Authors: Karen Rose Smith
Finally when she thought air was
something she'd never need again, he took her face in his hands and ended the
kiss. "Do you have a passport?"
She nodded. Two years ago, she'd
traveled to England for a conference on psychic phenomenon. At that point,
she'd still been searching for answers.
"Will you come with me to France?" Nathan asked.
Oh, how she wanted to be with him,
to experience his joy when he saw his daughters. But she had to wonder at the
wisdom of making the trip with him. "Why?"
He looked away, then met her gaze
once more. "Leona could move them again. I'd feel better if you're along
to give some direction. I'm beginning to trust your intuition."
She'd proven herself to him, but
she'd hoped he'd want her along for more than her psychic ability. "I
don't know if I can get off work."
"Is there someone you can
ask? I'd like to leave as soon as possible. We'll probably be gone a few
days. Of course, I'll cover your expenses."
She'd have to let him pay for the
air fare. But the rest she'd manage herself. The more ties she had to Nathan,
the harder it would be to get on with her life. Soon, she had to think about
returning to Indiana. Except she wasn't any closer to a decision about her
future now than she had been when she first came to L.A. Feeling Nathan's
hands on her face, she realized that decision had become much less important
than this man.
"I'll talk to Harriet. She
has another manicurist who works part-time. Maybe she can cover."
Reluctantly, she pulled away from
him. But he caught her hand. "Gillian, thank you."
She suddenly realized that
gratitude wasn't what she wanted from Nathan. "When you've brought Dana
and Maddie home, then you can thank me."
He ran his thumb over her
knuckles. "I still can't believe you went to Arthur's office alone. He's
an ornery old goat who thinks he rules the world. I found out today he got to Sheffield. He threatened him with dire business consequences if he and Babbcock signed with
me as a security consultant. Sheffield thought the easiest way to deal with it
was to stop the merger for now and refuse to contract with me separately too.
Somehow I have to undo the harm Arthur's done and convince Sheffield and
Babbcock that Arthur's not all-powerful."
So the men she'd overheard at the
party had been correct about Arthur Carrero trying to sabotage Nathan.
"Leona's father wasn't helpful, but he wasn't threatening, either. He's
just a man who sits in his ivory tower thinking of ways he can get
control." The accusation that Nathan had been unfaithful raised its
head. She'd pushed it aside in her excitement of sharing the information she'd
received and waiting for confirmation. But now she wanted her question
answered.
Trying to ease into it, she said,
"I think I know why Mr. Carrero--"
The phone rang. Harriet came in
and answered it. Gillian couldn't get into the question of Nathan's fidelity
now, rather she had to find out whether she could make the trip to France. And suddenly she knew even if it meant quitting her job, she'd fly with Nathan
wherever he went.
#
They left that afternoon. Gillian
knew Nathan wanted to see his daughters as soon as he could. Their ultimate
destination was the small town of Chinon in the Loire Valley. Gillian had only
left the borders of the United States once before, so the trip itself was
exciting. But traveling with Nathan, sitting beside him in first class and
brushing elbows now and then, was even more exciting.
He seemed to take it all in stride,
as if he did it often. His confidence and familiarity with traveling,
including the process of going through security, calmed her. With the calm
came fatigue. After they left New York and the plane climbed to a cruising
altitude, Gillian reclined her seat. She fell asleep almost immediately.
A murmur of voices drifted into her
dream. Nathan was holding her, kissing her, touching her. She felt a hand on
her hair, a gentle caress along the back of her neck, and knew reality from the
dream. A blanket slid from her shoulders as she turned away from the window
where she'd propped. She hadn't requested the cover and in her mind's eye saw
Nathan tucking it around her neck. Pushing the button to straighten her seat,
she tried to blink the sleep from her eyes.
Nathan smiled. "You looked
cold all curled up in a ball."
"Thank you for
noticing." The morning light in the cabin, the silence of sleeping
passengers, charged the atmosphere with intimacy. "Will we be landing
soon?"
"About a half hour. I hated
to wake you, but I thought you'd want to get your bearings before we
arrived."
