"Wanna hop in?" I asked, pulling back the doona.

"No way!" he laughed. "Not now that I know how often you do the nasty in the morning!"

"And you know that ... how?" I asked.

"Ty told us last night!" he replied.

"He did?"

"I did?"

"You did!"

Ty turned and looked at me. "We drink too much!"

Lachlan plonked himself at the foot of the bed and we bantered, only stopping when Ellie arrived with breakfast on a tray. For each of us, a piece of very dark (read: burnt) toast with what appeared to be scrambled eggs, and a cup of coffee. We all thanked her as she made a beeline back to the kitchen to clean up. We ate quickly, washing down the overcooked eggs with lukewarm coffee.

"This coffee tastes like mud!" Ty spluttered.

"It shouldn't," I smirked. "It was fresh ground this morning!"

Ty laughed. "That's a George line if ever I heard one! Fuck I miss him."

"You're saying my girlfriend isn't a good cook?" Lachlan asked with a smile.

"Well, um," Ty struggled. "You know ... well, yeah, I am!"

"You're fuckin' right there, mate!" Lachlan whispered. "She's a shocker! But Mum's right on to it. Cooking lessons will begin the day we arrive back home!"

"What will you do if it hurts Ellie's feelings?" I asked.

"Nah, it won't!" Lachlan laughed. "She knows she's a shitty cook. But if she does get funny about it, I'll tell her `If my Mother wants to teach you to cook, then you'll learn to cook. End of story!"

Ty guffawed. "And then you should send her to the naughty corner!"

"Oh, she's a naughty girl alright, mate!" Lachlan chortled. "She's a very, very naughty girl. Thank God!"

Ty leaned forward in the bed and grabbed Lachlan into a hug. "Good on ya, mate," he whispered. "She's something special."

"You boys want anything more to eat?" came the call from the kitchen.

"No!" we chorused, perhaps a little more readily than we should have ...

The brothers dropped lines on each other and bantered until I finally asked Lachlan to vacate the bed momentarily so I could climb out and have a shower. As I padded towards the en suite, I heard Ty's conversation trail off.

"Ty!" Lachlan exclaimed.

"What?"

"Mind on the job! You stopped talking! ...."

"Huh?"

"When you started watching Mike's ass ..."

"It's fuckin' awesome, isn't it?"

"No!" Lachlan laughed. "It's just a regular guy ass. You see heaps just like it in the Army showers every day."

"Not like that one. Seriously mate, it's a work of art!" Ty enthused.

"I don't like being objectified," I called out as I stepped into the shower.

"Yeah you do!" Lachlan called back. "You love it!"

I chuckled as I had my shower and after drying myself I wandered back to an empty bedroom. I dressed quickly and went searching. Thinking food may have been the attraction, I headed for the kitchen only to find Ellie cleaning up.

"They're in our room," she smiled, "ringing Scott. He's failed to check in from Africa, so the Gestapo's on the case!"

"Hey, that's a bit unfair!" I laughed. "Scott's only 13, you know ..."

I wandered down the hallway to Lachlan's room and found the two brothers lying on their sides facing each other, a mobile on the covers between them.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Scott's mobile keeps going straight to message bank," Ty replied with more than a hint of concern in his voice.

"It's not like him," Lachlan added.

"Nah," I said casually, "you guys worry too much. He's either having too much fun, or he's not able to get reception. They're in Africa, don't forget."

"That's a point," said Lachlan, nodding.

"Still, he could send a text or something so we don't worry," Ty grumbled.

"He can't send a text if he's out of mobile range!" I laughed.

"Just as well you can sing, mate!" Lachlan chuckled. "Cos up here," he added, tapping Ty on the skull, "nothing much going on!"

"That's because he's got it all going on down there!" I smirked, pointing to Ty's crotch.

"Ewww!" sighed Lachlan. "That reminds me though. It's been more than 48 hours for Ellie and me so I need to get busy, or I might explode! It's part of my ongoing therapy. You men need to disappear."

Ty grabbed his phone and bounced off the bed. As he and I headed out of the room, Lachlan asked, "Can you tell Ellie that Dr. Hill is ready to give her a full physical examination?"

Ty looked at me. "Ewww!" we said.

Heading for Ty's music room, I stopped at the kitchen to let Ellie know she was required immediately to discharge Lance Corporal Hill's rifle.

Ty sat on the couch with another huge envelope of fan mail, like those sent every couple of weeks by his publicist Monique, along with a stack of publicity photographs and some signing pens. All his mail was answered by a girl in Vince's office, but Ty was always keen to read the letters, and sign photos when they were requested. He often made notes on the letters when fans asked him what his favourite meal was, who his favourite singers were, and other questions nobody else would likely know the answers to.

I lay on a couch flicking through bank statements while Ty read and signed photos. Occasionally he'd chuckle or exclaim "fuckin' hell!" Every now and again there was a nude photo of one of his female fans letting him know exactly what she'd do with him if she had him alone. Other times there were in depth analyses of his lyrics, which always fascinated him.

He seemed to be spending a long time reading one particular letter, and I suspected it was one of the occasional "weirdo" rants he received. "This one is unbelievable," he said, shaking his head. For a brief moment, I thought he was trying not to cry.

