Desert Devil (21 page)

Juli was hardly hearing. Thorne had bought the place and he wanted her out.
Now
. Why? The answer was all too obvious. He wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible, and this was the easiest way. Juli felt dizzy with bewilderment. What had changed his mind since the lunch at his pool, when he had seemed so affectionate and kissed her so passionately? She had thought he was falling in love with her the way she had already fallen for him—and now this! With heart-stopping realization, Juli suddenly knew there had been no change in him, that his interest and affection had been nothing but a carefully calculated phony pretense.

"Miss Townsend, are you all right?" the salesman asked with concern. He reached out to steady her as she swayed.

Her mind was too numb even to fabricate an explanation for her unsteadiness. With eyes blurred with tears, she simply signed on the empty line he indicated, jammed her copies into her purse, and fled before she broke down completely.

Somehow she managed to make her way back to the car and she sat there clutching the steering wheel with unfeeling hands, grateful for the fresh downpour of rain that concealed her from passersby. Desperately, she searched for some explanation that would reveal that Thorne had purchased the property as a helpful gesture. Perhaps as a further help to Aunt Kate. That hopeful explanation was so weak that it scarcely deserved consideration, and she knew she was naive even to consider it. Brain had been right, she thought grimly. Thorne did nothing out of pure generosity.

There was only one explanation. That earlier tenuous doubt, a suspicion so unthinkable she had refused even to acknowledge it, hit her like a blow now. He had accused her of scheming, but it was he who was the real mastermind of a calculated plan to get his own way. Juli had merely been a convenient pawn in that plan.

Not that he found her unattractive, she thought grimly, and his desire to make love to her had hardly been pretended. But that was a side issue, a momentary passion. Marrying Nicole as quickly as possible, getting her and her half of the company under his control, was his real goal, and he had seen a chance to goad her into doing what he wanted. He obviously knew Nicole well enough to realize jealousy would act as a catalyst on her, and he had cold-bloodedly used Juli to provoke Nicole's jealousy that day.

And how easily she had fallen in with his scheme, Juli thought in a flood of shame and humiliation. How willingly cooperative she had been, helping him put on a little charade for Nicole's benefit! Her face burned beneath the tears sliding across her cheeks. Thorne's game that day hadn't been to humiliate or embarrass Juli, unless that was just an added fringe benefit. Neither were his actions and words an implied apology, as she had so innocently hoped. The whole phony scene was deliberately calculated to make Nicole jealous, to show her if she didn't hurry and marry him that he might look elsewhere. It was all so plain now: the touches, the innuendos, the kiss by the gate—all cold-bloodedly calculated to arouse Nicole's jealousy. Juli herself had been aware of Nicole's jealousy that day, but she hadn't dreamed then that Thorne was deliberately baiting Nicole. Or was it just that she was too wrapped up in her own naive dreams to see the truth?

By means fair or devious, whatever Thorne wanted, Thorne got, Juli thought bitterly, because it was obvious now that his scheme had worked. Nicole's jealousy had played into his hands, and no doubt they would soon marry. And that, of course, left Thorne with the minor but potentially messy problem of what to do about Juli now that her usefulness was over. Her love for him had been a momentary convenience, but now it was a bother to be disposed of as efficiently as possible. As usual, money seemed the most efficient means of solving the problem. He knew the sale of the property would mean her departure, and a demand for immediate possession would mean her immediate departure.

For a few reckless moments, Juli rebelled. He couldn't
force
her to leave Cholla. She could find work and get an apartment here. Brian Eames would no doubt be a willing helper.

Her defiance wilted within moments. What was the point in all that? She would only be hurting herself to stay around and watch the culmination of his skillful plan with his marriage to Nicole.

No, there was only one thing she could do. Go quietly. And as quickly as possible.

Water sheeted the windshield as Juli drove home, and her thoughts were as tumultuous and uncontrolled as the water tumbling through gullies on either side of the road. Somehow the desert seemed as unprepared for this onslaught as Juli had been unprepared for betrayal by Thorne. The rain came too fast and heavy for the ground to absorb it. The desert cactuses looked incongruous surrounded by frothing sheets of moving water.

Closer to the trailer, however, the heavy rain seemed to be doing less damage. As the real estate salesman had once pointed out, she thought wryly, this was out of a flash-flood area.

Resolutely ignoring the weather, Juli went inside and started packing. Her own few possessions wouldn't take long to gather up, but now she had to make the final decisions about what things of David's she could take back to Aunt Kate in her limited car space. She tried to keep her thoughts away from Thorne, but she could no more hold them back than she could control the rain outside. Like some inescapable treadmill, her mind went over and over that glorious day hiking in the Superstitions. Her body still quivered at the memory of his passion that night and the anger and accusations that followed. Then there was the incredible surprise of the next day, when everything seemed glorious again. And now the desolate despair of knowing nothing would ever be as glorious again.

Because the despairing, almost unthinkable truth was that in spite of all that Thorne had done, she still loved him. Her body still thrilled to the memory of his touch, the taste of his mouth, the husky chuckle of his laughter. She loved him—and he only wanted to be rid of her.

So lost was she in her unhappiness that she didn't even hear the car drive up outside. The first realization she had that anyone was near was the knock on the door. Thorne! she thought in wild jubilation. Hastily, she wiped her eyes with a tissue and raced for the door.

