Obsession Down Under (12 page)

Chapter 16

Whip waited until he’d cleared the property and hit the open road before gunning the engine. The Beast shot forward with a roar like a lion. He shifted through the gears, and the speedometer climbed at a fast pace, reaching one hundred and ten clicks before he eased off.

The sun was creeping higher with each kilometer of asphalt he left behind. The road was as familiar as the back of his hand. He’d travelled up and down this patch of highway a zillion times. Two kilometers up ahead the road crested before curving sharply to the right. Half a kilometer beyond that was the bridge over Charlotte’s Creek, named for one of the red-light ladies in the district over a century ago, if you believed local legend.

He took the curve at speed. Sunlight refracted on the windscreen, almost blinding him. With quick reflexes he dropped back through the gears and backed off the accelerator. He was anxious to see Jessie Rose, but wanted to arrive in one piece, so willed himself to take it easy.

He was still wound up about yesterday, and the more he’d thought about it during the night, the more he was convinced things just didn’t add up.

When he’d emerged from his office at midnight, the house had been as silent as the grave. Brenda would have turned in hours ago and it was too early for the boys to be home. He’d had a stack of paperwork to wade through and it was supposed to keep his mind off Jessica and his sister. Wrong.

Right after dinner, Mark and Drew split, leaving Brenda and him alone and creating the perfect opportunity to get to the bottom of the kerfuffle between the two girls.

Brenda was a vivacious, uncomplicated, ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of teenager. Not normal for a fourteen-year-old perhaps, but normal for her. She was loquacious and bright, usually he couldn’t shut her up. But for some reason last night, dragging words out of her was like pulling teeth. When he’d questioned her, she’d been evasive and on the defensive. As a rule, on her first day home for the holidays, she had so much to tell that his brothers and he couldn’t get a word in edgewise and would threaten to gag her. All her thoughts came straight out her mouth. She never lied or concealed anything, but he had a sneaking suspicion she was doing both now.

Lying awake in bed last night, he had to admit what he’d suspected for days, he was head over heels in love with Jessie Rose. Not having her beside him last night and knowing she was mere miles away was akin to torture. But on her insistence he’d spent the night at home with Brenda.

As he turned off the main road and into the motel car park, he prayed Jessica felt the loss as well.

No time was wasted getting to her door, and after a firm rap on the wood he glanced at his watch and waited.

It was early, not quite eight, and perhaps she wanted a sleep-in, but tough. When the door opened right away, he was taken aback and cocked his head. She was fully dressed with not a hair out of place as if she’d been expecting company.

“And here I was worrying I might wake you.”

“No, I’ve been up for a while, I didn’t sleep well.”

“Me neither, babe, I missed your hot bod next to mine.” He drew comfort from her words and followed her into the motel room with a smile. “All packed, I see,” he said, finding that a little strange as he took her into his arms.

“So what brings you by so early?”

Her question threw him, but his answer was honest. “I wanted to see you and persuade you to come back with me. I know we can sort this out with Brenda. Don’t change our arrangements, stay at the homestead like we planned. I miss you, babe, and I’d really like you at the party tonight.”

Jessica wanted to huddle in Whip’s arms, hold on tight and never leave, but leaving was inevitable. Brenda had made sure of that. Still, her heart leaped with joy at the desire reflected in his eyes, and at the fact he wanted her back in his home resuming their relationship. Heck,
that’s
what she wanted too, and maybe, just maybe, this was the opportunity to talk Brenda around, to make her see reason.

With that thought in mind and a wicked gleam in her eye, she stepped out of his embrace and started unbuttoning her blouse, a saucy pout playing on her lips.

Whip was quick on the uptake and a delighted grin spread across his face. With nimble hands, he pulled his shirt over his head and in two strides caught her up and carried her to the bed.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he growled.

A pang of guilt spread through her at his words, knowing Brenda wanted her gone and forgotten by tomorrow. But that was tomorrow. Whip was here now, and his intention was clear as he tumbled her onto the bed and kissed her and touched her until her toes curled.

