B00BR2BOUU EBOK (8 page)

“That’s all I need to hear, my love.”

CHAPTER
FIVE

Captain Paul’s voice came over the speaker, breaking the
intense conversation we were having about future nuptials, which if it weren’t
so hot and romantic, would be utterly crazy at this point in time.

“Excuse me, Mr. Clark and Ms. Summers. Would you please both
fasten your seat belts, we are about to begin our descent into Connellan
Airport. The estimated time of arrival is 6 p.m., and the current ground
temperature is 32 Degrees Celsius, thank you.” We got to our feet and buckled
ourselves in. Bryce was smiling from ear to ear, probably a result of the
promises I just made him, and the fact we were about to land in a place neither
of us had been before. I smiled back at him and looked out the window, spotting
a hefty lump of red-brown on the ground.

“I see it, I think I see it!” I got all excited over the
fact I just identified a ginormous mound of sandstone rock.

“Excuse me, Mr. Clark, Ms Summers, you may have noticed out
the right-hand side of the aircraft what you think to be Uluru, this is in fact,
Mt. Connor, and is mistaken for Uluru quite frequently.” I deflated and pulled
a sad face. Bryce tilted his head to the side in sympathy. “If you continue to
look out the right-hand side of the aircraft, you will be able to see Uluru in
approximately five minutes time.” I did just that, and kept looking out the
window.

It was very exciting. I had wanted to visit Ayers Rock ever
since learning about it at school. And despite the fact I was now an adult, the
curious element of a monstrous rock in the middle of nowhere was still not lost
on me. My anticipation grew as I scanned the reddish brown dirt searching for
it. Bryce leaned forward and pointed to just behind where I was looking. I
turned back completely, covering the window with my head, and there it was.
Wow,
it’s freaking HUGE!
That was an understatement, it was gigantic. It
literally looked like it fell from the sky and hit the ground with a thud!

“That’s incredible,” I exclaimed, wide-eyed.

“That’s nothing, my love.” He had an excited glint in his
eyes.
What now? Does this man plan everything?

***

We landed at Connellan Airport and thanked Amy and Paul for
their brilliant skills and hospitality. A young man greeted us as we exited the
aircraft and helped with our luggage. Bryce comfortably held my hand as we followed
him across the tarmac. I tried to recall the last time Rick had held my hand,
and for the life of me could not think of a time post having children.
Surely
not!
I stopped straining my brain for a memory that appeared to not be
there, when I noticed that we were heading in the opposite direction of the
terminal.

“Where are we going?” I asked. Bryce looked at me
quizzically, and with his free hand motioned up ahead. I followed his finger,
which was pointing at a helicopter. My eyes widened and I swear my stomach did
a backflip. “Are we flying around the rock?”
Of course we are, you idiot. This
is Mr Pilot Clark we are talking about.
Bryce lifted my hand to his mouth, and
gently grazed the top of it with his lips.

“Of course we are, Hunny.”
Oh, just like that, as if
there was no other thing in the world we would be doing.
The young man
opened the door to the cockpit and loaded our luggage into the back. Bryce then
led me to the passenger side and lifted me in, and by the look on his face, I
would say he was more excited than I was. He fastened my belt, handed me some
headphones and closed the door. I watched him as he spoke to the gentleman who
handed him a clipboard. He seemed so relaxed, and possessed an uncanny ability
to be able to communicate with absolutely anyone. They shook hands and Bryce
headed toward the cockpit, beaming like a beacon and radiating joy; it was
infectious and spread over me like wild fire.

“Okay, Ms Summers, we are about to see this beautiful rock
at sunset from the best seat in the house.” I looked out the window and he was
right; the sun was near the horizon.
Oh my goodness.
I’ve heard so many
wonderful things about Ayers Rock at sunset, but to see it from within a
helicopter with the man of my dreams was truly amazing
.
If it wasn’t
highly childish, or wouldn’t have looked utterly ridiculous, I would have
bounced up and down in my seat and shook my head like a maniac.
Argh.

