Chapter 4
Troy
As if I didn’t have enough to do, now I needed to get rid of a bloody tourist.
A girl who didn’t know her arse from a hole in the ground, I thought as I pulled up out the front of the main admin building of the nearby winery.
A foolish girl, a silly girl… So why did my feet slow when I was supposed to be marching up to Phil’s office and asking him if he needed another worker?
Why did I look down, my fingers flexing, because I could still feel the imprint her body left there?
My skin felt too hot, too tight, like I’d somehow got a splinter stuck there and it had gotten infected.
That had me letting out a little growl as I forced myself to stride right up to the glossy facade of the building, then slid the door open before walking in.
“Troy!” Phil walked out and offered me his hand with a smile. The memory of someone else doing just that had me pausing for a split second, but the man was not Mackenzie. A firm handshake and he was ushering me into his office. “Can I tempt you with some wine?”
“You know I don’t drink the stuff,” I replied. Phil opened his hands, indicating that I needed to explain why I was here. “Look, you’d have to need grape pickers at this time of year, right?”
It was hard work, backbreaking, and in my mind I saw Mackenzie walking between the vines, bent over double as she carefully harvested the grapes. That felt like a really bad idea. But it wasn’t as if staying on our farm would be a cakewalk either. That fact had me looking up at Phil.
“We’re coming to the end of the season,” he replied. “The team we’ve got now will be winding things up soon and heading elsewhere.”
“What about a general hand?” I said, then an idea came to me. “Or a cellar door host?”
Phil sat back in his cushy chair, fingers forming a steeple.
“What’s this sudden interest in our staffing? Is Charlene sick of putting up with you a lot and looking for other work?”
Forcing my teeth to unclench, I replied.
“No, but she organised for this… girl to come and work on our farm.” Phil’s eyebrow arched slowly and that had my jaw tightening.
“She hadn’t even started with us and she wandered into our bull’s paddock.
” His little snort should’ve stopped me, but I forged on.
It was like the events of this morning needed to be purged from me before I could move past it.
“I need to find somewhere safer for her to go and she has experience working at wineries in the States, so—”
“If this was the start of the season, I’d be happy to take this girl off your hands,” Phil replied smoothly.
“But after the picking is done, our permanent staff take over things. Wine sales have been down the last few years. People aren’t buying red as much as they used to. I’m sorry, but I can’t help here.”
My fingers clawed at the arms of my chair. Brains were a curious thing and mine was showing me my own personal version of the dumb ways to die ad, and Mackenzie featured in each accident.
“Does she have any experience with horses? I know the stud is looking for more people?”
My mind cleared, becoming crystal clear as I met Phil’s gaze head on.
“No,” I said, getting to my feet, even though I distinctly remembered there being a mention of that on James… Mackenzie’s resume. “Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Phil.”
“Anytime, mate,” he said as I headed for the door. “And if Charlie ever wants to move into cellar management, just have her give me a call.”
She didn’t. Wine didn’t have fur, feathers, or fangs, so she was not interested at all, but that didn’t help me right now.
Jumping into the car, I started back towards town, intent on driving through and back home to deal with whatever new emergency my family managed to concoct, only to get a message from my sister.
Seeing a list of things she needed from the vet had me sighing.
What now? That’s what I wanted to ask, but I didn’t. Instead, I flicked on the indicator and then made my way over to the vet’s.
“Nugget got himself into a scrape, did he?” Deidre, the vet’s receptionist asked as I walked in through the door. “Here you go. The vet dispensed everything he’ll need, but said to bring him in if he gets disorientated, his balance seems affected, or he’s off his food.”
“Will do,” I said. “Thanks, Deidre.”
More money, I thought as I walked out the door.
More bills, more animals, more issues. For just a moment, I stood by my car, hand gripping the door handle as I let my breath come in and out slowly.
Sometimes it felt like the farm was like an avalanche, burying me under a fresh foot of snow every time I managed to dig my way to the top.
Getting into the car, I turned the engine over, then was going to head back home, when I drove past the pub.
