Chapter Twenty-Three

Dawn sliced through the horizon and signaled the end of Olivia’s time in wonderland. She drew the dust-tainted air into her lungs and scanned the desert that’d grabbed hold of her heart despite her desperate attempts to convince herself the last four weeks had been simple infatuation.

Wingarra stretched out beneath the escarpment she and Abi had ridden up like the cover of a romance novel. Olivia eased her grip on Delores’s reins and slowly shook her head. No matter how many times she lost herself in the eucalypts’ emerald canopies, the Big Pond’s cobalt depths, or the hard-packed dirt courtyard, it’d never be enough. Yet it would be the raucous meals, playful teasing, and late-night get-togethers inside the Big House she’d never forget.

“For Christ’s sake, it’s not like you’re leaving forever.”

She turned to find her big sister studying her from atop Jeeves, the geriatric, half horse, half donkey Abi had abducted from one of the stockman. Apart from her sister’s adorable if slightly agricultural mount, there was no way to distinguish Abi from the two dozen stockwomen and men crowding Wingarra’s stables as they prepared for another day’s mustering.

It wasn’t just the way Abi’s clothes and Akubra belonged on her; it was the way she blended into the landscape. Olivia hadn’t noticed it when she and Abi had tagged along with the Harper girls during the mustering. She’d been too focused on not falling off Delores and too awestruck by the effortless grace with which Jeddah, Maddie, and Kira went about their work. With her big sister sitting proud in the saddle beside her, Olivia couldn’t hide the pride and bone-deep loneliness chewing her out.

Abi’s features softened as the scowl she’d worn since saddling up slowly faded and her shoulders sagged. Muttering a curse, her sister straightened and jabbed a finger at her. “You promised. No blubbering.”

Yeah, right. The longer Olivia’s last ride went, the surer she became there was no way she was leaving with her dignity intact. She dragged in a ragged breath and watched her sister guide Jeeves down the craggy trail leading back down to Wingarra for the very last time. With each step the teasing she and Abi had distracted each other with on the trip up surrendered to silence and the real world looming beyond the horizon.

Sunlight washed across the scrub and carried the ominous warmth of another unforgettable day. How long would it be before she could exchange insults with her tribe again, or share that magical part of the day when the work was done and all that remained was to enjoy the luxury of hanging out with the people you loved? Her body stiffened and her fingers clamped around Delores’s reins.

“You all set to go when you get back?” The tension constricting Abi’s voice was a dead giveaway her sister had sensed where Olivia’s thoughts had drifted.

Olivia smiled to herself and absently combed her fingers through Delores’s mane. The almost psychic bond she and Abi had shared their entire lives had survived the months they’d been apart. Her fingers froze and the warmth that had seeped into her frigid muscles chilled. Would their link span the ocean separating them? Would their bond survive the year they’d be apart, or the decades to come?

Olivia swallowed despite the dryness in her mouth. “Three days to get over my jet lag, scrub the sweat and dust from my clothes, and lose the Aussie twang that’s infected my accent. And two days to buy some decent office clothes, brush up on my corporate bingo, and remember all the lies I told in my interview.”

She’d been concerned five days wasn’t enough to prepare for the most challenging phase of her career. Now she worried it was too much. Too much time to dwell on the homesickness she already felt for a place that wasn’t really her home. And way too much time to wallow in the mansickness she’d contracted for a man who wasn’t really hers.

The prospect of calling her boss and asking to start early was looking more and more appealing. There was only one cure for self-pity, and that was work. And what better way to get over her first-world problems than to dive head first into the Medical Disneyland that was Cedars-Sinai’s Neurocritical Cancer Research Unit.

Abi nodded before shifting her focus back to the barely there trail meandering through the rock and scrub toward the Big House. Olivia sank back into her saddle and scanned the endless nothingness. The dry heat, the cloudless sky, the ochre dust, the unspoiled, infinite silence, there were so many facets to this ancient landscape that made it unforgettable. Ignoring the futility of her efforts, she widened her eyes, stilled in the saddle as best she could, and inhaled until she almost passed out in a desperate attempt to soak up as much of this paradise as possible.

“You okay for money?”

Olivia forced a scowl and glared at Abi. “Stop worrying. I’ve got money tucked away.”

Olivia had known leaving the only family she had was going to break her heart despite her big sister being an overprotective mother hen. But that didn’t prevent the ache in her chest from cranking up to eleven.

Abi shot her a glare of her own before rounding a small outcrop of rock and guiding Jeeves onto Wingarra’s fifty-mile-long dirt driveway.

It wasn’t a complete lie. Olivia did have a few hundred dollars drowning in the sludge at the bottom of her savings account. She wouldn’t be dining on chocolate-covered strawberries, but she had enough to get her through until the big bucks rolled in and she could finally start living like an adult.

“I’d hate to think how much it cost to ship the Camaro over here, so let me know if you run short.”

Abi had finally given up trying to squeeze the shipping costs out of her, but Olivia wouldn’t be surprised to find a wad of cash tucked into the toe of a sock or the cup of a bra when she got back to L.A. Olivia shook her head and pulled Delores in behind Abi and Jeeves to avoid her sister’s searching gaze.

Abi knew something other than leaving, new-job nerves, and the prospect of a seven-thousand-mile economy-class trip gnawed at her. For once her sister held her tongue, which scared her even more.

The plush offices she’d be skipping into in a week and her team’s state-of-the-art labs were nothing like the chaotic waiting rooms, crowded concrete corridors, and war zone-like operating rooms she’d endured for the past three years. She sure as hell wouldn’t miss crawling through stranger’s bodies searching for shrapnel or staring into the terrified eyes of drug-addicted children while battling to save their lives. Yet there’d been something fulfilling and almost spiritual in treating the relatively simple day-to-day injuries and illnesses of the eight-hundred-odd townsfolk who’d become friends. Outback doctoring was as unique as everything else out here, yet it would never sate the hunger growling inside her to change the world. But just like everything else about this magical vacation, she’d never forget her time as Baroona’s Doc.

Abi stiffened in her saddle and stopped dead in her tracks. “Don’t make any rash decisions.”

Rash decisions? Olivia had no idea what had caused the concern on her sister’s face.

Abi didn’t give her a chance to catch up before jabbing a finger at her. “Don’t make lifetime decisions with temporary emotions.”

Lifetime decisions? Temporary emotions? If she hadn’t been so confused she’d have reminded her big sister that she and Ryder were the queen and king of making lifetime decisions with temporary emotions.

Abi grabbed her arm. “I’ll love and support you no matter what you want to do with your life. But you’ve worked too damned hard and sacrificed too damned much.”

What she wanted to do? She was getting on a plane and starting the job of her dreams. Sure, there were going to be a few tears shed and gallons of ice cream consumed on the trip home, but she was doing what she wanted to do. What she’d always wanted to do.

Abi clawed her fingers into Olivia’s sleeve and almost yanked her off Delores. “What you want. Not what the town wants. Not what the Harpers want. Not what Ryder and I want. And not what Jarrah wants.” Abi cursed and shook her. “What. You. Want.”

Olivia reared back and sucked in a breath to ask Abi what the hell was going on when she finally noticed what had driven her big sister insane.