She brushed her bangs from her
eyes. As she settled in her seat, her elbow brushed his. Neither of them
moved away. "Did you sleep?"
"No. I'm too wired. I can't
believe I actually know where Dana and Maddie are. I'm afraid Arthur will wave
a wand and they'll disappear again."
Now was the time to tell Nathan
what she knew. "There's a reason Mr. Carrero feels the way he does about
you."
Nathan sighed. "I know. I
wanted to build a company and my reputation on my own without him."
"That's not all of it."
Her heart pounded. "Leona told him you were unfaithful...that you had an
affair with your secretary."
Nathan's brows drew together and
his blue eyes shot silver sparks of anger. "I think your intuition is
working overtime."
"This has nothing to do with
my abilities, Nathan. Mr. Carrero told me."
Nathan's eyes narrowed and his arm
went rigid on the armrest. "Why would he tell you that?"
"I was trying to convince him
you had the girls' welfare at heart."
"And he was trying to prove to
you what a bastard I am. Did he succeed?"
Her heart hurt, but she knew she
had to ask the question for her own peace of mind. "Were you unfaithful
when you were married to Leona?"
Nathan's cheeks flushed and his
hand balled into a fist. "Arthur has planted the doubt. I doubt if my
denial will do any good since you had to ask the question."
She'd hurt him. She'd only met
Nathan two-and-a-half weeks ago, yet in the time she'd known him, she'd come to
trust him, to know he was an honorable man. So why had she needed to ask the
question? Because Brian had been seeing his ex-wife behind her back?
Probably. Obviously Nathan wasn't the only one having a problem with trust.
#
When they arrived at Orly at seven-thirty a.m. French time, Nathan rented a car to drive to Chinon. After
studying a map, he calculated that they should get there around the lunch
hour. There was a tension between him and Gillian that had nothing to do with
the long trip and everything to do with the question she had asked him.
As they drove through the French
countryside, Gillian laid her head against the back of the seat. Although
she'd slept on the plane, she felt as if she hadn't slept for a week. But she
couldn't nap now. She did wish she and Nathan could talk casually as they had
so often before. But he wasn't in the mood for talking.
At one of the villages, Nathan
asked her if she'd like to stretch her legs. She knew he was anxious to get to
their destination and appreciated his consideration. They stopped at a bakery,
buying rolls and coffee.
Sitting in the car with the windows
open, Gillian finished a roll and decided to deal with the tension.
"Nathan, about Arthur's accusation. I..."
He'd tossed his suitcoat in the
back seat and rolled up his shirt sleeves. "Let's forget it. I only have
one thing on my mind now. Nothing else matters." He checked his GPS.
"We'll be there in about two hours."
But as soon as they drove into the
town along the Vienne River with its cobbled streets and quaint houses, Gillian
didn't need directions from a GPS. She guided Nathan through town, past
orchards, until they turned onto a lane leading to a gray stone house. It
looked classic, more than large enough for a woman and two children. Poplars
dotted the front lawn while willows swayed low along the side. A green and
yellow sign hung to the right of the front door.
Nathan spoke for the first time
since she'd begun giving him explicit directions. "How did you
know?"
"I could hear Dana's and
Maddie's voices. As if they were guiding me. I know it's crazy--"
He shook his head. "It
doesn't seem crazy anymore."
They climbed the stone steps and
Nathan lifted the door knocker. A rotund woman with rosy cheeks wearing a
bright floral print dress answered the door. "Monsieur? Mademoiselle?
May I help you?"
"I'm Nathan Bradley. Maddie
and Dana's father. I'd like to see them."
"Oh, Mon Dieu. Ms. Carrero
said if this ever happened--"
"Collette, who is it?"
"It's me, Leona," Nathan called
inside. "Let me in. Or so help me I'll get the French police involved in
this."
Leona came to the door and put her
hand on the older woman's arm. "It's all right, Collette."
Leona Carrero was more strikingly
beautiful in person than she was in her photograph. Gillian felt awkward and
out of place.
Nathan's ex-wife stepped back and
said, "Come in, Nathan. I knew it was only a matter of time." Her
voice grew husky. "I made a mistake and--"
"You're damn right you did.
