When Adam Met Evie

by Giulia Skye

  The men chuckled, but they weren’t the belly laughs Adam had been anticipating.

  “C’mon, Bill,” the driver said. “Stop chatting up that camel and let’s get these kids back on the road.”

  CHAPTER 12

  Evie had forgotten how much fun it was meeting new people. She hadn’t traveled anywhere for weeks and Frieda and “the boys”—as Frieda liked to call them—were an interesting trio, not to mention Webbo whose descriptions of the outback had Evie enthralled.

  After helping Adam to change the tire, the twins moved their truck and caravan to the side and pulled down the caravan’s awning, setting out table and chairs under the shade. Frieda had offered to make everyone a bacon sandwich in Webbo’s honor and insisted Evie and Adam stay too. Evie knew Adam wanted to move on, but at the mention of food he’d been easily persuaded.

  “Sit on this,” Frieda said, handing Adam a brown mat that she’d pulled out from somewhere. There weren’t enough chairs to go around, so Evie sat with Adam on the ground.

  As Evie understood it, Frieda, Bill and Terry were from Melbourne. They’d had children, went to work, bought a house, but when the children grew up and pension time came, they found tenants for their house and bought the caravan. They’d been on the road for three years now, spending their winters in the Kimberleys and the Top End, and their summers in Melbourne with their children and grandchildren.

  When Frieda had gone back inside the trailer to cook, and the other men were deep in conversation about the state of Australia’s healthcare system, Evie tapped Adam’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. “Which twin do you think is Frieda’s partner?”

  Adam looked up and Evie raised her eyebrows eager for his input. He turned his head to look at the brothers, a deep frown line forming between his eyes as if he were only now putting the pieces together, like he hadn’t even been curious until she’d asked.

  On seeing he wasn’t sure either, she leaned into him again and whispered in his ear. “I’d ask them, but I fear the answer might make everything awkward.”

  “Don’t you dare jeopardize my bacon sandwich,” he whispered back, making her giggle. She suspected the luscious aroma now coming from the caravan was making his mouth water as much as hers. She tried to catch Adam’s gaze again, but he’d gone back to looking at Daisy who was now roaming the bushes on a very long rope, tethered to the caravan. His sunglasses and cap were hiding half his face and she wanted to know what he was thinking.

  Just a quiet guy … Yes, he was. But just like his simple, plain clothes hid a well-toned body, she wondered what lay beneath the quiet-guy exterior. Despite thinking he was dull yesterday when they’d driven out of Broome, she’d gone back to finding him intriguing. Something stirred inside her. How much would getting to know Adam be part of her Kimberley adventure?

  Just then Frieda announced that the bacon sandwiches were ready, and Evie jumped up to help her. “This is so nice of you, Frieda,” she said, taking the plate of sandwiches from her. She began serving them with a napkin to each of the men while Frieda handed out glasses of lemon water, each one containing a precious cube of ice.

  Evie bent down and held the plate of sandwiches out in front of Adam who took one and bit into it in one smooth move. He then made Frieda chuckle, thanking her like she was a gift from the gods.

  “Happy now?” Evie asked as he took bite number two. The reply came back as a muffled uh-huh.

  “So, you’ve been here all night?” Frieda said, standing between the twins with her hands on their shoulders.

  Evie placed the rest of the sandwiches on the table and took one for herself, trying not to stare at the way Terry’s hand came up to pat Frieda’s, or the way Frieda brushed something gently away from Bill’s ear. Her mind boggled. “We moved the truck out of sight,” she told them.

  “Good thing too,” Frieda said. “Not that we have much trouble here—not that we hear about anyways.”

  “But you can’t be too careful this time of year,” Terry added. “Always someone going troppo.”

  “Troppo?” Adam asked.

  “A little crazy with the heat,” Webbo chipped in, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

  “I heard forty percent of the population in the Northern Territory has a warrant out for their arrest,” Evie said, speaking around a hearty mouthful of sandwich. “Is that true?”

