Outback Flames: Australian Rural Romantic Suspense

by Brandyn, Suzanne

  It wasn't long ago that she'd overheard her aunt talking about Zoe Montgomery. Zoe had suspicions years ago, but nothing of any substance to act upon.

  Jordan locked the house and walked over to Zoe. She glanced up into lazy river-blue eyes and her body oozed with warmth. She snapped her gaze from his.

  'Here, these belong to you.' He held the keys out in front of him, and she flicked her gaze at his large hand and reached out. He dropped the keys into her open palm.

  'Thank you.' Her fingers tightened around the keys. Everything was surreal. She didn't expect to be where she was that day, and with the keys to a house that had been abandoned and waiting for her return for so long.

  'Do you remember anything about the fire?'

  'The fire brigade arrived in time. Any later and the entire house would have burnt down. Apparently you were standing under the fig tree, over there.' He nodded in the direction of the front yard where a giant fig tree stood inside the house yard.

  'Do you know how it happened?'

  'How about we get out of the heat? Over there under the tree.'

  Zoe inspected the tree. She imagined looking through one of the windows of the house out to that tree, imagined her parents doing the same. She turned to face him.

  'It's a beautiful tree.' She licked her dry lips.

  'There used to be a table and a few chairs sitting in its shade. Would you like a drink? I've got a small Esky in the car.'

  'Yes, thanks.' She made her way under the tree.

  While she waited, she spotted a wide yellow ribbon, loosely fashioned into a bow around the trunk of the tree. It appeared it'd been there for some time, and now drooped toward the ground.

  'Here.'

  She looked up. Jordan held an Esky in one hand. After placing it on the ground, he opened the lid, and pulled out a can of Coke.

  'Looks like you're come prepared.'

  'You can never take chances out in these parts.' After snapping the lid, he passed the can to her and as he did, their fingers touched for the briefest of moments. She jerked back and prayed he didn't notice.

  'Do you know how many dams are on the property?'

  'About six. Two are full, but the ones closer to the house have almost dried up. You've got two tanks over there near one of the sheds.'

  Zoe lifted her arm, blocking the sun's glare. In the distance, a shed with large tanks stood out in a dry paddock. 'Can you tell me anything about the property?'

  'The holding pens are stable,' he said, gazing in the same direction.

  It was almost as though he'd read her mind.

  'Most of the sheds have stood up over the years. Your father had them solidly built, so there's not much to worry about in that department. A few fences need repairing, but that's about all.'

  'That's a relief. I'll take a wander later on and check out the property.' Zoe sighed and wiped her brow. 'I could do with a seat right now.'

  He waved a hand, gesturing at the shade. 'Pull up the grass. There's plenty of room.'

  She turned and eased down onto a patch of dry grass with her legs outstretched, her back resting against the tree. As she sipped on her Coke, Jordan settled beside her with his own can.

  'It must be ten degrees cooler in the shade.'

  'It feels like it. What can you tell me about the fire?'

  'Not much to tell. Some of the townsfolk believe it was a petrol bomb. Some think a dropped match was responsible, and then there was mention of a candle.'

  'Surely the police know.'

  'Yeah. They'd be the ones to talk to.'

  He avoided her gaze when he spoke about the fire. She shrugged it off.

  'I'll speak to them, later. Can you get a quote to me? I’d like to start as soon as possible.'

  'Yeah. I know the local electrician and plumber, but some of the material will have to be ordered from Tamworth.'

  'Exterminators to begin with,' she decided. 'I want the entire place fumigated.'

  'That's understandable.'

  'We'll take it from there, once I get a quote.'

  'Sound good.'

  He downed the last of his Coke, and pushed upwards to his feet. 'I have to get going. It's almost three.'

  Zoe looked up at him. 'Okay. I'm staying a while longer. Thanks for the Coke.'

  'No worries.' He hesitated. 'Don't go inside alone until it's been given a thorough check over. The floor and stairs could be lethal.'

  'That bad, eh?'