Don't you even think about disappearing out the back door because this time
I'll call the FBI and the State Department."
Leona took a step away from him.
"I'm just thankful you haven't called them in before now. Father gave me
your message. Nathan, I'm sorry. I was just so afraid if I came back, you'd
take Dana and Maddie away from me."
He let Gillian precede him into the
foyer that was more the size of a living room. Then he turned to his ex-wife.
"I'm taking them with me. Now."
Her gaze darted from him to
Gillian. "You can't just rip them away from me like this. That's not
good for them."
"Being away from me for six
months hasn't been good for them."
Gillian knew she shouldn't
interfere, but her concern for two little girls urged her to put her hand on
his arm. "Nathan, she's right. You don't want to scare them or--"
At that moment, Maddie and Dana ran
into the foyer, saw Nathan and stopped in their tracks.
He looked at them and smiled with
such bittersweet joy that tears pricked Gillian's eyes.
Holding out his arms to his
daughters, he said, "Hi. How about a hug?"
Maddie's eyes were as blue as
Nathan's, her wavy brown hair curled on her cheeks. She put one finger in her
mouth, but came tentatively toward him.
Nathan enfolded her in his arms,
then leaned away. "I think you've grown two inches! And gotten a whole
lot prettier."
Maddie smiled.
He held his arms out to Dana.
"Come here and let me look at you."
The four-year-old approached slowly
but stood a good two feet from her father.
Gillian felt for Nathan. The look
on his face was pained when he realized Dana didn't intend to come any closer.
"Dana, what's wrong?"
Sullenly, she insisted,
"Nothin'." But she didn't come toward him.
Trying to ease the situation,
Nathan smiled. "Your ponytail is longer. You've grown two inches,
too." An awkward silence descended on the foyer until Dana pointed to
Gillian. "Who's she?"
Gillian stepped closer to both
girls and crouched down to their level. "I'm Gillian Moore. Your dad and
I are friends."
Maddie toddled right over to her
and studied her face. "Come plane?"
Dana translated. "She wants
to know if you came on an airplane."
"Yes, we did."
Keeping her eyes on Nathan but
speaking to Gillian, Dana complained, "It's a long ride. We colored and
watched movies."
"Did you come here in Arthur's
plane?" Nathan asked Leona.
"Does that surprise you?"
his ex-wife countered.
"No." Nathan's mouth set
in a tight line. Gillian knew Nathan's P.I. had checked airline manifests,
unable to find Leona or the girls' names.
Leona looked at Gillian, then
Nathan. "I'd expect you're both tired from traveling. Would you like to
freshen up?" Her eyes were pleading as they begged Nathan not to take the
girls too quickly. "We've eaten lunch, but the cook can fix something for
you."
Nathan crouched down beside Gillian
and his daughters.
Dana moved closer to her mother,
away from him.
"I'll bet you've gotten a
whole batch of new toys since you've been here," he remarked casually.
Maddie nodded.
"I'd like to see all of them,
but I have to talk to your mom first. Could you keep Gillian company for a
little while?"
Dana reluctantly agreed. "I
guess."
Gillian said, "I particularly
like dolls. Do you have any?"
Maddie nodded again and tugged
Gillian's hand. "C'mon. Show you."
Gillian stood and as Maddie held
her hand, Collette led her and the girls down a hall beyond the foyer. Gillian
felt an instant bond with these two little girls. If she could help them make
the transition that was sure to come, she'd like to do it as their friend.
#
Maddie was an out-going
two-and-a-half-year-old who pointed and babbled to Gillian the whole time she
ran from toy to toy in the playroom, showing off first her dolls, then her
stuffed toys. She pushed a white furry kitten into Gillian's hands.
"Muffin. Sleep wif her."
Gillian smiled and held Muffin
under her arm. "Dana, which toys are your favorites?"
The four-year-old went to a
child-sized table and chairs covered with blocks. "My goodest toys are at
home. Grandfather sent these."
Gillian sensed a melancholy in
Dana. The little girl missed her home in L.A., her room at Nathan's, as well
as her friends and the people she was used to being with. "Do you like it
here in France with your mom?"