Emergency Response

by Nicki Edwards

  “You’ll need that out here.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say as she gazed into his eyes. The slow-burning desire she had felt all morning was becoming unbearable, and she had to move away before she did something crazy, like reach over and kiss him. She hopped out of the car and gasped as the heat hit her. How had it gotten so hot and muggy in a little over two hours?

  “It will be cooler once we get into the gorge,” he assured her, seeing the look on her face. “Come on, are you ready for this?”

  *

  After nearly two hours of climbing, they finally made it to the top of the ridge, to a large flat area. Mackenzie stood tall, hands on hips, gasping for air. It took her a few minutes to catch her breath. For the most part they’d walked easily, as Nathan had promised they would, at her pace. Not once had she felt like she was slowing him down, but even so, now she was exhausted.

  They had stopped regularly while Nathan pointed out different features in the rocks or the tracks of various animals. The ancient carvings, pictures in the rock faces and the stories they depicted mesmerized her. They saw dozens of lizards and crawly creatures in all shapes and sizes plus countless different birds and insects. Once she saw the back of a rock wallaby as it darted away from them into the scrub. She had almost disturbed a snake sunning itself in a rock ledge, but Nathan saw it first and pointed it out before she put her foot too close. As they climbed higher, Mackenzie had spotted waterfalls and waterholes. Every time she stopped to take a photo, Nathan urged her forward, promising a better one up ahead. She found it hard to believe, as the ones she saw looked like perfect spots to stop and swim. Sweat was dripping down her back and she desperately wanted to plunge into the crystal clear water to cool off.

  Once she was able to speak more than two words at a time, Nathan handed her his water bottle. She drank thirstily, thanking him with her eyes. She had already finished her own bottle an hour earlier.

  “I wasn’t lying,” she told him as she wiped a drop of water from her chin. “I said I wasn’t that fit.”

  His only reply was to grin at her. She was pleased to see he was still struggling a bit to breathe too.

  She gazed at a view that seemingly stretched to infinity. Not a city skyscraper or building in sight. No incessant buzz of traffic. Just nothingness. It was spectacular. “Wow. It’s absolutely stunning up here.”

  “You haven’t seen the best bit yet,” he said.

  She raised her eyebrows in question. When Nathan pointed up at a large rock face she groaned. “Are you kidding me?”

  “One more little bit to climb and then you’ll have three hundred and sixty degree views. It’s worth it, honestly. You’ll have to watch your step though because it’s pretty rocky. We’ll take it slowly, I promise.” He walked toward the rock.

  “Do we have to?” She was aware she sounded like a whining child. “The views are sensational here. I don’t think my legs will be able to move. And that doesn’t look all that easy to climb.”

  “Trust me.”

  She gave an exaggerated sigh but followed him anyway and they scrambled over rocks and squeezed along a narrow ledge. Nathan went ahead of her and clambered up to the top, reaching down for her hand. She placed her hand in his and he half dragged her, half pulled her up so she was almost crawling on her knees, scraping her legs on the rocks. As she stood slowly and carefully, she cried out in astonishment, instantly forgetting about the scratches on her legs.

  “Nathan, this is incredible!”

  They stood on a perfect naturally formed lookout which, as Nathan had promised, offered uninterrupted views of the landscape below them. After weeks of seeing nothing but flat red dirt and bright blue skies, the surrounding scenery was alive with color and movement. Mackenzie was awestruck. She stood in silence, taking it all in, breathing deeply and filling her lungs with fresh air. As harsh as the Outback was, its beauty was obvious. Mackenzie finally understood why people had lived there for hundreds of thousands of years and why the traditional owners were fighting to be custodians of their own land. It was magnificent.

  Side by side they stood in silence, looking around and enjoying the stillness and quiet. Nathan was right. The previous day’s storm clouds had disappeared and the sky was the same brilliant azure blue as always. Mackenzie was grateful that for the first time in weeks, the temperature was only in the mid-thirties. The sun was high but a gentle breeze on top of the ridge was enough to keep Mackenzie cool. She lifted her T-shirt from where it clung to her sticky back and allowed the wind to caress her skin.

