Black Mountain (18 page)

‘I am,' she interrupted him. ‘And don't worry about me. I'm about to go down to the pool for a while before dinner.'

After he rang off, she knew she should have let him know about Jackson, but she told herself he had enough on his plate at the moment and she didn't want to add to his worries. She would tell him later.

After the solitude of the day, Elly was looking forward to Jackson's company at dinner. He was already waiting for her at a table when she reached the bistro, and he immediately rose from his chair and crossed the room to meet her, a welcoming smile on his face. The designer stubble suited him, she thought, and she was struck again by his good looks. When he reached her and leant to kiss her cheek she didn't stop him.

‘Hello, Elly,' he greeted her. ‘How was your day?'

‘I've had better,' she replied with a flicker of a smile. ‘I can do with some cheering up.'

His smile widened. ‘Then let's see if I can do that.'

He took her hand and led her to the table, where he pulled out the seat for her before taking his own. A bottle of white wine sat in a cooler on the table, already uncorked, with a glass set in front of each place.

‘I thought you'd like a cold drink to relax you after a day outside in the heat,' he told her as he reached for the bottle. ‘Yes?' he queried, picking it up and hovering it above her glass.

Elly nodded. ‘Please.'

The crisp, cold wine was delicious, and as she took a long draught she thought how thoughtful he was. Except, of course … his deceit hung between them.

As the night progressed Elly found herself relaxing. Jackson was at his charming best, telling her more about Canada and his life there. And when she asked him about the time he'd spent in Darwin, and on the fishing trawler, he seemed happy to oblige. Slowly her distrust began to wane.

When he saw her to her door at the end of a very pleasant night, he took the key from her as before, and opened the door.

This time, he put out a hand to halt her as she was about to go into the room.

‘Can I come in for a minute?' he asked her. ‘Only a minute. I'm not asking to stay.'

Elly hesitated for a moment. ‘All right, but only for a minute,' she told him.

He nodded. ‘Sure. I understand.' He followed her in and closed the door behind him.

She tossed her purse onto a chair. ‘I'm afraid I can't offer you a drink,' she told him, ‘but I could make us a coffee if you like. Mind you, it's only the packet stuff they have here in the rooms,' she added.

He shook his head. ‘No, thanks.' In two strides he was in front of her, and reached out to take her hand. ‘I just wanted to be alone with you, Elly.' His eyes were pleading as they swept over her face. ‘I've missed you so much. You can't imagine the agonies I've been through as I've remembered how I deceived you. How sorry I was, and how stupid to try to pretend I was someone different to who I am. And it made me lose you.'

Memories whispered in Elly's mind as she listened to him. How she'd always enjoyed being with him. How he'd made her laugh. How he fitted in with her friends and the good times they had together. And when she thought of Mitchell she pushed the thought away. He had no personal interest in her. And when Jackson took her in his arms she didn't resist him.

‘Elly, my darling,' he breathed, before his mouth came down on hers.

It was a long, passionate kiss, and it stirred a longing deep inside her. When the kiss was over they stayed locked together, all the while Jackson murmuring endearments, his lips on her throat, while Elly felt pleasant sensations washing through her. Then his mouth slid down to her breast, and she realised where this was heading. She should never have let it happen.

Guiltily she disentangled herself and stepped back, her palms firmly on his chest as she shook her head. ‘No, Jackson. No. Just for a minute, you said.'

The hurt in his eyes shamed her as his arms dropped to his sides. ‘I'm sorry.' He turned away. ‘I'd better go now.' He took a step towards the door, then stopped and turned around.

‘I suppose you don't want to see me again.'

‘I didn't say that.'

‘Then can we have dinner again tomorrow night?'

Against her better judgement she heard herself say, ‘All right.'

‘Then will I see you downstairs again at the same time?'

‘Yes.' She nodded.

He took the step back to her and kissed her cheek, then turned again and left, closing the door softly behind him.

