An outback affair, p.8
An Outback Affair, page 8
Again he looked up at Cassie. She refused to be swamped by the blueness of his eyes, but her resolve ebbed as his gaze slipped over her face like blue velvet.
Sam tugged at her dress. His eyes wide and anxious. “Where will you sleep, Aunty C?”
“I’m not quite sure where — ”
Joel interrupted. “Aunty’s room is right across the hall and mine’s next door to your room.”
“If you tell me where the bathroom is?” Cassie said.
He jerked a thumb to a door on the left. “All the bedrooms have their own bathroom.”
“You run his bath and I’ll undress him,” she said, in a tone not unlike a policeman reading your rights. “And don’t make the water too hot.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And he likes a lot of bubbles.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Joel said again with a mock salute and a click of his heels, and Sam broke into a fit of giggles.
Cassie gave them both a disdainful glare as she knelt down and undressed her nephew.
Never had bath time been so much fun. There were soap bubbles on every conceivable surface. “If you have any more bubbles, Sam, we won’t be able to find you.”
“Bubbles tickle your nose, don’t they, Uncle Joel?”
Joel scooped up a handful of bubbles and smeared them thickly across his upper lip. “How do I look with a moustache, Sam?”
“Funny.” Sam giggled.
An hour later, when Sam was snug in his dressing gown and slippers, and Cassie had showered and changed, Joel took them to meet his mother.
Outside his mother’s bedroom, Joel looked down at Cassie. “Okay?”
Cassie swallowed back the knot forming in her throat. She’d been nervous enough before when she believed Luke had been the wrongdoer. Whatever did this woman think of her, knowing what her sister had done to her younger son? “As I can be.”
He squeezed her hand, and she appreciated the comfort and warmth it gave her. “Everything will be fine. Don’t worry.” He gave a small rap on the door and they entered the room.
Queenie Caine sat in a king-size four-poster bed supported by mounds of white lace pillows. Her eyes were closed.
A glance at the bedside table revealed several bottles of medication and a respirator. On all counts it appeared that Queenie Caine was indeed a very sick woman. The glance also revealed a handsome face laughing out from a photograph held inside an antique silver frame. Cassie took an educated guess that this was Joel’s brother. From the corner of the frame dangled an open silver locket, which revealed a tuft of golden hair.
It has to be Luke’s baby hair. Dear God …
Further to the right of the table was a nest of photographs — all of her youngest son from the time he was born until his untimely death.
Cassie closed her eyes as a wave of giddiness overtook her. Whatever would this woman say to her, and what could she say to Queenie Caine? Hey, so my sister messed up. Them’s the breaks. The situation was impossible.
Sam was all these people wanted. He was their pride and joy, their hope for the future of Oriole. Cassie was a by-product. Someone they should be nice to, to make it so much easier to get rid of without fuss. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Queenie’s eyes fluttered open. “Joel,” she murmured.
The love he held for his mother rushed up into two little words. “Hi, love. I’ve brought someone to meet you.”
Gathering her remnants of confidence, Cassie took Sam by the hand and approached the bedside. “Mrs. Caine,” she chose her words carefully, “this is your grandson, Sam.” She pushed Sam slightly in front of her. “Sam, please say hello to your grandmother.”
Sam approached the bed staring curiously at his grandmother. “Are you sick?”
Smiling, Queenie reached out and touched his face. “A little,” she confessed.
“I was sick last time. I had a bad, bad tummy ache, but it’s gone now.” He spread his arms wide open. “I was this sick.”
Queenie laughed. “I don’t think I’m going to be so sick now that you’ve come to stay with me.”
“I’ve come for a visit.” He looked up at his aunt for encouragement.
Cassie nodded and tried to smile reassuringly.
“And I’m so glad you have.” Still holding Sam’s hand, Queenie looked up at Cassie. “I’m Queenie.” She held out a slender white hand.
Cassie took Queenie’s hand firmly in her own and a feeling of warmth engulfed her. She knew instinctively that she would like Queenie Caine. That Joel’s mother wasn’t at all like she’d imagined her to be. Not that she was sure what she had expected, but certainly not this graciously warm and good-natured woman now holding her hand.
“I’m Cassie,” she whispered, “Sam’s Aunty C,” simply because she didn’t know what else to say.
Queenie’s delicate beauty astounded her. Her hair, the color of honeycomb, was swept into a thick coil at the base of her neck. Her skin was so translucent you could see the crisscrossing tiny blue rivers of veins.
Although purged by her sickness, Queenie was a hauntingly beautiful woman. She smiled and the warmth of that smile glow through Cassie.
“Welcome to Oriole, Cassie. Thanks for bringing Sam.” She touched Sam’s hair. “I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it is to have a grandson. Luke’s son.”
Turning away from them, Queenie coughed gently into a white lace handkerchief. “Would you like to come and see me tomorrow, Sam?”
He nodded. “And, Nana, I’ll read you my bestest ever story book.”
“That would be grand,” Queenie whispered slumping back against the pillow.
