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Rafe grinned. “I’m not complaining.”
“Me either.”
They dragged their gear to the back of the van, chucking it in when Callum opened the doors. Billy popped his head over the top of the back row. “I’ve got my beanie on!”
“So you have!” Rafe reached through and roughed up the beanie, making Billy laugh.
He stood up, patting his chest. “And I’ve got snow pajamas,” he announced proudly. “So I won’t get cold.”
Mikayla turned to Juniper, sitting on one side of Billy’s booster seat, Leah on the other. “He won’t need to worry about getting cold. He’s gonna boil if he wears it in the car.”
Juniper smiled and shrugged. “He was so excited to finally be able to wear it, I didn’t have the heart to say no.”
Once Rafe and Mikayla were settled in their seats in the middle row, Callum jumped into the driver’s seat. He turned to William and the two of them bent their heads over the navigation system, talking in low voices. “Anyone’d think you guys were navigating the Paris to Dakar. Let’s go!” Mikayla slapped her hand on the back of Callum’s seat.
“Hold your horses,” Callum replied calmly.
They conversed for a few more moments, then William turned back, an enquiring look on his face. “You want to go the short way or the long way?”
“How much extra is the long way?” Mikayla asked.
“Ten minutes. It takes us down the Cann River Road, which is a great drive, and we can stop at Bombala for lunch.”
“Sounds good to me.” With everyone in agreement, they headed off. Rafe felt Mikayla relax back in her seat, gazing out the window as they left the last straggle of Blessed Inlet houses behind them, and the scenery turned to scrub. Giant mountain ash lined the road. Some had grown so tall that they reached up to the sun, their shadows dappled the road and fell across Mikayla’s face as she looked out the window. She sighed.
“What’s up?” Rafe asked quietly.
She turned to him with a soft smile. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” She was almost glowing with happiness, and he thought he knew why. She was heading away with nearly all her favorite people for a few days of fun in the snow, and a few nights of fun of a different sort. Her thoughts must have mirrored his own because he saw a flash of heat glimmer in her eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that, Mik, or I’m gonna do something crazy,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Her smile widened to a grin, but she turned away, looking out the window again. He reached over and pulled her hand into his lap, linking his fingers through hers, smiling when she gave his fingers a squeeze.
They stopped at the tiny town of Cann River, whose population consisted of only one hundred and ninety-four residents. They grabbed coffees and muffins from the bakery, then everyone had to wait while Billy struggled out of his “snow pajamas,” before getting back in the car.
The drive along the Cann River Road was stunningly picturesque, with high trees and deep gullies. The river bubbled through deep, rocky ravines that they could look down on from the road high above, then stretched out over lush, green flats. It eventually veered away and they were driving through the Coolangubra State Forest and into Bombala.
Callum pulled the Mercedes to the curb in front of the Imperial Hotel in Bombala.
“Let’s go. I’m starving!”
“Seriously?” Callum looked in the rearview mirror at his sister. “Because you scoffed that muffin only an hour ago.”
Rafe watched as she locked eyes with Callum’s in the mirror, never breaking the look as she slid her arm around Rafe’s shoulders. “Yeah, I burn a lot of energy.” She grinned when she saw comprehension dawn on his face, then he rolled his eyes and turned away, getting out of the car.
“Leave me out of it, if you don’t mind,” Rafe said, struggling to hide the amusement in his voice as he got out of the van.
“You love it,” she replied, completely unrepentant, jumping down behind him and following him into the bistro section of the hotel. Rafe frowned a little when he saw Mikayla position herself between Leah and Juniper. He’d just assumed they’d sit together. But this was what she did. One minute holding his hand and flirting, then the next avoiding him and pulling away. It was really starting to give him the shits, if he were being completely honest.
They ate a hearty lunch of burgers and fries, then Juniper said she’d like to take a walk around the town. It took a little while for Billy to get back into his ski suit so the group naturally splintered off. Mikayla elbowed Rafe and nodded in Leah’s direction. She’d wandered up the street, casually looking in shop windows as she went. Callum was only a few steps behind her, his hands shoved into his coat pockets, his knitted cap pulled low.
“Jesus, they are vibing.”
“Are they?” Rafe asked doubtfully.
“Yeah, ‘cept I can’t imagine how they’re ever going to manage the horizontal tango when they can barely even talk to each other.” She glanced up at Rafe, her eyes brimming with humor as she stepped off the footpath, heading towards the river. “I mean, look at them. If brooding was an Olympic sport, they’d have to share the gold.”
Rafe laughed outright at that as he fell into step beside her. They crossed the bridge in companionable silence, turning off at the other end and heading down to the riverbank. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to take her hand as they walked along, so he reached for her. He frowned when she pulled her hand away, pushing it deep in her coat pocket. He flinched, feeling the rejection more than he cared to admit. She glanced at him then, catching the expression on his face. Instantly remorseful, she moved towards him but he backed away. The companionable silence they’d walked in a few seconds earlier turned thick with tension. He was tempted to let it go, but knew it would eat away at him if he didn’t say something. “I’m confused, Mikayla.”
