“I don’t really know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it.” He paused, took a deep breath. “I saw you, that night. I saw you and Brett behind the stable. God, this has eaten me up for years that I didn’t do something.”

“No, Keri. I could tell you didn’t want it and I should have stopped him. I should have confronted him instead of running off to tell Joan.”

“You told Joan?” Keri was shocked. “What did she say? Was that why she fired him the next day?”

Kevin gave her a wry smile. “You know Joan. She was a cold old cow. She told me you were ‘just like your mother’ and that I was a pervert and she slapped me.”

“Yeah. I was telling Zach how I went to my room and I cried. I didn’t tell him why, we were just talking about crying in general. I felt so useless. I mean I was seventeen, I felt like I should have been more of a man and I feel so bad for not helping you, or saying anything to you.”

“Aw, Kev.” Keri gave him a big hug. “Thank you. Really. I’m sorry you’ve kept that inside all this time. But I’m okay. It’s okay. We were just kids and it was a long time ago.”

“Still, I’m glad he left. Even if he did get the blame for Stephen being in the shed. Serves him right.”

Keri laughed. “Maybe. It’s not like I said no though, just regretted it afterwards. I always felt I should have spoken up for him. Joan probably refused to give him a reference. It’s a small community — he would have found it hard to get work.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” he said. “I worried about you after that.”

She wandered back to the tents, feeling strangely cathartic about it all. It was almost like Kevin had validated her feelings. That she hadn’t changed the narrative about that night to suit her own agenda. It was as if she could let it go now, set the memory free.

“I did a trade,”he told her. “Niall’s in with Phil. Hope that’s all right?”

Keri felt a bit breathless. “That’s good with me.” She turned towards her bag, feeling a bit inept as she fumbled around getting out pyjamas and her toiletries. She wasn’t going to assume anything. She’d go and brush her teeth, get changed and come back, all nonchalant, and hop into bed. She’d claimed the one on the left by default of leaving her bag on it earlier. But she turned and Linc was pulling his shirt over his head, the fine brown hairs of his underarms exposed. She took the time to stare at him, at his chest, while his head was hidden in the folds of material.

“I can feel you looking.” His voice was muffled but he grinned when his head popped out through the neck hole. He unzipped his pants and let them fall at his feet. Keri tried her best to concentrate on his face. Linc stepped out of his jeans and took a couple of steps towards her. He took her gently by the shoulders and stepped her back, lowering her onto his bed, then straddled her carefully, legs on either side, on the narrow mattress. The bed creaked beneath their combined weight.

“Is this okay?” he asked, as he pushed her T-shirt up and kissed around the sensitive skin of her navel.

“I haven’t brushed my teeth,” Keri squeaked stupidly. She still held her toilet bag in her hand, arm dangling over the side of the bed.

“I don’t mind,” he replied, shoving her shirt up further exposing her bra. “I like the way you taste.” One large hand slid underneath and she felt a delicious shiver of desire as he found her nipple.

She dropped the toilet bag onto the floor and wrapped both arms around his broad back. “I want to taste you too,” she said.

The bed groaned and protested against their weight. It wasn’t the only groaning but definitely the only protesting happening in the room. Linc moved up her body until he was above her and he kissed her.

“Shit, sorry. Bloody single bed. I haven’t done this since I was about eighteen.”

They clumsily switched positions. Keri pulled her top off and unhooked her bra while Linc watched appreciatively. She unzipped her jeans and tried to wriggle them off. The bed tilted, she felt the mattress slide and then they were sprawled inelegantly on the floor.

They both started to laugh, still holding on to each other on the thin mattress.

“The floor might be better anyway,” Linc said, and Keri kissed him again and slung a leg over his waist.

When Keri handed the key back the next morning and shamefully reported the broken bed, Niall came in and caught the tail end of the conversation.

“Sounds like you need a handyman,” he said to the receptionist, nudging Keri. He put his key on the bench and followed as she headed to the bus.

“Yeah, Darren and I tied one on with Phil last night. We gave up around midnight but I think he kept going after that. He never made it back to the tent.”

