Jillaroo from Jacaranda by Mandy Magro

Author:Mandy Magro [Magro, Mandy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd
Published: 2022-09-03T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

11

With Wizard purring in her lap, Rose read the same sentence three times then huffed. The ticking of the clock above the desk was so loud and so distracting, as was the tiny drip from the kitchen tap that she’d tried fruitlessly to fix. She knew her growing irritation to noises that wouldn’t usually bother her was her cue to have a break. Even though it couldn’t be for long, her body, and mind, would thank her for a reprieve, no matter how short. After a solid eight hours basically tied to her laptop, she was starting to feel woozy, and unnecessarily irritated with her editor. Stepping away was going to do her wonders, then she could return to the edit with fresh eyes.

She shifted her reading glasses from her nose to the top of her head, sat back, clasped her hands behind her head and sighed wearily. Wizard stirred and hopped down to the floor, where three empty cans of Red Bull and two demolished packets of peanut M&Ms lay scattered. Turning, Rose sniffed her armpits and grimaced – she could really do with a shower. With her hair in an untidy bun, and still in her pyjamas from yesterday, she gathered she looked a right mess. Thank goodness she’d warned Ty to stay away for forty-eight-ish hours. There was no way in hell she’d want him to bear witness to a writer’s mayhem when chasing an editing deadline. The entire cottage had every curtain pulled, and the air-conditioner on – a writer’s den if she’d ever seen one. Now, three-quarters of her way through her structural revision lockdown, she was starting to dream of bathing her body in glorious sunlight while skipping through a field of wildflowers. Mind you, a wander through a cow-patted paddock in the pouring rain would be heaven right about now too. Rising to her fluffy slipper–clad feet, she went in search of another coffee, then she was going to drag herself beneath the stream of a hot shower and lather up with her favourite sandalwood soap.

In a world of her own, a knock had her tensing, her eyes flitting to the door, back to the two heaped teaspoons of coffee she’d just shovelled into a mug, then to the door again. The knock rapped again, firmer and much more persistent. Far out, she’d told Ty she was off the grid, but it wasn’t like she could ignore it. Besides, Ty wouldn’t come for no reason; what if it was important, like a life-or-death situation?

‘I’m coming,’ she called, almost tripping over her own feet while kicking off her slippers. ‘Hang on a minute.’ She quickly tried to flatten her hair, straightened her skew-whiff PJs and grabbed the can of room deodoriser off the entrance table, squirting some beneath her arms. Then, planting a massive smile on her face, she swung the timber door open to come face to face with an unfamiliar woman.

‘Oh. Hi.’ Her smile fading, Rose remained behind the flyscreen door.

‘Hi! Sorry, not who you expected?’ The woman’s shock of curly blonde hair swished as she tipped her head.

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