Outback Ghost

by Rachael Johns

  ‘Oh, you didn’t have to get us anything,’ Stella found herself rattling off the obligatory line while peering down the hallway trying to get a glimpse into the kitchen. Then, she glanced down at the two wrapped boxes in her arms and realised how ridiculous she sounded. ‘But thank you,’ she added quickly.

  Esther gave her an odd smile and then took hold of Heidi’s hand and led her into the lounge room. Stella fought the urge to go and see Adam, following their host and her daughter instead.

  ‘Wow. This is beautiful,’ she admired as she stepped into the room and took in their surroundings. She’d meant to come and look at the Christmas tree Heidi had helped decorate but somehow hadn’t gotten around to it yet. The place was decorated like the festive department at the big Myer in the city. The grand tree stood in one corner, presents spilling out from beneath its plastic trunk, its branches drooping from the weight of hundreds of decorations. Different coloured strands of tinsel were strung across the ceiling and a wooden nativity sat on one of the coffee tables.

  ‘Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without Heidi.’ Esther beamed at the little girl and Heidi attempted a smile but Stella could tell that it wasn’t as fully fledged as her smiles usually were. Her heart ached with the knowledge. This room should be a fantasy for her daughter, yet the anxiety she was carrying around inside her little head meant she couldn’t completely enjoy it.

  ‘Hello ladies.’

  The sound of Adam coming into the room behind them distracted Stella. As she turned her head, her stomach clenched and her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. He looked edible whatever he wore but she’d mostly seen him in work clothes or nothing at all. Today, he’d scrubbed up and wore navy trousers, black shoes instead of boots and an icy-blue shirt, rolled up at the sleeves. A few dark chest hairs peeped out where he hadn’t done up the top couple of buttons.

  ‘Adam.’ Heidi ran into his arms and as he lifted her, Stella took a moment to collect her hormones from the puddle they’d formed on the floor.

  ‘Hello,’ she said, smiling at him.

  He smiled back over the top of Heidi’s head. ‘Merry Christmas, Stella.’

  ‘Yes. And a Merry Christmas to you too.’

  When Esther cleared her throat, Stella realised they’d maintained each other’s gaze a little bit to long. She didn’t want Esther getting any ideas about Adam and her becoming an item.

  ‘Come, sit,’ Esther said, pointing to the two matching brown leather sofas. ‘Adam, do you want to play Santa?’

  ‘Sure.’ He put Heidi down on one of the couches and then walked over to the Christmas tree. Stella sat beside her daughter, putting the presents they’d bought for Adam and Esther between them. Esther sat on the other sofa, smiling in anticipation.

  ‘I think this one must be for you, Heidi.’ Adam lifted a large box with pink and purple Christmas wrapping and shook it slightly against his ear before placing it on her lap.

  Heidi looked to Stella.

  ‘Go ahead, open it,’ she encouraged.

  Beneath the paper Heidi found the most beautiful bone china tea set that looked far too delicate for her sometimes clumsy hands. Still, the look on her face said she wasn’t thinking of such practicalities as she was too busy falling in love with it. She had a plastic tea set that Stella had bought for ten dollars from Kmart but it wasn’t in the same league as this one, which looked as if it was a family heirloom, passed down from generations.

  ‘I once knew a little girl about your age,’ Esther said, with a nostalgic smile. ‘She mostly liked boy’s toys but she loved to play tea parties. I hope you like it.’

  ‘Love it.’ Heidi passed the box to her mum and rushed to give Esther one of her massive hugs.

  ‘Maybe we can play after lunch,’ Esther suggested.

  ‘Deal.’ Heidi thrust out her little hand to seal it and everybody laughed.

  Stella found herself relaxing as they unwrapped the rest of the presents. She gave Esther a gardening book and Adam a leather wallet and, in turn, received a shawl that smelt a little musty from Esther and a voucher for a boutique in Geraldton from Adam. But when they were finished, there was still quite a pile of presents beneath the tree. Just as she was about to ask whom they were for, Adam met her gaze and shook his head.

  As promised, not long after the gifts were all unwrapped, Esther ushered them into the dining room. The table was big enough to seat at least ten but thankfully Esther had arranged the place settings so they were all sitting at one end.

