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He should call Tom. His manager would want to know he’d just given his goodbye speech.

Isaac and Ethan may be backing him but there’d be mutiny from the others, and he’d made a deal with Jonathan that he’d walk away if that were the case.

He rubbed at his chest. Somewhere in the back of his mind was the suggestion that walking away might make him feel lighter.

He knew it wouldn’t. He’d only ever wanted to be a Scorpion.

With his eyes closed, he tilted his head back to catch the sun.

It absorbed his anger, but not his sadness.

He remembered Indy’s smile. Tears leaked from under his eyelids.

How did he come back from this? The first time he’d actually fallen in love, and it was over before she could love him back.

This is why you should’ve just kept your focus on footy .

Carter sighed and shook his head, silencing the little voice. Even if he could go back to the beginning of the camp, he wouldn’t change a thing. He’d hold on to every moment with Indy until he could see her again.

Wiping his face, Carter opened his eyes and watched a willy wagtail hop from rock to rock before taking a drink and flying to a low branch.

The bird repeated its pattern several times over, taking off at the smallest movement or noise before coming back.

It was the definition of skittish, but it moved so quickly it almost blurred.

Carter wouldn’t mind being a willy wagtail, if reincarnation was a real thing.

He’d choose the speed despite the paranoia.

Or maybe it was more a determination to live. That he could definitely align with.

He didn’t know how long he watched the little bird, but his reverie was broken by footsteps and the hum of low voices. Please don’t be Jonathan.

Isaac and Ethan sat on either side of Carter and he ignored the urge to wipe his brow with relief.

‘Mate, you’ve been holding out on us,’ Ethan said.

‘I’ll say,’ Isaac added. ‘This place is next level amazing.’

‘I was here on Sunday when you two were hugging babies in town.’ A sandwich swathed in cling wrap landed in his lap. ‘What’s this?’

‘You missed lunch,’ Isaac said. ‘And that lady in the kitchen noticed.’

‘Janet. She’s really taken a shine to you.’ Ethan elbowed Carter in the side. ‘Seemed really worried about you and pointed us down this way.’

Carter unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. The roast beef and gravy was bliss to his empty stomach. His appetite was returning, apparently. ‘Thanks. I guess we need to get back for the next session?’

‘Actually, after your little TED Talk, Jonathan gave us the afternoon off.’

Carter’s brows rose at Isaac’s news. ‘That’s almost a weekend, if it’s family day again tomorrow.’

‘Man, I hope so,’ Ethan said, taking off his shoes and socks before sliding down the boulder to stick his feet in the water.

‘What else is being said?’ Carter asked.

Isaac clapped him on the shoulder. ‘There’s a lot of talk about you being right. A lot of fellas are saying they would’ve done the same thing in that situation.’

‘Beau’s staying quiet, though,’ Ethan said.

Carter sighed. His days as a Scorpion were numbered. ‘Can’t win them all, I guess.’

Isaac’s grip tightened before he stood. ‘Who cares about Beau or any other knuckleheads when we’ve got a free afternoon to enjoy this place?’

He and Ethan whipped their shirts off and jumped in the deeper pool.

‘This is freezing!’

‘It’s refreshing.’

Carter scoffed down the rest of the sandwich. They were right. He lifted his own shirt above his head and discarded his shoes and socks.

‘Want to try the rope swing?’

Spending the afternoon in and around the creek with friends was a balm to Carter’s soul.

They’d walked and swum their way up the creek until the waterway split off into tiny streams shrouded in bush and an incline too steep to follow.

They swung from the rope until Ethan claimed he touched the bottom of the deepest pool and Carter and Isaac gave him shit about it.

But walking into the dining hall after showers that evening, Carter was hit with fresh nerves. He held his head high as more teammates looked at him with each step he took closer to the line for food.

Murmurings broke out as Beau got out of his seat next to Dodds and approached Carter.

Here we go . Carter squared his shoulders. Whatever Beau was going to say, he could take it.

The fullback reached him and paused, his jaw clenched. Then he held out his hand. Carter hid his surprise before taking it with a firm grip. Beau’s head tilted slightly. There was no apology but an understanding. The heckling would stop and that was good enough for Carter.

Beau gave him a tight smile before he returned to his seat.

Ethan turned to Carter with wide eyes. ‘That was unexpected.’

‘It’s a relief.’

‘Definitely.’

Something in the queue behind Ethan caught Carter’s attention—Emery. He pushed past Ethan.

‘Emery.’

Emery’s gaze darted nervously to the staff table where Nova sat with Mara, but Carter didn’t care.

‘Emery, how is she? Is she okay? Where is she?’

Emery pressed her lips together, pain in her eyes. ‘She’s okay.’

‘Where is she?’

‘I can’t tell you, Carter,’ she said, slowly shaking her head. ‘She asked me not to.’

All good feelings vanished.