Page 9 of Scotch on the Rocks

“Please don’t talk about my brother’s balls.”

I laughed, cracking open a much-needed beer. “Still salty, I see.” While April and Mal were getting together, Imighthave flirted with April in a bid to get his arse into gear. April was a beautiful, world-famous actress, it was barely a hardship. Not that I would have everactuallygone there. One brother’s girl was all my conscience could take. “And Juniper’s always pissed off.” Selecting a clean turner, I flipped the bean burger.

“She doesn’t look pissed off right now,” April said. Like a magnet, my eyes sought Juniper, easily finding where she reclined on a beach towel.

No, she did not.

In fact, she looked fartoohappy. Laughing at whatever crap Jamie Stewart was pouring into her ear. He was a good lad. A great shinty player. But he didn’t stand a chance with Juniper. She’d eat him alive.

Then why does it bother you so much?

Rather than untangle that mess, I brought my beer to my lips. Before I could take a single sip, “Uncle Cal!” split the air. My nieces Ava and Emily, giggling with childish excitement as they wobbled over the soft sand, Boy and Dudley – Mal and April’s little and large dogs – hot on their heels.

“Uncle Cal, Uncle Cal!” Ava’s hands waved like excited pinwheels. Boy barked, his giant Golden Retriever paws leaving wet prints on my white T-shirt.

“Oops.” Emily giggled.

“Hi girls, causing mischief?” I bent down, ruffling Boy’s cheeks.

“We found a dog!” Emily bounced on her toes. Soaked from the water guns clutched in their hands, beads of water clung to dark eyelashes.

“A dog?” Frowning, I glanced about. Only seeing Boy and Dudley. “Where?”

“In the grass.” They both pointed up the sandbank. “It’s hurt.”

“Can you show me?” Expressions suddenly serious, they nodded, both of them reaching for my hands. I looked over my shoulder at Mal, letting them lead me away. “I’ll be back.”

“Shit,” I huffed a minute later.

“That’s a bad word. Mummy said we can’t use bad words.”

“She might let us say it if Uncle Cal uses it,” Emily said to her twin. “Can we say it, Uncle Cal?”

“No.”

“What if I only whisper it?” Emily whispered.

Trying not to startle the curled-up creature, I lowered to my haunches, putting my finger to my lips to hush their chatter. Ava and Emily immediately closed in on either side of me.

“Is the dog hurt bad, Uncle Cal?” Ava asked.

“It’s not a dog.” I tilted my head, eyes racing over the dark brown fur and whiskered face, looking for signs of injury. “It’s an otter.”

“Shit.”

“Emily!” Ava whisper-shouted in my ear, always the voice of authority. “Uncle Cal said no.”

Emily argued back, something about an occasion lastmonth when Ava had spelled the wordidiotwith her fingers so she couldn’t get in trouble.

“Girls,” I interrupted. “Can you do me a favour? It’s really important.” Wide-eyed, they both nodded. “I need you to run back to beach and grab me a blanket so I can take this little guy to the Sea Life Sanctuary.” I might have started my veterinarian studies at twenty-three – the very moment I was able to relinquish my role in the army – but I had very little knowledge of aquatic mammals.

“I’ll get it!”

“No, I will.Emily… I’ll get it. You take over everything!”

Listening to their retreating steps, I tried not to sigh. Assessing the trembling animal once again. It wasn’t the little guy’s fault I hadn’t gotten enough sleep on Mum and Dad’s squeaky camp bed. Or that I hadn’t paused long enough to eat anything today. It needed help and it was my job to provide it.

The centre was only a twenty-minute drive away. If things went to plan, I could be back in an hour. I needed to grab April’s cake from the bakery anyway.

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