I winced, understanding that completely. “You can have another couple of painkillers before we get on the plane. You’ll be fine. A few more hours and you’ll finally be in the outback.” A smile tugged at my mouth. “You’ll finally get to see kangaroos in the wild.”
A sleepy grin was my reward, and I filed it away, despite knowing I should do no such thing. “Maybe if I take enough pain meds, I’ll be able to finally ride one.”
My chuckle was quiet. “Let’s make that a hard no.”
“You know, you’re super controlling for a fiancé.” He quirked his brow. “I always thought you’d be sweet and doting, you know… doing all the touchy-feely caring shit that you do.”
“Touchy-feely caring shit?” I said back to him, not wanting to latch onto anything else he said.
“Uh-huh. You know you do that care-for-me thing you always do. And you make people talk about their feelings, but I have no idea how since you never come out and ask them to. It’s this whole empath thing you’ve got going on.”
“Empath thing?”
“Yeah, you make people open up and like you and care for you because you read them so well.”
Bemused, I frowned, wondering what he was talking about while thinking it was probably the nicest and strangest thing he’d ever said to me. Before I could respond, we were slowing for traffic lights. I peered outside, recognizing we were about to drive into the airport zone. I did a couple of slow blinks, hardly believing it was only yesterday I’d arrived, and that was after two flights, making it a long day.
Between the travel and the sporadic minutes of sleep I’d grabbed last night, I was bone tired. Just a few more hours, and I’d be able to stop, though. Once we were at the cabin, the two of us could rest and catch up with some much-needed sleep.
“I was able to sort you extra legroom for obvious reasons,” Nate said as he pulled up outside the Qantas terminal. “You’re already checked in. You just need to print out your baggage labels, then you’re all set.” He left the engine running, and we all exited the SUV. He hugged me tightly. “Look after you both, yeah?”
I bobbed my head. “No worries.” I pulled away and winked. I then patted Ryan’s back as he embraced me.
When he pulled away, his gaze was searching. “While you’re away, figure out what you want and what’s good for your heart, okay?” After a beat of seriousness, his lips twitched, and I shook my head at him. The asshole had thrown my words back at me, ones I’d said to him when I suspected something was going on between him and Nate. Despite his amusement, the way he gripped my arm and stared so intently that it was impossible to look away from, I knew he meant every word.
“I hear you.”
He squeezed before letting go. “Text when you get there. Nate’s sent you the address so you can throw it into the car’s satnav. Just be safe and watch for roos.”
I rolled my eyes, earning me a laugh.
“He’s actually serious,” Nate said, moving to his side. “Those buggers are big out there and cross roads without looking both ways all the damn time.”
“It’s strange they made a Tasmanian devil into a cartoon when they could have had so much more fun with a kangaroo,” Jayden said from my side.
I cast him a glance and shook my head at him. There was no way I was touching that and opening up a conversation that could take the whole of the journey.
“Either he’s still high, or he needs another dose.” Ryan eyed him.
“Another dose,” I answered, picking up both Jayden’s and my bags. “See you both soon, and thanks for this.”
Ryan bobbed his head. “Anytime, mate. You know that. Now get going and perch yourself where you’re not the center of attention while you’re waiting. Speak to you later.” With that, Nate and Ryan left, and I led Jayden into the airport. He followed without question. A quick glance at him, and it was clear his head was hurting. A frown marred his forehead, and even behind his sunglasses, he was squinting.
We waited for the flight in silence, Jayden’s painkillers making him drowsy. The hourlong journey was the same, though Jayden used my shoulder as a headrest. Relieved he was resting, I managed to handle the contact with ease, knowing right now he needed his friend back.
After picking up the SUV from the car rental at the tiny airport, I followed the vehicle’s GPS into town, did a mad dash around the Woolworths supermarket, then was back in the car to a snoozing Jayden.
Worry bit at my heels as I drove out, passing the brightening red dirt and flat landscape. Seeing the sign welcoming us to the outback, I hesitated, considering waking up Jayden. A glance in his direction changed my mind. He was sleeping peacefully, which meant he was healing. There’d be another time when we could take goofy selfies in front of the sign.
Once we hit the spit of a town of Mitchell, I grinned. It was the sort of place you could blink and miss it, but the area held a certain charm. By the time I turned right onto the dirt road where every few feet I hit a new pothole, inevitably Jayden woke.
“The fuck, man? Hit another one of those craters and we’re going to be swallowed whole.” Sitting up, he peered out the window. “Holy shit, the dirt’s really red.”
I laughed. “Yeah, one of the first things I noticed.” I winced when I couldn’t avoid the next pothole, the whole car jerking and jolting.
“Are you just aiming at the things? Hello, precious cargo with a concussion here.”
My mouth twitched. “Precious cargo? More like a sulking toddler.”
