Butterfly Hunter 01 Read Online Free PDF

splutter
in protest. “We broke up ages ago! A year or
more!”
    “ What’s that
got to do with anything?”
    “ She’s
–” Dave was having second thoughts, but said it anyway, glancing at
Nicholas with a plea for rescue. “Denny’s married with a kid
already! She’s long gone.”
    “ Uh huh.
Whatever you say.”
    “ I’m
gonna be, like, the kid’s godparent .”
    Suzie looked at him
flatly. “I rest my case.” And she belatedly put Dave’s mug of
coffee down, before turning her back and sauntering off.
    Dave’s mute plea kept
Nicholas quiet. Well, he was obviously gay enough to be curious,
but at least he was bloke enough to know that some things just
couldn’t be discussed. “Um,” said Dave, scrambling for a different
topic of conversation. Just in case. “Um … Oh. Did you learn
anything new about your butterflies? I mean, from all those
collections?”
    Nicholas’s gaze turned
intent and his smile fond for a long slow moment. Then he gently
chided, “I would have told you, if there was anything that would
change our plans.”
    “ I know,” Dave
responded easily. “Not why I asked.”
    The smile grew as another
moment lengthened. It felt as if Nicholas was happy in their mutual
sense of trust. Eventually, Nicholas said, “No. No, if I find them,
then there’s a chance it will be a new species discovered. There’s
been very few sightings of the Lycaenidae reported in that area. At
least, not of the sort of thing I’m expecting.”
    “ The
what?”
    “ The Family
Lycaenidae: the blues. And when I say that area, I mean that entire
south–west corner of the state. Though I guess … Well, I am
extrapolating rather a lot from very little data. It could all come
to nothing, of course.”
    “ Huh.” Dave
hadn’t quite realised the full significance of this quest of
discovery. “An entirely new butterfly … You’ll be able to give your
name to it, then?”
    Nicholas was smiling with
slow contentment again. “Yes, I will.”
    “ In Latin,
like Whatever Goringi. Or Blah–de–blah Nicholasi. Nicholai …
?”
    The smile became a laugh.
“Something like that.”
    “ Cool.”
    “ And
I’ll write it up for The
Australian Journal of Entomology , and
I’ll say I couldn’t have done any of it without Mr David Taylor of
Brisbane.”
    “ Fame at
last!” Dave laughed. “Thanks, mate.”
    “ Might be good
for business.”
    “ Butterfly
hunting. Dunno how much call there is for it, to be honest. Most
people who brave the Outback are wanting to go crocodile wrestling
instead.”
    “ Ah, but if
you want to attract the more charmingly eccentric clients
…”
    Dave couldn’t help but
grin; Nicholas’s wicked brand of happiness was definitely catching.
“Well, it’s working for me so far,” Dave finally agreed.
     
    The Warrego Highway took
them north –west from Toowoomba. The
countryside around them was still mostly cultivated, but the number
of lone houses and small towns slowly decreased. As their journey
continued Nicholas eventually relaxed, realising that he wouldn’t
miss anything new if he let his attention wander for a moment or
two. They still didn’t talk much, however.
    They stopped for lunch in
Chinchilla, and then drove on. A while later the highway turned
towards the west; they were getting close to the town of
Miles.
    “ I thought
we’d stop there overnight,” Dave said into the silence. “Stay at
the hotel. Not that there’s anything much to do in Miles, but we
can drive out into the bush, if you like. Get a better feel for it
than we can driving past. And there might be precious few trees
where we end up. Might as well enjoy them while we can.”
    “ We can stop?”
Nicholas asked. “Do you mind?”
    “ Course not. I
mean, of course I don’t mind,” Dave clarified. “Just say,
whenever.”
    “ Oh, but
it’s your rules,” was the teasing response. “What you say
goes.”
    Dave chuckled. “We’re not
quite at the life–and–death part of the trip