22
Camila
“This can’t be happening to me,” I cry out to the walls, rubbing my eyes.
Dawn bursts into the cabin with a slap of light seeping through the gaps in the curtains.
It’s an incredibly intrusive brightness for someone who hasn’t slept a wink all night.
My mouth is as dry as a desert, I have a horrible headache, and there’s a gnawing sensation in my stomach that, unfortunately for me, has nothing to do with a hangover.
It has a woman’s name. Well, two, to be exact.
Maddie. Darana. And that damn dance.
I squeeze my eyes shut, but it’s no use: last night’s movie keeps replaying on a loop in my head.
On one hand, Maddie groping me with a brazenness that—God help me—and on the other, the way my ex-sister-in-law was grinding against me.
Because what happened with Darana wasn’t a dance; it was an assault that left my brain smoking and my heart in my throat.
No matter how hard I tried to run away from it.
“Focus, Bennet, focus,” I tell myself, tapping my laptop keyboard to bring the graphs on the screen back to life.
I stretch like a lazy cat and glue myself to the monitor. There it is again, that damn magnetic anomaly in the subsoil. The storm has passed, but the levels in the Willow Creek Valley keep rising like crazy, like a giant battery charging more and more with each passing day.
And when I have the morning meeting with the others, things don’t get any better.
“The cycle is intensifying every hour. And watch out—we’re not the only ones who’ve gotten spooked. Geoscience Australia just responded to the report I sent earlier this morning.”
“Already?” Ethan’s eyes widen.
“An hour ago,” I say, tapping the screen triumphantly. “They’ve validated my graphs and classified the anomaly as a high risk to communications in the valley. They’re sending us an immediate deployment of new equipment.”
Kira bursts out laughing, looking me up and down.
“Well, the ground might be about to explode, but you don’t look much better.”
“Thanks, you’re always so encouraging,” I retort, making a face.
“No, seriously.” Ethan puts a hand on my shoulder. “Is it because of that little dance Calloway did with you last night?”
I tense up and look away.
“ it because of that little dance Calloway did with you last night?”
I tense up and look away.
“Don’t even start, okay? I’m not in the mood for your interrogations today.”
Especially since I haven’t told them that the Institute is planning to set up a permanent climate research base in this area. And they’re counting on me to run it. What can I say? Getting ahead of myself before anything’s officially confirmed has never been my thing.
Kira watches me and leans back in her chair.
“Look, half the town saw last night’s spectacle. And this guy and I have a theory that you’re losing your mind over one of them. Or is it both at the same time?”
“Kira!” I throw a pen at her, which she dodges while laughing her head off. “One more comment about my private life, and I’ll have you both breaking rocks.”
Ethan raises his hands in a gesture of peace.
“Okay, okay, we’ll shut up. But please go outside and get some fresh air. The government team won’t be here until tomorrow, and there’s nothing else you can do today. Clear your head.”
I close my laptop and stretch again.
“Fine. I’ll go for a walk before I fire both of you.”
· · ·
A little while later, I step out of the cabin, breathing in the fresh morning air. I wander aimlessly along the trails, trying to get Darana’s name out of my head, but as soon as I round the main pens… Bam! There she is, right in front of me.
Darana has her back to me, brushing Byron vigorously. I could turn around and pretend I didn’t see her. That would be the smartest thing to do. But since I’m a total masochist, I adjust my hat and take a step forward.
“Darana…” I blurt out. “Can we talk about last night?”
The effect is instant. Darana freezes, and the brush comes to a screeching halt against the horse’s coat. She takes a second that feels like an eternity to me, and then she turns slowly, fixing me with those eyes of hers, which today are coated in an extra layer of ice.
“There’s nothing to talk about, Bennet,” she snaps. “I’m too busy to waste time on bullshit. And you already made yourself clear.”
What did I make clear to her? She’s got some nerve! I clench my fists inside my jeans pockets so I don’t lose my cool.