The letter was from a widowed mother, writing to tell Ty of her 15-year-old son Daniel's battle with leukemia. He had been diagnosed two years earlier and had spent much of that time in hospital having radical chemotherapy. While the treatment has slowed the progress of the cancer it hadn't stopped it, and Daniel was now about to undergo induction therapy, an intense treatment that would hopefully destroy as many abnormal white blood cells as possible.

Daniel's mother wrote that the one thing that was getting her son through his gruelling ordeal was his Tyson Hill CDs and DVDs. Ty, she said, was Daniel's hero and she has beautiful memories of him at 14, singing the hits from `Love On The Rocks' into a toy microphone, trying his best to sound like his idol. Daniel's room at home was plastered with magazine pin-ups of Ty, and he'd kept scrapbooks of articles that mapped the course of Ty's career. Over a course of several months, when he was well enough, he had spent weekends mowing lawns to scrape together enough money to see two of Ty's Sydney concerts on the first tour. And since his diagnosis, his favourite Tyson Hill song was "Game Of Chance", which is how he saw his future.

"I know it's presumptuous to ask," she finished, "but I wonder if you would be kind enough to send him a signed photograph? It would be something he would treasure as he faces his next few weeks of treatment. I'm sure you get asked things like this all the time but it would mean the world to my son if he received something signed to him by you."

I folded the letter and handed it back to Ty, who was studying my face intently. "Mate, that's so sad," I sighed.

"I can't believe it," Ty replied, shaking his head. "That's so like me when I was a kid. I idolized Jimmy Barnes, and wanted to be just like him. And now somebody's doing that with me. The poor kid, going through that kinda shit at 15."

"A signed photo doesn't sound like much, eh?" I remarked. "Maybe you could put together a pack of all your singles and the albums, and the DVDs?"

"Sounds like he's got them all," Ty sighed. "I've gotta do something better than that."

"Maybe you could give him a call?"

"Hey, great idea!" Ty beamed. "I'll get Monique to contact his Mum and find out what hospital he's in."

Ty called Monique's mobile and left her a message asking her to make some enquiries, and also asked her if she could put together some tour and album posters for him to sign for Daniel.

He'd just put the phone down when we heard a car pull up in the driveway and a car door closing. "Are we expecting anyone?" he asked.

"Don't think so," I replied.

We went to the front door and opened it to find George getting out of a taxi and struggling with his luggage. We bounded down the stairs and hugged him, asking too many questions in succession for George to be able to reply.

Ty and I grabbed a suitcase each and we made our way back into the house as George explained that he'd decided to just come home without letting us know so that we wouldn't feel obliged to pick him up from the airport.

"It's never an obligation, George," I assured him. "We'd have been happy to collect you. We were starting to get a bit worried when you didn't return our calls."

"My phone battery was flat, sir," George apologised. "And I couldn't find the charger. I couldn't call you on a landline because your mobile numbers are in the address book and I couldn't access it. It was all very frustrating."

"You haven't memorised our mobile numbers, George?" Ty asked, pretending to be shocked.

"No sir, but that's deliberate," George deadpanned. "That way, if I'm ever captured and tortured by the media as they desperately try to gather information for you for that one, award-winning celebrity scandal story to expose your sordid life, I'll honestly be able to tell them I don't know much. Not even your phone number"

"You're fuckin' out there, George!" Ty laughed, shaking his head. "God we've missed you!"

"I've missed both of you, too," George replied. "Has there been a break-in, sir?"

"What?"

"A burglary, sir?"

"No, why?"

"I just figured someone must have broken in and stolen the vacuum cleaner, the duster, the window cleaner and the mop."

"Very funny, George," Ty chuckled. "It's Mike's fault if the house isn't up to scratch. I can't do housework, as you well know. I'm a pianist. You know how it is. Can't risk harming my fingers ..."

I recoiled. "If you weren't so sexually demanding, I'd have more time to do stuff around the house! Honestly George, he treats me like a sex toy!"

George sighed. "We should all probably have a cup of tea."

We put George's luggage in his room and ushered him back to the kitchen balcony. I made tea while George filled us in on his sister Hazel's funeral, and Ty in turned brought him up to speed with everything that had been happening at home.

"I notice you seem to be limping a bit, George," I observed.

"Yes, sir," he replied. "I had to clear Hazel's things out of the nursing home and there was a bit of lifting involved. I think I probably overdid it. But I'll be fine."

"We'll make an appointment for you to see a physiotherapist, George," Ty offered. "Or maybe a chiropractor?"

"Thank you Mr Hill," George said. "But I don't think that's necessary. It's nothing serious."

"Well maybe a good massage would do you some good, George," I volunteered. "There's a remedial masseur who works out of home in the next street. His brochures are in the health food shop."

"Maybe, sir," George smiled. "But I'm sure I'll be fine. Where are Lachlan and Ellie?"

Ty and I chuckled. "They went to have a `nap' a couple of hours ago, George!" I said.

George was just about to respond when the kitchen door flew open and Lachlan strode in, grinning. "I thought I heard your voice, George!" he beamed. "It's great to have you back. You have no idea how much we guys have missed you!"

