Pathway to Tomorrow (10 page)

Standing in front of Marcus she took a deep breath.  “I wish I didn’t have to keep saying I’m sorry but I’m not very good at trust because…because of things that happened in the past. If you’ll give me another chance maybe I can learn not to be so touchy. ”

“You mean that?” He kept his hands firmly in his pockets.

She gave him a tentative smile.  “Yes I do.”

They stared at one another for the briefest moment and then she was in his arms and he was kissing her. It was a kiss that went on for a very long time. It dislodged her riding hat until Marcus unclipped it and tossed it to the ground.  It drew small whimpering moans from Jodie as he slipped his hands inside her shapeless green fleece. It made Marcus forget everything except the softness of her skin, the taste of her lips and the dance of her tongue against his. It was a kiss that had been waiting for a long time, a kiss that had started three thousand miles away. Now
that it had reached its destination Marcus and Jodie were oblivious to their surroundings.

* * *

Buckmaster was bored.  He’d finished the patch of grass, sampled a laurel leaf and decided he didn’t like it, and rubbed his rump against the fence post to deal with an irritating itch. Now he wanted Jodie.  He trotted back up the path to where she was standing with the apple man and nudged her with his nose.  When it had no effect he gave a snort of indignation and blew into her ear.

“I could almost believe that horse is jealous,” Marcus kept Jodie in the circle of his arms as she turned towards Buckmaster. Happy that his beloved mistress was concentrating on him again, the horse lifted his top lip in what was a very good impersonation of a leer.

When they had stopped laughing Marcus tilted Jodie’s chin and dropped a kiss onto the tip of her nose.  “I guess he’s right. This is not the time or the place. Bill will come looking for me soon to bring me up to speed about the building work. I told him I was going for a walk.”

Jodie sighed.  “I’m busy all day today too, and I’ve still got to take Bucky down to the beach.”

“What about this evening.”

She shook her head.  “I have to go to Izzie’s school to see her teacher.”

“Problems?”

“No, it’s just an end of term meeting.  A general discussion about how well she’s expected to do in her exams, what university she might want to apply to, that sort of thing.”

He pulled her to him and rested his chin on the top of her head so she couldn’t see his face.  Now wasn’t the time to tell her that he’d known Izzie wouldn’t be going to university from the moment he first heard her sing. “I guess it has to be another late night phone call then.”

She tilted her face up and gave him a rueful smile. For the first time he noticed that her eyelashes curled. He noticed, too, that she had a tiny mole just above her left eyebrow.  He bent and kissed it.

“There is another way of course.  Come back to London with me tomorrow and stay for the weekend…it’ll mean you can meet Luke too.”

She shook her head.  “I can’t leave Izzie on her own, not over a weekend…not ever really.”

He didn’t comment other than to say that of course her sister was invited too, because he didn’t want to have any sort of conversation about Izzie’s future.  Besides, if she came as well then he’d be able to listen to her in a fully equipped studio.

Chapter Thirteen

“Please pinch me!” Izzie thrust her arm under Jodie’s nose and screwed her eyes tight shut. “Unless you pinch me hard I won’t believe it!”

“What?  That we’re going to stay with Marcus.” Jodie laughed at her.

“How can you be so casual?  We are not going to stay with Marcus.  We are going to London to stay with Marcus Lewis. Just wait ‘til I tell all my friends.  They’ll be green with envy.”

“You won’t have an opportunity to tell them anything at all unless you hurry up and get ready. We need to leave in three minutes or we’ll be late for our appointment.”

“It’s such a waste of time,” Izzie grumbled as she shrugged her arms into a thick sweater and finger combed her hair in front of the mirror. “You know exactly what she’s going to say because she says it every time. Isabella is such an asset to the school and such a credit to you Ms Eriksson.  I’m sure she’ll do well in her exams and be accepted by whatever university she chooses.”

Although Jodie chuckled at Izzie’s accurate impersonation of the school principal, she still shook her head. “Let’s hope she’s right then, because you need to do well. University is going to be a tough call. You’ll have to learn to live on your own, and you’ll have to take a part-time job too unless you want to end up with a massive debt hanging around your neck. I wish there was another way but there isn’t because once you’re eighteen there won’t be an educational trust to fall back on anymore.  I’ll give you what I can, of course, but it won’t be enough.”

Izzie hugged her.  “I don’t expect you to give me anything.  You’ve already done more for me than a lot of real parents would have done. I’m used to working part-time too, in the stables…so do me a favor and stop talking about university ‘cos it’s boring. Let’s talk about Marcus Lewis.  Are you and he an item?”

“Maybe,” Jodie flushed pink as they walked towards her car. It was a big and battered Jeep that came with the job and it always looked out of place amongst the sleek cars that lined the school car park on open evenings. Not that Izzie appeared to care. It was Jodie who had the problem.  She wanted her sister to have all the advantages she’d had until her stepfather died, and that included not looking out of place at school.

“Brilliant! Wait until I tell all my friends…wow Jodie! I didn’t know you had it in you. My sister is going out with Marcus Lewis!” Izzie climbed into the car and settled into her seat with a satisfied sigh. Then she saw the expression on Jodie’s face.

“Not a good idea?”

“Not a good idea,” said Jodie firmly.  “Tell them about our trip to London if you must, but leave me out of it…and that goes for everyone at the riding school too.

* * *

Marcus arrived early.  So early Jodie was still saying goodbye to Buckmaster.  Izzie was waiting though.  As soon as he drove into the yard she flew out of the house, a rucksack trailing from one hand and a small canvas bag in the other.  He raised his eyebrows.

“Is that it?”

She grinned at him.  “We believe in travelling light.”

“Have you got your music?”

