She walked out into the living room as we all sat down to eat, and my eyes sucked in the sight of her pink, flushed skin and the way she was towelling dry her hair. Her smile, the way her eyes lit up as she came over, it was like a cold beer on my dry throat.
But I couldn’t let myself take a drink.
“Hey.” She sat down beside me. “How was your day?” With a shake of her head, she forged on. “What am I saying? It was terrible, right?” With a critical look at my bowl, her lips pursed and all I could think about was kissing them until all the tension leeched away. “And you must be so sick of chilli. I can make something else.”
And she would too. There was something soft, gentle, sweet about Mackenzie and right now that was beyond tempting. Lose myself in her, pretend the heat wave, Dad, all of it wasn’t about to hit, but I knew now that wasn’t possible.
“Food’s fine,” I said, my voice perfectly flat, because if I let myself express one emotion, then the rest would come with it. “I’ll eat it in the office.” Her watching me stand up, then move away with a look of confusion straight up killed me. “Keeping stock animals in containment fields is bloody expensive and I’ve gotta play with the numbers, see if I can find the money for all the feed we’re gonna need.”
I had no idea if she understood what that meant or even cared, because I got up abruptly, walking outside the house and up to my dad’s old office, where my laptop and the budget spreadsheet were. It was only when I sank down into the cracked leather chair that I realised I’d left my dinner behind.
Didn’t matter.
Full belly or not, that hollow feeling in my chest wasn’t going anywhere. I shoved that to one side as I fired the computer up and then my fingers flew over the keyboards as I started to create an array of possible scenarios, desperately hoping to find one that would get us out of this mess.
Chapter 20
Mackenzie
“You don’t have to come out with me today,” Charlie said in a grim tone. Resting her arms on the tray of the 4WD, her eyes met mine. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
What the hell was with the Drysdales pushing me away? It wasn’t enough that I slept in my own bed last night, but now Charlie was trying to stop me from coming with her to search the nearby forests for heat-affected animals?
A girl could start feeling rejected.
“You don’t need another set of hands?” I said, keeping my tone light. “If I’ll just get in your way?—”
“Didn’t say that,” she replied, then stared off in the distance. “It’s just… This is the tough part, Mackenzie. Finding distressed animals is hard on you emotionally.”
That slight waver in her voice was somewhat reassuring. Troy had shut me down hard, pushing me away, but that tiny note of vulnerability was all I needed to hear.
“Then I’m with you,” I said. “Even if it’s just for moral support.”
I didn’t know what I’d signed up for until we got out into the forest.
Going around to the water stations we’d created, I got out and emptied, cleaned and refilled containers, not really understanding what the issue was until we found him.
“Here’s one.”
I was jolted forward in the seat as Charlie slammed her foot on the brake, then was out of the car in seconds. She’d talked me through what to do if we found dehydrated animals, so I grabbed a kidney dish, some water and followed her. Walking through the trees, I’d never have seen the koala. He was a grey lump in amongst a whole lot of white trunks and greyish-green leaves, so he was almost invisible. Not to Charlie, though.
“Hey, fella…” she crooned, getting in closer, and that should’ve been enough to have a wild koala clawing his way up the trunks in his haste to get away from us. Instead his head hung on his shoulders, his eyes filmy and unfocussed. “You’re not doing too good, are you?”
“Is he alright?” That question was ridiculous, but I just blurted it out. After spending my life wanting to see a koala in the flesh, seeing one so ill broke my heart. “He just needs some water, right?”
Charlie asked if I was up for it and this was why. My hands shook as I poured water into the kidney dish, ready to hand it over, as she inspected the animal. Taking the water, she held it up to the animal, but apart from a tentative lick, he was largely unresponsive.
“Do we give him the bottle of water?” I asked, forgetting everything she taught me. “Put it to his lips? He’s dehydrated and?—”
“That will result in him aspirating the water and getting a lung infection.”
Charlie was completely calm. Eerily so as she tipped the water out onto the ground and then grabbed the carrier I’d brought with us. Reaching inside, she pulled out a blanket and began placing it around the koala.
“Won’t that just make him hotter?” Why the hell was I getting so worked up? I knew what she was going to say. That koalas find people super stressful to be around and reducing what he could see would help the animal remain calm. That shock was just as big a killer of animals as injuries and dog attacks. “I mean…” Flicking my hands, I paced back and forth, trying to regain composure. “We’re helping him get less stressed about transporting him to the vet.” I glanced at her. “That’s where we’re going, right? Now, to the vet, now.”
“To the vet’s now,” she confirmed with a nod, helping the koala into the carrier and then locking the wire door before walking over to the car. “It’s OK. We’re OK, Mackenzie.”
“But it’s not, is it?” All of the knowledge she’d imparted was academic until just this moment. “Like you said, some koalas die from heat exhaustion.” My sight blurred as I looked down at the carrier, but I blinked the tears away before they could form. “He might?—”
