Raven Falls: Australian Rural Romantic Suspense Read online

  ‘And it won’t interfere with the drop, with the Falls in any way?’

  ‘No. It shouldn’t.’

  ‘What do you mean it shouldn’t?’

  ‘It’s like anything. It’s hard to gauge the end result. It shouldn’t be affected.’

  ‘The Falls will start again one day. I know they’re just a trickle now, but I have a feeling one day that they will be the Falls again.’ A vision of her mother’s face filled her mind. She pushed back threatening tears, and sniffed.

  Samantha thought about her mother’s tears and her analogy of the trickle. Her mother’s tears. God, why was it so hard to get over not having her around? Why did she crave to hear her voice every day? To have a cuddle once in a while would be the best present she could ever receive.

  She recalled the times when they’d leave the men behind and the two of them would come here to swim. Her mother loved the Falls as much as she did. In those days though, it was truly the Falls. The water gushed higher, and speared from the rocks causing a waterfall effect. You could see where the water had worn the surface of rocks away over the years. It was difficult to imagine now how strong the volume of water had been.

  ‘It’s been an eye opener. Thanks Sam.’

  An eye opener? The Falls were more than that. They were a reminder of her mother, of everything she’d left them, of the love she carried for them. Samantha wondered whose bare feet would wade through the coolness after she had departed this life, or whose heart would be as connected as much as hers.

  They continued to inspect the area, heading down towards the edge of the creek.

  ‘It’s not much of a creek these days.’

  ‘Still, the area has potential.’ He ran a sweeping gaze over the creek. As he covered the area, he’d stop every so often to scribble something down in a small notepad.

  Samantha led Raven toward the creek so he could drink. Brad copied.

  ‘It’s a slice of heaven, isn’t it?’

  She wished. ‘I suppose so.’ Her mother was in heaven, if so that meant her mother would be beside her. Samantha found her loss overpowering. Where was heaven? She’d heard the expression heaven on earth. But no matter how hard she looked, how much she spoke to her mother, she wasn’t about. Her mother was in heaven; that she knew, wherever heaven was.

  ‘I might take a look downstream.’

  ‘I’ll wait here.’ Samantha dismounted and walked into the shade of a gum tree, while Brad continued downstream for some time.

  When he returned, she sat on a blanket, spread out in the shade and held her hand up. 'Here. This one's for you. There's cake if you want some.'

  'Sandwich is fine, thanks.' He took the sandwich and joined her on the blanket.

  As Samantha gobbled down her sandwich, an awkward silence filled the following moments. 'Have you got all you need for now? We should head back after we've eaten.'

  ‘It's enough for now.'

  She sipped from a water container. 'Would you like a coffee?'

  'I'm right for now. Water's good.'

  Samantha pushed to her feet. 'Are you ready to go?'

  'Yeah. Sure thing.'

  While she packed the containers into one of the backpacks, Brad shook out the blanket and folded it so it would fit into his backpack. 'I don’t think I've done a good job at this.' He forced the blanket into the small area.

  Samantha grinned. 'It'll do for now.'

  Not long into their ride, Samantha heard a rustle in the tall grass behind them. She wondered what was making such a strange sound. It wasn’t a noise she was used to hearing. She manoeuvred her horse over toward Brad.

  ‘Hey. Did you hear that sound?’

  ‘No. What direction?’

  ‘Don’t look, but over there behind us, to your left. I sense someone is out there.’

  Brad took a casual look about. ‘I can’t see anything. Keep close.’

  The heat of the ochre sun disappeared, leaving a cool stillness evoking the evening.

  Brad rode ahead and Samantha couldn’t take her gaze from him. He rode as though he loved this life, rode as though he was meant to be there on that horse, in that saddle. She wondered why the city held him captive for such a long time and gathered that a woman was responsible.

  Twilight disappeared and the sky loaded with stars. It was a pity they weren’t riding together as she imagined her arms entwined around such a strong manly torso. But he’d already made one mistake in her book of love. She wasn’t about to jump in and allow him another, besides he was no longer interested. It was clear from the moment he’d turned up at Raven Falls. Her heart tiptoed over the oncoming beats.

