Page 33 of Clear Skies (Stormcloud Station)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

DALE TURNED HIS truck around. He’d done his duty and made sure Daisy got home in one piece. A security light had flashed on when they first arrived, but the rest of the place was in darkness. Ryan must be asleep already. Which was odd, because it wasn’t that late. Then he saw the worried frown on Daisy’s face. She stepped out of her little Corolla and rushed across to yank open the door to the sea container, not even bothering to close her car door behind her. Lights flickered on inside. What was going on? He stepped on the brake and rolled his eyes to the ceiling with a sigh. Keep driving. This is none of your business.

She’d made it abundantly clear that she regretted what they’d just done together. Her sudden rush to get dressed and head home after they made love. And the ride down from the escarpment had been a chilly affair. She could hardly look him in the eye after they alighted from the ATV. Her reaction had hurt. More so than he’d like to admit. On the drive over to the outstation, he kept telling himself what they’d done had merely been sex. A onetime affair, and he shouldn’t let himself get so wrapped up in her.

Daisy reappeared at the door, a look of terror on her face, a piece of paper flapping in her hand. “River,” she screamed. “Where are you?” She took off into the dark at a sprint toward the large metal shed meant to house the farm machinery, an amorphous shape in the night.

Who was River? Did she mean Ryan? Was her colleague missing? And why was she acting so wild?

Dale turned his vehicle off and leapt out, jogging after her, not confident enough of the unknown terrain to move at the same speed as Daisy. He was only halfway to the shed when she reappeared, her white T-shirt glowing in the light of the stars. “He’s gone,” she cried. Then she did something totally unexpected. She sank to her knees and put her head in her hands.

He also sank to his knees amongst the leaves and sticks and put his arms around her. She was sobbing uncontrollably. “Who’s gone? Do you mean Ryan? I’m sure he hasn’t gone too far. I’ll help you find him.” He stroked the top of her head as if she was a distraught kitten, hoping to soothe away her sobs. It shocked him to see her like this. This was all a little surreal, both of them kneeling on the ground in the dark. How could a workmate cause her such distress? He hated to see her in such pain. When he found this bastard, he was going to have a stern word for doing this to Daisy.

“No, we won’t find him. He’s gone.” She shoved the scrunched-up piece of paper at him and continued to cry.

Dale did his best to smooth out the paper with one hand, while he kept his other firmly around her shoulders. He lay the sheet on the ground and pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight app. It was a handwritten note.

Dear Dinnarri,

I know how much trouble I’ve put you in. I’m sorry I dragged you all the way over to the other side of the country. I’m leaving, going somewhere you’ll never find me.

I’m going to find this bastard who killed Karri, and I’m going to give him a taste of his own medicine.

You’re free now. You can go home. I’ll be okay on my own. Don’t try to find me.

Love you. River.

None of it made much sense. Apart from the fact her colleague seemed to want to mete out his own form of vigilante-style justice. He could join the queue; Dale felt the same way, and he assumed Steve, and probably Wazza, all wanted a piece of the guy, if they ever found him.

What kind of trouble had he put Daisy in? And what did he mean about dragging her across the country? There was also the use of that name, Dinnarri, again.

Daisy was still crying, but her sniffling had become less noisy, and she lifted her head from his shoulder. Wiping the back of her hand across her eyes, she sat on her heels, breaking their contact.

“I need to look for him.” She began to get to her feet, still wiping away tears.

“I’ll help you,” he said, also standing and dusting off his pants. He had no idea where to look. All he knew was he couldn’t let Daisy go out alone. Not in the state she was in. She needed a friend by her side. “But all of this makes little sense. You have to tell me what’s going on. Then I can help you.”

She stared up at him, those big, green eyes red from crying, her face blotched with tears. She shook her head. “I can’t tell you.” Her voice was small and forlorn, more like a small child than a grown woman. What was so terrible that she couldn’t confide in him? There was obviously a secret eating her up inside. He’d felt that she was holding something back from the first day he’d met her. That he wasn’t seeing the true Daisy. And this was the reason. It had something to do with this Ryan, or River, or whatever his name was.

“Yes, you can. You can’t go out looking for him on your own. You need help.”

“No, I don’t.” She dropped her head and wouldn’t look at him.

He took Daisy by the shoulders, tilting her head up with a finger under her chin, until she finally met his eyes.

“I want to help, Daisy. Let me help.”

“I…” Daisy bit her lip in consternation. His eyes were drawn magnetically to her mouth. The same mouth he’d been kissing less than an hour ago.

He felt it the second she gave in. Her shoulders dropped, and she blew out a long breath. “Yes. Okay. I need to tell someone. Come inside. It’s a long story.”

Daisy scuffed her sneaker-clad feet through the leaves and debris. The standing puddle of water had disappeared from the end of the gravel clearing, the dry earth quickly soaking up what was left of the water. Red mud was reverting to dry, choking dust. It was almost as if the flood had never happened. She stomped up the stairs and led him into the building.

“I’m going to make a cuppa. Do you want one?” she asked, filling a battered, steel kettle and placing it on the gas stovetop. With a practiced flick of her wrist, she struck a match and lit the blue flame.

“I’ll have a strong coffee, please. Black.” Dale pulled out a chair at the round table, sitting down and leaning backward so he could watch her move around in the small kitchenette. She took a tissue from a box on top of the refrigerator and blew her nose, then straightened her hair, which’d come loose in her mad dash to the shed.

He watched and waited. It was hot in here. The place must’ve been shut up all day, and it was stuffy. Sweat was already beading on his brow. As if reading his mind, Daisy turned on the two fans standing in each corner and then opened all the windows. They brought almost immediate relief, as the hot air was pushed outside.

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