Mountain Ash

by Margareta Osborn

  Nate felt ice-cold. That could have been Jodie, Milly and their dog in there. Gone. Burned to death. He sucked in a deep breath, shushed the little girl in his arms, who was near hysterical. His eyes caught Jodie’s. The gorgeous dimples were nowhere to be seen today: her cheeks were covered in black soot where the tears hadn’t washed it away. The whites of her eyes were glaringly bloodshot, but she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

  He leaned forwards and gently clasped her chin in his hands. He shouldn’t but he couldn’t help himself. He’d nearly lost her. So close. So far away. He drew her to him. She didn’t back away. He lowered his lips to hers. Closed his eyes and relished the feel, the taste, the sheer lifeblood of her. He deepened the kiss, tasting, exploring. She responded with such passion and warmth he was fleetingly transported back to Riverton. The riverbank and the most incredible night of his life.

  ‘Ahem,’ muttered someone at the window. ‘If you lot felt like getting out of that ute, we could do with some help.’ Despite his droll comment, and the hellish orange-tinged world he was currently surrounded by, Wal was trying not to smile.

  Nate reluctantly let go of Jodie and moved back. He could see by the size of Jodie’s eyes she was still in shock. Both Travis and Tammy were manning firehoses, trying to protect their hayshed from going up in smoke thanks to the flying, burning embers. They were coming down like small incendiary bombs trying to ignite in the greener grass of the irrigated pastures. Nate turned back to Jodie, ‘How about you go inside with the kids, and I’ll help out here?’

  She nodded and clambered out of the ute. Dragged Milly with her to where Billy had reappeared to help. ‘I’ll be back,’ she said with a direct look at Nate. He started to shake his head, to say they’d be okay, to rest and take care of the baby, but one look at her face was enough to make him change his mind. What right did he have to tell her what to do? None. Plus, he’d feel one hell of a lot better having her beside him where he could keep an eye on her. So he just nodded and tried to convey everything he was feeling into a reassuring smile. Then he walked off with Wal towards the tractor. But he couldn’t resist a glance back over his shoulder, just to make sure they were all right.

  They were. The two kids were running for the back door of the Montmorency Downs homestead, Jodie jog-trotting after them, a bedraggled mutt at her heels.

  A hand came up to clamp him on the shoulder. ‘That was one hellish bit of driving there, McGregor.’ Nate glanced at Wal. The old bloke had tears in his eyes. ‘Could barely watch you go up that hill knowing you mightn’t come back.’

  ‘I had to go, Wal. I couldn’t do anything else.’

  ‘I know, mate. I just hope she realises that too.’

  Chapter 45

  Jodie did realise that. She couldn’t believe a person would put his life on the line for her and her children. She just couldn’t take it in. One minute she was saying her prayers to God, pleading for him to make it fast. The next moment Nate McGregor was pounding on her door like some earthly angel.

  ‘Mummy?’ Milly was tugging her hand.

  She must have nodded off because the clock had somehow sneaked around another half hour since she’d sat down in Tammy’s kitchen.

  ‘Billy’s going to show me his new Lego set he got at the beach.’

  Thank God for Billy. Jodie was sure playing Lego with Milly was the last thing the boy would want to be doing. He’d want to be outside helping his parents fight to save the hayshed and farm buildings from flying flame. But here he was trying to distract her seven-year-old. He was a good kid. Travis and Tammy had every right to be immensely proud of him.

  ‘That’s fine, sweetheart.’ She got up and crouched down to her daughter’s eye level. ‘Now I’m just going to go back outside and help Nate and Wal. Are you okay with that?’

  Milly nodded solemnly. ‘As long as you stay with Nathaniel, you’ll be fine.’

  Jodie gave a wry grin. Her daughter was right. Funny how it took the words of a child to clarify things, because she knew exactly what Milly meant.

  Nathaniel McGregor, by his very presence, made things right. And she loved him. Pure and simple. She’d worked that out while they were sitting on the floor up there in old Joe’s house. She loved him. And if it hadn’t been for Nate, they would have died.

