Wish Read Free Page B

Roly. ‘Very hard.’
    ‘Maybe you should come fishing with me,’ Arthur told Roly. ‘I’m heading upriver.’
    ‘Not until you find me somewhere else to live,’ said Billie firmly.
    ‘That could be a problem,’ said Arthur. ‘Truth is, there just aren’t that many rental houses available. Owners either put their farmhands in them as part of a wage deal or let unoccupied houses go to ruin. Economics.’
    ‘Surely you can find me something?’
    ‘I’ll ring around, but it won’t be anything like the cottage. That was the pick of them.’
    Not
what Billie wanted to hear.
    ‘You could always try and persuade Adam to reconsider,’ said Arthur. ‘I wouldn’t have sent you out there if I hadn’t figured it was worth a shot.’
    ‘It was definitely worth a shot,’ said Roly. ‘What time are we going fishing?’
    ‘No fishing,’ said Billie. ‘Not until Arthur finds me somewhere else to live. As for you…’ Billie turned to her new employer. ‘You need to hire more cleaning staff.’ That was assuming he hired any cleaning staff at all.
    ‘What for?’ said Roly and the wonder of it all was that he was serious.
    ‘This verandah needs scrubbing, for starters. Not to mention the chairs, the tables, and the sidewalk.’
    ‘It’s cleaner inside.’
    One hoped. ‘You’re not going to argue with me about cleaning this place, are you? You said you wanted more customers.’
    ‘Yes, but—
    ‘You also said you’d give me free rein to run things my way.’
    ‘You said that?’ Arthur’s tone was incredulous.
    ‘Yeah,’ said Roly glumly. ‘Don’t know what I was thinking.’
    ‘Shouldn’t you be on the phone trying to find me somewhere else to
live
?’ asked Billie sweetly.
    ‘She’s got a sharp tongue on her,’ said Arthur morosely as he levered himself from his chair and ambled towards the steps. ‘You should have picked that up during interview.’
    ‘I did,’ offered Roly. ‘I didn’t think she’d use it on
me
.’
    Billie just smiled. ‘So…’ she said. ‘Where would you like me to start?’
     
    Arthur was back ten minutes later with a list of available rentals.
    ‘The first one’s on the highway next to the truck stop,’ he said. ‘The second one’s a fair way out of town.’
    ‘How far out of town?’
    ‘Fifty kilometres. And the roof leaks.’
    ‘You’re welcome to live at the pub,’ said Roly. ‘There’s plenty of room upstairs.’
    ‘Thanks, Roly, but no.’ At the Royal in Sydney they’d had a couple of rooms and a small bathroom on the second floor, euphemistically called the manager’s apartment. Indeed, Cal had never known any different, but one of the reasons she’d come to Inverglen was to find a life beyond a drinking establishment and that wouldn’t happen if they were living in one.
    ‘I didn’t figure either of the houses would suit, so I took the liberty of calling Adam and explaining the situation,’ said Arthur. ‘He said you can stay on at the cottage until something else comes up.’
    ‘He said that?’
    ‘Well, no. Not exactly. By the terms of your contract, Adam has to give you six week’s notice before turfing you. You might want to consider this day one.’
    ‘I see.’ That definitely sounded more like the man she remembered from last night. ‘Are there any other real estate agents in town who might have something available?’
    ‘I’m it,’ said Arthur.
    Oh, joy. ‘How confident are you of finding us somewhere else to live before the six weeks is up?’
    ‘Not a problem,’ said Arthur. ‘I’ll sort something out. Probably while fishing.’
    ‘So what else did Kincaid have to say?’ she asked warily.
    A cadaverous grin split Arthur’s face almost in two. ‘Nothing I’d care to repeat.’

Chapter Four
    The trip out to the cottage seemed quicker the second time around. It helped that Billie knew where she was going and what to expect as the car crested the hill.
    Four until eight, those were the working hours she and