Christmas Holiday Husband (22 page)

xxx

During the next two days they all searched for dinosaur bones in the cliffs, and enjoyed a picnic lunch by the river. Drove one of the farm trucks up into the pine forest to find and bring back the perfect Christmas tree for the sitting room. Visited the McGoverns at Sevenoaks to check on Steven’s progress and autograph the cast on his leg. Watched the sheepdogs working, saw a stock truck being loaded, and built a bonfire on the beach.

Tony held Cal securely in front of him as they bumped around a paddock on one of the four-wheeler all-terrain bikes. Ellie bit back her annoyance—he was so tender with Cal, so protective and loving—that she could find no hard words to throw at him.

Mid afternoon on the second day, he flew Ellie and Callum on a swooping dash along the coast.

“You can see the rip from up here,” they heard through the headphones. His arm pointed way out to where the water was disturbed. “No swimming in the sea, Cal. We use the pool or the river to be safe.” The helicopter lurched in the up-draught from the cliff, and Tony turned inland to less disturbed air.

“And that’s the Devil Hole.” He indicated a deep rocky gully with verdant greenery at its base. “When the tide’s high, it wallops through an underground tunnel and makes a fantastic roaring noise.”

By dusk that night Ellie was seething. How many more wonderful treats could Tony summon up?

“He’s taking Cal over,” she exploded to Ginny. “Anything his precious son wants, he gets.”

“He’s
your
precious son, too,” Ginny reminded her. “Don’t alienate him, Ellie. He won’t thank you for it.”

“That’s easy to say, Ginny. But Tony’s throwing all his resources at the poor kid. He’s dazzling him. I need to get him away from here before we’re past the point of no return. I’m taking him home tomorrow.”

Ginny nodded slowly and lowered her voice. “Robbie has the vet coming to check out some of the stock early in the morning.”

“So I should do it then?”

“Not for me to say, dear. I just know he’ll be out of the way soon after eight?”

“Then I’ll get some stuff ready to throw in the car tonight when nobody’s looking. God, what a mess...”

Next morning she bumped out over the cattle-stop bars with a very silent Cal beside her. The day was already stifling hot and the road choking with dust. Tony and the vet had reappeared in the distance sooner than expected, and she’d dashed away with no proper goodbye to Ginny or the twins.

Cal slouched, sulky and angry, despite her explanation that she had to teach the twins and not spend any more time having fun.

Ellie felt heartsick and weary. The drive back to town was murder, and she had to make the long return trip to Wharemoana again almost immediately.

xxx

Tony was way past furious. “What an utter self-serving piece of work you are,” he grated. “Not even goodbye. No chance to arrange anything for later in the Christmas break—what must he think of me after that?”

“He thinks you’re the bee’s knees, unfortunately, and I’ve had enough of it,” she shot back, looking hot, uncomfortable and guilty.

He stared her down, enjoying that guilty expression at least. “What else do I have to do to persuade you?”

“You’ve more tricks yet? Kidnapping and blackmail aren’t enough for you? What’s next, Tony?”

“That wasn’t kidnapping, Ellie. I arranged it with your mother as a surprise for you. I thought you’d enjoy seeing him.”

“You thought
you’d
enjoy seeing him.”

“And I did. It was amazing meeting him. I love my girls, but they’re the image of Julia. It’s incredible to know there’s also someone in this world a lot like me.” His expression softened, thinking of the boy who’d unexpectedly appeared in his life. Then he turned away from Ellie’s accusing face, compressing his mouth into a determined line. “And that was
not
blackmail,” he threw over his shoulder. “It’s his birthright. He should have the farm.”

“Can’t you see what a position that puts me in, though?” she wailed.

“A more comfortable one than you’ve been in so far?”

“Exactly, Tony. I feel like you’re trying to buy me. I can’t win, whichever way I jump.”

Xxx

Her heart galloped, threatening to burst out from behind her ribs with the unfairness of it. He held all the cards and she held none. She drew a deep frustrated breath. “If I agreed to marry you, it would because I wanted
you
. Not your money. Not your gifts and treats. Not this amazing place for my son. But now you’ve offered them all, you’ve made it absolutely impossible to accept.”

She climbed the stairs to her room and stowed the folding bed back in the wardrobe. A few more days and it would be Christmas. Then she’d put some space between herself and Tony for a while...see if they could cool things down enough so she could continue schooling the twins through January.

She went in search of them.

“Ginny’s taken them into town to buy some holiday clothes,” Tony said. “Seeing their teacher skived off,” he added. “You must have passed them on your way back.”

Ellie had been so preoccupied navigating the dusty unsealed road that she’d not seen any sign of them.

“I’m going for a good long walk then,” she told him. “Along the cliffs. Okay?”

“Keep away from the edge. It’s unstable land.”

“I’m not a child, Tony.”

“Just behaving like one...”

She flounced away to her room to find her sunhat. And decided to change out of her stale and wrinkled travelling clothes and grab a quick shower.

Refreshed—and a little calmer—she fingered her cherry red camisole and bikini panties. He’d said to wear them for Christmas. Today was close enough, and she needed cheering up. For sure he wouldn’t be checking out her underwear on Christmas Day.

She shimmied into the glorious garments and pulled on a pair of sand-coloured cotton trousers and her olive green T-shirt. The fine silk felt fantastic against her skin—a luscious little treat for her alone. She’d enjoy the sensation while she walked.

xxx

An hour or so later, as he returned his coffee mug to the kitchen, Tony heard a deep rumble beneath his feet, felt the big old timber house trembling; saw the sparkling crystals of the nearest chandelier shivering and swaying, catching the light as they clinked together. The door edged gently back and forth, back and forth. The rumbling continued. The house rattled and shook for maybe fifteen seconds, and then settled into eerie silence.

