Australia: In Bed with a King. Emma Darcy

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ

      IT WAS good to see Jared again. Nathan reflected that he always had enjoyed his youngest brother’s company. Tommy had a competitive streak, wanting to score points on everything, while Jared was simply content to be himself, not in contest with either brother. Maybe it was because he’d moved himself into their mother’s world, away from King’s Eden. Or maybe it was simply his nature.

      They sat in the breakfast room, idling over morning tea, Jared and their mother relaxing after their flight from Broome, Nathan catching up on their recent activities. Tommy would fly in this afternoon and would inevitably draw Jared’s attention to himself, but for the moment, it was very pleasant listening to his youngest brother’s plans to extend the pearl business from wholesale into retail, as well.

      “So how goes it with you, Nathan?” he asked, the conversation having lulled after he and their mother had filled him in on their news.

      “Oh, nothing really changes here,” he drawled, except he only had half his mind concentrated on station business. Miranda Wade occupied the other half, but he wasn’t about to lay out that very private issue.

      In fact, he was thinking this family get-together on the station—the first this year—may very well provide the opportunity to get him close to Miranda again, in a non-threatening social situation, which would surely ease her fears.

      “Mum tells me we have a new manager at the resort,” Jared prompted. “A woman.”

      “Yes.” A woman who haunted his nights and wouldn’t get out of his head even during the day.

      “So how is she working out?”

      “I have no idea.” Which was really a lie. He’d envisaged her a thousand times, burning with utter commitment to getting everything right at the resort, shutting out everything else from her mind. Including him. Especially him. Though he didn’t believe she could be any more successful than he was at setting aside the strong attraction they’d experienced. All the same, the need to know wouldn’t wait much longer.

      “Don’t you have some impression, Nathan?” his mother asked, frowning at him.

      “Why should I? I don’t stick my nose into Tommy’s business any more than I stick it into Jared’s.”

      His mother’s gaze sharpened on him. “You did take Miranda on a sight-seeing trip, didn’t you?”

      “Six weeks ago,” he answered with a shrug. “I haven’t seen her since.”

      His mother sighed, looking extremely vexed.

      “I’m sure Tommy will fill you in when he arrives this afternoon.” Nathan smiled at her, seeing a way to use her frustration. “You can grill him to your heart’s content,” he added casually.

      It earned an exasperated glare. “I wanted another point of view.”

      “Then why not ask Miranda over to dinner tonight, satisfy yourself about her? Satisfy Jared’s curiosity, too. You could ask Sam, as well. Get her opinion. Make a party of it.”

      “Yes,” his mother snapped, looking at him as though she wanted to box his ears. “I shall do that, Nathan. I’ll get some answers for myself since I can’t count on either you or Tommy to be sensible about women.”

      Her eyes glittered bitter disapproval.

      He thought fleetingly of Susan, aware his mother had considered her a waste of his time. But mothers didn’t know everything. All the same, he was glad that door was shut now because another door had opened and it had a stronger lure than any he had ever known.

      “Well, it’s lucky you can count on Jared to be sensible,” he tossed out, then slanted a teasing grin at his brother. “Been a good boy, have you?”

      He laughed and they moved onto a lighter vein of conversation, which suited Nathan just fine since he only had to give half his mind to it.

      Tonight, he thought with deep satisfaction.

      Tonight he would find out more about the woman he wanted.

      As was her custom, Miranda was ready to welcome back the homestead guests as they returned from their day’s activities. She waited on the verandah, watching the fishing party unload themselves from the Jeep Sam always commandeered, and thinking they looked well satisfied with what they had chosen to do.

      “Look at these great barramundi!” John Trumbell crowed, holding up his catch for her to admire as he led the others up the path.

      Miranda laughed at his glee. “Biggest I’ve seen this season, John.”

      Robyn, his wife, asked. “Can we give them to the chef to cook for our dinner tonight?”

      “Of course. Should make a great feast for you.”

      “It was a marvellous day,” Robyn enthused. “I’ve never gone fishing in a helicopter before.” She swung around to Sam who was trailing after them. “Thanks for the ride.”

      “Couldn’t get you to that part of the river any other way,” Sam informed her.

      Robyn sighed happily, turning to the other couple who had accompanied her and her husband. “Don’t you just love the outback? It was like fishing in a world of our own.”

      The others made equally enthusiastic comments as they passed Miranda. Sam sidled up to her and remarked sotto voce, “Wonderful, when you’ve got money to burn.”

      She grinned. It was true the guests who took home-stead suites never seemed to count the cost of anything. Nevertheless, in the month since the resort opened, she’d found that even the campers loved being here, just exploring the gorges, swimming in waterholes, enjoying the unique wildlife.

      “So what’s on for tomorrow?” Sam asked, rolling her eyes.

      “For them the Bungle Bungle Range.”

      “Got Albert lined up to take them in after I’ve landed them?”

      “Of course.”

      Miranda’s mind flinched away from the memory of her morning with Nathan. It still haunted her, even after six weeks of seeing nothing of him. It seemed he had decided to respect her choice not to play. The problem was, in the lonely hours of the night, she was tormented by the question of what might have been if she’d chosen differently.

      “Someone coming,” Sam remarked, squinting past Miranda at a Jeep, which was fast approaching. “Looks like Tommy. Must be coming from the station homestead. Are you expecting him?”

      “No, I’m not.” She was puzzled by this unheralded visit. “He dropped in on Tuesday to check through everything with me.”

      Sam gave her a crooked smile. “Well, it’s Saturday. Maybe he’s without a date tonight and hopes you’ll fill in.”

      “Then he’ll be out of luck.”

      Sam shook her head in bemusement. “It’s an education, watching you block him out. Mind if I stay to watch the fun?”

      “As you like.”

СКАЧАТЬ