Chapter 4
The dog days of December were nothing compared to the blistering temperature of Queensland caught in a January heat wave. The Falcon's cooling gauge teetered just beneath the red line as a wavy mirage wafted off the highway ahead of the car. I considered turning around and going home, but the last thing I wanted was to sit at the station and remember that, had I stayed with Gregory, today would have been my wedding day.
The fields whipped past us in a mindless blur; beige, gold, beige, brown, and then every few kilometers we'd pass a field that was lush and green, the lucky recipient of a reliable irrigation system. Most of the fields had wilted into desiccated grass, victims of the drought which was the topic of endless worry on the news.
A muffled chime sounded from somewher