  ‘Can I help with anything?’ Stella asked.

  ‘No, you two sit down.’ Esther pulled back a chair for Heidi. ‘Adam and I have everything under control.’

  Adam winked at her as he followed his mum out of the room. Stella, her body heating from the effect of that tiny gesture, sat beside Heidi and squeezed her hand. ‘This is fun, isn’t it?’

  Heidi nodded, but despite the excitement of the tea set the light had left her eyes yet again. Stella sighed and glanced at her watch. So much for the special Christmas she’d wanted to give her daughter.

  Adam came back into the room carrying a silver platter with what looked like a burnt shoe on top. Stella peered at it, screwing up her nose without thinking. He chuckled as he laid whatever it was on the table, then leaned towards her and whispered, ‘Unfortunately I didn’t manage to save it. The veggies might just be edible, although the carrots are somewhat waterlogged.’

  Stella tried to hold back a giggle as Esther arrived, a baking dish in each hand. ‘I hope you’re hungry.’

  Adam raised an eyebrow and then gestured towards the kitchen. ‘I’ll go get the gravy.’ As he disappeared, Stella swore she heard a burst of laughter and had to bite down on one of her own.

  ‘This looks delicious,’ she lied as Esther laid two dishes down on the table. One vaguely resembled the roast potatoes they used to serve on school camp and the other… Well, she guessed they were the carrots Adam referred to.

  ‘Thank you.’ Esther sat down. ‘We’ll let Adam carve the beast.’

  He returned a moment later and did as his mother asked. Stella tried not to drool as his forearms flexed and bunched while he attempted to massacre the roast. It looked like a chainsaw would be hard-pushed to cut through. Eventually, Adam conquered the battle and served them each a few slivers of meat. Thankfully not large slivers.

  ‘Help yourself to the veggies,’ Esther said, gesturing to the two dishes.

  ‘Thanks.’ Stella leaned forward and dished out a few rock-hard spuds and some waterlogged carrots and peas and corn onto Heidi’s and her own plate. Then she poured a liberal amount of gravy on top. It looked the most edible thing of the lot.

  ‘Can I get you a drink? Wine? Beer? Juice?’ Adam asked, still standing.

  ‘Juice, please.’ Heidi’s eyes twinkled. Stella rarely let her drink juice but if that’s what it took to lift her mood, she could drink a gallon. It was Christmas after all.

  ‘A white wine would be lovely.’ Stella smiled up at Adam, deciding that she might need a few glasses to help her swallow her lunch.

  ‘Great.’ Adam looked to Esther. ‘Mum?’

  ‘I’ll have a wine too, thanks darling.’

  Adam left and came back a few moments later with the drinks on a tray. ‘I say we need a toast,’ he said as he handed them out.

  Stella blinked. Apart from great sex, she couldn’t think of much to toast right now.

  ‘To new friends.’ He lifted his glass and both Stella and Esther joined the toast.

  ‘To new friends,’ they echoed and then Stella took a long sip before attempting to eat her lunch. Each mouthful felt as if she were swallowing dirt. Esther appeared to have no idea how dire her food was and chatted to Heidi about her new Christmas presents while they ate. Heidi, gorgeous and eager to please, almost cleared her plate – a miracle considering she barely ate anything Stella offered her. Stella watched her, feeling so proud and more determined than ever to help her with the Lily-Blue issue.

&n
bsp; Lost in her thoughts, she startled as something nudged her feet under the table. She looked over to Adam who sat at the head, with her on one side of the table and Esther and Heidi next to each other on the other. The grin he gave her told her he was the culprit and she gave him a stern look as he leaned towards her.

  ‘You okay?’ he whispered, his voice sexily low but full of concern.

  She nodded.

  He glanced down at his near empty plate and then pushed back his seat. ‘Mum, since you cooked this delicious lunch, Stella and I will clear up.’

  Esther looked up from Heidi. ‘Oh, no. Stella is our guest.’

  ‘It’s fine.’ Stella shoved her own seat back. Just that brief brush of his shoe against hers had her desperate for a moment alone with him.

  ‘Well, if you insist. Heidi, let’s go into the lounge room and test out your tea set before dessert?’

