Page 59 of Road to Rosalee

His heart catapulted from his chest.

Oh shit.

His hands itched to reach out and pull her to him, but he fought the sensation. ‘I’m glad I’m getting you to release that wild country-girl side of you.’ Clearing the longing from his throat, he tugged the brim of his hat, a nervous twitch. ‘Because hot damn, it suits you, one hell of a lot.’

She blushed just a little. ‘I must admit, I’m loving it here.’ Opening her arms wide, her mouth matched them. ‘I feel so free, and so … me, as if I’ve finally found a piece of myself that I never knew existed, and I don’t mean my father, but … more about my core, if that makes any sense.’

‘It makes perfect sense.’ He watched her lean into the drinks fridge at the corner of the verandah, unable to drag his eyes from the perfect curves of her butt in her diamanté-studded jeans until she turned around and her beautiful coffee-coloured eyes drew his like magnets.

‘Here you go.’ She handed him an icy can and a Snickers chocolate bar. ‘I thought we needed a bit of sustenance too – the sugary kind.’

‘Blimey, Miss Mel, you’re spoiling me.’ Snapping the can open, he took a big glug, stifling a burp. ‘Oops, ’scuse me.’

She looked to him with absolute mischief, and then, to his surprise and amusement, outdid his burp tenfold. ‘Pardon me,’ she said, laughing, before chomping down on her Snickers, groaning in pleasure.

He chuckled at her contented eye-roll of chocolatey pleasure as they sat on the top step, yacking about this and that while they finished their drinks and devoured their chocolates. Then, with time ticking, they got back to it.

Melody slid into the chopper and pulled on her seatbelt, triple-checking to make sure she was buckled in nice and tight out of habit. She didn’t think she would have dared to go up with anyone but Zai at the helm. ‘It feels so strange, knowing the door will be open the entire time.’

‘You’ll love it, it makes you feel so free up there in yonder.’

‘Ha, I’ll soon find out, won’t I?’

‘You sure will.’ He passed her the headset. ‘Pop this on so we can chat while we hover.’

She slipped it on and adjusted the microphone so it was near her mouth. He checked everything twice then, with the flick of a switch, the Robinson whirred to noisy life. The blades sliced the air, whop-whopping rhythmically.

He looked to her. ‘You good to go?’

She nodded. ‘Sure am.’

The powerful engine hefted them to the sky in seconds. As always, Zai felt as if he’d left his stomach on the ground for the first few seconds. It was a sensation he never grew tired of, and from the look on Melody’s face, and the fact that her hands had gone to rest on her stomach, she felt the same.

From the ever-changing office window in the bright blue sky, they watched mammoth grey kangaroos bound away with mind-blowing power and idle cattle raise their heads. Bulls with horns that could kill in a lethal instant pawed the flat copper-red ground, defending their territory, their beady eyes burning into the bottom of the chopper as it sped over them. Scribbly gums gathered in clumps, as if it were safer in numbers. Barbed-wire fencing stretched out as far the eye could see, dividing the million acres and twenty thousand head of cattle calling Rosalee Station home from the neighbouring property. Zai couldn’t even begin to imagine the manpower it would have taken to erect what appeared to be a perpetual boundary – another reminder of the sheer grit and determination of the country souls that had worked this land before him. He was so proud to be a part of it all. As they flew over rocky ridges and open paddocks, the occasional glimmer of dams caught his eye, making him squint into the brilliance.

‘Rosalee Station is such an amazing place,’ Melody finally said, her gaze glued to the wonder outside.

Zai couldn’t help the broad smile that planted on his face. ‘I told you that you’d end up loving it here.’

She nodded, eyes wide. ‘Yes, you sure did. And so did my dad’

‘Could you imagine yourself living out here, long-term?’ It had been a question burning inside him, and it felt the perfect time to ask.

After a short moment of silence, she shook her head. ‘I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I reckon, if my situation was different, I could.’

‘What situation is that?’ He couldn’t help it. He had to know.

She wavered as she fumbled with the hem of her T-shirt, then shrugged. ‘My entire life is back in the city, so it’s not as simple as just pulling up stumps.’

Zai could tell from the tense expression on her face that she was keeping something from him, and he hated the fact. He wanted her to believe she could tell him absolutely anything. With his heart beating in his throat, he turned away from her, focused on the striking landscape beneath them, and took a calming breath. ‘Life is only as complicated as you make it, you know that, right?’

She avoided his gaze. ‘I wish I could say yes, but some things are out of my hands, I’m afraid,’ she sighed, sinking in her seat. ‘Like I said, sometimes things are not that cut and dried.’

‘We all have the power to change our lives, Melody, no matter what.’ He fleetingly met her gaze to hit the point home. ‘We only get one shot at life, and we have to make the most if it.’

‘Yes, you’re right, we do.’ Something passed across her face, but she looked away too fast for him to decipher what it was.

‘Hold on tight to that thought, Mel, won’t you?’