The restaurant was an airy place with a glass wall overlooking luxuriant tropical gardens with a waterfall gushing over artfully arranged rocks. There was no sign of Vanessa. Jake entered alone, crossing the floor with his familiar, lanky stride, just as the waiter showed them to the table.
“Have a good morning, kids?” he asked, looking at Caitlin with raised brows.
“We did,” she answered. “Show your father your new car, William, seeing you insisted on bringing it to the table.”
William held up his tiny, red-and-white sports car. Caitlin hadn’t given it much attention while it was in its box, now she saw it was an Austin Healey like the one Max had. Fortunately, Elizabeth demanded Jake’s attention and she had time to recover herself.
The waiter stood with pen poised.
“How about we treat ourselves to Barramundi with a prawn cocktail to start?” Jake asked Caitlin.
“I can’t wait to taste it,” she said, suddenly ravenous.
“And perhaps fish and chips and salad for the kids?” He handed back the menu.
William came back to his seat. He’d been examining the tropical fish swimming in the huge tank beside them. “I’m not eating fish,” he said, “ever again.”
Jake smiled at the waiter. “Make one spaghetti.”
“Caitlin and I bought new costumes, Daddy,” Elizabeth said. “We’re going swimming after lunch.”
Jake looked at Caitlin. She waited for some comment, but he just said, “I have something to do this afternoon. I know you’ll take good care of the kids.”
She smiled back at him, pleased that he was beginning to trust her. She was looking forward to relaxing and improving her tan while he was away.
After lunch, she and the children changed and headed down to the pool. Wearing the new bikini with the wrap tied around her waist and a t-shirt and sandals, Caitlin double-checked that they had their hats, sun cream and towels.
The pool was incredibly glamorous, like something from a Hollywood movie set and they had it to themselves. The children immediately wanted to jump in. “Wait,” she said. “Let me take off my things and we’ll all go in together.”
They splashed about in the shallow end, the water lapping Caitlin’s skin like cool, soothing fingers. “You can show me how well you swim now, William. You too, Elizabeth.”
They were both at home in the water, like little fish. Caitlin hadn’t swum much, growing up in Ireland, and had never been anywhere to equal this. It was heaven. She floated around them as they played, feeling the sun burning into her shoulders. Not sure, she’d bought the right sunscreen—one that didn’t wash off in the water, she climbed out and began searching through her bag while keeping one eye on the children.
“Hi kids.” Jake appeared at the edge of the pool with Vanessa, dressed in a white pants suit, at his side.
Caitlin grabbed her wrap and wound it quickly around her waist. Jake’s presence made her feel oddly naked.
Jake’s glance lingered on her for a moment before he squatted down beside the pool.
“Do you like our new costumes, Daddy?” Elizabeth called up to him.
“Perfect,” he said looking down at her. Vanessa came to stand beside him, placing her hand on his shoulder.
“Come in, Daddy. The water’s lovely and c-o-l-d.”
‘Soon, Elizabeth,” Jake answered. “Show Vanessa how well you can swim, Will.”
William began to dog paddle along the edge of the pool, sending up a spray of water. Vanessa took a step backward to avoid her linen trousers being splashed, but she was looking at Caitlin, her finely arched eyebrows raised.
“Vanessa and I will change and join you,” Jake said, rising. “I could do with a swim.”
“I’m sure Caitlin would like to take the afternoon off, Jake,” Vanessa said. “She can see more of Darwin on her own.”
“Good idea,” Jake said. “Take a couple of hours off, Caitlin. Go see the town.”
“There’s the aquarium and the botanical gardens,” Vanessa suggested, warming to the topic.
“Thanks, Jake,” Caitlin said, avoiding Vanessa’s gaze. “I’d like to buy some clothes, and it’s hard to try them on with the children.”
Vanessa spoke softly in Jake’s ear.
“Take the whole afternoon off, Caitlin,” he said. “I’ll take the kids to see my mother after our swim.”