  Frieda laughed. “Who knows, doll. But I suspect if it is, most of them are for parking fines and speeding tickets.”

  “No one’s gonna chase you through the outback for that,” Bill said. “You planning on doing the Gibb?”

  “Yes, we are.” Evie grinned at Adam and the way his lips kicked up into a smile aimed right back at her did annoyingly girlish things to her stomach.

  “It’ll be stinking hot out there,” Terry said.

  “Not everyone minds the heat, Ter.” Frieda swatted his shoulder gently.

  “But there’s heat and then there’s heat.”

  “And then there’s Kimberley heat,” Bill cut in. “How long you planning to take?”

  “About ten to twelve days on the Gibb River Road, then some time around Katherine, and Kununurra. Four weeks in total—if Adam can put up with me for that long.”

  “We’ll see.” Adam popped the last bit of sandwich into his mouth.

  “If you can afford it and you’ve got the time, do it,” Bill told them. “Do it before the kids come along and you’ve got a mortgage. Do it before you get tied down.”

  “Oh, we’re not—”

  “Two kids in love, just take the chance while you have it,” Frieda added.

  “Adam and I aren’t—”

  “And if you can stay together after this, you can stay together through anything.”

  Evie looked helplessly at Adam, but he didn’t look at all bothered that he’d been mistaken as her boyfriend.

  “How difficult is it to drive through the Kimberleys at this time of year?” he asked, smoothly diverting the subject away from their nonexistent relationship.

  “They’ll be corrugations in most places, some a meter deep,” Webbo said. “But your truck should be able to get through it no problem.”

  Bill talked about tire pressure and vehicle handling. “It’s wild and harsh out there but it’s not as inaccessible as people think. You’ve just gotta use your noodle, don’t take risks and you’ll have a great time. Plenty of people do it each year.”

  “Accidents happen when people drive too fast,” Terry said. “People think they’re invincible but nature and physics always win. Especially out here.”

  “And if it looks like rain’s coming,” Webbo said, “don’t camp up next to a river. Banks can burst and before you know it, your access road’s been cut off. Again, it’s just common sense.”

  “Check your fuel too,” Bill said. “I heard a guy the other month paid over ten thousand bucks for a tow back to Derby because he’d used contaminated fuel.”

  Ten thousand dollars for a tow? “Yikes!” Evie said. “How could that have happened?”

  Bill shrugged. “Probably bought it cheap off the back of a lorry. I guess you don’t have to worry about things like that, do you, Webbo?”

  “Nope. Just sore feet and blisters.”

  “Where do you sleep?” Adam asked, surprising Evie with his interest. “Do you just choose a good place at sundown?”

  “Pretty much. It’s illegal to rough camp but I asked permission beforehand. I stick to cattle stations and avoid Aboriginal land unless I’ve asked the owners first.”

  “Don’t you get … nervous?” Evie asked, fascinated by this man’s courage, and his sheer staying power and ambition. “What’s it like out there at night by yourself?”

  “Evie’s afraid of the dark.”

  Surprising her again, she turned to Adam wondering how he’d figured her out after just one nigh
t. She thought she’d covered up her fear pretty well. “I’m not afraid exactly …”

  “Well, it happens at the end of every day so not much you can do about it.” Webbo chuckled. “But if you’re asking because you think all the reptiles and spiders are gonna come at you, forget it. They don’t wanna know you.”

  “But what about people?” Evie said, well aware she was sounding like a wimp. “Are you worried that someone’s going to pop out of a bush and scare the life out of you?”

  As she’d hoped, they all chuckled. Their amusement confirmed her fears to be unfounded, which was a relief. She was desperate to experience the outback, but the thought of such isolation, especially at night, had the tendency to freak her out. She recalled that feeling of insignificance last night when she’d confronted Adam about the knives and drugs and assumed it would only get greater the more remote they got.

  Would quiet-guy Adam be enough company for her not to feel alone?

  “People will be few and far between,” Webbo said.

