'Tammi, was that Eddie I saw go in there?' Kathy shouted over the noise.

'Yes... Yes... Mr Hansen's in there... He went to get the horse out.' Tears started to run down her face.

The next minute, the horse charged out of the stable, then Walter staggered through the doorway and collapsed to the ground.

'My G.o.d... Where's Eddie...? Dad, do something!' Kathy ran towards the burning stables.

'The firemen will get him Kath. Kathy... Come back... Stop, it's too dangerous!' Digger ran after her, yelling as a fireman grabbed hold of her.

'Love, the beams have collapsed. Our blokes are there... We'll do our best.' The fireman privately thought that Eddie had little hope of getting out.

After calling the ambulance for Walter, Muriel knelt beside him, holding his hand. He was so still on the ground. 'Someone help him. His heart's bad. You have to help him!' She sobbed hysterically.

Kathy was also in sheer panic by now. She pleaded for someone to save Eddie.

Tammi was crying at the same time, trying to comfort Kathy and Laura. It was pure chaos.

'G.o.d... What a mess... Is everyone alright?' Francis panted. He'd been in the shower and when he had come back downstairs, Emmie told him there was a bad fire at Hansen's and Win had gone over to help.

'Francis, look after Kath for me,' Win asked. 'Eddie went in to get Walter Hansen and he hasn't come back out! Walter's over there on the ground. Dig and Karl are helping the firemen.'

'Francis, its Eddie... He's still in there. Oh Francis... He'll be burnt to death!' Kathy sobbed hysterically. Francis could do little else but hold her. There were screams and shouts, horses were being moved from other stables and corrals. Suddenly, a fireman yelled out, 'Hey... Help me back here.... I need help!'

Digger and Karl ran to him as he helped someone from behind the burnt-out stables. Kathy looked up to see them supporting Eddie by each arm.

'Eddie!' she screamed and ran to him. 'Is he burnt bad? How bad is he...? Let me see him.' She was crying and yelling and trying to get a good look at Eddie all at the same time.

'He's okay, Kath, he's okay!' Karl shouted.

'I found him lying out the back of the stables. He must have smashed through the back,' the fireman told her.

They sat him down carefully and he was able to gasp, 'I'm okay, I just couldn't breathe!'

'Eddie... Eddie, you're alive!' Tears were streaming down Kathy's face as she hugged him close.

No one could believe that he had survived. They had thought he was a goner for sure!

'Kathy, I'm alright, sweetheart,' he told her in a raspy voice, choking on a cough. He too had tears running down his face now and they held each other tightly for a long time.

Digger was watching his daughter. He hadn't realised just how much this young man meant to her.

The ambulance officers were attending to Walter. 'We've got him stabilized but he's in a bad way,' they explained to them. 'He's taken in a lot of smoke, but we'll get him to hospital and he'll be okay!'

He then examined Eddie and told him he too should go to the hospital. Eddie flatly refused, insisting he was alright and that he just wanted a cold drink. The ambulance officer tried to convince him to allow a doctor to examine him because he had inhaled a lot of smoke, but Eddie was adamant.

The fire was under control now. It had been vicious and spreading fast and it could have taken out all of Walter's stables. Tammi spotting it when she did was sheer luck. Walter lost two stables as it was, but everyone considered that under the circ.u.mstances, he was fortunate. His stallion being saved in the nick of time was a blessing. If he'd lost him, it would have broken his heart. His horses were his life. In trying to save them, he had nearly lost his own life.

Muriel was on the verge of a nervous collapse herself. Both were taken by ambulance to the Albury Base Hospital.

'Come on,' Francis urged. 'Aunt Win wants you to come home with us Eddie. Gran just rang here to see if everyone was alright and she wants us all back home. Hazel's making some supper. You can phone your mother from our place and let her know why you're late if you want.'

'Oh yeah, she was expecting me for tea. She'll wonder where I am. She'd have heard the sirens, so she'd know there's been another fire!' Eddie was still holding Kathy as he spoke. They hadn't let go of each other since Eddie had been found.

'Come over Eddie. If Mum said to, then it's ok, she must want you to.'

'Okay, come on then. I do think I need to sit down for a while, Kath.'

Everyone gathered at the Masons', all eager to know what happened inside the stables. Eddie was too shaken at first to tell anyone exactly what had happened.

'Well, young man, you sure did a brave thing tonight. You could have lost your life,' Digger said sincerely. He was in two minds about this bloke now.

'What the h.e.l.l happened in there, Ed?' Karl asked. He was also looking at Eddie in a new light.