Brian stepped inside. He held the umbrella he was carrying outside the door to close it. Juli struggled to conceal the disappointment she knew must be written all over her face.

"Miserable weather," he muttered.

"I thought you were the guy who was tired of sunshine," Juli managed to say lightly.

He set the umbrella in a corner and took off his jacket. "I'm sure I'm not as unhappy about the rain as Thorne Taylor is." He sounded almost gleeful as he went on to tell her that the workers were just in the process of installing storm drains at the new construction site when the rains hit. The area was a mess, he said, water running everywhere. "Your friend Thorne is running everywhere, too, trying to be in three places at once," he added.

But not too busy to rush into the real estate office to buy the property and get rid of her, she thought grimly. She poured coffee and set out some date and nut candies she had bought.

"Juli, you're just going to have to get a phone," Brian grumbled. "I feel as if I'm barging in on you when I just want to talk for a minute. What are you doing?" he added suddenly, seeing the packed boxes by the sofa.

Briefly Juli explained about the sale of the property. She didn't intend to give the name of the buyer, but Brian, ever curious, asked.

Juli struggled to make her voice neutral and casual. "Thorne Taylor. His property adjoins this. He probably wants it to keep any development from coming too close to his house."

"Oh, I see." Brian's eyes gleamed. "So that's why you've been more or less cultivating the bachelor boy. I was afraid for a while you might have some personal interest in him."

Juli tried to make some flippant reply, but the words caught in her throat. She turned away quickly, busying herself with the coffee again.

Brian looked suddenly stricken. "But that means you're leaving right away?"

"That was part of the deal, that he get immediate possession."

"I don't get it. What is his big rush?" Brian sounded half-angry, as if Thorne had deliberately interfered with
his
plans.

Juli just shrugged. She wasn't about to describe the whole humiliating, degrading experience of how Thorne had deliberately used her to make Nicole jealous and now wanted to get rid of her.

"I feel as if you're leaving before we've hardly had a chance to get to know each other," Brian protested.

"Perhaps we can write to each other," Juli offered vaguely.

"Right. And I'm not going to be stuck here in Cholla forever. I'll be coming back East."

Juli just nodded, wishing he would go away so she could get on with her packing.

"When are you leaving?" Brian asked.

"I suppose I can get out by tomorrow. Yesterday would have suited Thorne Taylor even better," she added with a thin attempt at a smile.

"You don't have to do that," Brian said with surprising sharpness. "You don't have to jump just because
he
says so. Wait until Sunday, at least, and we'll spend all day Saturday in Phoenix. We'll eat at a good restaurant and see what else the city has to offer. We deserve that much time together."

"Oh, I don't think so," Juli demurred. "I mean, I really am supposed to be out as soon as possible."

"What's Taylor going to do if you're here a day or two extra?" Brain demanded. "Come over and toss you out bodily?"

She wouldn't put that past him, Juli thought grimly. But with the thought came a surge of rebellious defiance. Brian was right. What was Thorne going to do if she stayed a day or two longer? It might do him good to stew for a day or two, to let him wonder if she was going to make trouble. And it would certainly serve to show him he couldn't make her jump like some puppet on a string, that she would leave when she was good and ready, and not before.

"The weather could be bad," she warned. "The report is for more rain."

"That may bother Thorne Taylor sloshing around at his construction site, but we'll be snug and dry in some nice, covered shopping mall." Brian laughed.

Juli felt a stab of concern. Was the weather really damaging the new construction site? Was Thorne out in it, getting wet or cold or sick?

Of course not, she scoffed at herself. Thorne's money might not be able to stop the rain, but he could certainly hire any help he needed. He and Nicole were probably warm and cozy on that fur rug in front of a crackling fire in his bedroom. The sharp clarity of that painful image in her mind lent a determination to Juli's words.

"I won't leave until Sunday," she said resolutely. "We'll spend Saturday together in Phoenix."

By Saturday morning Juli had her car almost loaded and ready to go. All that remained in the trailer were a few personal items. The weather appeared to be improving, although a rain-streaked sky just off to the north indicated that area had experienced yet another drenching downpour. Juli felt depressed and wished she had never agreed to spend this day in Phoenix with Brian.

Brian was supposed to pick her up at the trailer about nine o'clock, but by nine-thirty he still hadn't arrived. Could he have forgotten their date? she wondered. A minute later his car pulled into the driveway and she realized the reason for his delay. The right fender of the car was crumpled, the hood dented, and the door scratched. He slammed out of the car and stalked toward the trailer after a surly glance at his damaged car.

She opened the trailer door. "What happened?" she exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

"Some idiot pulled out of a parking space and smashed into me!" he snarled. "Outside of being ready to commit murder, I suppose I'm all right. I hope you're ready," he added, as if her not being ready would be the last straw. He didn't seem to notice that she was wearing a feminine, full-skirted mint-green dress and high heels because she knew he preferred dresses to pants.

It was hardly an auspicious beginning for a day about which Juli was already unenthusiastic. "Perhaps we ought to call today off," Juli suggested. "You can't enjoy yourself after what happened to your car. And the radio said there's been some minor flooding in Phoenix because they had to release water from above one of the Salt River Project dams."