“Is that smoke?” she asked, a chill moving through her body.
“Probably just dust from someone driving too fast along the road.”
Raven squinted her eyes. “But it’s not on a tree line.”
Ben looked up. “Fuck.”
He automatically slowed down. “That’s old Brumbies’ place, I think, but hard to tell from here.”
Ben took out his cell. “Jason, there’s smoke from Brumbies. Yeah, yeah, I can help with the CFS unit. I’m in the paddock now, the one out to the side of the house. Yeah, that one. I’ve got the ute with me. Sure, I’ll meet you there.”
Raven had so many questions to ask, but she kept quiet. Ben was cool and calm, but she could tell he was worried. Lines creased his forehead as he turned the harvester out of the crop, then pushing it to full speed.
“I’ll park the harvester by the ute, and I’ll have to drive it down to the fire. It’s got the water unit on the back, which I’ll need until the bigger CFS units arrive.” Ben had explained to her at the start of the harvest that the water unit he’d put on the back of the ute was important in case there was a fire.
“Will you be all right to walk back to the house?” asked Ben.
“I can come with you? I can help?”
“No, you’re not trained.”
She bit back the words ‘and you are.’ “I can help you.”
“You can by going back to the house and staying safe. Fires are unpredictable around here, and there’s so much dry material to catch alight. I’m part of the country fire station, CFS, and Jason and the other boys will need my help. With any luck, the fire will be out quickly.”
Ben stopped the harvester by the truck and ute. He turned to her, his eyes full of worry. He put his hand on her arm. “You know the way back to the farm?”
Raven nodded her head. “Yes.”
He stood up and opened the door for her to get out. Raven paused, not wanting to leave him or to walk back to the farm by herself. This was an emergency. Ben was stepping up, and she would too.
“There’s a fire,” Raven yelled as she rushed into the farmhouse, the screen door slammed behind her.
“Over at Brumbies.” She puffed hard. It had taken her a good twenty minutes to run back to the farm. She’d kept to the road, scared of stepping on a snake or getting lost if she had taken a shortcut through the paddocks.
She hurried into the kitchen, which was always the first place to look for Janette.
“I know.”
Raven stopped short in the doorway, bent over a little, hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. “Oh.”
Janette stood by the kitchen table, arm wrapped around a big bowl, stirring a mixture with a wooden spoon. She wore a summer dress—plain light blue, short sleeves, and A-line skirt that went below her knees—covered with a blue apron, dusted with flour, her gray hair tied back in a long plait that went down her back with wisps of hair coming out. Her expression was cold, her jaw set as she concentrated on whatever she was mixing.
“It’s over at Brumbies,” continued Janette. She set the bowl on the table, changed her grip, then poured the mixture into a rectangular baking tin.
“Should we go there? Ben might need help?” Raven went over to the fridge and got out the container of cold water. She poured herself a glass and drank almost half, which helped to cool her down.
“They know what they’re doing. It’s best if we stay out of it,” said Janette, her tone matter-of-fact.
“There’s nothing we can do, then?” Raven didn’t believe it. “There must be some way we can help.
Janette looked up at her. For the first time, Raven saw the worry that Janette was hiding. “Bake. Those fighting the fire will need food.”
Raven rolled her lips, holding back the words that she couldn’t bake. There were bigger worries playing in her mind. She returned the container of water to the fridge.
“Will they be fighting the fire for long?” asked Raven. Not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
“I hope not.” Janette opened the oven door and slid in the baking tin. A burst of heat entered the room, adding to the heat.
