With a jolt, she stepped back. Their eyes met and she couldn’t read his expression. He cleared his throat. “Better?”
She nodded. “Thanks.” One day she would have to do something about her phobia. She glanced around. Lara appeared worried and formed a heart on her chest with her hands. Georgie forced a smile. Ed called, “OK, Mermaid?”
“Fine,” she called back, though her voice was shaky. How she hated this fear. “Damn you, Charlie,” she murmured. He’d triggered her phobia by making a plastic spider drop onto her head when she’d entered her bedroom. She’d taken to carrying an umbrella whenever she went room to room for weeks afterwards.
“He always regretted the prank,” Matt said.
Georgie stared at Matt. “He said that?”
Matt nodded. “Yeah, it was just before he died. You were giving him the cold shoulder, and he felt so guilty about it. He told me he’d never thought it would scare you so much, and he hated that you weren’t talking to him.”
Georgie sniffed. “I never believed him when he said he was sorry. He was always doing things to tease and torture me.”
“I know. But he loved you. He thought you were the best, so tough and determined. He was proud you stood up to him and gave as good as you got.”
Georgie’s vision blurred. She smiled at Matt. “How come you know all of this?”
Matt shifted back and adjusted his Akubra. “We used to tell each other everything,” he said. “Charlie was the only one I could really talk to as a kid. I don’t know what it was, we just connected.” He looked so sad Georgie reached out and squeezed his hand.
“I miss him too.”
Matt smiled. “I feel him here, all around this land. I reckon his spirit is still here.”
Georgie looked at the rich red dirt and small trees. It was a nice thought. Charlie had loved this land.
She moved back to the wall of the well and Matt used a stick to shift the spider into the shrub so they could continue checking for hidden cavities. Georgie gestured to the spot near the shrub. “You can check there.”
Matt chuckled. “As you wish.”
Georgie’s heart wrenched. Did he realise it was a line from her favourite movie,The Princess Bride? It was too much to hope he knew the other meaning behind those words. She busied herself checking the rest of the wall, more mindful now of her surroundings.
“How far should I search?” Brandon called.
He’d already scanned a five-metre radius from the well. What they needed was another clue. It was ridiculous to think they’d find a treasure chest which had been buried almost a hundred and fifty years ago in a piece of land this big. Georgie wandered over to Tess and Ed, who were examining the journal. “Anything else?”
Tess shook her head. “It’s not clear at all. Maybe the clues relate to an indigenous settlement in the area at the time. Lilian wrote the tribe had helped them find water.”
Matt joined them. “I don’t know of a camp in this area, but there could have been. My people moved from place to place depending on the season. There aren’t any sacred places around here which is possibly why they were allowed to set up the homestead here.”
“Maybe we should go to the top of the Ridge and look from a bird’s-eye view,” Georgie suggested. “We might see something which stands out.”
“Good idea,” Ed said. “Why don’t you and Matt go?”
Georgie glared at him. Ed was one of the few people who knew how she really felt about Matt. What was he up to?
“Yeah, all right,” Matt answered. “Coming, Freckles?”
She scowled and followed Matt over to the old ute.
***
Matt drove slowly towards the Ridge, his attention more on the woman sitting next to him than the track. The powerful urge, noneed, to stay close to Georgie was uncomfortable. Perhaps it was simply his protective instincts kicking in after her panic attack. It hurt to see her that way. It wasn’t often Georgie lost control. But he also felt a little… uneasy. Something weird had happened when Georgie had come back to her senses. There’d been a look, something he couldn’t interpret and suddenly he’d realised how soft her skin was. The whole idea set him off-kilter.
He should forget it happened. It would be the easiest solution and he didn’t want to talk to her about it in case it was all in his head. That would be awkward.
They didn’t speak as they drove to the base of the ridge. It wasn’t possible to drive to the top on this side of the valley, so they hiked. The slope was steep enough to make talking difficult.
At the top, Georgie breathed deeply as she looked around. “I never get tired of this view.” She spun slowly, arms outstretched, looking like a Goddess bestowing gifts upon her land.