"Thank you Lachlan," George smiled. "But I'm sure you all managed perfectly well."

"Yeah, problem was George," Ty said, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Ellie did most of the cooking. And she's ... well, let's just say her cooking is right up there on the same level as mine!"

"Oh really, sir? It's that bad?" George replied, and we all laughed.

Moments later, Ellie joined us and gave George a warm hug. "Hey, George!" she said. "Welcome home. The boys will be so glad to have you back!" she said. "I've got this feeling they don't particularly like my cooking!"

The three of us feigned shock at the remark and made all the right reassuring noises, but Ellie wasn't buying it. "You three are so full of it!" she grinned. "I know I'm a lousy cook. But as Lachie well knows, I have other skills that more than compensate!"

"Ain't that the truth, baby!" Lachlan guffawed, as he pulled her to him and cuddled her, rubbing his hand over her tummy. "And the proof of the pudding is in there!"

Ty looked at me. "Did he just call Ellie a pudding?" he asked with a big grin on his face.

"I believe he did," I replied. "But I think he was just saying she's delicious!"

"Speaking of pudding I'd better start getting dinner underway," George sighed. "Are you all staying in tonight?"

"Yes, George," I replied. "But I'm happy to cook. You can just kick back and relax."

"No sir," George said. "I've been looking forward to making dinner for you all. I missed my kitchen while I was away."

While Ty poured wine for us all, I wandered down the balcony stairs and returned with Floppy. "Someone's been missing you, George," I said, as I handed him his cat and enjoyed seeing his face light up. "She hasn't been quite as spoilt since you've been gone."

Over dinner, after Ellie and I had done our best to again reassure Ty and Lachlan that Scott and Simon hadn't been eaten by cannibals in the wilds of Africa, Ty finally shared his light bulb moment with the rest of the gang.

He explained that now that the sale of the Shaw property in Stanthorpe had gone through, he would be needing to organise some fairly major renovations in order to make the house suitable for Dorothy and Frank when they retired. He had given thought to having plans drawn up and then hiring an overseer to manage the project, but his epiphany had been the realization that Lachlan and Ellie could live there, and Lachlan could organise the tradesmen and supervise the renos.

"Are you fucking serious?" a wide-eyed Lachlan asked.

"You bet your ass I'm serious," Ty enthused. "It's perfect. It's an awesome house and you'd have your own place to live in and bring the baby home to. And I'd have people I trust looking after it."

"But what about your Mum and Dad?" Ellie asked. "They're so excited that we'll be living with them."

"Yeah, that's a tricky one," Ty agreed. "But I reckon as long as they get to see you most days and they can cook for you, they'll be cool. Just make sure they're included. Dad can help with the house, and maybe Mum can be consulted on décor."

"Neither of us have jobs yet," Lachlan reasoned. "I doubt it we could afford it."

Ty laughed. "The house is free, it's empty anyway. And I'll pay you a retainer to manage the project for me. You can get a part-time job as well, so you'll be able to save heaps before the baby's born."

"Come on, Ty!" Lachlan sighed. "It's an awesome offer, but we couldn't accept it. We'd just be sponging off you again."

"Rubbish!" Ty retorted. "Be logical, Lach. I'll have to hire a project manager anyway. And if I do, he won't be living there, so it'll be empty. You'd be doing me a favour, because I'll have someone there all the time, looking after the place."

Lachlan and Ellie looked at one another and grinned. "You're really serious?" Ellie asked incredulously. "We'd have our own place?"

"He's serious, guys," I grinned. "So all you have to do is say yes. And then we'll leave it to you to let Frank and Dot know, because we're chickens!"

Lachlan reached out and grabbed his brother's hands. "Mate, you're just ... I dunno. The greatest. It would be sensational, and we'd have an awesome time doing up the house. I don't know what to say, Ty ..."

"Just say yes, Lach," Ty replied. "Like I say, you'd be doing me the biggest favour."

"Well then yes," Lachlan laughed. "Fuck yes!" as he grabbed his brother and hugged him tight.

The meal over, Ellie stood and started to clear the table but I stopped her. "George and I'll do this," I assured her. "You and Lachlan can go with Ty and look at the photos of the house on his laptop. You can work out what furniture you'll need."

They disappeared into the music room while George and I stacked the dishwasher and tidied the kitchen. I noticed again that George wasn't moving as ably as he had been before he left for Queensland and made a mental note to make an appointment for him with the neighbourhood masseur.

The rest of the week flew and when Friday morning rolled around, I woke with Ty in my arms and we managed a bit of a smooch session before George served breakfast. Lachlan joined us for a quick run on the beach with Scruffy before Ty went into the city for a magazine photo session, and I headed to the office for a few hours. I was thinking of taking the rest of the afternoon off and reading briefing notes at home when my mobile rang. It was my guy.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked.

"Just about to head home," I replied. "You finished your photo session?"

"Yeah. If I get a lift to your office, can I come with you?"

"Sure!"

"Meet me in the car park though, will you? I don't feel up to the fuss."

"Sure mate," I said, before adding, "Is everything OK?"

