The Girl in the Yellow Vest (50 page)

The majority of this novel is set at the port of Hay Point on Queensland’s coast, thirty-eight kilometres south of Mackay. This port is one of the largest exporters of coal in the world. There are actually two separate coal export terminals in this location. One is the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal and the other, the Hay Point Services Coal Terminal. In my story, I call my terminal the Hay Point Wharf, which is loosely based on the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal.

It was not my intention to capture the Dalrymple Bay terminal structure exactly but to give readers a general overview so that they can get a feel for what it’s like to work on a job like this, rather than getting bogged down in details.

I was fortunate to work on an expansion of this wharf as a young engineer back in 2002. We were constructing a new berth and installing a new shiploader. It was a very exciting time, particularly witnessing the arrival of the new shiploader, which is the size of a ten-storey building. This project also forms the basis of employment in my narrative. Again, much detail has been omitted to focus on characters in this environment.

I have also ignored a lot of the port operations and the shipping schedule in favour of the construction project. This would have played a large role in interfering with the project. It is also important to note that Barnes Inc is a fictional company and so are all its personnel depicted in this work. Similarly, Silver Seas Resort does not exist and was created for the purposes of this story.

It has been wonderful writing a novel that shows off one of Australia’s most picturesque landscapes and also the Great Barrier Reef. Many readers may question whether the coal export facilities in the area are a danger to the reef. While shipping accidents, i.e. oil spills, are a concern, the probability of this happening is low. Commercial shipping routes are carefully planned and heavily regulated, whereas climate change and fishing represent a greater ongoing threat to the reef’s survival.

When I was posted in this area many years ago, exploring the Great Barrier Reef and the surrounds was the best fringe benefit of the job. I think it is our duty as Australians to protect it for future generations.

I really hope readers enjoy Emily’s and Charlotte’s journeys.

If you enjoyed
The Girl in the Yellow Vest,
read on for a taster of Loretta’s new romantic novella

‘Once upon a time, there was a young girl called Sarah Dubert who needed to fall in love in six weeks . . .’

Thanks to food poisoning, broken dates, airport malfunctions and even death, Sarah Dubert has never had a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day. However, this year she’s determined to break the curse and snare herself a man before Big V. Signing herself up to the online dating site soulmates.com, she begins eliminating possible candidates through dates at her favourite bar, The Blue Saloon . . .

Owen Black, the handsome new owner of The Blue Saloon, likes his women fast, experienced and temporary. A woman on a mission to find love – particularly one with a six-week deadline – would normally have him running for the hills. So why is he
so
uncharacteristically interested in Sarah’s search? And, more importantly, the success of her dates . . .?

Available as an ebook from February 2014

‘Okay, ladies.’ Amy, the brunette with the pixie haircut, raised her wine glass. ‘It’s the first week of January. What’s your New Year’s resolution?’

‘Buy less clothes, save more money,’ her friend Mia immediately announced, causing the third girl at the table to groan.

‘Wasn’t that your resolution last year?’

Mia flicked her long blonde hair over one shoulder and said with a sideways look, ‘Last year I’d just started a new job, Sarah. I needed to look good. We all knew it wasn’t going to happen.’

‘Mia, you work at a bank,’ Sarah protested, lifting her own glass and taking a sip. ‘You have a
uniform
.’

Mia stuck out her tongue. ‘All right then, Smarty-pants. What’s your New Year’s resolution?’

Sarah set her wine glass on the table with a smile that also lit her wide blue eyes. ‘To have fun, like we’re doing right now.’

It was a Thursday night after work and the three women had chosen to meet at their usual hangout and favourite bar in Perth, The Blue Saloon.

‘Come on,’ Amy scoffed. She was, by far, the most opinionated in the group and was not going to let an opportunity to have her say go by unused. ‘That’s too easy. It’s not a real resolution unless you’re changing something about yourself.’

‘Seriously?’ Sarah dropped her chin in her palm. ‘Well, I suppose I could start exercising more.’

‘Bor-ring.’ Mia sang the word in mock disapproval. ‘Besides, it’s not like you need to lose weight or anything. Your wardrobe could use some TLC though. Want any help?’

Sarah chuckled. It was clear that if this year Mia was buying less clothes for herself then she was going to require someone else to get her fix.

‘Okay.’ Sarah held up her hands in mock fear. ‘Stop looking at me like a new project. Besides, slimming down isn’t the only reason people exercise, you know. I might want to improve my fitness.’

Mia snorted. ‘They all say that. But it’s not true.’

‘Forget exercise,’ Amy interrupted. ‘What really needs a shake-up is Sarah’s love life.’

Sarah coughed. ‘What love life?’

‘Exactly.’ Amy poked her. ‘Why not make it your New Year’s resolution this year to fall in love.’

Sarah rubbed her arm where Amy had jabbed her but didn’t say anything. As much as she hated to admit it, the thought of falling in love sounded wonderful. She hadn’t had a steady relationship for a couple of years straight and independence was starting to feel more like loneliness every day.

‘Maybe,’ she said finally. ‘But isn’t falling in love more to do with luck and chance than premeditation?’

Amy blew her fringe out of her eyes. ‘Not if you’re continually dating all the wrong men.’

Sarah winced. ‘Okay, so I’m not that good at meeting guys. But a New Year’s resolution is not going to fix that.’

‘No . . .’ Amy’s dismal expression didn’t take long to brighten. ‘What you need is a structured plan!’

