A Town Called Nowhere

by VK Tritschler

  ‘Well, I liked the idea that your friend offered about the rebuild. It makes sense to keep costs to a minimum, and we are going to need new residents as soon as possible. I will give my legal team a ring in a minute and see if they can secure the land for us. Hopefully, with the current state of it, we can get away with a cheeky offer on the pricing, and keep that to a minimum. I have some funds set into an investment I can pull out of tomorrow for it. We’ll go for a quick settlement and see if I can put a condition in to let us reside here in the meantime.’

  Nicci wished she had investment funds she could dip into quite as easily, so she could chip in. The only thing of value she had was still hiding in the bottom of her bag. And it didn’t even belong to her. She nibbled on her bottom lip. Maybe she should get rid of it. If there were going to be more people joining them there shortly, she couldn’t afford to have someone find it. She decided she would go find a place to bury it in the bushland. If nothing else, the surrounding scrub made it easier to hide.

  ‘Actually,’ he wiped his hands on his pants. ‘I think I’ll go grab my phone and get onto it now. Before Ashley causes havoc. God knows, she’s probably already phoned Dad for his opinion.’

  He paused mid-stride towards the house, looking across at Nicci. ‘Maybe you could get some food sorted for the day? We have still got the groceries left from yesterday, if you want to figure out what we can have for lunch and tea?’

  ‘Sure,’ she smiled at him, glad that he seemed to be calmer. ‘I can do that.’

  ‘Corey?’ Dru looked at his friend with a steely gaze. ‘You can come with me.’

  It wasn’t a question or an offer, but a demand. And they all knew it. Corey nodded and gave Nicci a smile before he loped off behind him towards the house. Nicci looked around the now vacant space. Surrounded by the trees, she could feel the soft breeze on her face, and the sweet smell of grass. In the distance birds chuckled and chirped. But the sense of space and calm felt nice. Homely. In all her years she rarely got space to herself or a quiet moment in nature. Her years had been spent with loud, aggressive spaces in mostly ugly urban spaces. This was nice. She smiled to herself. Perhaps things would be okay.

  As she went back into the house to dig up something to eat, she could hear the two men talking in the room across the hallway. Their voices were shallow, but her hearing was acute.

  ‘Yes, Ben, I want to purchase the lot. No, let’s try a low bid first, but you have to make sure you get it.’ There was a pause. ‘Yes, using the funds from my personal trust. Just sell up what you need to get it done. I think there’s a bunch of shares that you can flick off. Get the financial planner to check the portfolio and see what’s been static and get rid of those first.’ Another pause. ‘Yes, I’m sure. I’ll sign the paperwork as soon as possible if you get it sorted. Just make sure you get it in writing we can stay here before the settlement date. I want to keep the momentum going for planning. For signing, let me know where and when and I’ll be there.’

  Corey interjected. ‘I’ll drive you?’

  ‘No need.’ Another pause. ‘Actually, yeah Corey, you can drive.’

  She smiled to herself. He wasn’t ever going to trust Corey alone with her again. ‘Yeah Ben, sounds good I’ll see you then. And before you go, can you guys please do a historical check on the mining deposits in this area for me? Just a general search. Google it if you have to, but there’s got to be some kind of historical information on this area somewhere. But make sure you keep it off the radar for the sellers. Oh, and can you find out if Mervyn Victor Richardson from Victor lawn-mowers ever had a geologist or listed on his staff? Is that possible?’ There was a moment’s pause. ‘Yup okay, well just do the best you can. Thanks, Ben.’

  ‘What’s that for?’ Corey asked.

  ‘Just a hunch,’ Dru replied. ‘Yup great, thanks Ben. See you tomorrow.’