Placing her hand on top of Sam’s shoulder, Cassie said, “It’s time to go to your room and choose a book for me to read to you.”
The boy moved reluctantly toward the open bedroom door. He swung on the doorknob. “Will you come to my room and read me the story, too, Uncle Joel?”
“Try and stop me, Tiger.”
“Goodnight, Nana,” Sam called as he skipped out of the room and down the hall to his own.
Queenie gave a wracking cough.
Joel moved to her side concern flooding his face. “You’re tired,” he said softly. “This has been far too much strain on you.”
Queenie laughed. “Don’t fuss so, darling. I’m perfectly all right.” She sighed. “But you’re right, I am tired.” She looked at Cassie. “Thank you again, Cassie for bringing my grandson to me.”
“My pleasure, Mrs. Caine.”
“And Cassie, do you think — no, I know you and I can be friends.”
“Oh, Mrs. Caine, so do I.”
She reached out and touched Cassie’s hand. “Then, my dear, let’s begin our friendship by you calling me Queenie.”
Joel, bending over, kissed his mother’s cheek. He brushed her hair gently back from her forehead. “Rest now, love, and we’ll see you in the morning.”
Cassie preceded Joel from the bedroom. She waited while he closed the bedroom door. He faced her, and the look on his face worried her.
“Aunty C,” Sam called, “Uncle.”
“Coming,” they said in unison and laughed together.
She glanced at Joel’s profile as he read Sam a bedtime story from his favorite book. Such a handsome man, a man any woman would be proud to call her own. A deep stirring in her heart. She desired Joel with a need that was deep. She understood and accepted this, but she also accepted that that’s as far as it went. She’d never cross the line with him. She wanted to leave Oriole the same way she came, sane and unbroken.
“He’s asleep,” Joel said.
Cassie bent over the sleeping child and kissed his flushed cheek, brushing the curls back from his forehead. “He’s exhausted.”
“He’s had a big day.”
“He’ll settle in and get into a routine in no time,” she reassured him.
Joel towered over her and she moved a few steps back from his overpowering presence. “Sorry, if I overstep the boundaries with Sam. I’m not used to being Uncle Joel yet.”
Again, he’d surprised her with his unexpected candor. “I can get a bit possessive at times. I have to learn to share him more.”
He moved in, she moved back. “That’s understandable; you’ve had him on your own for so long it must be difficult for you.”
“Yes, it’s difficult but not impossible,” she conceded. “Sam needs you and your mother in his life.”
His smile was like a bolt of lightning and had the same effect. “Have you any family, Cassie?”
“I have no one but Sam.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” His voice dropped in volume. “It must have been tough for you — you know — when you were left on your own with a small baby.”
It pleased her that he at least showed concern for what had happened. “I coped.”
As they moved out of Sam’s room and into the hall, he said, “I’ve a few things to attend to that shouldn’t take too long. You’ll join me for dinner, won’t you?” His gaze caressed her features.
“I’m very tired, Joel. I’d prefer to have a light meal in my room.”
“Eating alone gives you indigestion.”
“I’ll risk it.”
“Aw, come on, Cassie, relax a little. Would it hurt you too much to eat with me? Besides I’m tired of eating alone.”
He sounded so like Sam when he wanted his own way that she couldn’t help relenting. “Okay.”
Reaching over, he entwined his fingers through her hair and gently moved her head toward him, brushing her lips with his. It was only a fleeting kiss, but it was enough to make the blood pulsate wildly through her veins. She fell back against the wall, touching her lips with the tips of her fingers. “Don’t kiss me.” He touched her cheek with his fingertips. Her head jerked back and banged against the wall. “Ouch.”
“We have to be friends. We’ll be seeing each other every day.”
Could he keep it at just friends? Could she? Sex with this cowboy would be good. “Friends do not keep kissing each other on the mouth.”
“Yeah?” He cocked his head. “Why not?”
“They just don’t.”
“I was trying to express my feelings,” he said smoothly, his face expressionless. “Sam being here. How happy it’s made my mother. The way you said you’d be friends with her.”
She was totally aware of his sexiness, his seemingly innate ability to see inside her, his ability to be empathetic and understanding.
Before she could answer, he said, “I’ll see you downstairs in the dining room in say,” he glanced at his watch, “half an hour.”
Her head ached slightly. Her skin prickled. She didn’t want to eat a meal with him — she didn’t want to share a packet of peanuts with him.
She sighed as he took the stairs two at a time.
Moving into the room, she sat on the edge of the enormous bed and without warning the room seemed so empty and so strange that she was lost. She fought the urge to run to Sam’s room and climb into bed with him. Feel the warmth of his tiny body against hers. Breathe in his sweet just washed little boy smell.
She fell back on the bed her arms outstretched above her head and stared at the delicately carved ceiling.
“Great,” she muttered. “Just great.”
She’d promised to have dinner with a man who had her insides turning like she was sailing on rough seas. If it weren’t for Sam’s claim to the Caine dynasty and the right to know his family, she’d be running from here as fast as her legs would allow. But for now she was stuck here with Joel and he was far too dangerous for her sanity. The sooner their sojourn was over, the better.
