Outback Ghost (34 page)

He returned a moment later and did as his mother asked. Stella tried not to drool as his forearms flexed and bunched while he attempted to massacre the roast. It looked like a chainsaw would be hard-pushed to cut through. Eventually, Adam conquered the battle and served them each a few slivers of meat. Thankfully not large slivers.

‘Help yourself to the veggies,' Esther said, gesturing to the two dishes.

‘Thanks.' Stella leaned forward and dished out a few rock-hard spuds and some waterlogged carrots and peas and corn onto Heidi's and her own plate. Then she poured a liberal amount of gravy on top. It looked the most edible thing of the lot.

‘Can I get you a drink? Wine? Beer? Juice?' Adam asked, still standing.

‘Juice, please.' Heidi's eyes twinkled. Stella rarely let her drink juice but if that's what it took to lift her mood, she could drink a gallon. It was Christmas after all.

‘A white wine would be lovely.' Stella smiled up at Adam, deciding that she might need a few glasses to help her swallow her lunch.

‘Great.' Adam looked to Esther. ‘Mum?'

‘I'll have a wine too, thanks darling.'

Adam left and came back a few moments later with the drinks on a tray. ‘I say we need a toast,' he said as he handed them out.

Stella blinked. Apart from great sex, she couldn't think of much to toast right now.

‘To new friends.' He lifted his glass and both Stella and Esther joined the toast.

‘To new friends,' they echoed and then Stella took a long sip before attempting to eat her lunch. Each mouthful felt as if she were swallowing dirt. Esther appeared to have no idea how dire her food was and chatted to Heidi about her new Christmas presents while they ate. Heidi, gorgeous and eager to please, almost cleared her plate – a miracle considering she barely ate anything Stella offered her. Stella watched her, feeling so proud and more determined than ever to help her with the Lily-Blue issue.

Lost in her thoughts, she startled as something nudged her feet under the table. She looked over to Adam who sat at the head, with her on one side of the table and Esther and Heidi next to each other on the other. The grin he gave her told her he was the culprit and she gave him a stern look as he leaned towards her.

‘You okay?' he whispered, his voice sexily low but full of concern.

She nodded.

He glanced down at his near empty plate and then pushed back his seat. ‘Mum, since you cooked this delicious lunch, Stella and I will clear up.'

Esther looked up from Heidi. ‘Oh, no. Stella is our guest.'

‘It's fine.' Stella shoved her own seat back. Just that brief brush of his shoe against hers had her desperate for a moment alone with him.

‘Well, if you insist. Heidi, let's go into the lounge room and test out your tea set before dessert?'

Heidi scraped back her chair, the four legs making a nails-down-the-blackboard sound along the floorboards. Usually that type of sound made Stella's skin crawl but today she barely registered it. As Esther and Heidi went into the lounge room, she and Adam somewhat hastily collected as much as they could carry from the table in one go.

Adam held the kitchen door open for her, his arm brushing against her chest, agitating her desire all the more, as she walked past him. Sitting around the table with Esther trying to create a magical Christmas, all Stella had been able to think about was confronting Adam again about the jacaranda tree but now that they were alone, her priorities had taken an express trip to the gutter. He'd turned her into some kind of hussy and she didn't know whether to be pleased or appalled by the fact.

She dumped her plates by the sink and Adam put his down a second later. ‘You're a good actress,' he whispered, placing his hands on her hips and swivelling her round to face him.

She laughed, loving the feel of him as he stepped closer and trapped her against the kitchen sink. ‘I don't know what you mean.'

He raised one eyebrow. ‘That lunch was diabolical, but you can relax because I convinced Mum to let me make dessert.'

Stella made a theatrical show of wiping her hand across her brow. ‘Phew,' then added, ‘I'm really sorry about falling asleep on you last night. I hope it wasn't in the middle of things or anything.'

‘Relax.' He kissed her nose. ‘I kinda liked watching you sleep and you obviously needed it. Did Heidi sleep through the night? She seems a little flat today.'

Stella sighed, touched that he'd noticed. ‘We had a bit of a discussion this morning. She's sad Lily-Blue is spending Christmas on her own.'

