Page 45 of Road to Rosalee

Melody looked to the peach-coloured sky then back to him. ‘Yeah, I agree.’

Collecting them another beer and their bowls of chilli con carne topped off with generous dollops of yoghurt, Zai returned. He sat, this time a little closer, so much so that his legs brushed up against Melody’s, sending skitters of butterflies through her. Although it was dangerous territory, Melody didn’t flinch – she liked the fact that he wanted to sit so near to her.

The mouth-watering scent tempting her tastebuds almost as much as this delightful man, Melody eagerly dug in. Her first mouthful was absolutely divine. ‘Oh my gosh, Zai,’ she garbled. ‘This is seriously the best chilli I’ve ever tasted.’

‘See, I told you.’ He nodded slowly, his face a picture of satisfaction.

Over casual conversation and mouthfuls of rich, spicy food, the sun finally bowed out and gave way to the glimmer of the first star. It wasn’t long before the sky was a blanket of diamonds, the full moon a shining beacon amidst it all. She recalled some of her mother’s last words about looking to the stars when she was missing her. Smiling softly, she took great comfort in the fact that her mother would be looking down upon her from such a stunning, radiant sky. With her bowl basically licked clean, she secretly watched Zai’s moonlit face as she continued to slowly sip her second icy beer. He looked as if he were up among the brilliance of it all, catching the stars in his hands. She longed to go to that place with him, where nothing else mattered, where they could just be. Even so, back here on earth, it was so nice to feel so peaceful in his company. He was her mate, her confidant, her shining light in what had been a very dark world. She had to count her blessings at having met a man as genuine and caring as he was.

Even so, deep down, beneath the turmoil of her life, she knew she wanted way more than what they had right now. It was a pipe dream, something that would never become her reality, but it didn’t stop her heart longing to be matched with his.

Chapter

13

Zai kept catching Melody’s sneaky glances, not that he let on. He liked the way she was looking at him, with a deep curiosity and that slow easy smile on her kissable lips – it gave him a glimmer of hope that they might, possibly, maybe, still have a chance at something more than only friendship. He’d learnt that, when it came to Melody, easy does it – he needed to take it nice and steady. Akin to working with horses, he had to let her gravitate to him, but first and foremost, she needed to trust him and to know without a shadow of a doubt that his intentions were pure and from the heart. With that contemplation, while staring into the darkness that seemed to go on forever, he had an idea

Leaping to his feet, and startling her in the process, he took his chance and grabbed her by the hand. ‘Come on, I have something I want to show you.’ He tugged her from the seat.

‘Do you now?’ She dug her heels in, eyeing him cautiously. ‘What is it?’

He wasn’t about to reveal his little adventure until she was belted into his LandCruiser. He wanted to make this a night for her to remember, in all the right ways. ‘I can’t tell you or I’d have to kill you and bury you in the backyard.’ He wiggled his brows, trying to look sinister and failing miserably, bursting into laughter when she did.

‘Well, in that case, Mister Axe Murderer,’ she said finally after gathering herself. ‘I’d best let you reveal the secret when you’re ready to.’

Grabbing a bottle of tawny port from the top of the beer fridge on the way past, Zai was chuffed when she allowed him to lead her down the steps, across the lawn, damp against their feet from the sprinkler, and to his four-wheel drive. He went to the passenger side and opened her door. ‘Your chariot awaits, so in you hop.’ He waved an arm flamboyantly, eliciting more giggles from her.

‘This better be good, Mr Wellstone.’ She slipped on her seatbelt and flashed him a knee-buckling smile. ‘Or else,’ she added with a wink.

He shut her door, leaning on the open window frame. ‘Or else what?’

‘That’s for me to know and you to find out.’

‘Ha, you got nothing. I can see it in your eyes.’ He tapped the bonnet as he wandered around to the driver’s side, smirking at her through the windscreen.

Sliding behind the wheel, he tugged his door shut, revved the old girl to life, turned the stereo up enough to enjoy the honky-tonk drawl of Garth Brooks, and hit the accelerator. They fishtailed a little down the dirt drive before he regained traction. Flicking the headlights to high beam and switching on his bright spotlights, he turned her eyes as wide as her smile. Circling the stables, he slowed, then turned off the usual track, pulling to a stop at a gate they barely used. Jumping out, he swung it open, rolled in, then alighted to shut it behind them. Then they were off again, bouncing across an unused paddock towards the place he found to be the most magical in all of Rosalee Station at night. It was the only place on earth which had the power to rekindle his sense of childlike wonder – he hoped it did the same for Melody.

‘So, where are we going?’ she asked, bouncing in her seat, her grip deathlike on the handrail above her head.

Tapping his thumb in tune to the famous country song, ‘Ain’t Going Down (‘Til The Sun Comes Up)’, Zai grinned. ‘You’ll find out soon enough.’

It took a good ten minutes for them to reach the rickety old lean-to, and he pulled into his usual parking spot, hurriedly switching off the engine and all of his lights. It was only then, with the velvet black of night enveloping them, that the ordinary landscape turned ethereal and otherworldly – a cascade of flittering light, the enchanting show became visible above the glimmer of the water’s surface, transcending time and space.

‘Oh my god, Zai.’ Her voice gushed out. ‘I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all of my life.’ In a dreamy daze, she pushed her door open and stepped out and into the bewitching landscape, aglitter and aglow with hundreds, if not thousands, of fireflies.

In awe of the living fireworks spectacle, powerful yet so peacefully silent, Zai joined her, leaving a little distance between them. Drawing in a deep breath, he allowed her all the time she needed to stare in wonder at the magical scene before them. He observed the fireflies’ luminous dancing with absolute delight in his heart, just like he always did when he came here. Melody blinked slowly, enraptured, her reaction sparking happiness deep within his soul. It took his breath away, almost as much as her beauty.

‘It’s like a portal to another time and place,’ she said softly, her hands resting over her heart.

‘It sure is.’ He turned to catch the reflection of the fireflies’ light in her eyes. ‘I take it, from the dreamy look on your face, you think my surprise is worth it?’

She nodded. ‘Oh my god, yes. So very worth the bumpy ride out here.’

‘Believe it or not …’ He looked back at the flittering specks of light. ‘… the males are the biggest flashers.’

She skimmed her wistful gaze to him, the tiniest of grins emerging. ‘You’re pulling my leg?’

‘Nope, true fact. And when a female firefly fancies one of the males, she blinks faster.’