  Nicci stopped listening and grabbed some food from the bags before heading back outside to start a fire. Whatever it was that Dru was thinking, she was sure he would tell her in due course. In the meantime, her stomach was growling. After her hunting trip last night ended in failure, she was starving. She placed water in a pan they had brought from the store yesterday and placed it next to the fire, popping the bag of pasta down on the ground beside it. Propping sticks into a pile in the fire-pit, she began the careful process of lighting it whilst trying to keep the growing smoke tendrils away from her face. She wasn’t nearly as good at it as Dru, but she got a flame to burst to life after not long. Placing the tray as close as she could to the flames, she sat back on a log and stretched out her fingers to lap up the heat.

  Corey and Dru returned, joining her to sit beside the flames.

  ‘Hey,’ she acknowledged, making some room for them. Corey smiled, but took a seat further away from her than he needed to. Dru nearly sat on her lap. His leg was so close that she could feel the heat from his thigh through the thickness of her jeans.

  ‘So, I have started the process for the purchase of this place. We’ll get it under the trust which will have its own tax benefits. But in the meantime, I have asked my lawyer to check out this area for historical mining in this area.’

  ‘Why?’ Nicci asked, leaning over to poke a log with a stick and watching embers spark from it.

  ‘I have a hunch that there was another reason that Merv might have picked this place.’

  ‘What’s that?’ Corey was leaning closer to them.

  ‘I think there’s gemstones, and maybe even gold around here.’

  ‘What?’ Nicci spluttered.

  Dru smiled at her, and her heart did a little double beat. God, he was gorgeous, her brain screamed at her. There was a tiny freckle on the side of his cheek that moved when he grinned. She wanted to reach out and touch it. Shaking herself, she refocused.

  ‘Well, I vaguely recall from Dad mentioning something about mining in this area from when I was a kid. He liked to keep an eye on anything that might have value. It was never the gold boon from what I remember, and it’s not exactly the opal fields of Coober Pedy which is probably why Dad didn’t both looking into it further, but there is potentially a pocket of something that hasn’t yet been tapped into. I was thinking about how you mentioned that the old guy brought it for his wife as a vacation spot. Sure, I mean it’s plausible that he brought some land for her that had little to no value except as an escape location. But what if that was just the cover story? What better way to make sure that people didn’t come poking and prying into his mines than to give it a name that indicates no importance to anyone, and set up a bunch of holiday homes to make it seem like they were just here for fun? I mean, if I was sitting on top of a goldmine and I didn’t want anyone to know about it, I think I would come up with a plan to hide it in plain sight too. Tax free income from a mine that doesn’t officially exist? Genius. And perfect for a man who is starting a new business venture and needs to increase his cash flow quickly.’

  ‘Surely it would show up on any mining licenses or plans then would it?’ Corey was rubbing his hand across his chin.

  ‘Probably but leases expire and people forget,’ said Dru. ‘There’s probably tailings and pockets of it around the place. It’s unlikely that there would only be one dump of gemstones. Theres a riverbed that runs right through the side of this property. I’ve asked Ben if they could try to track down to see if Victors had hired a geologist to do a survey for him privately. ‘

  The discussion reminded her of the necklace laying in the bottom of her bag. She wondered what stones were in it. They looked like diamonds, but they were a soft blue colour. Maybe she should google it before she hid them? No, she scolded herself. She was just asking for trouble if she kept them lying around. The last thing she needed was for Dru to find out she was a thief. There was no way he would let her stay as part of the pack if he knew the truth. She sighed.

  #

  CHapTEr SeVenTeeN

>   Dru’s mind was buzzing with ideas and desires. Each colliding into the other and causing chaos. He could feel the heat radiating off her from beside him, the musky cologne of her current situation making him throb. Being there with her filled his head with ideas how things could be transformed and renewed. Including his heart. There was just not enough hours in the day to get everything done that he wanted to do immediately, and he hated having to wait to find out if he had been successful in his bid.

  As they munched on the pasta that Nicci had cooked, he stared into the flames to try to keep his focus. It was the vibration of his new phone that brought him out of the trance.

  ‘Dru speaking.’ It was a habit of announcing himself that he had copied from his father.

