Page 20 of Secrets of Riverside

‘Ba ha, good one, Macka,’ Graham chimed in.

‘Oath!’ Tom added.

‘Stuff all three of you,’ Jarrah said lightheartedly.

The banter was a daily occurrence, and Jarrah loved it, just like he loved the way Millie was finding the conversation funny. She was going to fit right in around here. ‘Right, it was great to meet you lot.’ Millie clapped her hands together. ‘As for me, I’m going to have a wander about outside and get familiar with the place.’

‘Sounds like a plan.’ Fighting a sudden craving to lean in and kiss her smiling lips, Jarrah quickly shoved his hands deep into his pockets and took a step back, allowing her to mosey past him. ‘Just make sure you keep a lookout for cassowaries; they can be nasty buggers if you cross paths with one.’

Her face crinkled with confusion and concern. ‘Cassowaries attack people?’

‘Bloody oath they do.’ Mack’s expression turned gravely serious. ‘And by crikey they can run fast too, up to fifty kilometres an hour.’

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. ‘Wow. Righto.’

Graham nodded. ‘I had one chase me last month, damn near gave me a heart attack.’

‘Ha, you never told me about that,’ Tom chortled. ‘I would have paid top dollar to see that.’

Millie grimaced. ‘Maybe I might give the wander about a miss.’

‘Nah, don’t let these buggers scare you.’ Jarrah shook his head at their antics. ‘You enjoy your walk, Millie, just keep your eyes peeled, that’s all.’

She hesitated for a moment. ‘Okay, will do.’ She gave them a wave then headed out the door.

CHAPTER

7

Terrified for her life, Millie fought to breathe. The hooded man was gaining on her, closing the gap with each of his heavy strides. Her heart in her throat, she ran blindly down the thin, sodden leaf–strewn track, legs pumping and lungs burning. Mud squelched between her toes and spindly branches reached for her, scratching her arms and legs as she pushed through the dense tropical rainforest. Tripping then pitching forwards, she landed hard, the wind completely knocked out of her. Behind her, his footfalls quickly approached. Then, in two frantic heartbeats, he was upon her, grabbing for her. His hands went to her throat and tightened. She tried to scream, but no sound escaped her. She willed herself to wake up, to escape from this nightmare, but sleep would not release her from its grip.

An excited bark sounded from outside, thankfully rousing her from her bad dream. She jolted back to reality, her heart racing. Blinking, she looked to where a sliver of sunlight peeked beneath the bottom of the curtains. She looked to the bedside clock. Six-thirty. Too early for a Sunday morning. Groaning, she pulled the sheet up and over her head. She didn’t want to be awake yet. But then again, she didn’t want to tumble back into a nightmare again either. So, kicking off the sheet and doona, she planted her feet on the cool timber floorboards and padded over to where her bag lay open, in complete disarray. She wasn’t about to unpack it, when she’d likely be moving into one of the motel rooms in the next couple of days. Crouching, then sorting through the tousled pile of clothes, she finally decided on a pair of shorts and a black singlet. She made sure the envelope was still tucked away in her hiding spot in the bottom zip inside the duffle bag. Her fingers met with it. Of course it was still there. She was being paranoid. Next up would be a shower, hopefully followed by a nice strong coffee, before her first Sunday at Riverside Acres began.

Standing beneath the warm shower, the lingering memory of her nightmare taunted her as she stepped aside, lathered up and then rinsed off the suds. With the images so vivid, and the sense of malevolent hands wrapped around her throat so real, she struggled to think of anything else while she stepped out, grabbed her towel and began drying off. In the mirror above the sink, her image was blurred by the steam. Wiping her hand over the fogged-up reflection, she paused to really look at herself, hoping she could somehow see the shadows of her past lurking within her gaze, so she could catch them, red-handed, and get rid of them once and for all. If only it were that easy to free herself of her demons.

Securing her towel around her, and then running her fingers through her shambolic tangle of hair, she pulled it into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. One of these days she might actually style it and put on a little make-up. For now, with nobody to impress, she couldn’t be bothered. Wandering back down the hall, she entered her bedroom and closed the door just in case Jarrah was home, although that was doubtful after sun-up, and got herself dressed for her last day of being unemployed. She was thankful Jarrah had agreed to paying her cash under the table, because if she wanted to remain somewhat anonymous she wouldn’t be able to provide him with her tax file number, let alone her real name. She just hoped Tommy didn’t have a fit about it. That might make Jarrah reconsider. Then where would that leave her?