Two hours later they left the motel room hand-in-hand. Whip flicked the automatic unlocking device on his keychain and The Beast responded with a flash of lights. “Climb in while I nip over and settle the bill,” he told her, taking a long stride toward the reception.

“Hold it right there, Cowboy.” She reached out and caught his arm.

He swung back to face her, his face crinkling in surprise at her sharp tone.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing’s up. You wait in the car,
I’ll
settle my account.”

“Oh, I see, that same argument again. I told you, Jessie Rose, your holiday is my treat. I invited you here, and if it wasn’t for Brenda, you’d have been at the ranch last night.”

“It was my choice, end of story.” She clamped her mouth tight and her hands went to her hips. This was one she had no intention of losing.

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. His eyes rolled and then he gave in. “Okay, if you insist, but it’s not necessary.”

“It’s necessary for me.” She stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his in a brief kiss. “Meet you in the car.”

The drive back to the property was spent talking and holding hands but was otherwise uneventful. When they entered the homestead, Brenda was skulking up in her room.

Just as well, Jessica thought, as it was going to be a struggle to be civil to the girl.

The family avoided mentioning the fallout between Brenda and her, but the boys were coolly polite. Only Gladys and Annie seemed truly pleased to see her.

Late in the afternoon, Brenda appeared with a long face and a surly disposition that Jessica chose to ignore. “Hello, Brenda, Gladys said you had a bad headache. I do hope you’re feeling better.” It was sincerely meant. It would be no fun for Brenda at the party tonight feeling unwell, and she indeed looked a little frazzled.

“Like you’d care,” the teenager muttered under her breath.

“Look, I have a suggestion, why don’t we start over? Put yesterday behind us and make a fresh beginning? For your brother’s sake, if nothing else.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Well, dream on, Jessica, it’s not going to happen. Save the acting for someone who can’t see through you. What I said still stands—either you’re on that bus tomorrow, or I’m e-mailing Daddy.”

Brenda spun on the spot and marched out of the room while she stared after the girl with her mouth agape.

As the afternoon died and the sun began to sink, the neighbors arrived in droves.

Jessica spent the early part of the evening being introduced to Whip’s friends and neighbors and later chatting with the Texans. They were charming and amicable and declared that they were thrilled to meet one of their countrymen so far from home. One of the men, Carl, looked familiar. When she voiced her thoughts, they discovered he used to live not two miles from her for a short time.

“So what do you do for a living?” he asked.

“I work in a book store, Book Browsers.” She shifted from one high-heeled sandal to the other and smoothed down her dress as the story she’d told her parents flicked through her mind along with Brenda’s discovery.

Carl snapped his fingers. “That must be it.” His lips parted and curved upward showing big white teeth, and his green eyes glimmered. “I’m an avid reader. I used to shop there all the time and was practically a piece of the furniture.” He laughed. “I remember you now, you started about six weeks before I moved back to Texas. Your hair was short then and kind of spiky, right?”

“Ah-ha, but that was quite a few years ago now.”

“I remember you were always so helpful.”

“Well you were always so nice, you made it easy to be helpful.”

“You’re being too modest.”

He gave her a broad grin. Just as her mouth lifted to return his smile, her skin prickled and the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She angled her head, and Donna and Whip appeared in her peripheral vision. They were standing close, head-to-head. It gave her a jolt, and staying focused on her conversation then proved difficult, but she managed a response anyway. “I was just doing my job.”

“No, you went that extra mile, none of the other sales staff did that. You know, except for the hair, you haven’t changed a bit.”

She laughed. “You Texans are all charm.”

Carl chuckled, but she found herself distracted as movement caught her eye. Donna had touched Whip’s arm, and the sound of their laughter punctuated the air.

Jessica’s heart leaped into her mouth, and gooseflesh erupted along her arms. All of a sudden, she wished she were elsewhere. She looked away and glimpsed Annie, coming from the kitchen with her arms full.

