Page 25 of Outback Reunion

‘Who d’you think will win the Grand Final this year then?’ asked Sexy Rexy from the stool next to Mark.

He blinked; the season hadn’t even started yet. ‘Still a little early to predict that, Rex.’

In the end, they talked about Sexy Rexy’s new claim to fame as the town’s wealthy hero—Mark still couldn’t understand why he worked at the tip if he was rolling in money—and the chicken coop he was planning to build on the farm, for which he still needed to buy supplies. The whole project had totally slipped his mind after running into Gabriela the other day.

Every time the door opened, his heart swelled and then deflated again when she didn’t appear.

‘Did I hear you say you were building a chicken coop?’ Stella asked as she came up to the bar and ordered a glass of Diet Coke. ‘Don’t judge me. Lily’s just fed, and she’ll hopefully sleep for hours now, but I need some caffeine to help me keep up with that lot.’

Mark shrugged. ‘No judgement here. And yes, to the chicken coop.’

‘Our chooks had babies a couple of months ago. Heidi wants to keep them all, but that’s not practical, so you’d be doing us a favour if you took some off our hands.’

‘Thanks, that’d be great. I’ll pay you of course.’

She smiled as Liam handed her the drink. ‘No worries. Just come over when you’re ready.’

Stella returned to her friends and Adam to his small talk with Sexy Rexy.

His half pint turned to one and a half, the girls’ night grew louder, the band packed up, and people began to leave. When the blokes around the pool table called it a night, Mark thought he should probably leave too, but however much of a fool it made him, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

What if he went and then Gabriela arrived?

He ordered another pint instead, and couldn’t stop glancing down at his phone, watching the time tick closer to midnight.

When Liam called, ‘Last drinks,’ Mark had to accept she wasn’t coming.

He should be angry she’d made him look like an idiot in front of his old friends, but all he felt was disappointment.

Chapter Six

Gabi woke to Luna jumping up and down beside her on the bed, her ginger hair a messy mop and sleep crusting the corners of her blue eyes.

‘Mum. Wake up. We missed the sunrise. Why didn’t you set an alarm? Come on. Get dressed. I wanna go find a bunyip!’

Gabi sat up straight and grabbed her phone off the bedside table as dread filled her heart. The sun blaring in through the gap in the caravan curtains told her it was morning.

Oh God.She must have fallen asleep before Luna had. Guilt swamped her as she thought about Mark sitting alone in the pub waiting for her. What must he think of her?

She squeezed her eyes together, willing this to be a nightmare.

‘Mum,’ whined Luna, pulling at her hand. ‘Come on... get up. You promised.’

Gabi needed caffeine before she even contemplated any kind of beachcombing or bunyip hunting.

‘Please, Luna,’ she snapped. ‘I just woke up and the beach isn’t going anywhere. Go let the dogs out and give them their breakfast while I make a coffee.’

Luna huffed her irritation but flounced off the bed and out of the caravan anyway. As Gabi heard her talking to her dogs like they were babies—even though Basset was older than her—she climbed out of bed and crossed over to their little kitchen to fill the kettle. Her phone still in her hand, she stared at it, willing it to magically know Mark’s number, so she could send him a message to apologise.

But despite what they tried to make their audience believe at the circus, there was no such thing as magic.

‘I fed the dogs,’ Luna announced, coming back into the caravan. ‘Now, can we go?’

Gabi put a heaped teaspoon of instant coffee into her mug. ‘How about you wash your face, eat some breakfast, brush your teeth and your hair, and let me drink this first.’

While Luna ate her Weetbix, Gabi jumped in the shower and tried to exorcise Mark from her head. What was done was done. She couldn’t turn back time and had more important things to do than worry about his feelings. Things like helping Luna recover from her loss, trying to be two parents now that she only had one, assisting her in-laws with the highs and lows of running the circus, and helping Eve make sure Lorenzo didn’t overdo it.

When Gabi emerged, dressed in shorts and t-shirt with her new bikini underneath, Luna allowed her to lather her in sunscreen, and then they set off.

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