Maybe a beer at lunch wouldn’t be such a bad thing? Might calm the throbbing tide of fear and anger in my blood.
You’re just trying to avoid going home, a voice inside my head insisted.
And that was true most days. It took me a while, but I realised why Dad was so keen to skip out on the place.
Work, work, disease, the right weather at the wrong time, and, you guessed it, more work.
It’s what should have put me back behind the wheel and driving towards the farm to make a dent in the long list of things that needed doing. Instead, I walked into the pub.
“Troy!” Vance, the publican, looked up as I walked in. “Don’t see you here often.”
“A beer, thanks, Vance,” I said, “and—”
“A chicken parma with vegetables on the side, no chips?” He winked when I nodded, then turned to put my order in. “So what brings you by?”
I settled down on a stool, my elbows hitting the wooden bar.
“Bad day.”
“Well.” He started pouring my beer. “You don’t usually come in here on good ones. Want to talk about it?”
Yes, that was my first thought, followed quickly by no. Don’t tell other people our business was Dad’s credo, a piece of advice he abandoned when he left home.
“New backpacker on the farm,” I said finally. “Charlie set it up, even though I expressly said no.”
“Charlie is a strong woman,” he replied. “Not sure any man could tell her what to do.”
“Yeah, well, she should’ve listened to me because this bloody American went stumbling into Wally’s paddock, running after a wounded wombat.”
He set my beer down, then pushed it my way. “She did what?”
“After hitting Nugget with her car.” I raked my fingers through my stubble. “So I was forced to jump the fence and get her out of the field before my bull killed her.” A long sigh escaped me. “Charlie signed us up for six months of this? The only way this girl is going back home is in a body bag.”
I took a sip from my beer.
“Need to find her somewhere else to stay. Tried Phil, but he’s winding things up on the winery. Do you know anyone that’s looking for people?”
The way Vance looked over my shoulder should’ve warned what was about to come next, but before I could look around, I heard this.
“Depends.” I turned slowly to see Beau Argyle standing there, hands shoved into the pockets of his designer moleskin pants. “Is she hot?”
Coming in here was supposed to be a break from all the shit, but there was no peace to be had with Beau around. I rose to my feet, and both men watched me move, but only this prick was grinning.
“Because if she is, I’m sure we could find something for her to do at the horse stud.” The more I frowned, the more he grinned. “I’ve been telling Dad I need an assistant. She could help me with some… personal jobs around the office.”
I shouldn’t have reacted. Dickheads like Beau? They lived for that shit, but in for a penny, in for a pound, as Mum always said. I stepped closer, forcing him to stare up at me.
“You keep the fuck away from Mackenzie.”
“Boys, you need to take whatever this is outside,” Vance warned. “I’m not having you tear the place up again.”
“Cancel the lunch order,” I told the publican, grabbing my beer and draining it, then slapping some money down on the bar. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
As I made for the door, I was pretty sure Vance let out a sigh of relief, only for Beau to take one last shot.
“I’ll come by sometime tomorrow, shall I? Introduce myself to the lady in question? Might stop and have a little chat with your sister, too.”
I was fighting so damn hard to keep my shit together and then the prick had to say something like this. Whirling around, before Vance could say a thing, my hand was gripping the front of Beau’s shirt, using that to haul him up on his tiptoes.
“Don’t go anywhere near Charlie,” I growled. “Nor Mackenzie, or my farm, or I’ll have you charged with trespassing.” Giving him a little shake, I had the satisfaction of hearing his teeth clack, but his grin didn’t dim for a second. “Are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
When I let the prick go, Beau stepped backwards, making a show of smoothing the wrinkles from his plaid shirt.
Having a beer at lunch was a mistake after all.
Rather than give me a moment’s respite, I was angrier than when I walked in.
Storming over to the car, I turned the engine over, but before I could throw it in reverse, I stared blankly at the rear-vision mirror.
I hadn’t found anywhere safe for Mackenzie to go, which meant that for the time being, she was staying exactly where she was.
Just down the hall from me.
Sucking in a breath, then letting it out with a huff, I pulled the car out and started driving back to the farm.