‘I didn’t know that.’
‘I’ve had it for a while, but I don’t really look at it much. Em made me get on it. She used to show me your videos after you left. I can see why you have such a big following, you’re a natural.’
‘I don’t know about that. It helps if you’re interested in what you post about.’
‘It’s more than that. You aren’t fake or following any stupid trends. You’re just you. People like that.’
She wasn’t sure what to say to that. It was one of the nicest compliments she’d ever received. ‘Well, it’s not always like this. I mean, the whole Elvis thing is pretty unusual. One of those things that had all the right bits to make it go viral, but social media is great for lots of other stuff too. You can find old school friends, and follow pages to do with farming and even your regen stuff. There’d be heaps of groups set up with people helping each other and sharing information.’
‘I’m already in touch with any old friends I want to still be in touch with, and if I want information, I go out and search for it. How do you know any of these people in these groups even know what the hell they’re talking about? They could be full of shit.’
‘Hopeless,’ she muttered, shaking her head in dismay. ‘Seriously, for a progressive farmer, you’re a dinosaur when it comes to technology. I don’t know how you think you’re going to stay up to date with everything going on.’
‘The old-fashioned way. I watch the news and listen to talkback radio in the tractor.’ He smiled and reached over to link his fingers through hers. ‘And for everything else, I’ve got you.’
‘Like I said.’ She smiled softly. ‘Hopeless.’
‘I gotta get back,’ he said, gently rocking their linked hands back and forth. ‘But I’ll come by later tonight?’
Bel nodded, already looking forward to seeing him. She felt only a flicker of apprehension when he leaned down to kiss her goodbye, hoping no one noticed, but by the time his lips lifted from hers, all she felt was regret that he had to go back to work. She didn’t care who knew they were seeing each other. Dean Preston left her feeling a little giddy.
The chook pen was almost finished and not a moment too soon. Much to everyone’s relief, Craig’s progress hadn’t stopped and he was slowly getting stronger. Emma was due home at the end of the week for a visit with the kids and a break from the hospital, and the pen would be a lovely surprise—something happy she could take back to tell Craig.
Bel let her gaze roam freely over Dean as he hammered a final piece of wire into place to make the enclosure safe for the assortment of black, red, white and speckled hens that scratched and pecked around their feet. He didn’t have to be spending so much time over here helping. He had more than enough to do at his own place, but he’d given up hours and hours to help out his friends. She had nothing but admiration for him. She liked the way he did things without any fanfare or expectation. Like the other day, he’d noticed the kitchen tap leaking and went out to his car only to return with some tools to replace the washer, all withouthaving to be asked. Nothing bothered him—kids running through the house, arguing or having tantrums. He took it all in his stride.
He looked up and caught her watching, giving her one of his brief side grins that she found more than a little distracting. A flutter of awareness raced through her as she thought about later this evening. It had been hard to find any quality time together lately, between his long hours harvesting and her duties with the kids. But tonight, he wasn’t working. They’d planned to spend the whole day together, getting the house sorted for Emma’s return tomorrow, and he was staying for dinner.
The kids were putting the finishing touches on the outside of the hen house, each painting their own sections, when Bel left them to fetch a bag of laying pellets from the shed so she could fill up the new self-feeders Dean had made.
It took a second for her eyes to adjust from the sunlight outside to the darker interior of the shed as she headed across to the stack of various feed bags neatly stored on pallets.
As she pulled one of the bags free, she noticed a timber box behind it that seemed strangely out of place. It looked old and had faded stencilled signage on the side, the kind that second-hand stores put eye-watering prices on to sell as vintage collectables.
Inside was a hessian bag. Curiosity well and truly got the best of her and she opened the bag, jumping backwards and letting out a startled scream as she revealed the stiff bodyof an animal. A stuffed animal or, more precisely, a very familiar stuffed rooster.
What the hell?
As she leaned forward to inspect the contents of the bag, she felt something drop behind her. In the split-second it took to turn and register what the noise was, her mouth had already opened in a silent scream, which suddenly turned into a shriek of utter horror when a fat, extremely long snake slithered across the floor.
Within moments, Dean was rushing through the doorway, and he quickly spotted her perched on top of the stacked feed bags she’d somehow scaled, though she couldn’t recall how.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘There’s a snake,’ she stammered.
‘What kind?’ he asked, carefully scanning the corner of the shed her shaky finger indicated.
‘I don’t know.’
‘Well, was it black or brown? A red-belly?’
‘I don’t know!’ she said, her voice raising frantically. ‘It almost fell on me.’
‘Fell on you?’
They both glanced upwards and Bel let out a startled squeak when they spotted a second snake, looped around the rafters above.
‘It’s just a python,’ Dean said, sounding relieved.
