Page 58 of Her Dom's Secret Past

“There’s some bigger birds too. Very noisy. Some are white, some of them are pink and gray. There’s some black ones too.”

She laughed. “You’ll have to get used to them. Cockatoos—very noisy. There are a lot of different types and most are extremely loud.”

“Have to admit my first few weeks here I found it difficult to sleep in. They’d all be screeching, but I’m getting used to it now and kind of like it.”

“You’ll have a lot of bird life here, from the very large to the very tiny. Oh and there’s snakes. We’ll have to be careful in the warmer months.”

“Snakes? Are they dangerous ones?”

“Well, there’ll be Red-Bellies and Browns, yes, very dangerous. Though if you be careful when you walk through the bushland on the property, they shouldn’t bother you.”

Fuck! Snakes!

I didn’t count on them, but then it made sense. I’d have to read up on them simply to be on the safe side. I must have appeared worried, and I was, because Anabelle touched my hand.

“It’sokay, John. They usually don’t bother people. It’s the Red-Back spiders and the Funnel Web spiders you need to watch for. Very nasty.”

“What! Shit. Ana, really?”

“Yes. Actually, we don’t worry about them. Make sure you get into the habit of not leaving shoes outside. If for some reason you do, shake your shoes before you put them on and if you work outside, be careful if you pick up rocks or move things.”

“Next you’ll tell me don’t go in the water.”

“Oh, well there would be sharks along here.”

I groaned, this sounded insane. “Christ, sounds more dangerous out here than when I was working as an agent.”

“Well, the most dangerous animals here are Drop Bears.”

“Drop Bears? Never heard of them.”

“They’re a type of Koala but very dangerous. They drop on you from the trees, hence the name. About the size of a large dog, they stun their prey when they drop on them, latching onto their neck. Long claws too. If they land on you, you can get some very serious cuts and bites. There’ve been reported deaths from Drop Bear attacks. They don’t seem afraid if the prey is much bigger than them. They’re ferocious.”

Fuck! Why hasn’t anyone warned be about this? So many fucking things trying to kill me.“Oh my God. Maybe I should move back to the city. Do you think they’re any of these Drop Bears around here?”

“Of course. Thankfully, you can do things to avoid being attacked.”

“What?”

“Vegemite behind the ears. You can put forks in your hair, but that’s out for you.”

I grimaced then scowled at her. Something wasn’t right. She seemed to be having difficulty keeping a straight face and then she burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry. You should have seen your face. You were ready to pack up and leave.”

“You mean there aren’t Drop Bears or spiders, sharks, or snakes?”

“Oh, there’s sharks and spiders and snakes, but alas no DropBears. It’s merely a tale Aussies use to scare tourists.”

“Shit, well, it worked. I was appropriately scared.”

She kept laughing, thinking she’d caught me.Time to show her what happens to naughty girls.

“Humph. Miss, you think it’s funny to tease me. You know what happens now?”

She slanted her head and squinted at me, puzzled.

“You get spanked.”