“After all, you can’t go back to the US without seeing a little bit of Australia. Imagine how embarrassing it would be at a dinner party when someone asks you what you saw in Australia, and all you could say is ‘Well, I saw some very nice rocks’. And if they asked you what you did, ‘Well, I collected lots of rocks’. And what you liked best? ‘The rocks’, of course. And your most exciting moment? ‘Getting rescued by a handsome helicopter pilot while peeing on, yep, you guessed it, some more rocks.’”
“A handsome helicopter pilot?” She looked sideways at him. “I haven’t met one of those yet.”
He gave a mock pout. “Ouch. That hurt. I have it on good authority that I am very handsome. My grandma used to tell me that every week. When I was six.”
Even though her heart was broken and she would never be happy again, she had to laugh at his utter ridiculousness. “Where did you want to go hiking?”
He laid his hand on his heart. “I knew my charm would win you over eventually. There’s a river canyon a couple hours’ drive away. You can walk along the top of the gorge and get a great view of the river. We’ll likely spot some rock wallabies and there are bound to be kangaroos about. And rocks. Lots of rocks.”
“Sounds interesting.” She wasn’t even being sarcastic. To her parents’ dismay, she’d always enjoyed field work more than lab work, and this hike sounded rather like field work. She might even pick up a few more interesting samples while she was out and about to make the trip worthwhile. “I particularly like the sound of the rocks.”
He winked at her. “I thought you might. Bring a backpack with all the usual; sun hat, sunblock, sunglasses, a sweater and lots of water, and I’ll do the rest.”
“What will we eat?”
“I’ll sort that out,” he replied.
“Granola bars?” she asked sweetly.
He rolled his eyes. “You and your granola bars. Yes, bring a couple if you must. Not too many though. Remember, if you bring them, you’ve gotta carry them.”
At dinner that night Myra asked Abby if she’d like to join them on their trip to the beach. She asked most weekends, more out of habit probably than anything else, and was well used to Abby making up an excuse to stay and work instead. She did a double take when Abby said she was going hiking.
“Heavens, that’s great. I thought you’d never take time off for fun. Who is this mysterious character who has managed to drag you out of the lab for a day?”
Abby looked down at her salad and made rather a show of loading up her fork.
“I’m going with Noah.”
Myra acted exactly how Abby had imagined, squealing and clapping her hands with delight. “Well that’s just lovely Abby.” She waved at Aaron, John and Paul, another researcher in their group, and called out to them. “Guess what folks, Abby’s got herself a date tomorrow.”
They all sat down with their plates of food and questioning eyes. “Spill the beans then,” John remarked.
“It’s not a date,” Abby protested. “It’s hiking.”
“She’s going hiking with Noah,” squealed Myra. “I knew it. He’s had his eyes glued to you since he brought you back here after your crash.”
“No he hasn’t,” Abby replied, taking a big bite of salad and wishing Myra would stop talking. It wasn’t a date. She didn’t want a date with Noah. She wanted a date with Jed. Which she was never going to get. Because he was getting married to Julia. Pregnant Julia. Life sucked.
“Yes, he has,” said Aaron, in his matter-of-fact way. “It’s why we all think he’s been hanging around here so much.” He took a bite and chewed it. “He’s cool,” he said after a pause.
“You all think?” Abby asked, looking up in surprise.
“Oh shush, Aaron,” Myra said. “You’re making her embarrassed.” She turned back to Abby. “Where is he taking you hiking?”
“I’m not sure, he’s picking me up early tomorrow.”
“I think it’s a good idea to take some time off, you’ve been running yourself into the ground. Don’t think we haven’t noticed how tired you’ve been looking the past couple days.”
Abby nodded absentmindedly, thinking that Myra really had no clue what was going on in her head. She wasn’t tired. Her heart was broken.
The others chimed in with their ideas of where Noah might be taking her. Aaron surprisingly had a number of tips on what to wear and bring hiking. He even insisted she borrow a pair of his socks, pointing out that her thin gym socks were not going to be much protection from the chance of getting blisters. By the time they had finished their meal Abby was feeling slightly cheered up by the outpouring of support from the research team on her plan to take a day off.
Maybe she did work too much.
Abby woke to a perfect blue, cloudless sky. The sun was already well into the sky at seven a.m. and she could feel the heat already in her small room. It was going to be a scorcher of a day but thankfully there was a slight breeze outside, rustling the leaves of the scant scrubby trees around the hostel. She stared out of her window for a few minutes before dragging herself out of bed. She fought to keep any thoughts of Jed out of her head. She was not going to let him ruin her day off.
She threw on a pair of shorts, a sports bra and a t-shirt, avoiding looking in the mirror as it would inevitably lead to a comparison of herself to Julia, and headed down to the dining hall for breakfast. She poured a bowl of granola and sat down next to Myra, who was there before her as usual. Myra was an early riser and late to bed. Abby had a feeling that Myra was one of those types of people that could get by with very little sleep as she was driven by socializing, whereas Abby gave herself seven and a half hours of sleep a night exactly, no more and no less.
