Riverboat Point

by Tricia Stringer

  It had been stupid blundering into the place thinking she’d broken in. A year ago that could have got him killed. He was getting soft. From the start he’d been on the back foot. He should have realised it was her when he found her parked up the road. The photo he’d been shown had her with longer black hair not the short white spikes she sported now, but those piercing blue eyes were the same and the cute little nose. He shook his head. She could be trouble and this could all blow up in Jaxon’s face.

  Ethan carried his bowl of cereal and his coffee out to the front deck and settled at the outside table. Jasper padded after him and flopped to the wooden floor. Ethan drew in a breath, closed his eyes then opened them again as he slowly exhaled. The river stretched out before him. The mist that had clung to it when he’d woken was all but gone. The water looked flat and serene, belying the strength of its flow. Shadows turned it to deep green close to his bank but over the other side was the grey-brown of water in full sun. Birds of varying descriptions flew, swam, fished and sang. It was going to be a glorious day on the river.

  He thanked his lucky stars again for the day he’d found this place. He’d bought it just before his last deployment. Having a place to call home had helped him settle. The only thing that disturbed his patch of the river was the houseboats coming and going from next door. He twisted to look at his neighbour’s river frontage, where he could see glimpses of deck and glass. Four of the tourist attractions were moored there. He was getting used to them.

  Ethan finished his cereal and settled back to watch the water as he drank his coffee. The peace of his surroundings had helped him relax. Without realising it, life almost felt normal again. The broken sleep bothered him less often. He thought about the little white pills in the bathroom cabinet. Perhaps the day wasn’t far off when he wouldn’t need them.

  A bang, followed by another loud thud and a muffled yell brought a low growl from Jasper.

  “Easy boy,” Ethan said and reached down to ruffle the top of the dog’s head. “Just our new neighbour chasing a few mice.”

  Jaxon’s shack was separated from Ethan’s pole house by only a few metres and a boundary fence. Ethan was glad to discover a good bloke like Jaxon had bought the place next door. They got on well. It had only ever been the two of them in the ten or eleven months since Jaxon had moved in. Now there was Savannah.

  Jaxon had said his sister was a city girl. Ethan had imagined a high-heeled, lipstick-wearing office type who’d be pestering him for help at every turn in case she broke a fingernail. He chuckled. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad having Savannah next door while Jax was away. As long as she minded her own business he’d mind his and they’d get along fine.

  “Mr Daly?”

  Jasper growled.

  Ethan put down his cup.

  “Mr Daly!”

  Jasper raced to the end of the deck, barking as he went.

  “Damn!” Ethan pushed back his chair and strolled after him.

  Savannah stood below on her side of the fence, waist high in weeds. Jaxon really should have cleaned them up before he’d gone. It was coming into snake season.

  “Sit, Jasper,” Ethan said. He placed two hands on the railing and leaned forward. “We’re not formal around here. You can call me Ethan.”

  She put her hands on her hips, tipped back her head and locked her steely gaze on him.

  Ethan held her stare. She certainly wasn’t the retiring type. “What can I do for you?”

  “I wondered if you knew anything about hot water?”

  He tried not to smile. “Depends on what kind of hot water.”

  “The kind that comes out of a tap when you turn it on. I don’t seem to have any.”

  “Jaxon probably turned it off before he left.”

  “Off?”

  “Saves electricity. There’ll be a switch in the meter box under the carport. Would you like me to check it?”

  “No.” She put up a hand. “No need. I’ll find it, thanks.”

  Ethan watched her wade through the long grass until she was out of sight around the corner of the shack. Then he allowed the grin to spread across his face. No, Jaxon’s sister was certainly not what he’d been expecting. Damn Jaxon for involving him.

  Ethan rubbed at the stubbly skin of his jaw, the smile dropping from his face. He went back to his coffee. He wanted as little to do with Jaxon’s scheme as possible and that meant steering clear of his sister. He had promised to help if she had mechanical problems with the houseboats, that was all. Today he would work on his bike and maybe go fishing in the late afternoon, catch something for dinner.