"Yeah, sure. All's good."

Something wasn't quite right, I knew, but I was learning quickly to take one curve ball at a time. Twenty minutes later I strolled into the car park and noticed Ty's backpack and guitar were on ground. Ty was leaning against my car. Smoking.

"You're smoking, mate!" I laughed.

"Yeah. Every now and again I feel like one. The guy from the photo studio who dropped me off was having a smoke so I cadged one off him."

"Anything bothering you mate?" I asked as casually as I could while I tossed my bag on to the back seat.

"Nah," Ty replied, as he climbed into the car. "Well, actually, I've been thinking ..."

"Uh oh," I smirked, as I swung out of the car park.

"Take me to St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst," he said.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"Nah, everything's fine," he assured me. "I'll tell you on the way."

As we made our way up to the Oncology Ward at St. Vincent's, Ty with his guitar slung over his shoulder, I was struck once again by how innately compassionate this man was; always eager to help, to make even a small difference in the lives of others. We presented at the nurse's station and eventually, a tired and possibly irritable nurse looked up. She was about to speak, but did a double take and nothing came out.

"Hey, I'd like to see Daniel Keneally, but he doesn't know I'm coming, so I want to make sure that's OK?"

"You're Tyson Hill, right?" she gasped.

"Yes."

"Oh my God!" she chattered. "I don't believe it!"

Ty smiled, but made a point of saying "I don't want anyone knowing I'm here. It's a private visit."

"Have you cleared it with his family?"

"Well, not exactly. But his Mum wrote to me and asked me to sign a photo for him, and my mate and I were just passing the hospital and I thought, why not just drop in and say hi to him? ..."

"That's so sweet," the nurse cooed. Nurse Ratched had turned into Nurse Roll-Me-Over-In-The-Clover.

"So, can I see him?"

"Well, um. His mum's actually here with him. You probably need to speak to her. Danny was transferred to a private room today."

"Is that a good thing?" Ty asked.

"It's good, in that he gets some peace and quiet," she replied. "But ... he's a sick boy."

"Where will I find his mum?"

"3 North. Room 6."

"You'll keep this quiet?" Ty asked hopefully.

"Yes, I promise. But I can't believe you're here. You're his hero you know?"

Ty smiled, and we headed northwards.

At Room 4, Ty stopped and leaned back against the wall, expelling air through puffed cheeks. He seemed to be collecting his thoughts and mentally preparing himself for what was ahead.

It gave me a moment to clarify exactly what he was about to do. I reached out a hand and touched his cheek. "This is a beautiful thing to do, mate. You're an amazing guy."

Ty locked eyes with me and said, "Daniel Keneally is the amazing guy, Mike. God, he's 15! He's been sick since he was 13. He hasn't been able to go to school much, he hasn't been picked for the footy team. He can't go out and get into trouble with his mates. He isn't feeling up his girlfriend in the back row of the cinema like the other guys are. He's being pumped full of poison week after week and dealing with baldness. He's the amazing guy. And all his Mum can think of that might give him a bit of a lift is a signed photo of me. This is the very least I can do."

"I want to kiss you," I smiled.

"I'd like that, but there are two nurses down the end of the corridor checking me out."

"I know, I saw them. How do you know they're not checking me out?"

Ty laughed. "You're right. They probably are. I know I would, if I was down that end of the corridor."

"Let's go meet Daniel."

"Mate, can you stick your head in and ask his Mum to come out first so I can make sure it's OK?

"Sure. What's her name?

"Mandy."

We moved two doors along the hallway and while Ty stood back, I pushed the door open. I saw a sleeping teenager in the bed, wearing a beanie to hide, or possibly warm, his bald head. The skin around his eyes was very dark and he seemed very thin, but in repose he appeared peaceful.

Turning towards me questioningly was a kindly-faced woman in her early 40s. "Are you Mandy?" I whispered, and she nodded. "Can I see you outside for a moment?"

When she walked out into the hallway, she didn't actually notice Ty. She looked at me, possibly hoping I wasn't a doctor with bad news. "Mandy, I'm Mike Stewart. I'm here with Tyson Hill."

Mandy blinked a couple of times, not sure she'd heard right. "THE Tyson Hill?" she asked.

Ty stepped in front of her. "That'd be me, Mandy," he smiled.

Mandy responded by clapping her hand over her mouth. It was a muffled "oh my God," if I'm not mistaken.

"I thought I'd drop in and say hi to Daniel."

As Mandy moved her hand from her mouth and started to cry, Ty moved in and hugged her. "I can't believe you'd come and see him in person," she sobbed.

"This is a privilege, Mandy. I really want to meet him."

"He loves you, you know," she said, dabbing her eyes with a used tissue. "You're his hero. He listens to your CDs over and over, and he's learnt all your songs on his guitar."

"Is now a good time?" I asked.

"Yes, yes," Mandy nodded. "Come in."

We walked into the room and I immediately noticed Ty's body slump, just slightly. He possibly wasn't expecting somebody quite so sick.

Mandy moved to wake him, but Ty reached out and stopped her. "Let him sleep," he whispered. "We'll wait."

