Outback Flames: Australian Rural Romantic Suspense

by Brandyn, Suzanne

  She tightened her arms around her waist, as though trying to hold her emotions intact. The edge in his voice, his plea, hinged with such conviction he seemed to be telling the truth. When the sergeant told her about his conviction, she wasn't sure if she'd believed him or not. She'd known Jordan as a child, knew him now, and he wasn't the type of person to be an arsonist, let alone a murderer. The Jordan she knew wouldn't ever contemplate of doing something so horrific.

  'You have to believe me. Please?' He reached out, moved a lock of hair from her eyes. 'I wouldn't purposely hurt you or your family. They were like a second family to me. Do you remember? I loved them as well, Zoe. Do you hear me? Loved them as well.'

  His voice, loaded with desperation, while his eyes deepened to the colour of midnight. Had she overreacted? But wouldn't anyone think and react in a similar manner, especially one so intense, so close to the heart, and especially being told of his conviction by a police officer?

  'When...when I found out, it was such a shock. I wanted to believe the sergeant, wanted to hold someone responsible and put an end to this nightmare. At the same time, I didn't want it to be you. I'm sorry.' She sniffled, and fought back tears.

  'I can well understand, but I'm no arsonist. I intend to find out who is, if it's the last thing I do.' He ran a hand through his hair. 'I'll prove to you it wasn't me.'

  'The sergeant said a Molotov cocktail bomb, petrol bomb, may have caused the fire, along with a few other ideas.'

  'They're easy to make. I didn't want to say anything but now I have to. I have a suspicion that your aunt might have been involved.'

  Zoe straightened in her chair, raised her eyebrows. 'I do too. But how do we prove it?'

  He reached over, rested his hand on her arm and moved closer. 'I'm so relieved. I thought I'd lost you all over again.'

  'For a moment I thought I'd lost you too Jordan. I couldn't face it. I couldn't.'

  'I am telling the truth. I'll prove it to you one day. I'll prove to you that it wasn't me.'

  'There's no need. I believe you. You always carried matches, and always hung around the house.'

  'I'll see what I can find out. How about we start with Sergeant McPherson tomorrow? We can see him together. Did he tell you that he has never believed I was guilty, that he believes I'm innocent?'

  'No. I don't think I gave him a chance. I took off in a bit of a rush. I'd like it if we saw him together.'

  Zoe reached out to him with both hands and wiggled closer only to slip her arms around his waist. Jordan wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulled her closer.

  'We'll get this sorted out once and for all. Before you arrived, I had no idea who the culprit could possibly be, or where to start looking. It does point to your aunt, but we have to be careful. She may not be responsible.'

  She glanced up into the sincerity of his eyes knowing and understanding that he didn't hold a mean bone in his body. He wouldn't harm anyone. That was evident in his mannerisms, in the way he cared for his son, and for his family. She released a pent up breath as his lips moved toward hers.

  ***

  Jordan returned at ten the following morning. Zoe was waiting on the front veranda, and gave him a wave before taking the steps toward his car.

  He reached over and opened the passenger door.

  'Thanks,' she said as she climbed in, leaning toward him to exchange a kiss.

  She wiggled back, and clipped on her seatbelt. 'How'd you go this morning with Luke? Did he ask where you'd been?'

  'No. Mum told him I had some work to do and I was swamped and too tired to drive out to pick him up. He's pretty content to stay with Mum and Dad. He gets spoilt.' Jordan chuckled.

  Zoe crossed one jean-clad leg over the other and glanced at the scenery as they headed into town.

  'It must have been hard for you Jordan...I mean when they thought it was you who set the house on fire.'

  'Harder than hard. I couldn't believe it. As I said Sergeant McPherson believed me, but he was only a constable at the time. It was the other sergeant in charge, a Sergeant Banner. Greg Banner. I'll never forget his name. He had it in for me the second he knew I was at the scene of the fire that night. He was more ego driven than the rest of them. He didn't blink and automatically assumed I was the arsonist. He made up all sorts of evidence. Even when the city detectives arrived up here for the case, Banner fed them false information and false evidence. The 'D's' were convinced. '

  'I'm so sorry. How long did you spend in prison?