  Terry concurred. “Unless you’re doing a hike not too far from the beaten track, like Tunnel Creek or Windjana—they’re always popular spots—it’ll mostly be just you and the desert.”

  “You’ve got your big strong man to protect you, anyway.” Frieda smiled. She’d told Evie earlier that she had three grown sons and was grinning at Adam now like he were one of them. “They’ll have to get through him first.”

  “He’s not—”

  “Don’t worry, Evie,” Adam interrupted. “I’ll keep the bogeyman away from you.”

  She fluttered her eyelashes and flashed him a little-woman-at-home smile. “Why, thank you, Adam.”

  “That’s sweet.” Frieda cooed. “Adam and Eve.”

  “And let the Kimberleys be your Garden of Eden,” Bill said. “In most places, I reckon you’ll be the only man and woman out there.”

  “If you don’t wanna kill each other by the end of it—”

  “Or die of boredom—”

  “Invite us to the wedding.”

  It was Webbo who broke up the party a few minutes later, announcing that he’d better get back on the road if he were to meet his distance target for the day. He made his way round the group, shaking everyone’s hand and thanking them for their support. Evie, who wanted to take a photo of them all on the side of the highway standing next to the gray nomads’ trailer, was searching for somewhere high enough to position her camera when Adam held out his hand to her.

  “I’ll take it,” he said. “Other than Daisy, I’m the highest thing out here, and I don’t think she’d do as good a job as me.”

  “But don’t you want to be in it?”

  He told her he didn’t mind and took the photos of the group, thankful that in the flurry of packing up the gray nomads’ trailer, and Webbo getting Daisy ready for the road again, no one asked for any more.

  Webbo set off and Evie had her notebook out writing down the gray nomads’ recommendations for garages and camping supplies in Derby. Adam ran after him, and when he and Webbo were a little distance away, Adam got his phone out to shoot his own walking video. He then wished Webbo the best of luck, they shook hands, and Adam went back to Evie and the gray nomads, who were waiting to say goodbye before leaving.

  Adam ignored Evie’s questioning gaze and shook hands with Bill, Terry and Frieda, thanking them again for breakfast and their help with the tire.

  When it was just him and Evie on the highway again, Evie turned to him with a wide smile on her face. “Wasn’t that just the best and most unexpected fun ever? And we got fed, too.” She clasped her hands together and held them under her chin as if contemplating a mystery of the world. “So. Terry or Bill? Who do you think is Frieda’s other half?”

  “My money’s on Bill.”

  “See, I thought Terry.” Her mouth dropped open and he caught the mischief in her eyes again. “Do you think—”

  “No way.” He put his hands up. “I’m not going there.”

  Two men—brothers—sharing one woman? He watched the back of the gray nomads’ truck disappear into the heat haze. No offense to them—they seemed like perfectly nice people—but he found the idea of a threesome repulsive. And he didn’t care if that made him sound like a total prude.

  Evie must have noticed the horror playing out on his face and laughed. “Your gym cougars have nothing on these gray nomads. Come on,” she nudged his arm. “Let’s get to Derby. We’ve got a lot to get done today.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Derby was a small town, rich in Aboriginal culture and history, perched on the edge of King Sound. Despite its size, there was a surprisingly busy vibe about the place. It was called The Home of the Boab Tree, not that Adam knew what a boab tree was until Evie had pointed out the fat alien-looking trees that lined the streets on the drive in.

  “The estuarine crocodile is the largest living reptile,” Evie read from the warning sign as Adam ambled up to her side.

  They’d been in Derby for six hours now, and she’d already ticked off a couple of items on the things-to-see-in-Derby list she had in her notebook. The list included the Kimberley School of the Air—which she hoped for a guided tour because, apparently, she’d always been fascinated by how children in remote communities were taught—a couple of art galleries, and an Aboriginal cultural center. She’d talked a lot about the Aboriginal history she’d learned so far during her travels and had told him she couldn’t wait to see the rock art that adorned some of the historically precious sites on her places-to-visit list.

