She hesitated. 'Um.'
'The money isn't going anywhere. If you need some to tide you over…'
Zoe waved a hand through the air. 'No. I'm fine. I think I'll do okay.' She pushed the papers over the desk toward him.
'Sorry for taking up your time.'
'I don't mind. It's not as though there's a line up outside.'
Zoe thanked him and left his office feeling as though she'd be sick at any moment. She knew her aunt lied about the house burning down, but to lie about her inheritance was going overboard.
She made her way down the street toward the coffee shop, the little one she and Jade had frequented a few times. She sat on the nearest available seat and dropped her handbag in her lap searching around for her sunglass before slipping them on.
The waitress arrived and she ordered a black tea. Zoe couldn't shake the deceit from her mind and was having a hard time trying to figure out why her mother's sister would ever consider doing something so dishonest.
And to think she'd worked for her aunt from sun up to sundown trying to please a woman that could never be pleased. Zoe had handed over almost all her weekly wage, asking Mr Patterson never to tell her aunt what she actually earned. The Pattersons understood. They knew what her aunt was like. She'd dearly love to see them again, but couldn't chance running into her aunt. Perhaps when things settled down and a few years had passed she'd take the drive.
***
Zoe didn't remember the drive home to Montagreen as she pulled up in front of the house. She glanced about and spotted Jordan's vehicle to her right. As she stepped from the ute, an occasional banging noise rose from inside the house.
Feeling drained, she placed her handbag on the dining room table, wandered into the kitchen and put on the kettle. She was a wealthy woman, or would be soon; something that would take time to digest. Her mind soared with the possibilities and she reined back, insisting she take one step at a time, although she desperately needed a new car. Her lips twitched before edging into a grin.
'Something has pleased you.'
She glanced up on Jordan's approach. He wore a singlet shirt and shorts with a tool belt slung low over his hips. Talk about knock her senses into orbit. She swallowed, mesmerised by the way the muscles in his legs were accentuated with each step he took. Even his tanned arms displayed muscle after muscle. She steadied her breathing. He was a hard worker. He hadn't stopped since the day he'd started at Montagreen.
'Sort of.'
He stood on the opposite side of the island bench.
'You want a tea or coffee?'
'Coffee would be good.'
She turned and prepared the coffee.
'So what's brought that smile to your lips?'
'My parents have a will.'
'Was it all good?'
She turned and placed his coffee on the island. 'Yes, all good except for my name and the misplaced newer version.'
'Misplaced?'
'Yeah. Exactly what I thought. I suspect it will be found soon. Mr Stanford says it's all mine.'
'I'm pleased for you Zoe, but what has your name got to do with it?'
'Thanks. Um. I have to have some form of identification to make my inheritance legal. My aunt called me Jennifer Bailey. I grew up with that name.'
'Hell. She had it planned by the sounds of things. No wonder no one could find you.'
'The Pattersons, the people I worked for, knew me as Jennifer Bailey as well.'
'And you kept your real name a secret?'
'I didn't know my real name. It was lost along with my memory, although my bracelet said Zoe Montgomery. I thought the bracelet belonged to someone else, thought my aunt gave it to me. She was like that. Giving away things that didn't belong to her. I think it made her feel good.' Zoe shook her head.
'I overheard my aunt and William talking about the property, Montagreen. They mentioned the Montgomery's several times. William said the people of Munna didn't suspect a thing after all this time. They said my real name, something about I'll never know. It was the same name as the one on my bracelet. That's when I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what.
'I asked Mr Patterson, the man who owned the property next door, had he heard the name Zoe Montgomery, but he couldn't recall it. I kept my suspicions to myself until I saved enough money to get away.'
'Hell. What a story. So you went with the name Jennifer.'
'I had no choice. I thought that was my name. Even when I grew older, I didn't know how to get away from them. I was scared to death, so I did what I had to do to survive, avoiding trouble. You have to remember they were the only people I knew, besides the Pattersons. I couldn't just take off. I had no other family.
