Some Girls Don't (Outback Heat Book 2) (11 page)

“Jeez, Selena,” he grinned, “you’re looking a little rough around the edges.”

A nearby female journalist looked scandalised, but Selena just laughed because looking all coifed and made-up had taken a backseat. She was so damn happy to see him she gave him a huge hug. He frowned when she finally let him go. “Are you okay?”

“Jarrod,” she said, searching his face. He had to be okay. Surely Marcus wouldn’t be this chipper if he wasn’t. “Is he okay? Have you heard from him?”

“Oh Selena, he’s fine,” Marcus assured, giving her another quick hug. “I haven’t spoken to him directly, but Ethan saw him last night working on some containment lines.

Selena hadn’t realised until that point how sick with worry she’d been. “Oh God, thank you,” she whispered. The invisible hand that had been squeezing her throat suddenly let go. Her hands and her legs shook as she leaned back heavily against the ambulance for support.

“Hey. It’s okay,” he said, his hands on her upper arms. “Jarrod’s indestructible and fanatical about safety.”

“I know,” she nodded. “I know.”

But she’d worried all the same, the continual thud of rotors from the water-bombing helicopters the soundtrack to her anxiety.

“How’s Ethan doing? He must be crazy busy?”

“Yeah. You know Eth. He’s taking it all in his stride but he’s worried, like we all are.”

She looked out at the black, cloudy stain on the horizon again. “How worried?”

“He asked Delia to take Connie to Brisbane.” Selena swallowed. That
was
big. “I heard about your story on the loss of native animals,” he said. “Everyone’s raving about it.”

“Thanks,” Selena smiled, grateful to Marcus for the distraction.

“Lot of media here,” he said, his gaze scanning the area where the journalists had been corralled.

“Yep,” she nodded.

“What’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?”

“The usual,” she shrugged. “Talking to as many people as we can. Waiting for official updates from the coordinator and for clearance to go into areas and talk to people affected by the fire.”

“Sounds like a lot of sitting around and waiting.”

“Yes. But they don’t want any of us rushing out being cowboys either. They’ve got enough to worry about without having to rescue inconsiderate journalists.”

“We’re going out with the fireys and police to a lot of the outer properties checking on people, if you fancy a ride along for something different? I could get you and your cameraman on with us? Kinda like a journo being embedded with an army unit. Without, you know, war. Although, the size of that fire … it is war out there.”

Selena blinked, overwhelmed at the offer. A chance to see and report on the damage first hand, to talk to people about their experiences, to watch some paramedics in action—that was an enormous opportunity.

“For real?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

Selena didn’t want to get her hopes up. It didn’t seem like something the brass would approve of. “Are you sure you’ll be able to get clearance for that?”

“Don’t see why not. They don’t let us go in anywhere that hasn’t been declared safe. You’ve got a lot of cred in regional areas compared to a lot of those fancy city journos, so I reckon they’d be amenable. Besides, I know a few people in high places, reckon I can pull some strings if needs be. Would the station mind?”

A thrill of excitement ran through her. “I can’t see why not.” The station would be ecstatic, especially if she reported news no-one else was reporting. For the station boffins it was all about the ratings.

“Alright then, hang ten.”

Selena called John, her cameraman, on her mobile. “We’re embedding with the paramedics. Get your stuff and meet me at the command centre.”

She’d just gotten off the phone to Grandy when Marcus returned ten minutes later. “You got yourself a ride,” he grinned.

*     *     *

What followed was
one of the most raw and humbling experiences of Selena’s life. With the encroaching line of black smoke and the ever-present stench of it in the air she, John, Marcus and his partner, Brett, were in one of three ambulances that drove all around the district with police and fire officers, into areas assessed as being under no immediate threat, checking on the medical needs, welfare and readiness of residents. With communication channels affected by the fire it was the only way to reach some residents.

The stories Selena heard were of ordinary men and women, worried but courageous and stoic in the face of this ugly threat. There was indomitable spirit, but overwhelming emotion too—tears of gratitude for a community pulling together and empathy for those who’d already lost their homes. Also weary acceptance that they lived at the whim of nature in all its beauty and terror.

Real people facing real challenges—the dilemmas and risks—head on, and running the gamut of human emotions.

It was amazing television.

One of the communities they were directed to early that evening hadn’t been so lucky. It had come under ember attack late yesterday, and with the hot, dry winds firefighters had only been able to save one out of four properties. The others had lost their houses, their outbuildings, their machinery and most of their livestock. Talking to devastated farmers who’d spent the day walking their charred land, destroying severely injured sheep, was heartbreaking.

It had been a harrowing end to an overwhelming day and Selena was exhausted as they’d rolled back into town.

“Tomorrow?” Marcus asked as they dropped her and John at the command centre on their way back to the station to restock the rig.

“That change is supposed to come in overnight.” She hoped so, this fire had already taken too high a toll. “Hopefully there won’t be a fire to report on.”

“Hopefully,” he agreed. “We’ll still be going out though, doing what we did today, if you want to join us.”

“Thanks, that’d be great.”

The rig took off. Selena stayed up past midnight with her crew going through their footage from the day, getting a segment together for the early morning news. She’d reported in on Skype for the hourly updates during the day, but they’d filmed everywhere they’d been and she knew the images of outback Australian spirit that had been captured were going to be riveting viewing.

She got about six hours of sleep, waking the next morning with her nostrils still full of smoke but to much better news on the fire front. The forecast change had moved in overnight. The front had moved to within thirty kilometres of Jumbuck Springs, causing evacuation of properties in its path, and many of the residents had spent a sleepless night hosing their yards and roofs to protect from potential ember attack. But the wind had died right down around four in the morning, which had enabled containment lines to hold and large tracts of the fire to burn itself out.

