Fighting Fire with Fire

By Caroline Erwin

Hearts, careers and livelihoods are burning down in the 3rd instalment of the Southgate Trilogy and, being set in 2019, so eventually is the entire east coast of Australia.

But what exactly IS the best way to fight these fires...?

BROOKE - is still trying desperately to extinguish the rumours about herself and Ryan. But when some incriminating photographs surface, she is forced to decide whether to trust the person she loves most or fight to save her long-wanted career instead.

MAGGIE - is attempting to forget about old flame Jamie while he's away in Paris. But will a foolish cat-and-mouse game between the pair finally burn down the years of love and attraction which has spanned the past two decades?

TESSA - feels like she's fighting an uphill battle where her father-in-law is concerned, but what secrets is the racehorse mogul actually keeping? And more worryingly, can they protect their precious racing stables from the devastating fires that are ravaging the state?

Don't miss the third and final instalment of this exciting trilogy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667816883

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Copyright @ 2021 by Caroline A W Erwin

All rights reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblances to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Printed in the United States of America.

First printing 2021

ISBN (print): 978-1-66781-687-6

ISBN (ebook): 978-1-66781-688-3

Caroline Erwin was born in Sydney, Australia and now lives just south of Sydney with her husband, three children and two dogs. (She has also spent time living abroad in the UK and New Zealand). Having completed a degree in ‘Advertising and Marketing’ back in 2000, she has worked for various advertising agencies and in-house marketing roles. However, having had a love for writing stories since the age of 6, Caroline now tries her hand at becoming an author and has since released three novels – all part of the Southgate Trilogy.

Book One – Between You, Me and the Gatepost

Book Two – Whistling in the Wind

Book Three – Fighting Fire with Fire

Acknowledgements

As with my previous book, I had several people help proofread and edit this novel and to them I am extremely grateful. Felicity Fay, Donna Satara and Rhoswyn Joyce (aka: mum) - thank you for reading through it so painstakingly and helping me once again!

My next acknowledgement is not related to the book itself but the two songs that were produced for it. The songs which my characters, Brooke and Ryan, write and perform within the storyline and which I had turned into real songs so my readers can hear how they sound. (This can be done by streaming/downloading them on your preferred music app such as iTunes or Spotify, or samples are posted on my social media accounts also).

Both Michelle Resicgno and Stephen Sims from ‘SoundBetter’ worked tirelessly on these two songs (respectively) – ‘Won’t Run Away’ and ‘Fire Between us Two’ – to help bring them to life through their talented track production and stunning vocals. They were extremely patient with my lack of music knowledge and how on earth they managed to decipher the melody correctly from the recording of me singing it first (eeeek… very quickly deleted off my phone), I do not know! I should probably thank (apologise to) my kids and husband also, for having to listen to and give feedback on every new revision of these songs and having to hear them played countless times while I scrutinised each line for any necessary changes.

So thank you - to everyone who has helped me in some way with this book or the affiliated songs, I appreciate your help more than I can explain.

Contents

Brooke

Maggie

Tessa

Ryan

Maggie

Tessa

Brooke

Judy

Maggie

Tessa

Ryan

Brooke

Maggie

Jamie

Tessa

Brooke

Maggie

Tessa

Jamie

Brooke

Tessa

Maggie

Jamie

Brooke

Judy

Maggie

Tessa

Matt

Brooke

Brooke

‘Watch where you’re going lady!’ an angry voice yelled out through the open window of a passing car, the horn honking simultaneously.

Brooke hurriedly jumped back onto the pavement, raising her hand in way of apology. She then glanced behind her to see if the black Renault appeared to be following her still. There it was... about five cars back in the queue, which was now slowing down for the lights that had just flicked to orange.

Thank God for that, she thought as she tore across the street and disappeared down the wide staircase leading into Martin Place train station. There was no way the driver of the Renault could suddenly park on one of Sydney CBD’s main streets and chase her through this underground station and its affiliated shops. And, upon boarding her train a minute later, the pounding in her heart slowly started to return to normal.

She didn’t even know why the car had made her so anxious, aware that the driver belonged to the paparazzi and was most likely chasing her down for an interrogation on Ryan. She had seen this car with its personalised numberplates of BAZ001 before, parked outside Ryan’s house on several occasions, including that stressful morning when Ryan had flown to the States and his driveway had been swarming with paps.

But she wasn’t in the mood for them today – not that she was in the mood for them any day, not if they were hassling her over rumours on her love life - and she was desperate to get home by 6pm unscathed and unaffected by the media tonight, before her first ever concert tickets went on sale.