‘I see.' Adam linked his hands through hers and spoke seriously. ‘I know I said maybe I should let sleeping dogs lie but—'

‘Ooh sorry!'

So lost in each other, neither Adam nor Stella had heard Esther coming but they snapped apart at her sing-songy exclamation. Stella felt like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar as she looked at the older woman, but Esther beamed.

‘I didn't know I was interrupting anything,' she said, not at all sounding apologetic.

‘You weren't,' Stella rushed to assure her as heat burned in her cheeks.

Esther wiggled her eyebrows. ‘I'm sure I wasn't. Anyway, Heidi and I have decided it's Christmas and we shouldn't have to wait till our lunch has settled to eat dessert. Adam has made the most divine chocolate mousse cake,' she said, focusing on Stella. ‘I know it's not very traditional but he assured me Heidi might like it better than my Christmas pud.'

‘I'm sure she'll love it,' Stella managed, still flummoxed by the fact Esther had found her in what looked to be a compromising position with Adam.

‘Well, come on then.' Esther grabbed Stella's hand and, already on her way back out the door, called over her shoulder, ‘Adam can dish it up and we'll eat in the lounge room.'

Stella let Esther lead her through to where Heidi had the tea set laid out on one of the coffee tables.

‘Want drink, Mummy?' she asked.

‘Sure.' Stella sat awkwardly perched on the edge of one couch unable to relax with the thoughts running through her head. Had Adam been about to tell her he'd reconsidered not digging?

‘Here go.' Heidi thrust a delicate teacup and saucer at her. ‘Drink.'

‘Thanks, honey.' Stella took it, going through the motions of raising the cup to her mouth and pretending to drink.

After a couple of minutes and many cups of pretend tea, Adam appeared carrying three dessert bowls filled to the brim with chocolate goodness. He handed each of them a dish.

‘Where's yours?' Stella asked. Like a skilled waiter, he'd carried two bowls in one hand, so could easily have brought all four out at once.

‘I've just remembered something I have to check on the farm,' he announced, fiddling with his collar like a nervous schoolboy.

‘What could you possibly have to check now?' Esther asked. She looked to Stella. ‘My husband was always the same. Working 365 days a year. No day is sacred to a farmer.'

Ignoring her disgruntlement, Adam said, ‘I need to check the sheep have enough water. It's really hot out there. Back soon.'

Esther frowned at Adam's retreating back then picked up her spoon and began to eat. Stella tried to do the same but it was hard to even concentrate on getting her spoon from the cake into her mouth. She knew Adam wouldn't have forgotten to check the sheep's water. It had to be a ruse.

Five minutes passed. It felt like five days. Esther and Heidi finished their cake and were already entranced in their tea party game. Stella's cake was hardly touched. Usually she'd devour anything chocolate in a matter of seconds but…

She slammed her bowl down on the coffee table making both Heidi and Esther jump. ‘Sorry,' she said as she pushed off the couch to stand. ‘I've just remembered something too. I don't know if I turned off the… iron. Do you mind looking after Heidi while I go check?'

Esther offered her a bemused smile. ‘Take as long as you like. I was young once, I know how these things work.'

Oh Lord!
Esther thought she was off to meet Adam for a sexy rendezvous. Stella didn't want to get her hopes up that she and Adam might have a long-term future but neither could she tell her the truth.

‘Thanks,' she said, already on her way to the door. She grabbed her keys from where she'd left them on the hall table and sprinted to her car.

Shovel in hand, Adam stood in front of the jacaranda tree, wondering if he was doing the right thing. The thought of finding his sister's remains terrified him, yet he didn't think he could live through another day with the possibility of answers hanging over his head. Decision made, with no idea where to start, he took a step closer and plunged his shovel into the hard earth. It hadn't rained for months and the shovel didn't even crack the earth.

‘Fuck!' Slamming the shovel on the ground he ran back to his ute and grabbed the crowbar.

Sheer determination gave him the strength necessary to make progress. Sweat poured off his skin and he ripped off his wet shirt in between hammering the ground. It wasn't long before he'd shaken the earth enough to use the shovel. It was the hardest thing he'd ever tried to dig but nothing would stop him now. Like a man possessed, he dug hard and deep, tossing the dirt in a pile behind him. He didn't know how long he'd been digging when he heard footsteps behind him.