  'I went to juvenile detention for three years until I was eighteen. After that it was three years doing hard time. It was tough. I barely got through. If it wasn't for Mum and Dad, and Jade well, I don't know where I would have ended up.'

  Zoe shook her head, and tears filled her eyes. She blinked them away.

  'I had no idea. I'm sorry.'

  'It's in the past now. I was on parole for five years. Thank God that ended when I was twenty-six. The thing is we both did it tough. Your sentence was far longer than mine.' He forced a grin to his lips.

  'It wasn't too bad after I turned eighteen. My aunt laid off a bit and her partner didn't spend much time at the house. If it wasn't for the family next door life would have been pretty empty. They were kind.'

  'I'm pleased to hear that.' He shot her a wink, and her heart skipped a beat.

  'Did the police ask you about me? Wonder where I went?'

  Jordan chuckled. 'Did they ever? They thought someone else was with me, an accomplice. They asked me what I had done with you. Imagine that? Here I was in love with a girl and they were saying I did away with you.' He shook his head. 'The entire case was warped.'

  Zoe slipped a hand to her stomach. 'When I got my memory back I never imagined anything like that happening. We have to clear your name.'

  'Your belief in me is good for now Zoe. If your aunt had anything to do with torching the house we'll find out somehow.'

  'I'm praying we'll find out. I need to put it behind me, us, so we get on with our life.'

  'I agree.'

  Jordan reversed into the kerb, and jammed on the handbrake. He turned off the ignition and they walked into the police station.

  A bell tinkled, and Zoe glanced over to where Jordan had given the silver bell sitting on the reception desk a ring. A few moments later and a voice caught their attention.

  'Jordan. Zoe. I've been expecting you. Come in.'

  Sergeant McPherson stood at the end of the hallway and Zoe approached him.

  'Hey Jordan. How's things going?'

  'Andy. Good thanks and you?'

  The men exchanged a solid handshake and Zoe was surprised by the admiration in the sergeant's eyes.

  'Zoe.'

  She shook his hand. 'Hello Sergeant.'

  'Andy, remember.' He smiled. 'Come on in, through here.'

  They followed him into his office, and sat down in front of his desk. He took a seat opposite them.

  'I've been going over some of the files on the case.' He directed his attention to Jordan. 'I was a probationary constable at the time, therefore I had to follow orders from Sergeant Banner. I didn't necessarily believe in everything that went down. You know how it goes. I didn't believe for a start that you were guilty. But as I said I was a young fella. Carrying a box of matches, and being at the scene of the crime, especially when you were practically family didn't add up.'

  'Thanks, Andy. What we want to know is anything surrounding Zoe's aunt. She was in town three days before the fire. She met up with Zoe's mother.'

  'Not much we can add to that. They had coffee here in town. The aunt left in a huff and that's all we know.'

  Zoe shook her head. 'Did she really leave? I have a feeling she's been hiding something for the last fifteen years. She's so vindictive. Something has set that in place. The fact is she was at the house the night of the fire. That woman dragged me away from everything I had ever known.'

  'So it was your aunt? Was she responsible?'

  Zoe reluctantly nodded.


  'You were under fifteen, a minor. We have to go after her.'

  'Oh God no. I don't want her to know where I am. There's no telling what she or her partner will do.'

  'We can say we have found you, that you're safe. She doesn't have to find out where you're living.'

  'Zoe's been through a nightmare Andy. She's lived like a slave with this woman for years.'

  'I think I'll head to Tamworth and see her myself. I'll tell her I'm from Tamworth Station, and take a few of the local guys with me.'

  'I'm not making a statement at this time. I'm sorry. I can't.'

  'As I said, if there is evidence we can charge her without a statement from you. You were thirteen years old at the time of the incident.'

  Zoe's insides hiked up as her nerves set on a slow rotation.

  'We need evidence, although you've stated it was your aunt.'

  All the blood in Zoe's body slowed. 'I...'

  Jordan took her hand, gave her a reassuring look. 'It's the right thing to do. She may be responsible for burning your house, and the death of your family.'