“Hopefully he doesn’t miss the bus again. I don’t like his chances of getting into town if he gets stuck out here.”

A bird flew overhead, squawking and noisy. Niall stopped and squinted up at it. “Hey, Pash, look at that. Have you seen a cock...atoo recently?” He gave a loud guffaw at his own joke. “Or maybe it’s a willie wagtail. Or perhaps a honeyeater.” He looked contemplative for a beat. “Why is it that birds have such suggestive names?”

Keri deliberately misunderstood him. “Nup, that’s a plain old magpie, you great galah.”

It reminded her again, though, that she needed to bring up the dead cockatoo with Linc. She couldn’t put it off much longer, especially now that things seemed to be progressing nicely. She didn’t want to start a relationship with secrets between them.

Linc had opened up the bus and almost everyone was on board, including Phil, who was sprawled across the back row, snoring evenly.

“Has he been there all night?” Naomi asked, taking a seat at the front and screwing her nose up as though she could smell him from there.

Niall slapped Linc on the back as he boarded. “You have a good night, mate?”

Zach had taken shotgun next to Linc and Niall tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, mate, you want to come and sit with me today? Keri gets really car sick so how ’bout we let her sit there? One time, when we were kids, she puked all down the back of Grandpa Bill when we were driving into town. We had to put up with the stench for two hours.”

Keri appreciated his intervention, even though they both knew that that had been Naomi.

Zach got up eagerly. “Cool. I can teach you an amazing card trick that I learnt.”

They hadn’t gotten far down the Stuart Highway when Linc slowed to a stop on the gravelly side of the road. He stood, reaching into his door cavity, and pulled out something blue. Zach leapt from his seat.

“Can I come?” he pleaded. Linc took a moment to think, assessing the road behind them.

They watched as Linc and Zach leant over something, then stood and came back to the bus, Linc holding something close to his chest. They got back on board the bus and Zach sat, holding out his arms. Linc placed the now bulging pillowcase in his lap.

“We got a baby joey,” Zach whispered fervently. “It’s so little. Linc says it might be about seven months.”

Linc pulled back the top of the pillowcase to reveal a small grey furry bundle. It was all legs and ears and it was quite possibly the most adorable thing Keri had ever seen.

“Good job, buddy.” Linc sanitised his hands and then fished out the blue bottle. He poured some into his hand and gave the joey a few small sips.

“The mum was all gross and dead and her head was all squashed,” Zach told them. “But Linc put his hand in her pouch and pulled the baby out.”

“If it’s a female, nine times out of ten there’s a joey,” Linc told her. “They’re pretty much always pregnant or nursing,”

“Do you want to hold it, Jayden?” Zach asked, and Keri turned to see Jayden was hovering over Zach looking besotted.

“Can I?” he said, not sounding at all like the surly teenager they were used to.

“You have to make sure to hold it under the bottom,” Zach said. “So it feels safe. Right, Linc?”

Zach slid carefully over and Jayden sat beside him. They did a very, very careful transfer of the pillowcase. Michelle and Kevin got out their phones to take photos. Jayden was beaming. Zach looked exceptionally proud.

“We can drop it off to Chris,” Linc said. “He owns a kangaroo sanctuary in Alice and I’m guessing the boys would like to see it?”

“All right, we’ll get the little guy checked out there and he’ll probably get a kangaroo mum to take it on. I’ll give him a call.”

They set off, with Zach giving everyone instructions about not patting it, keeping it warm and how kangaroos have jellybean babies. He looked like he was loving being at the centre of it all. Jayden sat without saying a word, a huge smile on his face. The joey was surprisingly calm. It ducked into the bottom of the pillowcase and went to sleep.

Keri looked at Linc, who turned and caught her eye and gave her a smile. Her heart did a weird little stretch inside her chest and she smiled back, thinking she could far too easily fall in love with a guy like Linc.