He whirled around, relief flooding through him instantly when he saw Stella.

‘Oh Lord.' She pressed her hand against her chest as she stared at the small pile of dirt between them. ‘I thought this was what you were doing.'

‘Where's Heidi? Where's Mum?'

‘They're still at the house. Your mum thinks we're having sex in a haystack or something.'

It was testament to how he felt that he didn't even crack a smile at that. ‘You must think I'm crazy.'

She shook her head and walked towards him. ‘No. I was thinking of digging myself.'

‘You were?'

She nodded. ‘I know it's not my place, but…'

He cut her off. ‘It doesn't matter. Not now. I've started and I'm gonna finish it.'

‘Want some help?'

‘Okay.' She wouldn't have the strength to be much use but if she were anything like him, standing around doing nothing would infuriate her. He nodded towards the crowbar. ‘Can you hammer the earth before I dig? All around the tree I guess. Not really sure where I should focus my efforts.'

In response, she picked up the crowbar and threw herself into the task. They worked in silence – Stella in her pretty dress and him in his best clothes standing in the full sun attacking the earth. They must have looked ridiculous. Dust made his eyes water and his throat felt parched but he didn't want to stop even for the short time it would take to fetch some water. He brought the shovel up high yet again and threw all his strength against it as he plunged it back into the earth.

This time he hit something solid.

It took a second for him to register that it wasn't just a tree root but something man made.

‘What's the matter?'

At Stella's words, he realised he was staring into the hole he'd dug, his heart thudding at the sight of dirty metal. ‘I think I've found something.'

‘What?' She tossed the crowbar onto the ground and came to join him. ‘Oh my God.'

‘What do we do?'

‘Keep digging.' Her tone was urgent. ‘We've got to get it out.'

His hand shaking, he gripped the shovel again – this time with some direction as to where to dig. It seemed to take forever but finally they'd removed enough soil to see what looked like an old toolbox. Instinctively he stooped down to try to extricate it, but Stella's hand on his arm stopped him.

‘We probably shouldn't touch it. Not without wearing gloves or something at least.'

‘You're right.'
Dammit
.

‘Wait there a moment,' she said. ‘I've got washing up gloves inside.'

She was gone barely long enough for him to think about what they might be about to find.

‘Here.' She thrust a pair of bright pink washing up gloves at him and proceeded to slide identical ones onto her hands. When they were both protected, they worked together to lift the box out of the dirt.

‘Is it locked?' Stella's voice shook.

‘I don't think so,' Adam said, glancing round the edges.

‘Maybe we shouldn't open it. Maybe we should call the police first?'

But Adam barely heard her words. Not thinking about what he might find, he wrenched open the slightly stiff lid. The sight made his stomach revolt.

He turned and stumbled to the ground as the contents of his lunch were hurled back up his throat. Stella's shadow fell over him as she knelt in the dirt beside him.

‘You'll get your dress dirty,' he said, when he finally stopped vomiting.

‘Adam, my dress is long gone. I don't give a damn about the dress.'

‘Oh shit.' He crawled away from his mess on the ground as tears filled his eyes. His hands were shaking, his whole damn body was shuddering with the realisation of what he'd just done. ‘It's her,' he said, looking up at Stella. The box had protected, almost mummifying, the body so that despite the years he could still identify bits of bone, hair and nails. Small bones. Hair the colour of Lily-Blue's.

Stella shuffled on her knees to join him and wrapped her arms around his body. ‘I'm so sorry.'

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to find comfort in her embrace. He'd never cried in a woman's presence before – aside from his mum's when he was a little kid – but he couldn't fight the tears now. Twenty years she'd been gone. Twenty years his family had been in limbo, half-grieving, half-hoping. All that time Uncle Tom had to have known there was no hope. He was the only one who could have done this.

That thought sent bile shooting up his esophagus again and he tore himself out of Stella's embrace, but he wasn't sick, not in his stomach anyhow. His head would never be the same again.