Chapter 5
Mackenzie
“I’m so, so sorry,” I told Charlie
“Don’t be.” She tried to smile and failed. “Nugget is an idiot, just like every other male on this farm.”
“Now, Charlie—” Billy started to say.
“Can you show me where he went?” she asked me. “Let’s not go inside Wally’s paddock again, but if I know where Nugget was hit, maybe I can track down where he got to.”
“Of course.”
Which resulted in us back at the scene of the crime.
Wally had a lot to say about our reappearance, but his grunts barely registered as I focussed on the blood on the road.
Following it forward, the dog, Sparky, snuffled at the ground, then leapt ahead before slipping between the fence wire.
Wally made a half-hearted lunge at him, but the dog pressed on, appearing on the other side of the fence, then trotting over to a stand of trees.
“I know where he’s gone.” Charlie moved with the same intensity as Sparky, stalking over to the trees, then coming to a stop in front of a burrow where a big furry ass was hanging out. “There you are, you little rascal.”
I sucked in a breath as she pulled the wombat out. There was some blood matted just above one eye, but little other apparent damage. Nugget wriggled in her grip, trying to get free, but she just held him out from her body as she marched over to a huge fenced off enclosure.
That’s where I walked through the gates of heaven.
Charlie and her brothers opened the metal door like it was no big thing, but I followed behind, mouth hanging open.
“Is that…?” I peered up at the top of a decent size tree, making out grey fur between the leaves. “Is that a koala?”
“Oh yeah.” Bronson said that like it was completely normal. “Charls has got a few in here.” He grabbed a bag down from a hook. “There’s kangaroo joeys…”
The man didn’t get a chance to say much more, as the thuds of furry feet quickly announced the other animal’s presence. Like fairies emerging from the forest, little baby kangaroos appeared.
“And here comes the possums. Watch out!”
I looked up to see little creatures flinging themselves out of the trees.
Spans of skin between their limbs acted like sails, allowing them to float through the air before they came to land on my shoulders.
Possums… Nothing like the ones we had at home, several sets of big brown eyes peered at me as they made little chittering noises as Bronson pulled out some food.
“I know, I know, you greedy bastards…”
Hot Aussie men hand feeding native animals wasn’t on my list of perfect experiences to have while in Australia, but only because I didn’t know that was possible.
He held out his hand flat, letting the kangaroos eat food from his palm, but when they were finished, he picked up another bag and thrust it my way.
“Give the possums some of this.”
“But I’m not sure…”
Whatever protests I was about to make, they died in my throat as the possums swarmed down my arms, wanting to get at the bag. Small pieces of vegetables appeared. I watched in fascination as they grabbed the chunks between their paws and started gnawing.
“How am I having a Snow White moment right now?” I asked.
Bronson shot me a shy smile.
“If you’re gonna break out into song about whistling while you work, maybe wait until we’re out of the enclosure,” he said. “Kangaroos, most of Charl’s critters, are pretty skittish.”
“No singing,” I agreed. “Wouldn’t want to scare you beautiful little things, would I?”
Using the same kind of babyish tone I did with puppies and kittens was probably not wise, but the possums didn’t seem to care.
They just eyed me and kept on chewing. When their tummies were full, they flung themself off again, going scrabbling up a tree trunk, and I felt curiously empty as a result.
Only for Charlie’s curses to change the atmosphere.
“Enough, you stupid bloody thing!” she snapped.
Nugget might be her foster wombat, but right now, he looked like a small child having a tantrum. She was trying to clean up the wound, and he looked like he was trying to gut her where she stood. I moved forward with perhaps the same stupid bravery as before.
“Hey.” The creature stopped for a second, looking up at me. “You know the nice lady is just trying to help you.”
A little huff of his breath almost had me thinking that he understood me.
“Just keep talking to him…” Charlie said in a low murmur. “Keep talking…”
“So I can see why they named you Nugget,” I told him.
“You’re like a little furry tank.” He jerked his head when she tried to wipe the wound with some antiseptic.
“Pretty sure you’d have given that bull a run for his money if the two of you faced off.
Was that why you ran in front of my car?
