Outback Blaze (3 page)

Drew chuckled. ‘Give me your address and then call Grace and let her know I'm on my way. I don't want my arrival to freak her out even more.'

‘Thanks. You're a lifesaver.' Simone gave Drew her address and he escaped quickly, as if happy to have some legitimate way to help. While Simone gathered the other men to the front near the stage, Ruby frowned and stared at the door Drew had left through.

Why had he been so adamantly against posing for the poster? Surely if Sergeant O'Leary had put him forward there was no legal problem with his involvement. And she'd already ruled out the idea of him being self-conscious about
that
body. Unless he had scars he didn't want anyone to see.

Shaking her head clear of such thoughts – she had other things to focus on – Ruby walked over to the stage. Ryan was already standing against the white backdrop, his dark tanned muscles dripping with desirability in simple black boxers. She swallowed at the bulge in his underwear and contemplated for a moment what it would be like to get close to him. There'd been no such bulges in her life for a while now and sometimes she wondered if there ever would be again.

Ryan posed as if he'd done this a zillion times before and Simone was well pleased with the shots. Adam, who had done a number of photoshoots, was equally at ease. Liam took a little encouraging but caught on quickly. Together they made a pretty sight and Ruby couldn't wait to see the finished product. If this didn't get more interest in the event, she didn't know what would.

As if he'd timed his return on purpose, Drew showed up again just as Simone was finishing up. He had a sulky looking twelve-year-old girl by his side. Thankfully the guys had just covered up.

Ruby went over to him. ‘Hi Drew. Hey Grace.' She smiled at Simone's daughter who she'd met a couple of times when helping out with the junior netball team. ‘Would you guys like a cupcake?'

Grace's eyes lit up. ‘Sure. Might as well have one last meal before Mum kills me.'

Drew looked down at her. ‘Your mum is not going to kill you. And I for one was happy to have some company this evening.'

Ruby tried to tame her smile. Drew was sweet with the girl, as he was with old ladies and speeding drivers alike. She got the feeling he could be real tough when the need arose and wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of him, but this cop was certainly one of the good guys.

As the three of them headed towards the kitchen, Grace walked a little ahead and Ruby said, ‘Thanks for checking on her. It would have held things up if Simone had to go.'

‘Not a problem.' Drew smiled. ‘I just hope her older daughter is okay. It's quite late to be out.'

‘I'm sure she'll be fine. Those girls have done it tough; their dad died when they were little, but they know how to look after themselves. Simone's made sure of it.' As they arrived at the serving hatch, Ruby gestured to the cupcakes. ‘Take your pick,' she told Drew.

With a reserved smile, he leant forward and picked up a cake. ‘You made these?'

She shook her head. ‘Baking isn't my thing. I'm much better at main courses. They are Frankie's art work.'

Appearing at the mention of her name, Frankie grinned. ‘And it's Ruby's birthday so I used my special birthday cake recipe.'

Having already taken a bite, Drew finished his mouthful, nodded approvingly and said, ‘Happy birthday. It's mine too.'

‘Really?' A strange warmth flooded through Ruby at the discovery of this small connection. ‘Well in that case, happy birthday to you, too.'

Drew took another bite of the deadly chocolate cupcake. He'd surprised himself divulging such information but he'd never before met another person who shared his birth date. And there was something about Ruby that made him want to chat. She wasn't like the other girls he'd met in town – most of them were loud and outgoing, but there was something reserved about her. And where Frankie and Simone seemed like they'd go all night trying to cajole him into posing semi-naked, Ruby had accepted his apology gracefully and stuck up for him. In fact, her support had nearly made him reconsider.

But common sense prevailed. While it was highly unlikely anyone who saw the photo would recognise him or even care, he couldn't take chances.

‘Thanks,' he said as he swallowed the last mouthful. ‘Doesn't mean much.' Well, not anymore it didn't. ‘You just have to remember to add another year when filling in futile online surveys.'

