One Endless Summer by Laurie Ellingham

Author:Laurie Ellingham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin (UK) Ltd

CHAPTER 35

Day 41

Lizzie

Lizzie stretched out her legs, causing her bed to sway back and forth, and wondered again what had possessed them to spend the night in hammocks. She gripped the rope edges and steadied herself. The website blurb had made it sound so appealing: Drift off to sleep in the tranquillity of the Green Mountains. Star gaze from the comfort of your very own luxury hammock and wake up to the soft melodies of the dawn chorus.

Chorus? More like a hundred screeching bird calls reverberating through the trees and perforating the otherwise still morning. One yawp-like wail after another, after another. Each more piercing than the last.

Lizzie stared at her watch. It was nearly 5am. Two minutes before their alarms would sound, although she doubted they would hear them over the bird noises.

She yawned, drawing in a deep lungful of cool air. She pulled in another long breath, filling her senses with the clear, sweet freshness of the forest and the scent of musky earth. The hit of oxygen caused her head to spin but did nothing to dent the fog of tiredness.

Lizzie swung her legs over the edge of the hammock, dropped to the forest floor and yawned again. The past three days on the Gold Coast should have been peaceful, but the combination of restlessness, and the resulting frustration, as well as Jaddi, Samantha, and Harrison’s changed behaviour, had added an enervating quality to the week. They’d tiptoed and cosseted, asking the same questions in soft voices: Was she OK? Yes. How was her vision? Perfect. Did she need anything? Yes – for everyone to stop acting as if she was about to collapse to the floor at any moment!

She glanced at the other four hammocks, spread around their camp in a wide circle. Only one other was empty – Ben’s. It took Lizzie a moment to register the hump of sleeping bag on the floor beneath it. Why hadn’t she thought of that? The ground would have been hard and cold, but at least it didn’t move.

Ben had kept his distance since his accusations in the hospital room. They hadn’t spoken. Not a single word. He seemed content to linger at the back of the room and hide behind the scope of his camera, and she’d found herself missing their friendship.

He’d caught her at a weak moment. She’d been grateful for his help and shaken from losing her sight. She’d wanted desperately to explain to him that she knew he meant well. His promise to help was touching, but in the end what could he do?

Being able to see again had been the only bearable part of the past three days. She’d discovered an appreciation for the reflection of the sun glistening on the ocean, and had spent hours on the balcony of the apartment watching the sea.

In those days on the Gold Coast, the only distraction had been her phone. She’d scrolled through the thousands of well-wishing comments on their Facebook page, and browsed the

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