‘He looks all right. About six months old. If someone takes him and looks after him for a few weeks, he’ll be fine.’
‘Great. I’ll take him home and then pass him on to a carer. I’m going to go check the scene of last night’s fire now. But first I need to find out exactly where it was.’
Anna described the location, and saw the question on Carol’s face.
‘Justin and I were driving back from Scone when we saw it. He reported it and then we both went up there to help.’
‘Oh.’ Carol raised her eyebrows. ‘You were in Scone? With Justin?’
‘We picked up some takeaway Chinese. That’s all. Then we saw the fire. It might be worth you taking a drive past and checking it out.’
‘I will. How did you go as a firefighter?’
‘I don’t think Ben was very impressed.’
‘He was there too? That makes sense. Those two are rarely apart.’
‘He arrived with the RFS crew.’ Anna hesitated. There was no need to talk about what had happened between her and Ben, but she wanted to understand. ‘There were some sheep trapped in the corner of a paddock. I cut through the fence to let them escape. Ben … Well, he yelled at me.’
Carol smiled. ‘That sounds like him.’
‘He was worried that I might have been in danger. Then he said the strangest thing. He said I was just like you.’
Carol avoided Anna’s eyes. ‘When they were kids, I sometimes took them with me. Rescuing animals from fires. There must have been times they worried … when I was too close to the fire.’
‘Oh. He seemed very angry.’
‘I can understand that. I wasn’t a very good mother.’ Carol ran her fingers through her hair and looked up. ‘Can I say something?’
‘Sure.’
‘Don’t get involved with Justin. When the time comes, he will choose his brother. He chose Ben over me and he will do the same to you. Those two push everyone away, no matter how much that person loves them. They won’t let anyone or anything even get close to them—far less come between them.’
There were tears glinting in Carol’s eyes as she abruptly lifted the joey from the table and left the surgery. Anna watched her put the animal in the back of her car again and drive away.
‘I’m not getting involved with Justin,’ Anna told the retreating car. ‘Why would he want to be with someone like me?’
***
Carol didn’t really need Anna’s directions to find the fire. Small plumes of smoke still wafted skywards, and the smell became stronger with every kilometre she drove. She soon spotted the scorched earth and blackened tree trunks. When she reached the edge of the burned-out area, she immediately stopped and got out of the car. On one side of the road, a man was mending a fence. He raised a hand and she wandered over.
‘Hi. Are you the koala lady?’
She nodded. It wasn’t the first time she’d been given that title.
‘I was about to take a look myself. But first I need to fix this fence. Someone cut it last night and a bunch of my stock got through.’
‘Oh.’
‘Good thing they did.’ The man indicated the burnt ground. ‘They would have been trapped and I would have lost them all. As it is, I haven’t really lost any of them. I know they’re here. I just have to find them and bring them back.’
Carol thought about telling him it was Anna, but changed her mind. It didn’t matter. All he cared about was that his animals were safe.
‘Anyway, once this is done, I was going to check those gums over there,’ he said, pointing across the blackened grass. ‘There have been koalas there in the past. Maybe you could look there now.’
‘I will. Thanks.’
Carol picked her way across the ash-strewn ground. In places, the fire still smouldered, and she could feel the heat in the earth through her work boots. She glanced up at the sky. A few white clouds were visible, but not enough to suggest it was about to rain. That was a pity. A good shower now would ensure this fire didn’t get away again.
