Beside the Brook (11 page)

“Funny that,” Jamie mocked. “Leigh told me the same thing about two years ago.”

Kirsten was lost for words. She stared back at Jamie, her mouth open in surprise. Jamie laughed, looking pleased he was able to strike her speechless. Then he left her standing in the hallway, climbed the stairs and disappeared into the darkness of the second storey. She heard his door close and she turned back to the lounge to watch Tyler and Leigh from her position behind the curtains. Wow. That was a surprise. She never would have guessed there was history between Jamie and Leigh. She seemed completely intent on getting Tyler into her clutches. Just what had happened there? It was apparent Tyler didn’t want Leigh. The attraction was so one-sided it would be plain enough to anyone who observed them for any longer than five minutes. Jamie had insinuated Tyler was at fault, but Kirsten was confused. Why would Tyler lure a woman, whom he didn’t even want, away from Jamie?

The story was weaving into a spider web of intricate secrets, unwinding one by one for Kirsten to see. The problem was she was beginning to feel like the fly. Tonight Tyler had conveniently used her as bait to provoke Jamie. Somehow she had now been pulled into their little game of war. One way or another, she decided, she would have to find out what fueled their fire.

Kirsten woke as the first fingers of dawn crept over the green hills in the east. Knowing it was Saturday she rolled over, pulled the sheet up over her head and tried to ignore her conscious state. But her mind had other ideas, and sleep would not return. She glanced at the red glowing numbers on the bedside cabinet. It was a little before six in the morning. She groaned, but hauled her frame out of the bed and padded to the window. A thin layer of mist covered the bay, below the line of the house, thinning to nothing as it reached the pool. It looked as though someone had crept in during the night and laid a thick blanket of cotton wool over the sea. Kirsten pulled on a tracksuit, socks and sneakers, then pushed her hair under a black baseball cap, threading her hair through the adjusting strap at the back to hold it in place.

The air was cool as she tiptoed out the back door, wound her way through the ferns and down the pebbled path to the jetty. She remembered seeing a track leading into the bush when she had walked back from the boat with Sarah and Tyler, and she followed this now, hoping a morning walk would be therapeutic. As she crept closer to the sea the fog enveloped her, seeping in through the native Manuka trees and Ponga ferns. The advancing sun penetrated the mist in long thin rays. It was beautiful, but eerie, and Kirsten walked in silence, the stillness surrounding her. A few birds began to wake and call as she followed the path round the hillside, and she saw a few Wekas foraging in the Pigfern growing in thick clumps on either side of the track. The brown flightless birds made a strange guttural sound as they moved. It reminded Kirsten of a teddy bear she had when she was little, which groaned morbidly as she tipped it upside down. She rounded a bend and through a gap in the trees saw that the sun had found a hole in the fog, and beamed down on the glass top surface of the water. It was like a picture you would expect to see on an inspiration gift card from the Christian bookshop and Kirsten stopped to watch the scene unfold before her. She leaned against a tall Manuka tree, the black bark leaving a soft film on her sleeve. She was awestruck by the sight; never before had she witnessed anything so beautiful.

She didn’t notice Jamie standing on the hillside. He was further enough along the path so he could remain undetected. He had stopped walking as soon as she had come into view, waiting to be seen. He crouched on the damp ground and steadied his camera, zoomed in to catch her expression. The light glinted off the halo of red hair from under her cap. Her makeshift ponytail flowed in soft curls down over her neck as she bowed her head to look at the scenery.

Kirsten heard the shutter click and the camera whir and she looked up, startled to find she was not alone.

She clutched at her chest. “Jesus Jamie, don’t do that to me.”

Jamie stood, smiled and walked down the path to where she stood. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I didn’t think anyone else would be out here this early . . .,” she paused and pointed a finger at the camera. “You weren’t taking a photo of me were you?”

“Maybe.” Jamie grinned.

Kirsten put her hand up to her hair. “God, you’ll break the lens taking pictures of me in this state.”

Jamie chuckled. “Don’t be silly. You look absolutely fine.”

Kirsten blushed. Jamie was studying her closely, as if they had just met for the first time. Kirsten wondered if there were aliens living in the bush out here, and Jamie was constantly being inhabited by a different one. The Jamie before her was a creature she hadn’t met before. He was a
red blooded male
Jamie, watching her with an interest she had come to expect only from Tyler.

