“I’ve been to hell and back,” she croaked. “I’m so glad you’ve found me.”
“Here, you look like you need a drink.” He held the canteen to her cracked lips and she drank greedily. “Not too fast, you’ll make yourself ill.” He used the tips of his fingers to wipe the drips off her chin.
“Oh, Adam. It’s been awful. I was so scared. I don’t know how it happened, but I’m happy it’s over.” She blinked back tears, wondering why she acted so idiotic now the danger had passed. He picked up a glistening droplet on his forefinger, stared at it for a moment then slowly raised it to his lips.
Tommy swallowed several times to get her feelings under control. “Jamie and David, are they all right?”
He lifted her into the saddle and swung up behind her. “David was worried about you, the boy inconsolable. He’s at my place.”
“You can’t imagine the horrible time I’ve been through.” She leaned her aching head against his chest, closed her eyes and told him what had happened.
“Fiends. I’ve heard about these feral families. There are several of them up in the hills, mad from years of inbreeding.”
“Poor Ruby.” Tommy shuddered. “I hope she makes it back to her own people.”
“She will,” he reassured, holding her close and resting his chin on the top of her head. Bruised and battered, she bravely tried not to cry, her bright hair tumbling down her back in disarray. Her beauty and courage moved him.
“You’re safe now, my darling.” Hell, had he spoken the words out loud? He shouldn’t even be thinking thoughts like this. Concentrate on Sophia. He closed his eyes and couldn’t even remember what she looked like. He saw only golden hair and big blue eyes.
Chapter Eight
Two weeks after Tommy’s ordeal with the feral mountain family, David returned to the homestead for morning tea, after riding the boundary fences. “There’s a fire somewhere close by,” he said, sounding worried, accepting the cup she handed him. “I can smell it.”
“I thought the mountains seemed hazier than usual. It won’t come near here will it?”
“Doubt it; there’s not much fuel left to burn anyway.”
Jim Cavendish calling from outside interrupted them.
“What a pleasant surprise.” Tommy greeted Jim and Mary on the verandah with a warm smile. “Perfect timing, you can join us in a cup of tea.”
“Could I spend the day here with you? Jim’s off to fight the bushfires and doesn’t want to leave me on my own, in case they come our way.”
“Of course you can. David and I have just been discussing the fires. He smelt the smoke.”
Mary followed Tommy into the homestead, leaving the men out on the verandah.
“Sit down and I’ll pour you out some tea. You look like you could do with it.” Tommy bustled around collecting more cups.
“Yes, thanks, it’s going to be another scorching day. I love the heat but not when I’m so heavily pregnant. It will be a relief when my mother arrives.”
“I’ll come with you,” David said as the men entered the kitchen.
“You can’t,” Tommy protested. “It’s not our business. The fires are miles away.”
“We have to help if we can; everyone pitches in when there’s some disaster. Isn’t that right, Jim?”
“Yes, it’s the unwritten code of the frontier—help your neighbor in times of need.”
“Except for you and Mary, no one’s been particularly welcoming to us.” It sounded churlish but she couldn’t help it.
“This is different,” Jim explained. “The squatters and small farmers band together when there’s a dire emergency like bushfires or floods.”
“It could be dangerous.” Tommy bit her lip, hoping she didn’t sound too selfish. “David doesn’t know anything about bushfires.”
“Don’t talk such rot. I don’t know much about fires, but I’m used to being in charge of men, so I should be of some help.”
Pointless arguing with him once he made up his mind. She was acting petty and un-neighborly, but they had been ostracized by most of the locals. All because of Adam Munro. She bet he wouldn’t leave his forty thousand acres to fight a bushfire.
She banged the teapot on the table. He and his kind would be hoping all the little farmers got burnt out so they could grab up more land. Then again, he must have certain principles by which he lived. He had helped them out on more than one occasion. Any decent person would have done the same thing, she tried to justify her resentment. Wretched man, always intruding on her thoughts, she was becoming paranoid about him.