Eddie explained that when he ran inside, the smoke was so thick it was impossible to see. He called Mr Hansen, who was still struggling with the stallion. The fire had terrified the horse and it was giving him trouble. He simply couldn't get it out of the stables. It reared up and knocked an overhead beam, which didn't need any help to come falling down, landing on Walter.

Eddie had to struggle to lift the beam from him. At that moment, the horse bolted. Then Eddie finally managed to lift the beam enough for Walter to crawl out from under it. Eddie yelled at him to get out then the rest of the roof started to cave in. He felt his way along the back wall and found the stable window already smashed. He pulled himself up and escaped through that.

'And that's how I got out, just in time. After that things went a bit awry though. I remember pulling myself up through the window, and next thing that fireman was there,' Eddie explained.

To everyone waiting outside, it had seemed a long time, but all in all it was really only about five minutes that he'd been missing.

Everyone knew that Kathy had been petrified that she'd lost Eddie. Emmie cuddled her granddaughter and kissed her face. 'G.o.d was with him, darling. G.o.d was watching over him!'

Kathy felt tears run down her cheeks again.

Eddie squeezed her hand gently. 'Here, drink your cuppa, Kath, before you cry in it!'

When Win phoned the hospital, they informed her that Walter had broken ribs and was suffering smoke inhalation. Thankfully, he would recover. His heart was okay; the pain he had experienced wasn't a heart attack, it was just coming from his broken ribs. He would be in hospital for a few days and then complete bed rest was vital.

Murial was kept under observation. She had collapsed after the fire and she had to be checked over as well for severe shock.

There was a noise at the back door and Sam and Eric came in, followed by Arthur and Robert.

'We just got back from Gerogery. What's happened here? Is everyone okay?' Sam asked in his booming voice.

'It's all okay now, mate,' Karl growled. 'The b.a.s.t.a.r.d's done a number on Hansen's this time. We could have had two tragedies and a dead stallion.'

'Nearly b.l.o.o.d.y did,' Digger agreed.

Ellie came in. She'd already heard about the fire on the car radio. It made her flushed in the face and anxious. Digger and Karl explained the events of the night.

'Eric, go over to Hansen's with Tammi and Laura to get Laura's things, will you? She's very upset and she'll be staying here a couple of nights. We can't have her over there on her own.' Emmie was concerned for Laura as well.

Now the firebug had targeted the Hansens, this told the locals that the maniac was out to destroy everyone in the valley. It was anyone's guess as to where he would strike next!

Kathy and Eddie went out onto the veranda, arm in arm. 'Eddie, I was so frightened. I really thought you'd been killed.' Kathy's voice was full of emotion.

'I had to try to save him, Kath... I didn't stop to think, I just went in. I didn't think of anythin' except gettin' him out and the poor b.l.o.o.d.y horse.'

'You're here now, that's the main thing, and you're not hurt. You're a hero, Eddie!' Kathy pulled him to her.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her, chuckling. 'Should see your face... It's black.' He wiped at her face with his thumbs.

'I don't care,' she said, squeezing him tighter.

'Don't you ever frighten me like that again, ok?' she whispered to him as they began to devour each other with kisses.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

The house was in darkness as Harvey pulled into the driveway.

As he let himself in the front door, he fumbled for the light switch. 'Mary, are you home?' he called.

'She must be,' he thought. 'Her car's here.'

Harvey walked up the long hallway and into the bedroom, taking off his coat as he went. 'Mary!' he called again. 'Mary, are you here?' He flicked the bedroom light on. Mary was sitting up on the queen size bed she'd insisted on having in the new home, even though Harvey slept in the spare room. She had made everything seem normal to any visitors who might come to their home.

'Decided to come home, have you Harvey? That's a lot of overtime!' Mary slurred.

Harvey groaned. 'Here we go.' Still, he attempted to sound normal.

'What're you doin' sittin' here in the dark?'

'Waiting for my husband...' she hissed.

'You've been on the grog again, Mary,' he accused.

'You've been f.u.c.king Ellie again, Harvey.'

'What did you say? Hey, what're you doin'? Get back, Mary! You're crazy, woman!'

Mary leapt at Harvey, viciously clawing at his face. 'You think I sit out here getting so drunk that I don't know what you're up to?' she screamed, pushing him hard enough to make him stumble against the dressing table. The lamp crashed to the floor.

'You think the drunker I get the better? You stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I'm not oblivious to what you're doing!' she shouted at him.

'Mary, stop it!' he yelled, managing to grab her wrists and hold her sharp nails away from his bleeding face.