  She grabbed a glass of water from Tammy’s kitchen, then, taking a last glance to reassure herself Milly was fine, headed back outside into hell.

  Clem rang at about midday, catching Nate as he was refilling the tank on the spray-rig with water. The intention was to encircle the hayshed and douse it from all sides. He never got there.

  ‘Did you get Jodie and Milly out?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Thank hell for that. I’ve been trying to get hold of you for hours. Fucking mobile service is a joke.’

  ‘Where are you?’ asked Nate. ‘I thought you were coming here.’

  A frustrated sigh came from the other end of the phone. ‘I’ve been trying to, but the bloody roadblocks won’t let me out of here.’

  Nate knew how Clem felt. ‘You found the old man yet?’

  ‘Nope. That’s why I’m ringing. The fire’s mostly missed us here, blowing down on you lot there instead. But it’s caught the scrub up on the south-western side of the place. I reckon that’s where Alex might have been heading. Can’t work out where else he’d be, but it’s been too hot to go in there.’

  ‘I’ll come,’ said Nate.

  ‘You won’t get through.’

  Nate chewed his lip. ‘What about if I come up the old river track?’

  ‘It’ll be overgrown to buggery. You’ll scratch that nice ute.’

  ‘I’m willing to take my chances,’ said Nate as he looked at his banged-up, blistered and flame-scorched vehicle. ‘I don’t think it’ll matter too much.’

  Jodie wanted to go with him. ‘You might need a nurse if he’s hurt, plus two sets of eyes are better than one.’ It seemed he couldn’t and didn’t want to argue with her.

  Tammy offered to keep Milly with her and Travis, where she’d be safer. Milly was reluctant to be parted from her mother to start out with, but when Billy said he’d stay with her 24/7, the little girl finally agreed. ‘Plus,’ stated a pragmatic Billy, ‘we can have toasted marshmallows without having to ask Dad. There’s more than enough fire out there to do that.’

  Jodie shared a wry grin with Tammy, who’d taken a break to say goodbye. ‘At least he’s practical,’ said Tammy. ‘I only hope I’ve got some in the cupboard.’

  To Jodie’s mind the poor woman didn’t need to be worrying about her pantry right now. She looked dead on her feet, but was still fighting to save her farm. What it must be like to have such a place to call your own, even if it was ringed on its western and northern flanks by fire.

  ‘Are you sure you want Milly too?’

  Tammy touched her arm. ‘It’s not about what we want, Jodie. It’s about what we have to do to get through this. Plus, Milly’s gorgeous and she’s giving Billy something else to concentrate on right now. Keeping him indoors and out of it. You’re doing us a favour.’

  ‘We’d better go, Jodie.’

  Nate had come up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She automatically felt like nuzzling into it like a cat. To seek reassurance she was doing the right thing leaving her daughter.

  ‘Bye, Mum,’ said Milly. She touched Jodie’s tummy. ‘See you, bubby. Mummy and Nathaniel will look after you.’ She glanced around at Nate. ‘It’s a girl, you know. I sense these things.’

  ‘I’m sure you do,’ said Jodie, patting her daughter’s head. She reached down and drew Milly into her arms, hugging her tight.

  Nate’s hand came down on her shoulder again. Reassuring. ‘She’ll be fine with Tammy and we’ll be back as soon as we find him, okay?’

  Jodie gazed at the man over Milly’s head. He knew. He understood what it was like for her to leave her daughter.

  He hated to drag Jodie away from Milly but they had to
help Clem find Alex. If it wasn’t so urgent and he was sure Alex wouldn’t need medical help he would have left her at Montmorency, where she’d be safer too.

  They drove towards Glenevelyn, passing hardworking volunteer fire fighters and their trucks, then took a circular route to the property on gravel roads and little-known bush tracks in order to avoid both fire and roadblocks. Ordinarily he wouldn’t have dreamed of breaking the law like this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The man he’d always known as his father was missing and, regardless of the ill-feeling between them, it was his duty to find him. Even though Alex could be a bastard of a man, Nate was sure he’d have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed. Alex McGregor was a hard man but he wasn’t heartless.

