Relentless Dan Fey Ch. 01

Next morning, she awoke pre-dawn. Someone was shaking her foot.

"What?" she yawned and saw it was Asshole shining a torch under his chin. What the hell was he doing in her room?

"I'm off to shoot rabbits and hares among the grapevines. Do you want to accompany me?"

"Yes," she said enthusiastically but when Asshole said she could dress under torchlight she told him to fuck off, although avoiding saying that vehemently.

He laughed and said he was hadn't realized she was a lady, that she should be in the kitchen within three minutes to gulp down tea and break and butter.

She rushed into the kitchen and he grinned, "What no bra?"

Rosina knew he was simply guessing and ignored the misplaced comment and almost vomited when she saw him eating a slab of white bread thickly buttered. He pointed to her coffee and bread and with relief saw it was a thin slice of whole meal bread lightly buttered. Gee how could he know?

She bit into the bread and her eyes widened as it was fresh with a nutty flavor.

"I made it last night before going to bed."

"Liar," she smiled.

He shrugged and looked away and she thought oh no, he'd made it. Thank goodness she'd smiled as that could leave her ill-judged comment in doubt.

"Does your mum usually make bread before retiring for the night?"

He nodded and said usually but last night she went to bed early for rest after her fall and Rosina remembered Penny had kissed her good night just before 9:00.

"Good boy," she blurted.

He looked at her in surprise.

Rosina said, "I know you tease and you are confrontational but I knew through your obviously high regard for Kip that there would be another side to you."

He beamed and looked so gorgeous she felt the need to kiss him... um almost. God relating to him was like riding on a roller-coaster.

"Do you shoot?"

"Yes."

"Um will I be safe if I hand you a .22 rifle."

"Why not give me a 12-g shotgun and number 6 lead-filled cartridges and we're not likely to be shooting more than 22-40 yards and only fire to avoid damaging vines, right?"

"Hmmm."

"What?"

"You're used to hunting small pests eh?"

"Yes it's one of my jobs because destructive rabbit foraging occurs on our productive land too. What?"

"I was thinking you're not just a pretty face."

Under his relentless stare Rosina blush fired.

They returned ninety minutes later and Dan dropped their guest at the house before going to the barn to butcher the rabbits for dog tucker.

Penny came into the kitchen smiling and looking much better than the previous day.

"I heard lots of shotgun blasts; were you two shooting rabbits as well as target shooting?"

"No just rabbits and only me firing."

"Oh and how many did you snuff?"

"Twenty-two."

"What in a morning shoot?"

Rosina looked out of the window and said yes, it did appear to be morning.

Penny laughed and said how many shots had she fired.

"Twenty-three. The one miss was at a scampering hare zig-zagging when perhaps 60 yards away."

"Ohmigod, that's a record on our land for a morning shoot and also a record number of kills on a twilight shoot when more bunnies are about."

"Please Penny, don't mention anything about this to Dan. I don't think he's very impressed with me."

"Don't talk rubbish," Dan's sister said, entering the room. "He's likely to fall for you as never before has any female had the guts to tell him they don't want's Kip licking them. I think you potentially have the inside running even over the Delaney twins."

"The Delaney twins?"

"Yes dear they are the most glamorous young females around her and doubtless will drop in to look you over," Penny said. "Their mother saw you in the pick-up with Dan yesterday and called me thirty minutes ago to find out who you were. I think she's worried."

"Worried, what about?

Penny eyed Rosina as if checking had the visitor been facetious and shaking her head said, "You don't know do you darling?"

Trish said, "Mum means you're already a stunner and goodness knows what you'll look like when you get decent hair shaping and are fully made up."

"I-I don't know what to say. Both my mum and a couple of my friends have said something like that to me recently."

"Have you thought that might mean you are maturing into a beauty?"

"Oh this so embarrassing; we should talk about something else."

The women had finished eating and were on their second cup of coffee when Dan arrived, freshly showered after his gruesome butchering job.

He kissed his sister and mother and looked at Rosina who immediately buried her mouth into her coffee cup.

"I hear Miss Beautiful here set a new record for successful kills on this property in one session by any single person or group of shooters?"

"Yeah Trish and she's a crack shot with marvelous reflexes. Every rabbit that Kip flushed out was shot in the guts for instant kills and only two instances did I find lead in the meat and she missed a hare eighty yards out but had she been shooting with steel instead of lead pellets I reckon she would have got that bastard. How did you find out?" he asked, glancing at Rosina.

"I heard Rosina telling mum she'd bowled twenty-two rabbits and mum saying that would be a record for either a morning or evening shoot on this property and Rosina urged mum not to say anything to you about that."

"Why not?"

"Oh I guess she thought you would have regarded that as a put down."

"No way would I have considered that because I'm so proud of her. She's the best snap shooter I've ever seen with a shotgun and that would include Barney Rowlands,"

"Better than Barney, Ohmigod," Trish said in awe and the three of them looked at Rosina whose face was fire engine red.

