Riverboat Point (9 page)

“You'll like Jenny.”

Ethan pulled his lips into a smile. He'd heard that before. He glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Damn, look at the time. I've got to get back home.”

“Who is this woman you're helping out? Is she single?”

Ethan snatched up his helmet.

“A mate's sister.” He gave Blake a glare as he reached the door. “I've no idea of her marital status and I'm not interested.”

He turned his back on his brother's raised eyebrows and bolted for his bike.

Savannah was pacing anxiously when she heard the approach of a vehicle. She glanced at the time on the microwave. It was two-thirty. She knew Ethan wasn't back yet. She'd been listening for the return of his bike ever since he'd left.

She took a deep breath and stepped out onto the back verandah. A vehicle was pulled up in the drive. She could see four heads through the windows. A man unfolded his tall frame from the driver's side and leaned over the roof.

“You must be Savannah,” he said.

She paused, surprised he knew her name.

“And you're the Warners?”

“And friends.” He tapped the bonnet of his car. “I'm Fred. My wife Jan and I have been regular customers of Jaxon's. He told us when we booked that you'd be here when we came this time.”

Once more Savannah hesitated. It was quite clear now Jaxon's trip was no spur of the moment event as he'd intimated to her. He must have been planning it for months.

Another car pulled in.

“That's the rest of our party of eight.” Fred waved to the car behind his. “I assume it's everything as usual? We'll head down and unload then I'll come back to do the paperwork.” He gave her a charming smile. “Will you be giving us the instructions, Savannah?”

“Yes … well no.”

“We know what to do of course, but I know the rules must be followed.”

“I have someone to show you,” she said. “Ethan. He'll be here soon.”

Savannah hoped that was correct. She didn't want to hold these people up if they were experienced and regular customers. In fact it seemed silly to step them through the rigmarole Ethan had shown her this morning.

“We'll start unloading, Pete,” Fred called to the man driving the second car. “Back up and follow me.”

The driver lifted a hand in acknowledgement and reversed his vehicle.

“I'll bring the keys,” Savannah said.

By the time she reached the boat, Fred and three other men were already trooping up the gangplank hefting boxes and eskies. She smiled at the women standing to one side, chatting and laughing like old friends. They all looked to be around sixty, hair in various shades of blonde, jewellery dangling from necks and arms, figures trim. She could always pick the ones who worked out.

The same couldn't be said for their partners. Ahead of her the four men were all on the front of the boat. Fred was tall and a solid build but the other three sported rounded bellies pushing against their designer polo shirts. He was giving directions about where to put the eskies. One of the men saluted and they all chuckled. She felt a pang of envy for their friendship and the excitement of their holiday.

“Excuse me.”

Savannah turned around. The women had bags in each hand and were lined up to follow the path to the boat. She stepped to one side to let them pass.

“They're our keys?”

She spun back. Fred was standing below her holding out his hand. A smile lit his face.

She hesitated wondering if she was supposed to go on board, do a final check.

“The old girl's safe with us.” Fred's smile grew wider. “We've got a couple of virgins with us but we'll show them the ropes.” He let out a loud guffawing laugh, took the keys that dangled from Savannah's outstretched hand and turned back to guide the first of the women across the gangplank.

Savannah frowned at him. What kind of party was this?

“Two of our friends have never been on a houseboat before.” Jan was the last in the line and had stopped beside Savannah. “It's Fred's little joke.”

“Come on, old girl,” Fred called. “The sooner we've got everything aboard, the sooner we can pop those champagne corks for you ladies.”

Savannah felt an inward shudder. Jan was either used to his patronising tone or oblivious. She took the hand he offered and stepped along the gangplank onto the boat. Fred gave her a pat on the bottom as she passed.

Savannah turned away. Gross, she thought as she trudged back across the lawn to the shack. Fred was a sleaze. She'd keep out of the way while they got organised. Hopefully Ethan would be back any minute.

