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‘Okay, and thank you. Like I said, I owe you.’

‘One of those curries sounds good.’

‘I was thinking of asking you up for dinner one night, so I definitely will now.’

‘I’ll look forward to it.’

Cy held Tarni’s arm as they walked back through the shed. Her skin was smooth and cool beneath his fingers. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d touched a woman. He’d kept himself well away from anyone after Joe went to jail. He’d felt as though he was tainted by association, and he didn’t have the emotional energy to deal with that. His counsellor said he had to stop blocking, so he blocked her as well.

‘You haven’t got the shivers or anything from shock, have you?’ He wanted to let go of her but the last thing he wanted was for Tarni to face plant the concrete floor. His voice was brisk, and he quickly pulled out the chair and let go of her. She settled in front of the workbench.

‘No, I’m fine. I always feel cool in here.’

‘Hang on.’ Cy hurried back to the shed and grabbed his denim jacket. He came back and draped it over her shoulders.

‘Thank you, again. I guess that’s two meals I owe you now.’

‘Or one with dessert. I love my dessert.’ He looked at her as he lifted his hands and their eyes met again. It was the strangest feeling. He barely knew her, but suddenly he felt as though he knew her well.

Too well. It scared him right down to his boots, and Cy’s voice was hard when he spoke again. ‘Just wait here for a couple of minutes. I’ll go and see what time it is and give that guy a call. Are you right there? Warm enough now? I’ll bring some Panadol back for you too. I’d say it’ll be throbbing by the time we get to Emergency.’

‘How far away is the medical centre from here?’ Tarni asked with a frown.

‘Darwin.’ Cy stood back and folded his arms. It was strange to see his jacket around her.

‘What! What about the little towns in between here and Darwin? I’m sure I saw some on Google Maps when I was looking at the highway map before.’

‘No funding for rural hospitals. We’ve had so many medical centres close down in the Territory in the last few years. Can’t get doctors, plus COVID killed a lot of them. The medical centres, I mean, not the doctors. There is a medical centre at Humpty Doo, but we’d have to wait there for hours. They’d probably look at your hand and send you to the hospital anyway. So, we might as well go straight to Royal Darwin.’

‘Listen. I’m fine to drive. I can find my way there. I feel really bad taking you away from your work. I was bloody careless.’

‘Nah. We’ll blame the rat. And I am taking you. You didn’t see the colour of your face, Snow White. I don’t want to have the responsibility of you passing out at the wheel and running into a road train. Besides, if you use that hand to hold the steering wheel and change gears it’s sure to start bleeding again.’

Tarni reached out and touched Cy’s forearm. His skin zinged when she touched it, even though her touch was as light as a butterfly’s. ‘Okay, dinner and dessert for a week.’

‘I was only joking before. It’s not a chore to drive you in. I’m happy to do it. I haven’t got much on this afternoon. I got everything finished down there this morning. That’s why I came up early. I was going to have a shower, have lunch, and wait for that guy to come about the labouring job.’

‘Oh, I forgot about him. You don’t have to take me.’

He shook his head at her. ‘You’re a slow learner, Tarni Morgan. I’ll give him a call and put him off. I’ve been starting to think I’m slack to hire someone anyway. There’s no reason why I can’t dig those trenches myself. I’m getting soft in my old age. I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t move, and don’t touch anything.’

‘Yes, Cy.’

He was pleased to see a smile tilt her lips. His phone was in the ute and he stood in the warm sun as he turned it on. There were a couple of missed calls from a number he didn’t recognise and a voicemail message. He called the voicemail number and listened; he thought it might have been Jerry White cancelling. That would save him a call.

Cy closed his eyes and put his hand to his face as he listened to the message from the hospital.

‘Mr Prescott, it would be good if you could come into the hospital today. Your father has taken a turn for the worse.’

For a moment he considered returning the call, but that wasn’t going to do Joe any good.

He quickly called the number on the card that Tarni had left on the bench. It picked up straightaway.

‘Yo, bro,’ a man’s voice answered, and for a moment, Cy thought he must have called the wrong number.

‘Is that Jerry?’ he asked.

‘No, it’s De—’ there was a chuckle and the guy continued. ‘Sure is. I’m Jerry. Who’s that?’