mirror.
The last thing she wanted was to strain her cherished relationship with her sister because of some guy she didnât really even know.
Chapter Four
Logan couldnât bring himself to do anything more than kiss Simone on the cheek when heâd bid her goodnight. It had been a good nightâthe most fun heâd had in agesâand theyâd talked easily right up until heâd walked her out to her beaten-up old four-wheel drive, but somehow it felt wrong to kiss both sisters on the same day.
As he walked back to the café where heâd left his ute, the cool August air blew against his face and the street lights of Bunyip Bay shone down upon him and he wondered again whether Frankie had told Simone about his little gaffe that afternoon. He hadnât dared askâmaybe sheâd been too embarrassed to mention it. If they ever got serious, itâd probably be one of those stories that reared its head every Christmas, something heâd never be able to live down. He chuckled at the thoughtâlonging for the normality of such a family gathering again.
He climbed into his ute, turned the heating up full bore and then slowly reversed out of his car space. The dulcet tones of the narrator of the audio book he was listening to washed over him as he headed down the main street towards the Brand Highway, but as he picked up speed, he found it harder and harder to concentrate on the story. Squinting, he cursed under his breath as the streetlights of town faded behind him and he struggled to see very far ahead. He couldnât believe how soon his symptoms had worsened, especially when it came to night driving.
Shadows flickered on the road but he couldnât make out if they truly were just shadows or something that could be a hazard like a kangaroo bounding across the road. Or worse, another car coming in the other direction. His fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard he felt his nails digging into his palms. With each passing kilometre, what started as a dull ache in his forehead compounded into a throbbing pain until he could no longer continue.
âFuck!â Logan slammed the heel of his hand into the steering wheel. The horn blasted but there wasnât a soul around to hear besides him. At this rate, he wouldnât make it home until tomorrow morning. Angry and frustrated, his eyes prickling, he pulled over to the gravel on the edge of the road and killed the engine.
This was not the way heâd hoped to end the day, but he resigned himself to a night in his vehicle with only the warmth of his swag for comfort. It was far too cold to lie in the open air on the uteâs tray, so he dragged said swag out and tried to get comfy lying across the passengerâs and driverâs seats, the hard glass of the window his pillow.
I should have had a beer and taken a room in Bunyip Bay.
Somehow, in the early hours of the morning, despite the gear stick jamming into his side, he managed a few hoursâ sleep and woke to the sounds of pesky cockatoos flying in flocks overhead and a feeling of ice in his bones. Rubbing his palms up and down his arms, he yawned and glanced out the window, only just able to make out the sun peeking over the horizon through the frosty glass. Still, the low-lying clouds and the mist that painted the landscape took his breath away. There were a few sheep slumbering in a nearby paddock but aside from them, he felt as if he were the only person in the world. Although his muscles ached from his awkward sleeping position, a smile crept onto his face and the darkness that had loomed over him last night didnât seem quite so suffocating.
He packed up his swag, almost froze to death relieving himself behind a tree and then climbed into his ute to continue the drive to Mingenew. Back to the property that had been his parentsâ pride and joy and was now, he sometimes thought, the only thing that kept his brother going.
It didnât feel long
The last thing she wanted was to strain her cherished relationship with her sister because of some guy she didnât really even know.
Chapter Four
Logan couldnât bring himself to do anything more than kiss Simone on the cheek when heâd bid her goodnight. It had been a good nightâthe most fun heâd had in agesâand theyâd talked easily right up until heâd walked her out to her beaten-up old four-wheel drive, but somehow it felt wrong to kiss both sisters on the same day.
As he walked back to the café where heâd left his ute, the cool August air blew against his face and the street lights of Bunyip Bay shone down upon him and he wondered again whether Frankie had told Simone about his little gaffe that afternoon. He hadnât dared askâmaybe sheâd been too embarrassed to mention it. If they ever got serious, itâd probably be one of those stories that reared its head every Christmas, something heâd never be able to live down. He chuckled at the thoughtâlonging for the normality of such a family gathering again.
He climbed into his ute, turned the heating up full bore and then slowly reversed out of his car space. The dulcet tones of the narrator of the audio book he was listening to washed over him as he headed down the main street towards the Brand Highway, but as he picked up speed, he found it harder and harder to concentrate on the story. Squinting, he cursed under his breath as the streetlights of town faded behind him and he struggled to see very far ahead. He couldnât believe how soon his symptoms had worsened, especially when it came to night driving.
Shadows flickered on the road but he couldnât make out if they truly were just shadows or something that could be a hazard like a kangaroo bounding across the road. Or worse, another car coming in the other direction. His fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard he felt his nails digging into his palms. With each passing kilometre, what started as a dull ache in his forehead compounded into a throbbing pain until he could no longer continue.
âFuck!â Logan slammed the heel of his hand into the steering wheel. The horn blasted but there wasnât a soul around to hear besides him. At this rate, he wouldnât make it home until tomorrow morning. Angry and frustrated, his eyes prickling, he pulled over to the gravel on the edge of the road and killed the engine.
This was not the way heâd hoped to end the day, but he resigned himself to a night in his vehicle with only the warmth of his swag for comfort. It was far too cold to lie in the open air on the uteâs tray, so he dragged said swag out and tried to get comfy lying across the passengerâs and driverâs seats, the hard glass of the window his pillow.
I should have had a beer and taken a room in Bunyip Bay.
Somehow, in the early hours of the morning, despite the gear stick jamming into his side, he managed a few hoursâ sleep and woke to the sounds of pesky cockatoos flying in flocks overhead and a feeling of ice in his bones. Rubbing his palms up and down his arms, he yawned and glanced out the window, only just able to make out the sun peeking over the horizon through the frosty glass. Still, the low-lying clouds and the mist that painted the landscape took his breath away. There were a few sheep slumbering in a nearby paddock but aside from them, he felt as if he were the only person in the world. Although his muscles ached from his awkward sleeping position, a smile crept onto his face and the darkness that had loomed over him last night didnât seem quite so suffocating.
He packed up his swag, almost froze to death relieving himself behind a tree and then climbed into his ute to continue the drive to Mingenew. Back to the property that had been his parentsâ pride and joy and was now, he sometimes thought, the only thing that kept his brother going.
It didnât feel long
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