Page 22

‘I’m going to brush the horses down,’ Indy told Emery when they made it back to the stables and unsaddled their rides. ‘You head in for dinner. Check on Mara.’

‘What about you?’

‘I’m too tired to be hungry.’

Emery gave her a knowing look and Indy rolled her eyes.

‘I’ve got some muesli in my room, I’ll be fine.’

Emery sighed and took a step towards the door. ‘I get it. You need your alone time. You know where I am if you change your mind and want company.’

‘I will.’ Indy turned back to Ranger and grabbed the brush from the wall, wasting no time in making long, sweeping strokes across the top of his back and down his tail.

She repeated the movement over and over, untangling the knots in his tail made by the wind.

The constant drumming of rain on the stable’s tin roof comforted her.

Even though the thunder and lightning had moved on, the rain drowned out the thoughts in her head she needed a break from.

She glanced over her shoulder, thinking Emery might still be standing in the doorway, but she was gone.

Indy’s knees buckled as she folded under the weight of loneliness.

She generally welcomed it, preferring to be alone than be reminded of the risk of letting people in.

But Emery had wormed her way under all her defences and Indy had allowed it.

A fresh friendship. Someone who didn’t care where she’d come from because her own past was just as bad.

Indy straightened and worked her brush down Ranger’s side. She and Emery were equals.

It wasn’t like that with Mara. Her black hair, twig limbs and stupid piercings.

She’d blamed Mara for the memories of Bonnie that kept coming up since the girl had arrived on the mountain, had tried her best to not let any attachment form.

But after Emery had screamed and called for help, and Indy raced over and saw Mara clinging to the face of the cliff, terror had overwhelmed her.

She’d stared down at Mara and seen Bonnie instead.

The need to not lose someone else had driven her up the mountain but the fear of going through it all over again had been the motivation for holding on for so long.

A tear slipped down Indy’s cheek, closely followed by another.

Her eyes stung as the tears picked up momentum.

She couldn’t see anything, so she shut them as Ranger gave a whinny.

Blindly, she looped her arms around the gelding’s neck and rested her cheek against him.

He snorted but stood still. Indy breathed in the horsey smell, hay and rain, a mix of her favourite scents, and felt her ground stabilising again.

‘Bonnie’s gone.’ The reminder was blunt. She pulled back from Ranger and wiped her eyes. ‘But you’re still breathing.’

Although, she’d gotten close to taking the tumble that would’ve stopped it all.

She resumed brushing vigorously against the memory of the drop rushing up to meet her.

Indy had always wondered about dying. Not in a wanting-it-to-happen way, but in a numb way.

Her childhood had always been one step too close to the edge, figuratively speaking, and she’d put so much crap in her body without knowing exactly what it would do other than help her escape for a while.

What did it matter? She’d figured no one would miss her that much anyway.

But then Nova had brought her to Windale where she’d fallen in love with the mountain and its song. And when the storm had coupled with the mountain to try and kill her, it was Carter’s face she’d seen.

Letting that realisation find space in her consciousness, Indy finished brushing Ranger then popped him in his stall with a full feedbag before turning her attention to Boots.

Carter. She sighed loudly, letting it turn into a groan.

No one was around to hear it. How could she let him get so far under her skin?

All his talk about connections, those dark eyes and muscular thighs in footy shorts.

His wholesome smile and the way he’d made her laugh the whole way back from Denarlie.

Damn him! This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Her defences were sealed airtight but somehow he’d wriggled under them.

Indy shoved the brush back onto the shelf and reached up to scratch Boots in his favourite place, between his ears. She could never tell Carter about this. He was an NRL superstar, and she was the girl too afraid to leave the farm.

She was never supposed to develop feelings for him.

She untied Boots’ lead rope from the hook on the wall and led him back into his stall. ‘Here you go, boy,’ she said, checking his water bucket and feedbag. ‘Have a good night.’

She let herself out of the stall and flicked the light off in the stable.

Standing in the doorway, she stared out into the rain.

A new round of lightning flickered on the darkened horizon; another storm on its way but still too far away to hear.

She loved watching storms unleash themselves over the land; it was better than television.

The only thing better would be watching it with someone. Someone she could never have.

She released a drawn-out breath. She’d miss him when he left.

