Breaking The Drought (10 page)

‘What about you, Jenna?' said Brooke.

Jenna hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. ‘I think I'd rather cool off in the deep water,' she said. She appeared to have received the message that three would be a crowd.

Rob took Brooke by the hand. ‘Come on then, Brooke. Let me show you the countryside.'

So now it was just the two of them. Luke watched Jenna as she sat down on her towel and pulled a bottle of sunscreen from her bag. When she began to rub the lotion along those shapely legs he could bear it no more. Luke ripped off his T-shirt and walked to the edge of the bank. He took a deep breath and launched himself into the cool, dark water.

Jenna sat on the bank and watched Luke's tanned body slide effortlessly into the water. His entrance barely caused a splash. Jenna held her breath until he surfaced again. He swam over to the other bank and back several times before he looked in her direction again.

‘Come on in,' he called. ‘The water's really nice.'

‘In a minute,' she replied, stalling for time. The water looked so inviting and so did Luke. What was going on with him? One minute he was all over her and the next he was pushing her away. Right now he was looking at her like she was the most desirable woman on earth. She shook her head. Maybe she was imagining this. Maybe her desire for him had created illusions in her head.

Jenna sighed. Part of her wanted to abandon herself to this wild desire she had for Luke, but she knew it was not the smart thing to do. Clearly, there was something going on with him. One-night stands were not supposed to come with complications.

‘Don't make me come up there and get you,' Luke called.

There was no getting around it. She would have to get in the water with him. ‘Coming,' she said. She slipped her caftan up over her head, feeling very self-conscious. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked to the river's edge and dipped her toe in. The water was freezing.

‘Don't be such a wuss,' said Luke.

Jenna smiled and dived into the water in response.

When she surfaced Luke was grinning at her. ‘I take it back,' he said. ‘Definitely not a wuss.'

Jenna tried to keep her teeth from chattering.

Luke laughed. ‘The water's fine once you get used to it. You just need to keep moving.'

Jenna swam a few strokes and then rolled onto her back. The water was certainly refreshing. She looked up at the sky, clear and blue through the treetops. It was so peaceful here, so relaxing. Almost as good as a day spa. She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed the gentle current to take her downstream. When she had drifted for a minute or so, she turned around and swam back upstream towards Luke.

‘You're right,' she said. ‘The water is lovely once you get used to it.'

‘Are you up for a little fun?' he asked.

‘What do you mean?'

‘See that big gum on the other bank?'

Jenna nodded.

‘If you look closely you'll see a ladder of sorts.'

Jenna squinted until she saw a series of planks nailed into the side of the tree. ‘Yeah, I see it.'

‘Do you see the rope?'

Jenna's eyes followed the planks up the trunk to a fork in the tree. There she saw a little wooden platform, and dangling just above from a higher branch was a thick rope. ‘Wow,' she said.

‘Dad helped Joe and I build that platform when we were kids.' A grin spread over Luke's face. ‘Are you game?'

Jenna returned his smile. ‘Are you daring me?'

‘Yeah,' he said. ‘I am.'

They swam together to the far side of the river and clambered up onto the bank. Jenna raced towards the tree but Luke was faster and got there first.

‘What happened to ladies before gentlemen?' she asked.

‘Not this time,' he replied, serious for a moment. ‘I need to get up there and check the rope is safe before we use it.'

‘I'm right behind you,' she called as he started up the tree.

Up on the platform, Luke grabbed hold of the rope and gave it a sharp tug. Jenna watched as he carefully inspected it for damage. ‘Looks fine to me,' he said as she scrambled up onto the platform. ‘But I guess I should give it one last test before I let you risk life and limb.' He grabbed hold of the rope with both hands and stood at the edge of the platform. Luke let out a giant whoop as he swung out over the water. Jenna laughed and applauded as he dropped into the river.

He came up grinning. ‘Come on. Your turn.'

