Page 90 of The Mechanics of Lust

“Got it.” Zach followed me out and then freed the dogs before we safeguarded the chopper as best we could, the patchwork of boulders providing convenient anchor points for the ropes.

When we were done, I took another look at the dense cloud sinking around us and blew out a sigh. “Let’s hope this lifts enough for us to fly out again tomorrow.”

Zach followed my gaze and nodded grimly. Then we set about layering up and checking and strapping our packs. I grabbed the satphone from the chopper and put a call through to Gary, then handed it to Zach who checked in with his mother before updating Holden.

Gil’s horrified protest was loud enough to be heard in the neighbouring valley. Zach held the phone out for me to take and stepped back with his hands in the air. A string of expletives about how fucking crazy I was, and how Gil was going to skin me alive echoed around the tarn. I grabbed Zach’s wrist and slapped the phone back in his hand without saying a word to Gil. I wasn’t going near that shitshow.

Zach grinned and held it out for us both to hear.

When the shouting died away, Holden came back on the line. “Gil is currently unavailable for further comment owing to the fact I shoved a tea towel in his mouth. I personally think it’s a good idea. You saved yourselves a couple of hours. Keep in touch.”

After I’d stowed the phone in my pack, Zach surprised me by reaching for my hands. It was hard to look into those beautiful eyes—so many memories.

“You’re a good man, Luke,” he said solemnly. “You didn’t have to do any of this. Collect me. Land up here. Come with me. Any of it. I want you to know that I’m really fucking grateful, and to be honest, I’m glad I’m not doing this alone as well.”

You don’t ever have to do the hard stuff on your own.The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them down and settled for a simple “You’re welcome.”

We held each other’s gaze a moment longer, then Zach dropped my hands and studied the blanketed peaks. “It’s getting colder by the minute.”

I handed him his Swanndri, and he wriggled into the heavy bush shirt before adding his high-vis vest with its million and one pockets. That done, he sniffed the air like an old-timer and reached for his mustering stick. “Right, let’s do this.”

I almost smiled. I’d observed the shepherd version of Zach working many a time, but up there on the hill, on his family’s land, in official SAR mode, he looked rugged, competent, determined, and so damn sexy.

“Here.” He unstrapped a second shepherd’s stick from the side of his pack and threw it my way. “You’ll need it for keeping your footing in this pea soup. Once we start climbing, we won’t be able to see shit. We’re gonna be mostly relying on the dogs to find each other. I’ll stop often so Nina can sound off. Her bark carries a long way. And watch your step. We’ll be traversing a couple of razorbacks where it’s straight down on either side for longer than you want to know. We stick together, got it?Closetogether.”

I blew out a breath. “You’re starting to worry me.”

He locked eyes. “Then I’m doing my job because youshouldbe fucking worried. I know this track like the back of my hand, but this isn’t going to be a walk in the park. In this weather, at these temperatures, if you misjudge a step or take a tumble down a scree slope, you could be history. These mountains don’t give a shit. They’ll chew you up and spit you out and you’ll never see it coming.”

Well, all righty then.I managed a teasing smile. “So, you’re saying I should be careful?”

He rolled his eyes and threw me my waterproof hiking jacket. “Fucking comedian. Get that on you before I make you wait in the chopper.”

I snorted at that. “I’d like to see you try.”

He shot me a grave look that gave me pause. “Luke, I’m deadly serious about this. Up here,I’min charge,notyou, and it’s my job to keep you alive. You might be an ace pilot used to leading your crew, but these mountains aremyterritory, understood?”

I swallowed and nodded. “Understood.”

Chain of command established, and with Zach’s warning fresh in my mind, we shouldered our packs and headed up Halifax beat with the dogs launching ahead to lead the way.

CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE

Zach

Forty-five minutesin and we were down to a couple of metres of visibility through the dense grey curtain as we continued to slog our way up. More goat trail than track, the route was slick and treacherous underfoot. We’d both taken a slide or two, but so far, nothing serious.

The swirling cloud had an eerie quality to it, our voices swallowed into the hushed landscape as we kept climbing. Sweat dripped down my face, Luke’s too, as he followed at my back, his lungs pumping hard. Even with all the stops for Nina to sound off, it was a tough and unforgiving climb—the thud of Luke’s stick hitting the ground behind me, oddly reassuring.

He never once complained, and that was quite something, considering my own lungs burned and I’d done this shit for years. Hell, I’d done nothingbutclimb up and down those hills chasing merinos for almost my entire life.

Stones skidded behind me and Luke swore softly.

“You okay?” I checked without looking back.

“Fine,” he grunted, and on we went.

One step at a time, ever higher, focused on the ground at our feet, on not making a mistake, and on listening for any sound of Jules or my father or their dogs. All the while, Nina and Jojo did this ping-pong dance of running ahead into the fog, circling back, and then running ahead again. With no way to see what they were heading into, I had to trust their surefootedness and instincts to keep them safe.

---