“It wasn’t bullshit, and you know that perfectly well,” I tell her, standing my ground.
Darana’s jaw tenses. She stares at the floor for a second and then looks at me angrily.
“Look, I can’t mess around with you right now. It’s hard enough keeping this place afloat without you coming along and stirring up the past. I have to go out back to replant the geraniums, and I don’t have time for this.”
“Oh my God. I don’t understand you at all.”
I stare at her, assessing her foul mood and her defenses. And that’s when my trademark stubborn streak kicks in.
“Well, that’s great, because I’m coming with you.”
Darana blinks.
“Excuse me?”
“You said there’s work to be done, didn’t you?” I remind her. “Well, I’ll help you get down on your knees. You’re not going to push me aside that easily, Calloway.”
She holds my gaze for ten seconds, until she lets out a snort of resignation and tosses the brush into the tool drawer.
“Get in the SUV before I leave you behind.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” I tease, climbing into the passenger seat with a smug little smile.
Minutes later, we’re bouncing along the road, which is full of muddy ruts. Neither of us says a word, but the atmosphere inside the cab is thicker than a storm cloud.
When we arrive, the scene is pitiful. Ricky is already there, with the bags of fertilizer, the planters, and the cuttings all ready to go.
“Good morning,” the poor kid greets us with a forced smile, sensing trouble from a mile away. “Everything’s ready for you. Do you want me to stick around and lend a hand?”
“No need, Ricky, thanks,” Darana cuts him off. “Go check the fences in the southern sector. We’ve got this.”
The kid, who’s no fool and can see that the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife, gathers his things and takes off at full speed.
We’re left alone. I take a deep breath, kneel down on the damp earth—not caring if I get my jeans dirty—and get to work on the dirty job. It takes Darana a second, but she eventually follows my lead, positioning herself directly in front of me.
We work in deathly silence, burying the new shoots.
Until I notice something: Sergeant Calloway’s hands are shaking. She’s trying to plant a stubborn cutting, and the plant keeps bending over and over again because she’s in such a hurry. Without thinking twice, I reach out and place my hands over hers, stopping her movement.
“Hold still,” I murmur, gently guiding her fingers. “If you squeeze the stem, it won’t do any good. Let the soil do the rest.”
Her skin feels burning hot against mine. Darana freezes completely, her head bowed, and lets out a sigh.
“If Elijah and our parents could see all this… I’m losing everything all over again.”
The pain I see in her pierces my heart. I squeeze her hands tightly, intertwining my mud-stained fingers with hers.
“You haven’t lost anything yet, Darana,” I tell her with all the tenderness I can muster. “These roots are hard to pull up, and they’re going to hold on tight. Just like you. You’ll get through this.”
Darana lifts her head suddenly and fixes her gaze on me, completely vulnerable, revealing the whole truth she’s been keeping inside.
“Yeah… that’s easy to say.”
Darana lets out a sigh, narrowing her eyes, and slowly pulls her hands away, though she doesn’t move back even an inch. The distance between our lips is barely a breath.
“I mean it.”
“And what does it matter what you think if your days here are numbered?” she snaps at me. “I don’t play both sides, Bennet.”
Something in her eyes changes suddenly. And right away, she goes back to work.
A couple of hours later, the sun begins to set, painting the horizon with spectacular hues that make the land stand out. I get up from the ground, brushing the mud off my knees, and stand there watching her in silence.
Darana stands up right in front of me. Her silhouette is outlined against the orange sky.
She’s a strong, proud woman—the kind who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, even when she’s broken inside.
She starts walking toward the vehicle, and I follow a step behind her, devouring her back with my eyes.
And it’s right then, watching her shoulders and the way she moves through this damned desert, that I realize something.
I can no longer keep fooling myself—not even with cheap excuses.
The truth is a real slap in the face: Darana Calloway attracts me in ways I never imagined. And this time, ladies and gentlemen… no storm in all of Australia can save me from the one bearing down on me.