Jenna's hands felt clammy as she stretched out and grabbed the rope. She could feel the adrenalin pumping through her body. From the safety of the ground this had seemed like a good idea but now she was not so sure. From here the river appeared to be a long way down. She hadn't done anything like this since she was a kid.

‘Chicken!' called Luke.

She stood on the edge of the platform, closed her eyes and pushed off.

As she swung out over the river her heart soared. She squealed with joy.

‘Woo hoo,' Luke called as she plummeted into the water.

She came up laughing. ‘That was so much fun. Let's do it again.'

Luke swam up beside her and smiled. He reached out and touched her hair. She looked up at him from under her tangled curls.

‘Twig,' he said, as he pulled some debris from her hair.

‘Oh.'

His hand went back to her head but this time he drew her close and pressed his lips to hers.

Jenna pulled away. She was not setting herself up for another rejection. Last night had been humiliating enough. ‘I thought you couldn't do this.'

Luke looked deep into her eyes. ‘I don't know what to say. This can't go anywhere. You understand that? No matter how attracted I am to you, this can never be more than a weekend fling. I don't have anything to offer you, Jenna, but I can tell you this: right now, this minute, I feel something I haven't felt for a long time.'

‘What's that?' she asked.

‘Happy.'

This time Jenna kissed him. There in the cool waters of the Curlewis River her reservations evaporated. The passion she had tried so hard to quell came pouring out. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer as they kissed. His hands caressed her and their bodies slid under the water, entwined.

They surfaced breathless and laughing. Jenna slithered away from him and swam towards the far bank. ‘I want to jump again,' she said.

Luke laughed. ‘I'll be right here waiting,' he said.

Jenna climbed the tree and grabbed hold of the rope. She swung out over the river squealing and giggling before dropping back into the deep water below. Luke swam up beside her and planted a quick kiss on her mouth. ‘You're beautiful,' he said.

Jenna's heart swelled. How could this man who was so wrong for her, so different to her, make her feel so complete? She knew they didn't have a future but maybe she should just go with her heart and be happy right now. Feeling wanted for one weekend was better than not at all.

She placed her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. ‘Thank you,' she said.

Luke could feel Jenna shivering beneath his hands. He gently moved her towards the bank. ‘Come on, let's warm you up,' he said. He clasped her hand and pulled her up out of the water. The bank was now in full shade and, despite the heat, Luke could see the goose bumps on Jenna's skin. He picked up her towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, drawing her into his arms at the same time.

Somewhere at the back of his mind he knew that none of this was a good idea, but when he was near her, he was driven by a force more powerful than common sense. Her soft, wet skin felt like velvet and he couldn't resist the urge to lay his lips upon it. He kissed the smooth skin of her throat, slowly working his way up to her mouth. A small sound escaped her lips and she quivered in his arms. ‘Are you still cold?' he asked.

‘Not at all,' she said with a smile. And when she kissed him back he knew she was telling the truth.

He cradled her head and pulled her closer, kissing her more insistently, and she responded with equal ardour. His free hand moved over her body, his fingers slowly trailing up her stomach until they reached her breast.

He shut down the voice in his head telling him to stop before they both got hurt. If he was honest with himself he'd known that this was what he wanted from the second he'd laid eyes on her. He was drawn to her, driven by a force he seemed powerless to control. And it seemed that Jenna felt the same way. Whatever this was — lust, passion, a monumental mistake — it was unstoppable.

He cupped her breast gently and moved his lips from her mouth and back to her neck. He felt the sharp intake of her breath as her nipple hardened, rising to press the wet fabric of her bikini top against his palm.

‘Luke, stop.'

Damn it. He'd pushed her too far. ‘What's wrong?'

‘Can you hear that noise?'

He lifted his head and listened. ‘Probably just kids skylarking.'

The yelling became louder and more insistent. Luke forced himself to pull away from Jenna. ‘Do you think — '

Jenna nodded. ‘It sounds like Rob.'

Luke jumped up and pulled his T-shirt over his head. ‘I'm going to see if I can find them,' he said.

Jenna slid her feet into her thongs and picked up her caftan. ‘I'll come with you.'