“Please excuse me, I should go and help lay out the food,” she said, then hurried away.

Mark and Drew had done a fantastic job decorating the barn, and Annie and Gladys had set up the tables. Jessica helped bring out the mixed salads, hot potato bake, and assorted breads and sauces while the men brought over the platters of steaming meat. It smelled so good her mouth watered. The scrumptious desserts would follow later. She could hardly wait to sink her sweet tooth into them.

The meal was a lavish affair, with plenty of food, plenty of drink, great conversation, and lots of laughs. When everyone had filled their plates, Whip took the seat beside her.

“You were a big hit, babe. The Texans were quite enamored with your charms.”

“They’re looking forward to doing business with you.”

“Thanks to you, I can see this turning into a very promising relationship.”

His smile broadened, his eyes twinkled, and her heart gave a little jump. “I had very little to do with it. You did all the groundwork.”

“Yes, but you charmed them and made them feel at ease.” Whip nuzzled her neck, and the familiar tingles tickled her spine. Earlier fears were pushed aside. It was probably nothing.

As the evening wore on, Drew and a couple of other men brought out guitars and struck up a tune. Julie, from the next property over, got up and started to sing. Jessica recognized her from the visit to town. Her voice was sweet and engaging, and was the signal for the dancing to begin.

Whip held out his hand, Jessica placed hers in his and followed him onto the makeshift dance floor.

The music was slow and romantic, and they swayed to the beat under a star studded moonlit sky. Her cheek resting against his chest, her body encased in his arms was divine. It was a magical night. Until Donna interrupted.

“Do you mind if I steal Whip away?”

“Be my guest.” What else could she say?

Whip dropped his arms and stepped back a pace. His eyes brightened, and his face lit as he turned from her to face the blonde.

“I hear you two have met,” he said.

“Yes, indeed we have.” Donna placed delicate fingers on Whip’s arm. “You don’t mind, do you, Jessica?”

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. Tonight was the last night she’d ever have with him, and she was reluctant to share. “I’ll go and see if Gladys and Annie need a hand cleaning up.”

Neither tried to stop her. As she walked away, another couple approached Whip and Donna, then a second couple joined them.

When Jessica emerged from the homestead thirty minutes later, Whip was nowhere to be seen. Nor was Donna. Jessica searched the crowd but couldn’t locate them. When she felt a touch on her arm, she spun around expecting to see him, but her smile dimmed when Brenda greeted her.

“If you’re looking for my brother, he just went that way.” She pointed to the far side of the barn.

“Yes, I was. Thank you.” Jessica turned and headed in that direction. Given the circumstances, Brenda’s cooperativeness was odd. Perhaps she was having a pang of conscience. Jessica smiled in anticipation, but the gladness did not last long.

The minute she rounded the barn it became evident why Brenda had been so accommodating. The scene that greeted her almost stopped her heart. Donna was in Whip’s arms.

“Oh . . .ah . . .I’m sorry,” Jessica stammered, annoyed at being so inarticulate and that she’d apologized, when
she’d
done nothing to apologize for.

“Jessica.”

Jessica! What happened to Jessie Rose?
She pivoted on the balls of her feet and retraced her steps as fast as her legs would carry her.

“Jessie Rose, wait,” Whip called to her, but she quickened her pace, intent on putting as much distance between them as possible.

Tears stung her eyes, and she brushed them away before they could fall.

“Jessie Rose, stop.” Whip caught her shoulder and spun her toward him. “It’s not what you think.”

Her head dropped back and her chin jerked out. She stared up at him with gloomy eyes and a breaking heart. “Then what was it?”

A thousand emotions played across his strong, handsome face, but she was unable to read one. He raised his hand and ran his knuckles down her cheek, his touch so gentle, his eyes vulnerable.

“I . . . I can’t say.”

The food soured in her stomach and her knees wobbled. There was only one reason why he couldn’t say—he was still in love with Donna.