I couldn’t even see if there was a bed under all those boxes. If the other bedroom was like this one, my decision would be made.

But whether it was a blessing or a curse, the other room actually looked like a bedroom, had minimal clutter and didn’t smell quite as bad as the rest of the house. Praise God for small mercies! Or maybe my nose had simply become accustomed to the stench. The doona and sheets were a lurid green and probably hadn’t been changed since their owner’s death, but I had my own clean set in the car anyway.

Despite this, returning to the city seemed the only sensible option—this was no holiday cottage and even Hayley couldn’t expect me to stay in such a mess—but something about the state of the place called to the neat freak inside of me. Although I’d done a lot of renovation work on our house, I’d never attempted anything as raw as this, but I’d always loved watching those reality shows where the contestants took a dilapidated building and turned it into something millionaires would bid for.

A thrill shot through me as I imagined myself working similar miracles with this little piece of real estate. Of course, there was only so much I could do in a week but having a project would at least keep me busy.

A scuttle sounded in the roof and I looked up at the ceiling. ‘Vacation’s over, little possum. If you ain’t paying rent, you ain’t welcome.’

Laughing at myself for talking to an animal, I pushed up my sleeves.

First things first. I started around the shack, opening all the windows; some were stiff and many of the frames looked a little rotten, but they all came free eventually.

There wasn’t much more I could do until I’d bought cleaning supplies and something to help me cover up the hole in the kitchen ceiling, but I checked all the lights were still working and turned on the fridge before driving back to the general store.

As I drove, I wondered what Wei’s granddad’s name was. It hadn’t seemed important when Hayley had given me the key but now that I was in his home, planning to declutter and clean it, I felt an urge to know. Maybe I could ask someone who worked at the store? Or even the cafe? Cafe people were mostly friendly, and my stomach growled reminding me I hadn’t had any lunch.

Unfortunately, my plans for a quick bite to eat were derailed by the closed sign on the front door of Brewed Awakening, so I’d have to make do with something from the general store. A bell above said store’s door dinged as I walked inside, immediately drawing the attention of a surly looking teenager behind the checkout.

She looked up from where she was picking at her nail cuticles and gave me a once-over. Her frosty glare reminded me of The League of Gentlemen and their ‘local shop for local people’.