4
Camila
I didn’t really realize just how much I’d missed Lily until we found ourselves chatting nonstop for a full hour.
We rambled on about the old days, the town gossip, and all the things we’d missed out on in each other’s lives along the way.
Although, to tell the truth, there wasn’t much to report on my end either.
Over the last three years—on top of the seven before I took off—I’ve done nothing but hit the books to get my degree, travel here and there with my suitcase in tow, and learn to understand the whims of storms. The quick summary of my life is simple: I’d much rather have the solitude of my current nomadic life aboard Viento than have to put up with someone else’s jealousy, drama, and neuroses.
Suddenly, the memory of Elijah comes flooding back. I recall one of the many moments when his expression would completely change, turning him into a raging beast every time I brought up the idea of seeking a better life with more prospects beyond the borders of this place.
Anyway, I can’t really dwell on the past right now, especially since the coffee maker has finally given up the ghost. I pour myself what is already my fourth cup of the day—hello, heart palpitations—and get ready to chug a healthy dose of caffeine along with a couple of croissants that Christian had left over at the café and that Lily slipped into my bag with all the love in the world.
“Oh, please… Now this is the life,” I murmur to myself, sinking into a wooden chair beside the rustic table in the living room.
I have to admit that the cabin is really well done. Never in my life would I have imagined Birdsong Hills being renovated with such good taste. I’m about to take a bite of the first croissant when suddenly I hear a violent skid outside the house, followed by the sharp screech of brakes.
I know that screech of brakes. Boy, do I know it.
I know exactly whose it is. And I also know what that slamming door sounds like.
In fact, I instantly recognize the firm, angry footsteps hurrying across the porch, kicking up dirt as they go.
I jump up from my chair on impulse, open the door, and find myself face-to-face with Darana Calloway’s clenched fist, which stops just a millimeter short of slamming her knuckles against the wood. Or against my nose.
“Well, well… I see you’re still turning heads wherever you go,” I say sarcastically, eyeing her up and down before turning my back on her with all the calm in the world and returning to the living room. I want her to know she doesn’t intimidate me, even though inside I’m shaking to my very core.
“May I ask what game you’re playing, Bennet? Because let me remind you, I’ve never liked your fucking little jokes,” she spits from the doorway, stepping in behind me.
“Generally speaking, Darana, you don’t like anyone’s jokes,” I reply without looking at her, fixing my gaze on my coffee cup.
Damn it, it only took one sentence to set my nerves on edge. I spin on my heels and face her, determined to keep my composure, put on my most serene expression, and avoid at all costs telling her the four home truths she deserves.
“But since you’re asking so nicely, no, I’m not messing with you. And no, I didn’t come here for fun either—believe me. I’m exactly as thrilled to see you as you are to see me, which is basically not at all.”
“Oh, really? Then why the hell didn’t you turn down the contract as soon as you saw where you were being sent?
” she snaps at me, crossing her arms and fixing me with a glare that could set the room on fire.
“There are thousands of meteorologists in this country who could’ve done the job instead of you. ”
“Yeah, what a shame. I finished my last job early. And besides, it just so happens that none of those thousands of meteorologists understand the storms in this area even half as well as I do,” I retort, channeling my inner empowered woman.
“So, if you really want to keep your estate safe and prevent it from being reduced to ashes, I recommend you make things easier for me. For my team and me.”
Darana narrows her honey-colored eyes, glaring at me, and then shifts her attention to the boxes of scientific equipment stacked behind her. In a split second, a light bulb goes off in her head, and she fully understands my immediate plans.
“No way. You’re not going to set up all that junk, get in our way, and prevent people from doing their daily work,” she warns me, taking an intimidating step toward me.
“Well, I’m sorry to tell you that I’m going to do just that, because I’ll say it again: it’s the only way you can save this place,” I retort, standing my ground.
She moves even closer to me, closing the distance in a way that takes my breath away.
She’s so incredibly angry that she kicks up dust from the ground with every step of her boots.
I can clearly see the rage flaring through her nostrils, as if she were a wild horse about to rear up.
When she stops just a few millimeters from my face, the tension is so intense you could almost cut it with a knife.
In her gaze, I see with total and absolute clarity the hatred she still harbors for me.
“Look, Ran…”
“To you, I’m Darana—or rather, Miss Calloway. I’m absolutely nothing to you anymore, so do me a favor and don’t ever call me that again in your fucking life,” she snaps at me with a coldness that makes my blood run cold.
I raise my hands in a gesture of peace, taking half a step back so she doesn’t notice the effect her closeness has on my body.
“All right, fine… Miss Calloway,” I say, knowing full well that I’m taking a risk.
“I think you’re fully aware of how severe the storms have been around here in recent years, right?
Because the scientific evidence is there—it doesn’t lie.
Over the past few months, my department has detected several completely unusual storm patterns in this exact region.