“At the bottom of my rucksack but don’t tell Jodie.  She thinks this is all about her getting to know you.”

“It is,” his voice was sharp.  “And it’s also about both of you getting to know Luke.  Listening to you sing is third on my list Izzie.”

Looking suitably chastened she opened the rear door and slid into the car.  Then she gave a puzzled frown.  “Who is Luke?”

He stared at her reflection in the driving mirror.  “Jodie hasn’t told you?”

“If you haven’t learned how tight-lipped she is about almost everything by now, then you haven’t learned anything about her at all. No, she hasn’t told me anything about Luke.  She’s never even mentioned his name.”

Marcus sighed.  Jodie had even more hang-ups than he did.  “Luke is my son.  He’s eleven years old and he’s autistic. His autism affects him in lots of ways; for example he hates meeting new people, so you and Jodie will be quite a challenge for him.”

She shrugged. “Lots of the kids on the disabled riding program are like that. I take lead rein for one of them, Rosie.  We get on really well now but it was ages before she’d even look at me.”

“Luke has some minor physical disabilities too. He’s not very coordinated.”

“So do lots of the kids on the program.  Surely Jodie’s told you about it.”

“Mmm. She wants Luke to try it out when we move up here, but I think she’ll find she’s met her match in him.  Luke on a horse surrounded by strangers…no I can’t see it.”

Izzie laughed.  “If that’s what you think then you still have an awful lot to learn about my sister.”

But Marcus had stopped listening.  Following the direction of his gaze she saw Jodie come out of Buckmaster’s stable and secure the bolt behind her. Carol, who was taking charge of the riding school for the weekend, was hovering at her shoulder and nodding at the long list of instructions being issued. 

Izzie swung her long legs out of the car again.  “I’ll go and rescue Carol and speed things up a bit. If I don’t we’ll be here half the morning while Jodie checks and double checks that everyone knows what they’re doing.”

She paused and peered in through the driver’s window.  “You do know that my sister is a control freak don’t you?” she said. Then she walked away chuckling.

Chapter Fourteen

When Jodie finally climbed into the car Marcus deliberately let his eyes travel the length of her body. Then he grinned at her. “What, no riding hat?”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” Her cheeks, still pink from her early morning ride, flushed to a deep rose color, and he knew she was remembering his frustration as he’d fumbled with the straps under her chin the previous morning. He could still remember the little moans and gasps that had been triggered by his kisses once he had managed to drop her hat onto the path beside them. He could still remember, too, the way her body had felt beneath the nubby cotton of her green polo shirt. 

He drove slowly out of the yard feeling his frustration building again. Remembering everything about Jodie wasn’t difficult. It was the doing something about it that was the problem.  They were both too busy, had too many responsibilities. How were they going to find enough time to do all the things his libido kept talking about?

He glanced across to where she sat, her fidgeting fingers the only sign she was feeling nervous.  Her hair was still in a single plait. Admittedly she’d exchanged her jodhpurs for black denims and her polo for a long sleeved T-shirt, but nothing else had changed.  She was still wearing a shapeless fleece and sensible boots.  Not her usual ones to be sure. The fleece was a nicer color too.  It was a rich plum red that complemented her dark hair and olive skin, but it was still shapeless, and it was still a fleece. He wondered if she dressed like that to hide her very tantalizing body from the world, or whether she just wasn’t interested in fashion.

He thought of all the women who had fawned over him while he was in California: women who were tanned and toned to within an inch of their lives.  Women who wouldn’t contemplate leaving the house without full make-up and co-coordinating outfits. He gave a wry smile. What a joke!  All those limber beauties with an open invitation in their eyes and he’d spent every minute of his spare time thinking about Jodie.

He took one hand off the wheel and rested it briefly on hers.  She looked at him for the first time since she’d climbed into the car and he saw the fear in her eyes.  He had learned a lot about her during their transatlantic conversations and he guessed right now she wanted to cancel the whole trip. She wanted to forget all about him and go back to the safe life she had worked so hard to achieve for herself and for Izzie.

He tightened his fingers around hers.  “It’ll be fine Jodie.  We’ll be fine.”

Then he returned his hands to the wheel and proceeded to regale both of his passengers with stories of his trip to California for the rest of the journey.  Izzie played ball by asking all the right questions and laughing in all the right places.  Jodie, however, was mostly silent, although her lips did curve upwards occasionally.  When she and Marcus exchanged glances though, he saw that the fear had faded and been replaced by a tentative promise. 

For the moment it was enough.

* * *

It was late morning when he drove down into the secure parking area beneath his London apartment and slotted his car into its accustomed space. Minutes later they were in the elevator climbing to the top floor.

“Coffee first, or cola for the unsophisticated,” he announced, ushering them into the square granite and stainless steel kitchen he rarely used.  “After that I’ll give you the tour and show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

Izzie dumped her rucksack onto the tiled floor and rushed across to a door that led out onto a small balcony. Pulling it open she stepped outside.

Jodie, however, stood transfixed in the doorway.  “I didn’t know it would be like this,” she whispered, her eyes dark pools of distress.

He abandoned his search for coffee and took her in his arms. He didn’t want her to be overwhelmed by his wealthy lifestyle. It wasn’t who he was.  “It’s just an apartment Jodie.  It’s where I live when I’m in London.  I didn’t even decorate it or choose the furniture. Someone else did it for me.”

She shook her head.  “It’s not that.  It’s just…I…it’s like travelling back in time. I used to live somewhere like this a long time ago when Izzie was tiny…when my mother and step-dad were still alive. When we still had money.” Her voice trailed off as she looked at the array of electronic gadgets on the counter and the state-of-the-art cooker set into the wall.