  Heidi scraped back her chair, the four legs making a nails-down-the-blackboard sound along the floorboards. Usually that type of sound made Stella’s skin crawl but today she barely registered it. As Esther and Heidi went into the lounge room, she and Adam somewhat hastily collected as much as they could carry from the table in one go.

  Adam held the kitchen door open for her, his arm brushing against her chest, agitating her desire all the more, as she walked past him. Sitting around the table with Esther trying to create a magical Christmas, all Stella had been able to think about was confronting Adam again about the jacaranda tree but now that they were alone, her priorities had taken an express trip to the gutter. He’d turned her into some kind of hussy and she didn’t know whether to be pleased or appalled by the fact.

  She dumped her plates by the sink and Adam put his down a second later. ‘You’re a good actress,’ he whispered, placing his hands on her hips and swivelling her round to face him.

  She laughed, loving the feel of him as he stepped closer and trapped her against the kitchen sink. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

  He raised one eyebrow. ‘That lunch was diabolical, but you can relax because I convinced Mum to let me make dessert.’

  Stella made a theatrical show of wiping her hand across her brow. ‘Phew,’ then added, ‘I’m really sorry about falling asleep on you last night. I hope it wasn’t in the middle of things or anything.’

  ‘Relax.’ He kissed her nose. ‘I kinda liked watching you sleep and you obviously needed it. Did Heidi sleep through the night? She seems a little flat today.’

  Stella sighed, touched that he’d noticed. ‘We had a bit of a discussion this morning. She’s sad Lily-Blue is spending Christmas on her own.’

  ‘I see.’ Adam linked his hands through hers and spoke seriously. ‘I know I said maybe I should let sleeping dogs lie but—’

  ‘Ooh sorry!’

  So lost in each other, neither Adam nor Stella had heard Esther coming but they snapped apart at her sing-songy exclamation. Stella felt like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar as she looked at the older woman, but Esther beamed.

  ‘I didn’t know I was interrupting anything,’ she said, not at all sounding apologetic.

  ‘You weren’t,’ Stella rushed to assure her as heat burned in her cheeks.

  Esther wiggled her eyebrows. ‘I’m sure I wasn’t. Anyway, Heidi and I have decided it’s Christmas and we shouldn’t have to wait till our lunch has settled to eat dessert. Adam has made the most divine chocolate mousse cake,’ she said, focusing on Stella. ‘I know it’s not very traditional but he assured me Heidi might like it better than my Christmas pud.’

  ‘I’m sure she’ll love it,’ Stella managed, still flummoxed by the fact Esther had found her in what looked to be a compromising position with Adam.

  ‘Well, come on then.’ Esther grabbed Stella’s hand and, already on her way back out the door, called over her shoulder, ‘Adam can dish it up and we’ll eat in the lounge room.’

  Stella let Esther lead her through to where Heidi had the tea set laid out on one of the coffee tables.

  ‘Want drink, Mummy?’ she asked.

  ‘Sure.’ Stella sat awkwardly perched on the edge of one couch unable to relax with the thoughts running through her head. Had Adam been about to tell her he’d reconsidered not digging?

  ‘Here go.’ Heidi thrust a delicate teacup and saucer at her. ‘Drink.’

  ‘Thanks, honey.’ Stella took it, going through the motions of raising the cup to her mouth and pretending to drink.

  After a couple of minutes and many cups of pretend tea, Adam appeared carrying three dessert bowls filled to the brim with chocolate goodness. He handed each of them a dish.

  ‘Where’s yours?’ Stella asked. Like a skilled waiter, he’d carried two bowls in one hand, so could easily have brought all four out at once.

  ‘I’ve just remembered something I have to check on the farm,’ he announced, fiddling with his collar like a nervous schoolboy.

  ‘What could you possibly have to check now?’ Esther asked. She looked to Stella. ‘My husband was always the same. Working 365 days a year. No day is sacred to a farmer.’

  Ignoring her disgruntlement, Adam said, ‘I need to check the sheep have enough water. It’s really hot out there. Back soon.’