  'We'll see what I can come up with.' The sergeant directed his attention to Jordan. 'It'd be good to know for sure, won't it Jordan? I had a hard time believing they convicted you on such little evidence. It wouldn't stick now.'

  'Yeah. I'd be nice to clear my name. Get the truth out there.'

  'You could always appeal.'

  'We've discussed that. I'm not putting my family through something like that again.'

  'I understand.'

  Zoe released a strangled breath.

  'It's only early. I'll take a drive to Tamworth later on today. I'll stay overnight,' the sergeant announced.

  'Thank you.'

  Zoe gave the sergeant her aunt's address.

  'That far out. Hell...it's out in the sticks.' He chuckled. 'And I thought Munna was.'

  'It's pretty secluded.'

  The sergeant shook his head. 'I'll give you a ring as soon as I find out any information.'

  'Thank you. I'd appreciate that.'

  'Thanks Andy.'

  They shook hands with Andy before they left. Jordan opened the front door and Zoe stepped out into the hot afternoon sun. She was pleased with their visit and something kicked up her insides. To find out who was responsible would settle the upheaval of her past, although she wondered if it would be a mere Band-Aid. She was hoping the days spent with her aunt would gradually fade, be a distant memory, locked away for good.

  To have someone responsible and convicted would free Jordan of the terrible accusations he had to face each day, would also be a blessing. She couldn't bear to think what he'd gone through during his time in incarceration.

  Jordan slipped his arm around Zoe's, and she grinned while they walked toward his vehicle. He opened the car door, and she climbed in. When he settled behind the steering wheel Zoe said, 'I feel a little better now that something is being done. Who knows, it may lead to a dead end, but at least it's something, a start.'

  'Me too. It's a good feeling knowing Andy is on my side. He told me before I was sentenced that he knew I wasn't responsible.'

  'Every other resident in Munna is also on your side.'

  'Almost. There are a few that still charge across the other side of the street when they see me coming. Some of the towns folk are full of disbelief and only believe what they want. They don't take to forgiving easy.'

  'What's there to forgive? You aren't responsible.'

  'They think I'm this big monster that will terrify them and their children.'

  Zoe laughed. 'I hardly think so. You have Luke and what I've seen and know you're a good man, and a good father.'

  Jordan looked at her. 'Thanks.'

  'I haven't seen Jade for a while.'

  'Tony's back in town for a few days.'

  'It must get lonely for her. It's like she's raising the children alone.'

  'It does. Tony is in the process of buying the local hardware. He already owns half, and well he wants to give up the shearing. They'd do okay out of it.'

  'That's good to hear. It'll make Jade happy.'

  'Yeah. It'll also give Tony more time with the kids. Jade did help out in the shop a few days a week, and she's been hinting that she wants to go back, do more.'

  'That's understandable.'

  'She says she's cooped up at home too much.'

  Zoe smiled.

  Leaving the town behind, Zoe noticed thirsty paddocks aching for a little nourishment, even the grass on the sides of the road had died.

  'I wondered why Mum and Dad called the property Montagreen. I can't recall if it was green, brown or any colour really. I visualised so much greenery.'

  'That's because it was. Your mother loved gardening. The dams were full and the tanks never ran dry. It rained often. I can't remember a drought as bad as this one. Do you remember the white roses she had at the front of the house?'

  Zoe shook her head indicating no.

  'They were her pride and joy, along with you naturally. It'll rain soon. Give it some time. It's a cycle. Everything goes in cycles.'

  Zoe glanced at his face. Perspiration dripped from his temples, and the heat in the cabin of his vehicle increased.

  'Do you want the air on?'

  'Yes thanks. It's so hot. I need a cool shower.'

  'Why not go down to the swimming hole? You remember the spring fed dam, don't you? It's got at least six feet of water, enough for a quick dip.'

  Zoe shuddered. 'Um. I don't have a costume.'

  'You have underwear don't you? It's the same thing. It'd do you good. Be refreshing. I have a few hours before I have to pick up Luke, and what work I have can wait.'

  'Okay. I haven't been swimming since...um well a long time ago.'

  'When we were kids?' He shot her a searching glance. 'You could outdo most of the fellas.'

  Zoe laughed. 'It wasn't on purpose.'

