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‘What the—’ His head tipped back and she laughed softly at being sighted. ‘What are you doing up there?’ He shook the leaves from his hair.

‘Cleaning gutters,’ she answered, pointing to her ladder. ‘My ladder fell.’

‘Indy.’ He drew out her name as he retrieved it and set it back against the building for her.

With a final check of the roof, she decided the gutters were clean enough and swung a leg over to climb down.

Carter was waiting for her at the bottom. His hands wrapped around her waist as she neared him and he lifted her down. Not that she needed it, but it felt nice. The warm butterflies had started to flap in her stomach again.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured, turning around to take him in. He was gorgeous, even covered in brown soap suds, bark and grass. ‘Have you been rolling with the pigs?’

His brows rose. ‘You have pigs?’

‘Nope.’

He chuckled then quickly glanced over his shoulder. He swiped a patch of bubbles from his arm and wiped it on her nose. She gasped, but he stole it with a kiss. Indy melted into him.

Voices and footsteps from behind the shed broke them apart and Indy quickly wiped her nose clean.

She grabbed the ladder, lifting it as though she were a firefighter, and picked up her bucket.

A spray of water hit her ears as Carter moved about behind her.

Her steps away from him were quick but as she reached the corner, she couldn’t help but look back to admire the water cascading down his body.

A thrill ran through her. Not just for the Adonis of a man that was somehow hers to touch and kiss, but the fact that they’d stolen a kiss outside and not been caught.

It gave exhilarating a whole new meaning.

‘Where’ve you been?’ Nova popped out of the sheds.

Indy startled. ‘Cleaning the gutters on the equipment shed like you asked me to.’

Stop being so defensive.

Nova peered through the trees behind her as a group of players in their bright swimmers headed for the main buildings. Had she seen Indy with Carter? Surely if she had, there’d be more than just suspicion in that raised brow.

‘Indy—’

‘Nova. I’m straight, single and have no vision impairment.’ She let a grin slip through as if it wasn’t just for Carter. ‘I’m not drooling over them, just appreciating.’ One of them .

Nova laughed and Indy relaxed. ‘Fair call.’ Carter pressed the phone closer to his ear as his mother’s voice softened. ‘I’m worried about her, Cart. She’s working so hard, I rarely see her.’

‘Piper’s just busy, Ma. She’s a nurse in the busiest emergency department in the city, cut her some slack.’

‘Your sister always makes time for family. It’s that doctor boyfriend of hers.’

‘Heath? What’s wrong with Heath?’

‘I don’t know yet.’

Carter rolled his eyes. His mum was made for caring. She never coped well with loneliness. ‘You could’ve come up on Sunday.’

‘You know I don’t like driving long distances.’

‘Check with Jonathan if he’s doing the same thing this weekend and you could ask Piper to drive you up. If you ask her early enough, she could probably swap a shift. I’d love to see you both.’

His mind wandered. How would it work with seeing his family if he and Indy stayed together once camp was over?

Would he have much time if he was travelling between Sydney and Windale?

It was a doable drive, but not the type of trip he’d want to do twice in one day.

Would Indy come and see him? There were too many questions and time to ask them was dwindling.

‘I’ll think about it,’ his mum continued. ‘Are you getting enough sleep?’

A smile played at the corners of his mouth. He hadn’t needed mothering in years, but he supposed the instincts never stopped. ‘Yeah, Mum. The days have been full on, especially the last few, so if you want to tell your husband to ease up, I wouldn’t complain. How’s the stables?’

He listened carefully as she launched into an update on the latest mare to come under her careful training.

Resting his elbows on his knees, he watched the different pinks and oranges stretch into the sky from behind the tops of the gum trees.

The bench he was sitting on was at the bottom of the carpark, giving him a great view, but his eyes weren’t always focused on the sky.

He could see down the gully track and was sure that Indy would walk up for dinner at any moment.

Telling his mum that he’d met someone had been on the tip of his tongue when he’d called to check in, but he couldn’t ask her to keep a secret for him, even one as good as this.

‘Talking to your girlfriend, Hendrix?’ Beau said, from behind him. ‘Does she know about your other one?’

Carter rolled his eyes, his mum continuing her lengthy chat in his ear. He covered the mouthpiece. ‘Take your bullshit somewhere else, Beau.’

‘Might take it down to your girlfriend’s house.’ Beau sauntered towards the dining hall.

