Under the Flame Tree

by Karen Wood

  ‘Don’t spew in here,’ grumbled Kirra, praying they were headed back to the roundup.

  No such luck; the ute turned towards Blackbrae. An air of dread filled the dark space around them. Kirra peered out through the cover. The square headlights were behind them again.

  ‘Someone’s following us,’ she said.

  25

  The ute bumped over several cattle grids before turning into a property which Kirra could only guess was Blackbrae. The ute rolled to a stop and the handbrake was wrenched on. Two car doors opened and slammed shut.

  Kirra hardly dared to breathe. She tried to get her bearings, but being in a dark chamber in a strange place had her completely disoriented. She couldn’t even guess where the road might be. There were strange noises: generators, televisions, dogs barking, cicadas . . . and was that a pig? A boiling noise also came from the engine of the ute.

  ‘Going to ask me in?’ said Jamie’s voice.

  ‘I think my mum’s home,’ said Lisa.

  A door creaked. ‘Is that you, Lisa?’ A woman’s voice echoed across the night, setting off more dogs.

  ‘I’ll be in soon, Mum,’ Lisa called.

  ‘So did you see your father?’ The voice was getting closer.

  ‘He wasn’t there. I’ll talk about it later, Mum,’ said Lisa. ‘Go back inside.’

  ‘I thought you didn’t have a father?’ said Jamie.

  ‘I don’t,’ said Lisa. ‘Mum’s been drinking again.’

  ‘Did you get the letter back?’ The voice was closer. There were light footsteps across the ground, drawing closer. The breath in Kirra’s lungs froze. Nat was like a statue beside her. ‘Because if that gets around, there’ll be all sorts of trouble.’

  ‘Yes, I told you on the phone I got it, Mum.’ Lisa’s voice lowered. ‘I have to go,’ she said. Kirra guessed it was directed at Jamie.

  ‘You better not have told anyone what was in it,’ the woman’s voice warned.

  ‘She’s drunk,’ said Lisa in a quiet voice. ‘Please, Jamie, just go. I didn’t know she’d still be up. I’m sorry.’

  ‘You just wanted me to give you a lift home, didn’t you?’ he said in a flat voice.

  ‘No,’ said Lisa. ‘Of course not.’

  In the back of the ute, Kirra rolled her eyes.

  ‘Damn it, Lisa. I stuck my neck out for you.’

  ‘And I had to stand up and lie in court to cover your dumb hide,’ she spat back. ‘Do you have any idea what would happen to me if anyone found out?’ Lisa’s voice was cracking. Kirra almost felt sorry for her. Her mother was a drunk and her father didn’t want to know her. But as she continued to listen, her hackles rose.

  ‘You’re the one who asked me to go after him,’ said Jamie.

  ‘I never told you to run him off the road!’ Lisa replied in a harsh whisper. ‘I just wanted my letter back. Which I ended up having to get for myself anyway!’

  In that moment, all Kirra’s sympathy vanished. It was all she could do to stop herself jumping out of the back and confronting the pair of them. Dirty, lying pair of scumbags!

  ‘Who are you talking to?’ Lisa’s mother called out.

  ‘Hi, Emily,’ said Jamie.

  ‘Jamie!’ The woman’s voice sounded pleasantly surprised. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Lisa brought me for a visit,’ he answered, in his nice-guy voice. ‘Long time no see.’

  ‘Come in, have a drink. I haven’t seen you in ages.’

  ‘Jamie,’ Lisa protested.

  ‘I’d love to,’ said Jamie.

  There were footsteps, a creaking door, greetings and laughter. Then the voices faded and the door slammed shut.

  ‘Did Jamie go with them?’ whispered Nat.

  ‘I think so,’ Kirra squeaked back.

  ‘I am so out of here,’ said Nat, pulling at the tarp and lifting it.

  ‘There’ll be dogs!’

  ‘I don’t care!’ said Nat. ‘I’d rather be eaten by dingoes than be found by the Blackbrae boys.’

  Kirra peered out of the back of the ute. Lights were sailing along the horizon. ‘Cars! They’re coming home! This is our only chance, quick!’

  She scrambled out between the tarp and the tray of the ute, landing on dusty soil. She scanned the homestead for any sort of cover and dashed as silently as she could to a big square shadow at the edge of a yard. A shed. From there, she sneaked after Nat to some shrubs, through a fence and into some very welcome long grass. A dog barked and the girls dropped flat to their bellies.

