Ember Flowers (7 page)

A dark red
glazed kettle lifted off the stove, Jean poured her some tea.
Remembering she took one sugar. They sat together at an oiled
wooden table, large earth coloured tiles underfoot. She kept
looking at the view over Jean’s head. Eucalypts, pale limbed in the
distance, snaking over a golden hilltop, gravel and dirt trails
winding through. She could smell the fresh air, the banksia and
honeysuckle.

The brunette
smiled. “Found your way here OK?”

The voice got
her attention. “Yes, used my GPS. Not too far out of the way.”

“Good.”

She sighed, her
eyes averted. “Jean, about last week..”

A shake of a
dark head and a soft pat on her wrist. “No need to explain. I asked
you over so you could forget about it for a while. Sound OK?”

Jo frowned. She
still wasn’t sure about her, it was rare she encountered someone
who wanted nothing from her.

As if reading
her mind. “You’re having a tough time, I just want to help.”

After pulling a
couple of thermal bags out of the fridge, lined with ice,
containing their food, and a few other supplies. They made their
way outside. Jo had wanted an idea of what to expect, she was like
that. Preferred to plan and anticipate. Jean told her that they
would ride until the early evening, find a suitable camp spot,
which were frequent, and then relax. Sounded fine to her.

The horses
responded eagerly to treats, coming over the fence at the sound of
Jean’s voice. Jo watched them with a grin.

“Ridden much
before Jo?” Looping a rope halter around a deep bay neck.

She came closer
to the fence, tentatively reaching out to rub a velvet nose. “Only
a little as a kid. Treat me as a beginner.”

Another smile.
“It’s not difficult, and these two aren’t feisty. Come here, I’ll
show you.” The tanned arm held the gate open enough for the blonde
to get through. Mounting up behind the security of a fence might be
better on her nerves.

Jean pointed to
each horse. “The bay is Mackenzie, she’s older than Georgia here.”
A little rub along the neck. “I’ll saddle them up, then you can
jump on ‘Kenzie, and I’ll adjust the stirrups for those long legs
of yours.”

The Sergeant
smiled. “Anything I can do to help?” She watched the hooves settle
in the dirt, the beasts shifting their weight over the dry grass.
She forgot how big they were.

“No it’s fine,
won’t take long. I’m glad you’re not wearing white Jo, this could
get messy.” Imagining the Officer covered in dust.

The policewoman
smiled. Glancing down at her figure hugging jeans and polo.

With both
animals saddled up, Jo’s tent retrieved from her car, and
saddlebags looped over where space permitted they were ready to
go.

Knowing Jo was
unsure. Jean offered to help calm her nerves. “I’ll hold her if you
want to take it slow?”

A raised brow
over grey eyes. “Probably a good start.”

Her sneakered
foot slid into the stirrup, and a long leg swung over. Jean had a
firm grip on the reins. ‘Kensey was far too pre occupied with
snuffling in her pocket to go anywhere.

“That’s it. OK,
going to adjust your saddle.”

She instructed
Jo to hold onto the reins, moving around past the broad withers to
get to the strapping. Jean patted on the blonde’s calf to ask her
to move. She made the leather belts longer, giving her more length.
Doing the same on the other side. Jo settled her feet and felt more
secure.

“Better?”

“Yes. And now?”
Feeling a growing confidence.

A snicker.
“Pushy thing aren’t you?”

It made Jo
pout, it was pretty cute. Jean cleared her throat. “OK, I’ll stay
down here for a moment till you get your bearings. Just walk her
around a little, get used to the feel of the saddle. There’s the
horn at the front for stability. Squeeze with your thighs to go
faster, tug on the reins to slow down.”

A nod and she
was walking slowly around the paddock. The bay mare wasn’t fazed,
and complied without resistance. After a few minutes, Jo looked
settled enough to begin their ride. Jean smiled as she pulled
herself onto the sandy coloured dun, its black tail swishing away
flies and heat.

***

It appeared as
though Jo was a natural rider. Leather reins sat looped over the
animal’s neck, held in the blonde’s hands. Ever so often Jean would
offer a pointer, but Jo was quick to learn, only needing to be told
once.

