Black Mountain by Kate Loveday

she’d be willing to help them. Elly had probably been right when she insisted on accompanying him, it was more likely Della, if they could find her, would help Rob’s daughter rather than a stranger.
    â€˜The ferry is on its way back, so we won’t have to wait long,’ he told her as he parked in behind a short queue of cars.
    Elly seemed to have come out of her reverie, now they had reached the river, and she looked around with interest. She gestured to the small car ahead, which had camping gear strapped in a roof rack on top.
    â€˜A bit late for tourists, but that’s what they look like with all that gear,’ she remarked.
    â€˜Well, I hope they’re not going too far ahead. That vehicle’s a bit light for the really rough roads.’
    â€˜He’s probably come this far north hoping for a chance at spotting a croc, I suppose.’
    â€˜Not likely here by the ferry.’
    â€˜Well, you never know. They might be lucky.’
    The ferry pulled in and disgorged the cars on board, and those waiting in the queue inched forward.
    Elly was keeping a good look out as they crossed. ‘No, no crocs here,’ she said as they reached the other side.
    She was as bad as the tourists, he thought with amusement, finding crocodiles a novelty. But then, she probably spent little of her time near the water, even though she lived in Far North Queensland, and it was rare for crocs to venture far from their watery habitats. He shot her a grin. ‘I didn’t expect there to be.’
    As they drove forward along the road on the other side Elly sniffed the air and, winding down her window, peered up into the trees that lined the road.
    â€˜Yes, I thought I could smell them,’ she exclaimed. ‘Filthy little beasts! Bats! Dozens of them, hanging upside down in that tree ahead. Phew, they stink!’ With that she rolled her window up.
    Mitchell laughed. ‘That’s one for the tourists to photograph.’
    â€˜Bats!’ Elly shuddered. ‘I hate them. I always imagine them getting tangled in my hair.’ She shuddered. ‘Ugh!’
    Leaving the bats behind, they continued on the road towards Cape Tribulation.
    Mitchell was aware of her as she sat beside him and he realised that he no longer thought of her as someone who was a mere presence in his life while he did a job for her mother. Not that he had any interest in her romantically, of course. He was right off women. But seeing as how they were having to spend so much time together, there was no harm in getting to know her better. Besides, talking helped to pass the time on the long drive.
    â€˜So tell me, Elly, what have you been doing with yourself since you left school?’ he asked her.
    Elly shrugged. ‘Nothing terribly interesting. Dad always wanted me to follow in his and Mum’s footsteps, to be a part of the business, and I could never see myself doing anything else, so I did science at university and followed it with an aromatherapy course down in Brisbane. I worked with them at home for a year, and then decided to work in a salon for a year or so, for the experience. That’s about all.’
    â€˜And what about your social life? I’m sure you were never short of boyfriends. Anyone special?’ he asked lightly, glancing sideways at her.
    Elly hesitated, and he had the feeling it was something she didn’t want to talk about. ‘There was someone, a few years back,’ she said slowly. ‘But it ended, and that was that.’
    â€˜No-one since?’
    â€˜No-one special. I socialise, and I enjoy myself. But that’s all.’
    â€˜And yet you were going for a weekend away with Jackson Lee.’ As he probed Mitchell felt a stab of something—certainly not jealousy—no, more like concern for her, that was all.
    Elly lifted her chin. ‘It was a weekend with friends. There’d been nothing more than friendship between us up until that time. If