'I kept to myself. I was quiet and didn't ask too many questions. After the night I overheard them, I started getting flashes of a life that didn't make much sense.' She pushed hair from her eyes.
Jordan shook his head with scepticism.
'After putting the facts together, I understand now why she changed my name.'
Jordan studied her, rubbed his chin. 'Do you have a licence?'
Zoe stared at him, nodded. 'Not in my real name. Mr Patterson taught me to drive, and I went to a small town close to the property. It doesn't take much to get a licence in the bush, as you know.'
'Yeah. That's for sure. I was asked to drive up and down the street and that was it.' Jordan chuckled, as though recalling the time. There could be a birth certificate or something in the filing cabinet. It's a heavy steel cabinet, fireproof as well. Your father was smart to have kept it.'
'I'll take a look later.'
Jordan's gaze steadied over her. 'You've got so much to look forward to Zoe.'
She looked down, taking a breath before looking up again.
'Hey. You seemed happy when you first walked in. Is something else bothering you?'
Lines furrowed across her forehead. 'How can you tell?'
'Your mannerisms.' His right brow arched.
She picked up her coffee, made her way around to the table, and sat. Jordan pulled out the chair beside her for himself, but kept a little space between them.
'It's the circumstances surrounding the fire, that's all. I've learned a few facts, but something doesn't sit right. A niggle is telling me something is wrong about my aunt visiting my mother, but I can't pinpoint it. She also turned up to see the solicitor six months after the fire. Now that is weird. It was like she was expecting to get some cash.'
'Sisters do visit each other.'
'If only I could remember, then I'd have a better understanding.'
'I can't recall a sister. But perhaps she visited when I wasn't round.'
Zoe picked up her coffee and took a sip, before crossing her arms and rubbing at her forearms.
'You look mighty washed out.'
She managed a half grin. 'I thought when I came back my memory would return and things would settle down. There are still so many unanswered questions.'
'I can help you find those answers.'
He placed his cup on the table and edged closer.
She wanted to snuggle in his arms, get to know what the feeling would be like again, and again. After last night, it rocked her into orbit, and now she was experiencing withdrawals. She hadn't forgotten the way his touch sparked her insides with desire, a longing that had curled up and sat in waiting for the next rush.
As she turned toward him, his lips were there for the taking and she inched sideways into the path of his magnetism. His hands slipped to her waist, and she eagerly accepted his guidance as he edged closer, and deeper into the kiss. Her hands slipped around his neck tugging at him with anticipation; with such longing, she thought her insides would combust.
Drawing back with a gasp, she smiled and he responded by sending her a pleasurable grin that lit her insides.
'It's good to have you close to me. I've been lost without you. It was like my best friend had abandoned me.'
'Well I'm back now. But I have to find out more.
Find out what really went wrong that night. It's driving me nuts.'
He dropped his hands, and moved back a little. 'One step at a time.'
'I want to take three, six, ten and more. I need to know now.'
'Fire away.'
'Did my parents like you?'
'Sort of. Your father gave me a talking the afternoon before the fire. He wanted me to ease off a little and said you were too young.'
'So what did you do?'
'I came to see you that night like most nights. I'd toss a few stones on your window to let you know I was here. That night I arrived the house was in flames.'
'You saw the fire?' Her heartbeat pounded in her chest.
'I saw the other end of the house on fire and I took off home. Mum rang the fire brigade, and I returned on my bike.'
Zoe pushed her hair behind her ears. 'Where was I?' She spotted the torment, and waves of despair that seemed to be tearing him apart.
'I saw you briefly. You ran from the trellis to the other end of the house. But there was a car. A black sedan was parked in the shadows.'
Zoe shivered, squinted in question. 'Who was it?'
'I didn't see anyone, only a shadow.'
'What? Waiting for me?'
'I don't know. I heard you scream and then they dragged you off to the car. I started to run up to you, but the car sped off and you were gone. It didn't have number plates, well, not that I could see. The fire brigade arrived minutes later.'