“You’re a good
teacher Jean..” She looked out over the hills as they slowly
climbed higher, hooves clopping softly over the grass and dirt.
“Very patient. Wish some of my instructors were the same.”

A shrug of the
older woman’s shoulders. “Maybe you’re just a good student?” A
lizard skittered over warm boulder as they passed.

The trees
thinned out in density as they rode through the afternoon. More
clearings, rolling tree lined plains. Jean pointed to rare
instances of scorched earth. Lightning strikes had burnt dry grass,
luckily she’d been prepared.

“You worried
about fire?” A concerned look behind Jo’s sunglasses.

“Yes and no,
dug out the firebreaks earlier, they do controlled burns out here
when the grass gets too high.”

A nod of
agreement, Jo didn’t know much about the countryside. She’d grown
up in the suburbs.

The sun was
getting lower over the trees, and their horses likely needed a
rest. Jean knew of a nice spot some twenty minutes ahead. Jo was
looking forward to cool water and stretching her legs. Eventually,
a clearing came into view, atop a gradual plateau. Straight ahead
through the trees diverged a valley below, all golden and red in
the setting sun, it looked beautiful. Protected from the wind, leaf
covered ground softened with grass.

“This should
do.”

Jo was still
mesmerised by the scenery, having taken off her shades to look
around. She looked down and Jean was holding her reins, having
already dismounted.

“Just swing
your leg over Jo, like in reverse. It’s OK, I’ve got her.”

The Sergeant
did as she was instructed, one hand rested on the shorter woman’s
shoulder as her feet touched the ground.

***

A crackling of
dead wood, and the smell of crushed bark and sweetness of old
blossoms drying with the beginnings of a warm summer.

Grey eyes
looked honey coloured with the reflection of the flames, a tanned
arm poked the fire across from her with a piece of broken tinder.
Slivers of vivid ash and spark circling up with the thin plume of
smoke. Jo sat on a fallen dried out log, whilst Jean sat on her
sleeping bag. The fire was more for comfort and light, the evening
air was warm enough this time of year.

“Jean, thanks
again for bringing me up here, can’t tell you what a relief it is
to get away.”

An honest
smile. “You’re welcome, been a while for me too. Funny how it all
tends to build up on top of you? Takes coming somewhere like this
to realise.”

Jo nodded, the
twitch of her brow showed she was still a little stressed, still a
little anxious, a lot on her mind. “It’s so quiet here.”

The older woman
turned, popping open the cold cube of insulated foam, ice raspy at
the bottom. She fished out a can of low cal soft drink. Motioning
it to the blonde.

A shake of her
head and a smile. Feeling slightly more adventurous. “Got any beer
in there?”

Jean’s hand
swished around in the cooler, pulling out a slender glass neck. She
handed it to her friend across the campfire. An indulgent smirk as
the item was received.

“Been a while,
I don’t usually drink.” A twist and a hiss as the beer
uncapped.

“Worried
someone will jump you?”

“Occupational
hazard.” Said with a frown of the cupid’s bow.

A dark raised
brow and a cheeky grin. “Don’t worry, no one out here but me, and
‘Kensey isn’t the brawling type.”

A soft whicker
from somewhere in the strand of trees nearby almost seemed like an
indignant rebuttal.

Her friend only
smiled, studying her hands.

“Jean?”

Hazelnut eyes
met hers. “Yeah?”

Her friend
seemed hesitant. “You mentioned you were married once..what
happened?” Thinking of her own difficult times with Owen. Sometimes
it dominated her thoughts.

A soft breath
petered out over her lips. “Widowed, would be more accurate.”

She regretted
it as soon as she’d asked. “Oh. Forgive me I’m sorry.”

Her knees
shifted on the crunchy leaf litter and sleeping bag. “Long time ago
Jo, it’s OK.”

The blonde
looked at her again, curious but worried about overstepping her
bounds. They’d only known each other a month or so at most. It was
a very personal question.

A fingertip
brushed chocolate wisps out of her eyes, a sadness. “You know I
used to sail right?”

“Yes.”

“Before I
bought the land, I had a yacht, lived by the bay. It was a little
gift to myself, having the business grow for a little over a
decade. Felt right at the time. ‘Tash, my wife..” Her voice trailed
off a little, before picking up again. “..Natasha..we were out past
the harbour, few miles out. Sea was calm as glass.”