Heading out and into the sunshine soon after her coffee, it only took her half an hour to fall into the slow steady beat of her rainforest surroundings. The towering trees playing host to cascading ferns and colourful orchids provided dappled shade. Warm, humid air brushed against her. As she followed the narrow trail towards one of the winding veins of the river, the tropical rainforest closed in around her. Thick ferns, giant trees and the scent of damp earth had her senses dancing. She felt like she could literally tuck herself away here and forget that anything else existed. It gave her the sense of freedom, of safety, of being invigorated deep down in her soul – a contrasting sensation to what she’d felt upon opening her eyes that morning. A rare rush of optimism filled her. And a euphoric quiver chased away her usual sense of foreboding. Maybe this little spot of paradise could be her hide-out while she was at Riverside Acres when things got too much, a place where she could come to regather, to think, to settle her nerves.

The thick canopy gave way to a small sun-dappled clearing, with a riverbank begging to be rested upon. Taking a few more steps, she stopped short of the water’s edge, and craving to be completely present, immersed herself in her serene surroundings. She breathed in slowly, deeply, purposefully. Then she exhaled just as consciously. Frogs croaked, dragonflies flittered, sweet birdsong echoed, and the wind played with the leaves overhead. She briefly closed her eyes and smiled softly as a nostalgic sensation teased the back of her heart, and a vague memory shimmered, wavered, then disappeared before she could grab hold of it. She contemplated the sensation and wondered where it had stemmed from. And then, like a key slipping into a lock, a door opened in her mind and the feeling of familiarity made sense. Something about the tranquillity of this place reminded her of the times she and her family would spend the day picnicking by a river. Her mum and dad would be cuddled up together on the blanket, and she and her brother would spend so many hours swimming their fingers resembled prunes when their parents would finally coax them out with promises of ice-cream on the way home. Those were the days when she believed in the good in people and the world around her. When her possibilities had felt endless and her happiness had remained unscathed.

The memories choked her up, as did the awareness she was no longer that confident, bright girl any longer, but she fought back the tears. She’d cried enough throughout her life. She didn’t want to stumble back into her world of misery. Not here. Not now. She wanted to push through the pain and come out the other side of it. So, squaring her shoulders, she took a breath and then another while staring into the inviting water. Hmm. A swim might be just what the doctor ordered. After kicking off her shoes, she dipped in a toe, loving the feel as the cool freshness trickled over her foot. She looked left to right, craning her neck to see over her shoulders. Even though she wasn’t wearing her bathers, her mind was quickly made up. Although she’d always wanted to she’d never dared to skinny-dip, but now she simply couldn’t resist the urge to strip off and feel the water caress her bare skin. And with not a soul in sight, why not tick something off her bucket list?

Feeling risqué, she stripped off before she chickened out. Wrapping her arms around herself, she squealed a little while wiggling on the spot, and then made a mad run for it. Arms out wide, her breath caught when she splashed into the refreshingly brisk coolness. It took her a moment to catch it again. Wading into the deepest spot, she dived beneath the surface then tipped her head back as she rose, feeling like a goddess in some hair product advertisement as she re-emerged.

‘As if, Millie,’ she mumbled, chuckling to herself while dog paddling to the opposite side.

Picking a spot where she could touch the bottom, but making sure to keep her breasts beneath the water, her eye was caught by the glint of a roof, and she spun in a circle to catch sight of a little hut. As she stared towards the little ramshackle building a shiver ran down her spine. What if someone was in there? Watching her? She suddenly felt very alone and at the whim of some weirdo spying on her. She was just about to bail on her skinny-dipping escapade when rustling grass caught her attention. Panic fuelled her pulse and for a moment she considered ducking back under the water to the only safe spot she had right now. But then she’d risk drowning.

‘Oh, Millie, hey.’ There was a brief fleeting moment where Jarrah’s eyes held hers captive before he must have realised that she was completely naked. He threw his hands up to shield his view. ‘Shit, sorry, I swear I didn’t see anything.’ He kept his hands over his eyes, but his wicked smile was brazenly sexy, as was the fact that all he had on was a pair of board shorts and thongs. His tanned, tattooed, muscular chest was to die for.

Good lord, help me ...

Embarrassment twisted her tongue into a knot, preventing her from stringing two decipherable words together. She desperately tried to clear her cottonwooled mouth and throat, but while treading water accidentally sucked in a lungful of it, then coughed and spluttered before finding the courage to, at the very least, speak.

‘You all good?’ His hands were still over his eyes.

‘Yes, thank you.’ She could have walked on water to run and hide from the embarrassment, if she wasn’t as naked as the day she was born. ‘What are you doing here?’ What a stupid question, but it was all she had right now.

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