  They met Clem at the homestead. He’d just been ringing the Department of Conservation to see if they could get their helicopters to keep their eyes open for Alex and his tractor as they were flying overhead to reload with water at Lake Grace. It was a shame the choppers hadn’t been able to fly at night, as they might have been able to save Jodie’s house. They all knew the fly-boys who piloted those big water-bombing machines were absolute heroes when it came to situations like this, saving lives and buildings time and time again.

  ‘I’ve also phoned the police. They’ll be here as soon as they can.’ Clem sounded stressed. ‘We better get out there ourselves. Something must be stopping him coming home.’

  Yes, thought Nate. It wasn’t like Alex to be out working all night even in this type of situation. He preferred to give the orders to someone else.

  ‘Russ and Jase are out checking the western boundary. We need to head south. We’ll all pile in your ute.’ Suddenly Clem focused on Nate’s vehicle. ‘Fuck. Where did you go in that thing?’

  Jodie and Nate looked at each other before saying as one, ‘Hell.’

  They searched the whole southern boundary for Alex. Shouting and yelling to no avail. It was just going on dark when Nate made the call. ‘We’d best head back home. We’re not going to find anything out here without torches. We’ll grab some tucker, some light and come back out. The cops might be up at the homestead by now anyway.’

  Jodie was keen to keep looking. ‘But what if he’s hurt? What if he can’t hear us?’

  Clem’s expression was bleak. ‘Then he dies.’

  The homestead was a blaze of lights when they arrived. A police officer was talking to Mue in the kitchen. Wal was making a cup of tea. He waved a mug in the air. ‘Anyone?’ They all nodded gratefully. Jodie sat on a stool and didn’t know how she was going to get off it when the time came to move. Nate carried a brimming mug of hot tea over to her, ‘Here, get that into you. I’ve given you two sugars so don’t dance your socks off.’ Jodie grinned weakly. His gentle fingers came up to stroke her cheek. ‘It’s nice to see those dimples back,’ he said in a husky voice. He leaned in like he was going to kiss her. Her mouth rose towards his, she closed her eyes and … felt crushing disappointment.

  ‘Which one of you blokes is Clem Bailey?’

  Jodie’s eyes snapped open. Nate was standing back up, ramrod straight, staring at the burly-looking copper who’d walked into the kitchen.

  From over near the sink, Clem raised a hand. ‘I am. Who wants me?’

  ‘If you’ll come this way, please?’ said the man, who Jodie could see had a name-tag. Senior Constable Gary Something.

  Clem nodded to both Nate and Wal. ‘You two better come as well.’

  All the men left the kitchen following the police officer, leaving Mue and Jodie to stare at each other. ‘Let’s go too,’ said Mue. ‘I won’t be treated like some frail woman.’

  Jodie knew exactly how she felt, but unfortunately her legs weren’t following her brain’s instructions to get up. She waved to Mue. ‘You go. I just need a minute.’

  Mue’s expression immediately changed from fierce to compassionate. ‘You poor love. Are you okay?’

  Jodie flapped her away. ‘I’m fine. Go, go. I’ll be there in a minute.’ Wherever there was.

  The older woman looked doubtful. ‘If you’re sure?’

  ‘I’m sure,’ said Jodie. ‘Go.’

  Mue threw her a grateful glance, tore off her apron and scurried out the door.

  Chapter 46

  Jodie sat and relished the silence. After the drama of the past twenty-four hours and despite all the smoke in the air, Glenevelyn at this time of night was very peaceful.

  The peace didn’t last. As she took another sip of her tea, a woman’s piercing scream ripped the stillness to shreds.

  Mue. It had to be Mue. She was the only other female there. Jodie raced down the passage into the homestead’s front foyer and out onto the verandah. There was a cluster of men standing around a ute. The farm ute. Russ and Jase were back. Jodie pelted along the verandah, only slowing down as she caught sight of Mue sagging between two men. Clem and Nate stood like statues on either side of the woman, hanging on to her arms. Mue was wailing, crying, ‘No, no, no … Oh my gracious God no! It can’t be him! It’s someone else.’