Her tongue
flicked behind her teeth, lips became a little drawn, her friend
listened compassionately. It was no surprise to Jo that Jean had
spent her life with a woman, though the brunette had never said so
in words.

“Anyway..’Tash
had been getting headaches. Been having tests. One morning..when we
went out on the reef I came down into the cabin and she was..” Her
voice crackled, a momentary hitch.

Jo passed the
older woman her beer. It was taken with a small grateful smile. A
sip before it was passed back.

“She’d been
having a seizure, we didn’t know it would happen. She fell. Hit her
head. Hard. I found her on the floor. By the time I’d called an
ambulance to meet us it was pretty much..too late.” A somber look
overcame her features. She remembered the frantic phone call, the
erratic navigation back to port.
The quiet of the waiting room.
Turning off the life support.

The normally
cool gaze softened. “I’m so sorry.”

A shrug of her
shoulders. “Sold the boat a week later. No sailing since - besides
that time with you.”

The tall woman
turned a bit of bark over in her hands, having picked it off the
old log she sat on. “How..how long ago was this?”

A smirk. “Then
I’d have to tell you how old I am?”

The blonde
smiled, eyes narrowed in thought. “You don’t look a day over thirty
five?”

Jean chuckled.
“You’re being considerate, flattery will get you no where. I’m
forty two.”

Shapely blonde
brows raised in surprise. “Really?”

“Yes Officer,
you wanna check my license?” with a sneer full of mischief.

Jo’s voice took
on a hard edge, but any authority was feigned. “License and
registration. Keep your hands where I can see them.”

Jean snorted as
she reached into her nap sack, tossing over the wallet, a clink of
shrapnel in the change compartment. She raised her hands in mock
surrender.

Grey eyes
pinned her with an amused glance. “Got my eye on you..” She looked
down, pulling out the license. Nobody avoided looking like either a
drug dealer or an insomniac in their posed uncomfortable portrait.
Jean somehow managed to look great. A summer glow to her cheek,
glossy shoulder length hair rather than her usual pixie. A younger
face. The dark long lashed eyes were the same, almost the same.
Absent of the lines made by grief.

Another glance,
a smile, she tossed it back. “Seems like you check out, won’t have
to run your plates.”

They sat there
watching each other for a moment. Jo smiled to fill the silence.
She looked away when their gaze became a little intense. Her new
tent was an easy segue. 

“So..what do you think?”

She nodded over
at the extravagant construction of weatherproof fabric, zipped
compartments and a mini shade sail that resembled an awning. Jo
obviously had an engineering degree to put it together.

Jean
snickered.

“What?” Grey
eyes were indignant.

“How much did
you spend on that thing?”

For a moment
the blonde looked a little sheepish. “Little under four hundred..”
She’d realised instantly that money wouldn’t impress her.

“For a
tent?!”

“It’s more than
a tent, it’s weather proof, non perishable, it even has little
windows that let you see out but not let the bugs in.” She crossed
her arms over her chest.

The Sergeant
looked around. “You haven’t set yours up?”

The older woman
patted the padded sleeping bag. “I prefer to see the stars.”

“But you don’t
even have a mattress? You’ll be sleeping on rocks all night? The
mosquitos will get you?”

Another shrug
and a whimsical grin. “Part of the fun. You gotta relax Jo.” The
Sergeant found herself smiling back, her friend’s attitude was
infectious. A self confidence, a calm. Perhaps it was the scenery
too, the serenity was all around them.

“So tell me
about your little girl?”

Jo’s eyes
gentled, the mention making her smile. “Her name is Annabelle,
she’s almost two. She’s full of energy, wears me out.”

Jean grinned.
“They tend to do that.”

Jo stood and
held her finger up a second, signalling her to wait. She made her
way into her tent. The sound of rummaging in a bag. She returned a
short while later, long strides, purse in hand. A cautious glance
reassured by a smile. She motioned Jean to come and join her side
by side on the log. Dusting off her hands, the older woman sat
beside her.

The policewoman
opened a small purse bound flipbook of photos.

“Here she is,
this is her at a month old.” The image depicted a baby girl with a
silvery cap of hair smiling at the camera. Blue eyes instead of
grey.