“Great,” Caitlin said cheerfully. Vanessa watched as she picked up her gear. Vanessa had declared war and Caitlin sensed her days were numbered. It was just a job, she told herself. She’d learned from Sally at Springbroke Station that governesses were in great demand in the Outback, but she couldn’t shake the sadness she felt as she went to change. It had all started so well. The loss she felt was painful and she suddenly sensed how much she would miss this family. She straightened and walked to the lift, fighting the urge to cry.
* * * *
The first thing Caitlin planned to do was buy shorts and t-shirts for the children, with the last of the money Jake had given her. In a large department store, she leisurely color-coordinated two outfits for Elizabeth and William. It was only three o’clock when she’d finished and the moist, still air hung around her, the feeling of exhaustion making her feet heavy.
She walked aimlessly along the street but it was like walking through a wall of water. She stopped for an iced coffee and then wandered into a mall and bought a strapless, red cotton dress she planned to wear to dinner, some night cream and a hair clip, and then checked her watch again. The afternoon seemed to be crawling by.
Caitlin deliberated visiting the aquarium then dismissed it, and it was far too hot for the Botanical gardens. In a bookshop, she bought the latest thriller, feeling the only sensible place to be was the hotel pool. When she emerged from the shop, she headed into the crowd milling around the plaza, but just as she turned a corner, she caught sight of a slim, fair-haired man entering the mall. Her breath caught in her throat. He looked just like Max.
Her heart pounded and the sweat under her arms seemed to cool suddenly. Max couldn’t be here in Darwin. But since the day she’d met Conor at Springbroke Station, anything seemed possible. She seemed incapable of moving and had to force herself cautiously to the entrance of the mall to peek from behind an ad board.
Caitlin couldn’t see him and she felt herself moving into the mall, despite the cool dampness dripping down her spine. She walked along the line of take-away food outlets and coffee bars and mounted the escalator that led to the second floor. There was no sign of him among the people pushing through to reach the sale items on display.
Just as she’d convinced herself she’d been wrong, she saw him. She darted behind a store display of towering plastic ware. He sat at a table holding a coffee cup. He put it down and rose as a man came towards him. Reaching forward, he shook the man’s hand.
It was Conor.
Caitlin froze as her imagination ran wild. Turning, she ran back down the escalator and out into the square. People eating at a Mexican food stall looked at her in surprise. She tried to come to terms with what she’d seen as she collapsed onto a bench behind a vine-covered pergola, her knees shaking too much to hold her up.
When she’d calmed herself and ordered her racing thoughts, she planned to follow Max and see where he was staying, but after watching the entrance to the mall for half an hour, neither he nor Conor made an appearance. There would probably be another exit to the next street, she reasoned. Feeling terribly vulnerable, she hurried back to the hotel, constantly turning to check behind her.
She entered the hotel fairly sure that she hadn’t been followed. The hotel suite was empty. A glance from the balcony down at the pool told her Jake, Vanessa and the children were still out. She shut herself in her room and curled up in a fetal position on the bed. Perhaps she should have made a more concerted effort to follow Max, but she had to admit she was afraid. One thing was clear—she’d been stupid not to tell Jake from the very first. He would have to be warned now. Her shelte
red life at Tall Trees was coming to an end. Far too soon.
* * * *
Caitlin had to wait until after dinner for Vanessa to leave, before she could talk to Jake. She called room service and stayed in her room. When they all returned, she helped the children into their pajamas and settled them in their beds before Jake came to say goodnight.
She went back to her room and flicked sightlessly through a magazine, her face hot and her heart pounding. She could now see that she had not just been running from Max, she had been running from herself. She formed words of explanation in her head, but any way she told it, it sounded bad. There seemed to be an argument going on Jake’s room. She barely listened until she heard Vanessa say, as she opened the door, “You’d better decide what it is you do want.”
Caitlin heard the front door slam. She heard the click as Jake returned to his room. Slipping out of her door she peeked in on the children, they were sleeping like angels.
She sensed this wasn’t a good time, but that couldn’t be helped. She knocked on Jake’s door.
“Vanessa?” Was there a ring of hope in his voice?
“No. It’s Caitlin. Can we talk?”
“Sure. Come in.” He turned off his laptop and straightened some files on the desk, then motioning for her to sit, his movements appearing rigid, over-controlled. She recognized that as a sign he was angry about something. Not a good start.