The next day for Elly was a repetition of the previous one, hot and frustrating searching through yet another section of the forest. As the day progressed the light grew dimmer, and the humidity reached even higher levels of discomfort, with sweat causing her clothes to cling to her body. She cursed the long pants and sleeves necessary for protection in this environment, and had to resist the urge to throw them off. It was only dogged persistence that kept her going. But still there was no sign of the
stripling
.

At least she'd covered a large area of the forest while Mitchell was gone, she thought thankfully as she headed wearily back to the car at the end of the day. It meant they hadn't wasted too much time, as they would have if she'd gone with him.

And time was running short. Through the gaps in the canopy above she could see the heavy clouds pressing low, and she'd heard the distant roll of thunder several times today. The wet was coming close.

Chapter 29

Jackson was berating himself yet again as he followed Elly's car back to Cooktown after her day in the forest. What a fool he'd been to let his feelings get the better of him last night. He should have known she would reject him, he hadn't given her enough time to get over his deception. But she hadn't pushed him away immediately, and he drew comfort from that fact. Perhaps in time…?

What was really worrying him was the fact he realised Elly had come to mean a great deal to him. He'd come to like her, a lot, during the days in Cairns when he'd been ‘the Qantas pilot', but it was not until he met her again in Cooktown that he realised his feelings went much deeper than that. Was he falling in love with her? Certainly he regretted his part in the scheme against her, and if he could undo it he would.

He no longer looked upon her as a source of easy money. He'd not been lying last night when he told her he wanted to be with her, but he realised now he wanted more than that. He wanted to keep her in his life—to make a new life with her. He'd never been in love before, was this how it felt?

It was as he was pondering this question that his phone rang.

‘Any luck today?' Greg asked him.

‘No.'

Greg swore. ‘I was hoping she might have found it by now, my people are getting restless.'

‘Nothing I can do about it, mate.'

‘No, I know. We just have to stick with them. And I've been told Beaumont will be back up there tomorrow. Have you worked out how you'll still be able to watch them without him knowing?'

‘Yes, I'll move away from Cooktown. I've already found somewhere, close enough so I can still watch what happens.'

‘Good. I knew I could leave it to you.'

‘Yeah. By the way, how did you find out Beaumont would be back tomorrow?'

‘I have a reliable source.'

‘Oh really, who is it?'

‘That's my business.' The line went dead.

***

Elly felt apprehensive about meeting Jackson for dinner again tonight but she need not have worried—his manner towards her was no different, and he made no mention of the previous night.

‘So how was your day?' he asked her as they finished their meal and sat over a glass of wine.

Elly grimaced. ‘Hot, and not terribly productive,' she told him.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Is your research coming along well?'

‘Not as well as I'd like, but then that's the way it is with most research. You just keep on until you get what you want.'

‘I see.' He leant back in his chair. ‘Do you have any idea how long it's going to take?'

‘Not really. But if the wet comes before it's finished, that will be the end of it until next year, until the dry.'

‘I'm asking because I have to go away for a while.'

‘Oh. Where are you going?'

‘Back to Darwin. It's time for a check-up on my back.'

‘I hope the results are good. Are you coming back here again, if it's healed?'

‘I hadn't planned to, but if you'll still be here …' He let the words trail off, then took a deep breath. ‘If you're going to be here, then I will.'

Elly frowned. ‘But you mustn't let that influence you. You have your life to get on with. And I'll be going back home once I finish here.'

He put out his hand and touched her arm. ‘Do you have to go back to your old life?' His eyes were pleading. ‘I … I know this is not the right place to be saying this, but … well … the fact is … I love you, Elly. I truly love you. Come with me. We could go far away from here. To Canada, perhaps, if you'd like that. Or to England. Start a new life together.'

She felt a jolt of panic. ‘No, Jackson, no!'

