Free Kakadu Sunset by Annie Seaton Page A

supposed to heal, she knew she would never get over Dad’s death until she knew why he’d taken his own life. What quiet demons had he been fighting that he couldn’t overcome? It was so out of character for the father she had known and loved.
    Kane seemed to pick up on her reluctance to speak and he turned away and looked ahead as they walked along the path to the back of the lodge. Ellie’s footsteps crunched on the gravel as she stepped off the path to unlock the gate of the compound where the vehicles were kept.
    Kane raised his eyebrows. ‘A high level of security for a few vehicles?’
    ‘It’s to stop the cars from getting milked.’
    ‘Milked?’ Kane’s brow wrinkled in a frown.
    ‘Petrol sniffing is a big issue out here. It’s a chronic problem among some of the Aboriginal kids. Worse further north in Arnhem Land, but we’ve had a few cars stolen from down here too.’
    ‘Is the hangar secure?’
    ‘We’ve never had a problem with the birds. The pump at the hangar is switched off at the central console each afternoon when we lock up. I’ll have to show you where to do that. Better to be safe. Dad always said –’ Ellie swallowed. The day seemed destined to bring back memories of her father. She passed the keys to Kane. ‘Come on, we’ll drive by the restaurant on the way out and I’ll grab some lunch and water. They do picnic baskets for the tourists but we won’t need the whole thing that they usually make up. A couple of sandwiches enough for you?’
    Kane nodded and climbed into the driver’s side. ‘I didn’t realise we’d need to take lunch. How far away is it?’
    ‘We’ll be gone all day by the time we drive down and back. It’s about thirty kilometres to the turn-off and then another forty along an unsealed road. But it’s slow going; the last ten kilometres are little more than a sandy track.’ She stepped up into the passenger seat and waited for Kane to start the car. ‘I thought we might walk into the waterfall while we’re down there.’
    ‘Sounds good.’
    ‘And we have to go north first to Sandy Billabong to put up the sign that Heather gave me. You really don’t know much about Kakadu, do you?’
    He shook his head.
    Ellie shrugged, wondering again why he was really here. ‘It’s great working here.’ She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. ‘It’s the most beautiful place in the world. You’re in for a treat.’
    ‘It’s very different from what I expected. Most of the feedback I’ve heard says it should be called “
Kakadon’t
”.’
    ‘Yeah, I’ve heard that, but if people bypass it and
don’t
visit, they miss out on one of the best places in the world.’ Ellie pursed her lips and looked out the window. ‘The most spectacular parts of the park are a long way off the sealed highway, like our trip today. Some don’t think it’s worth the long drive, but you can make up your own mind.’
    Kane put one arm along the bench seat and looked over his left shoulder as he reversed the car. ‘So tell me why you moved away from the farm.’
    ‘My father couldn’t make a go of his mango plantation.’ Her voice was clipped as she pulled out her stock answer and pushed away the sadness that always came when she had to explain what happened. ‘He died. We moved. I trained and I came back. Stop here.’ She pointed to the building which housed the restaurant and when he pulled up, she jumped out.
    ‘My life in a nutshell,’ she said through the open window. ‘Wait here, I’ll be right back.’
    *
    Despite the incident with the sensor light, Kane had slept all night without waking in the early hours as he usually did. Dreamless for the first time in months. He’d woken up feeling calm and rested, but sitting beside Ellie Porter put paid to that now. The khaki shirt pulled tight over those lush curves as she moved on the seat, pointing out features of the landscape.
    He’d seen a different side to her as soon as they parked at Sandy