  “Feels like you’re on top of the world, doesn’t it?” Nathan asked.

  “It sure does.” Mackenzie waved her hand in front of her face. “Although, I’d be happy if these flies would leave me alone! I should have thought to bring some insect repellent.”

  Nathan pulled his pack from his back and dug into a side pocket, pulling out a small tube. He squeezed a generous amount of cream onto his hands and reached for her arms, lathering it into her skin.

  “Here you go. This works better than a spray and it’s got sunscreen in it too.”

  His hands were soft and light as feathers across her arms and she quivered at his touch. He squeezed more cream into the palm of his hand, with his fingertip dabbed a small amount, and applied it slowly and gently to her face. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. He pushed her hat back and ran his fingers over her forehead then down each cheek to her chin and then down her neck, rubbing the cream into her skin until it disappeared. When he reached her chest he suddenly stopped.

  She opened her eyes, only to see him staring at her with a flushed look on his face. He handed the tube of cream to her. “Better put some on your legs too.”

  She accepted the cream, partly disappointed that he wasn’t offering to run his hands over her legs, but partly glad. She wasn’t sure she was ready to have his hands run over her thighs. At least not yet. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw he was still looking at her. She shivered as goose bumps exploded across her body. She definitely wasn’t imagining it. There was something in the air between them. Once she’d applied the cream she handed it back to him and he returned it to his backpack without saying a word. Damn! She’d missed the opportunity – she should have offered to rub cream over his legs!

  “Look!” he said and she followed the direction he was pointing. A large flock of birds flew overhead in an orderly formation. They looked so majestic and felt so close she could almost hear the flapping of their wings.

  “This is the most beautiful place in the whole world. Thank you for bringing me here, Nath.”

  “It is stunning, but I haven’t shown you the best part yet.”

  He began to walk along the flat ridge toward a large overhang of rocks and she followed him. As they drew closer to the rocks, he stopped and she came to a standstill beside him.

  “Ready for another surprise?” he asked.

  “Sure. I guess so.” Her senses were on high alert and her brain raced in all kinds of directions.

  “You don’t sound convinced,” he teased.

  “You’re not going to expect me to abseil down a cliff face or anything like that are you?”

  “Not at all. You have to trust me, Mackenzie, you’ll love this. Now, close your eyes.”

  Mackenzie did as she was instructed and felt him step closer to her. He grasped her hand, startling her. Tugging at her hand gently, they inched slowly forward. Although everything within her wanted to peek, she kept her eyelids tightly shut. They trod carefully, inching over the uneven surface of the rocks. When he stopped again, Mackenzie’s heart raced in anticipation. What would the surprise be?

  “Open your eyes.”

  “Oh wow,” she exclaimed, putting her hand over her mouth in astonishment. “It’s incredible.” What she’d expected were more stunning views across the national park, not the endless pool of water in front of her. It was almost perfectly oval in shape and one side dropped complet
ely away into nothingness. “Even the best landscape designer with all the money in the world couldn’t have created anything that beautiful,” she gushed. “It’s like one of those infinity pools. Is that what they’re called?”

  Nathan nodded. “So, do you feel like a swim?”

  “Are you serious? We can swim in there?”

  He nodded, bending over to untie his shoes. “Absolutely!”

  “But is it safe?” She was scared to see what was on the other side of the drop-off.

  “Perfectly safe.”

  “No crocodiles.”

  “Definitely no crocodiles. At least not at this time of year.”