She travelled through the neighbouring stations of Kings Cross and Edgecliff and alighted at her destination of Bondi Junction, quickly locating her car which was parked nearby and drove the five minutes to her apartment, situated near Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach. With no time to appreciate the stunning view of the ocean out her living room window tonight, she flung her handbag onto the sofa and opened up her laptop.

Just three minutes until the ticket sales went live and she hurriedly called her sister to ensure she was ready on her laptop also, as they needed a screen large enough to view the venue map properly. Something which would prove difficult if they were purchasing the tickets on their iPhones. Tessa answered on the second ring and the sisters exchanged quick pleasantries before concentrating on the task at hand and, before they knew it, the time rolled past 5.59 and there were just seconds left to go.

‘Ten, nine, eight…’ Brooke counted nervously, in perfect timing with the ticking second-hand on her watch.

‘I’m hitting purchase right now. I hope I can get tickets close to the stage!’’ exclaimed Tessa excitedly.

Brooke did not respond to her sister immediately, combing her long golden-brown hair anxiously with her fingers. How many other people were currently poised over their iPads or laptops desperate to get tickets to Brooke Southgate’s first ever concert?

‘Oh, Ticketek’s freezing me out! I can’t even get on. That’s a good sign though, right? Doesn’t that happen when too many people are accessing a site at once?’ Then, pausing awkwardly, Tessa added, ‘or it could just be our bad reception here. I only have one bar at the moment.’

Brooke released a dramatic sigh and then laughed despite herself. ‘Yes, unfortunately I think it must be your awful wi-fi as I’m on the site now, came through easily. How I wish that the site had crashed because thousands of fans were desperate to see me live.’

‘Who are you buying tickets for anyway? Surely it being your show you can just give some tickets away - or doesn’t it work like that? I’ve always wondered actually…’ Tessa’s voice trailed off.

‘They’re for mum and dad and yes, I can secure a few free tickets, but I wanted to purchase some on the site myself to see how quickly the seats are filling up.’

‘And…?’ Tessa responded, a little anxiously. ‘Are they? Are you up to the seat allocation yet?’

When Brooke finally responded, her voice was trembling slightly. ‘Yes. The Sydney show is anyway. Not that the Enmore Theatre has a huge capacity but it’s only offering me seats closer to the back now. The dance floor seems to be nearly all sold out and most of the lounge section also. Oh, do you want me to grab a ticket for you, to sit with mum and dad? Is your site still frozen?’

‘Sure,’ laughed Tessa, ‘I’ve never been to a concert with the oldies, but I suppose if I was going to then it would be fun at yours. Can you grab a ticket for Matt also please, we’re meant to be going together? I’m sure he can handle sitting next to Bill and Jude for a few hours.’

‘Definitely put him next to you though, or dad if you have to. There could be nothing more painful - for Matt or anyone - than having to sit next to mum at my first concert, as much as I love her and know she’s my number one fan.’

‘Ah yes, I still have to remind her - each time I see her - not to harp on about you too much and that she does have two other amazing daughters. Even if they’re not quite so famous,’ joked Tessa, although somewhat truthfully.

‘All booked!’ Brooke exclaimed triumphantly. ‘You’re in seats P20 to P24 and actually, dear sis, until I won this record contract with Miall & Meyer, I believe it was you that mum was constantly gloating about. Being engaged - and now married obviously - to Matt Barlow, heir to the famous Barlow Racing Stables.’

‘Fabulous,’ responded Tessa, her voice heavy with sarcasm. ‘What an achievement, marrying into a wealthy family. Well done me.’

Brooke fell uncharacteristically silent. She knew that Matt’s family fame and fortune had nothing whatsoever to do with Tessa marrying Matt and she would hate for her sister to think she was implying otherwise. If anything, Matt’s fame would have most likely deterred Tessa from dating him, her elder sister constantly shying away from any form of attention or limelight that came her way.

Brooke voiced this now quickly. ‘I was just teasing, sorry. I know how much you hate all that stuff - being in the public eye, and that it had nothing to do with your falling for Matt!’

‘Speaking of one’s love life, how’s Ryan?’ Tessa quickly turned the conversation to Brooke, to a subject she knew her sister was always happy to indulge in. ‘I assume you’re missing him like crazy after his brief visit a few weeks back.’