  Jasper sat up, ears pricked.

  “Mr Daly?”

  The dog growled. For a brief moment his deep brown eyes met Ethan’s then he lowered himself to the deck and dropped his head on to his outstretched legs.

  “Thanks for your support, mate,” Ethan said. He stepped around the dog and walked to the railing again. There she was, hands on hips, looking up at him with that piercing stare of hers.

  “Ms Smith.” He raised his eyebrows.

  “I found the switch but it doesn’t seem to be working. Do you have any other ideas?”

  “I’ll come down.”

  He turned, ignoring her protest. “Stay, Jasper,” he said as the dog got to his feet. “You only complicate matters.”

  Ethan walked through his house and padded down the stairs, hoping he hadn’t been wrong about Savannah. Perhaps she was going to be the needy type after all. There was no way he wanted any involvement with her, no matter that she had a pretty face and if her shape under the clothes was anything to go by, a toned body. He needed no complications in his life right now.

  He met her under the carport, where she was studying the open meter box.

  “It’s on,” she said turning to look at him. Her eyes defied him to say otherwise but she didn’t look too scary with a smudge of dirt on the tip of her nose.

  “Yep,” he agreed. “It’s on.” Annoyed now that his morning breakfast ritual had been disrupted.

  “Well, it’s not working.” Her hands were on her hips again.

  “What do you mean?”

  “There’s no hot water. I’ve checked the kitchen, bathroom and laundry. All cold.”

  He shook his head, not sure whether to smile or frown. “It’s not instant,” he said. “It heats up overnight.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  He stepped around her. “I can flick it over to heat now but it will take a while.”

  “What kind of place doesn’t have instant hot water?” she snapped.

  “I gather you have gas at home?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is an old electric hot water service. It’s set to heat at night when power’s cheaper. Normally you wouldn’t notice.” He shut the meter box and turned back to her. “It’ll take an hour or so then you should switch it back to night rate.”

  She glanced from Ethan to the meter box and back then let out a sigh.

  He hesitated. For a moment she looked vulnerable. He felt bad about his churlish behaviour. It was obvious she didn’t want to be here. This could well blow up in Jaxon’s face.

  “Thanks … Ethan.”

  “No probs, Savannah.” He gave her the briefest of smiles. “Call me anytime,” he said, but not too enthusiastically.

  He saw the steely look return to her eyes.

  Good, he thought. Hopefully this had been a call for help out of desperation and she wouldn’t do it again in a hurry.

  Ethan returned to his house, disposed of the remains of the cold coffee and rinsed his few dishes. Keeping busy didn’t banish the picture in his head of his new neighbour. His mobile phone rang. He tensed at the name that glowed on the screen and Savannah was forgotten in an instant. He thought about ignoring the call but it was such a rare occurrence perhaps there was something wrong.

  He pressed accept and put the phone to his ear. “Mal,” he said, trying to inject a casual tone into his voice. “What’s up?�
��

  CHAPTER

  3

  Savannah dumped her overnight bag in Jaxon’s spare bedroom and shut the door on it. The mice appeared to be confined within the pantry but she wasn’t going to give them any chance of getting into the room she was planning to sleep in.

  She tested the hot tap again. The water felt slightly less cold or was it her imagination? She had to presume Ethan Daly knew what he was doing. She wasn’t prepared to get her hands dirty cleaning out mice debris until she had a decent quantity of hot water. She’d done a search for cleaning products throughout the shack and as expected, Jaxon’s supply was limited. In the laundry she’d found one old battered bucket that had a decaying mop stuck to its base and half a bottle of bleach. No other detergents other than dish-washing liquid, no disinfectant and no rubber gloves.

  Similarly, the fridge held little of interest as far as food went. The cheese was mouldy, the milk out of date and the crisper revealed a few withered carrots and a bag of liquid that could once have been a capsicum. She closed the door. Again she cursed her brother and whatever he was up to.