Alice Springs, although not a big town, felt like getting back to civilisation somewhat for Keri. It seemed bustling after the long stretches of seeing nobody. There were supermarkets, restaurants, intersecting roads, even a mall.

After they checked into their hotel, they had a late lunch at a sushi train restaurant. Linc put the joey into a backpack and Jayden wore it strapped to his chest like a proud dad.

“We can head out to Chris’s place at about four,” Linc told them. “He’s taking a group around so we can join them for a nosey and drop our little fella off for the night.”

It was nice to have something to eat that wasn’t fried, and they also went to the supermarket at the small mall and stocked up on some fresh fruit and snacks before getting back on the bus for the drive out to the kangaroo sanctuary.

Chris was a tall, charming guy with salt and pepper stubble who told the group his story about giving up his job as a zoo keeper and wildlife guide to open the sanctuary.

It had been home to the famous Roger, a male roo who looked like he was a world champion bodybuilder and who was memorialised on the property after he died.

There were about a dozen rescued kangaroos on the property, ones who had been injured or for various reasons and couldn’t be released back into the wild. He also had nearly a dozen other joeys in his nursery. He brought out two for the group to have a turn at holding as they walked around the vast, fenced property, explaining that the joeys did best when paired up for warmth and comfort.

At the end of the tour, he took the joey from a slightly teary Jayden, promising to look after him and give him the best chance at life.

“Would you like to name him?” he asked. Zach and Jayden nodded. Clearly they had been thinking about it for a while.

“Chris is going to keep him here tonight for a check-up and a rest and I’m going to pick him up tomorrow and take him to a kangaroo mum to look after,” Linc told the boys. “She also happens to be my mum, so I can get her to take some photos of him as he gets bigger, if you’d like?”

“Well, you could,” Linc said. “But Stephen has something exciting planned for the morning and I don't think you’ll want to miss it.”

The something special was hot-air ballooning, and everyone but Eddie was buzzing.

“I might give it a miss,” he told them over dinner at a fantastic Italian place.

“Well, not so much scared,” Eddie protested, “more a healthy respect for them, I would say.”

“Linc, does that mean you could come with us?” Zach asked. “You could pretend to be Eddie.”

Eddie made a weird choking noise and Phil thumped him so hard on the back his glasses fell off.

Kevin was sharing a room with the boys, so Niall and Eddie were bunkmates. Phil had claimed he ‘knew a guy’ and didn’t need accommodation, so Linc and Keri got a room to themselves. It had a large king bed and Keri fell onto it with a satisfied groan. Linc crawled over the top of her and kissed her deeply, his hand roaming up under her top.

“You have amazing hands,” she told him as he kissed the sensitive skin under her ear. “I knew you would.”

“And abs,” she added, her eyes on said stomach appreciatively. “And such nice collarbones too.”

“Well, thanks.” He undid her pants button and lowered her zip. “You’re not too shabby yourself, you know.”

“Really?” she said, as he pulled her pants off her legs. “Which bits in particular?”

He slid down her body, kissing her belly button. “Why don’t I show you,” he murmured.

Later, they showered and they lay in bed talking, trailing their hands over each other, like they were mapping a route to remember in the dark.

“He was great. A real gentle giant. He was a big solid guy with a big belly laugh, but he liked simple things, loved nature and the outdoors. He built me a treehouse when I was six and it was really cool. It had a pulley system and a trap door and a secret spy window. He was great with his hands.”

Keri huffed a laugh. “Like father, like son.” She ran her finger along the back of one hand, trailing it up his fingers and back again. He snorted and raised one eyebrow at her.

“Mum said he was the love of her life. Said she knew he was the one when he let her use him as a mannequin for her sewing projects.” He laughed. “He once told me he knew she was the one for him because she could tie better knots than him when they went fishing.”

“Yeah, it was a huge shock. The guy had been drinking too. He was a local and people were pretty brutal to him. Dad was very well liked. But Mum asked them all to stop. Said he’d live with it for ever and that was punishment enough.”

They lay in the dark, listening to the night. The bark of an owl, the drone of the TV next door, the occasional wail of an ambulance. Keri felt like she wanted this night to last for ever.