  ‘Hey Dru, it’s Ben.’ Dru’s ears sharpened. ‘That was quick.’ Dru stretched his legs out in front of him. This was going to be good news, or terrible.

  ‘It’s looking like a done deal. The land has been on the market for ages, the vendors haven’t even had a sniff at it for over twenty four months, and the agent was so keen to get it off his books he just about threw it at me. And they have agreed to let you stay on the property until settlement, but you won’t be able to start any of the large renovations until after that. Still, it’s a great outcome.’ Ben sounded like a man who had won the lottery.

  ‘That’s wonderful news, thanks, mate. How high did you go then?’

  ‘Let’s just say, when you see the figures tomorrow, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t grab this twelve months ago. It will be a nice asset to sit into the Trust as a land bank. Especially after I tell you what I also found out.’

  There was a pause, as if for dramatic effect.

  ‘Yeah, okay, so what’s the news on the mining then?’

  ‘I haven’t had time to much research yet but with a super quick search, I couldn’t find any current licenses or leases linked to that specific block, but there are definite traces of something that would show that this was not just another resort for the rich and bored. There are several licenses in adjacent farms, and I found some historical information back when the land was originally purchased and they pointed to a guy name Ray Antill. From what I have been able to find out about him, he was a renowned Geologist but there was a mention of him working for the company. He showed on an old company photo I found in an archive. That’s what prompted me to look him up.’

  ‘Great, so there’s a good chance we might have something here then. This isn’t the fifties, and I’m not going to hide any mining activities from the government without getting sprung but it could be a bonus if we find something. So can you look into how fast we could get a geologist or a surveyor onto the property after we complete the paperwork so we can see what might lay under the earth around here?’

  ‘Absolutely. I’ll line up for the day after it settles.’

  ‘Great thanks,’ Dru’s shoulders relaxed. This might be better than he had hoped. ‘And I don’t think I need to remind you, but I need to keep this information confidential for now. Just between me and you. Nobody else including my father. Okay? I’ll talk to him about it later.’

  ‘Sure thing,’ Ben agreed with the confidence of a man who didn’t expect problems. But Dru knew better.

  ‘I’m going to hold you to that.’ As he ended the call, his gaze went back to Nicci. She had been watching him the whole time, and he had felt the soft probing of her eyes.

  ‘That was Ben, my lawyer, the offer on the land has been accepted in principle.’’

  Her eyes grew wider. ‘That’s so wonderful! What about the mining?’

  She moved, and for the briefest moment he thought that she might be about to kiss him. His mouth went dry and his pulse rose, but instead she simply licked her lips and stayed in place. He shrugged, trying to bring his focus back to their conversation. ‘Hard to tell yet. We will need to get the purchase completed and then we can get someone out here to look. But it’s looking possible.’

  She swallowed hard and turned back to face the fire. Her lips pulled tight. ‘I guess you won’t really need me to stick around then. I haven’t got any spare funds to help pay for anything.’

  He reached out, feeling the heat from her hand as he took it in his own and the rush of exhilaration it gave him.

  ‘Without you, I wouldn’t have stuck around long enough to even find out about this place. It’s as much yours as it is mine. Of course you’re going to have to stick around.’

  She looked down at their joint fingers and gave his hand a small squeeze.

  ‘Shit, that’s awesome news,’ Corey’s inflection brought them both back into the reality of the situation. ‘You might be sitting on a goldmine. Literally.’

  Dru could feel the excitement building in his chest. This might be it. His chance to really make something for himself. Something that his father hadn’t contrived and paid for, or his mother hadn’t organised with her contacts ahead of time. All his life in the driver’s seat, he had doubted how much of his success was because of his skill behind the wheel and how much was because of his family connections. He had always wondered how long it would be until his speed and agility dried up and they realised that despite his family name, he, as himself, was nothing special. Not worth it. No amount of winning would let him believe that he was anything other than his father’s son. His father had told him as much his whole life.

  But here, he felt like he could do anything. Be anything. And it was the best feeling in the world.