She stood inside the shack and watched the loading of the boat through the sliding glass door. Once the clock on the microwave reached three o'clock she began to pace. A knock at the back door startled her.

“Savannah?”

Fred's singsong voice made her stiffen. She drew in a breath and went to the door.

“Hello again.” Fred beamed at her as she pushed open the screen. “We're all ready to go. I'm assuming it's okay to park our cars in the area behind the shed as usual?”

“Yes.” Savannah remembered that from Jaxon's notes.

“We'll do that and hopefully Ethan will be with us soon.” Fred's smile got wider but his lips barely parted when he spoke. “We'd like to get going so we can find a spot to camp before dark.”

“I'm sure he will be.”

She watched through the screen as Fred and Pete drove their cars past the shack and tucked them in alongside Jaxon's big shed, out of sight from the road. As they were walking back the sound of a motorbike grew louder.

“Please be Ethan.”

The bike roared into view and eased to a stop beside the two men. Jasper gave two quick barks from his side of the fence.

“Yes,” she breathed.

She hesitated. Should she introduce them? They appeared to be doing that for themselves. Ethan had removed his helmet and was shaking their hands. Fred and Pete disappeared down the track with Ethan following. None of them had so much as glanced in her direction.

Savannah felt awkward. Should she go and watch what Ethan did? She walked back through the shack to the front windows. Ethan was already on board and Fred and Pete were untying the ropes.

There was a lot of activity on the deck of the houseboat. The ropes were wound up and the gangplank was pulled in. One of the men was signalling from the back. With a blast of its horn,
Tawarri
backed out into the river. Savannah kept watching as they manoeuvred around out in the middle, just like Ethan had done with her on board this morning. Then the houseboat was gliding back towards the bank again. Ethan appeared on deck and as the boat gently nudged the bank he climbed over the front rail and jumped to land.

There was another blast of
Tawarri
's horn. Ethan lifted his arm in a wave and made his way back up the bank. Savannah hurried out to meet him.

“There you are,” Ethan said. “I thought you must have been on board when I got here. Sorry I was a bit late.”

“No problem.” Savannah's anxiety had disappeared now that the customers were safely on their way.

“They're good to go. You shouldn't have any worries with them, barring the unforeseen of course. Several of them have driven houseboats before.”

“Fred said he'd been a regular customer of Jaxon's.”

“He was a bit full of himself but a couple of the other guys appeared to be sensible.”

“That's good at least.”

Jasper gave a series of barks.

“Coming, buddy,” Ethan called in the direction of his yard. He picked up his helmet. “I'd better get home. He'll be keen for a walk.”

“Oh.” Savannah wasn't looking forward to another long period alone after the activity of people setting off on the houseboat. She was used to living on her own but it was different in the city. Out here it was so quiet.

A loud bang echoed from behind them.

Savannah's heart thumped. She spun and peered at the bush beyond Jaxon's shed.

“That sounded like a gun,” she yelped.

“Know a bit about guns, do you?” Ethan looked at her. One eyebrow was raised and a small smile twitched on his lips.

“Well no,” she said. “But what else could it be?”

“It probably was a gunshot. It'll be Gnasher taking a pot shot at something.”

“Who's Gnasher?”

“Lives over the road in the bush.”

“And he has a gun?”

“Several I think, but he's harmless.”

“Harmless!”

“He's probably having a shot at a rabbit.”

Savannah stared towards the distant bush. Was this the neighbour Jaxon had tried to warn her about? Perhaps Ethan wasn't the one to be wary of after all.

“You don't need to worry,” Ethan said. “His property is fenced and he rarely leaves it.”

Savannah looked back at this man she hardly knew. She'd been determined to keep him at arm's length and yet he was her only real connection here on this stretch of the river.

“Thanks,” she said. “And thanks again for today.”

“When does the next boat go out?”

“Not until Friday. The other three are all going out that afternoon for the weekend.”