He started flicking switches, and compared to the last
flight he pilot, I paid a little bit more attention. It probably had something
to do with the fact that this time, I didn’t have a woman in labour making
whale noises next to me, nor was I suffering a concussion after a car accident.
He looked so delicious as he took hold of the steering wheel and the hand brake
thingy.
I know that’s not what they are called, but that’s what they look
like to me.
He pulled the handbrake thingy up, causing us to rise, and it
wasn’t long before we were high in the air. We headed in the direction of what
can only be described as a giant wall of red/orange, and as we flew closer the
wall got bigger. The sheer size of Ayers Rock was beyond belief, it looked like
you were only a few hundred metres away, when in fact, you were kilometres. It
was simply phenomenal. The top of the rock was actually quite wide in area,
when you looked at it from the front, you got the impression it was long and
skinny, but it wasn’t. It’s width was nearly as long as its length. We were
quite high up, especially when you took into consideration the height Ayers
Rock was from the ground. I was curious as to exactly how high we were, so I asked
the extremely talented and sexy pilot sitting next to me.

“How high are we?”

He looked at me strangely. “About 6,500 feet. Why?”

“How high can one of these things go?” I looked directly
down—which in my case was never a good thing to do—then I looked back at him
waiting anxiously for his answer.

He smiled. “Approximately 14,000 feet, but you wouldn’t want
to go any higher than 9,000 feet, especially if you need time to safely get to
the ground in the event of a fire.” I turned my head to him.
What freaking
fire? Why would there be a fire?
“Don’t worry, my love, you are perfectly
safe.” He smiled reassuringly. I believed him, I felt nothing but safe around him,
I just didn’t like to hear the words fire, helicopter, and ground all in the
same sentence. He lowered the chopper back down to a height level with the top
of the rock. I think he did this to ease the concerns he thought I had. Either
that or he did it to get the full effect as the sun began to descend. Uluru
changed colour like magic right before your eyes, one minute it was bright red,
and the next it was orange—it was truly beautiful. I reached over ever so slightly,
and put my hand on his leg. He glanced down at my hand, then back out towards
the rock.

“This is simply beautiful, thank you.”

“It’s nothing in comparison to you, my love.” I rolled my
eyes and blushed. He winked at me then he turned the chopper quite sharply. I
screamed, not out of fear, but more out of excitement at the sudden change of
direction and angle we were now taking.

“Shit, Bryce, a little warning would’ve been nice.”

He laughed at me. “Do you like being upside-down?”
Upside-down?
In a helicopter? Hell no!

“No, don’t you dare! I mean it! Anyway, this thing can’t go
upside down.” I hoped I was right, although I had no fucking idea. He looked at
me with that ‘do you dare me face’ and straight away, I began to shit myself. “No,
no, no. Please no, I’ll do anything you want.” I regretted it the instant I
said it. His face returned to a shade of calm, but now he seemed quite
satisfied with the advantage he had just managed to secure.

“Anything?” He raised his eyebrow.

Ah Fuck.
“Yes, although that’s not fair.” I crossed
my arms over my chest.

“Did you want to go round one more time, or head to the
lodge?” I put my finger up to request one more lap, he smiled and took us
around again. The buses parked in the car park below looked like little white
Lego blocks, and I could make out a couple of climbers on their way down.  From
a helicopter really was the best way to see Ayers Rock.

“Ready to go back?” I shot him a ‘what do you think look’,
which he deciphered instantly. He smiled and turned the chopper back in the
direction we came.

I assumed we were heading back to the airport, but became
aware of our diversion when I noticed what looked like a group of white spots
on the ground not too far ahead. They stood out because the only other colour
around them was red. As we got closer, it became apparent the white spots were
in fact little white tee-pee style buildings. There was a helipad next to them,
and I now knew that was our target. Bryce landed the chopper with ease. He
climbed out and came around to my door. He went to help me out, but I just sat
there staring at him. “Are you coming, Ms. Summers?” I tilted my head to the
side.
Yes, in more ways than one, Mr. Clark.

“Thank you,” I said sincerely.

“For what?”

“For everything.” I aggressively pulled him to me and
attacked his mouth. He let me, but only for a short while, before breaking
away.

“It’s what I do, Ms. Summers.”

“I’m not sure I want to be called that anymore.” I felt sad
at having a surname of a man that no longer loved me. He touched my cheek.