Sitting down next to Myra and starting a conversation was becoming more and more easy. Abby wondered how she had managed to get by with so little human interaction in the early days of her stay here, when she moved from her bedroom to the lab with as little time outside the two as possible. Aaron, John and Paul sat down next to them with plates heaped high with bacon and eggs.
Aaron handed Abby a pair of thick, fluffy socks.
“These are the smallest pair I own. They’ll probably be a bit big though.”
Abby was touched. “Thank you.”
“What time are you heading off today?” John asked, already shoveling eggs into his mouth.
“Not quite sure, I think he will be coming around soon. He wanted to leave early-ish to avoid the worst of the heat. What time are you going to the beach?”
“Leaving right after breakfast,” Myra answered and picked up a wide-brimmed sun hat from the seat next to her and plonked it on her head.
“John, are you and the kids joining us?”
John nodded. “Amy’s bringing them down to the beach shortly, they’ll meet us there. She’s bringing the other car.” Amy was his wife and at the mention of the car Abby went red.
“John I’ve been meaning to ask you about the truck, about paying it off.”
“Not to worry Abby, we can sort it out later,” he replied with a wave of his arm. “I’m still waiting for the mechanic’s report.”
Abby returned to her granola feeling a bit relieved to have more time up her sleeve to beg her parents for another loan. Now there was nothing to focus on today but having fun.
Just before eight that morning Noah entered the common room, dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops.
Abby eyed them as she shouldered her bag. “I thought we were hiking?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“We sure are, but I was running a tad late and didn’t want to keep you waiting so I threw my boots in the truck to put on later.”
Abby shrugged. “You didn’t need to rush for me, I didn’t have any other plans.”
He smiled. “You strike me as the type of girl who doesn’t appreciate it if her date keeps her waiting.”
Abby frowned. “This isn’t a date.”
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “It’s a figure of speech.
What I mean is, you look like someone who would be pissed to be kept waiting and you also strike me as someone who would be scary when they are mad.”
She wondered if Julia would find her scary.
“Right, you have everything? Sunblock? A hat? Your shoes?”
Abby nodded. “I might be an amateur at hiking, but I did remember to put my shoes on.”
They headed out to Noah’s truck, Abby once again taking an appreciative look at it. Climbing inside she felt a rush in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know where they were going, or what time they’d be home. She didn’t even bring her cell phone with her. She didn’t know a by-the-minute plan of the day and she felt all of a sudden terrified. Is this what other people thought was fun?
Noah revved the engine and they took off down the road, bumping over the multiple potholes. He turned on the stereo and started playing an up-beat, slightly reggae-sounding band.
“Have you heard of these guys before?” he asked, shouting slightly over the loud music. His window was undone, and the rush of the wind pushed his voice right out of the window. Abby leaned in.
“Sorry?”
“Have you heard of Six 60 before? It’s this band, they’re from my hometown. I went to the university that they went to.”
Abby shook her head. It was music she had never heard before, but it was fun. Noah started singing along and tapping his hands on the steering wheel. As it got to the chorus, he started belting out the lyrics. Abby stifled a giggle and covered her ears with her hands in mock protest.
He grinned at her and stopped singing, turning the stereo down. “I’ve been told I have the voice of an angel,” he said.
“Was this by your grandmother when you were six?” Abby replied. His singing was horrendous, but he obviously didn’t care.
“Yup, how did you guess?”
“She must have loved you a lot to be so complimentary.”
“I guess she might have been slightly biased,” he laughed.
“Were you close to her?” Abby asked.
“I was when we were young, she loved looking after us even if she complained a lot. I was a bit of a troublemaker back then, so I can’t have been easy to look after. She died when I was in high school.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. She lived a long and happy life. I just wish I hadn’t been such a little shithead all the time when she was looking after me. Mason and Lucas were always so well-behaved but me and Hunter were the naughty kids.” He wiped a stray piece of hair out of his eyes. “I still think I was her favorite, though. I can be quite charming when I try.” He looked over at Abby out of the side of his eyes.
“Mmm-hmmm,” Abby replied, staring out of the window and thinking about her own childhood. She had never been naughty as a kid. Her parents had been incredibly strict and going against their wishes was just not done. She had never even bothered to try. She went to the expensive private school that they chose and excelled in science and went to the university that they approved of and chose a major that they approved of too.
Noah fell silent, too.
They went on in silence for another few minutes before Abby realized the lull in conversation was her fault.
“So uh, where are we heading to?” she asked.
“Just you wait and see,” he replied. Abby fidgeted with her fingernails and the sudden urge to bite them made her put her hands under her lap. She had given up biting them when she went to college and escaped living at home with her parents, but when she felt particularly stressed the urge would hit again. She took a deep breath.
“Am I stressing you out, not telling you where we are going?” Noah asked a few minutes later. “I can see you fidgeting like crazy and you’re breathing loudly.”
“I’m just not used to not having a plan for the day,” she admitted. “It does stress me out.”
“Good thing I’ve got a plan tucked away up here,” he tapped his head.
“I’m not used to not having my own plan,” she replied. “I don’t like surprises.”
