Jack’s smile was breathtaking. “This is exciting.”
I nodded, smiling right back at him. “It could be, yes. Very.”
Amy clapped her hands together, the exhilaration tangible. “Then let’s keep moving.”
Getting to the bluff itself was steep. We basically had to use narrow-formed footholds while climbing up the rocks, sometimes heaving ourselves up. Connor had called them natural steps, but I had to wonder which giant he was referring to.
By the time I’d pulled myself up the last step, I was fast approaching done. Everyone was puffing and panting, so thankfully it wasn’t just me. But I was glad the top of the bluff was relatively flat, though the wind was a hundred ice needles into my face. The mist was dense now, so I could barely see a few metres in any direction. The patches of grass and rock were slippery, and while it was tempting to hunker down and run to get out of the wind, treading slow and sure was safer.
A twisted ankle or broken leg up here was a helicopter ride out, and no helicopter was landing in this weather.
We crossed the bluff and made our way down a rocky escarpment and found ourselves on a grassy area that was blocked from the wind by a rock face. Connor took off his backpack and grinned at us. “We set up here tonight.”
“Oh my word, that’s so much better,” I said as I shrugged out of my backpack.
Jack did the same and put his hand on my arm. His cheeks were pink and he was puffing out steam. “Remind you of anything?”
I chuckled. “I was only just thinking about how an ankle or leg injury would be a disaster up here.”
“Don’t jinx us,” Vince said, dropping his backside onto the ground. He was puffing hard.
“I wouldn’t be piggybacking you down this mountain,” Jack said, taking a sip of water. “The Snowy Mountains incident was . . . character building.” Then, much to my dismay, he explained for the others. “Lawson twisted his ankle on an expedition on Kosciuszko.”
“On the bright side,” I said, aiming for funny, “at least there are no cane toads or inland taipans here.”
Jack laughed. “There are tiger snakes in these parts.”
“Oh good.”
“But they’re all be hibernating right now,” Amy said.
“I’ve heard that before,” I mumbled.
Jack chuckled. “Inland taipan bites are not recommended.”
I shook my head. “Neither is cane toad toxin.”
The three of them stared at us, wide-eyed. “Are you two cursed or something?” Connor asked.
I snorted. “Not at all. We’ve been on dozens of expeditions together. Our near-fatal incident rate is well below ten per cent.”
“Oh good,” Vince deadpanned. “Ten per cent.”
Jack laughed. “What good is almost dying if not to remind us we’re alive?”
Amy smiled at that. “I love that you two go on these adventures together. It is honestly relationship goals.”
I sipped my water and wiped my mouth. “It has its perks,” I said. “Like when my husband says he’ll put the tent up and start dinner while I go over my notes.”
Jack laughed again. “Or when your husband does his share and stops being lazy.”
I sighed and tried not to smile. Jack unclipped the rolled-up tent and threw it near my feet. “It was worth a try.”
We were fast running out of daylight, so we all did our tents first. They each had those single pop-up tents, which made sense. But Jack and I had a two-man style. Well, it fit two men . . . if they didn’t mind getting cosy with each other, which luckily we didn’t. We rolled out our sleeping bags, which I promptly unzipped and rezipped up as one larger sleeping bag for two men who didn’t mind getting cosy with each other.
Jack smiled and waggled his eyebrow at me. “Don’t get any ideas, Mr Brighton-Gale,” I whispered. We were in our tent and it wasn’t as though they could see us or hear us. “We’ll be warmer if we share a sleeping bag. I’m far too tired and sore for anything else.”
He chuckled, that throaty and warm sound I loved so much. “To be honest, Mr Brighton-Gale, I’m more excited just to camp out with you. We should do this more often.”
“Camping, yes. Hiking, maybe not.”
“It wasn’t an easy one, was it?”
I shook my head and spoke to ensure the others would definitely not hear. “Not that I’d ever admit it to them, but I was very glad to stop tonight.”
Jack kissed me quickly. “Same. And Lawson, don’t feel like you’re not on par with them, because you are. You hiked and climbed like a pro today.”
“We still have the abseiling tomorrow to get through.”
“And we’ll nail it.” Jack was so sure of it, and I wished for his confidence. “Don’t worry about that right now, and think about the butterflies you’re going to see tomorrow. I’ll make us some dinner.”
Chapter Three
Jack
After dinner, everyone was eager for sleep. It had been a long day: a pretty gruelling hike after a four-hour car drive. Connor had run through a few safety specs for where we were camping. “If you get up for a midnight pee, don’t go too far. We’re fairly secure here, but if you wander off too far in the dark, there’s a helluva drop. Hope no one sleepwalks.” Then he stopped and stared. “No, seriously, does anyone here sleepwalk?”
Vince and Amy both laughed and said no, and of course Lawson and I would be fine. There was no way I was letting Lawson wander off by himself in the dark when we were camped on the side of a mountain.
But we all bid each other a good night, said we would see each other at six o’clock. I doubted there’d be any need for alarms . . . I had to wonder how much sleep we’d be getting.
Lawson and I zipped up the tent, took our boots off, and climbed into our sleeping bag. It was freezing cold. All of 2ºC and a wind chill factor of -9ºC. The ground was cold but Lawson snuggled himself right into me, and I wrapped him up tight and sighed.
“I wonder what Brennan’s doing,” he murmured.
“He’d be reading a book with Grandma. Already bathed and in his jarmies, he’d have had his dinner, and I think Aunty Poppy will be making hot chocolates right about now.”
He sighed. “I miss him.”
“Me too.” I held him a little bit tighter. “But I love being here with you too.”
“Same.” He stretched, then groaned. “My legs hurt.”
I chuckled. “Mine too.”
“Can’t wait to see these butterflies tomorrow. They better still be there.”
I rubbed his back and kissed the side of his head. “I’m sure they will be. After all, they’re waiting for you to find them.”
He let out a happy sigh and he drifted off to sleep. I tried to fight the weight of my eyelids, the ache in my legs and my back, but the day beat me. With Lawson safe and warm in my arms, I drifted off to sleep.
The howling wind woke me up around midnight, pulling at the tent and trying to fling us off the mountain. Then all of a sudden the wind was gone, replaced by a gentle pattering sound on the roof of the tent. It took me a moment to realise what it was.