CHAPTER NINE
Cassie showered and changed into a strapless dress of lemon print cotton and low-heel jade sandals. Not too much make-up, applying only the faintest touch of eye shadow and mascara to her eyes and a smear of pale pink gloss to her lips.
Satisfied with her appearance, and with one last fluff of her hair she descended the stairs.
As soon as she entered the room, Joel rose from his chair and strode fluidly towards her.
He had changed into fresh designer jeans, the striking deep blue of his shirt enhancing his eyes. Joel hadn’t gelled his hair, and a lock had fallen across his forehead, the rest thick and wild around the collar of his shirt.
Totally masculine, devilishly handsome, and at ease in his surroundings, she was a fool to imagine that something more than Sam could ever connect them.
Hell, she didn’t want a gold band and she didn’t want promises; what she needed from Joel he could give her now. She was acutely conscious of his heartthrob magnetism. His vitality. His power. His broad and muscular chest. “I checked on Sam; he’s fast asleep,” Cassie said.
“It can’t be easy. I mean, with you having to work — being a single parent,” Joel said.
“My parents left me money. That’s how I started my photography business.”
“Going well?”
“I make a decent living. I freelance, and my publisher wants me to do an outback spread. Is that okay with you if I take photographs here?”
“Sure. Anything you need?”
“I’ve brought my equipment.”
Reaching out, he took her hand inside his. He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles, over the soft skin under her wrist. With a small almost apologetic smile, she withdrew her hand from his, and tried to ignore the tingle of excitement that coursed up her arm.
She moved her mouth close to his. Their breaths mingled. She was aroused in every way possible. Her breathing labored as her heart went into fast forward. She pressed her mouth fully over his.
Clasping the back of his head, she drew him down and kissed him again, thrusting her tongue deep inside his mouth. Waves of desire plunged through her. “You really must try to stop kissing me, Joel.”
“I thought you were kissing me.”
“Now would I take advantage of a situation?”
“Yeah, I think you would.”
“Kissing from now on is out.”
“It’s difficult for me.” He grinned. “What can I do about it?”
“I don’t know, maybe if you chewed gum?” She laughed softly. “I don’t want you to become a habit.”
“Aw, I’m a creature of habit.”
She sat on the oversized avocado-colored sofa, and he said, “I’m having a drink. Would you like one?”
“Lemonade would be nice.”
He poured her drink, handed her the glass, and sat in a chair opposite her.
While sipping her lemonade, Cassie looked around the room with great interest. There was a large painting of Sydney over the mantelpiece. She could see the graceful sails of the Opera House and the sharp clean lines of their famous Harbour Bridge. She glanced up at the large, yet delicate, crystal chandelier hanging gracefully from the ornate ceiling. This was truly a beautiful house.
“What do you think of Oriole so far?”
“I knew your station would be large, but I never imagined anything as big as this.”
He smiled with obvious pride. “Most are surprised when they come here. Do you ride?”
“Yes, but only city riding. You know, horse trails, that sort of thing.”
“We’ll go riding one day and I’ll show you Oriole at its best.”
“Sounds great.”
“And while we’re on the subject, don’t go riding on your own. Okay, Cassie?”
“Why not?”
“You could get lost. In fact, you most probably would get lost. Turn around twice out in the bush and you’re disorientated.”
She shrugged. “I wouldn’t venture too far.”
“I said don’t go riding, not without me or one of the men.” He frowned. “Okay, Cassie?”
“Okay,” she muttered. Worrywart. She liked horse riding very much and went as often as she could. Sam was learning to ride, even at his young age, and loved it. She could handle a short ride around the station. She glanced at him. He was still frowning. Still, best not to upset Joel any more than she had to. Subject change time. “Do you breed only cattle?”
He sipped his ice-cold beer. “We have a few pigs and chickens for domestic use.”
“And how do you get anything else you need?”
“Flown in from Derby.”
“What if Sam gets sick or hurts himself?” She voiced her concerns.
His gaze came to rest on her questioning eyes. “As I told you, Berta’s a trained nurse.”
“What if he’s seriously hurt?”
“I can fly him to Derby Hospital. If he can’t be moved, I’d call in the flying doctor and he can be treated here and then taken to hospital. Anything else worrying you?”
“Everything sounds great.”
“Care for another lemonade?”
“No, thanks.”
“Berta has prepared a light meal. Are you hungry?” he asked, pointing to a table in the far corner of the room she had not previously noticed. It was laden with a deliciously tempting cold collation.
Her stomach growled. “Famished.”
He followed her to the table where they selected chicken, ham, and delicious-looking salads from the dishes laid out.
While he chose a breast of chicken, she studied his profile. The strong chin, the slightly crooked nose, that ever-straying lock of blond hair.
“You must try some of Berta’s potato salad. It’s to die for.”
Totally unprepared for him to speak, her hand jerked and food toppled from her plate, and slices of tomato soaked into the stark white tablecloth. “Oh, no,” she muttered, dabbing at the offending food with a paper napkin.