As the day passed Tommy became more worried. The bushfire seemed to be moving closer. She saw the smoke now even though the fire was miles away. The whole mountain range turned red.
“This is the biggest bushfire I’ve seen since we moved here.” Mary patted her stomach. “If something happened to Jim…”
“You’re being silly.” Tommy fought to bring her fear under control. “The men can take care of themselves. Why don’t you lie down for a while, you must be exhausted.”
“You can have my bed,” Jamie volunteered.
“Thank you, darling, that’s a generous offer. But my bed is larger and more comfortable.” Tommy gave Jamie’s shoulder a squeeze.
When Mary went to lie down, Jamie trotted off to play with Touser. He spent most of his days roaming around with his faithful companion, only returning to the homestead to eat and sleep or when she called him.
By nightfall the men had still not returned. Mary rose from her nap and grew more distraught with every passing hour.
“I swear if they’re not here by morning, I’m riding over to find out what’s happening.” Tommy swallowed down on the lump of fear constricting her throat.
“I know I’m being selfish,” Mary said. “When you’re with child you worry a lot. You’ve got more to lose, I suppose.”
“Yes, it must be wretched for you.” Tommy filled the kettle with water. “How about another cup of tea?”
“No more, please, we must have drunk twenty cups.”
Finally they retired to bed. Tommy knew she wouldn’t sleep but what else could she do? How long did it take to control a fire? David knew nothing about bushfires. But as an experienced army officer who had led men into battle, he wouldn’t take unnecessary risks.
She tossed and turned for hours. Jamie slept soundly, giving a little snore every now and again. Perhaps some warm milk might settle her down.
Sliding off David’s bed, she padded bare-footed down the passage. Mary slept, exhausted from the trauma of worrying about Jim. What if something had happened to them? Surely someone would have come and told them? Visions of charred bodies rose up like a ghastly mural in front of her eyes and she clenched her teeth to stop from screaming out loud.
Some instinct drew her outside. What an eerie sight. In the distance an orange cloud raced along, lighting up the night sky and devouring everything in its path.
The breeze lifted, blowing the loose nightgown against her legs, and the back part of the garment billowed out like a sail. The dry burning heat sucked the moisture out of her throat making it difficult to swallow, harder to breathe. Tommy watched in fascination as balls of fire shot upwards before plunging to the ground like giant red hailstones. She had never witnessed anything like it before.
David would be all right, of course, he would. Jim was an experienced frontier man, well-versed in the treacherous whims of a bushfire.
She dozed in an armchair until dawn broke. The sun, a huge fiery ball, edged its way up from behind the mountains. What a savage, brutal land.
By the time Jamie and Mary woke up, Tommy had prepared breakfast. As soon as they finished eating, she changed into her riding habit and with a reassuring smile rode off. “I’ll only be gone a few hours. I’ll have the men with me when I return, never fear.”
The wind lifted and a pall of smoke engulfed the mountains. As she rode nearer, blackened leaves driven for miles dropped around her. The hors
e became skittish, making it hard to control. Scurrying wildlife met her now, kangaroos, rabbits, even an emu or two, yet the sky appeared bereft of any bird life. She felt like she was entering the jaws of hell. Her eyes smarted from the stinging smoke; breathing became harder as she rode along a rutted track. Maybe she shouldn’t have left the safety of home.
A sudden bend in the track showed several weary, blackened men clearing scrub along the side of a creek.
“Do you know where Jim Cavendish is?” She rubbed her arm across her perspiring forehead.
An older man straightened. “Across that bridge, about half a mile farther up the track. Better not go there though, if the wind changes it’ll come straight down on top of you. You’re safer here, Miss Lindsay.”
She ignored them and kept on riding. They were too busy or weary to make any real effort to stop her. Her horse, usually a placid beast started to prance around and toss its head. When she spied a clearing with a dozen or so horses in a temporary holding yard, she decided to leave hers here also.
