Read Online Hidden Fire by Alexis Fleming - Free Book Online Page B

how hungry she was. When Morgan cleared away the stove and handed her an enamel plate piled with food, she perched on the end of the tray and started to devour the offering.
    â€œNot much, I’m afraid,” Morgan said as he parked himself beside her, “but I expected to be home well before this.”
    She groaned and licked her fingers. “It’s terrific. You can cook for me any time you like.”
    When they’d finished, Morgan took their plates and tossed them into a box in the back of the truck. Then he joined her again as the sun dropped below the horizon. Gili felt at peace for the first time in a long while…until she remembered why she was here in Australia.
    She wanted to ask Morgan about the Aboriginal legend surrounding the Dreamtime Fire opal, but was reluctant to disturb the camaraderie that had developed between them. Instead, she asked about his job.
    â€œHow come you lecture at the university when you have a full-time job running a ranch…er, station?”
    He shrugged and Gili felt the brush of his shoulder against her own. A shiver feathered through her. She bit her lip and endeavored to control her reaction.
    â€œI like teaching, I guess,” he said. “Anthropology’s a passion. I love discovering how it used to be, finding things that give us an insight into how people lived in the past. If my parents hadn’t died in a car crash just as I finished my degree, I’d probably be lecturing full-time. In between digs, of course.”
    Gili grimaced. She didn’t want to talk about digs. It would only dredge up the whole Iranian affair and the last thing she wanted was Morgan angry with her again. As she searched around in her mind for something else to talk about, she realized night had fallen. Out here, it was pitch black except for the stars, no street light illumination to break up the unrelieved darkness.
    Now she shivered for a different reason. This was a world she had no knowledge of, despite the research she’d done before she’d come to Australia. The stars seemed closer. The land more rugged. Wilder than she’d imagined. And the men? Definitely sexier, although she was a little biased now, after spending time with Morgan again.
    She’d opened her mouth to make some inane remark when an ominous howling floated through the air. The sound made the small hairs on the back of Gili’s neck stand on end. She clutched at Morgan’s arm and shuffled closer. “Oh my God, what the heck was that?”
    â€œProbably just a dingo.” Morgan hugged her close, chuckling at her fright. “The dingo is Australia’s wild dog. It’s interesting really. It doesn’t bark, but it sure does know how to howl.”
    He tilted his head on one side. “Come to think of it, that didn’t sound like a dingo. Of course, it could be a yowie.”
    She stared at him though the darkness. “Yowie? As in a yeti or abominable snowman? Aww, come on. A yeti? Like I’d be silly enough to believe that.” She was sure Morgan was joking. Just the same, she moved closer still when the sound echoed through the night again.
    â€œHey, don’t knock it. There’s anthropological evidence that points to the fact that the yowies, or yahoos as the Aboriginal people called them, were the first inhabitants in Australia. The last known sighting was here in Queensland at a place called Gympie, only a few years ago.”
    Gili remained silent, not certain if he was fooling or not. She peered around, jumping at every sound.
    Morgan burst out laughing. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you if the big bad hairy man comes to get you.”
    He climbed up onto the tray and disappeared inside the back of the truck. Moments later, the interior light flashed on. With a deft flick of his wrist, he dropped the back seat and started moving things around. Within minutes, he’d cleared a space down the middle of the rear