Lost In Kakadu (37 page)

“I think I’ll miss everything.”

He put his arm around her waist and tugged her to him. “At least we have our memories to share together.”

She hugged him with pride. They had already attended several welcome home parties and when she’d introduced him to her friends they told their story together, bouncing memories off each other like a beautiful symphony.

That’s what love was supposed to be about.

* * *

Several months after they returned home, Abi received a phone call that set her emotions into turmoil. The coroner sought their help to locate the plane wreck, stating it was necessary to return the deceased. Despite the gut wrenching reason for their request, Abi and Mackenzie were both delighted at the opportunity to return to Kakadu.

Abi was grateful when Krystal offered to look after Warrigal. He was a happy baby and was already living up to the meaning of his Aboriginal name: ‘wild and free’. Krystal openly showed love for both her and for her new brother and Abi felt comfortable leaving them alone for a couple of days.

When the army helicopter banked to the left, Abi caught a glimpse of rusty, corrugated iron rooftops. The swirl of red dust erupted as the rotors descended onto the dirt road. When the helicopter settled, she stepped out into the middle of the mining town and reached for Mackenzie’s hand.

“It hasn’t changed.” She shielded her eyes from the glaring sun. It had been five months since they started their arduous journey along this dirt road and yet it seemed like just yesterday.

“It will probably still look like this in fifty years,” Mackenzie said.

Abi walked through the swinging saloon doors and ran over to one of the tables. Clutching her abandoned backpack she remembered how torn she’d been when Mackenzie insisted it remain behind. At the time, all she could think of was her responsibility to Charlie and the letters that were inside.

Mackenzie took his time photographing parts of the town and looked delighted when the proud dingo appeared for a brief moment.

They climbed back into the helicopter and leant out the sides as they pointed out sections of the river they identified along the way, the pool where they saw the beer can, the waterfall that plunged over an enormous boulder and the abundant hairpin turns that eventually led them to the cliff that had first shown them the way. From the helicopter, Mackenzie yelled with glee as he pointed out the cave they lived in while Abi’s knee healed.

Finding the wreck after that was a matter of completing concentric semi-circles from the cliff. It suddenly appeared as a white blemish in the green forest.

“There it is,” Abi yelled, pointing into the greenery below, and there’s the back part.”

Abi scanned the forest below and felt like she was returning home. She spotted their lagoon with the cascading waterfall and smiled as she remembered hiding behind a tree to spy on Mackenzie as he swam naked. Their time in Kakadu had taught her to appreciate the small things in life, like butterflies in the morning sun, or the sound of a bird’s call, the smell of wet grass and especially food on her plate and a hot shower. She would always cherish the wonderful memories they created in the jungle despite the tragic loss they experienced there.

She fondled the new wedding ring on her finger and knew with certainty she and Mackenzie would continue to make more magical memories.

Abi clutched the silk wrapped bundle of letters as Mackenzie navigated the quiet suburban streets. Warrigal giggled in the back seat as Krystal tickled him. The happy sound seemed incongruous to her feelings. Abi was silent as she mulled over how to introduce herself to a woman whose life she was about to change. Mackenzie pulled to the curb and Abi glanced up the steep pebble driveway. The low-set home perched at the top was the picture of homely bliss. Neatly manicured lawns, flower beds bursting with colour, hedges trimmed to perfection. Abi sat for a long time, reluctant to step out.

Mackenzie touched her shoulder. “Go on. You need to.”

Abi nodded. He was right. She needed to do this, for both Charlie and his daughter. She held the letters to her chest as she walked up the driveway, listening to the sound of children playing somewhere in the distance.

She knocked on the door and a little girl in a yellow dress appeared before her.

The name Nikki instantly jumped to her mind but the word wouldn’t release from her lips. Charlie had written with nothing but pride for his little granddaughter, even though he’d never met her.

The girl stared up at Abi with light blue eyes fringed with dark eyelashes, and then she gasped. “Hey Mum, the lady from the plane crash is here.”

Abi grimaced. The publicity from both their survival and their unusual relationship had her exposed like a celebrity and she hated it.

A tall, lanky woman rounded the corner with a quizzical look on her face. “Hello,” she said, frowning.

“Hello, Holly. My name is Abi. I knew your father and he wanted me to give you something.”

Holly tilted her head. “But my father died when I was a child.”

So this was the reason for Charlie’s wife’s cruel behaviour. Abi had suspected as much. Once she’d started the lie, she could never turn back. There was no easy way to say this. “No he didn’t. He died two years ago in the plane crash I survived.” She reluctantly held the bundle out.

A look of confusion crossed Holly’s face and then her expression grew angry as she stared at the letters. “What’s this?” She frowned as she reached for them.

“Your father wrote many letters to you but your mother always returned them.”

Holly groaned and her body visibly shrunk. “Do you want to come in?” Her voice shook.

“When you’re ready to talk … ring me.” Abi handed her one of Charlie’s petite floral embossed pages with her contact details written on it and noticed tears welling in Holly’s eyes.

Abi turned and walked back to her waiting family. She watched a small white butterfly dance in delicate circles before her. She thought of Charlie and smiled knowing his dying wish, which he’d so eloquently written in his last letter, was finally satisfied.

Night Talk

by Maxine Sullivan

From
USA Today
bestselling author Maxine Sullivan comes a fast-talking, no-holds-barred battle of the sexes…played out live on air!

When Zac Ryan is roped into replacing an absent guest on a Chicago radio talk show, he decides to have some fun. After all, he’s Australian, on vacation, and fellow host Cassie is something else. So when their chemistry burns up the airwaves, it’s a no-brainer to come back for a few more shows.

But the difference between Cassie’s sexy on-air personality and her prickly, professional off-air self makes Zac wonder which side of her is real — and whether he’s the man to find out.

Hindsight

by Sarah Belle

Humour, wit, and just a touch of humility: the swinging 60s as you’ve never seen them before.

The universe has sent Juliette a sign. She wishes it had been an email instead…

Juliette’s career is on fire, her marriage and family are in melt-down, and a red-hot goddess wants her husband. But those are the least of her worries when she wakes up on her lounge room floor in the year 1961.

Without any of her modern conveniences — nanny, housekeeper, surgically attached mobile phone, designer wardrobe, and intravenous lattes — Juliette is just over fifty years out of her comfort zone. But as she takes on the role of a 1961 housewife, with gritted liberated teeth, she discovers an unexpected truth: slower doesn’t mean boring, at home doesn’t mean dull, and priorities don’t mean sacrifices.

As she finds unexpected friendships, a resuscitated love life, tragedy and triumph, Juliette begins to wonder if she really wants to return home after all.

The Secret Diary of Lady Catherine Bexley

by Viveka Portman

In the vein of Portia Da Costa and Charlotte Featherstone, Regency England gets just a bit raunchy in this novella about a gently-raised lady who wants to feel like a woman…

“I have never seen fit in my life to divulge my secrets in a diary, yet now, after today’s proceedings, I do…”

Lady Catherine Bexley is new to marriage and the marriage bed, but surely there must be more to it than this? Her husband is proper and perfunctory — treating her with careful respect but leaving her aching for more.

When she witnesses a gentleman disciplining a maid at a house party, the ache explodes into ravenous desire. She finds herself no longer willing to wait for her husband’s stiff and passionless attentions — and soon develops a naughty plan to finally get what she wants.

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ISBN: 9780857990648

Title: Lost in Kakadu

Copyright © 2013 by Kendall Talbot

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