  'Let's see how good you are these days. The ropes are still there.'

  'You're on.' She smiled. Her heart overflowed with warmth. She loved the comfortable feeling she got while with Jordan, loved everything about him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ten minutes after Jordan passed his parents property he turned off the main road.

  Zoe bumped up and down as his vehicle hit rocks, and dipped into tyre swallowing ditches. She grabbed the door handle. 'I don't recall it being so rough.'

  'It's always been like this. When you're a kid you don't tend to notice these things.'

  They pulled up under a few gum trees, and Zoe's eagerness grew. God she hadn't been down this way since she was a young girl. After scrambling from his car, she walked the few paces to the edge of the cliff and hesitated.

  Although the water was murky she'd bet it was cool and refreshing. Even the edges of the cliff held a tinge of green, and the surrounding shrubs seemed to be battling well against the drought.

  'It's amazing what an underground stream can do.'

  'It's a little different, but nice.'

  'You're not going to chicken out, are you?'

  'No chance in that.' She grinned.

  'Come on.' He reached out, took her hand and she felt she was home. Her heart welled with emotion as they climbed down the embankment. She broke from Jordan's hold, and looked about for a shrub and headed toward the closest thickest clump of bush.

  'I've seen it all before Zoe.'

  She slammed to a standstill and turned back. She'd forgotten about her scars. Although Jordan had seen them on more than one occasion, she decided to leave her jeans on, so her left thigh and buttocks would be covered.

  Zoe stripped off her top, and when she walked out from behind the bush Jordan glanced over.

  'You forgot your jeans.'

  'They're staying on.' She hugged her arms around her chest, trying to cover her exposed black lacy bra.

  He took off his shirt, and continued to undress, slipping his jeans from his legs revealing nothing but muscles from his shoulders do
wn his back, and his legs.

  Zoe knew she'd never tire of looking at him. He straightened, turned toward her.

  'You want to take the rope first or run in from here?'

  Thinking of the jump, adrenaline rushed through her. 'The rope.'

  He shot her a mischievous grin. 'I'll test it out first.'

  Jordan closed the space between them, kissed her lightly on the cheek and took off. He climbed the tree. When he reached the rope that swung out over the dam, he gave it a few hard tugs, testing to see if it supported his weight. 'It's still as good as new. I replaced it about six months ago. The local kids come out here on the weekends.'

  Perspiration dripped from her temples, and she stepped into the shade contemplating the excitement of hitting the cool water. Unable to wait any longer she headed toward the tree and started to climb. Half way up Jordan yelled out.

  'Tarzan.'

  She laughed and watched as he hit the water. Excitement coursed through her and she scurried the rest of the way.

  'It's refreshing.'

  Zoe grabbed the rope and peered downward. 'Here I go,' she yelled and swung out, but for some reason she didn't let go of the rope.

  'Are you okay?'

  'Yeah. I'm....' The rope swung back toward the tree, and when it glided out again over the dam, she released her grip, dropping the few metres into the murky water.

  Coming up for air, she turned in all directions looking for Jordan but she couldn't spot him. She glanced up to the tree the moment he was about to grab hold of the rope. She shivered against the abrupt change in temperature, but felt revitalized.

  When she walked from the water, she climbed the tree for a second time.

  'You surprise me Zoe. Again?'

  'Yup. Again. I want to do it right this time round.' She scrambled to the top at express speed. As soon as the rope returned from Jordan's jump, she grabbed hold of it and swung out to drop down and land metres from him.

  She laughed, and Jordan followed. 'I didn't think you still had it in you.'

  'Well, you thought wrong.' She shivered. As she started to walk from the water, Jordan reached out and grabbed her hand, gave it a tug. She turned toward him.

  Water droplets ran over his body and she wanted her fingers to be those droplets, exploring, touching... His hand snagged her around the waist and he coaxed her closer. Goosebumps worked over her flesh, and she wasn't sure if it was from standing in wet jeans, or if his touch was responsible. His chest, solid, muscular and uncompromising, filled her vision and as her gaze trailed up toward his eyes, their lips connected in a slow passionate kiss. She fell against his hard body, while his hands explored her back, her shoulders, and her neck.