  She paced the living area. Back at the kitchen bench, she snatched up the keys she’d removed from the back door. She would make a trip into town for supplies. At least that would fill the time while she waited for the water to heat.

  It crossed her mind she should check directions. She’d driven around in the dark for quite a while last night. She’d passed a sign that said Riverboat Point but how far back or which road she’d been on she couldn’t remember.

  She half turned in the direction of Ethan’s place but stopped as she heard the sound of an engine starting nearby. Through the trees that followed the fence between Jaxon’s and his neighbour’s, she saw a bike drive away. Ethan wasn’t hanging around to offer further help. Used to managing on her own, she preferred it that way. If it hadn’t been for Jaxon’s archaic hot water service she wouldn’t have needed to ask for help.

  Her car keys jangled to the concrete floor of the carport. Annoyed, she bent to pick them up, ignoring the dull ache in her left leg as she caught a glimpse of the river. She straightened, gazing to her right then to her left. Brown water as far as she could see in either direction. This was the mighty Murray River. Hard to imagine it was the lifeblood of the state and the centre of much political wrangling. Her gaze came back to the four houseboats tied up at the bank below. She frowned. What had Ethan said about those boats and bookings?

  She climbed into her car. First things first. She had to find the town, get some supplies and tackle the vermin-infested house. Then she’d worry about the rest.

  The early morning mist and cool air had completely disappeared, replaced by a bright blue sky and sunshine. Savannah turned out the gate and followed the dirt road back the way she had come last night. Daylight revealed little more of her surroundings. Thick trees and bush hugged both sides of the road. Every so often she came to a gate and a driveway and got an occasional glimpse of a roof or a wall. No sign of people or another car. For all she knew she was totally alone out here.

  A couple of smaller roads ran off to the left and then to the right. Last night she probably took both of them when she was looking for Jaxon’s place. Finally she came to a T-junction. She turned right and stopped beside the sign pointing in the direction she’d just come. The sign said Old Man’s Landing Road but Jaxon had said there should also be a blue sign pointing to J&S Houseboats. It wasn’t there.

  She continued on and was relieved, after a few more twists and turns, to find the bitumen road ahead. A sign declared Riverboat Point 3 kms. Once more the J&S Houseboats sign was missing. Perhaps Jaxon had planned to put the signs up and hadn’t got around to it. That would make sense.

  She moved out onto the main road. Not much further to civilisation. A few minutes later she was revising that thought. She’d driven the extent of the small community made up of an assortment of old and new houses, some of which were obviously holiday shacks. Another houseboat business and a caravan park hugged the river close to a small jetty. Back from that was an old double-storey dwelling with beer signs out the front and a sign declaring Accommodation Available. She assumed it was some kind of hotel. Further on, tucked in a bend of the road as it followed the river, was a shop. She couldn’t have missed it. Signs advertising everything from newspapers to fuel to Australia Post Agency adorned the walls or stood at various angles around the footpath. She pulled up across the road in the shade of a group of large gum trees. A patchy lawn spread away from her towards the river.

  An old lady stepped out of the doorway carrying a shopping bag. Savannah noticed a large IGA sign. Posters listing specials filled the windows. This place was also the local supermarket. A young lad carrying a box and another bag followed the woman. Savannah watched as he placed the items in the lady’s car and opened her door.

  Savannah was impressed. That kind of service was rarely seen in the city. It gave her a good feeling about Riverboat Point. She took a bag from her back seat and crossed the road. The shop was housed in an old building, part of a row of three. Just inside the door was a supermarket counter and a selection of fruit and veg. There was no sign of anyone. Once she entered she could see that the supermarket took up the space in all three of the old shops. Adjoining walls had been knocked out to form access.

  Savannah turned back to the counter as footsteps echoed towards her along the wooden floor. A woman emerged around a row of shelves carrying a bucket of fresh flowers.

  “Hello, can I help?” she asked.

  “I just need some groceries,” Savannah said.

