Page 38 of The Storm Boys Series Collection

As was the way the wind tousled his hair, and how the way the sunlight made his eyes shine.

Get yourself together. Focus on why you’re here.

A serious bump in the track had me reaching for the grab bar across the dash. “Oh shit!”

“Yep. That’s how it got its name.” Tully laughed. Then he pointed up ahead to another track we were about to pass by. It was a goat track in the scrub. “That’s the way we’ll go tomorrow.”

More of this kind of road? Oh goodie.

“Does this road become impassable in the wet season?” I asked, bouncing around in my seat. I couldn’t imagine it getting any worse.

“It’s impassable now.”

That damn grin.

It was no longer just annoying.

I was beginning to actively dislike it.

“Well, for tourists anyway. When we get down into the lowlands,” he went on to say. “When she floods,thenit’s impassable.”

“Are we expecting floods?”

“It is the wet season.”

Like the skies were listening, it began to spit rain. Fat and heavy droplets at first, then it began to pelt us, but Tully didn’t pull over to put the rooftop on. Hell, he didn’t even slow down.

Looks like getting drenched was as natural as sitting in the sun to him.

“And how do we navigate through flooded terrain?”

“Just gotta be faster than the rising water.” He patted the steering wheel. “She ain’t ever let me down yet.”

Oh great.

When they’d said he was a wild card, I hadn’t realised they meant he was a cowboy with a death wish.

He laughed again and—thankfully—we rounded a bend and, after a small incline, arrived at our first campsite. He pulled up in an open car shelter, alongside a big Cruiser, behind what looked like an amenities block. From there being another vehicle, I could deduce there were other people here. Oroneperson at least.

He opened his door. “We’ll come back for our gear when the rain stops,” he said, then made a run for it into the camp. “Come on.”

It took a few seconds for me to realise I was expected to follow him. I ran around the corner of the amenities, ducking under the roof and almost running into the back of Tully. He was there with two men, both looked to be in their thirties, both smiling. One of them had short brown hair, sun-kissed skin. The second man had longish black hair and stood back a little.

“This is Jeremiah,” Tully said. I was going to correct the full-name thing and suggest they call me Jeremy but figured there was no point. I had a feeling I was going to be Jeremiah for the duration of my stay. Not that I minded. In fact, I probably preferred my full name. “Jeremiah, this is Paul and Derek. They run this place. And they live here.”

They lived out here? In the wilderness? Down that road? “You live here?” I asked. “All the way out here?”

Paul laughed and gestured to the wall of water that was rain just a few feet away. “Best address on the planet. But...” Then he gestured to the closest cabin. “More specifically, that’s our home right there. Tully will look after you tonight, but if there’s an emergency, you come find us.”

Then Paul clapped Tully on the shoulder. “I put you guys in tent number one. Fridge here is full. You know where everything is. We’re gonna be busy for a few hours. If you need us for anything, you don’t need us for anything, if you know what I mean.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant. If we needed him for anything, we didn’t need him for anything? That made no sense. But Tully grinned, laughed almost. “Loud and clear.”

Paul and Derek disappeared into the pouring rain and into the closest cabin.

Together.

Oh.

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