Emergency Response (13 page)

She should have trusted him. Just as Nathan had promised, the sun was already rising into a bright blue sky devoid of any clouds when she got up the next day. She was waiting on her front step for him to arrive. Although she was still tired from the previous night’s excitement, surprisingly she had slept soundly.

She took a deep breath. The air had the crisp freshness she loved at this time of day and the grass was still damp from the previous night’s rain. She rubbed her arms, glad she had a thick jumper on. The streets were empty with no movement except for the neighbor’s tortoiseshell cat sitting on a nearby fence post. The cat was carefully washing its face with its paws while keeping one very wary eye on her. After a few minutes when it sensed Mackenzie wasn’t going to approach it, the cat jumped down from its perch and sprawled out on the path in the sun, luxuriously stretching and rubbing itself on the cold concrete. Mackenzie smiled, knowing exactly how the cat felt.

When she’d left the indigenous boy in Debbie’s capable hands the night before, his sugar levels were almost back to normal limits and her colleague had assured Mackenzie the rest of the paperwork could wait until the following Monday. Debbie gave Mackenzie strict instructions not to worry, and commanded her to go out and enjoy the weekend with Nathan. Mackenzie fully intended to do exactly that.

Nathan pulled up promptly at seven o’clock and got out of the car. Mackenzie’s heart sped up at the sight of him in his khaki shorts and navy blue polo top and she had to work overtime to stuff down the sudden surge of desire that swept through her before he noticed her weird behavior. He was insanely good-looking and had no idea the effect he was having on her dormant hormones. She was certain if she remembered even half of her dreams when she woke every morning, he would be the starring feature in every one of them.

He strode toward her, his long tanned legs ending in thick socks and well-worn leather boots. His Akubra sat low on his head, almost touching the upturned collar of his polo shirt. Beneath the brim, warm brown eyes and his ever-present warm smile greeted her. He was freshly shaven, his cheeks red from his razor. As he hugged her in greeting she was enveloped in the aroma of his aftershave and deodorant. She breathed deeply, inhaling his scent. He smelled good too. She hugged him tightly in return.

“I hear you had a bit of a rough night last night?” he said, looking down at her, his eyes full of compassion. He still held her in his arms and she had to work hard to steady her racing heart. She nestled closer. She could get used to this.

“How did you hear that?” she asked, looking up into his face.

“News travels fast.”

Mackenzie shook her head in wonder. How many people already knew what had happened?

“I hear you did very well, Mackenzie,” Nathan said, looking directly into her eyes. “That young man is alive today because of you. His family will be grateful. What you did means a lot to the people around here. They won’t forget what you’ve done.” He squeezed her tight again before releasing his hold.

“Thank you. That means a lot.”

“Nice boots,” he said, changing the subject.

His eyes skimmed down her bare legs to her feet. Mackenzie shuffled on the spot, feeling slightly uncomfortable under his open scrutiny. Charlotte had loaned her some shorts as well as the hiking boots, and they were shorter than what Mackenzie would have usually worn. She pulled down at the hem, looking somewhat self-consciously at her pale skin. Her legs weren’t long like his and they hadn’t seen much sun, so they looked lily white and short in comparison. Even so, she was amused to see Nathan was still checking out her legs and she was happy to note the look on his face was anything
but
revulsion. In fact, if she was reading him right, he approved of what he was seeing, which sent fireworks exploding in her brain.

Nathan’s head snapped up as though he realized he was staring. He reached down and grabbed her backpack, spun on his heel and headed to his car. Mackenzie followed, watching the way the fabric of his shorts hugged the contours of his backside. Argh!
This has to stop.
Then again, maybe it didn’t. If the sparks kept flying between them, this could be a very interesting camping trip.

Nathan tossed her bag into the back of the car and they took off. He drove with confidence and Mackenzie quickly relaxed, everything at work forgotten. They traveled for hours past low mountain ranges and then through open space with nothingness on either side of the car. The constantly changing landscape around her was astounding. She had heard Western Australia was renowned for its natural beauty and abundance of spring wildflowers and she wasn’t disappointed. Mother Nature treated her to a visual smorgasbord with hundreds of shrubs bursting in blossom. Groupings of mauve, pink, purple, white, yellow and orange blooms were offset by dark red soil, gray-green spinifex and white-barked ghost gums. She’d never seen anything like it on the east coast.

After hours of driving Nathan pulled over and found a suitable place to set up their camp for the night. Once the engine was off, thick silence blanketed them. A flock of pink and white corellas flew overhead, screeching as they disappeared into the distance.

“Here, I bought you something.” Nathan reached behind him, pulling a package from the backseat. He handed it to her and she noted the slight blush on his cheeks.

She untied the ribbon and ripped the packaging apart. Inside was a plain brown box. Nothing about it gave her any clue as to what was inside. She turned it around in her hands, and then stared at him expectantly.

“Go on, open it,” he urged.

She did so and let out a cry of surprise. Inside was a brand new Akubra. She lifted it almost reverently from the box and put it on her head. Nathan leaned over and, holding it by the brim with two hands, he gently tugged it down. It was a perfect fit.

“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 completely 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?”