  'It's not too bad. I'd take some precautions though.'

  She nodded and he turned. As he headed toward his car, she eyed him closely. God, he was all man. He didn't ask too many personal questions either, that was one thing she liked about him. He seemed confident, clever, and he didn't annoy her like most men she'd met while working as a jillaroo at the Pattersons’ cattle station.

  Zoe put her empty can on the veranda before strolling around the outside of the house. She rubbed at her forearms. Goosebumps pricked over her flesh, and she almost laughed, as it had nothing to do with the temperature. She stared upwards, pressing her mind for memories. A doll, a painting, a word, or even a familiar face would be great to begin with, but her mind refused any intervention.

  She retreated to the steps, eased down, crossed her legs at the ankles, and leaned on the railing to gaze around the yard. Once again, she pressed her mind for a memory, but nothing came. What else happened here that was so horrific?

  Jordan's entire world was shifting, again. He wiped perspiration from his forehead as panic latched onto his heart, and for cryin' out loud he was bloody well shaking.

  How could he contain himself? He'd hoped for this day for years, fifteen bloody years to be precise, although he'd given up and married Michelle, thinking it was the right thing to do, considering she fell pregnant. But Zoe had never left his heart. Never. Bloody hell.

  He couldn't come right out and say, 'How about we take up where we left off?' She was a killer all right, a man killer. His heart was on the rampage ever since he climbed from his car, and sitting there in exactly the same position he'd sat with her when they were kids tore at his heartstrings. It took all his willpower not to lean on in and take a kiss. Shit. Now look what mess he'd got himself into. Working for her for the next few months would destroy him.

  He wanted to tell her so much, but there was a chance she'd have nothing more to do with him if he opened his mouth. He'd have to learn a bit about her condition first. Find out something about her memory loss. And hell, she didn't know who he was, didn't recognise a single damn thing about him. He could be a stranger for all she cared.

  Shit. He was a stranger. Zoe had never known him, well, in the life she was living now. He wanted to change that fact, but he had to get her to remember them first up before she found out anything else. He wanted...he slammed his fist down on the steering wheel.

  Wait until he got hold of Jade. Waving him over...he hesitated in his thoughts. She didn't know it was Zoe...but still her matchmaking was beginning to annoy him. He hit the brake much too hard when he pulled up at his parents’ property, and skidded toward the front veranda, stopping metres from the foundations.

  His mother ran out, wiping her hands on a tea towel. An apron concealed a pink floral dress to her knees. 'Jordan. Good heavens, what's up? You just missed hitting the veranda.'

  He swung the driver's door open, and gave it a slam. 'Hi Mum. Sorry. I wouldn't have hit it. Is Jade here?' He knew she was. Her car was parked right beside his, but he asked the question anyway.

  'Yes, she's out back. Has she been up to her old tricks again?'

  'You could say that.'

  'She mentioned that Zoe Montgomery was back in town. Is she the one that has you all riled up?'

  'Nope.'

  'So it is Jade?'

  'You could say that.'

  Jordan walked up the steps onto the landing, gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek and paused in his steps. 'You look beautiful as always.'

  'Oh Jordan. In an apron? You're alway
s so sweet. Um...Do you know what's going on?'

  'Zoe wants to fix up the old property.'

  His mother, Helen, screwed up her face.

  'Where did she get to? This is odd. Did you tell her she's listed as missing?'

  'No. I didn't say a thing. Little bubbly bee took herself off to the cop shop to let them know. Zoe was told the house had burnt down, not just damaged. You should have seen her face when she saw it in reasonable shape. It came as a surprise, or shock. I thought she was going to pass out. I'm not about to overload her with information and have her turn on me now. I need to soften the blow a little.'

  'You can't hang onto the past Jordan. Let it go. It will destroy you and take her down with you.'

  'We'll see about that won't we?'

  Helen shook her head. 'I wonder why she didn't come back sooner.'

  'Not sure about that one. I guess she thought she'd have nothing to return to.'

  'Who told her the house burned down?'

