by Annie Seaton
‘I’ve just got back from seeing Mum in the Daintree. Before I left she gave me some papers that suggested the South Alligator area is being explored for coal seam gas.’
‘Absolute rot. Fairy stories. One of those silly alliance groups stirring up trouble, I’d say.’
‘What she gave me to read made me think her fairy stories are not so silly after all, Panos.’ She’d flicked through the folder in her room and been surprised to see several photos of Panos with another man in a suit. There were newspaper clippings as well.
‘Look, all sorts of misinformation gets published on social media these days.’ He let out an exaggerated sigh. ‘One of the difficult things a man in my position has to deal with. Say hello to your mum for me, Ellie. And tell her not to worry herself.’
‘I will. Thank you.’
Ellie disconnected. It was obvious that he was lying but she wasn’t going to mention it to anyone else yet, especially Mum.
Until she checked it out more, anyway. She’d search the back issues of the local paper, and ask Bill Jarragah if he’d heard anything.
For now a quiet drink with her colleagues would take her mind off it. She crossed the lawn to the courtyard where the tables spilled onto the grass facing the west, overlooking the water and positioned to get the best view of the setting sun.
The sunset river cruise would have docked down at the wharf and the bar would soon fill as the tourists arrived for their pre-dinner drinks, ready to relax and compare their crocodile photos. Every afternoon at Makowa Lodge in the winter season was the same; the crowd with their cameras, vying for the best position as the sun set. The smoke from the burn-off of the savannah woodlands generated a spectacular show as it fired the sky to a molten gold. Photographing crocodiles was forgotten for a short while as the cameras pointed to the west.
‘Ellie! Over here.’ A group of her workmates, all wearing the signature Makowa Lodge khaki shirt, were sitting in the corner of the bar area. Ellie grinned as Heather Jarragah uncrossed her long legs and stood up. ‘Welcome home! We weren’t expecting you back at work till tomorrow.’
At the sight of her best friend’s large brown eyes and dark hair, she felt herself relax. The two had known each other since primary school – introduced by Dad and Bill – and Heather’s family had welcomed Ellie into the Aboriginal community at Black Jungle Springs as though she had been one of their own.
‘Hey, Heather.’ Ellie looped her arm through Heather’s. ‘You’re right. I wasn’t rostered on but I got a call from Jock to take the chopper up when I was on the way back from Darwin. Missing tourists. So what happened to Mike?’
‘He was out on a job a couple of weeks ago when his ex-missus turned up after his blood.’ Heather flashed a big smile. ‘And she sure got it. Before he landed his bird, she trashed his room and then carried all his gear to the back of the compound. He didn’t realise the smoke enhancing the sunset his passengers were snapping was from a fire burning everything he owned.’
‘Serves him right,’ Ellie said without a drop of sympathy. ‘He was a sleaze from the first day he got here.’
‘Come on, Els, that’s a bit harsh.’
‘Harsh! He deserves everything he gets. Remember that line he used to use on the female tourists? Hankering for an “authentic” Aussie experience?’
‘Yeah. Still, you gotta admit, he was pretty good-looking.’
‘Ew, Heather! How many times do I have to tell you: don’t screw around with workmates. Anyway, I met his replacement this afternoon. Have you?’ Ellie walked around to the end of the table and Heather followed her.
‘I haven’t met him yet, but I saw him from a distance yesterday when Jock was showing him around. Sex on legs.’ Heather dropped her voice and her brown eyes sparkled. ‘Just as well I don’t follow your rules, because I fancy me a bit of Mr Fly Boy.’
‘He wouldn’t care for the nickname.’ Ellie chuckled. ‘He reckons he’s only Mr Fix-it. I have to sort out his role with Jock tomorrow.’ Ellie slid along the bench seat and let another workmate squeeze in, rolling her shoulders as the tension lifted a little. This was a part of the job she enjoyed, spending time with friends who loved the Territory as much as she did. She would trust these people with her life. Even Mike had been dependable once he’d cut the sleaze act.
It was an open question whether Kane would fit in here; they were a pretty tight group. If her hunch that he was ex-military was right, he should be used to working with a team, but after this afternoon she had a feeling he wouldn’t want to.
