“Knock yourself out. They’re all natural, baby.”
Nev cupped Ron’s breasts. The soft weight of them felt nice. Ron’s skin was cool.
Barney and Ric-Rac stumbled over each other running for the door. They were smart enough to get the hell out of there.
Nev dropped her hands and took a step back. “Don’t tease me at work.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were. It’s unprofessional. I don’t advertise what I do in my free time. Now everyone in town will laugh at me about topless tanning.”
“No one’s laughing at you, mate.”
“I have a reputation to maintain, a reputation as a serious person. My role in the community is a professional one. If people think I’m a loony tune they won’t respect what we do or value our products. We’ll lose customers. The farm can’t afford that.”
“Serious people don’t announce that they are, they just are. Having a hissy fit about how people perceive you does not prove your point.” Ron crossed her arms, smiling. “You’re cheeky today. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I like it. You feeling all right?”
Anxious and horny was a dangerous mix. “I think I’ve explained myself.”
Ron spat her gum in the bin before she stepped into Nev’s personal space, crowding her against the shop bench. On theancient CD player, Stevie Nicks’ moody “Edge of Seventeen” droned.
Nev gently pushed her away. “Snap out of it. You’re being a nympho.”
“You got me excited, mate. I’m keen.”
“Not here,” Nev said.
“Where?”
It was a sincere question. Nev gave a flippant answer. “Tomorrow.” By tomorrow Ron would have forgotten about this and be on to the next thing, like her mother at the hospital. Easily distracted. Peterson women had short attention spans.
“Now,” Ron muttered into the side of Nev’s neck, breath hot.
“Tonight,” Nev compromised.
Ron’s eyelids were at half-mast. “Take a shower.”
Nev swallowed.
41
STRANGLER FIG
Don’t worry about logical things when you summon magic. When you head into darkness to cast a spell, cast aside all rationality.
Ronnie rode her mare Dreadnought a few horse-lengths behind Nev’s white stallion that Rainbow had re-named Unicorn, following her friend downhill along bush trails between low-hanging lantana vines at dusk. Nearby, in the rainforest, a lyrebird mimicked the sounds of a chainsaw and a whipbird, alternating between low and high-pitched sounds.
October, springtime, ripe for new beginnings.
Despite the gathering gloom, Nev didn’t seem to be in a rush. Nev hadn’t said much since they left the barn at Upsend half an hour ago. Two large barn brooms lay tucked where Nev had strapped them to Uni’s saddle like hunting rifles. Ronnie had no idea what they might be for but was eager to find out.
Nev had silently taken charge of organizing this when she consented to it, which was a relief to Ronnie, because it tookthe pressure off her and decreased the chance that she would accidentally mess it up.
If Nev felt as excited as she did, she hid it better. Nev kept Uni to a leisurely pace. No moon tonight, too cloudy. It might rain on them. Rain would be good for the grass. It felt good to be outside, in the bush, at the mercy of the weather. If there was a god, it must be weather.
Within the hour it would be slow dark, torch dark.
Nev turned Uni down the trail that led to the giant strangler fig. Ronnie sat up straighter, hoping that was where Nev was taking her—someplace dignified and old.
