Chapter 38
Mackenzie
“The cavalry has arrived…” Troy said drily.
It’d been a year since I moved back to Australia and the peace and quiet I’d grown to love was about to be destroyed. Several massive SUVs pulled up out the front of the house, only for the doors to be flung open.
“Mackenzie!”
Mom was who I went to first. As I wrapped my arms around her, I surreptitiously did a scan of her body.
“How was the flight?” I asked. “It wasn’t too stressful?”
“Honey.” She pulled back, staring at me with slightly narrowed eyes. “The trip was just fine.”
“Long.” My aunt, Trish, said, wandering over. “Cramped. No way you could’ve found a fiancé somewhere a little closer? Canada? Mexico is nice this time of year.”
“Absolutely no way.” Troy came to stand beside me, one arm going around my shoulders, the other hand he held out for Trish to shake. “Troy Drysdale.”
“Ohh…” Trish looked him up and down and then nudged Mom. “He is hot.”
“Stop being so embarrassing, Trish,” my mother flustered, as if she hadn’t said the same thing when she met Troy.
“I’m Billy.” The man himself jumped down off the veranda. “That’s Bronson. We’ll get the bags for you.”
“Very kind,” my uncle Eric said with a nod, but it was my cousins who caught my attention next. I virtually grew up with Madison and Emily, as they were the only ones living in the same town as us when we were kids, so I rushed over the minute they got out of the car.
“Oh. My god.” Madison looked around herself, then grinned when I came close. “Girl, you moved from California to the Outback?”
Was I this ignorant when I first arrived in Australia? I fought the urge to slap my forehead.
“Not the Outback,” I said. “That’s a really long way away in that direction.” With a frown, I waved vaguely to where I thought north was. “At least I think it’s that way.”
“Probably more like that way.” Troy pointed to a completely different direction, which had me flushing. “Hello, ladies. How was your trip?”
I made introductions as my other aunts, uncles, and cousins got out of the car, but it was Emily I focussed on finally. She took longer to get out of the car, eyeing her surroundings warily.
“So the whole thing about everything in Australia is trying to kill you,” she said after giving me a hug. “That’s just a meme, right?” I couldn’t help but smile as she inspected the ground, the house, the facade of the rescue. “Like we’re safe here.”
“Australian wildlife is mainly furry, cute, and loves veggies,” I said, steering her towards the rescue.
“That’s right.” Madison joined us. “You’ve got a whole Tiger King thing happening on the farm. So can we see some of the little critters? I’ve always wanted to pet a platypus.”
“You might not like the venomous spurs on their back legs.” Saying that without thinking, I didn’t realise what impact that was having on Emily until she stopped in her tracks, eyes wide. “But we don’t have platypus here. There’s koalas—”
“We call ‘em dropbears.” Billy appeared, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Gotta be real careful when walking under gum trees, because they hide in the leaves and when you least expect it, they drop down and attack you with their fangs and claws!”
When he made claws of his hands and flashed his teeth, my cousins jumped back.
“Stop being an idiot and scaring the visitors.” Bronson elbowed his twin. “Dropbears aren’t real.” Billy sucked in a breath, but he cut him off. “Or bunyips, or Tantaloola tigers, or anything else Billy is about to say.”
“Tiger what now?” Madison asked, but that slow inspection she was making of Troy’s brothers made clear which Australian natives she was interested in.
“Look, I can’t take you into the rescue, because the joeys in particular get really skittish, but we can take a look through the doorway.
” I unlocked the gate, hoping Em and Madison could spot some of our cuter wildlife.
“But we do have koalas, wombats, and…” A rustle in the trees above us had everyone looking up, because some of the rescue residents thought this was feeding time. “Possums.”
“What?” Emily’s hands went to her head, because in the States, possums, or opossums, as they were actually called, were an entirely different thing.
Great for decimating the tick population, but really butt ugly.
Heaps got killed erroneously each year, because people saw their massive jaws full of sharp teeth and went absolutely not. “Shit, rat!”