  Headlights waved over the top of the grass as cars rolled into the driveway. Kirra had a sickly sense of déjà vu. Her chest was like a pounding drum. It seemed to take forever for them all to get out of their cars, joke about and yahoo and finally disappear into various buildings. When they had all disappeared from the yard, Kirra and Nat sprinted.

  Kirra leaped over the tall grass, clutching her sore arm and ignoring the stabbing ache in her leg with every bound. She ran until all she could hear were her boots crunching over the dry ground and her pulse hammering through the back of her ears. She settled into a jog and it felt good, burning up the confusion that churned inside her. Natalie jogged alongside her, panting heavily. ‘So, what’s the plan? We gonna jog all the way to Moorinja?’

  ‘I haven’t worked that out yet,’ she panted back. ‘Let’s just keep going.’ As she ran, Kirra processed what she’d just heard.

  I asked you to go after him. I never asked you to run him off the road. I just wanted my letter back.

  The road was long and empty and dark, and home was a long way away. Kirra jogged for what seemed like hours, with Jamie and Lisa’s voices swimming through her head.

  I stuck my neck out for you.

  I lied to cover your dumb hide.

  A set of headlights broke through the darkness and lit the road in front. A car slowed behind them. Kirra swore. Busted. This was it. They would be taken back to Blackbrae and hung in the cool room by the fetlocks. She was too exhausted to try to flee. Out here, there was nowhere to run. She stopped and leaned over her knees, pulling for breath as the car rolled to a stop beside her. She couldn’t go on.

  Natalie’s tearful voice cried out behind her. ‘Kirra!’

  The window slid down slowly and a head peered out. ‘Get in.’ Even his voice sounded like Daniel’s.

  Troy!

  Kirra closed her eyes as relief rushed through her. She couldn’t look up. She was too out of breath. The burger she had eaten only hours ago threatened to leap out onto the road. ‘What kept you so long?’ she panted.

  A car door slammed and then he stood before her. ‘What were you thinking? Are you totally insane?’

  She stood up, still gasping for air. ‘How did you know we were here?’

  ‘I saw you in the carpark and followed you. DJ told me you were reckless. He didn’t tell me you were totally suicidal.’ Troy shook his head. ‘He rang me out of the blue and begged me to keep an eye on you. I didn’t think that would mean driving halfway to Darwin and missing my ride.’

  ‘I never thought we’d end up at Blackbrae,’ Nat whimpered. ‘It was my stupid idea. We were going to jump out before they left the roundup, but they drove off too fast.’

  ‘It was you following us,’ said Kirra.

  ‘Until I lost you. I’ve been driving up and down this road all night, trying to find you. I’ve been phoning DJ. He’s near on hysterical. What did you get in a ute with Lisa Haskell for?’

  ‘You know her?’

  ‘Of course I know her. Or who she is, anyway.’

  The court case. Right.

  ‘Her mum used to be our governess,’ said Troy.

  That too! Of course. Troy was older than Daniel. He would have been one of Emily’s charges when she was . . . Kirra bit her tongue so hard she thought it would bleed . . . having an affair with his dad.

  ‘What’s the time?’ she asked, changing the subject.

  ‘Nearly two,’ said Troy, sounding unimpressed. ‘
Get in. I’ll take you back to the roundup.’

  Kirra wondered if the boss and Jim had noticed she was gone yet. She climbed into the ute and sat between Troy and Natalie.

  ‘Do you have a phone?’ asked Nat. ‘I really have to ring my brother.’

  ‘I have to ring Daniel,’ said Kirra. She had to tell him what she’d just heard.

  ‘I’ll drive you to the lookout. There’s reception there.’

  ‘So that’s why they drove to the lookout,’ said Nat, sounding relieved.

  26

  Kirra handed Troy’s phone back to him. There was a stunned silence in the front of the ute. All three stared out the front window at the darkness.

  ‘I can’t believe he’s still going to protect Lisa,’ said Kirra. ‘He said he can’t tell the cops about Jamie without incriminating her.’

  ‘I can’t believe that evil harpy is my sister,’ said Troy. He stared through the windscreen at the darkness, as though he could hardly fathom what he’d just been told.

  ‘Maybe she’s not so evil,’ said Nat. ‘I’d be dirty too if I found out my long-lost father had known where I was all along.’