'You haven't f.u.c.ked me in years. You haven't even come near me since I told you I couldn't have children!'

'Mary, stop it! Now...' Harvey was becoming angrier. This wasn't the Mary he knew. The Mary Harvey knew was a quiet, religious lady, not this drunken, screaming shrew, swaying unsteadily in front of him.

'Come on, Harv. Make love to me then. Now! Come on. I'm all yours, or haven't you got it in you? Did darling Ellie wear you out?' Mary ground out the words from between clenched teeth.

'You're sick, Mary. You're not yourself. Lie down. I'm gettin' the doctor.'

'Ha! The doctor... The b.l.o.o.d.y doctor can't fix me, you cheating a.r.s.ehole. I need my husband, not the b.l.o.o.d.y doctor!'

Harvey let her wrists go and she dropped her hands to her sides. She turned away from him and reached for the whiskey bottle.

'Harvey, you don't know what you've done to me. You and dear precious Ellie won't get away with this, I'll see to that.' She slopped some more drink into her gla.s.s.

'Mary, don't drink any more, please.'

'Why not...? Why not, Harv...? What's it to you?'

Mary's voice sounded strangely calm as she put the drink on the dresser. In one swift movement, her nightgown slid to the floor. She was standing naked in the dim light. She swayed towards Harvey. He stood there looking at her, a stunned expression on his face.

'Come on, Harv. My body must be better than hers.' She cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in her hands as she spoke. 'Seeing I've never had a baby, my body must be firmer than hers.' She ran her hands over her body, stopping at her groin. She let her fingers travel between her legs, slowly ma.s.saging herself while her other hand went back to work on her breast. She threw her head back and moaned. 'I can pleasure myself Harv... I've become an expert over the years,' she said huskily, continuing her display to a shocked Harvey.

He backed towards the door. He wasn't sure how to treat Mary. She wasn't at all herself. He'd never seen her like this, ever!

'Mary... Mary, get dressed. We'll talk. Just get dressed. You're being silly.' He spoke softly, hoping to snap her out of her stupor.

Mary immediately ceased her s.e.x show. 'Silly! You call me silly,' she screeched. 'You mean you don't feel a thing when I stand here naked touching myself, you rotten b.a.s.t.a.r.d?! I hate you! I hate you!'

As Harvey turned to go out the door, she s.n.a.t.c.hed up the fallen lamp and threw it, just missing his head. It smashed against the door as he closed it. Mary fell to the floor in a hysterical heap, crying pathetically.

'My G.o.d, I've got to do something here. I can't take this anymore!' Harvey muttered to himself as he held his handkerchief to his bloodied face.

'She's mad. She's stark raving mad!'

Harvey slowly stirred as the sun crept between the curtains. He'd slept on the couch all night. Mary must have fallen asleep; he hadn't heard any more from her. He sat up, dazed, and looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. He was late for a meeting.

'b.u.g.g.e.r over-sleeping, I have to meet Mike,' he growled.

He quietly opened the door to Mary's room. She wasn't in there.

'h.e.l.l, where is she?' he said aloud. He looked in every room of the house. Mary was nowhere to be found.

'Her car...' He remembered, running swiftly to check the garage. 'Oh s.h.i.t, it's gone! Where the f.u.c.k has she gone? b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, Mary, I hope you didn't take off drunk!' He ran his hand through his bed hair.

Harvey quickly showered, dressed and drove off towards the Gap Road, hoping he wouldn't find Mary's car smashed on the way. He knew the lethal capacity of the Gap Road. If she'd driven while she was drunk... that was a thought he didn't want to entertain.

'Dear Lord, please help me.' Mary was quietly sobbing. 'I need help, Lord. I've been such a fool.' Sobs racked her body as she contemplated her situation. She believed that only divine intervention could salvage her life.

St Mark's Church was in the opposite direction to that which Harvey had taken. She'd left home about an hour before Harvey had woken. Mary had driven to the only place where she felt someone would truly understand how she felt. She was very humiliated and regretted her behaviour of last night. She had no answer as to why she had behaved in such a manner. It could only be years of emotional turmoil and... the drink. Everyone else seemed to believe she and Harvey had the perfect relationship. Mary had put on a front for years and finally her pent-up emotions had been released. This didn't give her any comfort though. She was experiencing a side of herself she had never known and she didn't like it.

Harvey couldn't find Mary but he was satisfied that she hadn't driven over the gap or hadn't had an accident from what he could see. He headed off to meet his work colleague. He also had a phone call to make.