Luke looked at her footwear. ‘It might be better if you stayed here,' he said.

More yelling sounds came from the distance.

‘If one of them is injured, you might need my help,' she said.

She was right. An extra pair of hands never went astray. ‘Okay, but be careful walking in those shoes. We don't need you to get hurt.'

Jenna nodded and slipped the caftan over her head.

‘Follow me,' Luke said, and he headed off towards the sound of the voices.

There was a well-defined track along the river's edge, which Luke surmised was the route Rob and Brooke would have taken. He moved as quickly as he could without leaving Jenna behind, although he had to admit she was keeping pace pretty well, especially as they were going uphill. The bank was getting progressively steeper and the bush thicker the further they went along the track.

‘Stop for a minute,' Luke said, when they heard Rob's voice again. He sounded nearby.

‘Rob?' Luke called.

‘Down here, mate,' came the reply.

Luke looked down towards the water. Through the scrub he could just see Rob crouching down. Brooke appeared to be lying on the ground.

‘What's happened?' Luke shouted.

‘Brooke's taken a tumble and hurt her ankle. I need your help to get her back to the truck.'

‘Righto. I'll be down in a minute.' He turned to Jenna. ‘Go back to the ute and grab anything that might be useful.'

‘Like what?'

‘Towels, rope, anything that can help make a splint. If her ankle's broken she won't be able to put any weight on it at all. I'm not sure how hard it will be to get her up the slope but we don't want to do any extra damage to her ankle in the process.'

Jenna nodded. ‘I'll be as quick as I can.' She hesitated for a moment. ‘Luke?'

‘Yes?'

‘It surely can't be that bad? I mean she'll be okay won't she?'

He could hear the concern in her voice and it touched him. His natural instinct was to comfort her, but experience had taught him not to make promises he couldn't keep. ‘I hope so. Just hurry back with whatever you can find.'

Luke started down the steep embankment, wishing he'd had the sense to bring his work boots with him. He was relieved not to have Jenna behind him. He wasn't ready to answer questions about his medical knowledge and surely she would notice that he knew more than your average farmer. What the hell was he doing? His desire had caused him to launch into something he knew he wasn't ready for. He wanted to keep his distance, to go back to being comfortably numb, like he was before he met her. But the moment he kissed her the floodgates to his heart had opened.

Thank God she was going back to Melbourne tomorrow. The last thing he needed was to turn his, or Maggie's, world upside down.

He reached the pebbly river's edge and crouched down near Brooke. All thoughts of Jenna vanished from his mind as he assessed the situation. ‘How did you end up like this?' he asked.

Brooke's face was white but she managed a smile. ‘I slipped on the wet rocks, klutz that I am.'

Luke smiled reassuringly as he looked her over. ‘Where does it hurt?' he asked.

‘My ankle mainly. My hip's a bit sore too.'

‘Did you hit your head at all when you fell?'

Brooke shook her head.

‘Good. Let's have a look at this ankle.' He turned his attention to her foot.

Brooke winced in pain as he touched her.

‘Good thing you didn't move her,' he said to Rob. ‘Looks like it could be broken.'

‘I'm sorry,' said Brooke. ‘I've ruined everyone's day.'

‘Don't be silly,' said Luke. ‘We'll have you out of here in no time.'

Jenna scanned the interior of Rob's ute for anything that might be useful. She gathered up a length of rope, a bottle of water, some painkillers she found in the glove box and a newspaper that was on the floor of the back seat. Maybe they could roll the newspaper up and use it as a splint? She spied a large toolbox in the back of the truck. She tried to lift it, but it wouldn't budge. She tried opening the lid but it was locked.
Damn!

They would have to make do with the things she could carry. She bundled up the few bits and pieces she had into her towel and hurried back along the track, hoping that Brooke's injuries weren't too serious.

Luke seemed to know what to do and had impressed her with the way he had taken charge of the situation. He was obviously used to being in control. Maybe they were more alike than she had first imagined.