Brooke sighed dramatically again. ‘That was such a glorious three days. I still can’t believe he flew all the way from L.A for just three nights and surprised me at your house, and yes, I’m now missing him madly! Oh… that reminds me, I’ve been meaning to ask you something about the weekend we were there. Early on the Sunday morning there was a low-flying chopper hanging around, hovering above your place and the property next door, mainly yours though. I didn’t think too much of it at the time, I was just soaking up every second with Ryan, but recently I’ve worried if it might have been the paps. If somehow they got wind of Ryan being back in Australia.’

‘The paparazzi? Surely not,’ responded Tessa in surprise. ‘We do occasionally have choppers flying above our place, but I never think anything of them. Do you really think it could have been the paps?’

‘I’m probably just being paranoid,’ replied Brooke slowly, ‘Especially as I just had one bothering me on the way home tonight, one which has chased Ryan constantly these past six months until he moved to LA. I can’t help but worry the media are still trying to catch us out, to prove we’re a couple. It’s seriously stressful trying to keep this relationship under wraps, even with him now living in America.’

‘Do you still need to, do you think? Keep the relationship a secret? The show ended five months ago. Couldn’t you declare publicly that you’re an item now, that it’s just developed, rather than during the show when…’ Tessa’s voice trailed off unconvincingly, but Brooke quickly filled in her unspoken words.

‘When we weren’t allowed to. When it was against the rules for a contestant to be involved with one of the judges.’

Tessa could hear the slight shrillness and anxiety in Brooke’s voice. She understood that her sister worried constantly about having broken the rules and whether she had been crowned the winner unfairly, despite the fact it was the audience at home who cast the majority of votes, especially for the final decision. Before she could reply though Brooke continued her rant.

‘I can’t change what we did now though, that we kissed twice while the show was filming, it’s just that I hate having to hide the truth. Some days a part of me just wants to confess to everything and if I lose my record deal over it all, well, so be it.’

‘Except you don’t want to lose your record deal, do you? You’ve dreamt of this career for twenty-five years,’ replied Tessa, before adding hastily, ‘but most importantly of all Brooke, you didn’t win unfairly. It wasn’t only Ryan who decided if you should proceed through to round two, and then three, and the live shows. Karl voted you in each time as well and then it was all over to the audience to decide anyway! It was them, not Ryan, who got you through round four, five, six, seven… right until the final.’

‘Except for round eight,’ replied Brooke sombrely. ‘Round eight still plays on my mind. The audience voted me out that night, but Ryan used his judge’s save to keep me in.’

‘Yeeee-eees,’ replied Tessa slowly, ‘but you said Ryan swore black and blue that save had nothing to do with his feelings for you. That both he and Karl agreed from week one you were the best female in the competition and their opinion never wavered… he would have saved you regardless. You need to believe him and let it go now,’ her sister advised gently.

Brooke fell silent for a few seconds. ‘I know. And that’s exactly why I don’t want to confess about me and Ryan because, for all the doubt that seeps into my mind, I still believe I might have won if there had been nothing romantic between us. I could genuinely tell I was his favourite singer, no strings attached.’

‘No more analysing it then! You can’t change what happened and the pesky paparazzi will eventually stop bugging you. Now, back to this concert. I want to know if I can purchase some merchandise while I’m there too. I could do with a baseball cap or beanie emblazoned with my sister’s name.’

Brooke grinned, allowing herself to be pulled back into the excitement over her first ever concert. The first time she would be playing to a large audience who were all there for her, and an excited shiver ran down her back as she shut down her laptop. Her family’s tickets now secured for the 20th of September, she continued chatting excitedly to her sister. She could worry about the ongoing gossip surrounding her and Ryan another day.

Maggie

Maggie knocked loudly on the door of the white terrace she was standing outside, a terrace that was so typically English being identical to the one next door and the one next door to that. She quickly glanced down at her phone to ensure she had the right address. Yes, this was 68… it had to be the place. The place she had found last night on a Gumtree ad detailing a room on offer.

She wasn’t expecting anything fancy. Her budget certainly didn’t allow for that. But Maggie didn’t mind so long as it was clean and liveable and, more importantly, the inhabitants were relatively normal. This latter thought a result of the previous house she had inspected, and she shuddered at the memory.

Having knocked on the door of a similar-looking place last night, straight after work, she had been met by a couple in their early thirties. She hadn’t been too sure about moving in with a couple but she was desperate to move out of her aunt and uncle’s house in Richmond, feeling she’d well out-stayed her welcome and her basic budget did not allow her to be choosy.