  But first, she hadn’t wanted to waste any time in getting through her to-do list, so they’d already sourced and bought a jack, two additional spare tires and fixed the puncture at a garage the gray nomads had recommended. Adam and Evie had also checked in to the campground they’d suggested too. The site was vast and spacious, overlooking the mudflats and was a short walk from where they now stood—the number one attraction on Evie’s to-see-in-Derby list: the town’s famous, historical wharf and jetty.

  “Also known as the saltwater crocodile,” she continued reading, “these great survivors of the dinosaur age are known to grow up to seven meters in length. Crikey.”

  “Wanna go for a swim?”

  “Not today.” Evie rested her arms on the railing and peered over. “Looks like a sea of hot chocolate.” Adam joined her, watching the murky water below, full of swirling sand as it moved with the forever changing tide, forming gentle eddies as it lapped against the wharf’s very high supports. “The tide’s coming in,” she added. “I was reading in the visitor center earlier that there’s a massive tidal difference here. Nearly twelve meters. The highest tides in the Southern Hemisphere.”

  Evie had read a lot today. She’d spent a good hour in that visitor center while Adam had kept his head down at the garage, fearing he’d be discovered while he waited for their punctured tire to be fixed. When she’d come to meet him there, she’d been ready with her credit card to pay half of everything just like she’d promised. He’d paid the other half in cash. They’d then gone to a supermarket, and she’d paid for all their food supplies and cooking gear. She’d told him she could afford it, and that she could handle money, but still. He didn’t feel comfortable about her paying for anything, not when he had so much and she’d been cleaning showers.

  He had to keep reminding himself of the greater good—his greater good. This was his vacation too, and his guilt eased when he thought about the generous sum he’d pay her in exchange for her silence when all this was over.

  “What do you want to eat tonight?” Evie said, tilting her head away from the water to look at him.

  “Pizza,” he replied without thinking.

  “That’ll be hard to do on a single hob stove.”

  Damn that single hob stove. She’d bought it an hour ago and he could tell she’d been desperate to try it out ever since.

 
“You don’t have to cook for me,” he said, more than happy to postpone the joy of crappy campground meals until they were good and proper into the middle of nowhere and had no other choice. During their drive to Derby, while Evie had been pointing out the boabs and the contrast of red soil against neat green grassy banks, he’d been clocking the restaurants and eateries. They’d arrived famished but rather than stop at a café for a late breakfast to eat the bacon and eggs they’d dreamed of, she’d asked him to stop at a small bakery because it was far cheaper than a sit-down meal.

  He was thinking about food again now. He’d be more than happy to treat Evie to a pizza but he couldn’t. Adam had to seem to be on a tight budget. But not only that, he also couldn’t put off contacting his lawyers any longer, especially as the day after tomorrow—according to Evie’s schedule—they wouldn’t be in a signal zone or in a town with Wi-Fi for several days.

  “I’m not that hungry,” he said. “So I’ll just grab a snack at that internet place we saw, catch up with some friends online.”

  Evie looked up at him. “Shall I save something for you?”

  “Thank you, but it’s fine.”

  He thought he saw a flicker of disappointment in her eyes but then she smiled, and he knew he’d been mistaken.

  Evie kept her smile in place and kicked away the silly jolt of rejection that jabbed at her ribs. It didn’t matter that he didn’t want to have dinner with her, not really. There were going to be plenty of other opportunities.

  “I’ll head back to the campground.” She held out her hand. “Could I please have the keys to the truck?” He pulled them out of his pocket, and she could feel the weight of his gaze on her face, like he was thinking of something to say. She took the keys, wondering if it was guilt in his eyes or just relief that he had a few hours away from her. She was paying him to accompany her, but she didn’t want him to think he had to babysit her. She made her smile brighter. “Have fun catching up with Canada.”

  “See you later.”

  “If I’m not at the truck, I’ll be here seeing the sunset.” She slid her day bag off her shoulders and dropped the keys inside. “If you’re not back by the time I go to bed, I’ll leave the keys in your tent.”