An earthquake. Certainly less than five on the Richter scale, but big enough to unsettle the animals and maybe bring down the odd slip from the steeper hillsides. He hoped Ellie had reached the level land on top of the cliffs.

She constantly invaded his mind. From the moment she’d dashed into the kitchen for breakfast that first morning, he’d been breathing different air. He’d burst out of his unsuspected stagnation to somewhere fresh and exhilarating. Before her arrival he’d been functioning, but hardly living. Now every moment brought the chance she might appear. Prickly for sure. Unobtainable so far. But infinitely desirable.

His body and brain were alight again; alive with the excitement of pursuit and the sheer wonder of discovering his unknown son. His hormones were on a merciless rampage, urging him to reclaim Ellie and Cal by any means possible. He’d never felt so powerful—or so confused.

xxx

Ellie let instinct guide her as she strode over the rising land. She’d followed one of the farm roads for quite some distance, then stood and swigged at her water bottle while she summoned the courage to climb a gate and trek across a field of grazing black cattle. She skirted around the fence line in case she needed to make a quick escape, but the drowsy beasts seemed barely interested in her.

She walked on. The sea pounded more loudly now. Finally she approached the cliff edge and peered over. Far below, the waves broke on unfriendly looking rocks. Mindful of Tony’s warning, she backed away.

Salt spray carried by the up-draughts made the air hazy and the view less spectacular than she’d hoped for. She glanced at her watch. There was plenty of time yet—Ginny and the twins would be nowhere near returning. She’d walk as far as the Devil Hole before returning to face her tormentor.

She breathed in the salty air, drawing it deep into her lungs. It smelled so fresh and healthy. So like a never-ending holiday.

Cal, I wish we could live out here. I know you’d love the farm and the beach and all the animals. But Tony’s trying to buy you, my darling, and you’re not for sale.

She turned and resumed her walk, dragging her feet a little as regrets swirled around in her mind. Soon she’d reached the fringe of vegetation around the rim of the Devil Hole. Upending her water bottle, she took several deep swallows, listening intently. She peered into its depths. Did that deep rumbling mean the tide was now high enough to make the roaring noise Tony had described?

She shrieked as the land shook beneath her feet. There’d been no warning, no sensation of danger. One minute she’d been gripping a gnarled old tree, and the next she’d been shaken off her feet as a shower of dusty rocks and flailing vegetation shot out from under her. The tree slid a yard or so into the steep crater and one of its roots snagged her ankle, tipping her over and pulling her across the edge. She was held captive like a wild animal in a gin trap.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!
she moaned.
Keep me safe. Let me escape. Make someone find me.

After a little time she knew her left foot was a huge problem. Sticky blood oozed into her shoe and her ankle throbbed and burned. She yanked at the stubborn sinewy root as hard as she dared, scrunching her eyes closed as another shower of gritty stones pattered down the cliff below her.

Was it all going to start again? Would her fragile perch be ripped away so she’d plummet down the rocky face all the way to the bottom? What would happen to Cal if she died? She fisted her hands into some nearby tufts of grass, and prayed harder than she’d ever done in her life.

More long, slow, agony-filled minutes crept by. Sharp edges of rock bit into her back, and she trembled violently, convinced the vibrations had never died away. There was every possibility the old tree would toboggan down the cliff and take her with it. One of the smaller roots snapped with a pistol-crack, and she screamed in terror. But still she was held prisoner, looking up to a view of the bluest, most peaceful sky, desperate to be released.

There was no chance of struggling free. Apart from being trapped by the cruel root across her ankle, the ground was dry and crumbling; any movement might start another much more frightening landslide.

But she was so close to being able to rescue herself that it was unbearable.

There must be a way.
After everything I’ve managed, I won’t be beaten by an old tree root.

She cautiously investigated the contents of her fabric carry-bag. At least she still had her water bottle...and a few shells.

Shells?
Maybe one might be sharp enough to use as a rudimentary knife? She edged her back onto a more comfortable angle and set to work sawing until she started making a small impression on the hard root. And as she sawed, she talked to her son.

Darling Cal
, she panted.
Will I ever see you again? Should I have given in? I thought it would break my heart to want Tony so much and know I was only there because of you. It seemed he was dangling Wharemoana as bait, but maybe I was wrong...

Her ankle hurt like fury. The initial terror had masked the worst of the pain but as time passed, waves of agony washed through her. She gritted her teeth and tried to ride them out. The sun crept slowly lower in the sky, and she tried to keep her seashell knife scraping at its tiny hopeful groove.

xxx

Tony checked his watch yet again, far from happy. Ellie had not returned; something had to be wrong. Cursing, he raced for the helicopter and got it airborne in record time.

The cliffs...she said she planned to walk along the cliffs.

Ten frustrating minutes later there was still no sign of her. He’d travelled low and slow along the shore and then swooped up to follow the breezy cliff-top, bucking in the turbulence, and fighting to keep the machine steady.

She was not on the beach.

She was not, thank heavens, lying at the foot of any of the sheer rocky faces.

She was not on top of the cliffs. Where else could she have gone? He flew on a little further and decided it was futile. Had she somehow arrived home while he was preparing to leave? That was the only other possibility. Unless...

xxx

Ellie struggled to think straight. Her whole world thudded with pain and noise. The tide had risen, and waves now thumped through the rocky constriction at the base of the Devil Hole with deafening roars. The din beat against her brain, chopping at the air all around her. And then a new note intruded. Helicopter. Tony!