  Esther frowned at Adam’s retreating back then picked up her spoon and began to eat. Stella tried to do the same but it was hard to even concentrate on getting her spoon from the cake into her mouth. She knew Adam wouldn’t have forgotten to check the sheep’s water. It had to be a ruse.

  Five minutes passed. It felt like five days. Esther and Heidi finished their cake and were already entranced in their tea party game. Stella’s cake was hardly touched. Usually she’d devour anything chocolate in a matter of seconds but…

  She slammed her bowl down on the coffee table making both Heidi and Esther jump. ‘Sorry,’ she said as she pushed off the couch to stand. ‘I’ve just remembered something too. I don’t know if I turned off the… iron. Do you mind looking after Heidi while I go check?’

  Esther offered her a bemused smile. ‘Take as long as you like. I was young once, I know how these things work.’

  Oh Lord! Esther thought she was off to meet Adam for a sexy rendezvous. Stella didn’t want to get her hopes up that she and Adam might have a long-term future but neither could she tell her the truth.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, already on her way to the door. She grabbed her keys from where she’d left them on the hall table and sprinted to her car.

  Shovel in hand, Adam stood in front of the jacaranda tree, wondering if he was doing the right thing. The thought of finding his sister’s remains terrified him, yet he didn’t think he could live through another day with the possibility of answers hanging over his head. Decision made, with no idea where to start, he took a step closer and plunged his shovel into the hard earth. It hadn’t rained for months and the shovel didn’t even crack the earth.

  ‘Fuck!’ Slamming the shovel on the ground he ran back to his ute and grabbed the crowbar.

  Sheer determination gave him the strength necessary to make progress. Sweat poured off his skin and he ripped off his wet shirt in between hammering the ground. It wasn’t long before he’d shaken the earth enough to use the shovel. It was the hardest thing he’d ever tried to dig but nothing would stop him now. Like a man possessed, he dug hard and deep, tossing the dirt in a pile behind him. He didn’t know how long he’d been digging when he heard footsteps behind him.

  He whirled around, relief flooding through him instantly when he saw Stella.

  ‘Oh Lord.’ She pressed her hand against her chest as she stared at the small pile of dirt between them. ‘I thought this was what you were doing.’

  ‘Where’s Heidi? Where’s Mum?’

  ‘They’re still at the house. Your mum thinks we’re having sex in a haystack or something.’

  It was testament to how he felt that he didn’t even crack a smile at that. ‘You must think I’m crazy.’

  She shook her head and walked towards him. ‘No. I
was thinking of digging myself.’

  ‘You were?’

  She nodded. ‘I know it’s not my place, but…’

  He cut her off. ‘It doesn’t matter. Not now. I’ve started and I’m gonna finish it.’

  ‘Want some help?’

  ‘Okay.’ She wouldn’t have the strength to be much use but if she were anything like him, standing around doing nothing would infuriate her. He nodded towards the crowbar. ‘Can you hammer the earth before I dig? All around the tree I guess. Not really sure where I should focus my efforts.’

  In response, she picked up the crowbar and threw herself into the task. They worked in silence – Stella in her pretty dress and him in his best clothes standing in the full sun attacking the earth. They must have looked ridiculous. Dust made his eyes water and his throat felt parched but he didn’t want to stop even for the short time it would take to fetch some water. He brought the shovel up high yet again and threw all his strength against it as he plunged it back into the earth.

  This time he hit something solid.

  It took a second for him to register that it wasn’t just a tree root but something man made.

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  At Stella’s words, he realised he was staring into the hole he’d dug, his heart thudding at the sight of dirty metal. ‘I think I’ve found something.’

  ‘What?’ She tossed the crowbar onto the ground and came to join him. ‘Oh my God.’

  ‘What do we do?’

  ‘Keep digging.’ Her tone was urgent. ‘We’ve got to get it out.’

  His hand shaking, he gripped the shovel again – this time with some direction as to where to dig. It seemed to take forever but finally they’d removed enough soil to see what looked like an old toolbox. Instinctively he stooped down to try to extricate it, but Stella’s hand on his arm stopped him.

  ‘We probably shouldn’t touch it. Not without wearing gloves or something at least.’

  ‘You’re right.’ Dammit.

  ‘Wait there a moment,’ she said. ‘I’ve got washing up gloves inside.’