Chapter 6
Troy
I was a very bad man.
Hearing the scream and going barging into a strange woman’s room was my first mistake.
Stopping and staring, catching a glimpse of the most beautiful set of tits I’d ever seen, still staring as she went to cover herself, was just compounding my poor decision making.
All those freaking curves, it felt like I was memorising them, right up until she pointed a shaking hand at the wall.
“That’s just Bruce,” I said.
“Bruce? Bruce!” When women got mad, their voices got so high only dogs could hear them, but her fear, her shock was being communicated loud and clear. “Does every dangerous thing on this farm have a name?”
“Bruce isn’t dangerous.” I watched the spider crawl across the wall. “He’s just a bit skittish.” With a dry swallow, I continued. “Usually he has this room to himself.”
“Well…” I tried really hard not to be disappointed when I looked back at Mackenzie and saw she’d jerked a long t-shirt over her head. “He needs to find somewhere else to live because this room isn’t big enough for the both of us.”
“Huntsman spiders aren’t venomous,” I replied.
“Well, are they armour plated? Because I’ve got a flip flop.” She pulled a rubber thong out of her bag. “And it’s got his name on it.”
“Fine.”
I made for the door, but she stopped me.
“Where are you going? You can’t leave me in here alone with… Bruce.”
And I didn’t want to. Making my feet move took some effort, but it was something I had to do. A glance over my shoulder and I explained.
“To get a bowl and some paper. I’ll catch and release him outside.”
“Not without me…” Didn’t like the quavery sound of her voice. Liked the way she shrank back with a yelp as Bruce crawled across the wall even less. “Scratch that,” she said. “Just… hurry, please.”
Please. For some reason that word stuck with me as I made for the kitchen. Charlie looked up from where she was peeling potatoes.
“Didn’t hear you come home.”
“Or Mackenzie scream either?” I said, opening cupboards and then grabbing a glass bowl as well as a sheet of paper out of the printer.
“Scream…?” She frowned as she looked up. “Shit, Bruce.”
“He’s about to get evicted,” I said, holding up my supplies.
“Well, if it’s between Mackenzie and that spider, she stays. That clear, brother?” Charlie shot me a meaningful look. “She’s good with the animals and—”
“Mackenzie stays,” I said with a nod, definitely not seeing all that sun-kissed skin in my mind. “Now, I’ve gotta deal with a spider.”
Does something to a man, a woman looking up at you in relief the moment you walk into the room. The fact it was because I was now a spider wrangler made it less satisfying.
“Maybe head into the shower,” I suggested. “Close the door, because huntsmans are jumpy bastards.”
“Jumpy…” She started to back off, then let out another yelp. “Every time I move, he does the same!”
“He’s as scared as you are,” I said.
“Not actually possible.” That was squeaked out between her teeth, but as she made for the shower, I moved.
“C’mere, you little bugger…” Reaching out slowly with the glass bowl, I crooned to the spider.
“Scaring girls like that is no good.” With a flush, I remembered how I’d yelled at Mackenzie when I got her over the fence.
“So let’s get you…” The bowl snapped down over the spider and he raced around, testing his brand new boundaries. “Gotcha!”
“Now what…?” Mackenzie wasn’t washing away her troubles under the hot water. Instead she watched the proceedings wide eyed. “It’s not like he’s going to stay in that bowl. Oh.”
I slid the paper behind the bowl, then flipped them away from the wall.
Bruce was not pleased, scurrying around in the bowl as I made for the window.
Mackenzie wrenched it open, then jumped out of my way, craning her neck to watch me dump the spider outside.
The window was jerked down by the girl seconds later and then her breath came hard and fast.
“That was… Is he…?”
“Have a shower,” I said, not wanting to answer those questions at all, because there were huntsmans all over the farm. Handy buggers, they kept the bug population down, stopping the house from getting infested with cockroaches or weevils. “You’re safe now.”
“My hero.” Her smile was wobbly around the edges, seeming to take a whole lot of effort to form. “You’ve saved me twice today.”
But that’s what men did, right? What was the point of being bigger, stronger, uglier, if not to keep women and children safe? Couldn’t say that though, could I? With a shake of my head, I exited the room.
“It was nothing.”
So why did I stand in the hallway long after she closed the door, listening for the sound of the shower running? Catching myself imagining what was happening in the bathroom had me striding out into the living area to be met by my sister’s amused expression.
“So crisis averted?”
“Crisis number two.” I glanced back down the hall. “Do all Americans get into this much trouble or is it just Mackenzie?”
“Not sure. They don’t really come down here to check out the sights. So Phil didn’t have any work for her?”
“Wrapping up picking for the season,” I replied, considering whether I should bring up what happened at the pub. Trouble was, everyone around here talked too much, so it was better Charlie heard it from me. “Saw Beau at the pub today.”
A little intake of breath, that was the only indication of what she felt. The peeler started to move twice as fast, stripping the spuds of their skins.
“Yeah? Did you punch his teeth down his throat?”
That had me smiling.
“Got close. Vance wasn’t happy.”
“That why you had a change of heart about Mackenzie?” Her eyes met mine. “There’s not a lot of work going right now, but the… stud is always looking for people.”
Because the Argyles were such pricks workers left in droves. Raised fast horses, though.
“Yeah.”
Her lips twitched, which helped ease the tension in my chest.
“You’re not such a bad guy, you know that, brother. Like you try to hide it behind that very, very, very grumpy facade, but…” She dropped the potato into the bowl and picked up another. “Underneath it all, you’re not a complete arsehole.”
“Hey.” Before I could snap back, Mackenzie emerged, looking pink cheeked, damp, and most importantly, dressed. “I managed to get through a shower without incident. Didn’t fall over and crack my head on the tiles or anything. So did you want me to start chopping up some vegetables?”
“Be careful with sharp knives.” The words just slipped out and Mackenzie stared at me. “Hospital’s at least an hour away and my knowledge of first aid is a bit rusty.”
“What?” Her eyes narrowed. “You—”
“Ignore him.” Charlie dumped a bowl of pea pods in front of Mackenzie. “These are fresh from the garden and need popping.” Her sly smile when she looked up at me had me stiffening. “Troy could give you a hand.”
There was no way Charlie knew what I was feeling. That all I wanted to do was to sit down with the two of them, listening to their words wash over me as I performed the repetitive chore of shelling peas. But I didn’t give into that urge.
“Windmill in the east paddock is down,” I said in a gruff voice. “I’m heading up there to see if I can fix it.”
“Then we’ll see you at dinner?”
I was halfway out the door when I heard Charlie’s mocking question.
“I’ll be back.”
No matter what state the windmill was in, I’d be at the dinner table, hands and face scrubbed clean by the time food was on the table, and why was that?
Wasn’t just the fact my stomach was rumbling due to missing lunch.
What my mouth wanted, it wasn’t Charlie’s roast or steak or whatever.
No, as my lips pressed together, then whistled for Sparky, I imagined them closing around those rosy pink nipples I saw just for a split second.
My face scrunched into a frown as I realised the sight of them was seared into my brain like a brand.
“C’mon, Sparks.” I got into the ute and he was there in the passenger side seat. “We’ve got a job to do.”
Getting the hell away from the house, that was what I needed to do, so I turned the engine over and drove off.