“I'll make sure I'm around on Friday.”

That was four days away.

“Would you like to eat with me tonight?” she blurted. “A thank you for your help.”

“No need. I told Jaxon I'd do what I could.”

“Sounds like you were expecting me to know more about the boats though?”

“Maybe. Jaxon didn't exactly spell it out.”

“Let me make it up to you with dinner.”

“Thanks but I'm going to get an early night.”

“I'm sorry,” she said, oddly disappointed. “My brother hasn't been up-front with either of us.”

“Water under the bridge. Look, I really should go. I'll see you on Friday.”

She stepped back as he started his bike. He gave a nod of his head and rode away. She lifted her hand in a half wave. She listened as the sound of his bike faded then grew louder again as he entered his own yard. The bike stopped and Jasper gave several excited barks. She couldn't hear what Ethan said in response but she could hear the cheerful tone of his voice.

She sighed and went back inside. What had she been thinking in asking him to eat with her? She'd made herself seem desperate. She opened the fridge. Not much in there. She closed the door and glanced around. Her eyes stopped at the papers on the table.

She snatched up the pages and let out a groan through clenched teeth. Fred hadn't signed the paperwork or paid the rest of the deposit. She'd been so relieved when Ethan had finally turned up and Fred had been keen to get underway. They'd all forgotten the paperwork.

Savannah paced the room, tapping the papers against her other hand. There was little she could do now. She'd have to make sure she sorted it all out when they came back. She decided to do a work-out to clear her mind. She followed it up with a pot of tea and made herself something to eat from the meagre offerings in the fridge. Just as well Ethan hadn't taken up her offer. She'd have to go into town for more supplies tomorrow.

She watched television for a few hours but she was still restless and not feeling the least bit tired. The sun had long gone down and the outside temperature with it. She dragged on a jumper and took one of Jaxon's beers from the fridge. It was the last one. She'd have to buy more of those tomorrow as well.

Savannah flicked off the television. Instantly she heard the heavy thud of Ethan's music from next door. She popped the top off the beer and let herself out the sliding door onto the front verandah where she settled into a chair. Ethan's “early” must be different from hers, it was well after nine. The music was much louder outside, so close to the shared fence, but she was tired of being cooped up inside. Hopefully he'd kill the noise soon.

It was a beautiful cloudless night. There was just the sliver of a moon and a million twinkling stars in the sky. Not a sight she took in very often. She relaxed and sipped on her beer. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she stood up and wandered towards the bank. The deep throb of a motor sounded somewhere in the distance then faded away.

During the day to her left she could see quite a long stretch of river. She knew if she followed the water in that direction she'd come to Riverboat Point. To her right the land jutted out and the river disappeared around a bend not very far along from the shack. She walked across the lawn and the drive then picked her way through the small shrubs to the fence.

Jaxon's note about the neighbours made even less sense to her now that she knew about this Gnasher bloke who lived across the road. She'd seen no sign of him. She wondered who else might be considered neighbours.

Ethan and Jaxon's shacks were quite close but over this side of the property in daylight all she could see was trees. She knew there was a house in there somewhere because she'd seen a gate and a road leading in, but how close it was she had no idea. Did anyone live in it or was it a holiday place?

She peered into the darkness. Some trees were darker than others and gaps appeared as shades of grey. Her eyes caught the flash of a light. She stood still, watching the spot. Had she imagined it? A quick flash appeared again, not very bright and impossible to tell how far away it was. Perhaps there was a house and people in it. A house light could be revealed as branches moved in the breeze. She caught a quick glimpse again. She listened. No sound, not even the wind. There was no movement to disturb the trees. It could be that the light was moving – maybe a torch or a vehicle.

She watched but the light didn't reappear. Perhaps tomorrow she'd go next door and introduce herself. Find out who these other neighbours were. She turned around and caught her foot on a branch, jarring her leg. She let out a yelp.