Page 67 of Lost In Kakadu

He poured the water into the large pan he’d made with the metallic cone of one of the plane’s propellers and placed it over the fire between two logs. Rummaging through the toiletries, he chose from what was left of their collection of soaps and shampoos and grabbed a hairbrush.

He placed one of the chairs on its side, then tilted another chair back onto it to test its sturdiness. Satisfied, he returned it to its original position. He fetched their towels, both of which were now looking pretty ratty, and walked toward the hole in the side of the plane.

“Are you ready, birthday girl?”

She was laying on her side, head propped up on her hand, her long legs curled up to her hip and he couldn’t help but notice how nicely tanned they were. He dragged his eyes away. “So, what’re you reading?”

“Oh, ummm, Pride and Prejudice.” She laughed at her own joke.

In their entire luggage, they’d only had one book between them, ‘Deception Point’ by Dan Brown. He’d finished it weeks ago, but Abigail didn’t seem to mind reading it over and over. Anything to escape from their new reality, he guessed.

Abigail sat up and placed the book open on her life jacket pillow. “Ready for what?” Her eyes twinkled.

“It’s a secret. Here, put this over your head.” He tossed her the towel.

She obediently draped the towel and giggled as he guided her out of the cabin with his hand on the small of her back. Mackenzie felt the slight sway of her hips as he led her to the waiting chair and although he couldn’t see her face, he imagined her smiling. “I’m going to sit you in your chair now.”

“Okay.”

He held her hand as she lowered into the seat. Then he moved behind her and began tilting her chair back.

“What are you doing?” She reached out as if to balance.

“It’s okay, just relax.”

He wedged her chair against the first ensuring it was safe thenlifted the towel off her face and draped it over her shoulders. He ran his hands along her neck to catch all her hair and let it tumble over the back of the chair. “You good?”

“Yes. Thank you.” She sighed and he assumed she knew what he was doing.

“Happy birthday.”

Her hair was thick, soft and surprisingly heavy and Mackenzie glided the brush through it with long smooth strokes. He scooped over cups of warm water, and ignoring their self-imposed ration, poured a generous amount of shampoo into his palm and massaged it into her wet hair. He used slow circular movements, starting at the nape of her neck and gradually moving to the top of her head.

As a thick lather formed, he increased the pressure, but having never done anything like this before, he wasn’t quite sure how hard he should press. He was guided by her reactions, and by her subtle movements and blissful grin he could tell she was enjoying it.

It had been over a week since Abigail last washed her hair and as they were rationing their shampoo, she had barely even made a lather. But she could tell by the amount of lather right now that Mackenzie was being very generous. Abigail closed her eyes when Mackenzie’s fingers brushed her neck. The fine hairs down her nape stood up to meet him and a delightful shiver ran along her spine. His gentle fingers, touching her in this way made her wonder when Spencer had touched her so sensuously.

It was hypnotic, erotic.

Stop it! He’s gay and I’m married.Wasmarried!My God, I’m a widow at forty.

She needed to distract her thoughts. “Tell me about your growing up.”

He huffed. “I can’t do that. It’ll spoil your birthday.”

“No, it won’t. I promise.”

“I’m serious. You really don’t want to hear about my growing up. Tell me about yours.”

“Oh, but it’s my birthday.” Abigail pulled her best sad face and when his hands stopped moving, she sensed his reluctance.

After a while, Mackenzie resumed his delicate massaging, but it was longer still before he spoke. “Well, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.” He sighed deeply.

“Come on … how bad can it be?”

The coldness of the conditioner was like an elixir to her scalp, and once his hands began their therapy again, she relaxed even more, closed her eyes and was quite happy to wait for Mackenzie to continue. The lotions smelled refreshing and clean.

“I was born in a small suburb called Logan Village.” Mackenzie’s voice was like a lullaby adding another delightful element to her experience. “It was about an hour outside of Brisbane. Most of my childhood is a blur though. It was just Mum, Dad and I and we moved around a lot. I went to nine schools in the first four years, and I never had many friends because we were always moving. Until I was eleven. That was the year it all went to shit.”

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