While You Were in the Country by Eva Scott
Author:Eva Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mira
Published: 2022-06-25T00:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Three weeks before the big night
âI need you here, Adele.â Frankie sat on an old plastic chair in the goat pen, her phone tucked between her shoulder and ear while she scratched Spudâs head. âIâm not coping, and I need to work. Come home and babysit Jed for me.â
âWhatâs in it for me?â Adele had been away for a week, leaving a problem of balance in the house. Frankie hadnât realised how her acerbic sister had managed to keep everyone in line until she was gone.
âSeriously? I need to bribe you to come and help me?â
âIf you want me to nanny that overgrown spoiled brat then Iâve got to have my carrot.â
Spud tried to climb onto Frankieâs lap, bleating a request for a cuddle as he did so. She pushed him down with one hand. She was so not in the mood to give anyone anything. Not even Spud.
Heâd spent his life as a pet until his owners decided to move into an apartment on the Gold Coast, leaving him effectively homeless. Sheâd adopted him and he now spent all his time trying to get as many pats and cuddles as he could from anyone who would stand still for five minutes.
âOkay,â she conceded. âIâll give you free board for as long as you stay.â
Spud had one horn that had grown slightly twisted as if it had a mind of its own. A bit like Adele. Frankie smiled as she scratched the space between Spudâs horns.
âDone deal,â said Adele. âI would have been home earlier, you know, but Natalieâs dog died.â
Frankie blinked, trying to keep up. âWhoâs Natalie?â
âMy girlfriend. She had Dave since she was twelve, and we needed to get commemorative tattoos. Took longer than I expected.â
Frankie screwed up her face and tried to calibrate the conversation. âDid I hear you right? You got a commemorative tattoo for a dog called Dave, who you barely knew and who belonged to someone else youâve only just met?â
âHe was a very cool dog.â
âGeez, Adele. Just come home.â Frankie sighed. She ought to know better than to be surprised by anything her sister did, yet Adele caught her out again and again.
âOnly if I can bring Natalie with me.â
âI donât have room for your friend to stay. We have a full house, if you remember.â
âSheâs my girlfriend.â
âNatalie?â Had she missed an important conversation somewhere? âWerenât you dating that chick with the BMW a few weeks ago?â
âHey, donât judge. Turned out Chantal and I had different life paths.â Adele burred up as if braced for a fight.
âOkay, whatever.â She couldnât keep up with Adeleâs love life and she was too tired to try. âNatalie can come stay.â
âAnd she gets to stay free too.â
âBloody hell, Adele. Are you trying to bankrupt me?â Spud took advantage of her confusion to climb up onto her lap, his bony bottom hard on her thighs. She hung on to him like a life preserver.
âI am so excited.â Adeleâs tone changed immediately. âYouâre going to love Natalie. Iâm going to go tell her now.
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