She dismounted. The smoke laden air intensified the heat, but this did not deter her. Except for the shouts and oaths of men, it seemed strangely silent.
On rounding a bend she spotted several men burning a firebreak. A sudden gust of wind nearly blew her hat off and she made a frantic grab for it. Mesmerized, she watched as a thin trail of flame soared in a straight line up a tree, followed by a small explosion as the gum leaves ignited.
“What the hell are you doing here, Miss Lindsay?” She was shocked when Adam strode up to her. His face was grimy and blackened, his cheeks beneath the dark beard stubble streaked with white lines from where perspiration had run.
“I’m looking for David, if it’s any of your business.” She turned her back on him and started walking away.
“I want you out of here. Now.” He grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him.
“Take your hands off me.” She tried to push him away.
“They’re both all right; I saw them a few moments ago. Things aren’t going well, the wind is so unpredictable,” he declared more calmly. “You think the lines are holding then whoosh, it changes direction. I’ll walk back to the horses with you, good chance to collect some more wet bags.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I find Jim and David.” She shook herself free and walked away.
He followed. “I told you they’re safe. For God’s sake, can’t you take my word for it?”
Tommy suddenly saw a little dog tottering along on three legs. Nausea rose up in her throat. One leg had been burned off leaving just a blackened stump, both his ears were gone, and his whimpering cries smote her hard. It was the most sickening sight she had ever seen.
“Look.” She clutched Adam’s arm and he swung around.
“What!”
“The dog. You’ll have to do something, to put the poor thing out of its misery.”
“Stay with him, I’ve got a pistol in my saddle bag.”
He strode off, and forgetting her own fear she knelt down beside the pathetic little creature and patted the one spot on his head that hadn’t been burned. She could have wept at the dumb suffering in its big brown eyes and his human like sobs of pain. “We can’t save you, darling, you’re too badly injured, but Adam won’t let you suffer any more.”
A piece of burned-through rope hung around its neck. She spoke soothingly to the poor creature even as she shuddered with revulsion. What kind of fiend would leave an animal tied up with a bushfire coming?
A creek flowed nearby, not much more than a trickle, but she made for it. She would give the little dog a drink. Idiotic really under the circumstances, but she wanted his final memory in this world to be of an act of kindness, not cruelty. The banks were quite steep and covered with blackberries and undergrowth. A fallen log, part of the way across formed a bridge, and by edging along and avoiding the brambles she could squat down and scoop some water into her hat. She stood up and moving one foot cautiously after the other, made for the bank.
Whoosh. She screamed as a fireball fell within a few hundred feet of the creek, followed by another and another, until they peppered the bush like giant red stones. In a few seconds the gust turned into a whirlwind, and though the front of the fire was a quarter of a mile away, little orange balls of flame dropped all around her.
Tommy ran. The water slopped out of the hat and onto her shirt. She gasped for breath by the time she reached the dog. It still laid there, eyes closed, scarcely breathing, but still whimpering.
“Adam. Oh, my God.”
“I got back as soon as I could. Stand near that tree. We must be quick,” he panted.
Meekly she did so. With her arms wrapped around the trunk and eyes closed, she rested her cheek against the rough bark. The one shot sounded overloud, then an eerie silence followed.
The wind gave a treacherous about-face and she felt heat searing through her clothes.
“We’ve got to get out of here, the treetops are alight,” Adam yelled. “The whole mountain is set to explode.”
Adam grasped her hand as they raced along. “What about the others?”
“I passed them on the way back. Everyone’s cleared out to the main fire break near the horses. The flames would have to jump the river to get across there.”
The smoke became denser. The trees above their heads crackled and exploded as the fire swept along. The numerous fireballs started scrub fires in several different places.
“Faster.” Adam dragged her along after him.
She could feel the soles of her feet burning through her shoes, and it became difficult to breathe. “Go on without me.” She tried to jerk free. “You can go faster on your own.”