"Please not a word to anyone about my performance and comparing me to this Barney shooter who I guess is the best shot around here. Anyway, I feel Kip was so anxious to impress me that he did his best to try to steer them up the two barrels of the shotgun."

Rosina joined in the laughter and changed the topic of conversation.

"Guys how can I make myself useful during my stay? I generate too much energy to hang around sitting in a chair."

She saw Dan lick his lips and must have thought oh no, he couldn't be so disgusting to suggest such a thing within earshot of his mother and sister.

Dan said, "You could check out all of the accommodation units for any water leaks, signs of rodents and open windows for a couple of hours each day unless it's raining to air them because the cleaners arrive in two weeks to begin spring cleaning. Our shutdown over winter and a bit beyond is ending and our first guests of the new season arrive at the weekend two weeks from now."

"Yes I'd like doing that."

"Dan I need your pick-up at 9:00 in the morning to do the weekly shopping and Rosina you could come with me to help load and unload and perhaps you could do the morning fresh bread collection and shop for other incidentals we need."

Her son countered, "Take Trish mom and our visitor could take Kip for an hour's walk each morning at 6:00 as it's recreation for him and I've been too busy for that. In fact, take him for walk now Rosina and carry a shotgun and blast any rabbit, goat, wild cat or stoat you see and toss the carcasses over the cliffs to rot."

"Um okay."

"Oh and make sure Kip is clear when you go to shoot."

"Of course as I know you'd kill me if I hurt him."

"Nah I'd just give you a good spanking."

Penny said quietly, "Dan you touch Rosina without her consent and you'll answer to me."

Rosina returned in team to join the family for morning tea.

Dan then went off to the vineyard with Kip and Rosina asked for paper and pen and the master key for the units.

"I'll inspect the chalets now," she said and Penny said Rosina was keen.

Rosina was emerging from the last chalet of her inspection tour when she heard Trish call, "There she is."

Turning, Rosina saw Trish on a white horse and two look-alikes were with her. Ah the nosey Delaney twins

"Rosina Swan meet my friends Kirsten and Tess Delaney."

"Hi," the twins said almost in unison.

"I'm Tess," said one of the twins and walked her bay mare right at Rosina who stood her ground unflinching.

"Oh you're not scared of horses?"

"Of stallions perhaps but not lovely mares," Rosina said, reaching up and rubbing the horse's forehead just below the eyes.

"Do you ride?"

"Yes I live on a farm south of Christchurch."

"What on a lifestyle block?"

"No much larger."

"How large?"

"Thirty-four thousand acres stocked mainly with sheep but we also run cattle and have fenced-off forestry up to the start of the rocky foothills of the Alps where we graze deer."

Trish and the twins seemed most impressed.

"You guys are really pretty, are you twins?"

They replied yes together and stared.

"And your hair, it's beautiful and so richly auburn."

Kirsten said, "Wait until you see our mother's flaming red hair, She and dad immigrated from Ireland thirty years ago. According to Dan you are twenty-five, our age. I work at the local clinic as a vet, specializing in small animals, and Tess teaches kids in their fourth year at primary school. As you know Trish is studying accountancy on a distance learning program."

Although she hadn't known what Trish did she nodded.

"I'm riding the oldest and largest horse, hop up behind me Rosina."

"Thanks Kirsten. I've finished here for the time being. It must be about lunchtime."

"Yes and mum has invited the girls to stay for lunch."

"Could you kick your left stirrup off please Kirsten and I'll climb aboard."

She swung behind the saddle with ease, clutching Kirsten's upper arm only briefly.

During the noisy lunch Tess asked, "Are you folk going to the annual community ball next week?"

"We have yet to discuss that with Rosina," Penny said.

Tess replied that locals would expect the Fey's to attend the ball they established and had sponsored for years.

Penny said Rosina might not be comfortable attending a dance packed with people she didn't know.

"Mom of course she would like to go and of course she can dance as she went to ballerina classes for twelve years and won several awards."

Penny said in surprise, "Well I never."

Kirsten said, "Yes Mrs. Fey and you should have seen her an hour ago... she seemed to float with over Chester with only the slightest assistance to double-up behind me. The sight of that left Trish and Tess gaping and then Tess teased had she pretended to be the Fairy Queen. We all giggled when Rosina replied she was light because she'd had a huge dump in the toilet that morning."

"Omigod," Penny said and almost burst into hysterics and that set off the three younger females.

"Oh I haven't laughed like that in years," Penny said, flushed and dabbing at her eyes.

"I apologize for being coarse Penny but I would like to go to the ball as it's an opportunity to meet some of the locals."

"Yes dear and you are right as everyone around here will wonder if you talk proper, coming from the South Island. Everyone will have learned from gossip that the female staying with the Fey's out of season comes from the far south and lives in a cave."

That tease set off another bout of laughter and more laughter followed when Tess said: "Usually no one knows who's the originator of any gossip, but in this instance, I know our mum called you Mrs. Fey to find out about your visitor."

"Oh no. Please girls don't say anything about this to your mother."

"Of course not Mrs. Fey," the twins said in unison as if they each instinctively knew what their twin was about to say.

More Coming