“What do you want me to call you then?” I shrugged my
shoulders.

“One day you might call me, Mrs. Clark.” I watched t
he joy of what I had just said wash over him like a
tidal wave. He scooped me up into his arms and carried me toward one of the
white cone-shaped huts. I was so overwhelmed and overjoyed, it was like a
dream. But I should not have said that—Summers was my name—it was my children’s
name too, and despite the fact the man who gave me that name had betrayed me,
it was still my name.
Alexis, you idiot.

***

We were greeted at the edge
of the helipad by a woman dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and khaki shorts.

“Bryce, you can put me down
now.” I whispered as she approached.

“No.” He answered quite
sternly.

“Welcome, Mr. and Mrs.
Clark.” I coughed and subdued a coincidental laugh. Bryce squeezed my leg and
whispered into my ear.

“I like the sound of that.”
He beamed and waggled his eyebrows up and down. I agreed, it did sound nice,
but it was still way too soon.
Alexis you are caught up in the moment, what
were you thinking? You should have kept your mouth shut.

“My name is Dorothy, and I
will be your host here at Outback Hideaway. Please follow me, and I’ll show you
to your room.”  She called out to a middle-aged man to fetch our bags from the
chopper.

“Bryce, you can put me down
now.” I whispered again.

“No.” He replied. We followed
her along a board walk. The ground was covered in thick, red dirt, at least I’m
pretty sure it was dirt, I guess it could be some kind of sand too. Out of the
corner of my eye, I noticed something scurry through the dirt and go underneath
the boardwalk. I swear I caught the glimpse of a scaly tail.
What the fuck
was that?
I was so glad I was still up in his arms or I probably would’ve
screamed. I hate reptiles. Frogs I love, but creatures with scales, I don’t.

“This will be your private
lodge. It’s unlocked and everything you need should be inside; dinner will also
be delivered shortly. If there is anything further you require, please do not
hesitate to contact me on the in-house telephone. Enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you, Dorothy, could
you please deliver our meals at 7:30 p.m.? We would like to get settled in
first.”

“Certainly, Sir.” She
practically curtsied, then walked away.
Settled in? Is that what we are
calling it now?
He carried me up the steps and opened the sliding glass
door with his foot and elbow. I couldn’t help but remember the last time I was
carried like this into a hotel room, and I cursed myself the second that memory
entered my mind. I forced it back down with the others that seemed to want to
rear their ugly heads.

“Here we are my love, home
for the next three days.” The room was beautiful. As you walked in, the first
thing you noticed was a king-sized bed in front of a dark red feature wall,
well that was the first thing I noticed anyway.
Of course it was, Alexis,
you little devil.
The flooring was a dark hard-wood, making a very striking
contrast to the crisp, white linens. The roof went up like a tee-pee, and was
made of a white canvas material, resembling flowing curtains, giving the room a
touch of both elegance and romance.

“You can put me down now, Mr.
Clark.” He set me down, and like a child I took off to explore my new
surroundings. The feature wall worked like a labyrinth, and when you walked
behind it and turned to the left you found yourself in another room, a room
with a small kitchenette and dining area. This room led out to a private
balcony and swimming pool. I stepped onto the balcony and was struck with awe
at the fact Uluru was pretty much smack-bang in front of me. I couldn’t believe
my eyes, it was just stunning. Everything was perfect. Bryce was perfect. And this
little tee-pee lodge was perfect, different, but perfect.

I wandered back to the
bedroom in search of Bryce. He was accepting our luggage and talking to the helpful
man who had delivered it, so I continued to investigate our perfect little love
nest. I had not yet found the toilet and was extremely close to peeing my
pants. Thankfully, I found the bathroom behind the feature wall and to the
right.
Brilliant!
I relieved myself instantly, but realised I had not
locked the door.
Oh shit, what if he comes in and sees me sitting on the
toilet?
I wasn’t ready for that.
Oh, but you were ready to tell him, you
would one day marry him Alexis! Figure that one out.
I was so overwhelmed it
wasn’t funny. I just needed to breathe, gather my bearings and take one step at
a time. Yes, I was here in a fairy tale with a new man, but I was still
technically married, and my husband had no idea where I was, let alone what I
was doing.