“Alright.” She nodded slowly. “We’ll do a trial and see what you think at the end of the week, but right now.” She hoisted a bag of pellets down. “It’s feeding time.”
“I fed a kangaroo,”I said to her some hours later as we walked back to the house.
“I know.”
Charlie shot me a wry smile.
“And that koala ate some of the gum leaves from the branch I held out.”
“Yep, they do that.”
“And that echidna… And the baby wombats…” My hands rose, fell, as I tried to process what just happened. “If I had to get back on a plane tomorrow, I’d still die a happy woman.”
“Animals are a good judge of character.” An arm went around my shoulders. “They like you, so you’re not going anywhere. I’ve been telling Troy I need help for some time. You colliding with Nugget?” I winced, but she gave me a squeeze and then let go. “That had to be him stepping in, making sure we all get what we need.” She opened the front door of the main house and then ushered me in. “Have a shower, put on some fresh clothes, and then we’ll get started on dinner. The boys will tell you they can cook, but unless you want instant ramen or cheese toasties for the entirety of your stay, meal prep usually falls to us.”
“I can cook.” I was talking too fast, my voice getting higher, like it always did when I was excited. “Do you have any beef?” Charlie smiled. “Oh my god, this is farm that runs cattle. Ofcourse, you do. Have you ever had a California burrito? They’re amazing. If you have some tortillas, I could make some up.
“Shower first,” she said, “then you can do me up a shopping list. I’ve been cooking meat and three veg for these idiots for years, so anything new would be a relief.”
Mentally listing all the things I’d need, I went into my room and then shut my door, pulling my shirt and bra off, ready to get into the adjoining shower.
Then something moved on the wall.
“Oh my god…” Shrinking back, I saw the biggest damn spider I’ve ever seen. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”
As if in response to my blasphemy, the spider crawled higher.
I didn’t scream when I found an unconscious wombat on the road, nor when a bull was about to charge me, but maybe it was just the combined trauma of it all, God help me, I screamed right now.
Which resulted in the door being wrenched open.
Troy filled the doorway, striding inside without a thought, only to stop mid step.
Because I was half naked.
My hands slapped over my breasts, because suddenly I had bigger problems, and my grumpy boss watched my every movement. That ever present frown disappeared and I found myself staring blankly in response.
Huh, he was actually really handsome.
Of course, that observation was shoved to one side as the damn spider went skittering across the wall.
“Spider.” I pointed to the stupid thing. “Spider!”
“What?” Troy seemed to turn around almost regretfully. “Oh, that’s just Bruce.”
Chapter 6
Troy
I was a very bad man.
Hearing the scream and going barging into a strange woman’s room was my first mistake. Stopping and staring, catching a glimpse of the most beautiful set of tits I’d ever seen, still staring as she went to cover herself, was just compounding my poor decision making. All those freaking curves, it felt like I was memorising them, right up until she pointed a shaking hand at the wall.
“That’s just Bruce,” I said.
“Bruce? Bruce!” When women got mad, their voices got so high only dogs could hear them, but her fear, her shock was being communicated loud and clear. “Does every dangerous thing on this farm have a name?”
“Bruce isn’t dangerous.” I watched the spider crawl across the wall. “He’s just a bit skittish.” With a dry swallow, I continued. “Usually he has this room to himself.”
