Billy barked a laugh.‘Oh, I like this one.’Tipping his hat to her in an old-fashioned gentlemanly manner.
Even Mean-Rene cracked the ghost of a smirk from her post behind the bar.
Taryn took that as a small win.
Samantha reached behind the bar and grabbed a room key from the hook-board, then tossed it to Finn.‘The officer has room four.’
‘Billy’s been up there patching the bathroom floorboards.Mostly solid now,’ piped in Mean-Rene.
‘Only fell through once,’ Billy added helpfully.
Were they for real?Or teasing her?
Samantha ignored them, keeping a measured calm as if trying to read beneath Taryn’s skin.‘You’ve got a week, yeah?’
‘Two.’
Finn groaned, dropping his head as if to drown his sorrows in his beer.
‘Good.Unpack, remember to keep hydrated if you’re not used to our climate, and don’t poke Karma.But he doesn’t mind the company.’
‘Karma?’Taryn asked.
Samantha nodded at the beer garden door, where a sign hung crookedly above it:
KARMA BITES.DON’T FEED THE PET.
‘He’s a three-legged rescued saltie,’ Billy chimed in.‘Locals love him, especially on betting days when we feed him.’
‘You have a crocodile in the beer garden?’
‘This is Elsie Creek, luv.It is croc country.So don’t go swimmin’ anywhere, unless you wanna be croc bait.’
‘Naturally.’WTF?‘So you have a pool?’
‘Only for Karma,’ replied Samantha.‘Just so you know, we don’t do breakfast anymore.You’ll find that across the road at the train station’s food van.It opens at dawn.Brilliant coffee, you won’t be disappointed.’
‘Coffee’s good.’
‘You can also help yourself to the coffee and tea in the dining room at any time.We do lunch and dinner, but the chef has strict hours.And trust me, you don’t want to upset the chef.’
‘And it’s not some veganese-vegetarian menu of muck either,’ declared Billy.‘This is cattle country, girlie.You’ll get your steak the way it comes.Andyou’ll like it.’
‘Ask for almond milk,’ Mean-Rene cut in, ‘and I’ll show you what I can do with a shovel.’
‘Good to know.I’ll keep my dietary preferences… shovel safe, shall I?’Was Taryn going to survive her stay?
Samantha chuckled softly with Billy, but it was the grunt of approval from Mean-Rene that made her breathe easier.
Finn finished the last of his beer, set the glass down, scooped up her suitcase, and jerked his head toward the side door.‘Let’s go, Fed, before Billy offers turndown service and Rene puts you to work.’
Taryn followed him into a narrow corridor that stretched out under pressed tin ceilings, lined with worn floorboards that creaked in protest under Finn’s heavy boots.The office sat on the right, as the unmistakable scent of frying onions and searing meat drifted from the kitchen at the end of the hall.
It was enough to have her stomach growl like it had a life of its own.
To the left, the dining room sat with wooden tables polished by decades of elbow wear.A coffee pot simmered on the sideboard, near the simple chalkboard menu.
But her attention drifted… elsewhere.