Terry, another of the Aboriginal staff, leaned towards her. ‘Hey, Els. Welcome home. Got a new croc story for you!’
Standard conversation in the evenings; the guys all knew she was terrified of the huge suckers and they loved to tease her, each yarn more exaggerated than the last. She’d been terrified of crocodiles ever since she was a child when she’d seen a fisherman taken at Cahill’s Crossing. She and Dad had been fishing and he’d done his best to shield her from the sight, but the screams of the man as he’d been dragged off the causeway had stayed with her. But despite the shiver that ran down her back, Ellie wasn’t worried. It was their way of saying they’d missed her. ‘Okay Terry, spill.’
‘I was over at Borroloola last week and a whole group of backpackers went missing the night before I arrived in town.’ Terry looked at her over his beer, the sides of his mouth twitching.
Ellie frowned. ‘A whole group? I didn’t see that in the Darwin Sun online.’
‘Jeez, Ellie.’ Heather rolled her eyes. ‘You’re hopeless. You can’t even leave the Territory without reading the paper to see if the place survived while you were away.’
‘You can’t talk.’ Ellie gave her friend a playful punch on the arm. ‘I seem to remember you getting so homesick on that school excursion to Sydney that you cried all night and they almost sent you home.’ She turned back to Terry. ‘So what happened?’
‘They were camping in tents on the edge of the McArthur River and the locals reckon that a monster croc came in and ate the lot of them.’ Terry clamped his mouth shut and Ellie resisted the smile tugging at her lips. ‘Ate all the food, the tents, everything.’
‘Wow. That sure would give them indigestion.’ Ellie widened her eyes. ‘Are you sure you’re not trying to wind me up already, Terry? I’ve only been back five minutes.’
Terry’s dark eyes scrunched as he burst into a laugh. ‘It’s good to have you back on board, love.’
‘It’s great to be home, Terry. I missed you guys.’
Heather flicked her a glance and Ellie knew Heather sensed that her trip away had been difficult. She smiled at her friend and leaned over towards her but before Ellie could speak, a brawny arm came around her from behind. Steve, the barman, pulled her back against him and slid a kiss along her cheek towards her lips. She pushed him off with a grin. ‘Down, boyo!’
‘Missed ya, darlin’. Beer or a wine?’ Steve’s voice was pure Irish and his expression was cheeky. He hit on her every night and Heather had told her more than once that she was crazy not to take up with him, but Ellie had seen too many relationships go pear-shaped. Itinerant staff and good-looking tourists all out for a good time; it was a recipe for disaster – Mike was just the latest casualty.
‘Beer, please.’
Steve turned to get the drinks. He was handsome, but she didn’t want to get involved in the casual sex that was often a part of this close-knit community of workers.
Her job was her life. She clung fiercely to the security of her routine, and she wouldn’t risk it for any one-night stand. Maybe she was stupid and maybe she was missing out on some of the good times, but it hadn’t killed her yet.
Chatter washed over Ellie as the cold liquid hit her throat.
‘How’s your mum doing?’ Heather touched Ellie’s hand and spoke quietly as the laughter and conversations continued around them. ‘Things as bad as Emma said?’
‘Worse, if it’s possible. The doctor’s changed her medication a
nd she barely sleeps.’ Ellie stared out into the darkness as her throat closed up. The last of the light had gone quickly, and the tropical darkness enveloped the low forest surrounding the lodge. ‘She’s still hung up about Dad’s death. She just can’t accept that he took his own life. It’s killing her. She does nothing apart from trawl the internet or sit on Em’s verandah staring into space.’
‘Oh, the poor thing,’ Heather said sympathetically. ‘It must be hard for Emma too.’
‘Mum still swears that Dad got a big offer for the farm from some mining company a couple of months before he died. She thinks he was murdered to get him out of the way.’
‘Really?’ Heather shook her head. ‘She’s still on about that?’
‘She’s lost the plot. She’s stuck with her murder theory to justify Dad’s death to herself. Em and I even went through his papers again, trying to convince her to let it go. She feels so bloody guilty that she didn’t see how depressed he was about money . . . or the lack of it.’ Ellie swallowed, determined not to give in to the ache in her throat. ‘None of us did. When he got that bar job at the pub in Jabiru, I thought it eased the money situation and he still had time for the farm. He seemed happier that last weekend I saw him. I thought he was happy.’