“Do you always lurk in the bushes early in the morning waiting for women to come walking past?” she teased.

Jamie laughed. “Hey, I wasn’t hiding. You just didn’t see me.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And yes, I do walk down here often,” Jamie confirmed.

“Always this early?”

Jamie smiled. “Usually. I don’t sleep much, and it’s a great time to see birds.”

Kirsten surveyed him from the corner of her eye.

He grinned. “Not those kind of birds.”

“Are you heading out, or heading back?”

“Still heading out. You wanna join me?”

“Sure.” They walked in silence for a few moments, their feet crunching on the leaves covering the track. Kirsten had to walk double time to keep up with Jamie’s long stride. Being close to six foot he towered over her.

“Wait.” Jamie stopped short as they reached a dense part of the bush. He seemed to be listening for something. Kirsten could hear movement in the trees above them, and she followed Jamie’s gaze with interest. The heavy whir of a bird taking to flight, and the movement of a branch creaking in protest as the bird landed a few feet further away, helped her focus on what Jamie had stopped for. She watched him lift his camera and follow the dark green plumage. The bird was smaller than Kirsten expected for the noise it had made. It warbled noisily, a song that was shrill, then guttural, and absolutely exquisite. A second bird joined it; presumably of the opposite gender, and they communicated to each other, their calls sounding like a conversation, squeaking, whirring and whistling loudly.

“What is that?” Kirsten whispered.

“It’s a Bellbird.”

As quickly as they had arrived the pair flew off further down the hill, toward the bay, disappearing into the fog. Kirsten could still hear them, quieter now as they called out through the silent morning.

“Their song is so beautiful,” Kirsten remarked. “I’ve heard them before, but never this close.” She closed her eyes and listened.

“You hear those other two, further up the hill?” Jamie questioned. Kirsten focused her attention where Jamie had indicated. “Oh, yeah.”

“They’re Tuis.”

“How can you tell? They sound the same.” She looked at Jamie, trying to determine whether or not he was making fun of her.

But his face was serious; relaxed of all the tension he normally carried. She breathed him in, watched as he enjoyed the atmosphere of their surroundings. He smelled wonderful, reminding her of the first time she had seen him, standing on the patio.
God that seemed like so long ago,
she thought to herself. But it had only been a few weeks.

Jamie gazed down at her. She hadn’t noticed it before but his eyes were slightly different colours. Both were predominantly green, while the right eye had the tiniest amount of brown through the centre of the iris.

“If you listen carefully you can pick the differences.”

Kirsten had seen a Tui so she knew they were different in appearance. The Tui was a magnificent native bird, bold and black. In the sunlight its feathers shone green, and it had a small tuft of white feathers under the chin.

Kirsten laughed. “Nope, I can’t tell the difference.”

“Damn city girls,” Jamie teased as he nudged her shoulder with his arm, knocking her off balance.

“Hey.” She pushed him back and they both laughed.

It was another hour before they decided to head back to the house. The fog had cleared, leaving the bay shining under a blue sky and promising a temperature to top others the summer had already provided.

“Kirsten, can I ask you a huge favour?” Jamie asked as they passed the wharf. Tyler had already been out to the boat mooring, as the cruiser sat tied to the white posts of the jetty, water gently lapping around its hull.

“Yes, of course.” Kirsten stopped and looked up at Jamie, her forehead furrowing in curiosity.

“I’ve been asked to do some photos for a friend of mine. She’s getting married in a couple of weeks.”

Kirsten smiled. “That sounds nice.”

“Yeah, well, I’m normally home on the weekends for Sarah so I’m a little loathe to do it. Unless-,” Jamie paused.

“Unless?”

“Well, I was wondering, I know you normally don’t work the weekends, but if you would come with us, then I could take Sarah with me.”

Kirsten laughed. She was amused at how difficult Jamie found asking for this one favour. Obviously he wasn’t used to relying on others, which somehow seemed strange. He left Sarah during the week all the time, often with Beth and Tyler, or when they were busy, Craig. So why was this so different? Or was it because it was her?

