HIGH & DRY - Day Seven

The next morning she dressed with some care in a relaxed jillaroo style; cream moleskins, a pale olive shirt and her leather vest open and her green neck scarf as always. She let her hair be relatively out only loosely caught up behind her temples and in the middle of her back. She’d be wearing her hat anyway.

The Landrover, with JD in it, collected her and took her out to the dam wall. They were set down on the middle of it. JD had a briefcase. He then smiled at her. She was looking about for her two guys but didn’t know where they were.

‘Okay Jill, it’s down to the last two men. They at the moment are dangling over the wall waiting for you to pull one up.’
She stared at JD in horror and then looked for the ropes finding two winches set several meters apart on the other side of the wall from the water.
‘But it’s not so easy to just go and look and pull up your choice.’ JD went on ‘Here in this case is the prize money. What you have to do is make your call now and tell me which rope that man is on. But here’s the catch. If you don’t guess right you are at the mercy of that man keeping you and giving you half the prise money. If you guess right but he is not the man you want you may buy your freedom with half the money in the case and hope the other man will accept you with a reduced dowry. Do you understand?’

She took a breath and let it out. This was not what they had explained to her as the way she would win the competition but she had a chance. If she called “Luke” and he’s on the rope she’ll be home free. Even if she calls “Chris” and pulls up Luke she’ll win. But If she calls “Luke” and pulls up Chris instead she’d lose, she knew he was only after the money. She had to trust that Luke would want her after she bought her freedom from Chris if she called “Chris” and she was right.

She took a breath and hated Chris as his words flooded back into her mind “I predict you’ll end up choosing me in the end”

She said ‘Chris.’

JD smiled.
‘Which rope?’ his smile changed to one with a hint of sinister to it and she knew he was about to tell her something bad. ‘May I inform you they hang before the slip water exit and the dam is about ten minutes off releasing several thousand gallons of water. You will have to get your man up and if it’s not the right man then you have to pull up the right one ASAP before the slip water is released and he drowns.’ he grinned at her shocked face, ‘If he is right it would be nice if you pull up the other one anyway.’

She glared at him and ran to the left winch and started turning the handle with both hands she had no time to look to see who it might be she just prayed it was Luke. He surfaced, a man in a black jumpsuit and black helmet. She helped him over the banister and helped him off with his helmet.

It was Chris.

JD came up behind her with the briefcase.
‘You have four minutes to get Luke up,’ he informed her.
She looked over the wall to see him hanging in front of the huge spill-gates.

She grabbed the briefcase and shoved it at Chris. ‘Here, bugger the money.’

She then ran for the other winch and began winding with all her might. She could feel the spill-gates start to open, could hear the water begin to trickle out. Her arms burned and she was out of breath. It had taken her six minutes to get Chris up she guessed she had wasted a minute and therefore had half the time to get Luke up. She managed to haul him through the beginning of the waterfall and up as the water roared out. She clawed at him to help him climb the barrier and got him on the safe side. He collapsed onto the ground heaving and she got his helmet off him and then collapsed with him.

‘Was that as good for you?’ he asked
‘Don’t know why you’re so puffed.’ She replied
‘How’d you think you got me up so quick?’
‘Dunno how?’
‘I was hauling on the down rope as fast as I could, pulling it through the winch faster than you could wind.’ He swallowed and panted a bit then smiled at her. ‘If that lazy son of a bitch had pulled his own weight he’d have been up in four minutes and we wouldn’t be so stuffed.’
‘Or so poor.’
‘Huh?’
‘I gave him the lot, no negotiation. No time. I just shoved it at him and ran to you.’
He hugged her and kissed her head. ‘My hero.’
‘May I remind you you’re stuffed and wet?’ she reminded him.
‘Did I tell you I loved you?’
She smiled remembering him marching off the spur straight to her to tell her just that.
‘Yep.’

He then got up and helped her up before unhooking his ropes and stepping away from the wall edge and she stepped into his arms and kissed him.

‘No need to ask your choice then Jill.’ She smiled at JD over her shoulder refusing to let Luke’s neck go. ‘Well played.’ A limousine arrived and JD opened the door for them.
‘Hang on.’ Luke said and looked back at the girl in his arms hanging about his neck smiling up at him gloriously. The morning sun was golden in her hair and made her skin glow. But it was her eyes he was drowning in. ‘Will you do me the utmost honour of becoming my wife?’

‘Oh yes.’ She whispered and smiling he bent his face to kiss her lips. Then he lifted her and spun her around.

In the limousine they found champagne on ice and another briefcase. She opened it to find two cheques both made out for a million dollars in each of their names.
‘Your place or mine?’ he asked.
‘Mine’s closer, Denver might be nicer but Mr Hammond, I intend on waking up tomorrow morning in your arms.’
‘You can do that on a plane.’ He informed her.
‘Naked and totally Rogered?’

To that he burst out laughing and then kissed her.

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australian, horses, adventure, bush, story, mystery, series, episode, script, suspense, tvshow and intriegue