Some Girls Don't (Outback Heat Book 2) by Amy Andrews Page B

me when you get a chance.”
    She hung up, looking out to the horizon again. Knowing Jarrod was out there in the thick of it didn’t surprise her. That was the kind of guy he was.
    But it still made her want to throw up.
    *     *     *
    It was clear from the very first debrief that they were dealing with a massive fire. It had started out as several different fronts and had converged due to the dry and windy weather conditions into a colossal wall of fire sweeping everything in its path.
    Abbotsville was the most pressing concern and where a lot of the resources had been deployed. Tens of thousands of acres of forest and bushland had already been destroyed, as well as a handful of houses on properties. The good news was that there hadn’t been any loss of life as yet. But the tiny hamlet of Abbotsville, population forty-two, was right in the fire’s path.
    An evacuation order was currently being carried out and firefighters were working on containment lines and fighting to control it. Ember attack was a real threat and if they weren’t able to push the fire back, huge property losses were expected.
    It was also clear that the weather was not on their side. The modelling from the meteorology bureau showed that hot, dry, windy conditions were predicted for the next three days before a cool change and possible rain.
    Everyone at that first debrief, no matter what their religious belief, sent up a quick prayer for rain.
    *     *     *
    Selena was not prepared for the emotional tumult of the next few days, following the highs and lows of the no-holds-barred fight with nature. The fire jumped containment lines at Abbotsville and every house but two was razed to the ground.
    Selena was there with the rest of the media when residents were allowed back in; the scenes were heartbreaking. Broken people, hugging and weeping, grateful to be alive but openly mourning the loss of their houses and their community.
    The fire constantly changed direction, threatening a host of different communities along the way. Each time, due to the dedication and commitment of the firefighters on the ground and the water bombers in the sky, it was pushed back. Selena and her crew, along with the rest of the media, were kept busy filing reports, getting in to talk to people who had been affected when they could, interviewing those who’d had lucky escapes or those who had stayed to defend their properties, as well as local mayors and other officials.
    Selena had filed a particularly heart-wrenching report on the loss of native animals; pictures of fleeing kangaroos bounding away over scorched ground, along with koalas and other animals being rescued from the black, smoky bush, had apparently caused a switchboard meltdown at the station.
    But the most harrowing stories were told by the faces of the men and women who were on the frontline, saving homes and communities from destruction. Blackened uniforms, lines of sooty sweat running down faces etched with exhaustion, but also grimness and determination to beat this monster back.
    Selena asked after Jarrod whenever she saw a sooty-faced warrior. But so many firefighters from outside the region and even interstate were helping out that no-one she talked to knew him. She’d rung him several times, but he hadn’t replied and the only way to stop herself from going mad worrying about him was to keep busy and take heart from the casualty reports that no-one, including firemen, had been seriously injured or killed.
    Considering the enormity of the menace it had been a miracle.
    On the afternoon of the third day, with no let-up in the dry, windy conditions, the mobile command centre moved to Jumbuck Springs. It had shifted twice already in response to the changing nature of the fire and, with the front now changing direction east towards Jumbuck Springs, fire command in Brisbane had ordered the move.
    Selena was both worried and relieved about the development. It was great to see for herself