She took in a deep breath to steady herself as she sat down. “I have something to tell you. It might take a while.”
He raised his eyebrows, then silently went to the mini-bar and opened it, peering in. “Like a drink?”
“Just a Coke, thanks.”
Opening two Cokes, he poured them into glasses. “Ice?”
Caitlin shook her head and took the glass he handed to her.
Her ice cubes rattled in her glass.
“Anything wrong?” he asked.
She took a large swallow of Coke and almost choked. Clearing her throat, she said, “There’s something I need to tell you. I should have told you before this.”
“Such intensity, Caitlin. Are you wanted by the police?” he smiled as he sat on the bed, taking a sip of his drink.
As her sad, alarming story poured out, she barely took a breath. With it came an odd sense of release. She might be out of a job tomorrow, but somehow she didn’t feel so alone and helpless anymore.
Jake said nothing until she was finished. Then he leaned forward. “Did this … Max … see you?”
She shook her head. “But there can be only one reason he’s come here. Conor must have gotten in touch with him, somehow. I didn’t tell him I was staying at Tall Trees, but someone else might have.”
“That’s possible,” Jake said thoughtfully.
“Jake, I’m devastated that I’ve brought this danger into your lives. I can get a plane straight away to Sydney, if you wouldn’t mind forwarding the rest of my things.”
Jake tossed back the rest of his drink. “You’re not going to do any such thing. I can handle this Max if he should show up around Tall Trees.”
Caitlin stood up. “No! You don’t know him. He’s … mad.”
Jake stood too and placed a reassuring hand lightly on her shoulder. “Caitlin, we’ve got wild boar, crocodiles, snakes and poisonous spiders to contend with at Tall Trees, to name but a few. He has to find his way there, and it would be difficult to do that without being seen in the town. We’ll be ready for him.”
“It can’t come to that! I’ll leave. The sooner the better.”
“But if he thinks you’re there, he’ll turn up anyway. And I won’t recognize him without you.”
She covered her teary eyes with her hands. “I never should have come here.”
He took out his hanky and offered it too her. When she reached to take it, their fingers touched and she felt sure she heard the air crackle.
“That’s nonsense. Darwin’s a long way from Tall Trees. We’ll go back tomorrow and I doubt you’ll see the man again.”
She wiped her eyes and blew her nose, conscious even now of his proximity. How his touch made her feel anything but comforted, just filled with longings she had no right to.
“I’ll go back, Jake, but just to pack. Then I’ll move on.” And on and on, she thought dispiritedly.
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want you to leave, Caitlin. The kids … and I have come to rely on you.”
Caitlin just looked at him. Not enough, Jake, she thought. That would never be enough. Perhaps leaving was for the best.
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* * *
Chapter Fourteen
When Caitlin awoke, groggy from a disturbed night’s sleep, she looked out the window at grey skies threatening rain. She pulled on her robe and went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Jake was there reading the paper. He glanced up at her concern in his eyes. She felt immediately responsible and guilt gripped her stomach, churning it.
“There’s a force three cyclone forming over the Arafura Sea,” he said, showing the main reason for his concern. “It’s hoped that by the time it reaches land it will have lessened, but no one can guarantee that. We’ll have to head back this morning. If we leave it too long we could be grounded here for a week or more.”
She felt chilled at the prospect of being stuck in Darwin. “I’ll get the kids up,” she said, “and pack.”
At the airport, the wind was picking up. “We have clearance to fly,” Jake said, “but it’s going to be a bit rough up there until we move out of range.”
They climbed aboard. Caitlin helped the children strap themselves in and then did her own belt up as Jake checked the instruments, making notes as he went.
The plane began to move, slowly at first, then quicker as they roared along the runway. As if caught by a giant gust of wind, they lifted off from the tarmac and climbed towards the clouds. Caitlin caught a brief glimpse of Darwin and the sea, grey-green and churning now. The strong winds caught them and tossed them about like a paper kite. Her stomach fluttered with nerves, but she trusted Jake. He wouldn’t fly if he thought they’d be in danger.
And she was so glad to be leaving Darwin.