There was even a possibility of some rain tomorrow.

No-one was declaring the emergency over, but it was under control finally. The danger to Jumbuck Springs and elsewhere had passed and the fact that there’d been no loss of life was a miracle.

The mood at the control centre was upbeat for the first time in days when Selena arrived. Fire control was working on replacing the crews that had spent many days going back again and again to fight the fire with only short breaks. Fresh crews would deal with spot fires, the hosing down, monitoring and mopping up.

Selena hoped that meant that Jarrod, wherever he was out there, got to come home soon. The need to see him, to assure herself that he really was okay, was almost overwhelming and she knew she wouldn’t—
couldn’t
—leave Jumbuck Springs until she’d seen him with her own two eyes.

They were out again at eight with Marcus and Brett. It was different today, heading mainly into areas that had been burnt out not that far out of town, being directed to check on various rural roads and properties in the worst-affected region. It was a more sombre morning, the extent of the smoking landscape mind-boggling.

They passed many a fire truck on the dirt roads, saw men and women in their grubby high-vis uniforms, helmets and big boots hosing down smoking stumps and burning tree trunks to prevent any possibility of fire breaking out again from embers should the wind pick up. Selena thanked God there were people like that in the word—people like Jarrod. The temperature today was thirty-six degrees—how much hotter must it be in all that get-up standing in the middle of still-smouldering earth?

“Hello,” Marcus said, half slowing down as they approached another engine on the side of the road around eleven o’clock. “I know that engine.”

Selena looked up from her iPad, where she was typing some notes. A yellow fire truck was parked to the side of the road with about a dozen firefighters heading out of the burnt-out bush towards it.

“Is it Jarrod’s?”

Marcus grinned at her as he pulled the rig up on the opposite side of the road. “If I’m not very much mistaken that’s him at the back there talking into the radio.”

Selena followed his finger. It was hard to tell in profile under the layers of his uniform and the full head protection of his helmet, but there was a familiar bulkiness to the body. She grinned back at Marcus. “Thank you.”

She opened the door, her heart fluttering madly in her chest as she slid her feet to the ground. She was vaguely aware of the heavy aroma of smoke and the sound of rotor blades somewhere nearby, but all she could think about was Jarrod.

“Jarrod,” she called as she shut the door behind her, conscious that Marcus had climbed out of the rig and every one of the other firefighters was looking at her.

He turned, his lips pressed to the radio, the visor on his helmet up. She couldn’t hear what he was saying but she could see the green of his eyes standing out from the soot blackening his cheekbones and forehead.

He smiled and, before she could check it, she was running across the dirt road towards him. “Copy that,” he said into the radio, not taking his eyes off her as she covered the distance between them.

“Out,” he muttered into the walkie talkie, clipping it quickly to his belt as she launched herself at him. He let out a soft
oomph
as she crashed into him, pulling on his shoulders hard as she tried to wrap herself around him.

If she hadn’t been super aware of their audience she’d have crawled up him until her thighs were locked around his waist.

“Oh thank God,” she muttered, into his ear, squeezing her eyes shut. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

She clung to him for long moments before pulling back and searching his face like it had been another fifteen years since she’d last seen him, instead of a month. Sweat had turned the soot to grime under his eyes and he looked exhausted but good.
Sooo
good. She stood on tippy toes and kissed him without any second guessing or a care for how dirty he was.

He kissed her back to a cacophony of cat calls and wolf whistles, and that felt good too.
Sooo
good. Selena didn’t care what it meant in the grand scheme of their relationship. She was just pleased he hadn’t been swallowed up by that fiery beast he’d been battling for days now.

“I’ve been calling and calling you,” she said, pulling away again.

His face mirrored his surprise. “I only have a fire service phone on me,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Now I’ve seen you with my own two eyes I won’t worry.”

“I told you he was indestructible, didn’t I?” Marcus grinned, approaching them, and he and Jarrod embraced in that manly chest bump way, slapping each other on the back.

“What are you doing with him?” Jarrod asked. “You covering the fires?”

Selena nodded. It felt weird to be standing here, relief running through her veins like coolant, having just pashed him in front of everyone, talking about her work. “Me and my cameraman have been embedded with Marcus and Brett since yesterday.”

“How’s it been?” Jarrod asked, switching his attention to his brother.

“Okay yesterday. Bit grimmer today, moving into the more fire-affected areas.”

Jarrod nodded. “Yes.”

“I heard they’re sending out relief teams for you guys today,” Selena said.

“That’s right,” he confirmed. “Hoping to be home by this afternoon. I’d kill for a shower. My dirt has dirt.”

Selena didn’t blame him, he looked like a chimney sweep at the moment. If it were her, she’d want to soak in a bath for a week.

The radio at his belt fired to life. “Just a sec,” he said as he answered it. There was a lot of static and Selena only picked up every second word. Something about a burnt-out car somewhere, but Jarrod seemed to get it all.

“Roger that. Have Marcus and Brett here with me right now,” he said looking at his brother, who nodded. “We’ll investigate. Stand by for my sitrep. Out.”

“Was that Gilligan’s Road?” Marcus asked.

“Yep, it’s about ten clicks from here. You want to follow me in the rig just in case?”

“Sure.”

Jarrod turned to his crew who were taking a breather, drinking out of their canteens. “We’re heading to Gilligan’s Road.”

The firefighters nodded wearily and headed to their truck without a word. “Come on, Selena,” Marcus said. “We’ll follow.”