Keen for the warmth of her home, Indy walked quickly down the gully track. Rounding the corner of the end cabin, she slid on the grass to stop herself from running into Janet.

‘You’re in a rush, Indy.’

‘Sorry, Janet. I though everyone would be up at dinner.’

Janet glanced back at the door. ‘Just setting Mara up on our foldout coach for the night. Poor thing needs some tending to after the scare she had today.’

‘That’s really nice of you.’ Janet would always be a mother hen, even if she no longer had her own children to mother. ‘Is she okay?’

Janet pursed her lips. ‘Maybe you should see for yourself.’

No. Indy caught the word before it slipped out. Bloody reactive response. She sighed then headed for the stairs to Janet and Theresa’s two-bedroom cabin.

Warmth enveloped her as she let herself in. The television was flashing colours, but the sound was low. Mara was watching her from a cocoon of blankets.

‘Don’t you look cosy.’

Mara grinned. ‘I swear Janet thought I was a baby with how tightly she wrapped these.’

Indy perched on the edge of a coffee table that’d been shoved to the side. ‘How are you?’

‘Sore, tired. But finally warming up. Thanks for finding me.’

Indy looked to the ceiling, avoiding the tears that pressed on the back of her eyes. ‘How did you end up over the edge?’

‘Ginger freaked at the lightning. I hit the ground in a roll like Nova taught me but I didn’t realise how close to the cliff I was.’

‘Shit! You did well to grab onto the ledge.’

‘I thought you’d probably be happier if I missed it. I know my mum would be.’

Guilt smashed into Indy as she looked at the girl.

‘Mara, no way.’ She swallowed hard. ‘I owe you a big fat apology for how snappy and, well, bitchy I’ve been to you since you got here …

you … you reminded me of my friend Bonnie, who died right after I came here, and I guess I was scared of letting myself get close to you. I’m sorry.’

Mara nodded slowly. ‘I’m sorry your friend’s gone.’

‘Thanks.’ Indy gave her a tight smile. ‘Why would your mum want you to fall off a cliff?’

‘Because then I wouldn’t be in the way of her happy ever after with her new family. Do you know she signed me over to child safety? Said I was a danger to the twins she had with her new husband. It was bullshit. She just didn’t want me around anymore. Said she wanted a normal life.’

‘That really sucks,’ Indy said. A shudder passed through her at the reminder of foster care. ‘What about your dad?’

‘He visited me a couple of times at the house with the youth workers but then he moved to Perth for a job his buddy lined up.’ She hesitated. ‘I haven’t heard from him since he left three years ago.’

Indy frowned. ‘I’m sorry, Mara. That really, really sucks.’

She gave a half-shrug. ‘That’s my sob story. Nova picked me up right after I got booted out of placement for not staying there enough. My friends have all gone as quiet as my dad.’ She yawned.

‘We’ve all got sad stories. It’s why we’re here on this second-chance mountain. This place saves us.’

Mara’s eyelids drooped and she smothered another yawn. ‘What’s your sad story?’

‘A lot like yours. I’ll tell you about it when you’re actually awake.’ Indy stood. ‘Get some sleep.’

Mara’s eyes were closed before Indy reached the door. She walked out into the rain more at peace with the girl sleeping inside. They were more alike than Indy had realised. She needed to do better by Mara.

Carter lifted his head and hammered his pillow into some kind of shape before flopping onto his back.

He pushed the sheet down and linked his hands behind his head, then closed his eyes.

Indy’s face was there. The gorgeous big blue eyes staring at him with a mix of exhaustion, fear and grief, until she slipped away.

He wrenched his eyelids back with such force he swore they were rolling in his eye sockets like a blind that had shot up too quickly.

He kicked the sheets back with the same amount of force, cringing at the sound they made.

Ethan was sleeping less than a few metres from him and Carter doubted he’d appreciate being woken by his restlessness.

He rolled more carefully onto his side, pulling the doona up and hooking a leg over it, and replayed the events from the evening.

They’d met Nova and Jonathan once they’d hit the bottom of the mountain track and transferred Mara into their capable hands.

How she’d escaped serious injury after a fall, even part way down the cliff face, was a miracle.

After a warm shower and change of clothes, he’d hit the dining hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of Indy, some sort of reassurance that she was okay.

But she hadn’t come. Emery had shown up and grabbed a plate when most of the guys were leaving, but no Indy.