“Hmm, okay. Well let’s get you back home now, shall we?” He was talking to her like she was a child now. He stepped over to her and lifted her onto her feet and manhandled her into the helicopter. Abby suddenly felt exhausted and let him buckle her into her seat.
“I need to get my stuff,” she said half-heartedly.
“I’ll grab it,” he said firmly. He lifted a radio off the dashboard in the front of the helicopter and spoke into it.
“Tom, I’ve got her. Looks like she was on a different track to what we thought. She was about ten miles south of where I started looking. Truck looks like she’s run into a tree, but the girl is okay. On my way back to base now.”
“Got that, Noah. Good work mate.”
Abby frowned at him. “I didn’t run into a tree. A kangaroo ran into me.” He probably thought she was stupid, a woman who can’t drive who needed rescuing. She could have guessed from his good looks that he was going to be arrogant. No one this good-looking wasn’t arrogant.
Noah grinned. “You’re lucky it didn’t do worse damage then, you could have been hurt.”
“The truck couldn’t be much worse.” She looked out the window at it and grimaced. “I’m going to be in trouble.”
“I’m pretty sure everyone will just be glad that you are okay. It’s no joke to be stuck out here on your own.”
He went back to the truck and pulled out her bag with her camera gear, her phone which was now dead, a stack of notebooks and one of her bottles of water and walked back over to the helicopter.
“You look like you packed enough food there for a camping holiday with an army unit. Were you planning on spending the night here?”
She looked at him in surprise, and little bit of disgust. “Of course not. Why on earth would I want to camp here when I have a bed to go back to?”
“Camping is fun. And you have what looks like a month’s worth of granola bars still left.” He sounded like he was trying not to laugh again. “And I saw a fair few empty wrappers in the truck.”
“I like to be prepared. I didn’t eat much though. After the first night here I started to ration them.”
He laughed this time. “Well, I’ve seen less-prepared people than you get lost out here.”
He climbed into his own seat and showed her how to put on the headset so that they could talk to each other over the whirring of the helicopter blades. She watched in fascination as he twirled a few knobs on the dashboard, started the engine and took off. They rose straight up, and she looked down at the mangled truck getting smaller below them. The once white truck was pretty dusty now. She was lucky he had found her. She shivered, suddenly cold despite the hot day.
“Don’t look down there, look around you,” a voice spoke loudly into her ear and she jumped. Noah saw her jump. “You can change the volume—it’s the little dial by your ear.”
She turned his voice down a bit and looked out across the landscape. It was dry red earth and shrubby trees for as far as the eye could see. Further away she could see the edge of the sea. She closed her eyes.
“Are you sure we don’t have time for me to go and get some more samples? I spent two days on the work that you just destroyed.”
He ignored her. “Have you ever been in a helicopter before? Just relax and enjoy the view. We’ll have you dropped off home again soon.”
“You don’t understand. This is why I’m here, to do my thesis. I’m going to be days behind now.” The last two days were catching up with her and she wanted to cry again with sheer frustration.
He still ignored her comments. “Isn’t this landscape spectacular? And look, you can just see the ocean.”
Abby closed her eyes tighter. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of enjoying the view, not when she was so angry about losing her work. She knew she was being petty, but she didn’t care.
“I’m going to drop you off at the clinic, they’ll want to have a chat with you, make sure you’re okay before they let you go home.”
Abby kept her eyes shut for a few minutes, but curiosity got the better of her and she opened her eyes to take in the view. She had not been in a helicopter before. She could see for miles around. There was nothing but a bit of glass between her and the sky in front of her. Every gust of wind seemed to shake the helicopter. It felt extraordinarily unsafe.
The helicopter was roomy inside; there were seats behind her too, and it looked as though four or five people could fit inside. Abby wondered why on earth people would want to go out for trips in this. She kept a firm grip on the edge of her seat until they landed, even though her hands were beginning to cramp by the end of the trip.
The next couple hours were spent at the local hospital, which everyone referred to as the clinic. It was a small building that serviced the small town and the further out Aboriginal communities, which Abby had recently learnt were traditionally nomadic and consisted of many small communities which lived in relative isolation. The doctor on shift there was busy tending to a patient, but a friendly nurse took Abby’s vitals and gave her cream for her sunburned arms and told her that she was lucky to not be in worse condition.
Abby’s body was crying out for a shower and a nap by now. When she finally finished at the hospital it was the annoyingly nice-smelling pilot who drove her the short distance back to the accommodations that she shared with her fellow researchers. The ride passed mostly in silence, with Abby struggling to keep her eyes open. Noah tried to start a conversation with her a couple times during the ride, but quickly gave up when answered only by bleary nods and silence.
When she got to her room she showered quickly, scrubbing herself rid of the red dirt that managed to seep into every pore on her body, and crawled into her bed.
She was asleep in seconds.
