Captivated By The Single Dad. Barbara Hannay

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СКАЧАТЬ long time. ‘You haven’t mentioned any brothers or sisters,’ she prompted. ‘Are you an only child?’

      ‘Yeah. But I can’t claim to have been spoiled.’

      ‘No,’ she agreed quietly, remembering his mother’s cool reception at the airport.

      Setting her knife and fork neatly together, she said, ‘Actually, my brothers are my stepbrothers.’

      ‘Really?’ Gray was too well mannered to ply her with awkward questions, but she could tell he was curious. She decided she wanted to tell him.

      ‘I’ve never met my real father, you see. He took off when I was a baby, so my mom was a single mom, a hairdresser, and until I was five we lived in town. Just the two of us in a little flat above her hairdressing salon. Then one day this nice guy came into her salon with three young sons who needed haircuts.’

      She smiled. ‘Turned out he was a lonely widower, a dairy farmer. He and my mom hit it off and, when they married, we became a family.’

      To Holly’s surprise, Gray frowned. ‘And you’ve all lived happily ever after?’

      ‘We have indeed.’ Sending him a deliberately light-hearted smile, she added, ‘So you know the moral of that story, don’t you?’

      ‘Do I?’

      ‘Sure. Next time you’re in town, you have to keep an eye out for a friendly but lonely hairdresser.’

      It was supposed to be a joke, but she could see it had fallen flatter than Kansas.

      ‘I’m not looking for a second wife,’ Gray said grimly.

      Okay. Point noted.

      Holly had been thinking of her stepdad and how happy he was with her mom, how happy they both were—but perhaps she’d been insensitive. She hoped she hadn’t sounded as if she was pushing Gray to find a replacement mother for his kids.

      It was clear she’d upset him. Gathering up their plates, she carried them to the sink, mad with herself for spoiling a perfectly pleasant conversation. For a moment there, Gray had looked as if he wanted to pack her bags and put her on the next mail plane out of Jabiru.

      Knowing a change of subject was needed, she asked, ‘While I’m up, would you like a cuppa?’

      ‘Thank you.’ Already, he was sounding more conciliatory. ‘I’ll stack the dishwasher.’

      She tried to ignore the view of him from behind as he bent over to load their plates. How could ordinary old blue jeans be so attention-grabbing?

      ‘By the way,’ she said casually as her gaze flickered to his low-slung jeans, then away. Then back again. ‘I meant to thank you for letting us use your study as a schoolroom.’

      ‘No worries.’ Gray finished with the dishwasher and leaned casually against the kitchen counter, arms crossed, his eyes friendly once more. ‘You’re welcome to use the study.’

      ‘It doubles really well as a school room, but I’ve told Anna and Josh they have to keep it tidy for you.’

      He pulled a face. ‘Doesn’t really matter if they mess that room up. I’m not in there a lot.’

      ‘I must admit I was surprised to find it so tidy. I thought it would be full of your books.’

      Gray frowned and his eyes narrowed. ‘Why?’

      ‘Well, there are hardly any books anywhere else in the house. I thought they’d be in the study, but you obviously keep them somewhere else. I must admit I kept all mine in my bedroom in Chelsea’s flat. I had them double stacked on floor-to-ceiling shelves, piled on the nightstand, on the floor—’

      As Holly said this, she realised that Gray’s expression had changed.

      Again.

      This time, however, she saw a flash of pain in his eyes. Real pain.

      What was the matter now? What had she said wrong?

      Behind her the kettle came to the boil and she whirled around quickly. Confused, embarrassed, she concentrated very carefully on pouring hot water into mugs.

      When she looked back at Gray again, a cool mask had slipped over his face and his blue eyes were almost icy. ‘I never have time for reading,’ he said.

      Okay. So here was another subject that was a conversation stopper for this man. First, she’d upset him by asking about his former wife’s preference for Sydney. Then she’d made a light-hearted comment about his marital future and hit a brick wall. Now his taste in books was a taboo topic…

      Aware that the evening’s lovely relaxed mood would almost certainly not revive, Holly suggested that she might take her tea through to her room and Gray looked relieved. They exchanged very polite goodnights and parted.

      In bed, however, nursing her mug of hot tea, Holly couldn’t help conducting a post-mortem of their conversation. She thought how much she’d enjoyed Gray’s company up until the point when she’d apparently put her foot in it. Gray wasn’t just a sexy dude. She’d seen glimpses of a really nice, friendly guy.

      Then she’d spoiled everything. For heaven’s sake, who was she to judge his reading habits? What did she know about the responsibilities involved in caring for a million acre property? Gray couldn’t have been much more than twenty when he’d shouldered that responsibility, and it wasn’t so remarkable that he hadn’t had time to laze about with his nose in a book.

      Just the same, it was clear there was more to Gray than met the eye. He might seem to be a straightforward Australian cattleman with a down-to-earth manner but, beneath the simple and sexy blue-jeans-and-riding-boots exterior, he was a complicated puzzle.

      Working him out wasn’t part of Holly’s job description. But, if she was to leave Anna and Josh in his care, shouldn’t she try to understand him?

      After Holly left, Gray stayed behind in the kitchen, brooding as he stared out through the window at the dark, starless sky.

      He’d been steeling himself for Holly’s nosy questions. She was, after all, a teacher but, truth to tell, her question about his books hadn’t bothered him nearly as much as her suggestion about his plans for the future.

      Whenever he thought about the rest of his life stretching ahead into his forties, fifties and beyond, his heart felt rimmed with ice. But was he really going to close down his emotions and never look at another woman again? Was it okay if his children never had a stepmother? Weren’t Janet and a nanny enough?

      He’d always looked on Chelsea’s arrival in the Outback as a gift from the gods, but he’d wrecked that chance.

      Had it been his only chance?

      What was he planning for the rest of his life? Would he simply take advantage of casual opportunities? Or would he put himself in the marketplace—like those crazy TV shows—Cattleman wants a Wife.

      He hadn’t come to terms with any of these questions yet—and he sure as hell wished Holly hadn’t raised them.

      By СКАЧАТЬ