The nose of the plane suddenly lifted then dropped sharply. Caitlin checked on the children, but they were calmly playing with toys.
“All right there?” Jake asked. He looked straight ahead and a muscle tensed in his jaw.
“Fine.” She flinched as heavy rain began to lash the windshield.
The plane rocked as they gained height, the engine straining as Jake attempted to keep a level course. “We’ll be out of this in about ten minutes,” he said. Lightning flashed across the sky. “Looks like the cyclone’s moving fast. Hope it doesn’t cause too much trouble.”
Caitlin selfishly hoped the weather would be just bad enough to keep Max in Darwin. She gripped her seat so hard her fingers began to hurt. Impenetrable, greenish-grey cloud enveloped them, turning brilliant orange when the lightning flashed.
“That lightning’s pretty far off,” Jake said with a quick glance in her direction.
She strained her ears for the clap of thunder and heard it crack behind them. She was starting to feel queasy and it made her even more nervous, hating the thought that she might be sick in front of the family.
“Daddy, I don’t like lightning,” Elizabeth said in a small voice.
Caitlin looked around at her white face, hoping this flight hadn’t brought back bad memories for her. Elizabeth had stopped having nightmares recently and was sleeping through the night. “We’ll be home soon, darling. That will be good, won’t it?”
“Yes.”
“The ponies will be glad to see you. You can give them an apple each.”
“We can’t ride when it’s raining,” William said disgusted.
A tense silence came over them as another wind gust shook the plane so hard Caitlin thought she felt her teeth rattle.
“I’m going to have to fly out of this,” Jake sai
d.
As they began to dive down through the clouds, she found she was holding her breath and clenching every muscle in her body.
Abruptly, the clouds deserted them and they flew down through a mild, blue sky. Caitlin couldn’t believe it. She let her breath out with a gasp.” Wow!”
Jake smiled at her.
Soon, trees and landscape came into view, then Tall Trees. She leaned back feeling wrung out as Jake began to circle the small airstrip. “Look,” he said pointing. Kilometers away to the west, dust rose from a swelling sea of grey cattle. Stockmen on horseback were mustering them to the river that meandered through the flat, parched land. “We might have to move them to higher ground soon. That cyclone could cause us some trouble.”
Jake approached the airfield. The land seemed to rush up to meet them. The wheels touched down, they bounced twice then slowed as he applied the brake. Taxiing up the airstrip to where the SUV waited, he eased the plane to a stop.
Caitlin climbed out, turning to help the children. Jake put his hand up to shade his eyes, looking back toward the coast. The dark clouds were following them. He frowned. “Looks like we just made it,” he said.
By the time they’d reached the house the clouds had arrived and with them torrential rain. It seemed incongruous to see the old house drenched with the gutters overflowing.
Caitlin went to unpack their things, starting first on her own, pleased to be in the room she’d grown so fond of in the past months. The air felt fresh and cool and Max seemed a long way from her now. Perhaps he’d come to see Conor and not her at all, but as she thought it, she knew she was living in a fool’s paradise.
She sat on her rocker as tears rolled down her cheeks and made her plans. She would catch the next tourist coach back to Broome then travel on to Perth. But where to from there? She suddenly felt very tired. Vanessa was one person who would be glad to see her go. The thought brought feelings of anxiety for the children that she quickly suppressed. It wasn’t to be her problem anymore.
* * * *
It had rained without pause all night. The sound on the tin roof was deafening. When it woke Caitlin she couldn’t go back to sleep. It was close to dawn. The verandah light attracted clouds of insects as soon as she put it on—they seemed to be hovering there, waiting. She switched it straight off again and sat down on the doorstep of her room staring out into the grey light. The cool, moist air wrapped itself around her as she pulled her nightgown down over her feet and hugged her knees. She could now identify many of the sounds emanating from the bush. The croaks, chirps, squeals and hoots belonging to frogs, geckos, bats and owls. In the early dawn, a bird’s noisy song drowned out the rest. She knew that too, a black-and-white currawong. She felt her spirits lift a little. Rain brought new life to the bush and you couldn’t help responding to it.
When Danger Follows Page 10