The couple – Simon and Lucy - had seemed harmless enough to begin with and invited her warmly into their living room but, after a few standard questions about what she was doing in London and her working life, the questions had quickly turned to that of a religious and political nature. Maggie had been informed that, should she choose to live under their roof, she would be expected to attend church with them on Sunday mornings. This had been surprising enough but was quickly over-ridden by the sudden sighting of a large rodent in the back corner of their living room.

She had been unable to help from emitting a loud squeal and pointing madly at the rat, to which Simon had responded by walking calmly over to the small animal and picking it up, before bringing ‘Freddie’ as in ‘Mercury’ over to introduce to Maggie.

‘You have a pet rat? Named after the lead singer of Queen?’ she had blinked in astonishment, edging back in her seat a little as the rodent eyed her off suspiciously.

‘Yes… and Brian, Roger and John are all in the kitchen,’ Lucy had added, adjusting the thin-wire glasses perched high on her nose.

Four rats… all named after the band members of Queen… who were these people and how quickly could she get out of here?

She did not wish to meet the remaining ‘band members.’

Maggie had responded politely that perhaps she wasn’t a suitable flatmate for them after all and that perhaps, you know, it could be a wise idea to detail these requirements in their advert before they wasted people’s precious time. Well, she hadn’t really added in this last phrase – about wasting peoples’ time - but now she wished she had.

‘Hi, you must be Maggie,’ a friendly male voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts and she glanced up to see a tall dark-haired male in his late twenties standing at the door. His accent immediately revealed he was of New Zealand descent and the All-Blacks rugby jumper he wore all but confirmed this fact.

Maggie felt herself relax instantly – a fellow antipodean, and one that did not look like they kept strange creatures as pets – and she smiled back brightly. ‘Yes, I’m Maggie, and you must be Jack?’

‘Sure am, come on in… is that an Aussie accent I detect?’

Jack opened the door a little wider, allowing Maggie to enter first and she instantly noticed the very male smell penetrating the three-bedroom house. The smell of footy boots, sneakers, sport-based deodorant and recently cooked two-minute noodles. She followed him down a dark, dingy hallway before entering a surprisingly light and airy kitchen which overlooked a small and untidy backyard.

‘Would you like a glass of water, or juice? My sister’s holidaying in Spain at the moment so I don’t have any of her fancy teas to offer you sorry.’ Then, with a lop-sided grin he added, ‘what is it with you chicks and your herbal teas anyway? My sister has a tea for every remedy possible!’

Maggie laughed at his directness. ‘I would love to protest and tell you not to stereotype all us females but alas, I’m guilty of the same crime. Need to sleep better at night? I have just the tea. A little aid for digestion? One for that also.’ They both then laughed, and she added hopefully, ‘so you currently live here with your sister and a mate, but your sister’s the one staying on? Is that right?’

The ad had been a little confusing. She was aware two guys and one girl currently resided in this Parsons Green terrace, but she hadn’t quite understood who was going and who was staying. ‘Oh, and I’m fine by the way thanks, no drink for me.’

‘Yep, that’s right. My mate Benny’s heading back to Wellington in three weeks and we need to fill his room, as there’s still eight months left on our contract. It was quite a sudden decision,’ Jack explained, before adding with a grin, ‘So you’re in luck. It’s not two stinky blokes you’d be living with, just one.’

Maggie smiled as he had indeed read her mind. However, she was thirty-five and certainly did not wish to live like a Uni student again where the house was constantly untidy and unwashed dishes remained that way for a week. She realised this assumption might be a little unfair though, the assumption that their house would be messier if it was two males rather than two females, but she was basing this purely on past experience, both of her own and of friends whom she had visited. Plus, Jack was six years younger than herself.

‘So, what do you want to know? I s’pose you need to see the rest of the house first and more importantly your room. It’s not overly large, the room, but the house is in pretty good condition and the location is awesome, right opposite the park and the White Horse pub. You been there before?’

Maggie replied that she hadn’t yet as she’d been based in Richmond these past five months – at her aunt and uncle’s place – but that she was looking forward to getting to know more of London and of course its drinking holes. As she followed Jack through the house, a tour which lasted all of one minute, they chatted away about their respective jobs and what had brought each of them to London, so far from home.

Maggie had kept her reply simple. She wasn’t sure that now was the time or place for a detailed rundown of how she’d fled the country after being witness in a court case. The sole witness who had incriminated her client at the advertising agency she then worked for, of using an illegal substance in their alcopop drinks.

Less than fifteen minutes later and she was standing back outside the front door with a verbal confirmation the room was hers, should she want it.