A knock on her door woke her up about an hour later. Myra, one of the older researchers who was stationed here for most of the year, poked her head around the door. In her mid-fifties, with a round figure, a big smile and deeply tanned skin from her many years spent in the sunny climate, she was the unofficial mother figure of the research center.
“Dinner’s ready, Abby. Sorry to wake you up but we thought you’d probably like a decent meal after your ordeal.” She smiled and left, closing the door gently behind her.
Abby joined them minutes later, dressed in a clean white linen shirt and shorts, feeling ravenous. The researchers lived in hostel-like accommodations and, while there was a shared kitchen and you were expected to cook your own breakfast and lunch, dinners were provided. A middle-aged woman doubled as the chef and accommodations manager, while most of the cleaning was done by her daughter, a chirpy high school student, once she had finished her homework. The accommodations were a part of a large university whose main campus was based in Sydney but had smaller research facilities scattered around the country. Even though it looked shabby from the outside, it was comfortable. They each had their own room, most rooms had ensuites and the wifi was reasonably reliable. At the moment there were just six researchers staying there, including her.
To her surprise, Noah was seated at the dining table already, his plate piled high with food and chatting with Myra. John, Adam and Aaron were sitting at the same table. John was in his mid-forties, a university lecturer from one of the bigger Australian cities (she couldn’t remember which) who she vaguely remembered hearing came out here every other year with his family for work. Aaron was a bit younger, maybe later thirties, skinny and tall with pale skin that was perpetually sunburned, and ginger hair. He was doing his doctorate, if she remembered correctly. Adam was about the same age, a stocky, short guy who was doing his master’s from an Australian university based down south. He was a bit more chatty than Aaron. Every morning he went for a short run before the heat kicked in and had proudly told them the other day that he had beat his personal best time for a five-mile run. Other than this she really didn’t know much about her new colleagues at all.
Myra caught her eye and motioned for her to join them. Abby piled
her own plate with food and sat next to Myra. She usually didn’t spend much time with the others here. Though she had been here two weeks now, she often ate alone. As she sat down, she made eye contact with Noah, and then quickly looked away.
“Noah tells me he was lucky to find you. Gosh Abby, it must have been terrifying out there. We were pretty worried about you.” She put her arm around Abby and squeezed, taking Abby by surprise at this gesture of affection.
“Not luck Myra,” Noah said. “Pure skill.” He took a big mouthful of mashed potatoes and winked at Abby.
“Anyway, we were thinking we’ll have to go and pick up the truck somehow.”
Abby felt herself go red. “I am so sorry I wrecked it.”
“Not to worry hon, we have insurance and we have the funding to replace it anyway. Noah said a kangaroo jumped in front of you. Bad luck more than anything.”
The others nodded, and conversation turned to their many run-ins or close calls with hitting kangaroos.
“Anyhow, back to my truck,” John finally said. “We’re going to have to tow it back to base, so we can get a mechanic to work on it. See if he can get it going again.”
Myra shook her head thoughtfully. “I’m not going to be much use to you there. I’ve only got my little town runabout. It would never cope with those roads. I’ve never even taken it off the asphalt.”
Aaron shrugged helplessly. “My motorbike won’t be much use.”
“More use than my non-existent car,” Adam remarked. He hadn’t brought a car here at all. Abby wasn't even sure how he had managed to get to the research facility. Maybe he had hitchhiked. She doubted he’d had parents like hers that paid for a private pick-up and drop-off from the closest airport.
John ran his hands through his hair. “I could probably get someone from the garage out to tow it in, but it would likely take a couple days until they have the time. I’d rather get it back as soon as I can, but I guess they’ll do at a pinch.”
Noah pushed his plate away. Abby had tried not to watch him as he ate, but she had been highly aware of him throughout dinner, nonetheless. He’d put away more food than she had seen anyone eat before. He must have a terrifically efficient metabolism, or work out really, really hard to eat that much and be as ripped as he was. Well, as ripped as he looked like he was. His shirt certainly seemed to be draping across a flat chest and strong shoulders. “I’ll take you out there.”
The others just turned and looked at him, silenced for the moment. John cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I couldn’t ask that of you.”
“You didn’t ask. I offered.” He leaned his elbows on the table. “Look, it makes perfect sense. I know where the truck is because I found it yesterday. It would be easier for me to drive you back there than to try and explain to you how to get there. I have a four-wheel drive truck that could tow it back to town. That way you can get it right away and not have to wait around. And Abby,” and he gave her a heart-stopping smile, “can come with me and get a few more of those samples that she was so upset about when I landed my chopper on them.”
Aaron whistled. “You landed your helicopter on Abby’s rock samples? And you’re still alive to tell the tale? Please, tell us your secret.”