“No. We’ll never make it back to the others now. Quick, the creek.” His voice sounded hoarse. Tommy feared they would die. She dared not look, but the backs of her legs burned. Day turned into night with frightening speed.
“Come on.” Adam kept tugging at her hand. The branches of small bushes swung forward by him snapped back on her as she followed. With burning lungs and streaming eyes, she ran in a blind panic, carried on by the force of him dragging her along. They wouldn’t make it. They would die here, because the hungry flames wanted to devour them. She would never see Jamie or David again. Never be able to tell Adam that…Oh, God, please help us, she prayed.
She stumbled and fell to her knees. The ground felt so hot, it burned through her clothes. Though half-blinded by smoke, she saw a giant wall of flame racing towards them. Adam pulled her up.
“Hell, it’s closer than I thought. Another few yards,” he gasped, taking a couple of ragged breaths. “Quick.”
Adam was panting too, and she wondered how he could speak at all. With the flames coming closer and the radiated heat burning through her clothes, they made it to the creek. Heedless of the blackberry bushes, they forced their way to the edge. Adam grabbed her around the waist and leapt the five feet or so to the middle. He landed and rolled, taking her with him, finally settling flat on his back with her on top.
The sandy creek bed cushioned their fall. The water was only knee-deep even though they were out in the middle. Thick blackberries and vines clung to the embankment on either side, almost meeting at the narrowest section.
“We’ll catch fire,” she rasped, struggling for breath.
“No, we won’t.”
“We will. The blackberries will catch fire.” She grabbed at his shirt.
“Don’t be silly, the water should protect us from radiated heat. The smoke will be bad though. Hold on, here it comes.”
She heard an almighty roar, and a furnace-like blast engulfed them. Adam rolling half on top of her shielded her from the worst heat and she buried her face in his chest. The top buttons of his shirt had been ripped off and his skin felt hot and damp against her cheek.
His strong arms held her close. Was it her imagination or did his chin rub against her hair? “Don’t be afraid, my darling.” The whispered endearment caused her t
o tremble.
In silence they watched as the flames burned fiercely along the sides instead of billowing towards them. Black clouds of smoke spiraled upwards before disappearing into the haze. Another shift of the wind came. It chopped and changed so fast they couldn’t gauge where the demented flames might scorch next.
The fire did not cross the creek, but roared past them on the other side. She felt weak with relief, but somehow bereft when Adam rolled away.
Without speaking he scooped up a handful of water and dribbled it all over her, before flinging himself in lengthwise. He rolled over and over and Tommy did likewise. The water felt warm, about the same temperature she would bathe in.
“A piece of soap and we could have a bath.” He must have thought along the same lines. He gave a wolfish grin but his eyes were achingly tender. Was he thinking of their brush with death?
“Yes.” What would it be like sharing a bathtub with Adam? The wanton pictures such a thought conjured up shocked her. The flames must have cooked her brain.
They only needed to wait for the burnt ground to cool down enough so they could walk on it, and for her to gather her scattered wits. Adam must never know how being held against his muscular body affected her.
“Do you think the other men will be safe?” Her voice sounded husky, kind of dried out.
“Yes, they had plenty of time to escape. If it wasn’t for the dog we wouldn’t have been trapped, either.”
“Where’s your pistol?”
“Damn, I must have dropped it.”
“I’m sorry. You wouldn’t be in this mess except for me.”
“You were stupid coming up here. But whoever left that poor dog tied up should be bloody horsewhipped.”
“I’ve never seen anything so cruel. They must have known he would get burnt.”
He edged closer and ran his thumb gently along her lower lip. “You care too much.”
Dear God, humiliation surged through her. Did he know what effect his presence had on her?
After a time he deemed it safe to venture forth. The flames had been so fierce the blackberry brambles, just blackened ashes, still smoldered. Tommy squelched along in her waterlogged boots. With their clothes filthy and ripped, they must look like a pair of scarecrows.
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