Little Girl Lost (16 page)

‘You didn’t have to pick me up, you know.’

Max smiled. ‘Yes, I did. This is a date. I wanted to do it properly.’

‘But you didn’t bring flowers.’ She was teasing him. But that didn’t stop him wishing that he had brought flowers. Roses. Armfuls of them.

‘This is Coorah Creek,’ he said. ‘There aren’t a lot of roses around here.’

She laughed softly at that and suddenly he was glad he had no roses. Roses were a cliché, and there was nothing about Tia that was clichéd. If not bringing her roses made her laugh like that, he’d willingly spend the rest of his life tearing rose bushes out of the ground with his bare hands.

‘Well, I guess I’m ready.’ She turned to lock the door and came down the metal stairs.

She looked amazing. For a woman who spent most of her time in protective work gear at the mine or in leathers on her bike, she certainly knew how to wear a short skirt. Max was still standing on the dry dust outside her trailer. And as she slowly came down those metal stairs, giving him a wonderful view of her long slim legs, he was glad she hadn’t invited him inside.

When she stepped onto ground level with him, his eyes flashed to the neck of her blouse, searching for a hint of the tattoo that he had never seen clearly. He allowed himself a few moments to imagine what it might be. One day, maybe even tonight, he would find out. But he wasn’t going to push. Tia’s past was filled with men who had hurt her. He was not going to be one of them. Her future was going to be different. He was determined this would be the sort of date Tia deserved. With an overt display of gallantry, he opened the car door for her. In reality he was hoping for another look at those fabulous legs as she stepped up into the big four-wheel drive.

‘You know, if you try to suddenly run out of petrol in some lonely lovers’ lane, I’m not going to believe you,’ Tia said as they drove away from the mine compound. ‘I know you are far too organised to run out of petrol.’

‘There’s my entire plan shot to hell. I guess I’ll have to buy you dinner instead.’

‘That seems like a good idea. I’m starving.’

That made Max laugh.

‘What?’ she demanded.

‘Most women wouldn’t like to admit they’re starving. They want their dates to think they eat like sparrows.’

‘I’m not most women.’

Max didn’t need reminding of that, but if he had, their entrance into the pub would have done it. Being Friday night, the pub was quite full. Coorah Creek was a town where very little happened, so even now the search and rescue was still the main topic of conversation. The minute he and Tia entered, a number of people shouted over for them to join their tables, offering to buy drinks and obviously wanting to talk about the search. In the minds of everyone there, Tia was very much the hero – or rather heroine – of the hour. Not only that, her short floaty skirt attracted more than a few not-so-covert glances from some of the men. Tia acknowledged the offers with a friendly grin and a shake of her head and followed Max to a quiet table in a far corner.

‘It’s going to take a little while for the excitement to die down,’ Max said. ‘But it will eventually.’

‘That’s okay. It feels kind of nice to be accepted like that.’

And that, thought Max, is what’s different. Not too long ago, Tia wanted to remain distant from the town and from him. She’d finish her drink and ride off on the Harley whenever someone tried to talk to her. Especially him. Being part of the search for Renee had changed her feelings towards both the town and him. Perhaps it had also changed her feelings about herself. He hoped it had.

‘It is nice to have a quiet table though,’ Tia added as they took their seats. ‘We were lucky to get a table on a Friday …’ She stopped and a smile twisted the corners of her mouth. ‘No, we weren’t lucky. You arranged this, didn’t you?’

Max nodded. ‘I wanted you all to myself.’ He looked across the bar to see Trish Warren approaching. ‘Or as much of you to myself as possible.’

‘Tia. It’s so good to see you. Don’t you look pretty? I do believe this is the first time I have seen you in a dress. And Max. Looking handsome as always in civvies. I assume you are here to celebrate, like everyone else. Good news is always good for business. The other news is that Jack and Ellen are home from their visit back east. Missed all the excitement, but there you go. Ellen is helping me tonight. She’s doing the cooking because Jack’s behind the bar. And that gives me a chance to spend some time with those lovely children of theirs. She’s done a lasagne. And there’s the usual steak with her special pepper sauce. Dinner is on the house and …’ she held up her hand to silence Max before he could protest ‘… not a word from you, Max Delaney, you hear? Accepting a free meal from a friend is not police corruption. Nor is accepting the beer Jack is about to serve. Got it?’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ Max said with mock fear.