“So the whole thing with your business partner,” she said, “what does it mean for you now?”

“When we set up, we both put in collateral. The business has been good, but it’s not making enough yet for me to pay him out. I’ll have to either sell up or see if I can get a bridging loan to cover his share. I just don’t know if I want to keep it going on my own. That’s part of why I’ve been camping, to try to save my money anywhere I can. I charge Stephen for a room and keep the cash.”

“Yeah, I’ve known him since the first day of high school. We’ve partied together, travelled to Bali, been there all the way for each other. He was the first person I told about Jade, and he was the best man at my wedding. It sucks.”

“He fell in love with Lia, one of my guides and drivers.” He gave her a funny look, almost like he was worried about her reaction. “And I was sort of seeing her myself. It was a bit tricky. I wasn’t serious about her, but I was a bit pissed that they were going behind my back. I probably overreacted, but I think my ego was a little hurt.” He looked a little sheepish and Keri laughed.

They piled onto the bus very early the next morning, rugged up against the cold with beanies and jackets, and headed out of town towards the airport, no one saying much. They took a turn onto a dirt road and drove into a large field where several baskets stood dotted around, their balloons deflated in front of them and guide ropes being secured.

Linc was good friends with one of the staff and went over to say hello and do one of those manly-mate half hugs that Aussie men always seemed to do.

“There’s a bit of an issue with numbers,” he said as he came back over to the group. “A couple of us will need to go separately, so I volunteered myself and Keri. I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind?”

Naomi gave her a sideways look. “You don’t sound too keen. I’ll go if you like.”

Linc cleared his throat. “Thanks, Naomi, that’s kind of you but I’ve already given them our names. Health and safety and all that.”

The balloons were now inflating, huge red and orange orbs against the rising sun. It was a beautiful sight.

A group of hikers had arrived and they took one balloon. The bulk of the Buckleys were in another, and Linc led Keri to a small balloon that would take the two of them, along with the guide.

“This is Gazza,” he said to Keri, introducing her to the man he had been talking to earlier. He needs to take a couple of people up to get his flight hours up.”

They used footholds to climb into the basket and Keri took some photos of the other balloons. Gazza gave them take-off instructions and they sat, holding on to the ropes until the balloon had started to lift, and then stood for the rest of the ascent. Keri waved to Zach and Jayden, who waved back excitedly. There was a burst of gas and they rose a bit higher, drifting over the quiet world that seemed to be still sleeping. Keri kept a lookout for kangaroos for a while, then noticed the balloons had drifted a little way from each other.

Gazza was studiously doing something with the balloon equipment. Keri quickly turned and kissed Linc. She’d meant it as a quick thank you peck but it turned into something longer and slower.

Linc took hold of her hand and he held it through the rest of the flight. They’d been warned it would be cold up there but Keri had forgotten to notice. If anyone had taken a photo of her from one of the other balloons, she was sure she’d be glowing.

Back on the ground, Darren bumped into Keri when they were eating the cheese and crackers provided, almost spilling the bubbles she was sipping. Jayden was animatedly talking to Phil about something and Naomi was flirting with one of the hikers while Charlie and Niall loudly compared photos. Keri loved her family, she really did, but she wished it was still her and Linc. What would things be like after the trip was over and he went back to Adelaide? She’d begun to wonder and to think about trying to find some work there. Was it too soon to bring it up with him?

Naomi slunk off to the mall as soon as they were back in town, clearly having missed any semblance of shopping while they’d been on the road. Linc borrowed a car from a ‘mate of a mate’ so they didn’t have to take the bus out and he and Keri set off to pick up Thor from Chris and take him to his mum’s place.

Keri cradled Thor on her lap while they drove. Linc’s mum lived not far out of town.

“No, she came on a road trip about fifteen years ago with a guy she was seeing. Their van broke down here and they were stuck for a few days while it was repaired, but in that time she found a job and ditched the guy. He went on his way and Mum fell in love with the place.”