As Mandy and I stood back, Ty pulled up a chair next to Daniel's bed and, resting his arms on the mattress, he put his hands on Daniel's arms. And so he sat for five minutes, just studying the patient.

Unsure of what to do, I leaned over and whispered to Mandy, "Let's go grab a coffee and something to eat."

She followed me out of the room and we headed for the hospital's café where we each ordered a serve of overly-cooked pasta Carbonara and coffee. For 30 minutes I listened as she poured out her surprise and gratitude for Ty's kindness, and filled me in on the gruelling battle her cherished teenage son was fighting.

We walked back to the room and found Daniel still asleep, Ty now leaning forward with his chin resting on Daniel's arm. He was wearing a beanie he'd grabbed from his guitar case to hide his hair, and I knew he'd done it so Daniel wouldn't feel self-conscious.

Ty raised one hand and gave us a little wave, but the message was clear to let him be. Mandy and I sat on chairs and just watched Daniel for perhaps another five minutes, until a nurse arrived with his two-hourly meds.

"Week up, Dennial," she said in a strong New Zealand accent, shaking his arm and at the same time looking at Ty and trying to work out why she seemed to know him. "You have visitors."

Daniel woke slowly and tried to focus on the nurse. Before he'd fully wakened, she slipped some pills into his mouth and leaned his head forward to swallow water before leaving the room. Daniel flopped back on the pillows and sighed before opening his eyes wide and trying to focus. Aware he wasn't alone, he turned his head sideways and came face to face with Ty.

Like his mother, he blinked a couple of times and then his eyes got really wide. "Fuck!" he panted.

"Daniel!" his mother admonished.

"Hey Daniel!" Ty smiled. "I'm Ty."

"Tyson Hill? Fuckin' hell!" Daniel murmured.

"Daniel!"

"Mum? What's going on?"

Mandy hurried to her son's side. "I asked Tyson if he'd send you a signed photo, Danny. That's all. And he just surprised me by turning up. He's come to see you in person!"

Daniel's face lit up as reality dawned. By the smile on his face, there was no mistaking he realised his hero had come calling. As he and Ty high-fived, Daniel tried to find the words he wanted to say. I got fidgety and was grateful when Ty turned to me and said, "Maybe you and Mandy can have some more coffee?"

Mandy and I returned to the café and talked some more, and she confirmed what Ty had suspected; Daniel's treatment meant he missed a lot of school, couldn't play sport, didn't have a girlfriend. His life for a long while had been divided between hospital visits for treatment and returning home to recuperate.

Forty minutes later, as we neared Daniel's room, I could hear Ty's beautiful voice behind the closed door. Opening it, we found Ty still sitting on his chair, playing his guitar and singing "Game Of Chance" for his mesmerised fan. A nurse had propped Daniel up on pillows and he was grinning from ear to ear, almost as though for a moment, he didn't have a care in the world.

Mandy leaned close to me and said, "I haven't seen him smile like this for months. You have no idea how much this means to him."

Ty seemed oblivious to our presence as he worked his way through the requests Daniel made for songs from both the albums. Daniel talked about the non-album songs that were features of Ty's concerts, like "Any Day Above Ground" and "Tenterfield Saddler", but what he asked Ty to sing was "Hallelujah". It opened the floodgates; before Ty had reached the end, Daniel -- and his Mum -- had dissolved in tears, and as Ty put down his guitar, Daniel reached over and hugged him, crying into his shoulder.

Ty held on to Daniel until he'd pulled himself together, and then high-fived him again. Daniel stumbled through a rambling thank you, trying to make Ty understand what his visit had meant. As Ty stood and made to leave, he cut Daniel short. "You reckon we can do this again Daniel?" Ty asked.

Daniel's face beamed. "You really mean it? That would be ace!"

"What's say I come back Friday? I'll bring my iPod and you can hear some songs I've written and made demos of."

"Man, I can't wait!"

"See ya then, mate!" Ty grinned as he followed Mandy and me into the hallway. Tears running down her face, Mandy put her arms around Ty and hugged him. "Thank you so much for doing this, Tyson," she said quietly. "You just have no idea what this has meant to Danny."

"It's meant a lot to me, too," Ty replied. "He's an amazing guy. I'll be back on Friday, same time."

As we passed the nurse's station, Ty stopped to thank the nurse we'd spoken to on the way in.

"I didn't get your name?" he asked.

"Rachel," she beamed.

"Thanks for keeping quiet, Rachel," Ty smiled. "I'll be coming back to see Daniel next week and I'm hoping it can be discreet?"

"Of course," she assured him, as she picked up her mobile phone and looked at me.

"You'd like a photo with Tyson?"

"Would that be OK?" she asked hopefully. "I won't show it to anyone, it's just for me. Well, I'll probably show it to a couple of my girlfriends, but no-one else."

I took her phone and Ty moved in and put his arm around her. They both smiled at me, as I took their photo. Ty turned to Rachel and said `let's give your girlfriends something to talk about' and then bent Rachel slightly backwards and kissed her. Snap!

Rachel seemed to have turned to jelly. She stood with her mouth open as I handed back her phone and Ty and I walked towards the lift.