Trish grinned happily and walked away.

Tia was still giggling softly when Jack North appeared with a beer in each hand.

‘Tia, I don’t think you’ve met Jack,’ Max said. ‘He and his wife Ellen have been away for a few weeks with their kids. Jack is normally my right hand man when we’ve got trouble. I missed you, mate.’ Jack put both beers on the table and clasped Max’s hand.

‘You managed fine without me, Sarge,’ he said. ‘Glad to meet you, Tia. I’ve heard a lot about you. You did good out there.’

‘Don’t believe everything you hear,’ said Tia. ‘I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. All the credit goes to Max for organising the search, and to the trackers who found her.’

‘Don’t worry, by the time this town has finished with the story, you will have swum the flooded river and plucked the girl from the very jaws of a saltwater croc,’ Jack joked, his affection for the town clear in every word he spoke.

‘Well, if they insist on turning me into a hero …’

Jack chuckled as he returned to the bar, leaving Tia and Max alone.

‘I am starting to see why you like this town so much,’ Tia said.

‘It’s a good place. Good people.’ Max raised his beer glass in a salute, which she returned. ‘Does that mean you might think about staying here for a while?’ He kept the question casual. If he let her see how much her answer mattered to him, he might frighten her away.

Tia glanced down at the beer glass in her hands, as if weighing his question. When she raised her eyes, she studied his face for a long moment before answering. ‘I could be talked into it.’

‘I’d like that.’

Trish appeared again to take their food order. Both Tia and Max opted for steak.

Max thought Tia looked as relaxed as he had ever seen her. Perhaps some of the ghosts from her past had been exorcised. He was glad he had never traced her via the police systems. When she was ready to tell him about her past and the motorbike that wasn’t hers, she would. In the meantime, if the past was a closed door for her, there was always the present. And if he was very lucky, perhaps a future.

‘So, what’s it like driving one of those big mine trucks?’ he asked.

Tia could not remember a meal she had enjoyed this much. It wasn’t just the steak that was good; although it was very, very good. It was a long time since she had talked this much. Or laughed this much. She and Max talked about anything and everything. Almost everything. They talked about her job at the mine and his work too. A disagreement over the best Beatles song was just another source for teasing. It seemed they liked some of the same films, although Max was more of a reader than she was. Max regaled her with funny stories from his days as a young beat cop, but not once during the evening did he ask about her past. She was grateful to him for that.

There was no doubt that Max was flirting with her. Catching her eye in a lingering glance. Touching her hand as he passed her another beer. A couple of times, he let his leg brush hers and she didn’t pull away. It felt amazing to have someone like Max flirting with her. In her experience, men didn’t flirt. They took what they wanted. This was something new and pretty wonderful. She felt her guard falling away as the evening passed. And it wasn’t the beer doing it. She didn’t need any help to relax around Max. She just needed Max.

They had moved from beer to coffee when Max finally glanced down at his watch.

‘It’s nearly closing time,’ he said. ‘We probably should go.’

‘I guess we should.’ Her own reluctance surprised her. ‘It probably wouldn’t do for you to be caught drinking out of hours in the pub.’

Max grinned that same cheeky grin that had held her spellbound all night. ‘And who is going to catch me?’

They managed to escape with no more than a few words with Trish. Outside, the night was dark and quiet. Tia raised her face to the sky, taking in the twinkling of the stars in the inky blackness. It was the sort of night she liked to take the bike out on the highway and feel the freedom of being her own person. To revel in being alone. Tonight however was different. She didn’t want the evening to end. She didn’t want to say goodnight to Max and she didn’t want to be alone.

‘There’s something I want to show you,’ Max said. ‘And I promise no running out of petrol in lovers’ lane.’