Carter sat frozen, his gut twisting painfully.

‘Carter? Carter? Did I lose you?’ The higher pitch of his mum’s voice startled Carter back into reality.

‘Sorry, Mum. I’ve gotta go. Give Piper a hug for me and I’ll talk to you later.’

She bid him good night and he hung up but stayed sitting, tapping his phone against his closed lips.

His mind spun faster than that cow in Twister .

Had Beau seen him kiss Indy at the showers?

Fuck. He knew it’d been a risk, but watching her climb down that ladder and seeing the way her jeans had outlined her narrow waist and the curve of her backside, he hadn’t been able to keep his hands to himself.

‘You coming to dinner, man?’

Carter glanced up to see Ethan, his hair still wet from the long-arse shower he took. Ethan frowned and sat down on the bench beside him, and Carter shu?ed over to make more space.

‘What’s got you so worried? Bad news from home?’

Carter shook his head. ‘I think I did something stupid.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I kissed Indy at the outside showers when I didn’t think anyone was around.’

‘But?’

‘Beau.’ Carter repeated what the fullback had said.

‘It doesn’t mean he knows,’ Ethan said. ‘He could just be yanking your chain. Sydney’s mostly south from here; he’s probably just referring to home.’

Carter shook his head. ‘Pretty big chance he’s not, and he knows.’

‘Does it matter?’ Ethan asked. ‘I mean, say he did see. Are you ashamed for people to know you’re with her? You are with her, aren’t you?’

‘Definitely not ashamed. She’s perfect, but it’s her job on the line if people found out.

’ Carter paused, thinking of what Indy had said about her mum and her past. ‘She does come with a pretty heavy past, which people might use against her, and to be honest, with everything going on for me and my place in the team already, I’m not sure I need more attention right now. ’

‘What does that mean? You’re just hooking up with her while we’re here?’

‘No.’ Carter ran a hand down his face. ‘I don’t know. I lo— like her. But the one time I tried to bring up even the idea of her moving off the mountain, she shut it down. And I mean, that’s fair. We’ve not even known each other for two weeks yet. I know what I want but I don’t think she does.’

Ethan nodded. ‘That must be hard.’

‘It is. I’ve dated girls who would’ve been easy to slip into a longer term thing with.

I mean, they were beautiful and wanted to be with me.

Would have followed me anywhere I went and done anything I asked them to.

But they were the wrong girls. I know Indy’s the right girl for me, but sometimes it’s hard.

I don’t always know where I stand with her or where we’re headed.

But damn, I love being with her and figuring it out. ’

‘The right girls might be hard, but they’re worth it.’ Ethan stood. ‘Maybe just cool things for a day or two and see if Beau does anything.’

‘We’re at his mercy.’ Carter followed him towards the dining hall. ‘That fucking sucks.’

‘I don’t see that you have any other options. I mean, if you say something to Beau and he doesn’t know about you and Indy, then you risk tipping him off.’

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, a broad and probably goofy smile grew on Carter’s face.

‘Why are you smiling like that?’ Ethan asked.

‘Me and Indy. I really like the sound of that.’

Ethan shoved his shoulder and they laughed.

Reaching the verandah, Carter nodded to Emery as she walked through the door in front of them.

The smile fell from his face when he saw Indy across the room, already eating a bowl of pasta.

Ethan was right. They’d need to cool it for at least twenty-four hours.

How was he going to tell her without tipping off anyone further?

They lined up for the buffet, Ethan trying to get in front, but Carter purposefully moving in his way.

‘Every night, dude!’

‘Gotta try.’

Emery glanced over her shoulder at them before grabbing a bowl then the tongs for the pasta. Carter picked up a bowl as well and stood a little too close to her.

‘Emery,’ he said under his breath. ‘I need you to give Indy a message for me. Please?’

He deliberately didn’t look at her, especially when she glanced sideways at him. It was hard, but there were people all around them.

‘Okay,’ she said softly and slowly.

‘Can you tell her that I can’t make it down tonight and I’m really sorry?’

Emery stepped up to the large dish of mince in a rich tomato sauce. Carter moved with her. ‘I will,’ she said. ‘But Carter, you should know that Indy doesn’t let people in. Like, ever. She’s not always as strong as she appears. Don’t hurt her.’

Emery grabbed a couple of pieces of garlic bread and turned on her heel, putting too much space between them too quickly for him to have a chance to say that he never wanted to.