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back in his seat. “I have no idea. I think I’m having some sort of mid-life crisis. I’m thirty-five and still don’t know what I want to do with the rest of my life. It’s hard because although my parents are great, I’m sure they expected me to make something of my life, like Kate has.”
    Mackenzie frowned. “Have they said as much?”
    He shook his head vigorously. “No, not at all. But I’m sure they must be wondering when I’m going to grow up and settle down.”
    By “settling down” did he mean getting married and having kids? That’s certainly what it meant to her.
    “What did you study at university then?” She assumed he would have gone straight to university after school.
    “Would you believe I did a teaching degree?” He looked at her as though expecting her to think it was some kind of joke and laugh at him.
    “Actually, yes,” Mackenzie replied. “I reckon you’d be a great teacher.” And she meant it.
    His face clouded. “I wouldn’t know. I couldn’t get a job once I finished, so I packed my bags and took off for the UK. I thought I’d find a teaching job over there, but ended up only being able to get work in pubs. I did that for over ten years before moving to Iron Ridge and have never taught a single day in my life.”
    Mackenzie raised one eyebrow. “So why don’t you apply for a teaching position now? Surely there must be a job somewhere in the country.”
    “I doubt that I could. It’s been well almost fifteen years since I trained and because I’ve never taught, no one would give me a job.”
    “But you don’t know that for sure,” Mackenzie said. “Maybe you should apply for something.”
    The look he gave her made her back off a bit. Had she hit a raw nerve? Or did she sound like his mother? She changed tack. “So do you really like living in the middle of nowhere?”
    His face lit up. “Absolutely. I love it. The Ridge has become my home. You know,” he said, leaning forward again, “the best thing about living in the Pilbara is the people. They’re like family. You know everyone, and they know you.” He paused and gave a chuckle. “And everything about you too!”
    “It sounds kind of perfect to me,” Mackenzie said, voicing her earlier thoughts.
    She knew exactly what Nathan was describing. A long time ago she’d experienced that same sense of community – where people knew everything about each other and looked out for one another. Where people cared for one another.
    She pushed the distant memories aside and reflected on her current life in Sydney. Mackenzie loved nursing but she was in a rut. The reality was, most of her work colleagues were merely that – colleagues – some of them probably didn’t even know her last name. Her flatmate was simply someone she shared a house with – hardly a close friend. Sydney was great, but she couldn’t see herself living there forever. She’d been there fifteen years already and some days it felt longer than a life sentence. The alternative was moving back to her hometown, which was never going to happen. Too much water had passed under that bridge.
    As though reading her mind, Nathan’s next question surprised her.
    “What about your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
    “I do. I have five sisters.”
    And one brother. Although she wasn’t telling him that.
    His eyebrows shot up in astonishment. “Six girls!? Imagine having to share a bathroom!”
    “Yeah,” Mackenzie said with a smile. “I’m used to it, but I love the shock it gives people when they hear there are six of us.”
    “I pity your poor father.” Nathan tilted his head. “Especially if they are all as beautiful as you.”
    She groaned. It was the worst pick-up line she had ever heard. Plus he needed to have his eyes tested. She wasn’t beautiful – not like her sisters.
    Mackenzie was different from her sisters in many ways. Aside from the fact she was the only one still unmarried, she looked nothing like them. Not