A tiny part of her was disappointed to hear that.

‘Okay.’

They drove out of town a short distance, then Max turned off the main road onto a graded gravel road. A short time later, they abandoned the gravel and turned onto what was little more than two wheel ruts, barely visible in the red earth. Tia could hear Max humming softly to himself as he drove towards the big red sandstone bluff that overlooked the town. She smiled as she recognised the song, wondering if the lonely hearts he was thinking of were theirs.

If Tia had been expecting the track to climb to the top of the bluff, to some spectacular outlook, she was wrong. When Max parked the car, they were still surrounded by scrubby trees. He got out of the car, closing the door quietly. She followed his example. He held out his hand, and she took it without hesitation and followed where he lead.

They walked along a narrow track that looked as if it had only recently been pushed through the long dry grass that came almost to Tia’s knees. About them, the tall gums reached leafy fingers up into the sky. Somewhere she heard the high sharp call of a night bird. Wherever they were it wasn’t lovers’ lane. Tia’s survival instinct started to kick into high gear. She was alone with a man she barely knew, in this hidden place where clearly no one ever came. In the city, she would be in danger. In the city, she had never allowed herself to be this vulnerable. That this man was a cop meant nothing. She knew more about some cops that she wanted to. This was Max, and she wanted to trust him, but her past began closing in around her. She felt her feet hesitate.

Max stopped and turned to her. ‘It’s not much further.’

Her instincts told her to turn and try to get away, until she looked into Max’s open and honest face. Something deep in her heart wanted to believe in him.

Another few steps and they emerged from the scrub into a clearing.

It wasn’t the spectacular view she had expected, but it was lovely none the less.

The land sloped gently down from where they stood to the creek. The water glistened in the moonlight. All around them, the stately gums stretched into the night sky, and above them the stars seemed so close, Tia felt as if she could reach out and touch them. There was no light here, other than that provided by nature. It softened the harshness of the land, and created an ethereal beauty.

A slight stirring of breeze rustled the grass and the leaves of the trees above, but other than that, there was no sound except for the occasional chirp of a cicada. Tia’s world had never been silent. There had always been something, from the harsh sounds of the city and of other people, to the roar of the Harley or her mine truck. Noise had helped drown out her thoughts and the memories that haunted her. Until this moment, she had never really felt at peace with the world, or with herself. And never had she even thought to share a moment like this with anyone.

‘How beautiful it is,’ Tia said softly. ‘It’s as if we are the first people ever to come here. That the land is as it was before … well … before people came and started changing things.’

‘When I come here, I think I catch just a hint of what the aboriginal people call The Dreaming. I will never have Grandpa Pindarri’s connection to the land, but here I feel … I’m not sure what. But I do know it’s very special.’

Tia knew exactly what he meant. ‘So what is this place? Part of the National Park?’

‘No. This is my place.’

Tia dragged her eyes away from the scene before her. ‘Your place?’

Max glanced around him, something like pride on his face. ‘Yes. I bought this land a few months ago. I think it would be a fine place to build a house.’

Tia nodded slowly. ‘I think so too. But you haven’t started building yet?’

‘No. The station residence is fine for me. A home I made here would be for a family.’

The word hung silently in the air between them, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Tia felt a surge of longing for something she hadn’t had in a very long time. Images played through her mind. A large home with big wide verandas built on this spot. There were kids playing in the yard, perhaps with a dog or a pony. Family meals would be served around a huge wooden table, probably one that Max had made himself. At the centre of all those images was Max, with his easy smile and those gentle hands that were also strong enough to turn a lump of old wood into something beautiful. There was something missing from the images inside Tia’s head. Max needed a woman by his side. A wife to him and a mother to those children.

How she longed to be that woman.

It was time she told him. If she could. She turned to gaze back out over the creek, because she didn’t want to see Max’s face as she talked. She didn’t want to see the disgust and condemnation there.

‘I ran away from home when I was just fifteen,’ she said softly. ‘My father was long gone and my mother’s boyfriend … well … he was getting a bit too interested in me. Especially when Mum wasn’t there.’