Read Outback Flames: Australian Rural Romantic Suspense for Free Online

would have
been exquisite in their day, hung askew over the window. Dust coated a
bookshelf full of books and she wondered if any were worth rescuing.
    'It's worse
than a pigsty.' She shook her head at the sight before her. So this was once
her room. She wasn't game enough to breathe as she glared about, stung by the
realisation it was only a room, a room she no longer remembered.
    Jordan reached
out, and touched her forearm. 'Come on, I knew you shouldn't have come up here.
I feel so bad. I should never have encouraged it.'
    Tears filled
her eyes and she blinked them away. 'I insisted. It's not your fault.' She
sniffled.
    'Come on. I'll
get someone to give the place a thorough overhaul before you set foot in here
again, that is after I repair the staircase.'
    'Thank you.'
It was all she could manage. Emotion welled in her throat and she wondered why
she couldn't remember the life here with her mother and father. Blinking back
tears, she felt the warm touch of Jordan's hand as he led her down the
staircase and out through the front door.
    They continued
toward the fig tree but his hand remained resting on the lower part of her
back. God it felt good. She could almost imagine he cared for her, that they
were...she forced the crazy thought from her mind. How could she trust someone
when all she'd known was lies, and it had taken her three years to put her trust
in the Pattersons? Even still, she was wary of everything they did and said,
until one day it dawned on her that they were honest and loving people. She
witnessed it in the many ways they'd help all their employees. She'd learnt to
trust them and in due time, perhaps she could learn to trust others.
    When they
arrived under the shade of the tree, she was surprised to find a table and two
benches sitting on either side. 
    'Have a seat.'
    He broke
contact seconds before she sat. Her entire body zinged with such shock, and she
wasn't sure if it was from Jordan's touch or seeing a bedroom that didn't exist
in her mind.
    Jordon sat
beside her, but kept his distance. 'It's only natural to react when seeing
something like that. Don't be so hard on yourself.'
    'If I could
remember, have my memories, it'd make things a lot easier. Looking at that
bedroom, I could tell my parents loved me, that they thought a lot of me. There
are so many stuffed animals, and books. I don't think there's much to salvage.
'
    'I'll get the
cleaners to go through the house, with instructions that anything worth saving
must be packed in boxes. How's that sound?'
    She nodded.
'Looks like I have to put up with the motel for a while longer. Don't you think
it's odd that I escaped the fire but Mum and Dad didn't?'
    'The ambulance
arrived not long after their room was engulfed with flames. Perhaps they were
asleep and didn't know what was happening.'
    Zoe nodded in
thought.
    'Perhaps.' She
gazed up at the house, trying to recall ever being here, but nothing leapt out
to soothe her nerves, announcing she was home. It certainly didn't feel like
home. Perhaps when the cleaners went through, when Jordan finished rebuilding
and she moved in, something might spark her mind and make her feel as though
she belonged here.
    'Tell me a
little about yourself, Zoe? You know a bit about me. It's your turn.'
    She finished
taking a sip of coffee and placed her cup down. 'There's not much to tell,
really. I worked as a jillaroo. When I was fifteen I started as a cook and went
from there.'
    'Fifteen years
old. You mean after you left school.'
    Zoe’s gaze ran
over a fence in the distance, and she rolled her lips, reverting her gaze to
Jordan. 'I didn't attend school.' She waited for his response.
    'You what? You
didn't go to school?'
    'You heard
right. When I left here, my aunt insisted. She said she had no money to send me
to school, that she wasn't well off. We lived on the borderline of poverty.'
    Jordan jerked
back. Furrows formed across his forehead.
    'It's no big
deal now, Jordan. I'm a qualified jillaroo and I love