Noah gave a mock shudder of fear. “Barely. Here I was, expecting to be met with hugs of gratitude and copious tears of relief for rescuing a damsel in distress, and instead I get threatened with evisceration over a pile of dusty rocks. What a let-down. I thought I’d gotten the wrong person for a while. Until I saw the truck she’d totaled. Then I just reckoned she’d bumped her head in the accident and the injury had made her forget how to say thank you.”
Abby felt her ears going red. “It was two whole days’ work,” she explained. “I’d laid them all out on a nice, flat space and labeled them all. I almost cried when I saw that Noah had landed on them. I’d been stuck out in the desert for two whole days and I didn’t even have any samples to show for it. I may as well just have stayed at home.”
Noah leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, seemingly perfectly at ease. “Weren’t you glad to see my chopper circling overhead?” His voice was even, but his eyes were laughing at her.
“Well, I suppose so,” she conceded, refusing to let him bait her. “But I’d much rather my samples had been rescued, too.”
“Come out with me tomorrow and get some more.” He turned to John. “And if you come along, you can tinker with your truck and see if you can get it running again while Abby collects more rocks. If you can get it running again, all good. If not, I’ll be there to tow you back.”
“What do you get out of it?” Abby asked ungraciously. There had to be a catch to his offer. There always was. In her experience, no one ever went out of their way to help anyone else unless they got something out of it as well. Even her parents had only paid for her education because she chose a suitable field and one they approved of. It was lucky for her that she had wanted to be a scientist since she had been seven years old—they never would have paid for her to go to something as frivolous as art college.
Noah tilted his head sideways and considered her. “I get a day in your company. That’s good enough for me.”
“I’ll be collecting rocks,” she warned him. “Not entertaining you.”
“You are always entertaining,” he responded with another wink.
She had to be content with that.
Once the last of their group had finished eating, Abby made her excuses and got up to leave. She’d stayed longer than usual as it was, eating twice as much as usual to make up for a couple days of short rations.
Noah stopped her with a hand on her arm. “We were thinking of going down to the bar in town and having a drink. There’s a band from Perth playing. It’s supposed to be pretty good. Want to come with us?”
She shook her head. “I’m pretty tired after my adventures in the wilderness. I think I’ll just head off to bed.” It wasn’t a lie. She was tired, but even if she hadn’t been dead on her feet, she wouldn’t have gone out with them. She had never mastered the art of small talk, and even after several weeks, she just didn’t feel comfortable with her colleagues in an informal setting. In work mode, she could communicate with them perfectly well, but she was hopeless at talking about more personal matters. She hadn’t been born with the right genes to know how to socialize easily. Most of the time it didn’t really bother her, she told herself firmly. She was perfectly happy in her work. She was a career woman through and through. She didn’t need relationships to make her feel fulfilled.
He gave her an understanding look. “Next time?”
She gave a half-smile that he could take either as a yes or a no and weaved her way through the dining tables to the door.
As she made her way out, she heard Aaron comment in an undertone to Noah. “Don’t take it personally. She never comes out with us, either. She’s all work and no play.”
True though it was, the comment still rankled. She hadn’t come to Western Australia to play—she had come here to work, and that was what she planned on doing. Too bad if her colleagues didn’t like it. They wouldn’t be her colleagues for very long anyway. As soon as she had finished up her research here, she would be off back home. To her real colleagues.
To Jed.
She hadn’t forgotten what she had promised herself out in the desert, that she would finally tell Jed what she felt about him.
She was done with playing it safe and being afraid of rejection. She would put her heart on the line and take a leap of faith.
Inexperienced as she was with emotions and relationships, she knew that Jed must care about her. He made more time for her than he made for any of his other graduate students, giving her extra tutoring and assisting her with applications like the one that had seen her spend the summer in Western Australia. He pushed her into writing articles for scientific journals that could help her make a name for herself. Most telling of all, he had a smile just for her, a smile that made her feel special.
She put on a pair of dangly earrings, looked at herself in the mirror once more, and then replaced them with a pair of gold studs. She didn’t want to look as if she were trying too hard.
Finally, she was ready.
Chapter Two
Abby glanced at her watch. It was a bit early still, but Jed might be at work by now. She took out her computer and opened up her video messaging.
Yes, Jed was online. She breathed out, letting some of the tension of the day ease from her body. After dinner her time was usually a good time to catch him, if she didn’t try to call him too early in the evening. He kept early hours and was usually in the office before seven in the morning. With the time difference between Western Australia and Colorado, it worked best if she called him just before she went to bed.
That had the added advantage of putting him in her thoughts each evening, and making sure she dreamed of him every night…
She smiled into the video camera as the call connected and Jed’s face filled the screen.
“Hey Abby, what’s up?”
“Jed, good to see you. I have so much to tell you today.” She launched into a brief recap of running into a kangaroo and getting stranded in the desert, but Jed cut her off before she’d said more than a few sentences.
“Did you get the samples we talked about?”
Headlong (Quinn Brothers Book 2) Page 2