  He’d already taken off his shoes and socks and was now removing his shirt, lifting it up over his head. Mackenzie took in his tanned and muscled shape. She was happy to note no tattoos marred his perfectly toned torso. A thin strip of dark hair traveled downwards from his navel, and her eyes followed the path until the leather belt on his low hung shorts stopped it. As he undid the belt and unthreaded it through the belt loops, her breath caught in her throat. Was he going to strip off completely? She glanced away as she heard his belt and shorts fall to the ground. Next thing she heard was a loud splash and he was gone. For seconds the only sound was the lapping of water on the edges of the pool and then his head burst through the crystal water. He shook his head like a puppy, spraying water everywhere. She laughed aloud at the child-like look on his face.

  “Are you coming in?”

  “I didn’t bring anything to swim in.” She indicated her shorts and T-shirt. “I don’t like the idea of trekking back to the car in wet clothes.”

  “Take them off then.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t do that!”

  “No one’s going to see you up here, Mackenzie, we’re totally alone.”

  “But you’ll see me!”

  “I’ll close my eyes, I promise. Scout’s honor,” he said with a cheeky grin, which told her he was definitely lying. His next words confirmed her suspicions. “Except maybe when I take a little peek to check out that butterfly you mentioned!”

  Mackenzie’s heart fluttered.

  Nathan’s eyes darkened the longer he stared at her. All of a sudden she knew. He was every bit as interested in her as she was in him. Even so, she hesitated. Was she brave enough to strip to her underwear in front of him? It was years since a man had seen her near-naked and it wasn’t as though she had the perfect figure to be modeling swimsuits.

  He swam away from her, facing the drop-off, and she made a split-second decision. The water looked incredible and she really did need to cool off. She undid the button on her shorts while he wasn’t watching and let them drop to her feet. Stepping out of them, she took a few cautious steps toward the pool. Her feet burned from the heat coming from the rocks.

  “Is it cold?” she called out, bending forward and tugging at the bottom of her T-shirt so it covered the top of her thighs.

  “Freezing,” he said, turning back around and grinning at her. “That’s why you’ve just gotta jump in. Once you’re in, it’s incredible. I promise.”

  She took another step across the hot rocks and dipped one toe in the water. He flicked water toward her and she squealed when it met her bare legs.

  “Come on!” he teased, splashing her with water again. “Chicken!”

  She began crossing her arms in front of her body as a form of self-protection and then stopped. What was the point in hiding? All of a sudden she didn’t care anymore and something within her broke. It was time to feel comfortable in her own body. Throwing caution to the wind, she pulled her T-shirt over her head and stood for a second in her mismatched bra and undies. Then, before she changed her mind, she jumped into the water. The icy cold stunned her and she made it back to the surface, gasping in shock.

  “It’s freezing!”

  “I told you it was!”

  With solid strokes Nathan swam toward where the water plunged over the edge of the pool down the cliff face.

  “Come over here. It’s warmer here where it’s shallow.”

  Mackenzie swam after him and noticed the depth of the water change dramatically. The closer she got to the edge, the warmer the water. Nathan lay on his stomach looking over the edge. The water was barely deep enough to cover his body.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” Mackenzie was still a meter away from the edge.

  “Perfectly safe. Come closer and see.”

  Mackenzie pulled herself toward him on her stomach, feeling the smooth rocks sliding beneath her bare skin. When she got to the edge of the pool her breath caught in her throat. Before her was a drop-off down the sheer cliff face. Their little water hole was at the very top of the cliff and as they moved, water cascaded gently down the cliff.

  “It’s like we’re at the top of a waterfall,” she exclaimed.

  “We are.”

  “Where does the water come from to keep this pool filled?”

  “Some sort of underground spring. And of course with all the rain we had yesterday, the pool fills up, so it’s really deep at one end where we jumped in.”

  “It’s amazing,” Mackenzie said with a sigh of pleasure.

  They swam for a while and then lay on their stomachs back in the warm shallow water, surveying the uninterrupted views. Mackenzie couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so relaxed.

  “It doesn’t look like a moth to me,” Nathan said quietly. His voice startled her, bringing her back to reality.

  He had moved closer to her and his warm breath fluttered across her back. When his fingers reached out to trace the outline of the tattoo on her shoulder she trembled.