"You kissed a girl!"

"I know. Seemed like a good thing to do."

"Was it a good kiss?"

"Are you kidding? Nothing like you. Now, you're a good kiss."

"Just good?"

"Well, excellent."

"Just excellent?"

"No, awesome. When we get home, I'm going to kiss you. A lot."

On the drive home, Ty talked about Daniel and how unfair it was that he was being robbed of all the fun of his teenage years. "Isn't he a beautiful kid?" he asked softly.

"He is," I agreed, "and what you did was awesome, Ty. You must have seen the look on his face?"

"Yeah," Ty sighed. "I still find it hard to believe that anyone can get a kick out of meeting me. But the thing with Daniel is, it's the songs that mean so much to him. And that's what I've been saying all along, Mike. I can touch people with my lyrics and that's what I've wanted to do since I first realised I could sing."

We stopped in Double Bay and I called George. "I'm picking up some fish, George," I said. "And I'll get some antipasto as well from the deli. All you need to do is a Greek salad and maybe some jacket potatoes. Anything else you need?"

I left Ty in the car as I cruised the stores and while waiting for the antipasto to be packaged, I noticed the brochures for the masseur. I took one and called the number.

I spoke to Henri, a well-spoken European man, and explained George's hip problems. Henri seemed confident that a few sessions of remedial massage would help George with his mobility, and I asked if he might be able to see him at the weekend.

"I'm available on Saturdays, between 11 and 4, but not Sundays," he replied. "I have no clients tomorrow so you can name your time."

"How about 1pm?" I asked, taking a chance that George would be agreeable. I gave him George's details and asked him to email me an invoice straight away so I could pay it in advance online.

"My address is on the brochure," Henri said. "Do you need directions?"

"We live in Wolseley Road," I chuckled. "You're just around the corner."

I paid for the food and returned to the car, and 10 minutes later we were home. We headed for the kitchen and Ty poured us each a wine while George helped me prepare the fish and put together the antipasto platter. While I set the table, Ty wandered back into the lounge.

"What time should I have the fish ready, sir?" George asked.

"I'm guessing Lachlan and Ellie will be home by seven, George," I replied. "Let's aim for 7.30."

I realised that being Friday, Lachlan would have visited Steve, and I hoped that their meeting went well. With Steve, you just never knew.

"I've made an appointment for you with the masseur, George," I said. "His name's Henri and he's just in Wentworth Place."

"I don't really need a masseur, sir," George assured me. "I'm just a bit sore from lifting. It'll pass."

"It's a done deal, George," I announced. "Tomorrow, 1p.m."

"But that's lunch time," George protested.

"I think I can rustle up lunch, George," I chuckled. "I'll have something ready for you by two, when you get back."

With dinner ready to be cooked, I went in search of Ty and found him poring over the laptop, reading up on childhood leukemia and scribbling notes. I leaned over his back and hugged him.

"Leukemia's a fucker," he sighed.

"Yes it is," I agreed. "But he's young. He's resilient. We just all have to stay positive, Daniel especially."

"You think he'll get through it?"

"Not in our hands, mate," I smiled. "But his chances will improve if we all stay optimistic."

"Fuck I love you."

"Yeah, I know. You got time to prove it?"

Goofy grin. "Isn't George serving dinner in, like, 10 minutes?"

"Lachlan and Ellie aren't here yet and George wouldn't ..."

I was interrupted by a key in the door and the happy couple strolling in, holding hands.

"Hey boys!" Lachlan boomed. "We're not interrupting anything are we?"

"As a matter of fact ..." I started, before George stuck his head around the door and announced, "Dinner's in 10 minutes. Freshen up."

We all headed for bathrooms and washed up before gathering on the kitchen balcony to admire the sunset. Ty got beer and wine as George served fan-fried Atlantic salmon with herb mayonnaise and baked potatoes in foil, along with a Greek salad platter and, for Ty, a small bowl of steamed broccoli, zucchini and asparagus.

We told Lachlan and Ellie about our visit to see Daniel, and how much the teenager had perked up while Ty talked and sang to him.

"That's such a sweet thing to do Ty," Ellie said.

"You never change, mate!" Lachlan chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked.

"Well, he's always done this, as long as I can remember," Lachlan replied, as he picked olives from the salad. "He used to bring injured birds home and Mum would have them in open shoeboxes under the stairwell. Ty'd feed them milk with an eye-dropper. Sick cats, lame dogs, even a rat that had been mauled one time. Remember how Mum freaked out, Ty?"

"Yeah," Ty smiled at the memory. Adopting his best `Dorothy' voice he mimicked, "You're not bringing that rodent into the house Tyson!"

"But he did!" Lachlan added. "Hid the bloody thing under my bed!"

"How sick is Daniel?" Ellie asked.

"I don't really know," Ty replied. "Pretty sick I think. I've done some homework about leukemia and I'm going to speak to my doctor about it and get some answers. I just wish there was something more I could do for Daniel."

"You've already told him you'll visit him again next Friday," I offered.

"Yeah, but he's still stuck in that hospital bed."

Ellie seemed deep in thought. "You're his hero, right?"

