Page 63 of Outback Secrets

Chapter Seventeen

It was still dark when Henri woke to the smell of coffee on Wednesday morning. She rubbed her eyes and stretched to pluck her mobile off Liam’s bedside table. 5.30 am. Even earlier than they usually went surfing.

After two nights at home, she’d been excited to stay over again last night, but to her dismay Liam hadn’t been in a very chatty mood. Downstairs in the pub, he’d been friendly enough but even though she’d hung in the bar until closing time, hoping maybe they’d watch another movie or something, he’d made it clear when they got upstairs that he was tired and wanted an early night.

Well, as early as nights ever were for publicans. Liam kept complete opposite hours to farmers and also to her.

Henri had been tired too after two long days working with her brothers and the shearing team, but she couldn’t help sensing that there was more than fatigue going on. She felt like something had shifted between her and Liam since he’d confided in her about the shooting on Sunday night. She’d come into town for surfing lessons every morning since, but even they felt different. From their very first lesson she’d started to feel like they could be good friends, but the last couple of mornings, she’d once again felt like she was teaching a stranger.

Did he regret telling her?

Or maybe she was the problem?

Remembering what he’d said about not wanting to see pity in other people’s eyes, she’d tried not to change the way she acted around him and resisted the urge to try and get him to talk more about his family—he would if and when he wanted to—but she ached for him whenever she recalled their conversation. Even four years on she still struggled daily with the loss of her dad and the knowledge she’d never get to talk or laugh with him again. How much worse must it be if you knew you could never do that with any of your family?

As much as her mum and Tilley sometimes infuriated her, the thought of them and her brothers all being taken away from her … How did anyone ever recover from that?

A knock sounded on the door that was already partially open so that Sheila could go back and forth between them. Liam’s voice followed.

‘Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.’ He stepped into the bedroom.

‘Isn’t that usually my line?’ she said, trying to ignore the way her stomach turned over at the sight of him. In khaki cargo shorts and a plain black T-shirt, he looked damn delicious.

With a chuckle, he put a mug of coffee down on the bedside table and then sat on the edge of the bed. Every nerve ending in her body stood to attention and, although she was wearing perfectly demure summer PJs, she suddenly felt naked.

Wishful thinking.

Henri shook that thought from her head, sat up and reached for the coffee. ‘What’s going on? You’re not usually a morning person. Have I turned you into a surfing junkie?’

‘Not quite. And we’re not going surfing today.’

‘We’re not?’ Henri frowned. ‘Then why are we up so early?’

‘We’re going on a road trip—and before you ask, I checked with Andrew and Callum that they could do without you in the sheds and they agree, you deserve a proper day off. I thought it was high time you showed me what geocaching is all about.’

‘We don’t need to go on a road trip for that,’ Henri said, unsure how she felt about him going behind her back to arrange things with her brothers—she liked to make her own decisions. ‘I’m happy to induct you into the geocaching family, but wouldn’t it be better if we did so around here? You know … we’re more likely to be seen that way.’

‘Maybe.’ He stood. ‘But we’re not actually looking for a geocache today. We’re planting one, as you put it. And I have the perfect location in mind. Now drink that, and then get dressed. We’ll have breakfast en route.’

‘Where exactly are we going?’

‘That’s a surprise, but bring your swimsuit,’ Liam said and left the room before she could ask any further questions.

Henri’s gut churned—she didn’t like surprises; in her experience they weren’t usually good. But as Liam had gone out of his way to help her, the least she could do was go along with whatever he had planned. And she couldn’t help feeling heartened that he was choosing to spend time with her. Maybe she’d imagined the awkwardness of the last few days after all.

Fifteen minutes later, they were on their way. Weirdly, the confined space of Liam’s Hilux felt even smaller without Sheila between them, but when she asked if the dog was coming, he told her she wasn’t fond of road trips.

Henri spent the first five minutes of the journey trying to get Liam to give her a clue as to where they were going. They were heading north, and he’d told her to pack her bathers, so she guessed they were staying coastal, but surely he wouldn’t take her further than Kalbarri on a day trip. Then again, there were also some gorgeous waterholes a little bit further inland if you knew where to look.

Yet, no matter how hard she tried, he refused to give her any hint and after a while she gave up and they spent the next five minutes arguing over what music to listen to. Liam wanted classic rock and Henri country. Considering he wouldn’t tell her where they were headed, she thought the least he could do was let her pick, but they were both as stubborn as each other. Finally, they decided to compromise and listen to Logan Knight doing the breakfast show from Geraldton instead. He was undeniably good at his job, speaking with warmth and empathy about the day’s news stories and listening intently to every person who called in.

‘Have you and Frankie been friends since you were kids, then?’ Liam asked, when Logan mentioned his fiancée on air.

‘Yeah. Our mums are friends. They love to tell stories of sitting on the breastfeeding couch at playgroup while our older siblings ran amuck outside.’

She told him how, as they grew up, they became more and more inseparable and how heartbroken she’d felt when she had to go to boarding school and Frankie had got to take the bus to high school in Geraldton instead. ‘I was so jealous of her because I would much rather have stayed on the farm. Anyway, we both made new friends after that and haven’t lived in the same place since, but it’s always like we’ve never been apart whenever we catch up. What about you? Any special childhood friends you still keep in touch with?’

‘Yeah, Simon. He lived next door as long as I can remember. Like yours and Frankie’s, our parents were friends as well. We went to school together and rode our skateboards in the afternoons. We spent almost every waking hour together, but we were also hugely competitive. The biggest contest of all was who could get a girlfriend first. Simon won, of course. He was captain of the football team and had cheerleaders fighting over him.’