  “You’re only saying that to be nice.”

  He murmured something but she didn’t catch what he said. Instead, he moved back into the deeper water. When he held out his hand to her, it felt the most natural thing in the world to follow him. He was like a magnet, drawing her close. He was so tall he was able to touch the bottom of the pool but she had to tread water as she got nearer him in the deeper water. He opened his arms and she swam to him. His arms slid around her waist, pulling her close. When he lifted her up, her legs automatically wrapped around his bare waist, buoyed by the water. Without thinking, she slid her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers together to hold on. His hands lingered on her skin, lightly caressing her lower back, making her shiver with unexpected need.

  “Relax,” he whispered in her ear. His voice was suddenly deep and husky.

  “It’s a bit hard to relax with the way you’re holding me, and you know it,” she replied softly.

  For a brief moment they stared into each other’s eyes and then, before she even had time to attempt another breath, he kissed her, his lips moist and warm against hers. It was a gentle kiss, full of intimacy and promise and without hesitation she parted her mouth and kissed him in return, her mind exploding with the sound of cheers and whistles. His hands trailed up her back and she felt the urgency of his mouth against hers, tasting the sweetness of his kiss. Time stopped.

  When they finally broke apart to breathe they stared at one another – eyes wide – both as stunned as the other at what had just happened. Their ragged breaths filled the silence and neither spoke, not wanting to be first to break the moment. A lingering question hung in the air between them. Mackenzie’s legs remained locked around his waist. She felt and saw the rapid rise and fall of his chest knowing hers matched his, their bodies moving in sync with each other.

  She moved first, pushing away from him. She had to tread water again. She refused to look at him, overcome with awareness of their skin to skin contact and first kiss. She ducked under the water and when she came back up she smoothed her hair back and snuck a glance at him. She watched him swallow, ready to say something, before he closed the distance between them, swimming toward her and pulling her into the shallow waters. Lifting his hand he touched her face, brushing her dark wet hair away from her eyes and tucking one strand behind her ear. Her breath caught in her throat at the
intimacy of his touch.

  He rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

  Mackenzie stiffened. Her heart plummeted into her stomach as her dream screeched to a halt at the bottom of the dip. What? She was confused. He’d just kissed her and now he was sorry? She bit her bottom lip in defeat, feeling the pain of her teeth digging in, almost drawing blood. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. Why had she even thought he’d be interested in someone like her?

  “That’s okay. No need to be sorry. No big deal,” she lied, trying desperately not to cry as disappointment swelled. “We were just overcome by the moment.”

  She swam away from him and rested her arms on the edge of the rocks, staring into space as she gathered her emotions which had scattered like autumn leaves into the wind. She drew in a shaky breath. She was not going to let him see how hurt she was.

  “I’m not sorry I kissed you, Kenz.”

  The intimate way he said her name sent a shiver tearing down her spine. She snapped her head around to stare at him, meeting his gaze steadily. She liked the way the shortened version of her name sounded on his lips and was glad he never called her Mack.

  “Why are you sorry then?” she challenged. She was shaking like a leaf. She folded her arms across her chest, trying to warm herself.

  This time when he held out his arms to her she didn’t go to him, and in two strokes he was by her side again. His face was serious, brown eyes burning with something she didn’t recognize.

  “I’m sorry I had to stop.”

  Her heart started pounding in her ears again as the blood rushed to her head.

  He gently squeezed her shoulder, his fingers tightening and then easing off before he ran his hand down her arm to her elbow. “And I’m also sorry I didn’t ask you first. It was arrogant of me to assume you wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss you.”

  Heat swept through her body and her temperature rose, even in the icy water. She was back on top of the rollercoaster. They stared at each other as the tension wrapped around them again. Nathan exhaled in a rush, as though he’d made some sort of decision and now had an important announcement to make. Instead of speaking he cupped her face with his hand, running his thumb lightly over her cheek while his eyes searched hers.