  ***

  Samantha headed down the steps and into the kitchen, although she didn’t want her heart to tango for the umpteenth time setting eyes on Brad, she needed a coffee hit. While she sat at the breakfast bar sipping her drink, Cameron stumbled from his room, which was the only bedroom downstairs.

  ‘Morning sis. Sleep well?’

  ‘Out like a light. Cam, before everyone gets up I want to talk to you about Brad.’

  ‘What about him? He’s in the financial position to help, Sam.’

  ‘The guy’s a bit of a ghost, don’t you think?’

  ‘Meaning?’ Cameron started to make a coffee.

  ‘He lived a mere six kilometres away but we hadn’t seen him about. Even when Mum spoke about Dianne she never mentioned Dianne’s son.’

  ‘He’s spent most of his life in a boarding school in Sydney. When he returned for holidays I gather he spent time with his mother.’

  ‘I just—’

  ‘As for Mum talking about Dianne, the woman was sick a lot. She never got out, and Mum didn’t know her that well.’

  Samantha glanced downward.

  ‘What’s up? Has something happened between the two of you for you to act all snooty?’

  ‘I’m not all snooty...it’s… well, I don’t think the irrigation system and spending so much time and money...getting into debt… is worth it. I’ve told you that.’

  ‘I’ll make sure it’s all down the line, if it goes that far. We’re scratching the surface for now. Remember we’re only paying for the cost of the equipment. We can afford it. Ease up a bit.’

  Samantha sucked back a lungful of air. ‘Okay. Let’s see what he comes up with. But there’s one thing. Cam, he’s the guy—’

  ‘I thought everyone would be asleep.’

  ‘Not in this house,’ Cameron answered.

  Samantha looked up to dampness playing through Brad’s tousled hair.

  ‘Morning Cam, Sam.’

  ‘Morning. Help yourself to coffee, or whatever you like. Cam will show you where everything is.’

  Deciding to eat later, she pushed to her feet and walked out onto the back veranda. It was barely six and the sky held teasing hints of the heat to follow. She breathed in the fresh air, sipping on her coffee.

  Every kiss Brad gave her tumbled around her dreams last night. The way his fingertips tantalised her cheeks, ran down over her back. The way he held her, spoke to her, and here he was an entirely different human being. She’d have to shut her trap and agree with whatever her brothers wanted; after all, Raven Falls was left to the four of them. Wasn’t it majority rules?

  Cameron poked his head through the doorway. ‘We’re heading off to the machinery shed. I want to show Brad as much as I can. Have a think about what we said, Sam. It’d mean a lot to the boys. They’ve had their fair share of downs lately. Let’s give them something to work toward. Chris needs to know there will be something waiting for him here when he returns from uni. Even after Steven has his break and decides he wants to go to uni...’

  ‘What do you mean decides to go? He’ll be going.’

  ‘Exactly. He needs to know there’ll be work for him here if he still wants to help run the place. That is, if there’s a property to run.’

  ‘You sound like Dad. He always said we need something to hold onto, something to motivate us and inspire us.�
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  ‘Wise words from a wise man.’

  ‘I know. Okay. Let’s see what eventuates. I don’t want to upset the boys. It’s like you said. We’ve had enough of our down times.’

  ‘That’s my sis.’ He walked up to her and slammed an open palm on her back, spilling her coffee.

  ‘Oops. Sorry. Gotta go. Catch you later.’

  Cameron walked away with a spring in his step and she was pleased she agreed, although she’d be keeping a close eye on Raven Falls, and a much closer eye on Bradley Harper.

  Chapter Four

  Brad took a few hours out to return to his mother’s property, although it was no longer his mother’s. It was his, all twelve thousand hectares. With the drought in full swing and the years of continuous neglect, there wasn’t even a horse or cow about.