  ‘Well, we need to make plans for this place then,’ he smiled. ‘Let’s grab some paper and a pen and start making notes team. Townships don’t just build themselves.’

  Corey chortled and stood up, shaking off some crumbs from his front. ‘Yeah boss, I’ll do that now.’

  ‘I’m not the boss,’ Dru corrected. ‘We’re a team. There are no bosses around here.’

  He nodded, giving him a small knowing grin.

  As Corey disappeared, he felt Nicci sigh.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he asked, pulling her closer and relaxing into the warmth of her body.

  ‘You say that we are a team, but we barely know each other.’ She wasn’t looking at him.Instead she fixed her eyes at the fire in front of them. ‘Dru, let’s be honest. Teamwork is fine until it isn’t. There will come a time when you will need to step up and be the leader to defend this place. Are you prepared to do that, no matter who gets hurt in the process?’

  She turned her face to stare at him, the tendrils of her thoughts seeping through into his mind. ‘Is there something you want to tell me?’

  She paled, pulling her hand away. ‘No. But I think you’re being unrealistic. Everyone knows that you need a powerful leader to make a pack, especially if it’s going to be a wealthy pack. We are part animal Dru, and there is no point ignoring that. At some stage, you’re going to have to make a decision that people might not like for the best interest of the many rather than the few. Or you’re going to find out something about someone in your pack you don’t like, and you’re going to have to make a choice about what to do about it. I just hope that you are ready for that.’

  ‘That’s bleak,’ Dru wanted to reach out and smooth her cheek, but he could sense her pulling away from him and he didn’t want her to run. That seemed to be her pattern when she was upset.

  ‘No, realistic. In my experience, the good times are great, but the bad times are what we get stuck with. And I have seen firsthand how vicious our kind can be, especially if they see weakness.’

  Dru paused and looked out past her to the flickering flames. She wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t want to tell her she was right either. Good things could happen, couldn’t they?

  ‘Let’s just focus on the good for now, and see what happens.’ He sighed, his elation at the purchase deflating. There was something she wasn’t telling him about. He could feel it. But she wasn’t prepared to open up to him ye
t. He would have to be patient.

  ‘Yeah okay.’ She got up from the chair and moved closer to the flames. ‘Let’s just see what happens.’

  He watched the silhouette of her back, and wondered how her small shoulders managed to carry the weight of her past.

  #

  CHapTEr EighTeeN

  Dru and Nicci spent the next few days carefully dancing around each other. She didn’t trust herself to not seek him out again as a mate, knowing that she couldn’t afford to risk the long term consequences of being bonded to him and then losing him, along with the first place she could see as a home. She knew the sting and burn of being discarded all too well. As much as she desired Dru, it was important that she focused on something other than the long lean feel of his muscles on top of her cooling flesh. Or the tantalising tingle that his teeth made as they nipped at the skin on her thighs. But being that close to him and not touching him was breathtakingly difficult.

  By the end of the first week the three of them had already designed the basic plans for repairs, and decided which houses were going to be demolished. So far the physical labour of pulling out dead bushes, weeding and keeping them fed and watered had kept her busy and made her tired by the end of the day. They weren’t allowed to start any major works yet, but getting ahead of the small stuff like weeding seemed to make sense. As she woke early each morning, the sunlight beaming across her face in the cool air, she remembered the significance of their idea. It might be the start of the new pack.

  Corey had invited several of his friends and their partners to join him to see the town, and see if they would be interested in helping with the rebuild. He had spent hours on his phone talking to people, his voice gentle but persuasive as he regaled them with descriptions of the beauty of the place, and placated their concerns about leadership.

  The three of them travelled back into the small township and sorted out some tents and camping supplies to make things easier. The visitors were bringing their own provisions. Luckily, with the water still turned on in the town, they could use that for cooking and bathing. And Dru had been in discussions with his lawyers and the power company about getting power reinstalled and was waiting to hear back. Things were looking good. Too good. Nicci could feel the tension resting in her shoulders, its dead weight pushing her down.