Read Online Captive Moon by C. T. Adams, Cathy Clamp - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: C. T. Adams, Cathy Clamp
Tags: Romance:Paranormal
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away.”
“Yeah, Margo’s working on that part. I know a bloke at the Taronga Zoo who wants to get out of Oz. He might like to visit the States for a turn. The plan is to only be gone for two weeks. But you know what they say about plans.”
“Of course, it’s not my business where you take your vacation, but you seem a bit… worried about it.”
Actually, he smelled worried but excited at the same time.
“For good reason, mate. Do you remember the letter I got from the barrister in Sydney before you left for the States?”
Antoine nodded. “The one that was dated months before and had traveled to a dozen different locations, following our show around?”
“Yeah. Well, I finally got hold of the bloke and it seems that I had a grandfather I didn’t know was still alive…well, actually, he’s not alive anymore. That was the point of the letter.”
A light fog of sorrow drifted to his nose from Tahira. “Your grandfather died? I’m sorry. My dad’s father died just last year.”
He nodded in thanks. “Yeah. It would have been nice to have known he was about. Mum never told me about any of my dad’s family. But the barrister told me plenty. It seems he was a jackaroo out in the bush—” He turned to Tahira and amended, “That’s a station hand at a farming operation down in the Australian outback.” He noticed Tahira’s understanding, and continued, “But he inherited a bit of land in the outback, about five hundred hectares, a click or so from Lake Mungo. He left it to me in his will.”
Tahira was sipping her wine and nearly choked. “Five hundred acres is a bit of land?”
Matty shook his head with a chuckle. “Not acres, luv. A hectare is about two of your acres. It’s closer to a thousand acres. And yeah, that’s a dinky bit of land in the outback.”
Margo turned on her chair. “Actually, the bequest was for 506 hectares. There are 2.47 acres in a hectare, so you inherited 1,249.82 acres.” She shrugged when he beat his fist into his forehead. “Hey, precision is what I do.” She glanced at Tahira. “Our satellite link is still down, but I’m trying to reroute through the cable television link-up to the house. There’s supposedly an internet subscription that came with it, according to Amber. I should be able to get in touch with your family in a bit.”
Antoine smiled brightly as Tahira heaved a sigh of relief. “But Matty, this is wonderful news! You’ve always said you would like to start a wild animal clinic.”
Matty took a final draw of beer from the bottle in his hand, set it on the table, and grabbed a third.
“Yeah, but that’s not the whole story. The part that gobsmacked me was that a good bit of the land is part of Dreamtime and the Aborigines want it back.”
“Oh! I’ve heard of that!” Tahira sat up straighter and became more animated. “I had to do a report on Aboriginal legends in my mythology class in high school. So the land you inherited belonged to the Koori from before the time of living memory?”
Matty nodded with a pleased expression. She turned to Antoine when she caught the scent of his curiosity. “See, Aborigines have been on the Australian continent for at least fifty thousand years, and there are skeletons that have been found as old as forty thousand years. In fact, I think it was found near Lake Mungo. The tribes did pictograms but had no written language as a group. Each of the five or six hundred tribes have a different language and dialect. But the sacred lands of Dreamtime are the one thing that they all agree on.”
Realization came to her slowly and she winced as she turned to Matty. “Uh-oh! They’re going to fight tooth and nail for that. Will the courts find they have any claim? I know they’ve had a rough time reclaiming sacred property in the past.”
“Bloody hell!” Matty exclaimed. “I wish you would have been here a week ago when I was trying to find out all of this. Yeah, I guess it’s been a
“Yeah, Margo’s working on that part. I know a bloke at the Taronga Zoo who wants to get out of Oz. He might like to visit the States for a turn. The plan is to only be gone for two weeks. But you know what they say about plans.”
“Of course, it’s not my business where you take your vacation, but you seem a bit… worried about it.”
Actually, he smelled worried but excited at the same time.
“For good reason, mate. Do you remember the letter I got from the barrister in Sydney before you left for the States?”
Antoine nodded. “The one that was dated months before and had traveled to a dozen different locations, following our show around?”
“Yeah. Well, I finally got hold of the bloke and it seems that I had a grandfather I didn’t know was still alive…well, actually, he’s not alive anymore. That was the point of the letter.”
A light fog of sorrow drifted to his nose from Tahira. “Your grandfather died? I’m sorry. My dad’s father died just last year.”
He nodded in thanks. “Yeah. It would have been nice to have known he was about. Mum never told me about any of my dad’s family. But the barrister told me plenty. It seems he was a jackaroo out in the bush—” He turned to Tahira and amended, “That’s a station hand at a farming operation down in the Australian outback.” He noticed Tahira’s understanding, and continued, “But he inherited a bit of land in the outback, about five hundred hectares, a click or so from Lake Mungo. He left it to me in his will.”
Tahira was sipping her wine and nearly choked. “Five hundred acres is a bit of land?”
Matty shook his head with a chuckle. “Not acres, luv. A hectare is about two of your acres. It’s closer to a thousand acres. And yeah, that’s a dinky bit of land in the outback.”
Margo turned on her chair. “Actually, the bequest was for 506 hectares. There are 2.47 acres in a hectare, so you inherited 1,249.82 acres.” She shrugged when he beat his fist into his forehead. “Hey, precision is what I do.” She glanced at Tahira. “Our satellite link is still down, but I’m trying to reroute through the cable television link-up to the house. There’s supposedly an internet subscription that came with it, according to Amber. I should be able to get in touch with your family in a bit.”
Antoine smiled brightly as Tahira heaved a sigh of relief. “But Matty, this is wonderful news! You’ve always said you would like to start a wild animal clinic.”
Matty took a final draw of beer from the bottle in his hand, set it on the table, and grabbed a third.
“Yeah, but that’s not the whole story. The part that gobsmacked me was that a good bit of the land is part of Dreamtime and the Aborigines want it back.”
“Oh! I’ve heard of that!” Tahira sat up straighter and became more animated. “I had to do a report on Aboriginal legends in my mythology class in high school. So the land you inherited belonged to the Koori from before the time of living memory?”
Matty nodded with a pleased expression. She turned to Antoine when she caught the scent of his curiosity. “See, Aborigines have been on the Australian continent for at least fifty thousand years, and there are skeletons that have been found as old as forty thousand years. In fact, I think it was found near Lake Mungo. The tribes did pictograms but had no written language as a group. Each of the five or six hundred tribes have a different language and dialect. But the sacred lands of Dreamtime are the one thing that they all agree on.”
Realization came to her slowly and she winced as she turned to Matty. “Uh-oh! They’re going to fight tooth and nail for that. Will the courts find they have any claim? I know they’ve had a rough time reclaiming sacred property in the past.”
“Bloody hell!” Matty exclaimed. “I wish you would have been here a week ago when I was trying to find out all of this. Yeah, I guess it’s been a
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