  ‘I have to get back to the roundup before I lose my job,’ said Kirra. It was after three. She was too tired to think about all this. She still had to check waters and hay before catching an hour or two’s sleep.

  ‘And I have to go and kill my father,’ said Troy, starting the engine and putting the ute into reverse.

  ‘What? Now?’ said Nat. ‘Can’t it wait until tomorrow?’

  ‘That wouldn’t be helpful, Troy,’ said Kirra.

  ‘You’re right. I need to plan it properly, make sure it’s slow and painful.’

  ‘Seriously?’ Nat sounded horrified.

  ‘No,’ growled Troy, sounding exasperated.

  ‘What is it about this lookout?’ said Nat. ‘It’s creepy.’

  They found Kirra’s dad standing next to Jet at the gateway of the station as the first glimmers of daylight leaked above the horizon. Troy pulled over and cut the engine.

  Jim pulled Kirra out of the front seat and into an angry hug. He spoke into her hair. ‘Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in?’

  Kirra didn’t dare answer.

  ‘Geez, Nat,’ said Jet. ‘You could have sent me a text!’

  Her dad let go and took a long slow breath. When he composed himself, his voice was stern and uncompromising.

  ‘That’s it, Kirra, the deal’s off. You can keep working at Moorinja until the end of the next school holidays, but then you’re to finish up, start a fresh term at school. Clearly you weren’t as ready for this job as I thought.’ His voice was heavy with disappointment.

  ‘Did Tom sack me?’ Kirra broke down in tears. ‘I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, Dad. We were just having fun and it got out of hand.’

  ‘Tom didn’t sack you, I did,’ her dad yelled. ‘Those horses were under your watch and you just took off joyriding around the countryside, putting yourself and your friend at risk. If any other person on staff did what you’ve just done, they’d be out on their ear too. There are no double standards on my watch, Kirra.’

  Kirra fought back tears. Going back to boarding school would be like a prison sentence. She had missed a whole term of school while she had been working at Moorinja. No way would she be able to catch up on all the work and be ready for Year Twelve next year.

  This was a nightmare, it couldn’t be happening.

  ‘Mr Ravel, it wasn’t her fault,’ Nat protested. ‘It was my dumb idea.’

  But her words fell on deaf ears. ‘Go tell that to Tom, Kirra. He’s waiting for you at the truck.’

  ‘Come on, Nat,’ said Jet, taking her by the arm.

  ‘I’ll ring you,’ said Nat, as she was dragged off by the arm.

  At the truck, Kirra was horrified to find Tom had already fed the horses. ‘You can go home,’ he said, barely looking at her. ‘We don’t need you here any more. Take the day off.’

  It wasn’t a friendly gesture, it was a dismissal.

  She didn’t know how long she stood there while everything inside her dissolved into the ground. Her life was ruined. There had to be some way she could fix this, make it up to the boss. But Tom was already gone.

  ‘Want a lift?’ It was Troy. ‘You were right. I should go and see DJ.’

  She nodded. It was her only option right now.

  ‘Give me a moment. Just need to hook the goosey back up and load the horses on.’ He walked off, shaking his head.

  They drove in silence the whole way back to Moorinja and found Daniel pacing up and down the driveway when they arrived mid-morning. As Troy turned in, he hopped about from one foot to another. Kirra dragged herself out of the front seat and melted into his hug, too tired to resist. His arms tightened around her. ‘I’m so sorry, Kirra. We’ll sort something out with Tom. We’ll fix this. He can’t just sack you. You have rights. We’ll talk to Nancy.’

  ‘It was my dad,’ she answered wearily. ‘He can do whatever he likes.’

  Troy coughed. ‘Hey, DJ.’

  Daniel put his chin on Kirra’s head without loosening his grip. ‘Troy. I owe you one.’

  ‘You owe me more than one.’ Troy looked suddenly horrified. ‘What happened to your face?’

  Daniel lifted a hand to the scar beneath his eye and smiled down at Kirra. ‘That? I walked into a tree. Kirra stitched it up for me.’

  Kirra lifted a hand and touched his scar, which was still an angry shade of purple. Everything inside her burned fiercely as she stood up on tiptoe. At least with her job gone, she was now free to kiss him.

  But he leaned away from her. ‘Nancy’s watching,’ he said.

  ‘I don’t care,’ said Kirra, reaching up and running her hands around his neck.

