Page 14 of The Mechanics of Lust

“This guy.” Doug gave Luke a gentle nudge. “Oakwood just got a whole lot more interesting.”

Jesus Christ.Something coiled in my belly that had absolutely nothing to do with—nope, not going there. Doug was a nice enough guy, just an equal-opportunity flirt and shit-stirrer. No one took him seriously. So why did I suddenly want to wring his scrawny neck? Also not going there.

“Go easy on the poor guy. In another life, he used to be married to this guy.” Holden indicated to Gil, and Doug blanched.

“Oops, I forgot about that. Sorry, mate.”

Gil waved it off with a smile. “Luke’s more than capable of looking after himself.”

“Right here, dickheads,” Luke reminded them, then turned to me. “You gonna get Jojo inside at some point or you just gonna stand there?”

And I suddenly realised I hadn’t moved a jot since Luke had landed, completely fixated on the fact he was there at all. “Of course.” I led an excited Jojo over to the chopper and lifted the lid on the carrier. Doug’s huntaway, Carmine, immediately poked her head out in greeting and Jojo couldn’t get in fast enough.

“All set?” I checked with Charlie who was already in her seat. When she nodded, I clambered inside and donned my headset. “Right, let’s do this.” I clapped Doug on the shoulder and he shot me a wide grin.

Luke kept his eyes forward and said nothing. Whether he was ignoring me or simply doing his job, I wasn’t sure. And why the fuck it even mattered just plain pissed me off. I waved to Holden and Gil as we lifted off and tried not to think about how fucking awkward the whole thing was, focusing instead on the gorgeous day and the stunning landscape fanning out below us.

We swooped low over the homestead, drawing a wave from Emily standing on the front lawn. The house sat cradled at one end of a glacial valley, alongside the widely braided Glenmore River, and at the edge of a small crystalline blue lake. The valley was flanked by two towering ranges that rose steeply on either side, a kilometre between them at the widest point. A scattering of shepherd and tourist accommodation, shearing quarters, machinery sheds, and a single huge woolshed formed a kind of mosaic against the tawny tussock and patchwork pasture, the single patch of green in the entire landscape being the result of Gil’s obsessive work in his market garden-sized vegetable patch at the back of the house.

As the others talked through their headsets, I blanked their conversation out and focused on the view out my window. Black dots signified the station’s herd of Angus cattle moving slowly across the foothills, while much higher up on the barren-looking alpine slopes, the occasional cream specks of wandering merinos could be spotted if you knew what to look for.

It was farming on a knife edge in a complicated and inhospitable environment, politically and ecologically sensitive, and at the mercy of unforgiving weather extremes. It could suck the heart right out of you while filling you with joy at the exact same moment, and I loved every second of living right in the middle of it.

The ridgeline that marked the boundary between my family’s land and Miller Station passed beneath us, and my mood took another dive. There’d been a Lane in charge of that station for three generations. Julian would be the fourth, and I swallowed hard thinking of him working it on his own while I would be... well, who knew what the fuck I’d be doing. One thing for sure, it wasn’t going to include hanging around Miller Station forever and feeling sorry for myself. I needed a plan.

Luke, Charlie, and Doug talked and gossiped all the way to the fourth volunteer’s farm by Lake Alexandrina. Once Kelsie and her mixed breed Pedro were loaded, the four of them continued to chat for the next ten minutes until we landed beside the Cass River. Charlie threw a few questioning looks my way, which I dutifully ignored. I made a couple of comments, but mostly I sat and stared out the window, stewing over Luke’s obvious silence during any conversation that tried to include me. Well, that and Doug’s equally obvious flirtations that were grating on my nerves big time.

Jesus fucking Christ. Was I twelve years old again?

Yes, apparently I was.

Blue strode over to meet us as we came in to land. A grizzled man with deep lines carved into his weathered face, he was a highly experienced fifty-something born-and-bred Mackenzie Basin legend who knew the mountains like the back of his hand. A heart attack a few years ago had seen him relegated to base camp team leader, but you couldn’t wish for a better man to have your back.

Luke put the chopper down alongside the Cass River at the point it exited a steep gorge on its journey to Lake Tekapo. There was barely a bump as he laid the skids to rest on the flat bank of stones, and I begrudgingly admitted the man handled the machine like the pro that he was.

Blue was all smug smiles when he came over to greet us. “Are you ready to rumble? I’ve done you a doozy today.”

We groaned loudly as one. Blue set the best and worst training trails. Super challenging and satisfying, but painful and lengthy if the dogs lost the scent and you got it wrong.

Kelsie grumbled, “I was hoping to be done by afternoon tea, throw a mud pack on, grab a beer, maybe even watch the cricket on the telly while Nev entertained the ankle-biter.”

I snorted, wondering in what universe Kelsie would ever put her feet up. The embodiment of an energiser bunny, the woman was always busy fundraising for something.

“Then you better get your running shoes on,” Blue fired back as he unlatched one of the equipment carriers.

Luke saw to the other, and I had to admit, the man looked mouth-wateringly good with his tall, rangy body poured into a slightly snug but flattering black flight suit with Wild Run’s multi-coloured logo on the back. As he bent to re-secure the latches, the material stretched over the sumptuous curves of his arse and into the filthy recesses of my mind.

Good Lord.It was going to be a long day.

I tried not to stare, failed, and tried again with a little more success, although I couldn’t help sneaking a sideways glance whenever I thought he wasn’t watching, which gave me plenty of opportunity since he appeared to be ignoring me completely.

The second the dogs were released, Jojo began a mad sniff of the area before pouncing on Hellboy like they hadn’t seen each other in years. Meanwhile, Carmine barked up a storm and, ignoring the others, he ran to greet Pedro as the two dogs were ridiculously besotted with each other.

“Do we get any clues?” Doug pressed Blue hopefully as he whistled for Carmine to slip the dog’s harness on, and I did the same with Jojo.

“A clue?” Blue waggled his eyebrows. “Let me think.” He touched his finger to his lip. “I know. How about the trail starts here?” He pointed to the ground at his feet and Doug rolled his eyes. “And I’ll give you another for free. If you hit snow, you’ve gone too far.” Which earned him another groan.

Luke approached Blue who was distributing the satphones. “I’ve got two tourist transfers after I leave here. One is just a short hop between stations, but the second is to ferry a couple from Tekapo up to Mairangi Station, adding a bit of a look-see on the way. There’ll be little point heading back to the hangar when I’m done if your guys are close to finishing, so if you don’t mind the company, I’d like to pick your brains about the volunteer search and rescue protocol.”

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