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‘Come on, lie back and try and get some sleep against me. I can keep an eye on Andrew from here.’

As the winter evening drew in, the cold and the silence of the bush surrounded them. Sandra took a while to drift off, but gradually she relaxed against Graysen.

Chapter 23

The gorge

‘His temperature is good,’ Sandra said as Graysen followed her over to Andrew after they’d both dozed for a while. ‘I’ll crush some more Panadol ready for his next dose.’

The wind was picking up and Andrew was shivering. They sat each side of him as they ate their jubes and had a drink of water, before sharing the apple. There was something intimate about eating it together and Sandra smiled as she savoured the tart sweetness.

A strong gust of wind whistled through the gorge and there was a huge crack as a branch broke from a tree across from them. Sandra jumped and put her hand to her chest. ‘God, I’m skittish.’

‘At least it’ll be light when I’m gone tomorrow,’ Graysen said. She could just make out the silhouette of his head against the cliff behind them. Promise me that you’ll stay here behind the rock with Andrew. Don’t be tempted to go wandering. I’d hate to come back and find you not here. Or worse if they’re still on the trail looking for us all.’

‘I won’t move.’

‘When we’re out of here I’m going to take you out for a beautiful dinner and we’re going to get to know each other in normal circumstances. Just to check you still like me.’ Graysen chuckled but there was an uncertainty in his voice. ‘Without all the he-man stuff.’

Sandra looked up at him surprised but happy. ‘So do you want to keep seeing me?’

‘Of course, I do.’

‘It’s a long way to Darwin from the rest of the world.’

‘I’m planning on spending some time up there. I was thinking about a photographic series of the northern Australian coast. Perhaps you’d like to come travelling with me.’

‘After this experience I think I might be quite happy to stay at home for a while.’

Graysen nodded. ‘I understand. Until Zed and Miska are caught anyway.’

‘And you know what, Graysen? I don’t need any fancy restaurant to get to know you better. If it wasn’t for Andrew being hurt, and if we could have a fire, it would be quite a perfect venue.’

‘I thought while we were there at our fancy restaurant you could tell me about your life. Tell me what you like to do when you’re not out trekking. Tell me what makes you happy,’ Graysen said.

‘There’s no reason why we can’t have that conversation now. I want to hear about your life. I want to hear about the places you’ve been.’ She lowered her voice and looked at him carefully. ‘I’d like to hear about Marion. It sounds like you loved her very much.’

‘I did. We were very happy and it almost destroyed me when she died.’

‘Life can be cruel, can’t it, Graysen?’

‘Yes, it can, but the human spirit is strong and somehow we manage to get through our grief and life goes on. It sounds like a platitude but it’s true. Time is the greatest healer. Time and new experiences. This trek, as hard as it’s turned out, has been a wakeup call for me. I seem to have dug deep and found myself again.’

Sandra nodded. ‘Me too. The main reason I chose to do this was to prove to myself that I could do it. That I could be strong and that I could manage away from my safe haven of home and family. Losing Peter and all the events associated with it made for a very difficult time in my life, and I dropped the bundle big time. I’ll be honest with you, Graysen. I was in counselling for a long time and I was on medication. I pretty much stopped going out into the world for a couple of years. My girls were wonderful and they supported me as best they could with their lives happening around them at the same time. And trust me there was a lot happening. We seem to attract trouble.’

‘You’ve told me a little bit about what happened and I can understand that. At least with Marion we knew she was dying. It wasn’t a shock and we had that time together, not so much to make our peace with each other but to share and deepen our memories—his voice cracked a little— ‘and that wonderful life we had together. I miss her every minute of every day, Sandra. and she’ll always be a piece of my heart.’

‘As Peter is in mine. We had a good life, and my only regret is that he didn’t know about Ryan, his son, I’ll tell you about that another time.’ She shivered and Graysen’s arm went around her.

‘Try and get some sleep now. We’ll lie either side of Andrew and try to keep him warm.’

Sandra nodded and put her backpack behind her to rest her head. The bare earth was cold beneath her legs and she knew it was going to be a very long night. She was grateful she had Graysen by her side to help her through it.

The knowledge that he wanted to spend more time with her filled her with joy. Not only has she found her inner strength on this trip, but she’d found a new friend. Maybe . . . who knew? Maybe a man who may one day be more than a friend.

Sandra shook herself mentally.

Don’t be silly.