  ‘I’m going to fix this somehow,’ he protested, pulling her hands away. ‘I mean it. I’m not going to let them just sack you like this.’

  She squealed with pain as he moved her shoulder at the wrong angle and pangs shot along her arm.

  ‘What?’ said Daniel, startled.

  ‘She got hung up on a steer,’ said Troy, sounding impressed. ‘Probably did a rotator cuff. Won the event, but. It was a sweet ride until that happened.’

  ‘If you want another game of snap, I’m your girl,’ said Kirra. A wave of exhaustion washed over her. She held her aching arm with her other hand. She staggered suddenly and Daniel caught her.

  ‘You need to go to bed,’ he said.

  She nodded. ‘Before Mum gets home from work and starts asking questions.’ It was Saturday afternoon, wasn’t it? It was so long since she’d slept, Kirra had lost track of time. Nothing about this weekend had gone right.

  ‘Got any coffee in this place, DJ?’ said Troy. ‘You and I need to talk.’

  Daniel nodded. ‘Just let me get Kirra home.’ He took her good hand and led her towards the foreman’s house.

  On the front porch, Daniel stared down at her. ‘You okay? Want me to come in?’

  She shook her head. ‘You have to tell the cops what I heard or I am going to tell them myself,’ she said.

  ‘But how will you explain being in Jamie’s ute? You were trespassing. It’ll be his word against yours. It won’t help, Kirra. Tom thinks Jamie’s a saint. Everyone does. If we create more drama, you’ll have no chance of getting your job back. I’m not having you miss out on college just for me – there has to be another way.’ He looked at her thoughtfully. ‘I have to get him to fess up.’

  Kirra gave a cynical laugh. ‘Good luck with that.’

  ‘We’re mustering this week,’ he said. Something sinister lurked in his eyes. ‘I just need to get him alone.’

  ‘What will you do?’ she asked, hoping it wasn’t something violent that would put Daniel straight back into prison.

  ‘I’ll think of something.’

  Daniel reached past her and opened the front door. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. ‘Get some sleep.’<
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  As Kirra collapsed onto her bed, she had just enough energy to reach out with her good arm and shove the college brochures off her bedside table and all over the floor.

  Through bloodshot eyes, she saw the two brothers’ shapes through Daniel’s half-closed blinds. She watched them stand at the kitchen bench, the drop and lift of Daniel’s chin, the nods and shrugs. She saw Daniel’s demeanour change from calm to angry to calm again, and she saw understanding nods from Troy. They moved out of view and Kirra drifted into a restless sleep. Somewhere in her dreams she heard the rumble of Troy’s ute fade out the driveway and the semi-trailer hiss and rumble back in.

  She hauled herself out of bed and helped to put the horses away amid an air of disapproval from Tom and her father. Not because she wanted to prove herself but because she knew the ringers wouldn’t feed them. They would just throw them back out into the paddocks with saddle marks slick on their pelts.

  27

  On Monday morning Tom asked Kirra to help in the yards with Pete and Paul, drafting out underweight heifers before walking the remaining mob back out into breeder paddocks. Kirra saddled up the little red colt and rode him out.

  It was a long walk past the ridges and through several creek crossings, but she could feel it doing the young horse good. He was getting stronger and fitter, starting to feel like a real stockhorse. She tailed behind the mob while Pete led out front and Paul kept out wide and they walked the mob slowly along the fenceline.

  They met up with Jamie and Old Jack at the junction of the river with another mob of heifers and together they moved them all to their new paddock. Jamie avoided her eyes, his only greeting a cursory grunt. Kirra focused on moving the cattle.

  A small stock truck bumped across the paddock and Jim and Daniel arrived with several fresh horses on the back and a large esky in the front. They broke for lunch under the broad shade of a fig tree, its buttress roots high enough to use as seats.

  The dogs swam in circles in the water trough and Jim issued orders while the crew drank thirstily from mugs of tea and hoed into beef and pickle sandwiches.

  ‘Jack, come with me to Scrubby and pick up some more bulls. Pete and Paul, you can come too. We’ll take these spent horses home,’ said Tom. ‘Jamie, you can ride up to the ridgetops with Daniel and Kirra and move the finisher steers into the leucaena paddocks.’ Kirra’s jaw dropped. How had Daniel organised that? She sneaked him a look and he shot her a wink. Then he looked away and took a gulp of his tea.