Page 94 of Outback Reunion

And the way he was feeling right now... maybe he would.

‘Yeah, well,’ he said with a shrug, ‘I guess it was more my fault than theirs. I didn’t come home in the best spirits, and everyone here seemed so content. I couldn’t help feeling resentful, but you’ve helped me see how lucky I am.’

She nodded. ‘You really are.’

He smiled. ‘I reckon helping the girls will make me feel properly part of Bunyip Bay again and like I’m doing my bit. I still might volunteer for the ambos too, especially after seeing how great they were with Luna, but I wanna get a few things sorted with Mum and Dad on the farm first.’

‘That’s so great, I’m so proud of you.’ Gabriela beamed up at him. ‘And I really want to kiss you right now.’

Mark’s heart hitched as he leaned a little closer. ‘What’s stopping you?’

Maybe this was his moment to tell her he’d fallen in love with her. That if not for her, he wouldn’t be feeling ready to face the world again like he was. That he didn’t want her to leave, and that he wanted her and Luna to join his world and become part of this sometimes-annoying-but-mostly-awesome community.

She opened her mouth to reply, but it wasn’t her voice he heard.

‘Henri told me you beat Mark in an arm wrestle,’ boomed Callum Forward, one of Henri’s brothers as he appeared beside them, his little rosy-faced boy riding high on his shoulders. ‘Is that right?’

Gabriela laughed, then bit her lip as she glanced apologetically at Mark. ‘I think he might have been distracted though.’

Could thatbeany more of an understatement? He’d been distracted since the moment he’d crashed into her in the IGA.

‘Well, we can’t have you thinking all the blokes in Bunyip Bay are weaklings. Are you up for giving me a shot?’

She raised an eyebrow and made a show of looking him up and down. Callum was a big guy and looked a little rough around the edges, even though he was nothing but a big, loveable teddy bear once you got to know him. ‘The question is, are you up for the humiliation?’

He laughed loudly, then looked to Mark. ‘I like her. She’s funny.’

‘Let’s see if you think that after I annihilate you. Where shall we do this?’ Gabriela nodded towards the verandah. ‘Up there at the table?’

Callum grinned and gestured for her to go ahead of him. ‘Ladies first.’

‘Good luck,’ Mark said.

‘I don’t need any luck,’ she said, practically skipping ahead.

‘I was talking to Callum.’

A crowd gathered around Gabriela and Callum as they sat on either side of the long wooden table. Callum’s wife, Hannah, stepped forward to take their son, hissing at him as she did so, ‘You better go easy on her. Rememberwhywe’re here.’

Mark grimaced.Dammit. Grant had clearly spilled the beans to some people, but hopefully Gabriela didn’t suspect. He stood behind her as she cleared the space in front of her of glasses, then leaned forward and dropped her elbow on the table, positioning herself ready for battle.

Callum, whose mum often said that he was not much more than an overgrown child, did the same. ‘On your marks, get set...’

‘Go,’ shouted Gabriela and half the crowd.

It was mere seconds before her opponent’s cocky smile slipped and the veins in his neck bulged as he struggled not to lose face. At least Mark had only had Henri, Liam, some tourists and a couple of late-night pub patrons to witness his demise; poor Callum’s whole family was watching.

And lose he did. Even faster than Mark had.

Everyone, except the man himself, thought it hilarious. ‘What do they feed you at the bloody circus?’

Gabriela smiled—‘That would be giving away my secrets’—then looked up at their audience. ‘Would anyone else like to have a go?’

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were no takers but many questions about the rigorous training she must do to maintain that kind of strength. Mark had heard most of what she said, either from Gabriela or Luna, but he enjoyed sitting next to her at the table, listening and watching as she captivated everyone else. The conversation continued while they ate a delicious lunch of salads, homemade quiche for the adults and a sausage sizzle for the kids. Callum muttered that he’d prefer a banger slapped between a piece of white bread than ‘this rabbit food’, but Grant wouldn’t hear of it, telling him to go to Bunnings in Gero on Saturday morning if he wanted to eat such atrocities.

‘Mark, will you come in the pool with us?’ begged Heidi and Luna, ambushing him from both sides the second his plate was empty.

‘You’re supposed to wait at least half an hour after eating before you swim,’ he told them.

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