A little furry body flung itself out of the trees, coming sailing towards us. Emily let out a little squeak, but before the possum could land, Bronson’s hand snapped out. Intercepting the creature, he pulled it close to his chest.
“Nope,” he said, moving closer and Emily watched him stroke the possum’s fur with his free hand. “It’s a possum. A sugar glider, to be exact. They are—”
“Cute.” Emily stepped closer. “Gorgeous.” Using the same baby voice we all did with kids and animals, she crooned to the little creature. “Aren’t you the most adorable thing?”
“If you move slowly and be really quiet,” Bronson came to stand beside my cousin, “you might be able to give him a little pat.” He fished a piece of carrot out of his pocket, then handed it to her. “Especially if you give him this.”
“The possum is cute,” Madison muttered as she came to stand beside me. “But the guys are cuter. Tell me these guys are the groomsmen we’re being matched with in the bridal party.”
“Only if you promise to keep it in your pants.” My cousin’s grin widened. “Madison!”
“What happens in Australia, stays in Australia,” she said, then looked Bronson up and down as Emily patted the little possum. “I know what I want to pet and it’s not some flying mouse.”
“Everything OK?” Troy appeared at my shoulder, having some instinctive awareness of when I needed support. “I set your uncles up on the veranda with a beer.”
The men were all sitting around with Scotty, sipping beer and telling tall stories, if their wild gestures were anything to go by.
“Thanks, and yes, everything is fine.” Rolling my eyes to meet his, I couldn’t help but smile. “But you might need to warn your brothers that it appears at least one of my cousins is on the prowl.”
“Billy and Bronson?” He shrugged. “They’re big enough and ugly enough to look after themselves.”
“Not sure if Madison agrees on the ugly part…” I said, eyeing the way she was talking to Billy. Playing with her hair, leaning in closer was all classic Madison.
“Maybe it’ll just bring our families together.” He grinned down at me. “She wouldn’t be the first American girl to come Down Under and decide she likes the scenery.”
“The trees are very nice,” I said, making a show of inspecting them. “And the animals are adorable. Then there’s all the cute—”
“I’ll give you cute.”
Swept up into his arms, he made for the front door, my protests ignored.
“Isn’t that supposed to happen after the wedding?” one of my aunts asked Mom.
“Before, after.” Mom shrugged as she waved to me. “Not such a big deal now, or back when we were young. Madison was born seven months after you married George, right?”
“We need to get out there.” I tried to push past Troy when he set me down in our room. “My family has just arrived.”
“After this.” Hands went to my jaw, tilting it up, right before his lips claimed mine. “In two short days, you’re going to become my wife, and I, for one, can’t wait.”
All the stress, all the preparations we’d been doing for weeks if not months, fell away the moment his mouth touched mine. The feel of him, the minty taste, it wouldn’t allow any other thoughts get closer to Troy. But right as things were getting ‘interesting’ there was a thump on my door.
“Stop kissing your hunky husband-to-be and show us the damn dress, cuz!”
“Duty calls.” His hands clung to mine as I went to pull away. “You and Charlie finished your tux alterations, right?’
“Don’t worry about us.” I opened a mouth to protest, but he shook his head. “I’ve never been more prepared for something in my life.”
“More than a heat wave? More than a drought?”
I couldn’t help but smile as I asked each question.
“More than any natural disaster,” he assured me. “The minute you blundered into my bull’s paddock, love, you claimed my heart. I’ll be up in the top paddock with bells on tomorrow.”
“But not with actual bells, right?” I opened the door, but didn’t step through, needing the reassurance. “Troy, not with actual bells?”
He chuckled and walked past me, but did not stop to confirm.
“Go and show your family that no doubt beautiful dress you selected and I’ll make sure my brothers don’t get your uncles too drunk before the rehearsal dinner.”
“Drunk…” Shaking my head, I made it out into the living room to find my female relatives all waiting with bated breath. “So the dress?”
“Let’s see it,” Mom said, grabbing my hand and following me down the hallway.