Ruby laughed as the rest of the group joined them. Simone laid eyes on her daughter and glared, reminding Drew why he'd returned. ‘'Scuse me a moment,' he said, going over to talk to Grace's mother.

He was halfway through explaining that he'd sat with Grace for a couple of hours because the poor girl was petrified and he didn't want to bring her to the hall too soon, when one of the other blokes spoke loudly. ‘Is that smoke?'

The conversations going on around Drew ceased as everyone sniffed the air. The older ladies who seemed to be hanging around for the sole purpose of making tea began checking the mammoth warming oven. ‘Nothing in here,' one of them said.

Adam, who'd noticed the smell first, dropped his cupcake and jogged towards the exit. As Drew followed, the town's fire siren started screaming. He counted the rise and fall of the piercing sounds, but it didn't shut down after the usual three rings. Having been in Bunyip Bay six weeks now, he'd heard the alarm system being tested on the first Monday of each month when the volunteer firefighters got together for their training meetings, but tonight was Tuesday and the smell of smoke in the open air was so strong that Drew knew this was no practice drill. They looked up and saw smoke licking the sky a couple of streets back, but not far enough away to be a bushfire.

The blood moved faster in his veins and he got that awful twisting feeling in his gut. Something bad was in progress. Drew was already on his way to his car, Adam shouting to the others, when his phone began to vibrate against his hip. He yanked it from his pocket, saw ‘O'Leary' on the screen and knew what his sergeant was going to say before he even answered.

‘There's a fire at The Ag Store. Get yourself there now.' O'Leary disconnected before Drew could reply.

‘What's going on?' Ruby spoke for the crowd of women who'd gathered just outside the hall. Drew noticed the other blokes had already gone.

‘There's a fire,' he told her. He hated being the bearer of bad news. Although he was much practised in it, this part of the job never got any easier. He only hoped the late hour of the evening and the fact the fire was in a business, not a house, meant that no one would be inside. He swallowed, before delivering the final blow, ‘It's at your mum and dad's shop, Ruby. It's The Ag Store.'

‘I've got to go to them.' Ruby looked around frantically, trying to work out where she'd left her keys. She couldn't think over the sounds of the roaring siren, polluting what had been a beautifully calm winter's night.

She felt a gentle hand on her back and turned to see Frankie at her side.

‘Come on, Rubes, I'll drive you.'

Before Ruby could collect her thoughts, Grace ran up carrying Ruby's handbag, which she'd obviously been instructed to fetch from inside. Frankie took it, dug her hand in and pulled out the car keys. Together, they ran for her four-wheel drive, knowing Simone and the other ladies would lock up the hall.

Frankie drove without a care for the speed limit towards The Ag Store. She had to stop halfway there to let the volunteer firies in their big red engine pull out onto the road. Ruby held her hand firmly against her chest, hoping to regulate the beating of her heart as they followed the truck.
Please don't let them be too late
.

‘My parents! I wonder if they know?' The thought struck Ruby as Frankie turned into the street that housed The Ag Store, the local mechanic, the trucking company and a now deserted panel-beaters. For a split second, she prayed that it was one of the other businesses. Hadn't she been through enough this year?

Frankie reached out and patted her knee. ‘They're already here.' She parallel parked the four-wheel drive a good few hundred metres away from the store and Ruby recognised her parents' car a few metres in front.

Ruby yanked off her seatbelt and leapt out of the car before Frankie had killed the ignition. ‘Mum! Dad!' she called as she ran towards her parents, the thick smoke combined with the shock making it an effort for her to breathe.

She helped her mum out of the passenger side, the two of them clinging to each other as they trekked around the car to Ruby's dad. Instinctively, Ruby reached out and draped one arm over her father. A tall, wiry man with an angular face and a graying goatee, Robert was a lot stronger than he looked, but tonight he didn't give that impression at all. The three of them stood speechless as they watched their building glow from the inside out.

‘What the hell could have started this?' her dad cried. He pulled away from Ruby and ran two hands through his hair. She watched as he doubled over and swore.

Her mum's grip tightened. ‘Let him be, love. This is a shock for all of us.'

