Before he’d drifted off to sleep, he had admitted to himself that he wanted to know more of Ava May’s background and what made her tick. Well, this was his chance. They would be living in close quarters for a week at least. Even under such intense chaperonage as at lunch, he’d felt the pull of attraction, which he guessed was what had happened when they had met initially. However, there wasn’t much chance of acting on any of it without being observed. Mim and Stella had watched them like desert hawks which he supposed was a good thing to keep things moving safely.

Zac walked down the hallway, taking in Ava’s world in a more leisurely manner than during his arrival. Once again, he admired the way the stone hallway kept the centre of the house cool. It was such a clever design by the pioneers of this family, who spent their lives in the highs and lows of the Central Australian winter and summer.

Now that he thought about it, he realised that he’d lived in an air-conditioned atmosphere almost all his life, both at home and at work. And since arriving in the outback, he found he really was enjoying the purity of the more natural atmosphere, even though at times it was terribly hot. If he was honest, he doubted he was actually cut out for this life. The stories of drought, the people who lived here and the battles won – this was a whole new world Ava was inviting him into, and the opportunity to experience it was great. He just had to remember that this wasn’t his world, and make sure that the risk of causing Ava pain in the long run didn’t outweigh the benefits for him. He needed to remember his track record for not keeping the people he cared about safe.

If he’d been sensible, he wouldn’t have come here with Ava and risked her heartache, but he’d seen how much she wanted that to happen, to give him a chance to remember, and he hadn’t been able to say no.

All he knew, in the present moment, was that he ached with the need for exercise and to clear his head with space, and this place had more space than he’d seen before.

He stepped out onto the back verandah and spied Ava’s Granny Mim as she dragged a long metal rod from an organised stack of metal sheets and rods towards a long, low building he hadn’t noticed before. When he strode across to offer help, she flashed him one of those twinkling smiles he already recognised as a trademark of hers.

‘Now are you officially an invalid or not? Should I let you?’

‘Not an invalid. I’m a doctor, I can make that call.’