‘Poor Dru got home from school just after your mum found him, didn’t she?’
Ellie nodded and stared down into her beer. She still felt guilty about being away at the time – studying for her pilot’s licence in Darwin. It was irrational, but there you go. Her mother had been distraught, of course, and Emma had come home from medical school in Sydney and helped them deal with the paperwork, and the organisation of their father’s funeral . . . and Mum.
Dru had been pretty much left to fend for herself and had gone off the rails in her last weeks at high school. The ‘after’ of Dad’s suicide had been hard on all fronts. Emma had left Sydney Uni and transferred to James Cook in Townsville so she and Dru could share cheaper accommodation when Dru took up her civil engineering course. But Panos buying the farm from Mum when he did had helped all three girls follow their dreams.
‘Els, come on. Stop stewing over it,’ Heather said, rubbing her thumb over Ellie’s wrist. ‘You’re home now and you can’t do any more to help.’
The hollow ache moved down from Ellie’s throat and settled in her chest. ‘God, Heather, she’s aged so much since I last saw her. She’s thin and her face is so wrinkled, she looks like an old woman. And she’s not. I know I should spend more time over on the coast with Emma and help out, but I hate it there. I don’t know how Emma puts up with it. I couldn’t get back here quick enough.’
‘Don’t think about it anymore,’ Heather said. ‘We can’t do without you, honey. So how’s Em? Still working at the local hospital?’
‘Yes, in Dalrymple, and she’s got her own medical clinic too.’ Ellie paused and drained the last of her drink. ‘She says she’s fine but I know she carries her own guilt because she loses patience with Mum. She understands I love it over here and I have to work. Not much call for helicopter pilots in the rainforest near her and Mum. Although there’d be scenic flights out over the reef, I suppose.’
Heather stared at her. ‘Uh-uh. You love the Territory too much to leave. Look at the great job and great friends you’ve got here. And you know we’d miss you too much.’ She leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand on the table. ‘What about Dru? Did you catch up with her?’
Ellie shook her head. ‘Dru’s Dru. Sometimes I think she wouldn’t even have contact with us if it was up to her.’ She pushed her glass away and looked up as Steve called out, holding up another beer over at the bar.
‘Just one more.’ She turned back to Heather. ‘Your dad around tonight?’
‘No, he had a committee meeting in the city.’
‘I wanted to ask him about something I saw out at the old farm today. Have you heard anything about Panos Sordina moving back there?’
Heather shook her head. ‘No, I haven’t. I thought he lived in Darwin now. The last time I drove past, it looked deserted. But I’ll ask. Dad always knows what’s going on around the place.’
Heather gestured to Steve for another drink. ‘You know what? I think it’s time for a big night out. We need to welcome you back properly . . . and cheer you up. There’s a band playing here on Sunday night. How about it?’
‘Sounds like the happy fix I need.’
‘And why don’t you come out to Black Jungle Springs for a visit during the day? Dad would love to see you.’
‘All right. I will.’ Ellie felt the weight lift off her shoulders. Heather could always make her feel better.
Heather tilted her head. ‘Look who’s here!’
She looked towards the entrance of the bar. The angular planes of Kane McLaren’s face were softened by shadows as he stood there, seemingly deciding whether to enter or not.
Heather put her hand on her chest and pretended to swoon. ‘Be still my beating heart. What. A. Honey.’
Steve stopped by the table with their drinks, then gestured in the direction of Heather’s gaze.
‘New guy needs to meet the crew.’ He put the tray down and scooted over to speak to Kane.
Ellie looked down and focused on the glass of beer in front of her. This would be interesting. Heather watched the men, oblivious to Ellie’s discomfort.
‘Hey, maybe the hunk can come on Sunday night too? Although Mr Fly Boy over there looks a bit too classy for this place. Maybe he’s got high standards like yours. Though it might be fun trying to break him in.’ Heather’s eyes narrowed and a cheeky smile tilted her lips.
Kane walked over to the group. Ellie looked up as Steve made the introductions.
‘Kane, meet Terry, Heather, Ellie and down the far end of the table we have Roscoe and Amanda.’ Everyone gave him a wave and Kane nodded.
