While You Were in the Country by Eva Scott

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

‘I need you here, Adele.’ Frankie sat on an old plastic chair in the goat pen, her phone tucked between her shoulder and ear while she scratched Spud’s head. ‘I’m not coping, and I need to work. Come home and babysit Jed for me.’

‘What’s in it for me?’ Adele had been away for a week, leaving a problem of balance in the house. Frankie hadn’t realised how her acerbic sister had managed to keep everyone in line until she was gone.

‘Seriously? I need to bribe you to come and help me?’

‘If you want me to nanny that overgrown spoiled brat then I’ve got to have my carrot.’

Spud tried to climb onto Frankie’s 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.

He’d spent his life as a pet until his owners decided to move into an apartment on the Gold Coast, leaving him effectively homeless. She’d 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.

‘Okay,’ she conceded. ‘I’ll give you free board for as long as you stay.’

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 Spud’s horns.

‘Done deal,’ said Adele. ‘I would have been home earlier, you know, but Natalie’s dog died.’

Frankie blinked, trying to keep up. ‘Who’s Natalie?’

‘My girlfriend. She had Dave since she was twelve, and we needed to get commemorative tattoos. Took longer than I expected.’

Frankie screwed up her face and tried to calibrate the conversation. ‘Did I hear you right? You got a commemorative tattoo for a dog called Dave, who you barely knew and who belonged to someone else you’ve only just met?’

‘He was a very cool dog.’

‘Geez, Adele. Just come home.’ Frankie sighed. She ought to know better than to be surprised by anything her sister did, yet Adele caught her out again and again.

‘Only if I can bring Natalie with me.’

‘I don’t have room for your friend to stay. We have a full house, if you remember.’

‘She’s my girlfriend.’

‘Natalie?’ Had she missed an important conversation somewhere? ‘Weren’t you dating that chick with the BMW a few weeks ago?’

‘Hey, don’t judge. Turned out Chantal and I had different life paths.’ Adele burred up as if braced for a fight.

‘Okay, whatever.’ She couldn’t keep up with Adele’s love life and she was too tired to try. ‘Natalie can come stay.’

‘And she gets to stay free too.’

‘Bloody hell, Adele. Are you trying to bankrupt me?’ 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.

‘I am so excited.’ Adele’s tone changed immediately. ‘You’re going to love Natalie. I’m going to go tell her now.



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