Inherit the Sky (Lang Downs 1 ) by Ariel Tachna Read Free Book Online Page A

bedroom stuff being John’s fault rather than mine, I’d swear it was a pick-up line, but he can’t seriously be thinking like that about me, can he?” If he were, Caine would be over the moon, but that wouldn’t be realistic. A man like Macklin, all self-assurance and physical mastery, wouldn’t want anything to do with plain, bookish Caine Neiheisel, who couldn’t string a sentence together without stuttering half the time and didn’t know what to do with his hands and feet the rest of the time.
Chapter Five
     
    M
ACKLINpounded on Caine’s door at what Caine considered an absolutely ungodly hour, but Caine figured the man was used to getting up with the sun. He only hoped that meant they slept a little later in the winter. He wasn’t going to hold his breath, though.
    He put on his new jeans and boots along with a T-shirt and light sweater, stuffing the rest of his gear in his backpack and stumbling down to breakfast in the same café where they’d eaten the night before. Fortunately the coffee was strong and fresh, which helped perk Caine up a bit.
    Macklin didn’t try to make conversation, much to Caine’s relief. He doubted he could have strung together a complete sentence anyway. When they finished eating, Macklin pointed toward the door. “I’ll meet you in the car park in fifteen minutes. Will that give you enough time?”
    “That’s fine,” Caine said with another yawn, wishing he had a travel mug so he could get a cup of coffee to go. He should have picked up a thermos or something at the store, but he hadn’t thought about it. Maybe there would be an extra one at the station.
“Go on, pup,” Macklin said, giving Caine a little shove in the direction of his room. “Get your kit so we can get on our way.”
    Caine nodded vaguely and climbed the stairs again, feeling even more worn out today than he had the day before. He thought the jet lag was supposed to get easier, but it only seemed to be getting worse, not a propitious start to his tenure in Australia. He checked the bathroom once more to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything and lugged his
    backpack and shopping bags down the stairs. Macklin took one of the bags from him without speaking, leading Caine back to the parking area and the Jeep. The silence stretched as they tossed Caine’s belongings in the back next to Macklin’s one small rucksack. Caine wondered if he should be embarrassed by the sheer quantity of his things next to Macklin’s, but he reminded himself Macklin had only packed for a night, whereas Caine had packed—and purchased—for a lifetime.
    They stopped at a gas station before leaving town, reminding Caine once again how far they had to go and how cut off they would be once they got there. “What do you do for gas at the station?”
    “We have a petrol tank that we fill once or twice a year,” Macklin replied. “We mostly use it for getting into town and for the generators when the power goes out. Most of the work is done on foot or on horseback and with the dogs. Too many places even a ute can’t go.”
    “A ute?” Caine asked.
“A truck,” Macklin clarified, “with a flat bed behind it.” “Oh, a pickup,” Caine said.
“Blow-in,” Macklin replied, but his voice was more teasing than
    critical.
“I’ll learn,” Caine swore. “Give me a few weeks and I’ll have all
your slang figured out.”
“You know,” Macklin said, heading out of town and back onto
the highway, “I almost believe you.”
It was the best compliment Caine had gotten since he arrived in
Australia.
    A
N HOUR later, they pulled off the main road. “Last chance to back out,” Macklin joked. “From here on out, it’s nothing but you and the outback.”
    “What are we waiting for?” Caine asked, the relatively easy camaraderie of the morning having eased his fears from the day before. He was sure they weren’t done with misunderstandings and
    confrontations, but as long as they had times like this morning spent in