  'Don't know Mum.' He opened the screen door. 'Jade, Jade, you about?'

  'You be easy on her, she's only a woman.'

  'Yeah, yeah, yeah.'

  After making his way through the house, he hesitated by the back door when he spotted Jade all pixie looking, sitting on a seat and swinging her legs underneath her. She looked up with doe like eyes, and his gut went from an annoyed tiger to a purring damn cat. God he hated that. Hated knowing his sister and mother had a way to wound him around their little fingers and they knew exactly what they were doing.

  'You did it again,' he said, as he pushed the screen door open, and walked over to where she was seated. He dropped onto a chair beside her.

  'It's for your own good.'

  'I wish you didn't wave me over. I would have kept on going.'

  'Preciously. But I didn't know before hand it was Zoe.'

  'Yeah. I know. It's just.' He shook his head.

  'You would have run into her at another time if it wasn't today.'

  'I suppose you're right.'

  Jade sprang forward. 'I thought so. Look at you. You're head over heels for the woman, aren't you? You're all flustered and not yourself. I can sense it.'

  Jordan fired a heated gaze in her direction.

  'Come on simmer down and spit it out big bro. She's beautiful isn't she? A stunner. I thought you'd go for her...you still love her don't you.'

  'I've never stopped loving her, and don't you repeat that to any one or you're a dead woman, my sister or not.'

  'I won't Jordan. I wanted you to get in first, before every other hot blooded male within a fifty kilometre radius knew a new face was in town.'

  'Yeah, that'd be right.'

  'They would. If you don't, they will.'

  'Are you talking about Tommy and Nathan?'

  'Exactly.'

  'She's way out of their league.'

  'They won't think that.'

  Perhaps she was also way out of his league. God, he didn't know anything about her and when she found about him he'd be crossed off her books forever.

  'Well, are you going to thank me?'

  'Not at present. I have to organise a quote for the renovations, and organise quotes from sparkies and plumbers.' He stood, turned and ruffled her hair. 'Thanks squirt. Um, did she say much more to you?'

  'She told me that she wanted to take over where her parents left off. I presumed her parents had moved from the area, until she introduced herself.'

  'How did you start chatting?'

  'I was sitting having a coffee and she walked past. We exchanged smiles and then it went from there. I had no idea who she was. We were talking about Munna and its people basically. With the heat and everything I guess we forgot the intros.'

  Jordan shook his head as he listened.

  'She also said that she didn't have any photographs of her family. You do, don't you Jordan?'

  'Yeah. I'll have a look. I think Mum has some as well. There might be some inside the house at Montagreen, although I haven't seen any.'

  Jade sprung forward. 'Oh wow, she's going to love you for this.'

  God, he hoped so. He wanted to get to know her all over again, and he knew the word slow was involved. When he was a kid, their relationship had been natural, one that automatically happened. There weren't any complications except for her age, and he'd only got as far as a kiss. He respected that, respected that she was too young, but now she was all woman. His heart was in overdrive, his body no better.

  Jade wandered inside leaving him staring in the distance. He could scarcely believe that after all these years Zoe was home where she belonged. He wondered what she'd done all her life, and who had she been with? Did she have boyfriends? He cursed silently. He'd been living under a log lately, a bloody big log. A woman who looked like that would have a line-up of men. He grimaced as a twinge of jealousy slipped to his gut.

  Chapter Four

  After scoring one of the biggest jobs in Munna, Jordan wandered under the shade of the fig tree and inspected his morning’s work at Montagreen. The house looked different. A few more days and the outside would be completed and the damage unnoticeable, then he'd tackle the inside.

  He opened his Thermos and poured a mug of coffee, thinking how he could explain what he knew to Zoe. His gut hadn't felt right since she'd returned; especially knowing what he was about to dump on her wouldn't go down too well. How would she react?

  More than likely she'd tell him to go to hell and forget about the job. He'd got attached to it as he pictured the final stage. He shook his head. There was no use worrying.

