“Well…” I tried really hard not to be disappointed when I looked back at Mackenzie and saw she’d jerked a long t-shirtover her head. “He needs to find somewhere else to live because this room isn’t big enough for the both of us.”
“Huntsman spiders aren’t venomous,” I replied.
“Well, are they armour plated? Because I’ve got a flip flop.” She pulled a rubber thong out of her bag. “And it’s got his name on it.”
“Fine.”
I made for the door, but she stopped me.
“Where are you going? You can’t leave me in here alone with… Bruce.”
And I didn’t want to. Making my feet move took some effort, but it was something I had to do. A glance over my shoulder and I explained.
“To get a bowl and some paper. I’ll catch and release him outside.”
“Not without me…” Didn’t like the quavery sound of her voice. Liked the way she shrank back with a yelp as Bruce crawled across the wall even less. “Scratch that,” she said. “Just… hurry, please.”
Please. For some reason that word stuck with me as I made for the kitchen. Charlie looked up from where she was peeling potatoes.
“Didn’t hear you come home.”
“Or Mackenzie scream either?” I said, opening cupboards and then grabbing a glass bowl as well as a sheet of paper out of the printer.
“Scream…?” She frowned as she looked up. “Shit, Bruce.”
“He’s about to get evicted,” I said, holding up my supplies.
“Well, if it’s between Mackenzie and that spider, she stays. That clear, brother?” Charlie shot me a meaningful look. “She’s good with the animals and?—”
“Mackenzie stays,” I said with a nod, definitely not seeing all that sun-kissed skin in my mind. “Now, I’ve gotta deal with a spider.”
Does something to a man, a woman looking up at you in relief the moment you walk into the room. The fact it was because I was now a spider wrangler made it less satisfying.
“Maybe head into the shower,” I suggested. “Close the door, because huntsmans are jumpy bastards.”
“Jumpy…” She started to back off, then let out another yelp. “Every time I move, he does the same!”
“He’s as scared as you are,” I said.
“Not actually possible.” That was squeaked out between her teeth, but as she made for the shower, I moved.
“C’mere, you little bugger…” Reaching out slowly with the glass bowl, I crooned to the spider. “Scaring girls like that is no good.” With a flush, I remembered how I’d yelled at Mackenzie when I got her over the fence. “So let’s get you…” The bowl snapped down over the spider and he raced around, testing his brand new boundaries. “Gotcha!”
“Now what…?” Mackenzie wasn’t washing away her troubles under the hot water. Instead she watched the proceedings wide eyed. “It’s not like he’s going to stay in that bowl. Oh.”
I slid the paper behind the bowl, then flipped them away from the wall. Bruce was not pleased, scurrying around in the bowl as I made for the window. Mackenzie wrenched it open, then jumped out of my way, craning her neck to watch me dump the spider outside. The window was jerked down by the girl seconds later and then her breath came hard and fast.
“That was… Is he…?”
“Have a shower,” I said, not wanting to answer those questions at all, because there were huntsmans all over the farm. Handy buggers, they kept the bug population down,stopping the house from getting infested with cockroaches or weevils. “You’re safe now.”
“My hero.” Her smile was wobbly around the edges, seeming to take a whole lot of effort to form. “You’ve saved me twice today.”
But that’s what men did, right? What was the point of being bigger, stronger, uglier, if not to keep women and children safe? Couldn’t say that though, could I? With a shake of my head, I exited the room.
“It was nothing.”
So why did I stand in the hallway long after she closed the door, listening for the sound of the shower running? Catching myself imagining what was happening in the bathroom had me striding out into the living area to be met by my sister’s amused expression.