  “Let me know if you can’t find something you want. Otherwise help yourself. Trolleys and baskets over there.” She pointed past Savannah, gave her a good look up and down then bustled behind the counter to place the flowers beside a Fresh Flowers sign, her interest in Savannah short-lived.

  Savannah took a basket. She wasn’t planning on staying long. A few cleaning items and some food staples would get her by.

  It took her a while to gather what she needed in the unfamiliar layout. She had to backtrack several times. She came across the lad she’d seen carrying the old lady’s groceries. He was unpacking cans of cat food. He glanced her way then went on stacking.

  Perhaps Jaxon should get a cat, Savannah thought. Then she had another idea. She turned back to the lad.

  “Do you sell mouse traps?” she asked.

  “Next aisle.” He pointed to the left. “Between the fishing supplies and the garden needs.” He spoke slowly and politely. “There are signs.”

  “Thanks,” she said but he’d returned back to his task. She noticed him pause and then straighten a can and turn its label to the front.

  She went on to the next aisle and passed the sign that said Fishing Supplies. When the lad had said signs he’d really meant it. These were not like signs that hang at the beginning of the row in a supermarket; they were printed and laminated and stuck above each section. Savannah looked along the aisle. She’d been so intent on finding her groceries she hadn’t noticed them. There were signs everywhere.

  She found the mouse traps with the mothballs, flyspray and snail bait under a sign that said Vermin Eradication. Just for a moment a bubbling feeling welled up inside her. She clenched her teeth and looked up and down the aisle. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d giggled. It was a strange sensation. She put a mouse trap in her basket and reached for a second. Beside them on the shelf were packets of steel wool. Someone had got their cleaning products mixed up with their vermin eradication. She bit her lip to stifle another giggle.

  A sudden memory of her mother came to mind. Savannah remembered her plugging holes in the skirtings of their house with steel wool – to keep out the mice. She added a packet to her overloaded basket and headed back to the counter.

  She could hear voices chatting happily as she neared the front. Two people were ahead of her at the checkout. Savannah waited beside a pin board that was covered in flyers and notices. The bo
ard had been divided into columns and once again someone had made signs for each column. The Entertainment column advertised an upcoming darts competition. The For Sale column was a bit busier with a car and assorted furniture listed. The last column was labelled Public Notices. Savannah’s sweeping gaze halted at the name Jaxon Smith Electrical. It stood out in big bold print. Below it was pinned a note: Unavailable until further notice. There was the name and number for another electrician but it was the ‘unavailable until further notice’ that held Savannah’s attention. She stepped closer and bent to look at the note as if an explanation might magically appear.

  “Next, please.”

  The shrill tone of the woman’s voice made Savannah spin. She bumped her basket against the counter and several items slid to the floor. She reached down for them, gasped as pain shot up her leg, and straightened quickly.

  The woman stared at her. Savannah gritted her teeth. Sometimes it caught her like that, the pain sudden and intense, reminding her she was no longer whole.

  “Are you all right?” The woman made a small move towards her.

  Then the lad was there gathering up her items. Before she could protest he had put her basket on the counter in his steady manner.

  “Thank you,” Savannah said and stepped gingerly after him.

  The pain was now a dull ache. She was used to that. It was the sudden sharp stabs that could still take her breath away even after all this time. Nerves still healing, reconnecting, the doctors said. Something she would have to live with. Easy for them to say. She managed fairly well but sleeping in the car last night hadn’t done her body any good, or her nerves if she was honest.

  “Do you have any bags?”

  “Yes.”

  Savannah glanced at the woman whose badge said her name was Faye.

  Faye had started scanning her items. She paused and they both looked from Savannah’s pile of items to the one bag she’d placed on the counter.

  “Get the lady a box, Jamie,” Faye called.

  Someone else stepped up to the counter. Faye became much more animated as she greeted the man she called Terry. He was an old bloke with a twinkle in his eye. He gave Savannah an interested look before Faye entered into a detailed conversation with him about the weather and the state of his vegetable garden.