Holly smiled. Daft man.
‘So tell me this, then – who’s Alex?’
The question floored her and she looked at Rory so quickly, her own hair slapped her in the face. ‘Alex?’ she repeated, moronically.
‘Yes. And before you pretend you don’t know – don’t.’ Rory shot her a look that told her he would brook no bullshit.
Holly sat up fully and took another deep breath, this time with significantly less gratitude. This was not a conversation she ought to be having with this man. ‘. . . He’s Tara’s ex. From ages ago. Like . . . a decade! . . . I can barely remember him, to be honest,’ she lied. She had watched her best friend living with the man’s ghost every single day of those ten years.
Rory didn’t reply immediately. He was still staring out to sea but Holly sensed he couldn’t see Dev belly-flopping on the board, losing his balance and falling in with an almighty splash and a shout.
She swallowed, feeling nervous and not liking the vibe that sat upon him today. He’d been grumpy all week; it had hardly been the tropical holiday of dreams that he’d anticipated and Holly had had a lot of sympathy for him, frankly; she’d have been pissed off in his shoes, too. But this felt different. Any mention of Alex Carter in relation to Tara was never a good thing. ‘Why d’you ask?’
‘It came up in conversation,’ he shrugged, looking evasive.
‘With Ta? You mean you spoke to her?’
‘Not exactly.’
He was talking in riddles. Holly put a hand on his arm. ‘Ror, what’s going on? Talk to me.’
There was a long pause in which nothing happened, then his whole body sagged, his head dropping. Holly felt a bolt of alarm. This wasn’t like him; he didn’t collapse or fall apart at the seams. He was stoic and dependable and resilient. A little dull perhaps, for Holly’s taste, but nonetheless a good man. Decent. Not deserving of this.
He looked back at her. ‘The other night, I had a brainwave.’
‘Oh yeah?’
‘Thought it was such a good idea.’
‘Tell me, then.’
‘You know when those guys came to tell us about Jed?’
She nodded, frowning hard. ‘I know. It was so terrible.’
‘Yeah . . . Well, I decided to go back with them.’
‘What? Back where?’
‘To the conservation park. Where Tara’s gone.’
‘When?’
He sighed, irritated by her lack of understanding. ‘They told us Ta had continued the expedition with another ranger, so I asked if they had any way of contacting him. I was worried about her and wanted to know she was alright. They said they had some radio equipment that works within a certain radius, but it was back at their base station. So they took me up there. I had to sleep on the bloody floor.’ He stretched his neck.
‘But I thought you’d gone out with Miles and Zac!’ Holly muttered, shocked as she tried to think back. The days were all beginning to run into one now. As she recalled, she, Dev and Jimmy had gone into town for tacos and to hear a reggae band playing. ‘Jesus . . . So, did you get hold of this guy?’
‘Oh yeah.’ He stared back out to sea. Jimmy was paddling back out on his board, lying on his stomach, arms wheeling in strong arcs.
‘And? . . . Oh shit,’ she whispered, getting it at last. ‘Alex is the ranger.’ Her entire body became tense. ‘Tara’s in the jungle . . . with Alex.’
Rory winced at her response. ‘And that’s exactly why I wanted to know who the hell this Alex character is. I’ve tried ignoring it – I kept telling myself I just need to trust her – but I know what I heard. She’s in love with him.’
‘What?! No!’ Holly’s brain was struggling to catch up with this development. It made no sense. How on earth could Tara be out there with him, of all people? She knew he worked for Tara’s father – everyone who’d been there ten years ago knew that – but for them to have just randomly met in the jungle . . .
‘You don’t have to cover for her, Hols . . . I heard them. I know the score.’ His words seemed to have an echo to them, ringing in her head. This was all wrong. And bad. Really bad.
‘Rory, what do you mean, you know the score? Tara hasn’t seen Alex in almost ten years! He was an absolute bastard, he completely used her! The entire affair was a disaster for her, the worst thing to ever happen in her life. You’re the best!’
Rory squinted against the sun, staring past the horizon. ‘There’s unfinished business between them.’
‘What . . .? No!’ she blustered. ‘You’re wrong. Why on earth would you think that?’
‘Because I heard them! I keep telling you, I heard them over the radio . . . He must have kept his finger down on the “speak” button. I think the bastard wanted me to hear them.’
Holly stared at him in utter disbelief, her mouth agape. ‘Ror, listen to me,’ she beseeched. ‘Tara hates him. She totally hates him. I can’t stress that enough. No one can even mention his name to her.’
‘And that alone doesn’t strike you as odd?’ he asked bluntly. ‘It doesn’t seem weird to you that she has never mentioned this person to me, not once in the fifteen months we’ve been together? If it’s been ten years, why isn’t she over it by now? His name should hardly register, ten years later – surely?’
Holly swallowed, feeling out of her depth. It wasn’t for her to be having this conversation with him. ‘Look, it wasn’t a straightforward breakup. Other things happened too. She was completely devastated. She didn’t leave her bed for three whole weeks.’
But Rory wasn’t listening. ‘I think he kissed her. Right there.’
‘No,’ Holly protested again. ‘There’s no way Tara would have done that.’
‘She didn’t. I think he kissed her, because she was really angry afterwards. She kept saying no. That she hated him. All the things you’ve just said.’
‘So then what are you worrying