‘Then anywhere you like.' He paused and took a breath before continuing. ‘What you don't know about me is that I write.' His eyes shone as he became animated. ‘I've written a play and my dream is to produce it. I'm not wealthy, but I do have some money. Enough to take us to England, and to live on for a while. I have a contact in London who—'

Elly shook her head vehemently. ‘No. I can't go anywhere with you. I have a life here. A job to do—'

His hand pressed her arm as he cut her off. ‘Listen, Elly. Please.' His voice was calm and she hesitated, her mind in turmoil. ‘I've rushed you, I know. But I want you to know I mean every word I say. I love you. We could be married if you like, if you'd have me. And I'd always look after you. We could be happy together. Just think about it. Please. Don't answer me now. Think about it while I'm away.'

Elly swallowed. ‘I don't …'

He placed his fingers on her lips. ‘Shh. Don't say anything now. Just think it over while I'm away.' He dropped his hand and pushed back his chair. ‘Come on, I'll see you to your room.'

Unable to think clearly, she pushed back her chair and stood as he started to come around to her side of the table.

She raised her hand to stop him. ‘No, don't come with me,' she said.

‘Will you think about what I've said?' he pleaded, standing still.

‘Yes. I'll think about it. But the answer will still be the same.' She turned and walked away, feeling Jackson's eyes watching her as she made her way to the elevator.

When she arrived in her room she crossed to the window and stood looking out, across to the water beyond the foreshore, thinking, quite irrelevantly, ‘
that's where Captain Cook beached the Endeavour back in 1770
.
Where he had to patch up his ship
so
he could go home'.

Her phone rang and she saw the call was from Mitchell. She should tell him about Jackson.

‘Hello.'

‘How are you, Elly? Is everything all right up there?'

‘Yes. How's your father?'

‘It's good news. He's conscious now, he can manage to talk, and the doctors think he has every chance of a reasonable recovery. If everything goes all right he'll go home in a few days.'

‘That is good news.'

‘Yes. Mum thinks she can cope now. The district nurse will visit as long as she's needed, and my sister is here with her. So I'll set off tomorrow and be with you some time during the day. Why don't you wait for me at the hotel, and we can return the hire car and go down and set up camp again when I arrive?'

If he was going to be back tomorrow she would leave it until then to tell him about Jackson being here. ‘Sounds good,' she told him, ‘but I'll return the car first thing in the morning and walk back here. Then we can head off as soon as you arrive.'

‘Okay, we'll do it that way. See you tomorrow then.'

‘Yes, see you then.'

As Elly ended the call she continued to look out of the window. Her conscience nagged her. She knew she should've told Mitchell, in fact, she knew she should've told him as soon as she saw Jackson. What had held her back?

Turning from the window she paced the room as she thought about it. If she believed Jackson was telling the truth, then he had nothing to do with taking her father's journal. But he'd still deceived her by telling her he was a Qantas pilot. And not just deceived her, but lived a lie, all the time she'd known him. So why was she protecting him? She knew the answer. His declaration of love—and his proposal. But was even that genuine, or was he playacting again? Certainly his sincerity rang true. After all, he had asked her to come away with him, talked of marriage, even.

She knew if she told Mitchell he would immediately contact the police, and no matter that she'd no intention of forming any relationship with Jackson, she didn't want to cause trouble for him. She knew that was probably being foolish. So what to do?

When Elly woke early the next morning, after a restless night during which she had wrestled with the problem of what to do about Jackson, she resolved to push her personal problems aside and concentrate on what she had come here for. To get on with the search for the
stripling.

After showering and dressing, she packed her few items into her pack before going down to breakfast, and then drove the car to the rental car depot. After completing the formalities and handing over her credit card in payment, she left the air-conditioned office and walked out into the heat, and the clammy atmosphere had Elly's clothes sticking to her in minutes. As she walked back to the hotel she regretted her decision to return the car before Mitchell arrived. If she'd waited, she would've avoided this walk in the heat.