“So this would be work?”

“Yes of course. I’ll pay you overtime-,”

“Jamie,” she interrupted, “I’m teasing.” She giggled and put her hand on his bare arm.

“If it was work, I’d have to say no.”

Jamie looked confused.

“I’d like to go into town anyway, so this will be a good excuse.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Can I ask you one more thing?” His face grew sullen again.

“What?”

“Please don’t mention this to Beth or Tyler.”

Kirsten gazed at him questioningly.

“Don’t ask.” He smiled. “Just can you promise me? Don’t even tell Sarah what’s going on. I just want this to be as low key as possible.”

“Okay.”

Jamie saw the concern on her face and smiled reassuringly. “I know that sounds weird but,” he sighed. “You know what I said last night about Leigh?”

Kirsten nodded.

“Tyler has this thing about people being possessions, especially women. And I don’t think you would be an exception, regardless of whether you have set him straight or not.”

“Jamie, there’s nothing going on between us.”

“I know,” Jamie said quickly, “and you probably think you’ve got him all figured out on that score, but believe me there’s more to Tyler than what he chooses to show. If he knew I had taken you on this trip, he might make things uncomfortable for you. Just trust me on this.”

“Okay,” Kirsten said calmly.

“Really?” It was Jamie’s turn to look surprised.

“Yes, I won’t mention it. I’ve seen how the two of you are with each other, and if you don’t want to tell me anymore then that’s fine. I don’t need to know the history. The less I get caught up in this the better as far as I’m concerned.”

“Okay,” Jamie acknowledged. He sounded unsure about whether what she had said was good or bad.

They heard voices through the trees and turned to see Tyler with Leigh, walking down the track to the jetty. Tyler had something slung over one shoulder, and as they drew nearer Kirsten realised it was a gun.

“Morning,” Tyler said brightly.

“Hey.” Kirsten smiled. “You going to catch breakfast?”

Tyler laughed. “If you like shark.”

Jamie frowned. “You got shark problems again?”

Kirsten glanced from one man to the other.

“Yeah,” Tyler answered.

“At the Salmon Farm,” Leigh finished. Her arms were bent, fists planted neatly on her waist as she tried to look authoritative.

“Sharks?” Kirsten asked in alarm.

“Yeah Bronze Whalers,” Tyler confirmed. “Bastards have ripped a hole in one of the nets; had a nice little party last night.”

“Are they dangerous?” Kirsten asked.

“They can be.” Seeing her concern Jamie added, “But don’t worry, they don’t come this far down the sound. Sometimes they get lost up further, but it’s very rare to get them in here.”

“Oh, they have once or twice. Remember a couple of years ago Brian caught one in a net at the Heads?” Tyler smirked.

“Ahem.” Jamie nodded his head toward Kirsten and glared at Tyler. “The girls go swimming in the sea.” He was referring to Kirsten and Sarah. In the last few weeks, she had been encouraging Sarah to explore the bay, rather than forever swimming in the pool where there was little challenge. She looked at Jamie, surprised he had noticed this one change. What else had he been taking note of, pretending not to notice anything at all? Maybe she had misjudged his disinterest all along.

“Oh hey, I’m only kidding.” Tyler grinned. “Besides, they’ll be so full of my fantastic salmon now they won’t need to feed on anything for a while. I think you’re a bit pasty for a shark anyway Kirst.”

“Tyler!” Kirsten smacked him playfully on the arm.

Leigh giggled and the two of them wandered off to the jetty. Kirsten and Jamie continued back to the house.

“Would they really not come this far down the sound?” Kirsten’s voice rang with concern.

Jamie stopped, smiled and took her by the arm. “On this occasion I have to agree with Tyler. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

She shivered, thinking about the menacing creature with dead eyes she had only seen in books and on television. “That Jaws movie used to always freak me out.”

Jamie laughed. “Bronze Whalers have nothing on Great Whites Kirsty. Completely different species.”

“So, they’re not harmful?”

Jamie smiled. “God, why do you always put me on the spot? You want the truth?”

Kirsten laughed. “Of course.”

“They’ve been known to attack humans unprovoked, but not very often. There have only been two attacks in New Zealand recorded, and neither of them was fatal.”