The Farmer's Friend by Fiona McArthur

Author:Fiona McArthur [McArthur, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781761040672
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

Back home, Nell slid out of the car into a world tinged heavily with the smell of smoke.

Grin slunk out of the back seat when she undid his safety harness, but he wasn’t happy. Maybe she shouldn’t have come home while everything was so unstable? She had the choice to stay at Gracie’s.

Liam’s words haunted her a little. ‘You should stay in town tonight.’ And . . . ‘There’s a couple of gully fires not far from your house.’

Dammit, she was staying, but she’d just check everything was ready if she needed to fight – or flee.

She unlocked the house but went back outside to walk around the yard again before dark to make sure there was nothing that would be a good place for an ember to settle. Then she put her suitcase in the car with her paperwork, computer and camera. As well as a small backpack with clothes. Finally, she put her phone in the bedroom to charge. She was sooo glad the herd was at Gracie’s.

How on earth was she going to sleep tonight?

When the full darkness of night settled, she stayed sitting in the lounge room, watching the news of more fires on TV with the battery radio not far away. She’d have to go to bed soon or she’d be using all her solar power for the lights and electronics, but she’d make one more cup of tea before she tried to sleep.

At ten o’clock, a sweep of headlights brushed the tops of the trees to the left of the house and she heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway. She recognised the deep, throaty engine immediately from the noise, even though it was too dark to see the actual car.

Liam’s ute.

Funny that his was the first car to visit, and the way her nerves were jumping told her she was glad to see him. She opened the screen door to the verandah as Liam slid lithely out of the vehicle.

Was the fire coming? Maybe Gracie was sick. ‘What’s happened?’

‘Nothing. Yet. I texted but you didn’t answer.’

He’d texted? She didn’t know he had her number. Who gave it to him? ‘Sorry. I didn’t see it. I’m charging the phone.’

‘You should keep it on you.’ He gestured with his hand to the vague orange glow in the skyline. ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this. When you didn’t answer I thought I’d come up and check.’

‘Thank you. That’s kind of you.’

He lowered his brows. ‘I don’t do kind. I do sensible.’ As if she wasn’t sensible. She lifted her chin. Then the first part of his comment sank in. Didn’t do kind? Who was he kidding? He was kind to Jed, helping at the store, Gracie with his repairs, had time for Archie and she’d seen him install an air conditioner so Blue didn’t have to.

‘Right,’ she said and crossed her arms.

He looked at her as if not sure what she meant. ‘Now that I’m here, I thought I’d offer to stay the night in the ute.

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