Page 81 of Lost In Kakadu

She would need to feel real love first. “You’re wrong, Mack. Not every married couple had what you had. We didn’t.”

“But even though we were the complete couple we couldn’t legally marry. That crushed us and his parents.”

Abi stared into his eyes. The sadness within them burned deep. She’d never thought about how awful it would be to love someone but not have your union recognised by society.

She felt like a fool. A biased, hypocritical fool. “My marriage was a sham. I would happily trade my wedding certificate for an ounce of what you and Rodney shared.”

“That’s it, you see. We were shunned by society simply because we were in love and weren’t afraid to show it. Love is love, and it should be celebrated in whatever form it comes. Black or white, old or young, male or female. It shouldn’t matter. The world would be a better place if people weren’t afraid to acknowledge love in all its forms.”

“Or to acknowledge when they weren’t in love. I lived in a loveless marriage that made me an angry, resentful fool. I pushed my husband into the arms of other women. God knows how many hearts hebroke because of me.”

“I told you, you can’t blame yourself for his infidelity.”

“Yes, I can.” She pushed up from her knees and strode to her luggage. “Let me show you how I did it.” She pulled out her diary and angrily flicked through the pages as she returned to her seat. “Here it is, eighth of January. Read it and tell me why he wouldn’t cheat.”

Mackenzie accepted the book and scanned the page.

“No … read it out aloud, I deserve the humiliation.”

He tilted his head at her. “Abi?—”

“Just do it,” she interrupted. “I need to hear the cold truth.”

She saw his reluctance, but when their eyes met, she remained unflinching.

Eventually he sighed and began to read:

‘He came to me last night, all panting and pathetic. God, he makes me sick. He tells me I’m beautiful. As if that’s going to get me ready for him. I know he thinks of other women when he touches me, how could he possibly get aroused by my hideous body. But I had the last laugh. Always do. I know the other women satisfy him, so why should I? I stopped him, right before he made a mess. Yes, I did. Didn’t take much, just accused him of spending too much time with Rachel. He knows it’s true, why else would he have looked at me like I was the devil. Needless to say, I fell into awonderful sleep and his side of the bed was cold when I woke this morning. Notch one up for me.’

Mackenzie folded the book over. “Abi?—”

“Stop.” A deep growl erupted from her throat as she grabbed the diary and tossed it into the fire.

“Abi … No.” Mackenzie lunged into the fire, grabbed the diary and flung it onto the grass to smother the flames.

“What did you do that for? I need to burn it.”

“No, Abi, you don’t. You need to learn from it. From now on, you write on these gold lined pages with feelings from the real Abi. The one I see before me now. A beautiful, confident, albeit naive woman.” He rolled his eyes at her and smiled.

Blinking away tears that blurred her vision, she nodded.

She stepped into his arms, squeezing him to her chest, never wanting to let go.

ChapterThirty-Seven

The throbbing pain in Abi’s abdomen dragged her from sleep and she curled onto her side in an attempt to get more comfortable. Although it was still dark, the faint morning glow made it possible to see her surroundings.

Mackenzie was still asleep in the bed beside hers. He lay on his stomach, his muscular arms curled up around his head, his face was away from her, his breathing deep and relaxed.

Rustling sounds from the surrounding bush caught her attention. She’d learnt to accept the noises and tried to picture what type of animal it could be. There were no definite footfall sounds and the rustling leaves told her it was foraging amongst the dense forest floor. Deep grunting noises had her imagining a wild pig was out there looking for food. The sound gradually dissolved as the birds awakened with the onset of dawn.

Out the hole in the cabin wall, the morning sun jostled for a place through the damp leaves. She’d begun to notice a regular pattern to the birds’ morning chorus. One bird’s call sounded like a whistle. It released a long, drawn-out sound that ended abruptly like the whistle had been yanked from its beak.

Another bird’s call was a short hoot that the bird repeated, progressively growing faster and faster and when it reached fever pitch it toojust stopped, like it had fallen off its branch. Then the kookaburras started their dueling laughter, loud and obnoxious.

Mackenzie’s chest still rose and fell in a slow, regular pattern. She was amazed that the birds never seemed to wake him. In her previous life, Abigail hadn’t taken the time to listen to nature and she was surprised by how much she enjoyed it. It was a glorious way to start the day, so peaceful and relaxing.

Mackenzie rolled toward her and opened his eyes.

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