  After setting his mug on the table, he got back to work. A local mob erected the scaffold equipment, as it was too risky to use the staircase. He was working on the cladding on the exterior of the house when he heard a car pull up. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted Zoe climbing from her ute.

  She walked to the back of the ute and dragged out a broom, a bucket and more items of cleaning equipment. He squinted, lifted his hat from his head and ran a hand behind his neck before climbing down.

  'You look like you're on a mission,' he said, as he sauntered toward her.

  She glanced up. 'Hell, you startled me. And yes. I've got to get stuck into the cleaning.'

  'Whoa, hang back. You can't use the stairs yet. The bottom floor is stable, but not on this side of the house.'

  'Well, I'll start on the other side. I'll get the kitchen cleaned, the office, and the dining room.'

  'Be careful, okay?'

  Zoe raised her eyebrows. 'I'm always careful.' She shot him a wide smile and headed into the house, appearing as though she was about to tackle the world. A hint of amusement spread over his face, and he grinned. She was still the same bubbly girl he'd once known, despite everything that had happened to her. Nothing seemed to dampen her spirits.

  He nailed cladding over the exposed hole, and stood back admiring his craftsmanship. He felt good and it looked good. A lick of paint, and no one would be any wiser. He loved building, loved doing things with his hands, loved the feel of the timber and the smell of the outdoors, although his mind had been crammed with thoughts of Zoe for the past few days.

  He wanted to ask her outright why she didn't speak to him the night of the fire, why she ignored him as though he wasn't there. But he wouldn't get an answer. She had no idea, so what was the use? He glanced at a canvas bag he'd brought to work with him early that morning.

  After going through some old photograph albums, he found he had two photographs of the house taken from the front, and four of her parents with Zoe taken under the fig tree. The only problem was he was also sitting with them. He didn't know how or what to say if she started asking questions. There'd been no time to find out about her condition, and now he decided to play it by ear. After all, it couldn't be too hard to talk about the past, about what was and...he took his frustrations out on his nail gun while battening down the last of the cladding.

  A high-pitched scream sent his senses into alert. He turned back, scrambled
down the scaffolding and ran indoors toward the kitchen, coming to a standstill beside the doorway. He spotted Zoe sitting on the floor holding her head and raced over to her. 'Are you okay? What happened?'

  She glanced up. Her cheeks flushed to a bright pink and she rubbed the top of her head. 'Damn ladder. I left the bucket with the hammer on top of the ladder. Naturally I forgot about the hammer being there and when I climbed down the ladder wobbled. And here I am sitting on the floor with one hell of a headache.' She winced in pain.

  Jordan glanced at the metal bucket upside down on the floor, and bent forward. 'Here, give us a look.'

  She moved her hand and his fingers parted her silky hair. 'It's not bleeding too much. Looks like a gash, but by the looks of it, you've got a good sized egg growing. Are you sure you're okay? Can you stand?'

  Zoe pushed to her feet. 'Um...yes. I'm fine, thanks.' She picked up the bucket and snatched up a cloth until dizziness did a complete pirouette through her mind. She dropped the bucket and staggered backwards.

  Jordan reached out and grabbed her arm trying to steady her. 'You're not too good. Come on, sit down for a while.' He helped ease her back to the floor.

  'I'm okay. I think I got up a little fast, that's all.'

  'Give it a few minutes.'

  She released a huff. 'This place is a pigsty.'

  'I was going to suggest getting professional cleaners to tackle such a big job. I'd save you a lot of back breaking work. That is, after the staircase is finished.'

  'How long will that take?'

  'Another week.'

  Zoe nodded. 'I might.'

  'It's too much for one person to handle.'

  'I agree. Can you recommend anyone?' She held her hand over the sore spot on her head.

  'The Whites run a cleaning company. They do a thorough job. They'd have this place sparkling within a couple of days. But I wouldn't tackle it until after the floorboards are re-sanded and sealed. All cleaning will have to wait until the floors are finished, and the upstairs area. It'd be doubling up if it was tackled now.