‘I can do that.Do you need to see my house-sitting references?I’ve done plenty when filming in exotic locations.’
‘All good.Just ask me first before you fly any of your drones, in case I’m flying nearby.Don’t worry, I’m not grounding you, it’s just a safety thing.’
That was a relief, because she was keen to get as much practice time as she could.It was rare to be in a non-restricted flight zone.‘Where do you keep your helicopter?’
‘The hangar is on the far side.I don’t want the Avgas too close to the house.’
‘Another safety thing.’And another example of how safety conscious the daring crocodile wrangler actually was.
‘I’ll head into town to pick up the chopper.’
‘And leave your ute there?’When she should be asking how far away was town?And in what direction?‘Are you saying you use your helicopter to commute to work?’
‘Yeah.’His nod was slight, but his smile was brighter.‘I leave the ute in town because the crew got sick of me bumming lifts from the pub to the police station.’
‘Why don’t you park it at the police station?Isn’t the town’s airport right behind it?’She’d noticed that from her helicopter tour of the town this morning.
‘The grump who runs the local airport has a pet hate for choppers and would rather tow them away than let us park there.Luckily the pub doesn’t mind us regulars dropping in—literally.’
‘Are you saying it’s normal for helicopters to be used like cars out here?’
‘Cattle stations use a lot of choppers for mustering—and beer runs.You’ll get used to it.’
Get used to what?Living in the wilds of the Northern frontier?
‘Welcome to the crib.Make yourself comfortable.’Stone flicked on the lights of a large room that made her jaw fall.
With high ceilings and a large modern kitchen to her left, the large dining table stood on her right.Before her was the open lounge that met a wall of glass doors that opened to a tropical oasis.‘What is this place?’
‘Officially, it’s called Crocswell Downs.’
She arched an eyebrow at him.‘I’m guessing you named it.’
His confident grin returned as he bounced on the soles of his fancy crocodile leather boots.
‘How big is this place?’
‘I started with a fifty-acre lot, and over time I’ve accumulated 500 acres.’
She narrowed her eyes at him.‘Earlier today, you said those crocodile eggs were on your land.’That felt like days ago.‘Were we on your land?’
He nodded.
‘Are you a farmer?’
‘Technically, no.And yes.In a way.’He left her bags in the front walkway area and pinched a banana from the large fruit bowl sitting on the kitchen counter.
‘You’re not making sense.’
‘Most of Crocswell Downs is a network of complex water lands and river frontage.I harvest eggs from my land, purely to keep the numbers at a certain level.When you’ve got around fifty females in the same neighbourhood, each hatching a hundred babies, life on the edge of a flood plain gets real interesting.’
At the wall of windows, he pushed open the large double glass doors.‘Finley, where you at, brother?’
‘You live with family?’
‘Just me and the house pets, and I have a few tanks.’He nodded at the massive aquarium that stretched along the entire wall in the living room.
‘How gorgeous.’It was a large community tank of small fish, all happily cruising around the lush aquatic plants.‘It’s so hypnotic.’