The local volunteer firefighters didn't waste any time. Dressed in their bright yellow uniforms, they worked in perfect harmony shouting directions. Hoses were pulled off the back of both trucks and within seconds two big arcs of water ripped through the night sky, landing on the blazing building. Ruby felt utterly helpless, staring into the chaos and wondering how on earth this mess had begun.

‘I'm going to have to ask you all to step back a bit.'

At the firm direction, Ruby looked up to see Drew with a roll of police tape in his hands as he and Mike cordoned off the area.

‘You three can stay,' he said, gesturing to her and her parents, ‘but don't get in the way of the emergency services and don't do anything ridiculous.' He looked at her father as he said this. It was only then Ruby noticed the crowd of people that had gathered around her, blocking the road and watching The Ag Store burn like it was some kind of blockbuster movie.

Concerned faces littered the street. It looked as if half the town had come out in their pajamas and more were arriving with every second. Gasps of shock and horror echoed through the crowd as friends, customers and neighbours huddled together to watch. Ruby stared back at the faces – although she recognised many, they all seemed to blend into one group. Then she caught sight of a horrifying familiar face in the crowd. A wave of terror washed over her, bringing back memories she wished she didn't have but when she went to scrutinise the faces again, she found the one she'd thought she'd seen actually belonged to a local. In the daylight he didn't look anything like her ex, but tonight in the darkness, with her emotions in turmoil, his presence had returned to haunt her.

‘I can't believe this.'

‘What a terrible thing to happen.'

As she tried to calm herself, the commentary continued behind her.

‘Think of all those people who won't have a job tomorrow morning.'

Trying to block out the voices, Ruby clung more tightly to her mother and stared ahead. The building was as old as any in town, a patchwork construction of timber, asbestos and the occasional brick. It had been added to over the years whenever new owners required more space. Since returning home she'd enjoyed working in the shop – for many weeks her only interactions with people other than her family had been with customers.

Her whole body ached as she watched the fire burst through windows and begin to crawl up the outside walls. Two volunteers wearing helmets and protective masks headed around the side of the building.

‘There's no one in there. They're getting too close,' she screamed, ‘why are they risking their lives?'

An old man behind the barricade heard her shout. ‘If they can get to the source and put it out it might stop the spread,' he explained. ‘Save some of the building.'

Only some?
Sweltering – unsure whether from the heat of the burning building or the adrenalin rushing through her body – Ruby ripped off her coat and the jumper she'd put on to go out in the evening air.

‘Lyn, Robert, Ruby, I'm so sorry to see all this,' said Sergeant O'Leary, shaking his head as he ducked under the barricade. ‘What a mess.'

‘Thanks Sarge.' Her dad returned to their little group and looked grimly at the other man. ‘It's certainly hard to believe.'

‘I promise you we'll get to the bottom of this.' O'Leary folded his arms over his impressive stomach bulge. ‘I'll get the culprits pronto.'

‘You think it's arson?' Ruby asked, the thought only just crossing her mind.

He looked at her as if she was a plank of four-by-two. ‘Fires just don't start themselves in the middle of the night, missy.'

He turned slightly, blocking her out of the conversation. Ruby stepped away from them and squinted trying to see through the smoke into the building. Her forehead ticked like a bomb as she tried to account for all the local firefighters. Destruction of property and stock was terrible, but no reason for loss of life. She felt so helpless standing here in her impractical heels and tight jeans.

‘Here, have some water.'

Simone's voice broke through Ruby's thoughts. She turned to see her friend standing beside her, her arms full of cold bottles of water. ‘They're from Frankie's café. She's opening up to make sandwiches for the firies and sent Grace and I down with water. I still haven't seen or heard from Harriet. I would have thought excitement like this would bring her out.'

‘It seems to have brought out most of the town,' Ruby said, taking a couple of bottles of water from Simone. She passed one over to her mum who would share with her dad.

‘What do you expect?' Simone shrugged. ‘There ain't a lot of drama in Bunyip Bay.'