like to touch you and make those pink lips part in surprise and pleasure, those blue eyes widen in wonder…
It was a disturbance over the fence in the holding paddock that drew his attention away from Holly—saved by the bell, he thought dryly. He saw that his foreman, Kane, had arrived back from the fencing trip with his two offsiders.
But as his gaze came back to Holly, he saw that she was staring at him with her lips parted, her eyes wide—all in some perplexity.
His lips twisted. ‘Why don’t you relax? I’ve got some things to discuss with Kane. I may take him back to the dam to show him what I want done, so I could be tied up all afternoon.’
‘Uh, all right,’ Holly responded after a moment. ‘I can do some work anyway.’ She hesitated. ‘If Sarah’s still not well would you like me to cook dinner?’
‘Thanks.’ He stood up. ‘That would be great.’
Holly withdrew her gaze from the physical splendour of Brett Wyndham in his board shorts. ‘Um, do I cook for Kane and the others?’
‘No. They’ll cater for themselves in their quarters. See you later.’ And he walked away.
Holly cleared up their lunch and retreated to her cabin, where she admitted to herself that she was somewhat bothered and bewildered. Or bewitched.
She lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, feeling like a star-struck teenager, she admitted as she pulled a pillow into her arms. So, what to do about it?
No answer presented itself and she fell asleep.
It was starting to cool down when she re-emerged, showered and once again changed in her blouse and jeans.
She checked on Sarah first and took her a pot of tea and a snack—all she wanted. She persuaded her to stay where she was, assuring her she was quite able to handle dinner.
A couple of hours later, with the oil lamps lit and the table set attractively again, Brett put down his knife and fork and said, ‘You can cook. Another gene from your father?’
Holly’s face dimpled into a smile as she glanced at the remains of the golden-brown lasagne she’d prepared, along with a fresh green salad and some warm rolls. ‘No. The cooking gene comes from my mother, in case you thought I was all my father’s doing.’
Brett lay back in his chair and studied her. He had also showered and had changed into a clean khaki shirt and beige chinos. ‘What does come to mind…’ He twirled his wine glass. ‘Is the fact that you’d make someone a really handy wife.’
Holly looked put out, although there was glint of laughter in her eyes. ‘That’s not exactly a compliment, Mr Wyndham,’ she said gravely.
‘Sorry,’ He grimaced. ‘As well as a very attractive wife, of course.’
‘That’s a bit better!’ Holly approved. ‘But I don’t think I’d make a good wife, actually.’
‘Why not?’
She gathered their plates. ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ She shrugged and stood up.
He rose too and told her to sit down. ‘I’ll do this.’
Holly sank back and watched him clear the table. He came back and topped up their wine glasses. ‘Why not?’ he asked again.
She looked at him and looked away. She stroked Bella’s head. Somehow the dog must have gauged her inner distress with the subject, because Bella had risen and put her head on Holly’s lap. Despite her inner distress, there was something else, something new. For the first time she wanted to explain why she was the way she was.
It was to do with this man, she thought. Because he moved her, whether she liked it or not…
She took a deep breath. ‘A couple of years ago I fell madly in love,’ she said quietly. ‘What I didn’t know was that he was a married man. And I only got to know it when his wife started stalking me.’
Brett stopped with his wine glass poised in his hand, then he slowly put it down. ‘I’m sorry. Seriously stalking you?’
‘I thought so. She wrote threatening letters, she threatened me over the phone, she turned up at work, she harassed my mother—she threw a brick through my car window once. It got to the stage where I was looking over my shoulder all the time, even scared to go out.’
‘She sounds crazy,’ he said.
Holly shrugged. ‘I’ll probably never know whether it was the cause or the effect of her husband’s philandering, but it left me with several complexes. Strangely, although she scared me silly at times, I felt a streak of sympathy for her, whereas I could have killed her husband for putting me in that position. You could say I fell off cloud nine with a huge bump.’
She looked away and for a moment tears glittered in her eyes.
‘Go on,’ he murmured eventually.
‘I couldn’t believe I’d been so thoroughly taken in by him. I can only—I’d just lost my father, who meant the world to me, so I was depressed and so on when I met him.’
‘He was still living with her?’
‘No, he’d moved out, so I had no reason to suspect he was married. But I guess that’s my number-one complex—a terrible lack of judgement on my part. Funnily enough, I’d never believed I was the kind of girl to be swept off her feet by a man.’
‘Or vice versa—who does?’
Holly smiled bleakly. ‘It doesn’t help. Anyway, I’m very much on guard against that kind of thing happening to me again. And I’m terribly, terribly wary now of the maelstrom of emotions that can go with love and marriage.’
‘Maybe she was a unhinged. Perhaps you struck a one-in-a-million situation?’ he suggested.
‘Or maybe she just felt herself to be a woman scorned. Maybe she felt she couldn’t live without him; they had two children. Maybe she just felt desperate; I don’t know,’ Holly said.
‘What happened to them?’
‘He went back to her and they moved overseas.’ Holly fiddled with her napkin then looked straight into his eyes.
‘But for a few months I was in serious trouble. I felt so guilty, even though I hadn’t known about her. I was a nervous wreck—I still sometimes break out into a sweat and think I’m being followed. But my mother finally persuaded me to get some counselling and that’s when I realized only I could get myself out of it. So I plunged into my work and the harder, even the more dangerous it was, the better.’
‘And now?’
Holly rubbed her hands together. ‘For the most part, fine, but still terribly wary of men and love and marriage—and my own lack of judgement.’
‘I see.’ He finished his wine. ‘I guess that explains your aversion to chemistry.’
Holly bit her lip. Of course, he was quite right. The only thing was,