  Since his accident, he’d healed well after having intense physiotherapy, although the nights were problematic. Nevertheless, he had a job to finish at the Osbornes’, and some personal matters to deal with.

  On his mother’s dying bed, she whispered something about finding his sibling. He wondered why she didn’t she say brother or sister, but with the pain medication to help her through her last days suffering from cancer, she was vague. Had his mother imagined she had another child? He wondered why she hadn’t told him sooner about a child she carried for nine long months. But he gathered she had her reasons for giving the child up for adoption, just as she had her reasons for sending him to boarding school.

  In a small selfish way, he was relieved she had departed this world. She’d struggled through debilitating pain for years. It was cruel to see her suffering in such a state. When she dragged in her last breath, it gutted him, but it appeared she was pleased. It was as though she saw something he hadn’t. Whatever it was, a peaceful look overcame her. No doubt it was because she was free from all the years of torment.

  He was thankful, but hell, he missed her. There was no one left he could call family and the thought of having a brother or sister warmed his heart. Perhaps he wasn’t alone in this world after all.

  When he was a kid, his mother told him one night that he had to go away to boarding school. She said she loved him and after his abrupt move, she visited him regularly. Over the years those visits dwindled and Brad suspected her pain had prevented her from doing the simplest things in life. After his father left them, his mother was diagnosed with crippling arthritis. It wasn’t only the arthritis that held her captive. She’d battled cancer for most of her life. She’d told him she would have loved him to return home when he was in his early teens, but she was unable to care for him. At the time, he thought he was the reason they were separated, that there was something wrong with him, but with visions of his father ranting and raving, perhaps she thought he’d be better off not having to witness their constant arguments.

  He recalled something was going on when he returned during a school break, although he was too young to know or understand exactly what it was. Days later, his mother had rushed him back to Sydney. He’d never forgotten that day. That was the last time he saw his father. He was a flicker in his life and then he was gone. Brad often wondered if his mother was psychic.

  All he wanted to do was to spend time with his parents. He wanted to laugh the way he saw other families laughing, something he didn’t do much of at all. Knowing he shouldn’t dwell on the past, on what he didn’t do or couldn’t do, he tried to set his mind on what he could do and wanted to do in the future.

  She’d done right in his books. At least he’d been away from his father’s constant brutality but being raised in boarding schools since the age of four, he’d missed out on so much youth. He could have been playing with the Osborne guys, or just hanging about. He wondered what it was like to have that special bond with a brother or sister. It was something he had never got the chance to experience.

  He thought of Samantha. His heart yearned for her, but he’d broken a golden rule. Breaking promises wasn’t a good way to start a relationship, he knew that, although it was something that couldn’t be avoided. Besides, she would never trust him again, and he had to confront each night. He didn’t want to bring her into a life of misery, of worry. It wouldn’t be fair. And then there were the scars. Ugly masses of cross stitch patterns over his body. What a sight for anyone’s eyes. He could barely look at them, let alone expect a love interest to cast her gaze over such a mutilated mess. Nope, after he installed the irrigation system at the Osbornes’, he’d keep out of her way.

  He decided to go through the last of his mother’s belongings in the office, although he hadn’t tackled her bedroom. That was on his to do list. He walked into the office and glanced about. Dust covered an old timber desk with paperwork left untouched, backdropped by a large bookcase. A filing cabinet sat to his right. He walked toward the window and gave it a shove upwards, letting some fresh air circulate, hoping to ward off the mustiness.

  He yanked the top drawer of the filing cabinet open, and flipped through file after file. Continuing through to the bottom drawer, he discovered a photograph album. It appeared his mother didn’t keep anything related to his father. Did she despise him that much? But he didn’t blame her. His father had abandoned them. He eased down onto a brown leather chair, and set the album on the desk.

  There were photographs of himself and his mother but not a single snapshot of his father. He shook his head. As he closed the album, the cover slipped, exposing an envelope. Curious to find out anything about his father, he withdrew the letter.

