When Danger Follows Read Free Page B

for a fence in the distance, she thought about Vanessa Colleridge, hoping her instincts were wrong about her, if it was true that she was soon to be the children’s stepmother.
    * * * *
    Reaching the fence, Caitlin looked down at the cluster of buildings in the distance. This was where Harry and the hired hands lived, presumably. She walked part way down the hill and sat on a big, smooth rock still radiating heat from the sun. But the air was cooler now, and softer. Spread out before her was the timeless, desert land of the Aborigines, a sacred, ancient place, eerily beautiful, and dangerous. She was quickly adjusting to the space and the silence. She sat for a while relishing the peace then, noticing the shadows growing longer, began to head back before it grew too dark.
    She stopped to get her bearings. There was a line of trees between where she stood and the house that she had marked earlier. She left the fence and began to walk across a paddock of long grass. A rustling sound near her feet made her look down. She was completely unprepared by what she saw. A dusty-black snake was only a few steps away, coiling and uncoiling its body. It flicked its tongue at her. A chill of fear raced up her spine as she grappled with her lack of knowledge. Should she run?
    “Step back.” A hand came from behind her, holding a forked stick. It stabbed at the snake, pinning its head to the ground. Caitlin jerked herself from her frozen stance and found her feet, leaping into action. She didn’t look back until she’d reached the house. Bent double, she gasped for breath. The story that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland could well be true, for she’d certainly never come across one. Why had she come to this dreadful place?
    She watched Jake Monterey throw away the stick as he came striding towards her, his dark eyebrows knitted into a heavy scowl.
    “What were you doing walking about in long grass, with those scrappy shoes on your feet? Didn’t you bring better footwear?” His anger brought out a slight accent that wasn’t Australian.
    Caitlin was tempted to reply that Vanessa was similarly ill-equipped. “I have shoes and boots, but it’s so hot.”
    “For God’s sake put them on next time you tackle the bush, and don’t get lost. It’s close on dusk. I’ve enough to do without having to send out a search party for you.”
    He turned and opened the screen door for her.
    Who did he think he was? Fear and outrage bubbled up inside her like a wellspring. As she passed by him she said, “There was no way I would’ve got lost. I knew exactly where I was the whole time. I kept the fence in view.”
    Jake put his arm across the doorway, halting her progress. She baulked. He was so close she could see the fringe of black eyelashes above dark blue eyes like William’s. Jake’s eyes were very grown up, however, and they held a spark of anger. “That fence goes for hundreds of miles. Too bad if you took off in the wrong direction. I’m making a point of this, Caitlin, because you do not yet understand how easy it is to get lost and die out here.”
    “Surely you don’t expect me to stay cooped up in the house all the time?” she said, the fight draining out of her. She was very conscious of Jake’s proximity, his musky aftershave. Perhaps he felt something too as he removed his hand quickly. Once they were in the hall, he frowned down at her.
    “No, of course not. That was never my intention. Saturdays are your own time as was agreed,” his voice mellowed. “I’m aware there’s not a lot for a young woman to do around here. Next time I go to Darwin and take the kids with me, Harry can run you into the local township. When you’re more confident with the conditions, perhaps you can drive yourself.”
    He paused, as his gaze traveled over her, taking in her unsuitable attire, her bare midriff and legs. She felt herself flush. “I can’t deny I was delighted at the prospect of having a qualified teacher