Doesn’t the man know how to smile? Mind you, all that grimness suited him. Heather was right. He was . . . fine. From his broad shoulders to the muscled legs outlined by the faded jeans that clung snugly to his thighs. His biceps bulged beneath the tight sleeves of his black T-shirt and his hair was slicked back from his face. The unshaven look just added to his appeal.
His air of authority was sexy, but she still remembered how he’d doubted her ability to fly. Ellie had come across his type before. He was good-looking, but that didn’t mean he was a decent guy.
Heather moved along and Ellie had to follow her along the wooden bench seat to make room for Kane to sit beside her. She picked up her beer and took a fortifying swig before she looked sideways at him and nodded.
‘Welcome to Makowa Lodge.’
‘Thanks.’ For the first time a brief smile crossed his face and an unwelcome little tremor skittered down Ellie’s back.
‘Hello, mate. Where are you from?’ Terry stood and reached across the table to shake Kane’s hand. This would be interesting. Ellie put her elbows on the table and waited for his answer but Steve interrupted before Kane could reply.
‘At least let the guy have a drink before the third degree starts.’ Steve raised his voice over the greetings from the others seated at the table. ‘Watch out, they’re nosy, this lot. No secrets here. Beer for you, mate?’
‘No to the beer, thanks. Just a soda water.’ Kane’s voice was quiet as he turned to Terry. ‘I’m originally from Brisbane but I’ve been around. What about you guys?’
So that’s all they were going to get. Ellie was conscious of Kane’s thigh pressed against hers and she moved away a fraction as the guys told Kane they were all locals.
‘Roster went up this afternoon.’ Heather winked at Ellie and leaned across her to speak to Kane. ‘You get a ground tour of the park tomorrow. I hear you’ve already had the one from the air today.’ A sexy little laugh that Ellie knew was purely for Kane’s benefit escaped Heather’s lips. ‘I’m stuck on office duty and you get to go exploring with Miss Ellie here.’
‘What’s the go?’ Ellie ignored Heather’s flirting. ‘Did you
say grand tour or ground tour?’
‘Ground, sweetie. There’s a car in the car park down at Jim Jim Falls.’
‘How did it get there?’
Terry leaned over and spoke loudly above the noise from the now crowded bar. ‘We had a medical evacuation last week. Some guy broke his ankle.’ He shook his head. ‘It wasn’t just that he wasn’t fit enough to make the trek. Would you believe he weighed a hundred and fifty kilos? The idiot jumped off a boulder at the end of the track and busted up his leg. Had to be choppered out.’
Ellie frowned. ‘Are the falls open? Have the park staff finished the crocodile management already?’
‘Yep, they opened up the falls the other day. Crocs are clear.’ Terry drained his beer and stood up. ‘But no one’s had a chance to go down and get the car, so –’ Terry’s white teeth flashed in his dark-skinned face as he turned to Kane ‘– you get the pleasure of Ellie’s company and get to see one of the best places in the park. And I get to go check on crocodile traps along the West Alligator with old Bill. I know where I’d rather be.’
Kane shot her a strange glance and heat warmed Ellie’s cheeks as the laughter surrounded them. ‘You have a nice day out on the water, Terry. At least you and Bill get to go out in one of the air-boats. We’ll be stuck in a car most of the day.’ She turned to Heather. ‘How come you got office duty tomorrow?’
‘No kids booked into the crèche and Jan has to go to Darwin, so I’m in charge.’ Her grin was impish and Ellie resisted looking at Kane to see his reaction.
None of my business. ‘Well, if we’re driving all the way to Jim Jim and back tomorrow, I think I’d better get an early night.’
Steve leaned across the table and placed a soda water in front of Kane. ‘Do us a favour, Els? Be a doll and see to Kane tonight, would you?’
Ellie felt her mouth drop open. ‘See to Kane?’
Heather giggled and Kane’s hands clenched on the table in front of him. Ellie waited for him to make a comment but Steve continued. ‘All I meant was, can you grab the key and show him where his room is, seeing you’re going down to the staff quarters? He’s in number eight, down the back along from your apartment. Keys are in the back of the till. Jan sent them over before she closed up the office.’