Sarah blinked. ‘
A what
?’

The problem was, Amy had graduated from the University of Western Australia as a mathematician. She worked for the Australian Bureau of Statistics and often considered life a series of numbers and equations waiting to be solved. ‘Your problem,’ she said at length, ‘is that in the past you haven’t looked further afield than your own friendship group, your acquaintances and the bars you frequent. At the bureau –’

‘
Here we go
.’ Sarah nodded to Mia, who unfortunately turned out to be listening in rapt attention. Sarah sighed.

‘
At the bureau
,’ Amy said again, ‘we collect data from a broad variety of sources. If you keep going back to the same place and the same lousy demographic, you’ll get poor results. It’s a fact. You need a bigger pool but a tighter net.’

Sarah rolled her eyes. ‘And how am I supposed to achieve that, Doctor?’

‘I have one word for you,’ Amy announced triumphantly. ‘Soulmates.com.’

‘An internet dating site?’ Sarah gasped.

‘Bingo, baby.’ Amy clapped her hands cheerfully. ‘Why leave love to chance, when you can tailor your next date by occupation, hair colour and height?’

Sarah raised her empty glass and eyed it with dissatisfaction. ‘I need another drink.’

‘Internet dating,’ Amy continued informatively, ‘has worked for heaps of people and made many a happy marriage.’

Sarah glanced at Mia. ‘You’re not buying this, are you?’

‘Well,’ Mia tapped one shiny pink nail to her chin, ‘I heard on the radio this morning that one in three couples who were married last year met online.’

‘Mia
, you can’t side with her. You’ve known me since high school. She only came into the picture at uni.’

Mia shrugged apologetically. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t help what I heard.’

‘The statistics speak for themselves.’ Amy punched her fist into her palm.

‘What I want to know,’ Sarah scoffed, ‘is how this went from me meeting a man, to me needing a husband.’

‘Falling in love is all about meeting the one, isn’t it?’ Mia responded with a slight air of dreaminess. ‘Why aren’t you open to that?’

Sarah coughed. ‘What makes you think I’m closed to it?’

‘Well, take Valentine’s Day for example,’ Mia pointed out. ‘Didn’t you tell us last week that this year you’re planning on working through it?’

‘That’s different.’ Sarah folded her arms and pursed her lips.

‘How?’ Amy demanded.

‘You know Valentine’s Day is a completely different ball game. On that day, I’m cursed.’

In the dysfunctional universe that was Sarah’s love life, Valentine’s Day represented the black hole. She’d never actually had a date for it before.

Like
ever
.

From high school through to university, she’d always spent the day solo.

Always.

Even the years when she’d had a boyfriend had been lonely.

Travis, the cheat, had dumped her two days before.

Brett had been caught in a snow storm in Alaska and couldn’t get a flight home.

And Jake . . . Poor, unfortunate Jake had caught swine flu and
died
a month out.

Mia rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, you are not
cursed
!’

‘Hello!’ Sarah protested. ‘
Somebody died
.’

‘Come on, Sarah.’

‘No.’ She held up her hand. ‘For the safety of the male population of Perth, it would be better if I just stayed out of it.’

In fact, she had thought herself very cunning to have scheduled the Penwick Pty Ltd Inaugural Charity Ball for Valentine’s Day. When their auditors had raised the issue that the company culture wasn’t doing them any favours, it had been her idea to host a variety of well-publicised charity events to boost their image.

As the public relations manager, it was her job to show the media and their employees that, in actual fact, Penwick Pty Ltd was community orientated, environmentally friendly, sympathetic to those less fortunate and concerned about incurable diseases.

What a laugh!

Nonetheless, so far they’d had a bike marathon, a wine-tasting day, a fair and a concert. This ball was going to be their most lavish event yet and a lovely distraction for her. Thanks to her job, she didn’t have to buy into all the Valentine’s hype
except
in the name of Cancer Research fundraising.

Alleluia.

‘For the record,’ Amy tapped French-manicured fingernails on the table top, ‘Jake was always a very sickly person. He was allergic to just about everything and anaemic as hell. When you were dating him, he had the mumps and whooping cough before he got swine flu. I’m surprised he didn’t die earlier.’

‘
Amy.
’

‘I’m sorry, I meant no disrespect.’ She clasped her hands together and looked heavenward. ‘May his soul rest in peace.’ Her gaze returned to Sarah. ‘But to me, this only reinforces my previous point.’

‘Which is what?’ Sarah demanded.

‘You choose all the wrong sorts of guys to date. None of them have had any staying power.’

‘And by that you mean . . .?’

‘Commitment value.’

‘You’re making this sound like a mathematical problem again.’ Sarah shook her head. ‘I don’t believe it’s as easy as that.’

‘You’re right, it’s simpler,’ Amy gasped excitedly. ‘We could add your Valentine’s Day problem to your New Year’s resolution and achieve two outcomes at the same time.’

‘Now you’re definitely talking crazy.’ Sarah folded her arms again. The conversation was rapidly descending into a place she just did
not
want to go.

‘Valentine’s Day is in six weeks, right?’ Amy asked Mia who nodded. ‘That’s more than enough time in the dating arena to pull this off.’

Sarah threw up her hands. ‘Pull what off?’

Amy lifted her hand as though writing the words across the skyline. ‘I call it Operation Valentine.’

Sarah dropped her head in her hands. ‘I call it
dumb
.’