“I love surprises, and a bit of stress is good for you. If I’m getting you out of your comfort zone already, my plan is going well.” He turned the stereo up again and started singing along.
Abby kept her mouth shut. She didn’t want to start arguing with him half an hour into the day, but he was already getting on her nerves. She thought longingly of the ordered, sterile lab and her thesis that was being neglected today.
“You must know the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” Noah said, drawing her out of her thoughts.
“Yes of course.”
“Sing with me, it’s a great song.” He cranked the volume up another few notches and started singing the chorus, loudly and out of tune but with great enthusiasm. His hands tapped the steering wheel in an out-of-beat rhythm.
“I’m not singing with you. I don’t sing in public.” She was too embarrassed to, even if her voice couldn’t possibly be any worse than his.
“I’ll get you singing eventually,” he grinned, not looking fazed in the slightest by her distinct lack of enthusiasm.
They drove on and it was close to an hour later that he turned off the main road and took a track headed towards the coastline. The landscape was dry, with red dirt and short weather-beaten trees scattered across the horizon. The odd tall, weirdly-shaped termite mound was dotted across the barren landscape and Abby crossed her fingers that the track they were walking wouldn’t come close to one of the mounds with their large ant-like creepy-crawlies. It was not exactly that she was afraid of them, but she didn’t like them much all the same.
As they got closer to the coast Abby opened her window to let the salty breeze into the truck. “The air smells great here,” she said, taking a deep breath.
“It’s clean. Not enough people here to pollute it,” he replied. The track they were driving on started to get sandier and ended in a small cul-de-sac area of dirt that was obviously meant to be a parking lot. Abby could see the walking track leading away towards the ocean. There was a small sliver of blue on the horizon, and she was surprised to see how high above sea level they were.
“We’re here,” he announced and turned off the engine. “Doesn’t look like much from here but it’s one of my favorite tracks.”
He reached to the back seat of the truck and pulled out of a pair of well-worn hiking boots and started lacing them up, chatting to Abby about the track.
“It’s one of my favorite hikes. There are a few loops you can do. That track there”—he pointed to where the dirt walking track forked about twenty yards away—“that takes you direct to the beach, but there’s a cliff there. It’s a short track, there and back will take about an hour and a half. Nice views.”
She looked hopefully at what he called the ”short” track. She wouldn’t exactly call an hour and a half of walking a short track, but it sounded doable. “That sounds nice.”
“We’ll go this way,” he continued, ignoring her and pointing at the other track. “I told you I’d get you out of your comfort zone so we’re doing the challenging track. We still get ocean views, but it’s a bit more of a scramble.”
She shuffled her boots on the dirt. “Um, okay, I guess. How long will it take?” If over an hour of walking was a short track, just what would he call challenging? She had the feeling she wasn’t entirely going to like the answer.
“It depends how fast you walk.”
“That’s not terribly helpful. Or informative.”
“It’s perfectly accurate. Hey, relax. We’re not on a timetable here. Just go with the flow and let your hair down.”
She liked her hair tied up. Literally as well as figuratively. It was neater, it stayed out of her eyes better, and it didn’t get in the way when she knelt down in the field to look at something closer.
Once his shoes were laced up, he loaded a couple large water bottles into a small backpack and slung it over his shoulders.
The memory of the panic she had felt when she was stuck in t
he outback with a broken-down truck made her feel suddenly queasy. How much worse would it be to be stranded hours from anywhere, on foot. She swallowed. “Do we have enough water?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Well, no, not really. I hardly know you.”
“Sensible girl. But yes, I have enough water. And granola bars,” he added, with laughter in his voice. “So, let’s get going.” And he headed off up the hill, along what would only very loosely be called a track.
If she never had to see another granola bar in her life again, she would be perfectly content. In a moment of childish irritation, she stuck her tongue out at him as she fell into step behind him.
Just at that moment, he turned his head and caught her.
She jammed her hat more firmly on her head, pretending that the heat of the sun and not her embarrassment had turned her face pink.
What made it even worse was that he simply chuckled and kept walking.
The day was far too beautiful for Abby to stay in a snit for long. There wasn’t a single cloud to mar the bright blue of the sky, and a gentle breeze along the side of the hill they were climbing stopped her from getting too hot.
The path led them up over layers of shale rock. Not terribly interesting stuff, as far as rocks went, though she did appreciate the way they were built up in layers, like a pile of pancakes stacked haphazardly on top of each other. The edges of each layer were cracked and chipped and worn down by the weather, making the way tricky underfoot.
Most of the way, there was a thin line of dirt where any vegetation had been trodden down over the years. Where the trail petered out, a line of markers every fifty yards or so pointed out where the trail was meant to go.
Noah stopped for a moment on a wide ledge of rock. “Take a look down there and you can see the river.”
She clambered up beside him, panting a bit from the effort, and followed the direction of his gaze. They hadn’t been climbing for all that long, but the river valley looked a long way below them already. The blue-green water at the bottom sparkled in the sunshine as it meandered its way towards the ocean.
Headlong (Quinn Brothers Book 2) Page 5