  Jodie hadn’t realised she’d stopped moving. She was standing on the cusp of the verandah and the perfectly manicured, sooty lawn. Nate looked around. Saw her. His face was a frozen mask of pain. He shook his head slightly. Jodie stepped forwards. One foot at a time. Mue was still rambling, ‘It’s someone else, I tell you. It’s not him, it’s not Alex. He doesn’t look like that … that … thing.’ She fell down into a huddle and Clem bent over her, trying to hug her, to protect her from whatever was on the tray-back in front of them.

  Nate turned to Jodie. His eyes were pleading. Don’t come over. Please don’t come over.

  But she had to. She had to know for herself. It couldn’t be as bad as she would imagine for the rest of her life.

  Slowly. One foot at a time – a moondance – as though she was going forwards and backwards at the same time.

  Until she was there.

  Until she saw what was on the tray of the ute.

  It was worse than anything she could have imagined.

  Above the shoulders he was a blackened lump. Below he was intact.

  ‘What happened?’ Jodie didn’t even recognise her own voice.

  ‘He must’ve tipped the tractor over. Got stuck under the water trailer,’ Nate said, sounding like he was one hundred years old.

  ‘He would’ve been in the cab.’

  ‘We think he must’ve let the tractor run on by itself and was out the back on the trailer,’ said Senior Constable Gary Something.

  ‘Oh God, why did he go out on his own?’ said Jodie. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The man who had been her Alex. Nate’s Alex. Clem’s Alex. Mue’s Alex. Robert’s Alex. Glenevelyn’s Alex. Dead. It was inconceivable.

  ‘Yes, not the best idea,’ agreed Gary. ‘We think the water from the upturned tank soaked his clothes, stopping him getting burned there, but as for the rest of him …’ He let the sentence hang.

  Geez, how did these blokes do it? Sound so bloody distant when something like ‘that’ was in front of them?

  ‘I’ve seen enough,’ she said to no one in particular. She knew she should have been turning to the others, comforting them, but she couldn’t. She had to keep herself together. Jodie turned and walked away, not back inside where there were reminders of Alex haunting every corner. She climbed through the fence and took off across the paddock. A long stride.

  Watching her go, Nate wished he could follow – whatever it took to get away from this mess in front of him – but he couldn’t. Even though Clem was Alex’s son by blood, he, Nate, owed it to his father to do this right. There would be no more running for Nathaniel McGregor.

  The police organised a hearse to meet the farm ute at the nearest roadblock. They covered Alex’s body and treated him with as much respect as they could under the circumstances. Clem dealt with his mother, settling her in a spare room and giving her a sedative they found in Elizabeth’s things, untouched despite the years. Nat
e worked the phone, letting anybody he thought needed to know that Alex had met with an accident.

  He glanced out the window from time to time to reassure himself that Jodie was still out in the paddock. She was sitting on a cattle trough, looking towards the glowing mountains. He would have thought she’d had enough of that bloody fire to last her a lifetime. Nate refocused on the last thing he needed to do. He dialled the Hunters down at Montmorency.

  ‘How’d you go?’ said a tired-sounding Travis. ‘You find him?’

  ‘Yep, we found him. He’s dead.’ No softening of the truth.

  The man on the other end of the phone sucked in a deep breath. ‘Geez, mate. I’m really sorry.’

  Nate had held it together up until now but the sympathy in Travis’s tone was just about his undoing.

  ‘Just organising the necessaries. You okay with Milly?’

  ‘Yeah. Right as rain. She’s in bed. Tammy’s reading her and Billy a story.’

  Nate let out a breath of his own. ‘Can she stay a couple of nights if Jodie needs her to?’

  ‘No worries. Whatever we can do to help. By the way, tell Jodie we found her horses. The vet’s treated them for burns. Said they’ll be fine. We’ve put them in the house paddock. They can stay there for as long as she likes.’

  Nate thanked the man, then rang off. Took a look out the window. He could still just see Jodie, sitting. Staring.

  He laid his head on his father’s big desk. And finally allowed himself to cry.