how hungry she was. When Morgan cleared away the stove and handed her an enamel plate piled with food, she perched on the end of the tray and started to devour the offering.
âNot much, Iâm afraid,â Morgan said as he parked himself beside her, âbut I expected to be home well before this.â
She groaned and licked her fingers. âItâs terrific. You can cook for me any time you like.â
When theyâd finished, Morgan took their plates and tossed them into a box in the back of the truck. Then he joined her again as the sun dropped below the horizon. Gili felt at peace for the first time in a long whileâ¦until she remembered why she was here in Australia.
She wanted to ask Morgan about the Aboriginal legend surrounding the Dreamtime Fire opal, but was reluctant to disturb the camaraderie that had developed between them. Instead, she asked about his job.
âHow come you lecture at the university when you have a full-time job running a ranchâ¦er, station?â
He shrugged and Gili felt the brush of his shoulder against her own. A shiver feathered through her. She bit her lip and endeavored to control her reaction.
âI like teaching, I guess,â he said. âAnthropologyâs a passion. I love discovering how it used to be, finding things that give us an insight into how people lived in the past. If my parents hadnât died in a car crash just as I finished my degree, Iâd probably be lecturing full-time. In between digs, of course.â
Gili grimaced. She didnât want to talk about digs. It would only dredge up the whole Iranian affair and the last thing she wanted was Morgan angry with her again. As she searched around in her mind for something else to talk about, she realized night had fallen. Out here, it was pitch black except for the stars, no street light illumination to break up the unrelieved darkness.
Now she shivered for a different reason. This was a world she had no knowledge of, despite the research sheâd done before sheâd come to Australia. The stars seemed closer. The land more rugged. Wilder than sheâd imagined. And the men? Definitely sexier, although she was a little biased now, after spending time with Morgan again.
Sheâd opened her mouth to make some inane remark when an ominous howling floated through the air. The sound made the small hairs on the back of Giliâs neck stand on end. She clutched at Morganâs arm and shuffled closer. âOh my God, what the heck was that?â
âProbably just a dingo.â Morgan hugged her close, chuckling at her fright. âThe dingo is Australiaâs wild dog. Itâs interesting really. It doesnât bark, but it sure does know how to howl.â
He tilted his head on one side. âCome to think of it, that didnât sound like a dingo. Of course, it could be a yowie.â
She stared at him though the darkness. âYowie? As in a yeti or abominable snowman? Aww, come on. A yeti? Like Iâd be silly enough to believe that.â She was sure Morgan was joking. Just the same, she moved closer still when the sound echoed through the night again.
âHey, donât knock it. Thereâs anthropological evidence that points to the fact that the yowies, or yahoos as the Aboriginal people called them, were the first inhabitants in Australia. The last known sighting was here in Queensland at a place called Gympie, only a few years ago.â
Gili remained silent, not certain if he was fooling or not. She peered around, jumping at every sound.
Morgan burst out laughing. âDonât worry, Iâll protect you if the big bad hairy man comes to get you.â
He climbed up onto the tray and disappeared inside the back of the truck. Moments later, the interior light flashed on. With a deft flick of his wrist, he dropped the back seat and started moving things around. Within minutes, heâd cleared a space down the middle of the rear
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