The Sunburnt Country by Fiona Palmer Page A

this, on top of everything else?
    ‘I don’t know how you do this,’ Jonny said eventually. ‘You’re like the Grim Reaper.’
    Daniel laughed. ‘Gee, it’s not that bad. It’s just a job, Jonelle. It’s what I do. If people can’t pay their loans, I have to chase them up. It’s as simple as that.’
    Jonny nearly muttered back something about the record-breaking profit the bank had posted this year but bit her tongue. She still had to get back to town. She was also itching to ask Daniel how Ryan had sounded on the phone. How he had taken news of the meeting? Was he upset? But knowing Ryan he wouldn’t have given anything away; no-one wanted to be seen as weak around here, least of all Ryan. Jonny tried hard to bite down the anger that grew when she thought of Ryan and the pain his ex-wife had caused him. Jonny wasn’t someone to ever go up and tell a person what she thought of them, but she swore that if she ever came across Alana again, she wouldn’t hesitate in giving her a few choice words, ones that weren’t in her mother’s vocabulary.
    ‘So, I, um, had a good time the other night with Zac and Renae at the pub. Really nice, those two.’
    ‘Well, I always thought so,’ she mumbled. Her hands were aching from clenching them so tightly on her lap. Ryan’s mail would be a paper ball before too long.
    ‘A shame you had to leave early. I didn’t get to buy you that drink.’
    ‘I had a lot on my mind.’ Jonny faced the window.
    ‘Yeah, Zac mentioned that. So, you and Ryan are very close?’
    Jonny didn’t know how to take the question. Part of her was furious that some guy, practically a stranger, could ask something so personal. She wasn’t in the mood for conversation – she was too busy fighting to stay calm – but she knew her mum would tell her it was rude to ignore him. ‘We’ve been best mates since we were little kids. We just connected right there in the sandpit and have been inseparable since.’ She wasn’t going to mention the problems through the Alana years. She turned to face him and was struck again by his looks. ‘You ever had a mate who was always there for you, could tell what mood you were in, knew how to cheer you up or knew you so well you’d often finish each other’s sentences? Well, that’s me and Ryan. Half the time Zac and Renae reckon we have our own language.’
    Daniel didn’t reply. He just nodded, a solemn look on his face. She got the feeling he was jealous – God knows, she knew the signs. Her brothers were like that when Dad would praise her for fixing something they couldn’t.
    Daniel remained quiet while she gave him directions and soon they were heading down Ryan’s driveway. To Jonny it felt like impending doom.
    ‘Nice house,’ said Daniel as he parked by the gate.
    ‘Yeah. Long story,’ she said. She could just imagine him wondering why this broke farmer had such a huge house.
    Jonny carried the mail in with her, not sure how she was going to tell Ryan about finding it in the bin.
    She let Daniel knock on the door. After all, it was his job. There was no reply. Jonny stepped towards the end of the verandah, trying to see if he was up at the back sheds. Sounds like a car’s running. It only took that one thought for her to drop the mail and sprint towards the garage. She had no idea if Daniel was following or not. All she could think about was what she expected to find but hoped desperately that she was overreacting. Suddenly everything was piecing together.
    Jonny threw herself through the side door of the garage to find Ryan’s old Ford Falcon. The engine was running and Ryan was sitting in the front. Jonny ran to the driver’s-side door and that’s when she saw the pipe from the exhaust to the window.
    ‘Ryan!’ she screamed. Without a second thought, she pulled the hose from the car window like a mad woman, yanking it out and nearly breaking the glass. Then she ripped open the door, choking on the toxic fumes that billowed out into