"Apparently," Ty replied.

"Well why not tell him on Friday that when his treatment's finished and he's discharged, he can come and stay here for a weekend? Wouldn't that be something he could really look forward to, the chance to hang out at his hero's home?"

"That's a fucking awesome idea Ellie!" Ty enthused.

"Yeah, and we'll all make it good for him," Lachlan interjected. "We can go to the beach, watch movies, play Wii and stuff."

"Sounds like a plan, team!" I grinned. "Can you arrange a shoe-box for Daniel under the stairs, George?"

As Ty poured more wine, I tentatively asked Lachlan, "how did your visit with Steve go?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, we have something to tell you," Lachlan replied, not giving anything away.

"Oh?" I asked, not overly hopefully.

"I've offered him a job as foreman on Ty's house!"

"You what?" I almost choked. Ty looked equally stunned.

"It's OK," Lachlan assured us. "Before catching up with him today Ellie and I went and saw his boss to ask what sort of worker he was. We got a good report. His boss reckons he's a very good carpenter and that he follows instructions well and takes pride in his work. He's changed, Mike. Steve's basically a good guy, he just went off the rails for a while. But he's really starting to feel good about himself, holding down a job and paying his own bills. He's got some self-respect and he seems to want to get his life back on track."

"But taking responsibility for him?" I asked in amazement.

"I took Ellie with me when I dropped in on him. I wanted her to meet him and see how she felt about him. When we got there, his room was clean and all his laundry was done. He'd brought some dumbbells and weights and he's looking after himself. He offered me a beer and he had orange juice. Seriously Mike, he's making an effort."

"Are you sure about this mate?" I asked, before turning to Ty. "How about you?"

Ty shrugged. "Lachlan's the project manager," he said. "It's his call. If he thinks Steve's the right guy for the job, then I'm good with it. How will it work?"

"I've told him it's a three month trial. He'll live with us in the house -- free board and all meals -- plus he'll get whatever the going rate is for a foreman. He'll keep half of it and we'll bank the other half for him. He'll work a five day week and he'll be in charge of supervising the contract tradesmen. He'll stay home weeknights, but he'll have the weekends off. He can do his own thing on weekends, but first sign of drugs or trouble, and he's out on his arse."

"He agreed to this?" I asked.

"Not only agreed, but he thanked us. Promised he wouldn't let us down."

I whistled.

"He's a good guy, Mike," Ellie said softly. "He just needs a bit of guidance and some stability in his life. He knows this is a good deal, but it's not a free ride. Lachie will be seriously keeping an eye on him and hopefully, it will work out well. We feel really positive about it."

"What can I say?" I shrugged. "You guys are amazing. Thank you! I really hope he proves you made the right decision."

Lachlan nodded. "Oh, by the way, he kinda knows about you two," he cautioned. "We didn't actually say anything, but he's put two and two together."

"Shit!" I exclaimed. "What did he say?"

"He just smirked," Ellie said. "And as he walked us to the car he said `Mike always had great taste'."

That made Ty grin, and he preened slightly. "So I'm good taste, eh?"

"Don't know about that mate!" I chuckled. "But you sure taste good!"

"Ewww!" Lachlan laughed. "Too much information ..."

Later, after Ty and I had made love and he was sleeping softly with his head on my chest, I lay awake going over everything that had happened in the past few hours. Ty and Lachlan had each taken on a cause, both a challenge in their own way. How would all this pan out? I really had no idea, but resolved to just let things take their natural course and hope, as always, for the best.

I woke on Saturday morning with Ty snuggling behind me, his arm around my chest. I could feel his breath on my back as he slept, and his partially erect cock pressed against my right buttock. I lay for a while just enjoying the intimacy as I drifted in and out of sleep.

We both woke together about 40 minutes later when George knocked at the door. He came into the room carrying a breakfast tray with buttered English muffins topped with spinach, ham and scrambled eggs, orange juice and fresh brewed coffee.

"That smells great George," Ty yawned as he unwrapped himself from around my body and sat up.

"Good morning George," I smiled.

"Good morning sir," George replied. "I don't know what your plans for today are, but we're running low on groceries."

"I can go to the supermarket later," I offered. "Do you want to make a list for me?"

"I've already made one, sir," George assured me. "It's on the kitchen bench."

Ty and I munched our way through breakfast before throwing on shorts and tee shirts in preparation for a run on the beach. We were joined on the balcony by Lachlan, who was also keen for some exercise. We rounded up Scruffy and hit the sand and by the time we'd run and jogged for 40 minutes, we were done in.

We panted our way back to the house, drank a bottle of water each and began the cleanup operation. I showered while Ty shaved, and we changed places. As I shaved, Lachlan joined us and sat on the edge of the bath and shot the shit. He casually suggested it might be a good idea for Steve to join us for dinner that night, so we could see for ourselves the changes in my brother's attitude.

Ty readily agreed and they both looked at me.

"Sure," I shrugged. "I guess."

"Might be nice if you called and invited him, mate," Lachlan suggested.

"OK, will do. I'll call him before I go to the supermarket."