Last year was exactly the same, and come on, you don’t have to be a genius to understand that either we find a solution fast and figure out what the hell is making them worse, or this is going to end very badly. ”
I tuck my hands into my jeans pockets and try to force a professional smile, but all I manage to do is make myself more nervous than a bowl of jelly.
“I just want to help, Darana. I want to improve safety for your workers and for the tourists who spend their money here. I don’t want what happened back then to ever happen again…”
Suddenly, I feel a terrible twinge right in the middle of my chest that forces me to fall silent. The damn memory of the barn engulfed in gigantic flames and of Elijah emerging from the black smoke carrying Darana in his arms right before our eyes sends a shiver through my entire body.
“I just want to help,” I repeat, unable to utter another word.
Darana fixes me with a piercing gaze, scrutinizing every millimeter of my face.
She’s not convinced at all—you can tell from a mile away—and I’m sure she’s seriously debating whether to tell me to get lost right now or call the Institute to demand that they hand this matter over to some other scientist. She turns on her heel, giving me her back, and goes back to inspecting the boxes of equipment.
I notice that her hair has grown a lot over all this time.
She’s wearing a spectacular, slightly messy blonde braid that reaches more than halfway down her back.
Several unruly strands have escaped from behind her ears and brush against her cheeks, flushed with anger and dotted with the same freckles as always, the ones that used to sparkle so brightly beneath the scorching Australian summer sun.
I shake my head, giving myself a mental slap to banish those memories from my mind.
“We’ll never be those two inseparable best friends again, the ones who used to run up the hills and bathe naked in the pools,” I remind myself.
And we’ll certainly never be those two little girls who played at dodging chickens while collecting eggs or who fed the colony of cats that roamed freely around the sheds. That past is dead and buried.
“All right,” she agrees, turning toward me with her arms crossed over her chest.
A second later, she adopts that warning gesture so characteristic of her—the same one she started making when she found out about my relationship with Elijah. That was the exact turning point when our true friendship went up in smoke.
“But I’m going to set one condition: I don’t want you or your team of scientists to disrupt our daily activities in the slightest. Right now, we make our living from livestock and visitors, and our rural tourism bookings for the weekend are already full.
We aren’t lucky enough to have a large estate like Undoolya. So no getting in the way.”
“Don’t worry about that, really,” I assure her, feeling my shoulders finally relax as I let out a breath. “I promise that Ethan, Kira, and I won’t give you even the slightest headache. In fact, it’ll seem like we’re not even here. We’ll be like ghosts.”
“I seriously doubt that, to be honest, but thanks,” she says.
Darana adjusts her hat with a flick of her fingers and nods, considering the matter settled.
The air in the living room grows so thick and uncomfortable that it’s almost hard to breathe.
She turns around, ready to step through the doorway and get out of there, but the words come out before my brain can stop them.
“Can I ask you a favor?”
She stops dead in her tracks, as if she’d stepped on a land mine, and turns around slowly.
Oh, man. I don’t know if this is going to work or if she’s going to punch me, but I flash her my best smile—the one that desperately tries to say, “Hey, I promise that deep down, I’m still the same girl you used to get lost with in the hills until the wee hours of the morning.
” But, obviously, the look she gives me holds absolutely no trace of nostalgia.
“I’ve been watching from the window and noticed that you’ve changed the layout quite a bit and have completely new areas for pasture and livestock,” I explain, trying to sound technical and professional.
“I’d like to take a look at the entire property before I start setting up the measuring equipment.
That way, I’ll have a much clearer understanding of the terrain. ”
What I’m really trying to tell her, as subtly as possible, is that I want her to take me on that tour herself in her brand-new Ford Ranger while I take notes and wait for the guys to arrive.
Her expression doesn’t change one bit; she remains as stiff as a statue, but come on—I don’t need her to make a face of disgust or roll her eyes to realize that the idea of spending time with me cooped up in a car appeals to her about as much as a colonoscopy.
However, I know she’s going to do it. As her father always used to say, “The sooner you start the unpleasant stuff, the sooner it’s over and we can get it out of the way. ”
“The sooner you get started on that damn job, the sooner you’ll all get out of here, right?”
I almost grin from ear to ear as I realize just how many mannerisms and traits she shares with old Richard. May he rest in peace.
“Of course,” I reply, holding her gaze. “That’s the main idea.”
Although it’s a little white lie.
I take a long stride toward the wooden table, grab the coffee cup, and down it in one gulp.
Immediately afterward, in a panic brought on by the tension, I grab one of the croissants and shove half of it into my mouth at once.
I stuff my cheeks so full that I’m about to choke, looking like a hamster in a cowboy hat.
At least, if I’m going to suffocate to death in front of my ex-best friend, let it be while savoring the glory of butter.
Darana opens her mouth, completely dumbfounded by the Dantean spectacle I’m putting on. I put on my hat while continuing to chew as best I can, and I can clearly see the glint of resigned amusement in her eyes.
“Damn… Some things aren’t going to change in a million years, Bennet,” she says, shaking her head.
I just shrug with my mouth full, give her an innocent look, and walk past her toward the car without saying a word.