Page 87 of The Mechanics of Lust

Sam came running with Jojo and Nina in tow. He whipped them into their cages on the back of the ute and then slapped the roof. “Ready to go.”

Holden slid into the driver’s seat and started issuing muster instructions to Tom through the open window.

Tom scowled and waved him off. “I think I can remember what to do,” he deadpanned. “Go. We’ve got this. We’ll see you at Folly Hut tomorrow... or not... We’ll be fine either way.” Then he turned to me. “You do what you have to do, son, but be careful. You’re a part ofourfamily now, and we always look after our own. We don’t want to lose you.”

Tears welled unexpectedly in my eyes and all I could do was nod.

“Belt up, kids.” Holden put the ute into gear. “This isn’t going to be a comfortable ride.”

I fumbled my seatbelt into place, took a deep breath, and tried to keep my stomach contents where they belonged as Holden hit the gas and we took off back toward the homestead.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

Thirty minutes earlier

Luke

“You still here?”Gary paused on his way to the Wild Run office. “I thought you were done for the day.”

“I should’ve been.” I continued wiping the inside of the chopper door. “But the husband of the couple I took up this morning left most of his lunch on the floor in the back. I’ve cleaned it once, but it still stinks, so I’m giving it another go.” The fact I was also sick to my eyeballs of doing nothing but thinking about Zach and moping around my house had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Gary poked his head inside and shuddered. “Jaysus, there’s no arguing with that. But I’m not paying you overtime.” He shot me a wink and kept walking.

“Did you hear me asking?” I grabbed the sudsy sponge from the bucket and let it fly at his back.

He lunged through his office door, and the sponge sailed past to land on the cake tin next to the coffee machine, sending it crashing to the floor.

Gary grinned and flipped me off through his office window. “Arse. And just so you know, I’m adding the cost of that to our contract. Mallowpuffs are my favourite.”

I retrieved the sponge and checked the biscuits before walking the container into his office. “They’re only broken. Perfectly edible.”

He considered the sad array of cracked chocolate, dented marshmallow, and broken crumbs, and gave a weighty sigh. “It’s a bleedin’ massacre. The only decent thing left to do is put them out of their misery.” He grabbed a couple of pieces and shoved them into his mouth, spraying crumbs across his desk.

I laughed and returned to my cleaning, leaving Gary to cope with his sugar coma all on his own. Under the gruff, straight-shooting exterior, he’d proved to be a bit of a cinnamon roll. After Zach had ditched me, Gary picked up on my flat mood almost immediately. He didn’t ask any questions, which I was grateful for. He simply began checking in with me on a regular basis.

I’d be working somewhere in the hangar and he’d appear out of the blue with two coffees and proceed to drag me on a walk around the airfield. We’d talk about the business, about his family, and about how he missed Ireland. Eventually, he asked about Callie, and to my surprise, I found myself opening up. He never once tried to offer any solutions or suggestions. He simply listened.

The next day, I told him about Zach, and the same thing. He listened and said that life sucked sometimes and that he was sorry things hadn’t worked out.

And wasn’t that the truth?

Zach’s flat-out refusal to even consider something more between us had hurt a lot more than I’d anticipated, expected or not, and I only had myself to blame. I’d done the stupidest thing possible under the circumstances.

I’d fallen in love with a man who wasn’t ready for it, in a place I wasn’t sure I was staying.

And I’d spent the following week berating myself for ever letting things get that far. Zach had been clear from the start. Hell, we both had. I’d practically chased the poor guy until he’d given in and then kept pushing for more. It wasn’t Zach’s fault that I’d fallen head over heels in love with him. It was mine. And it was hard to escape the irony in that.

Zach had walked away, and I couldn’t blame him. And the fact I’d had no response to the text I’d sent kind of said it all.

He was done.

Wewere done.

I had to find a way to accept that and move on. Although how the hell I was supposed to do that while running into him every time I visited the station, I had zero idea. Wear my sunglasses... a lot. And maybe not be too available to help out for a while.

I’d toyed with simply heading back to Wellington, but I wouldn’t do that to Gary, and in truth, I didn’t want to. I hadn’t been lying when I’d told Zach I’d been considering ways to stay longer in Oakwood. At the time, I’d told myself it was because of him. Because I wanted a chance of there being anus.

Turns out, I was wrong. Ilikedliving in Oakwood. I liked the job and the people and the scenery. I liked Gary and the other pilots who worked for Wild Run. I liked meeting new people and flying over some of the most spectacular wilderness in the world. I liked the climate and I liked spending time on the station. I felt part of something new and exciting.

---