‘Ellie’s trusting me with the decision, that’s my older sister. Seeing she’s in Spain for the next fortnight she has no choice anyway. I know she’ll like you though, you’re similar, you and Elle.’ Then he winked and added, ‘and not just because you’re both crazy tea hoarders.’

Maggie had replied instantly that she would take it. The house was nothing fancy, but it was clean and airy once you trailed through the dingy hallway and the bedroom certainly large enough. And even though the little lawn was currently unkempt and overgrown, she had no doubt she could trim the grass and have it much nicer looking in no time.

The two winning factors were most certainly the location and Jack himself though.

The house was just a stone’s throw away from a large green and less than a minute’s walk to both the White Horse pub and Parson’s Green tube station and, as for Jack, he was extremely affable and likeable. Someone whom Maggie thought would be no trouble at all to live with and, most likely, quite fun and after the intense six to twelve months she had just endured, fun was what she needed.

Not to mention there was no rodent family living there.

It had been impossible not to notice also that Jack was quite good-looking in a rugged blokey kind of way, but Maggie knew this did not factor into the equation at all. She knew where her heart belonged and unfortunately that was in Paris, with Jamie Weiss, who was currently unavailable both emotionally and, due to the distance, physically, and as Maggie said goodbye to Jack and made her way towards the station, her heart felt a heavy tug at the sudden thought of Jamie.

It was hard not to think of him a lot considering she was still working at the agency where they had run into each other again. Each time she walked past the new creative director’s office she would feel a wave of disappointment wash through her that it wasn’t Jamie sitting in there. And although she knew he hadn’t quit the job permanently, that their CEO was generously holding it open for a few months on the grounds of compassionate leave - should he return to London and still want it - therein lay the question that burned inside Maggie daily. Would he return in three months and be keen to start a relationship with her, like he had insinuated? Or would Paris once again become home to him instead?

He had flown out to France just over a month ago, to be with his dad who, sadly, had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and just weeks to live. However, something extremely unexpected had also occurred during his first few weeks in Paris, discovering he had a five-year-old daughter. A child which had been kept secret to him for all those years by his ex-fiancé and one whom, now Jamie had met her, he wished to spend a few months getting to know before returning to London and relying on fortnightly visits.

Maggie did not begrudge him any of this, would have thought poorly of him should he have not shown interest in building a relationship with his daughter. And if this meant staying on in Paris an extra two months than originally planned, then of course she knew he needed to do so.

It was just that, she thought now with a slightly guilty sigh, the timing between them could not have been worse, just when they had been about to see if something romantically did still exist between them after all these years apart. This thought was laden with guilt though because she knew in comparison to his father and new daughter, romance should certainly be the least of his concerns at the moment, that it was the least of his concerns right now. He had said as much in his last email. Admitted that he currently did not have the head space to embark on a new relationship and that he obviously did not expect her to wait around for him, for something he couldn’t commit to right now. Something he very much hoped he could commit to in due course though, when he returned to London.

But would he really return, Maggie wondered to herself for the hundredth time that week. Now that he was back in Paris and seeing his ex- fiancé, Amelie, regularly, even if just briefly when collecting Claudia (his daughter) twice a week. Would seeing Amelie again and sharing something so strong and special like a child reunite them romantically?

Stop! Maggie commanded herself now. I need to just focus on work, friends and having fun for the next few months and if Jamie does return, and is ready, then I’ll allow myself to dive back into these emotions.

But as Maggie clambered through the open doors of the tube and wriggled her way past her fellow commuters to gain a comfortable standing space, she knew this would be much harder said than done. Because ever since Jamie had walked back into her life a few months ago, not a day had gone by without her wondering what it would be like to kiss him again.

Tessa

‘Can you please tell me the surprise now?’ Tessa pleaded with her husband for about the fifth time that evening. ‘You can’t just announce this morning that you have something exciting to tell me and then keep me hanging until dinner time.’

Matt looked back at her and grinned, indicating he was still not ready to do so. ‘Give me an hour, I need to finalise one more detail.’ His smile then became a little subdued as he added, ‘at least I hope it’s a good surprise, you might not be as stoked as I think you’ll be.’

‘Well, I’m going to bath Billy and give him a bottle, then try to settle him for the night before Leila arrives. But then… then I’m expecting an answer!’ and Tessa scooped up their nearly-six-month old baby from the nearby rug and began heading upstairs.

Leila was the night nurse whom Tessa and Matt had recently employed. Not something Tessa had ever thought she would need to do with her first child – hire a night nurse – but then she also hadn’t expected to become unwell with perinatal