  The distorted writing was hard to decipher, but it was addressed to him in his mother’s handwriting. It would have been difficult for her to write a single syllable, especially suffering arthritic pain in the joints of her fingers. He turned the envelope over and extracted a three-page letter. After he read through her handwritten words, the pages slipped from his hands and fluttered downward settling on the desk. His guts kicked up a storm. Nausea stirred, threatening a dash to the bathroom. He pushed the chair back from the desk, settled his elbows on his knees and dropped his head in his hands. Taking slow steady breaths for the following moments eased the burn to his stomach.

  His father had taken his own life.

  He bloody well killed himself.

  ‘Nice job, Dad. Really nice job. Didn’t you realise you had a wife and son to care for?’ It took some time before Brad could continue reading, but his gut wasn’t the same anymore. The letter confirmed that there was another child. He turned back to the first page, and noted that the letter was dated three years back. He stared at the yellowed pages while doing a mental calculation. He wasn’t sure if his mother was in remission at that time. He began reading where he left off. Exhilaration filled his body. If her words were true, what had happened to the child? Where was this sibling?

  Leaving the letter on the desk, he walked out and closed the door. He had a good mind to burn the joint down, get rid of all the bad memories clogging his brain, but then that’d take him further away from his mother. No. He couldn’t do that even if he wanted. There was a chance he had a brother or sister out there somewhere and he had to find them if it was the last thing he did.

  ***

  ‘It’s six years next Saturday since Mum and Dad’s accident. We have to do something again this year. Have you got any suggestions?’

  ‘I dunno,’ Christopher answered. ‘We’ve done everything I can think of.’

  ‘Something different would be good. What about you Steven? Have you any ideas?’

  ‘We could have a barbeque, and make a nice cake.’

  ‘We did that two years back. Cam, have you any ideas?’

  ‘We could have lunch at their gravesite. Sit with them and sing.’

  ‘Can you imagine the picnic the damn flies would have sitting up at red rock in the midday heat? They’d be all over us.’

  ‘How about we go somewhere for dinner to celebrate their life, not their death?’ Steven added.

  ‘Be realistic. It’s over an hour to the n
earest restaurant. We wanna have a few drinks,’ Cameron said. ‘We’ve done the barbeque, the candles in the backyard, we’ve even sung the songs Mum loved.’

  ‘I remember that. Those old-time songs were so boring and slow.’

  ‘They’re only old-time songs, Chris, because you’re the youngest.’

  ‘It’s about time Sam gets a night out from cooking. Hell, she’s not our mother.’ Christopher said over a mouthful of food.

  ‘There’s the cafe at Raven. I could ask them to go out a bit. Make it like a restaurant. Spruce it up a bit. We can invite Mum and Dad’s friends and a few of ours to celebrate. It’ll be in remembrance of the happy times we had when Mum and Dad were here. I can arrange it with Margaret and James.’

  Samantha beamed. ‘Perfect. Thanks Cam. It’ll be wonderful. I’ll go into town and organise things when it’s time.’

  ‘It’s going to be a night off for you. We’ll do the organising.’ Cameron turned to Brad. ‘You’re welcome to come along, Brad.’

  ‘Thanks mate. Much appreciated.’

  Brad flicked his dark lashes in Samantha’s direction and she caught him eyeing her on several occasions over the meal that night, but she couldn’t afford any emotional attachment with Bradley Harper. A man that could distort the truth without blinking an eyelash wasn’t her hero in any damn book or in real life.

  Realising where her mind had wandered, she started to clear the table, aware of Brad’s consuming gaze. Why was he making her feel so uncomfortable, especially in her own home? It annoyed the hell out of her. A cool shiver tripped up her spine, while images of their time together played out like a full colour motion picture.

  Steven and Christopher helped her clear the table and she took some time gathering her senses before she joined the men in the lounge room, opting for a good quality port. She rested back on the lounge as Christopher watched some show on the television. Steven sat not too far away in a single sofa, with Cameron sitting beside her, and Brad to his right.