Because you’d be able to take out the bumper with those claws of yours? ”
The wombat stamped his feet in a way that reminded me of a skunk, which had me taking some instinctive steps backwards.
“There you go.” Charlie stepped back with a smile before pulling out her phone.
“I’ll send a message to Troy, telling him to pick up some supplies from the vet’s, but…
” As she glanced over the top of her phone, her brothers clustered closer.
“I don’t care what my stubborn prick of a brother says.
You just got Nugget to calm down for a second, so…
” Her hand went out. “Troy might not want you working on the farm, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay here and help in the wildlife rescue. ”
“Oh, this is gonna be good.” Billy rubbed his hands together. “Troy will flip out.”
I blinked, looking around the giant enclosure now and seeing it with fresh eyes. I’d been prepared to muck out stables, shovel hay, pick fruit, whatever, but working with wild animals? My grin could not be suppressed.
“I’d love to, mate.”
As I shook her hand, Billy nudged his brother in the ribs.
“Listen to Macca here, talking ‘Stralian. Next we’ll have you saying cu—”
“Good.” Charlie nodded, then turned to her brothers. “And you two need to fix the fence—”
“In the top paddock.” Bronson winked at me. “We know.”
“While I will talk you through the feeding and care schedule in here.” Charlie steered me over to a massive white board with a whole lot of things scrawled on it.
“I’m gonna be blunt with you.” Her eyes rolled sideways.
“It can be a tough job. When we have really young joeys, it can be round the clock care.”
“I raised some neonate kittens my mom found abandoned in our yard,” I said. “I may have missed a couple of school assignments, but each one of them made it into adulthood.”
“Alright.” She nodded slowly. “We’ll do a trial and see what you think at the end of the week, but right now.” She hoisted a bag of pellets down. “It’s feeding time.”
“I fed a kangaroo,” I said to her some hours later as we walked back to the house.
“I know.”
Charlie shot me a wry smile.
“And that koala ate some of the gum leaves from the branch I held out.”
“Yep, they do that.”
“And that echidna… And the baby wombats…” My hands rose, fell, as I tried to process what just happened. “If I had to get back on a plane tomorrow, I’d still die a happy woman.”
“Animals are a good judge of character.” An arm went around my shoulders.
“They like you, so you’re not going anywhere.
I’ve been telling Troy I need help for some time.
You colliding with Nugget?” I winced, but she gave me a squeeze and then let go.
“That had to be him stepping in, making sure we all get what we need.” She opened the front door of the main house and then ushered me in.
“Have a shower, put on some fresh clothes, and then we’ll get started on dinner.
The boys will tell you they can cook, but unless you want instant ramen or cheese toasties for the entirety of your stay, meal prep usually falls to us. ”
“I can cook.” I was talking too fast, my voice getting higher, like it always did when I was excited.
“Do you have any beef?” Charlie smiled. “Oh my god, this is farm that runs cattle. Of course, you do. Have you ever had a California burrito? They’re amazing.
If you have some tortillas, I could make some up.
“Shower first,” she said, “then you can do me up a shopping list. I’ve been cooking meat and three veg for these idiots for years, so anything new would be a relief.”
Mentally listing all the things I’d need, I went into my room and then shut my door, pulling my shirt and bra off, ready to get into the adjoining shower.
Then something moved on the wall.
“Oh my god…” Shrinking back, I saw the biggest damn spider I’ve ever seen. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”
As if in response to my blasphemy, the spider crawled higher.
I didn’t scream when I found an unconscious wombat on the road, nor when a bull was about to charge me, but maybe it was just the combined trauma of it all, God help me, I screamed right now.
Which resulted in the door being wrenched open.
Troy filled the doorway, striding inside without a thought, only to stop mid step.
Because I was half naked.
My hands slapped over my breasts, because suddenly I had bigger problems, and my grumpy boss watched my every movement. That ever present frown disappeared and I found myself staring blankly in response.
Huh, he was actually really handsome.
Of course, that observation was shoved to one side as the damn spider went skittering across the wall.
“Spider.” I pointed to the stupid thing. “Spider!”
“What?” Troy seemed to turn around almost regretfully. “Oh, that’s just Bruce.”