“She’s retired, but she was a lecturer at CDU — that’s Charles Darwin University. She taught environmental science and biochemistry. She volunteers with a Youth at Risk programme and, of course, there’s the joeys.”

Keri looked down at Thor who was peeking out of the pillowcase with huge, soft eyes. “That’s so nice you’ve told the boys you’ll keep in touch and keep them updated.”

“Won’t be too difficult,” Linc glanced over at her and then back at the road, “hopefully.”

“I’m kind of nervous about meeting her. She sounds a bit intimidating, if I’m honest.”

Keri pulled Thor closer to her, feeling his bulky warmth. “It seems a bit soon for the whole ‘meet the parents’ thing.”

“Well, when your parent lives over a thousand kilometres away ...” He laughed.

Keri waited for him to elaborate further, to maybe hint at whether he saw a future between them like she’d started to hope for. He didn’t say anything more. The whole cockatoo issue was still on her mind too.

“Speaking of pets,” she began, “does your mum have any others, other than the joeys?”

“The joeys aren’t pets. Mum loves dogs — we’ve always been a family of animal lovers — but she can’t have one because the joeys get used to them, and then they’re not scared of dingoes in the wild. The whole purpose of looking after the joeys is to be able to return them to the bush, and for them to have a healthy fear of predators. That includes humans.”

“You go really quiet when the others talk about the ranch. Is there some reason you’re not as keen as the others to head back?”

Man, he was perceptive. Keri contemplated what to say. “I had a bad experience there,” she said. “With a ranch hand. It was my first time and it wasn’t what I really wanted for that.” She prodded at the memory, poking at it like a missing tooth and found that since she had talked to Kevin, it seemed less awful to voice it out loud.

“I’m sorry,” Linc said. “I can see why that makes it harder to go back.”

“Yeah, but I think I’ll be okay,” Keri said. “Maybe we can make some better memories?” she added, giving him a quick grin.

Linc indicated and turned the car into a rough gravel driveway. “Here we are,” he said. “She’s expecting us.”

A tall, wiry woman with a long white-grey braid and wearing jeans and a worn fleece top waved from the steps of a wooden cottage as Linc pulled up and parked on the side of the driveway. They got out and Keri followed him up to the house, trailing a little behind, still cradling Thor in his pillowcase bed.

Jody? Linc’s name was Jody? Keri hid a smile. Wait until she told everyone that one.

Eventually she let go of Linc and looked over at Keri. “You must be Keri. Welcome. It’s lovely to meet you. I’m Angela, but Ange will do fine.”

Ange had a peek at Thor, tutting over his cuteness, then cradled him with ease in one arm. “Come inside, I’ve got just the buddy for him — a wee girl named Hester who I got a couple of days ago. We’ll pair them up and then I’ve got soup for lunch. Vegetable. I wasn’t sure what you like to eat, Keri, so I thought I’d play it safe.”

She led them into a large, airy kitchen. There was a bright jug of wildflowers on the table next to a stack of Ottolenghi cookbooks, and a pot of soup bubbled away on the stove. The smell of fresh bread filled the room tantalisingly. The kitchen cupboards looked like they still had their original paint and the linoleum was clean but worn.

In a corner was a plastic washing basket and Ange tucked Thor in gently beside his new bunkmate. Keri took a photo of the two of them together for the boys.

“Have a seat.” Ange turned to get three heavy ceramic bowls from a cupboard, dished up soup and put a bowl in front of Keri, who had slid onto a sunny chair by the window opposite Linc. “Help yourself to bread and butter.” She gave Linc his bowl, then sat down at the table next to him and studied Keri carefully.

“Do I?” Keri asked, tucking into the soup. It was delicious — thick and rich. She’d missed vegetables.

Keri stilled for a bit. As far as she knew, she’d never been on TV and photos of her had never appeared in the papers or magazines while she was with Chad. Thankfully.

Linc coughed and cleared his throat. “Er ... you might remember Keri as the ... um ... ‘Pash’ girl from ages ago.”