Zoe cupped her mouth with her hand. 'So someone, which would have been my aunt or William, her partner, or both of them, dragged me off into the night.'
'Well someone did. I didn't know who it was.'
'And then I was listed as missing.'
'Yeah. It took the town a long time to get over that night. Search parties went out day and night for months. Men, women and children joined in. No one knew what happened to you. You were tagged as the little girl lost. Everyone from then on referred to you as little girl lost.'
Zoe's bottom lip quivered, her throat tightened. Little girl lost - she certainly had been lost for years. She tried to recall the night but it remained a blur.
'I don't recall it at all. It's all gone.'
He reached out and took her hands, brought them to his lips, kissed them in turn and looked up at her. 'Don't push it. It wasn't you who did anything wrong.'
'Thank god for that.'
'Everything has come as a shock. It will take time for things to settle down, time for us to find a way over and through all the roadblocks we have ahead.'
'I'm so sorry this has happened to you.'
'You're sorry. Zoe. You shouldn't be saying sorry. It's me.'
'You were a kid Jordan. What could you have done?'
'I could have done more. I could have gone after you. I told the cops what I saw but it wasn't much to go by as I didn't get the plates.'
'It's not your fault. I don't think saying a black sedan took me away would be much to go on, especially without plates. Besides, you said you didn't know who it was.'
He lifted his cup from the table, took a few gulps. 'I had no idea.'
'Dan told me my aunt visited my mother three days before the fire. They were spotted at the coffee shop here in town. Don't you think that's a little odd?'
'Yeah. I do. But what can we do about it?'
'I'll keep asking questions.'
Jordan glanced up. 'You were always a strong one Zoe. Always.' He grinned with admiration in his eyes.
'So did your friends get away okay this morning?'
'Yeah. It'll be great when they move back for good after the baby is born.'
'Luke seems to love them.'
'He does. Their Luke's godparents. We're all pretty close.'
***
Zoe spent a few days setting up house and upon finishing, she walked to the end of the lounge room to a closed door. She realised she needed to find out if her parents had her birth certificate, or a legal piece of paper that would prove she was Zoe Montgomery. Jordan had mentioned he'd done the office up, and all the paperwork that remained in the house, along with what he could salvage, was locked in a cabinet.
She stared at the bunch of keys in her hand and wondered if any of them was the right fit. She reached out and turned the gold doorknob, and allowed the door to swing open.
Jordan had everything orderly as he'd said. She crossed the small room, opened a window and turned, her gaze fleeting over the room. A desk, an office chair made of some type of leather, and a steel cabinet were the only items in the room.
She walked up to the cabinet, and started with the smaller keys first and upon the fifth key, the lock turned. Dropping the keys on the desk, she held her breath.
As she flicked through the files, tears dropped to her cheeks. Photographs, old diaries, notebooks, and much more were waiting for her return. A pleasant connection inside rose and a closeness she hadn't felt edged to her heart. Her parents’ life was in this box.
Eager to find out more she grabbed a handful of note pads, folders and a few books and placed them on the table, before sitting down and opening a page of one of the notebooks. And there it was in front of her. She picked up the piece of paper; her birth certificate. She drew it closer, staring at her name for some time.
Most of the material in the folders was about the running of the property, and she couldn't find out any more about her aunt. There were a few birthday cards, which she read, and sentiment overcame her. A deep thump in the side of her forehead forced her to her feet. She grabbed her birth certificate, and gazed about the room. Letting out a sigh, she walked from the room with intentions of returning another day, a day when she felt stronger.
Chapter Eleven
Zoe woke in beads of perspiration. She bolted upright in bed. Moonlight tripped through the lace curtains fanning over the walls. She stilled. Her muscles tensed and she flicked her gaze about the room as her mind remained in the dream.
Her mother's voice. 'Zoe fire. Wake up. Zoe wake up.' Tears fell to her cheeks, saturating her silk nightie. 'Zoe are you awake? Get out. Fire. Zoe...'
