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Caleb nodded. ‘And I don’t know much about snakes, but black and red doesn’t fill me with much confidence.’

Hannah’s head lowered with a crinkled brow of confusion. ‘What?’

‘Black and red can’t be good, can it?’ He pointed towards one of the boulders, where a black snake with a red belly was slowly uncoiling from where it had been basking in the sun and was now pouring its long body from the rock onto the bush floor. It was over a metre in length and was still unravelling.

Hannah took a deep breath followed by a tentative step backwards, her hand grabbing his and clutching it tight. ‘Let’s get out of here,’ she whispered. ‘Very carefully.’

‘It’s not really moved since we arrived.’

Hannah stared at him in horror. ‘You knew it was there the whole time?’

‘It only started moving a minute ago.’

Hannah opened her mouth as if to say something, and then shook her head. ‘Let’s go.’

‘Agreed,’ said Caleb with a nod, and they made their way out of the clearing, being far more careful with their feet on their way back than they had been on their way in.

When they stepped back onto the main trail, Hannah bent over, bracing her hands on her knees and took in several deep breaths. ‘Fuuuuck!’ she breathed out the word with a long exhale.

‘You okay?’ he asked and was surprised that when she straightened up, she swatted him with enough force to make his arm sting. ‘Ow!’

‘Never do that again!’ she snapped, striding forward with an exasperated shake of her head. ‘Never!’

Caleb couldn’t help but grin. She was cute when she was angry.

Later that night, after dinner, Caleb went for a walk around the ranch while Hannah showered; she’d been shaken by the snake and had spent most of dinner researching the red-bellied black snake of Australia to see if it was venomous. It was, in fact, highly venomous.

Which had led to another glare from Hannah while she researched anti-venoms. He’d tried to ease her worries by pointing out that according to the quick internet search, the red-bellied black snake was actually a shy and non-aggressive animal. But this didn’t seem to comfort her, so he decided to give her some space while she showered and checked the cabin for unwelcome guests.

He needed to be alone anyway for this phone call, and after sitting down on a garden bench, he finally plucked up the courage to call Baz’s wife, Cathy.

She answered on the third ring. ‘Hello love,’ she said warmly, but her voice was weary.

‘Everything okay?’

There was a slight delay, and then a quiet sob. His heart sank. ‘What’s happened?’

‘He’s insisting on a DNR,’ cried Cathy, and he could hear her torment down the line.

The worst thing was, Caleb could understand Baz’s reasoning. The operation wouldn’t give Baz any more mobility or end his chronic pain. It might help with his seizures, but it might also cause more problems for him later down the line. If Caleb was in his position and he died on the operating table, would he want to be brought back? He wasn’t sure.

‘I’m so sorry.’

The following conversation was agony. He asked questions and Cathy gave hopeless answers, and in the end, they both knew there was nothing they could do. It was Baz’s decision.

‘I’ll let you go. It must be late over there.’

‘Let me know how the op goes, and if you need to talk, call me.’

‘Thank you darlin’. Give Hannah a big kiss from us.’

They said their goodbyes, and by the time Caleb arrived back at the cabin, Hannah was already in bed.

‘Am I still in the doghouse?’ he asked quietly, praying she wasn’t already asleep.

The bed creaked, and Hannah answered sleepily, ‘You’re forgiven.’

Caleb walked over to her bed and clambered in beside her, pulling her body close and burying his face in her hair. The smell of lemons filled his nose, sharp and sweet sunshine, easing the fear and discomfort from his conversation about Baz. Soon, he might lose his friend – his father figure, if he were honest – and there was nothing he could do about it.