Lachlan stayed put while we dried ourselves and dressed. The brothers played a couple of games of pool while Ellie and I helped George with stripping beds and loading the washing machine. Ellie helped George with the breakfast cleanup while I hung sheets and towels on the line.

I checked through the shopping list before asking George if he wanted me to drop him at the masseur's home before I drove to the supermarket.

"No thank you sir," George replied. "A walk in the sunshine will do me good. I'll just take my time."

I headed for the supermarket and loaded up the car with at least a week's supply of groceries before heading to the specialist deli to pick up the more boutique items on George's list. I arrived home to see Ty and Lachlan in the distance, sitting together on the sand. Ellie joined me in the kitchen and helped me put the shopping away.

"They're starting to really get concerned that they haven't heard from Scott," she said.

"Just between you and me, so am I," I confided. "Even if they were having reception problems, it's not like Scott to not get in touch with us somehow."

"Should we be doing something?"

"I don't want to make a thing of it because Ty will really start to worry if he knows I'm stressed about it," I said. "I'll give him until the end of the weekend and if we've heard nothing, I'll get on to it through official channels."

I glanced at the clock and noted it was after three. "George should be back by now, shouldn't he?" I asked.

"I don't know," Ellie replied. "I don't know how long his massage was."

"It was an hour, so he should have been all done by two."

"Maybe he's just taking it slowly?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, probably," I agreed. "I'm making some tea, would you like some?"

Ellie and I sat on the balcony in the sun and sipped tea, when I suddenly realised I hadn't rung Steve. I called his mobile and he picked up.

"It's Mike, Steve," I said.

"Mike, it's great to hear from you! Has Lachie told you the news?"

"He has, mate. It sounds like a great move. You happy about it?"

"Happy? I'm stoked! I'm not gonna fuck it up this time Mike. I promise."

"I'm amazed to hear you talk like this, Steve," I confessed. "If you don't have other plans, how about you come over tonight for dinner, around 7?"

"Really? To your place? Man, that'd be great."

I gave him the address and suggested he call me when the cab arrived and I'd meet him out the front and pay the fare.

"I'm paying my own way now, Mike," Steve said. "I'll fix the fare, and I'll bring some wine. See you at seven. And Mike? Thanks."

Ellie looked at me questioningly when I disconnected the call. "That was not a conversation I ever thought I'd be having with my brother!" I laughed.

"I just have this feeling that everything is going to turn around for Steve," Ellie assured me.

As Ty and Lachlan walked back towards the house, I opened two beers for them and they flopped down opposite us on the balcony.

"Mike, I'm really worried about Scott," Ty said. "We both are. He should have called us by now. Something must be wrong."

I tried to be dismissive. "I'm sure there's no cause for concern Ty," I assured him. "Let's wait until Monday morning and we've still had no word, I'll start making calls. Just chill."

"So you're not worried?" Lachlan asked.

"I'm not worried about Scott and Simon," I said, trying to divert the conversation, "but I am starting to worry about George. It's almost four."

"Call the masseur," Ty suggested.

I was just reaching for my mobile when the front door opened and close. George walked quite normally into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks, confronted by four questioning faces.

"Where have you been all this time, George?" I asked.

"At Henri's," George said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"For three hours?"

"The massage took an hour, and then we just got talking," George replied.

"Talking?" Ty asked. "About what?"

"Well, just about everything," George replied. "He's a very interesting man. I should have been back much earlier. I'm sorry sir."

"Nothing to be sorry about, George," Ty assured him. "It's great you've got someone to fix your back, and someone interesting to talk to."

"He reads Doris Lessing, sir," George said triumphantly.

"Who?" Lachlan asked.

"Doris Lessing, my favourite author," George replied. "She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007. I've just finished reading her last novel Alfred And Emily'. Henri's read it too. The only novel I haven't read is her very first one, The Grass Is Singing', and Henri's loaned me his copy."

Ellie and I looked at one another and smirked. "So George," Ellie ventured. "There's a mysterious European man in your life and he's a bookworm like you?"

"It's not like that at all," George said almost defensively.

"Really George?" I grinned. "Are you seeing him again?"

"As a matter of fact, I have an appointment tomorrow for another massage. And then we're going for coffee at Angelo's Bakery."

"Ooooo," chuckled Lachlan. "George has got himself a date!"

"Really!" George clucked. "You boys are impossible. Time you cleared out of my space so I can get things ready for dinner."

"There's one extra tonight, George," I informed him. "My brother Steve is joining us. He'll be here at seven, so perhaps 7.30 for dinner?"

"Very good sir," George agreed. "Might I suggest bruscetta with mascarpone, smoked salmon and capers, followed by eye fillet with pancetta and a balsamic jus, and then sticky fig pudding with butterscotch sauce?"

"Excellent!" I laughed. "Call me when you're ready to start cooking and I'll give you a hand."

The house, I was pleased to observe, was almost back to normal. Things were rocking along as they always did when there was more than one Hill in residence.

I was blissfully unaware that a defining moment for me and my younger brother lay ahead. And a completely different one lay ahead for Ty and Lachlan, and their younger brother.

And I certainly wasn't expecting the phone call that would rattle even me, the well-seasoned lawyer ...

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