She ran to the door. 'Mum. Open the door.' Zoe reached for the doorknob, but jerked her hand back when the heat from the metal warned what may lie on the opposite side. 'Where are you, Mum?'
'In our room. We can't get through our door. Get out through your window and down the trellis. Go now before it's too late. Now Zoe. Go.'
Panic latched over her heart as Zoe ran to the window and heaved it upwards before scrambling onto the rooftop. She shimmied her way over to the trellis, having done this many times before when she'd sneak out to meet Jordan. Now, everything seemed difficult. Where was her coordination? She couldn't concentrate.
A sudden boom shook the house, sounding like the crash of timber. Smoke filled the atmosphere.
When she glanced downwards into the front yard, a dark image ran across the front lawn. 'Jordan.' It came out as a whisper. She could scarcely breathe, let alone call out. She scrambled down the trellis, slipped a few times until her feet hit the ground.
By the time she ran to where she'd spotted Jordan, he'd vanished.
She raced across the width of the house and bolted to a stop. Orange flames leapt from her parents’ bedroom window, and attacked the surrounding timber.
'Mum, Dad. Please get out. Are you out? Where are you?' Zoe ran around to the back of the house, and returned, repeated. 'Mum. Dad. Where are you? Are you there? Mum. Dad.' She let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Zoe didn't hear her mother's voice again.
The destruction of timber under the attack of red, hot flames was the only sound filling the atmosphere. Tears ran down her heat-scorched cheeks, as she glared with disbelief while shock slowly set in.
A hand latched over her arm, and she pulled back, trying to release the hold as she was dragged, kicking and screaming, into a nearby car.
Her mother had saved her life that night. She'd called out in warning. Zoe sobbed for some time allowing the mem
ories to filter back into her mind, allowing every piece to slot where they once belonged. Her body trembled in the after effects of the dream and she swung her legs from the bed, and made her way into the kitchen to put on the kettle.
Her legs turned to jelly and she sat on the nearest chair trying to settle her raging nerves. Images continued to flash through her mind, images of her parents, of Jordan, of going to school. With a heavy chest, she remained seated for some time, while her body vibrated under the attack of heart-wrenching sorrow.
Although her father liked Jordan, he wanted him to stay away for a while, saying she was too young to see boys, that she was a child. Jordan had begged him, asked for his permission. Her father flatly refused.
Was Jordan responsible for her father's death, for her mother's death? Chills skittered over her skin.
Zoe opened her mouth, trying to suck in oxygen, trying to release the pressure over her chest. She wandered into the lounge room, pulled up a beanbag, the only furniture in the room, and dropped onto it.
After sipping on her coffee, she glanced about in a state of numbed shock. She sniffled, and tried to stop the overflow of tears from her eyes. Shock bombarded her senses, causing an ache to spear across her forehead. She gave it a rub.
Her memory had returned like a motion picture, vivid, full of colour, laughter, sunshine, picnics, family and friends. It was as though the pathway of nerves in her mind was re-joining. Her body continued to vibrate and she sniffled, and wiped her nose with the back of her hand while trying to calm her nervous system.
***
Everything Jordan had told her about her family was true; everything about them being more than friends was spot on. The embers that sat dormant in her heart for years were alight. She had secretly been infatuated with him for years. She had so much admiration for him in those early years she had a feeling one day they would be married with a bunch of kids. She smiled in thought. To this day, she loved him. He was her Jordan. She couldn't wait to see him again, to tell him of her news.
Pulling up in front of the police station, she stepped from her ute, and headed indoors to find the sergeant. After her initial inquiry, she found out he wasn't due back for another three days. Her original zest had dampened, and she wandered down the street and took a seat at the coffee shop before ordering a coffee. She found her sunglasses, and dropped them over her eyes. They were red from crying the previous night and with little sleep, she didn't want people suspecting something was wrong. She picked up a nearby paper and flicked through the pages, but found nothing of interest.
Outback Flames: Australian Rural Romantic Suspense Page 10
